SS
? r 4
4 i] SH Paton hs ta salts
: “uM as vai fala i yaks A \ LY
siheata i! he He iP Ve uit
‘hye!
==
<r
i
=
' Ne reat i
i Stalin rey 9
Vala eye al abe
{
SS
Sess
=. oe
it a
Baoan taken
nea yenal Ch Thi Hh
Atte “tad tek al fl
HH 1 Mh hy i f A
Nay i
i ey i Het
aVQite
a a Valli Sivan i Vignal 4 i
AN a IA i ‘
iy iat 4in ana ‘ \
f Ht) sil
4
aed alta ia
i, yer be ite 4
* Wel Py Pune: Aidt me
i sts Bie Ht
n Ait 4 i Haters
ies V4 He 1 TARE aU its ay
Heat iat HMM at gt Ba eae
} 1
‘4.
af yely! aE HEAE OT
\ abs hy ft
Hay
eae
i mi iis
harsh laa bilas gat
fies i aN) ish
Aen 2 i
PnnE ‘ve Ni Ht a
tf
2 i
a eh it
SS.
ae a see pee ee eee eet ee ee ee
=
ian nh
j iM uit
04) u Aaa an
Heat A
Saat:
Se ee =
aye ee
iat
oe ce i
oe
NE W
is aii
Piper Ley
' laure
ny
Hi tings
ai
fe Hi it
Awe
oat i,
rf
ai wT yy utd
Se phe fi
(aie Le H f
He ia Le 1 ; HALAS ; cane
ae
eae ee
} sg ‘|
ay Hh Ha ys Me a 4 aad
Mass
So een ds
<2:
ee ee P se e T TS
ar .
as,
Sa =
i th Bd abihth
ee
Hi
ae
pit
a
iia)
fit) in
aa
pate
titi iy i
His hu
Atal:
SS ste
=> ee —_ 2205
eee
—*
a AS
13503)
Gene y iy A
i See) ee ne i
wh deka sh et
ae
Met a Hu i) if
sada i} He ao
aE:
SSere ce Om oe
as ES
ee aS
5
Se
ies ey
ry vidi
vie
Cs
ae
~
We
We
Sa
wy!
am
hi ea stt all He i LEE i)
Vendy a) i atu a Hh ut
esa ECM RE sn i e on bie
itt ta nen va rt rhodes
fuie i 4 I ii Dy ih tabs ‘fy
Re LR GPE ER PRET CHMO NAAT ESIC NCAT LAURA PASTE Meats. Hee
HAY
ei
yak
Rk ate
a)
mt we
DROP Onhy P OP,
Ra | aula
5
Ae
ae
a,
et
ie
y)
'
i
ci he
bt
a ah
Ase,
a yey
i i
WRAY rine Vie |
oe
be
Ve 92
n
nate \ 7
Nn
|
bi Bie
ny ay
——
“a rc
= t ' “4 7 ’ Y -
aa Ae
F
;
;
<
'
;
r
: 7 :
;
eo eT
THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
INDEX AND ‘TITTLE PAGE
VOL. 50
NOS. 1 & 2
Price Rs. 3-0-0
, MADRAS nae
“a he rf. F
PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS wd fg
1953
INSTRUCTIONS TO BINDER
The contents of these two parts should be arranged in the
following order when they are being bound :—
Title page ad
eee eee
Contents of Nos. 1 & 2 of Vol. 50
List of contributors .. | To follow frontis-
f 4 piece in this order.
Listof plates ...
Index to illustrations
| To go at the end of
the two numbers.
Index to species
THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
EDITED BY
SALIM ALI, S. B. SETNA, Pb.D., and H. SANTAPAU S.J.
VOL. 50
Nos. 1 & 2
Containing 25 black and white plates, 8 maps, 8 text figures
and 2 photographs
Dates of Publication
Part 1. (Pages 1 to 210) ... August, 1951
» 2 ( 4, 211 to 450) ... December, 195!
LONDON AGENTS
MESSRS. WHELDON & WESLEY LTD.,
83/84 Berwick Street,
LONDON, W. 1.
PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS
1953
: ee a : a " . as “le etal in ae: ri per “ co
f Pri ste. Fl Pd: ¥ i “ i: . te |
) ; . | ;
US Vi AGRE Ahe bine Te AMT S2 es LA. Pane Gs .
: ee
. Fay : 2 a
UG OF, aa
oe Me , a
\ : . SA es
i 7 a © OE : b 20) | ;
Pa oe
asivsh igh & ean eaiela ad lew bap 238 sid as vols
: i ere (eran! ode & bebo” an - oo
: : Meal a ; F
= as a * 40 eekly =
bi. orgs Smee “pays, «
fOr vtmisagh oo) | O0SE oF Fy me a
| avaaa ones es
Ngttia yoRe Wwe a WGC Fate 1 ~esieea
| dasha Hide SAEs fo eae
et ; ; Saree MUTA, taeda: :
| | : ee
ov
& Sy ae ’ Pate 4 bf \ Asano ters» sce Es
a
-
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
No. 1
JUNGLE MEMORIES. PART IX—ANTELOPE AND DEER. By
Lt.-Col. E. G. Phythian-Adams, 0.B.B., F.Z.S., IA. ati
(With two plates)...
BIONOMICS OF THE ie. Cirrhina ee: sen IN
SOUTH INDIAN WATERS. By P. I. Chacko and S. V.
Ganapati...
THE BIRDS OF cena: Pane L By F. N. Betts. (With
DIMA DY. Sueeaasasnes vse
NoTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM Nepat. Parr I. By Lt.-
Col. F. M. Bailey, c1.n. (With a map and two plates).
Two New Specigs oF Pimpinella. By M. L. Banerii.......
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON LITTLE KNOWN ASSAM RIVERS.
ParT I. By W. E. D. Cooper. (With two plates).........
SURVEY OF ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU
AND KasHmir. I. SINDH Forest Division. By L. D.
Kapoor, R. N. Chopra and I.C. Chopra. (With a sketch
TER) We ee a cece Te Uc O MatN ey oe bets Ga tule Shon vabaeielee cieuanan cenieesaite
STUDY OF THE MARINE Phew OF THE KARWAR COAST
AND NEIGHBOURING ISLANDs. PART [: PRoTOzOA TO
ARTHROPODA. By A.M. Patil, M.sc. (With a map)......
ON AN INTERESTING CASE OF CARP SPAWNING IN THE RIVER
CAUVERY AT BHAVANI DURING JuNE, 1947. By S. V.
Ganapati, K. H. Alikunhi and Francesca Thivy.e.....eceeoe
BIRDS AND EcoLoGy. By M. D. Lister.........
SUCCESSION OF THE MANGROVE VEGETATION OF BOMBAY
AND SALSETTE ISLANDS. By B. S. Navalkar. (With
LOM PIQIOS) Sadun <2, coy cataces >:
- REVIEW :—
Nature through the Year. By Frances Pitt. (H.G.A.)...
Additions to the Bombay Natural History Society’s
AD FAGVASIMCES Ail) SOS TG es ask cos cosiash cab sesascee see
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—
1. The Indian Wild Dog. By A. Middleton...........
2. A Wild Dog incident. By Joyce C. Winter-
INO EPI eelvex ecw cccece res soetives dss
PAGE
101
128
140
147
157
161
Aare am
13.
14.
1S:
16.
Wf
18.
19.
20,
(a og
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
Rearing a baby Ceylon Grey Flying Squirrel
(Petaurista philippensis lanka) By W. W. A.
Phillips. s@W 2/22: @ Pi010) tees eee seen. tomer
Gaur attacking Man. By Angus F. Hutton.........
The Great Indian Rorqual or Fin-whale Balaenop-
teva indica Blyth off Umargam (Bombay State)
By! VorK.” Chatin scott a kee sakes shee cme nena
Bibliography of Big Game Hunting and Shooting
in India and the East. [Published in Vol. 48,
No. 2:5 (August, 1950) Addenda. .aae.F. eek
Crows hawking Fish on wing. By fesenel
G. Acharya... swells coe nae eee
Mating of thee Pious Grow ( Gane ee
splendens Vieillot). By Harinarayan G. Acharya.
Large Grey Babbler attacking metal hub-cap of
car. By Hamidiak. VAN yee eee
Birds attacking their reflections. By P. F. Cum-
berlege... rae.
Strange behaviour of “the Tudete Babbler (Turdo-
ides terricolor). By Harinarayan G. Acharya......
The Ashy Swallow-shrike (Ariamus fuscus Vieil-
lot) at a Bird bath. By C. M. Inglis, F.zs.,
c.M.B.0.U. (With a photo)... Bont arnascl Sea
Occurrence of Hodgson’s Pipit (Aas roseatus)
in Saurashtra. By K. S. Dharmakumarsinhiji...
Distribution of the Blue-bearded Bee-eater [Vyct-
PAGE
164
166
167
167
169
170
LAL
171
172
174
iornts athertont (Jardine and ae By Jamal —
ATALRS bee B:
‘ Birds of fac iaoda Neisabommeede , A, ene
tion. By Salim Ali and Humayun Abdulali..,...
The position of Plovers’ Eggs in nests. By
Humayun Abdulall........ aeoisien aueee
Bird Migration in India. By Tae Ee eens Gane ees
‘Notes on some Asiatic Sturnidae (Birds) ’—
Comment.» By S. Dillon:Ripley.2..-7.2.0,.22e
Duration of song in some Common Birds. By
Jamal -Ara..(Wieth five orapnsis, .cj.2eei ee
Angling for Crocodiles with Hook and Line in
Krishnarajasagar Reservoir. By D. R. Krishna-
A curious death of aSnake. By B. K. Behura and
Mr As Sohne ikke cet ene eee ease ee ees
181
183
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
22. Egg-laying by a Python in captivity. By C.
| Eee re 01) AS CR oa le a
23. A record of the Common Membracid, Ovinotus
onevatus Walk. (Homoptera: Rhynchota) from
the city of Patna (Bihar). By Basanta Kumar
Beha Ande VISWANALTS IMMA. cs ct vee. vas.cess tee cece
24. Gleanings... aoe
Catalogue of Benue in hel ont Netaen beiistony
Society’s Library. Part V—Invertebrata..........0cse0e0.
No. 2
JUNGLE MErmorIES. PART X—Mixep Bac. By Lt.-Col.
E. G. Phythian-Adams, 0,B.E., F.Z.S., I.A. ee ee
two plates)... Siftomece oesne wat
THE BIRDS OF Chane PART IT. ‘By I B. N. Betts. “eu
two plates)... SBN cor sae
Tur HILsa Pees OF THE Cire we. Pack By 9. feces
and K. H. Sujansingani. (W2zth 2 plates, 3 graphs and 3
COULD nee earn tc thse see tececsantieec hetcvelceclecuias desttes
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL. PART II. By Lt.-
© Clemo lato Vue Van ale Eietedeis oes svactrods ss see hose Ses eke one oceusce ces
HABITS OF THE COMMON MEMBRACID (‘ TREE-HOPPER’)—
Otinotus oneratus WALK. (Homoptera: Rhynchota). By
Basanta Kumar Behura, m.sc. (Cal.), Ph.D. (Edin.), F.R.E.S,
CRITICAL NOTES ON THE IDENTITY AND NOMENCLATURE OF
SOME BomBAy Prants. By H. Santapau,sJ. (Wath
DUO SPULLE SIN vat: ANtte hate chet, ois Keates gre otek nhs O84 saSoseeshsl~<Si'vas
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON LITTLE KNOWN ASSAM RIVERS,
AURIS lelice. Ys, Wiel. Le, COODEL sacs sao 18. 2a eleot. carla scounc
FISHES FROM THE HIGH RANGE OF TRAVANCORE. By E.
G, Silas, B.sc. (Hons.) (With two text figures)...
‘THE BUTTERFLIES OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTR. By at E. G.
Best... Se cicaide as atcantae: cimeeatiee apa: ocd oa as
THE Gate Vulbia C aus: IN, UNOLA. aby Neu dy, faue.
A NATURALIST IN THE Nortu-west HIMALAYA. Part J,
By M. A. Pica (With a text map and two
plates)... aate anleaies canine seurseniae’ nase eels aee sath vet:
SOME ee SEEN ON THE GANDAK- rae pee ces IN
Marcu, 1951. By Desirée Proud. (With a sketch map
THEE Ch OUE ON S oy PEOPCETUEE PORN ETA OL PETIT OTP EOE
PAGE
183
183
184
187
re |
224
264
281
299
305
313
323
331
340
344
355
vi CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
NOTES ON FISHES oF THE GENUS Glydlothorax BLYTH FROM
PENINSULAR INDIA, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEw
SPECIES, BY 1G: Silas nA. oe", eens eee ;
THE PROTECTION OF WORLD ERAT» : Witp eee AND
THE SoIL. By Lt.-Col. R.W. Burton, 1. A. (Retd.)..........
REVIEWS :—
Contributions to the Breeding Biology of Larus
argentatus and Larus fuscus. By Knud Paludan.
(S.A,)...
Audubon Water Bird Gants, i Richard H. Pough.
(S493 ee
Tana “(H. s. es ay
Beautifying India. By M. 8. Suntinere, (HL coe
Additions to the Bombay Natural History Society’s Libra Bs
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—
1. Abnormal behaviour of a male Rhesus Monkey
(Macaca mulatta mulatta Zimmermann). By H.
Khajuria... <n sAeniaceees
2. Tiger en carrion. os F. M. Necaieran debioeeiiee mine
3, ‘An extraordinary find in a Panther’s Stomach’.
, By Randolph C. Morris... =A SCLO CONSE
4. *Rabiesin Tiger ’—A Disccsaee ssvieeeuee
5. Wild Elephant seeks assistance. By Pee Nic.
holls... Ae
6. Habits He the Monee an W. —. Tovdtonee
7. Crab-eating Chital. By J. K. Stanford... wa
8. ‘The most murderous Rogue’. By Lt. Oni. R. W.
Burton, 1A. (Retd.)... IGiMeceiteweseek eens
9. What is the best means ‘of el aaa destaicaon
of Flying Foxes tas giganteus uate
By E. P. Gee... fa Areas
Flying Foxes. nol ut Col. oR Ww. mano LA.
(Retd.}) taser: sesereen ces esnencisies
10. Some Poe on 1 the Malabar Gur Herat [rr ee
griseus (Lath.)]. By Humayun Abdulali...
11. A nesting colony of Small Sailoeb loners: fe
Mysore State. By C. Brooke Worth..
PAGE
367
Syl
380
381
382
383)
385
389...
389
390
ool
396
397
398
399
401
401
403
- 405
12. Occurrence of the Pheasant-tailed Jacana "[Hiydro-
phasianus chirurgus Pie in Madras, By
Editors... bee
13.. Morning ahi evening Espeal alls ie eae ts es
14. Stray bird notes from Tibet. By H. E. Richard-
GON voice dadsdd jue agentes seeaeysanathees doatdete etdadasses verbena
406
— 407
- 413
IS:
ANCL OS
17.
18.
19.
20.
il
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
Pasig
28.
Zoe
30.
31.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
Breeding of the Green Pit Viper (Zrzmeresurus
gramineus). By J. N. Barooa...
Surface-locomotion of certain Frogs’ (Rana ail
the occurrence of A. fazpehensis Vandenburgh
-in India. By J.D. Romer, M.I.BIOL., F.z.S..
Hilsa catches on the eogiaa (Kathiawar) Coe
Bel Vie, Wee Pill agaersss ics. o5sendercedi ccs cities sa eve
A note on the Eggs and the First Stage Larva of
Hippolysmata vittata Stimpson. By G.K,
Kuriyan... Sade Seles cee ten oe cees
Butterfly Migration i in sites Nilgiris. By Marpatet
Villiers Briscoe...
A short note on the peers Test Geta Cee
subtilis Wik. By K. R. Ananthanarayanan, B.A.
(Hons.) and S. Venugopal, B.Sc. (Zool.), B.sc.
(Bot.). (With a text figure)... socitecaiion
A note on the Blood-sucking Simulium of Ceylon
By T. R. Sandrasagara, F.R.E.S..
Mating behaviour of Leeches. By C. 7 ae
vii
PAGE
414
414
415
416
417
418
“421
422.
Description and discussion of the biting eae an. |
Indian Land Leech (Annelida; ae By |
~ €. Brooke Worth... Ere he
A teratosis of Weaende Has Hatch. Be
W. Wilson Mayne... Nasiosictieunoes
Frerea indica Dalz aA new Pear in. ae
By He Santapaliy’ SJ ct. estecenc.citec eRe tec eae.
ee
426
427
A branched specimen of Costus speciosus Smith.
By H. Santapau, 8.J..
A note on PUAN SAiersteeniae er ea
P. V. Bole, M.sc., and H. ge S.J. (With
two plates)...
The flowering a SWrobalanthes in 1 Khandala (IV). :
By H. Santapau, s.J.. +
Preparation of a Flora ise Madhya” ‘Pisdeek, ae
the central parts of the Indian Union. By C. E.
Hewetson......-..
Shooting of Povo eae Career (Blackbuck)
prohibited in Madras State. By Lt.-Col. R. W.
Burton, 1A. (Retd.)... Bee eis Aaa
Gleanings...
Annual Report of Ge Bemba aie faeces Sacieng
. for the Year ending 3lst December, 1950
eo
428 ©
430
431
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
VOLUME 50
ABDULALI, HUMAYUN, see ALI,
SALIM ase ae
——, The
position of Plovers’ Eggs in
nestS <s. ; ; :
———-——, Some
notes on the Malabar Grey
Hornbill [TZockus griseus
(Lath.)] Be
ACHARYA, HARINARAYAN G.
Crows hawking Fish on
wing
, Mating
of the House Crow (Corvus
Shlendens splendens Vieillot).
et Ce ee
, strange
behaviour of the Jungle
Babbler (Zurdoides terri-
color) a4
Att, HAMID A., rages Ghee
Babbler atiacnue metal hub-
cap of car cee 2
Aur, SAttm and RRO
Humayun, ‘Birds of the
Londa Neighbourhood ’.—A
Correction See de
ALIKUNHI, K. H., see GANA-
PATI, S. V.
ANANTHANARAYANAN, K. R.,
B.A. bre and VENu~
GOPAL, S., B.Sc. (Zool.), B.Sc.
(Bot.), A short note on the
Eugenia leaf caterpillar Carea
subtilis Wik. (With a_ text
figure) ... ous cae es
ARA, JAMAL, Distribution of
the Blue-bearded Bee-eater
[yctiornis athertoni (Jardine
and Selby)] ... os
ae -, Morning and
evening bird calls
Nos. 1 and 2
PAGE
176
403
169
170
172
171
176
418
175
407
BaiLey, Lt.-Col. F. M.,
Notes on Butterflies
Nepal. Part I.
and 2 plates)
II ses ee aa sar
BANERJI, M. L., Two New
Species of Pzmpinella.
BArRooA, J. N., Breeding of the
Green Pit Viper (7v7imere-
SUYUS Sramineus ane
BEHURA, BaSANTA KuMAR,
M.Sc. (Cal.), Ph.p. (Edin.),
F.R.E.S., Habits of the Com-
mon Membracid (‘ Tree Hop-
per’) — Otinotus oneratus Walk
(Homoptera : Rhynchota)
BEHURA, BASANTA KUMAR,
m.sc, (Cal. ), Ph. p:>(Edin.),
F.R.E.S., and JoHN, M. A., A
curious death of a Snake
C.1.B:
from
(With a map
4 bart
_—— - -——, and
Sinha, Viswanath. A record
of the Common Membracid,
Otinotus oneratus Walk. (Ho-
moptera: Rhynchota) from
the city of Patna (Bihar)
Best, A. E. G., The Butterflies
of Bombay and Salsette
Betts, F. N., The Birds of
Coorg, Part I, (With a
map) see
——_——, Part II. (With two
plates) Sa owe
Bote. P.4V., M.Sc., & Shahi
PAU, H., S.J. A Hote Jon
Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus
Dalz. (With two plates)
Bor, N. L., The Genus Vulsia
Gmel, in India
PAGE
64
281
88
414
299
183
183
331
2 24
428
340
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
BRISCOE, MARGARET VILLIERS,
Butterfly pone. im) the
Nilgiris wee oot
Burton, Lt. cal R. W., I.A.
(Retd.), Bibliography of Big
Game Hunting and Shooting
in India and the East
—_—___-—_, The
Protection of World Resour-
ces: Wild life and the Soil ...
> She
most murderous Rogue’
, Fly-
ing Foxes
———_————_—-——— , ( Shoot.
ing of Peafowl] and netelone
(Blackbuck) prohibited in
Madras State
CHacko, P.I., and GANAPATI,
S. V., Bionomics of the
Mrigal, Cirrhina mrigala
(Ham.), in South Indian
waters ... eee
Cuarr!, V. K., The Great Tadian
Rorqual br Fin-whale Sala-
enoptera indica Blyth off
Umargam (Bombay State) ...
Cuopra, I. C., see KAPoor,
L. D.
CHOPRA, R. N., see KAPoor,
L. D.
CoopgR, W. E. D,, Forty years
of Sport on little known
Assam Rivers. Part Il (With
two plates) coe ;
——_—__—_ —_—_—_—_-—_——, Part
II £2 wee Aa ans
CUMBERLEGE, P. F., Birds
attacking their reflections
DHARMAKUMARSINHJ!, K. S.,
Occurrence of Hodgson’s
Pipit (duthus roseatus) in
Saurashtra eae
Epitors, Occurrence of ie
Pheasant-tailed Jacana [Ay-
drophasianus chirurgus (Sco-
poli)] in Madras wae
GANAPATI, S. V., see CHACKO,
PYF,
, ALIKUNHI,
PAGE
417
433
13
167
91
313
171
175
406
K.H., and THIvy, FRANCESCA,
On an interesting case of
Carp spawning in the River
Cauvery at Bhavani during
June, 1947 -
GEE, E. P., What is the ee
means of control and destruc-
tion of Flying Foxes [Ptero-
pus giganteus (Brunn.)]
HeEweEtTson, C. E., Preparation
of a Flora for Madhya Pradesh
and the central parts of the
Indian Union ... see
Hutton, ANGUS F., Gaur at-
tacking Man é aes
INGLIS, C. M., F.Z.S., C.M.B.O.U.,
The Ashy Swallow-shrike
(Artamus fuscus Vieillot) at
abird bath. (Witha photo).
JOHN, M. A., see BEHURA, B. K.
JonEs, S., and SUJANSINGANI,
K. H., The Hilsa Fishery of
the Chilka Lake. (With 2
plates, 3 graphs and 3 text
figures)
Kapoor, L. D. CHORE, R. N.,
and CHOPRA, a C,, Survey of
Economic Vegetable Products
of Jummu and Kashmir, I.
Sindh Forest Division. (W2zth
a sketch map) :
KHAJURIA, H., Abnormal be-
haviour of a male Rhesus
Monkey (Macaca mulatta
mulatta Zimmermann)
KRISHNAMURTHY, D.R., Ang-
ling for Crocodiles with hock
and line in Krishnarajasagar
Reservoir fe nas
KuRIYAN, G. K.,A note on the
Eggs andthe First Stage Larva
of Hippolysmata vittata Stimp-
son Ae vee i ae
LEIGH, C., S.J., egg-laying by
a Python in captivity “ie
LESLIE, C. J., Mating beha-
viour of esbnes
LISTER, M. D., Birds and Ecolo-
gy. dss
Tow D-IONESY wW. ., Habits
of the Mongoose
ix
PAGE
140
401
431
166
174
264
101
389
181
416
183
422
147
397
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
MAYNE, W. WILSON, A tera-
tosis of Mussaenda hirsutis-
sima Hutch. — sr Rr
MIDDLETON, A., The Indian
Wild Dog ip
MorrRIs, RANPOLPH o ‘An
extraordinary find in a Pan-
ther’s stomach’ A
NAVALKAR, B. S., Srcceries
of the Mimerove Vegetation
of Bombay and _ Salsette
Islands. (With two plates)...
NEEDHAM, F. M., Tiger eating
carrion ‘s
NICHOLLS, ieee Wild Ele-
phant Seeks assistance
PatiL, A. M., M.Sc., Study of
the Marine Fauna of the
Karwar Coast and Neighbour-
ing Islands, Part I: Protozoa
to ears (With a
map) :
PHILLIPS, W. W. 70 Reamizie a
baby Ceylon Grey Flying
Squirrel (Petaurista philip-
pensis lanka). (With a photo).
PHyTHIAN-ADAMS, Lt.-Col. E.
G., OFBHE.5i SUREZS2, 6 OAc
(Retd.), Jungle Memories,
Part [X—Antelope and Deér.
(With 2 plates) a bes
, Part X—
(With 2 plates).
=
Mixed Bag.
PAGE
426
162
390
157
389
396
128
164
PiIttay, T. V. R., Hilsa catches -
on the Kodinar (Kathiawar)
Coast sae
PROUD, DESIREE, Sone birds
seen on the Gandak-Kosi
Watershed in March, 1951.
' (With a sketch map and a
plate) a mee tee
RICHARDSON, H. E., Stray Bird
notes from Tibet “
RIPLEY, S. DILLON, ‘ Notes on
some Asiatic Sturnidae
(Birds) ’—A Comment
RomER, J. D., M.1. BIOL., F.z.S., .
Surface-locomotion of certain
- Frogs (Aana), and the occur-
rence of &, taipehensis Van-
denburgh in India... nee
415
355
413
178
414
SANDRASAGARA, T. R,, F.R.ESS.,
A note on the Blood-sucking
Simulium of Ceylon
SANTAPAU, H., §.J., see BOLE,,
P. V., M.Sc.
—
» Critical notes
on the identity and
nomenclature of some Bom-
bay Plants. (With two plates).
——_——., Frerea indica
—
Dalz.—A new _ record in
Bombay
—————-——, A branched
Specimen of Costus speciosus
Smith >
or
-——, The flowering
of Strobilanthes in Khané
dala (IV) oes ae
SILAS, E. G., B.Sc. (Hons.),
Fishes from the High Range
of Travancore. (With two
text figures) 2.
——_— —_ -— uNotes on m hishes
of the Genus Glyptothorax
Blyth from Peninsular India,
with description of a new
species
SINHA, rSuNe TE see capri
RA, B. K.
STANFORD, J. K., Crab-eating
Chital
SUJANSINGANI,
JONEs, S. se
THIvY, FRANCESCA, see Gane
PATI, S. V. VENUGOPAL, S.,
B.Sc. (Zool.), B.Sc. (Bot.),
see ANANTHANARAYANAN,
K. R., B.A. (Hons. )
K. H., see
WINTERBOTHAM, JOYCE C,, A.
Wild Dog incident ...
WorTH, C., BROOKE, A nesting
colony of Small Swallow-
plovers in Mysore State
——-——, Descrip-
tion and discussion of the
biting of an Indian Land
Leech (Annelida ; Hirudinea)
WYNTER-BiytTH, M.A., A Na-
turalist in the North-west
Himalaya. Part I. (With
— atext map and two plates) ...
PAGE
421
427
430
323
367
398
163
405
423
344
LAST OL PEAY BS
VOLUME 50
Nos. 1 and 2
| PAGE
Jungle Memories.
Plate I. Sambar as) airs 4
My first Thamin ee i
Plate II. Blackbuck oe
Bull Nilgai . : \ :
Notes on Butterflies from Nepal.
Plate I. Papilios on wet sand—FPapilio memnon agenor, polytes
and paris (or gamesa?) can be recognized—also Cepora | ‘
nadina — ur ee
Aporia agathon at Godavari Nepal Valley, 7-5-1936 wae
Plate II. Cyrestis thyodamas at Godavari, Nepal Valley, 8-5-1947 ... 71
Forty years of Sport on little known Assam Rivers.
Plate I, Camping in comfort
The Boro Hattias vt
Plate II, Two good mahseer from the Barak
A mahseer and ‘ pakhi runga’ i tf
Survey of Economic Vegetable Products of J ammu and Kashmir,
Plate I. Gurez Valley—Artemisia growing area.
A view of Nichnai (12,000’) | . ma 104
Plate Il. Cimicifuga foetida (Aowering plants),
Phytolacca acinosa (fruiting) grows wild and is used |
| adulterating Belladonna roots and leaf.
Succession of the Mangrove Vegetation of Bombay and Salsette Islands.
Plate I. Ist Stage. Avicennia alba Association (optimum stage )
from Uran—near Bombay.
2nd Stage. Avicennia alba and Acanthus ilicifolius from |
_ Bandra. \
2(A) Stage. Ceriops candolleana and Acanthus ilici- |
}
105
158
folius from Mumbra.
3rd Stage. Avicennia alba from Bandra.
Plate II. 4th Stage. Sesuvium portulacastrum from Vadala.
Sth Stage. Sesuvium portulacastrum and ee
vepens from Mumbra—Diwa.
6th State. Aeluropus repens and Paspalum eae t 159
from Mumbra—Diwa. 7
i 7th Stage. Clerodendron inerme from Mambra’-Dives
Duration of Song in some Common Birds.
Plate I. I. Dhyal or Magpie-Robin (Copsychits saularis) 3. (graph)
oe ee
II. Crimson-breasted Barbet (Megalaima hemacephala) (do.) \ 180
Plate II, II. Yellow-cheeked Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys). (do.) \ 181
IV. Papiha or Brain-fever Bird (Hierococcyx varius.) (do.)
Jungle Memories.
Plate I. The Bison Swamp Boar
Scene of panther incident et 218
LIST OF PLATES
xii
PAGE
Plate II. With Thibaw’s elephants at Bhamo “1 919
My last tusker Sse \
The Birds of Coorg.
Plate I. Egyptian Vulture. one \ 246
Shahin Falcon. sas
Plate II. Jerdon’s Long-tailed Nightjar. se \ 247
Great Stone Plover.
The Hilsa Fishery of the Chilka Lake.
Plate 1. (1) A view of Balugan, one of the main fish assembling)
and exporting centers in the Chilka. Fish is being |
unloaded from the country boats seen in the fore-
ground. \. 266
(2) A view of the gilling nets in operation, in which hilsa
is caught.
(3) Stacking the net in boats and collecting the gilled fish
as they come in. J
Plate II. (1) A view of the Ambica Fishermen’s Co-operative)
Society, Balugan, with their offices in the page,
ground and fish godown in the foreground, where a
large number of hilsa specimens were ne
Carts parked near the godown contain ice blocks in
gunny bags. r 267
(2) A view of the baskets, in which hilsa and other fishes |
are packed and exported from the Chilka centres.
(3) Aview of the interior of one of the godowns, where
weighing and packing of fish are in progress.
Critical notes on the identity and nomenclature of some Bombay Plants.
Plate I. Fig. 1. Bridelia retusa Spr. :
Fig, 2. Bridelia sguamosa Gehrm. a
Plate Il. Fig. 3. Bvidelia roxburghiana Gehrm. : a
Fig. 4. Bridelia hamiltoniana Wall. :
A Naturalist in the North-west Himalaya.
Plate I. Mule train crossing the Bashleo Pass.
Gushu Pishu (18,610’) (right centre) and Kokshane (18,940’ )
(right) from near Darunghati.
Plate II, Manali—‘ The End of the Journey.’
Himalayan Griffon Vulture.
Some Birds seen on the Gandak-Kosi Watershed in March, 1951.
Plate I. Path running down to Pati Bhanjyang showing terraced
350
cultivation. :
|
\ 308
}
| \ 351
e
°
°
e
e
e
Sherpa hut at 11,000’.
A note on Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus Dalz.
Plate I, 1. Dry inflorescence.
2. Mature capsules
Plate II. 3. Dry seeds.
4, Seeds in water.
428
429
358
|
INDEX TOVILLOSTRATIONS
VOLUME 50
Nos. 1 & 2
PAGE
Acanthus ilicifolius | Cyrestis thyodamas
Plate I. a ‘ 158 Plate II.
Aeluropus repens Elephants
Plate II. ee sas 159 Plate II,
Aporia agathon Esacus vecurvirostris
Plate I. ia ae 70 Plate II.
Artamus fuscus Eudynamtis scolopaceus 3
Photo. Pe. we 174 Graph showing duration of
Avitennia alba song
Plate I. * as 158 | Falco peregrinus ( DePeE RINE:
Birds of Coorg. tor)
Map 20 Plate I, ae
Birds seen on the Gardai Kosi
Watershed in March, 1951.
Map ate aes 356
Plate I. a Ses 358
Blackbuck.
Plate II. Sa es 5
Boar, The Bison Swamp
Plate I. sed wee 218
Bridelia hamiltoniana
Plate II. Fig. 4 5 309
=—-———. velusa
Plate I> Hig. 1. hs 308
———— roxburghiana
Plate II. Fig. 3 ses 309
———— — sguamosa
Piate I. Fig. 2 ace 308
Butterflies from Nepal]. Map. 64
Caprimulgus macrourus
Plate II. wee ee 247
Carea subtilis
Text fig.1,2& 3 fiat 419
Cepora nadina
Plate I. aes Ste 70
Ceriops candolleana
Plate I. oes ose 158
Cimicifuga foetida
Plate II. eee se 105
Clerodendron inerme
Plate II. es a 159
Copsychus saularis 3
PlateI, Graph showing
duration of song aoe 180
Fishes from the High Rance, of
Travancore.
Pigwl. Maps. -.s. an
Griffon Vulture, Himalayan
Plate II.
flierococeyx varius
Plate II, Graph showing
duration of song aoe
Hilsa Fishery of the Chilka
Lake
Map
Plate I, ak
Plate II. es
Graph I,
Graph II.
Graph III.
Pext Lig, 2.
Text Fig 3,
Himalaya, A Naturalist in the
North-west.
Map
Plate I.
Plate II. fe tes
Machlolophus xanthogenys
Plate Il, Graph showing
duration of song ;
Marine Fauna of the Karwar
Coast and Neighbouring Is-
lands. Map
Megalaima haemacephala
Plate I. Graph showing
duration of song eee
PAGE
71
219
247
180
246
325
351
181
264
266
267
267
268
269
274
275
344
350
351
181
130
180
xiv INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS
Nemachilus giintheri
Fig.2 a & b ( Q speci- ;
mens). eee
Neophron percnopterus
Plate I. cee
Nilgai, Bull
Plate II. aoe oot
Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus
Plate I. see
Plate II. see
Panther incident, Scene of
Plate I. aS eae
Papilio memnon agenor
Plate I.
paris (or
ganesa ?)
Plate [. Sen
—— polytes
Plate I. ese
Paspalum vaginatum
Plate II. ese
PAGE
159
Petaurista philippensis lanka
(Young 3)
Photo.
Phytolacca acinosa
Plate II. ees
Sambar
Plate I. se
Sesuvium portulacastrum
Plate IL. eee os
Sport on little known Assam
Rivers, Forty years of
Plate I. cae
Plate II.
Thamin
Plate. 2.>
Vegetable Products of Jammu
and Kashmir, A survey of
Economic
Sketch map. ... eee
Plate I. ase
159
104
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Abies pindrow .. 102, 103, 104, 105, 106
——- webbiana nate Pry: ‘ge e268
Abisara echerius prunosa aes ee)
- .—— suffusa aaa en) abe
— fylla eet s Reem eG
— neophron Heopironoides Seer 282
Abrota ganga ... ‘ies es pace OL
Acacia caesia ... Was #3102311 Si2
- columnaris ses ae seat Oe
——- intsia ae sae 310, 311
-moniJiformis .. «. func 301
- torta Bag oot pete Stoke
Acanthus ilicifolius ae, ine 158, 159):-160
Accipiter virgatus a ene we = 201
Acer caesium ae 5 oa eer Le
—- pictum see weer eee oe wave = ~d02
Achillea millefolium ... sae =~ 103, 117
Aconitum chasmanthum we. 104, 106, 107
heterophyllum ... 104, 106, 107
——-- laevi oy ee 107, 108
——--violaceum ... uae ae LOB
Acraea issoria anomala Seiad asd tes' 87
issoria sete ls7 O7
Acridotheres cristatellus falas. ATS
—— grandis sea =~ 148
tristis wee www --2h, 56,-57
Acrocarpus oF coo ce) May) OL; 49,-54
Acrocephalus agricola ... aoe ans 51
- dumetorum aa on 51
se - stentoreus one sas ‘Spt
Acromitus vee an ws ore oe
Actaea spicata ... aes oo oe 108
Actitis hypoleucos ase an 200
Adonis chrysocyathus ... au ee 08
Aeaeus aa hy an oss 65
Aegiceras majus ae ose io OS
Aegithaliscus ioschistos ace 358, 362
Aegithina tiphia coe ese aes 30
Aeluropus repens aes 600 soe te LOY
Aeromachus jhora jhora_ _.., baz 295
——- stigmata stigmata a. 205
Aesculusindica . ae eee sell LIZ
Aethiopsar fuscus aoe sen 24 jo, DO8 OF
PAGE
Aethopyga nipalensis 365
Ageratum 356
Agrimonia pilosa 113
Aileantum patatum 103
Alauda gulgula eo 23
Albizzia os 22, 54, 55
Albunea Sy nista faicen LOL
Alcedo atthis 239
meninting 240
Alcemerops athertoni 239
Alchemilla vulgaris... a 113
Alcippe poioicephala .. 29
Alcurus striatus ine sae 355
Alectoris graeca 346
Alima ie 136
Allium rubellum ve 24
semenovii oe ly,
Alonella ss 14
Alosa sapidisima ah 270
Alphaeus Se bees OG
Alseonax latirostris eee seen AL
— —- muttui ae soon eS)
Amandava amandava ... _ 60
Amaurornis fuscus see out 1200
——- phoenicurus ves) 296
Amblypodia alemon 289,338
—- amantes amantes... 289, 338
—————- aresta aresta a eo 290
——+—-—-—- bazalus 289
—————- centaurus ... eee 331
eee - pirithous 289
—————.- chinensis eas fen wyreo.
a dodonea aie sea; 289
eRe ee A eumolphus eumolphus ... 289
—_—_-—_-—- ganesa ganesa ... oie 200
on oenea ales 289
a - paraganesa paraganesa... 290
--———-—-- paramuta a 290
—————- rama rama aaa 289
—————- singla see ose ae = 289
Ammomanes phoenicura _... 226
Amphora sion
Anabaena 14, 141
Xvi
Anabaenopsis :
Anabaenopsis sieceriena
Anaphalis
Anaphalis nubigena
Anapheis aurota aurota
Anastomus oscitans
Ancistroides nigrita diocles
Androsace duthieana
mucronifolia
—————- primuloides
——_-—— rotundifolia
——— sempervivoides
Anemonia
Anemone polyanthes
——- rupicola
————-- tetrasepala
Angelica glauca
Anguilla australis
bengalensis
Anhinga melanogaster
Ankistrodesmus
Anona reticulata
Anopheles
Anthus hodgsoni
nilghiriensis
— richardi
———--~ roseatus
— rufulus
- similis
—- thermophilus
Apatura camiba
Aphragmus obscurus
Aplocheilus lineatus
Aporia wat
Aporia agathon Raton
- caphusa
——
Appias albina
- lalage As
- libythea libythea
- lyncida eleonora
Apus affinis
Aquila chrysaetos
- pomarina
Aquilegia fragrans
———- jucunda
Arabidopsis himalaica ...
— mollissima
— thaliana
Arabis glabra
- tenuirostris
Arachnothera longirostra
ed
1.9328.19240-327
.. 225, 357, 365
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
141
14
105
117
7
261
295
120
120
120
120
120
132
108
108
108
106, 116
327
261
14
300
148
23, 225
413
175
225
225
225
335
110
326
354
70
70
333
71
333
71
409
351
410
104, 108
108
109
109
109
109
109
228
PAGE
Arceuthobium minutissimum ... 103
Archangelica himalaica 116
- officinalis 116
Arctium lappa a7
Atdea purpurea 261.
Ardeola grayii 262
Arenaria kashmirica aos 110
———— neelgerrensis 110
———— parviflora 110
Argya caudata 173
malcolmi Ee Wis
subrufa a q 21,28
Argynnis childreni childreni 86
————-- hyperbius hyperbius © 85
————- kamala wd 86
——- lathonia issoea 86
Arisaema wallichianum 127
Artamus fuscus 47
Artemisia 40: 105
Artemisia ae actin at a3: nA 106
—- brevifolia 103, 104, 106, 117
————-- dracunculus wei eek
—__——_-- grata 103, 107
——_——- japonica mee ay DELS
—_+—- laciniata .. 104, 106, 117
—-——- parviflora .. 104, 106, 118
———~—- siversiana eels
——_——- vestita 118
Artocarpus integrifolia “A 53
Arthrocnemum indicum 159
Asio flammeus 245
Asplenium viride Wag
Aster falconeri 118
flaccidus ; 118
——- heterochaeta cas Fores Jils)
—- molliusculus 118
Astragalus bicuspis .. 112
— himalayanus Feo: alee
——-—— longicaulis 112
———_ longifolius LL
-———_—— op lites 112
a orobrephes Jat
———— peduncularis 112
————_ rhizanthns 112
oe royleanus wong pede
—— — strobiliferus _ 106, 113
—— webbianus 113
Astur badius 250
—- trivirgatus pene!)
Astycus pythias bambusae 339
Atella phalanta Bes eas 86
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Atergatis a 138
Athene brama 24, 246, 407
Atriplex crassifolia 124
stocksii 159
Atylosia ee a)
Aulocera Bean imiads beanminoides a 77
—— brahminus 77
———— padma chumbica di
——<———- —————- loha 77 |
—_—_—-— padma 77
———— saraswati Ts
— swaha swaha ; 77 |
Avicennia 157, 160
Avicennia alba ... 157, 158
————-- officinalis 158 |
Azdirachta indica 179
Badamia exclamationis 339
Balaenoptera sp. 167
Balaenoptera indica 167
Balanus amphitrite 135, 136
Balanus tintinabulum ... 135
Bambusa arundinacea ... 22
Baoris farri farri 297 |
——-- kumara kumara sisi seapn i fede
——-- zelleri cinnara ... 339
Barbarea intermedia 109
-——_——- vulgaris 109
Barbus (Lissocheilus) Meee ponelepis: 14
———- (Puntius) amphibius 326
———- (———_-—--) curmuca .. 326
= (—_—_-) denisonit 327
———- (——_—-) dorsalis 323
———- (——-—--) filamentosus 325
———- (———-) lithopidos 326
———- (_—-—-) melanampyx 326
——-—- (———- ) melanostigma 327
———- (———--) micropogon... 528, 339
= (—__—__—_-) _m
periyarensis 323,024, 320,327
———- ( -) ophicephalus Sesh, BlOeo,
324, 326, 328
———- ( -) sarana 327
- (Tor) khudree malabaricus .... 326
Bargus lonah .. 367, 368, 370
Barilius bakeri alee Epa e148)
———- bendelisis SOLS) Go ROes,
—- gatensis 326
Baza jerdoni 251
Belladonna aes ast are pec lOT
Berberis oan 351,354, 355, 356
Berberis asiatica 70, 82
2
xVli
PAGE
Berberis vulgaris 359
Beroe ss poe
Betula utilis 102, 104, 106, 126
Bhavania australis 326, 330
Bibasis vasutana hee Eee west) 20%
Bombax 26, 31, 40, 47, 54, 55, 244
Bombax malabaricum prea gaa spore AS)
Borbo bevani 298
Bosmina 14
Brachypternus Beneiniensa 231
Brachypteryx major od 2053S
Brassica napus 109
Bridelia 307
Bridelia Neimiltontana 307, 303
———- retusa .. 307, 308, 309
Se — var, roxburghiana 309
———- roxburghiana 307, 309
——\—- scandens 307, 308
——_—— spinosa - 308
—————_~ squamosa .. 307, 308, 309
— — stipularis 307, 308
Broussonetia flabellifera 179
Bruguiera gymnorhiza sie seri wlso
Bubulcus ibis .. 156, 262, 410
Buchnera hispida ~ . 427
Buddleia 354
Bunium persicum 116
Bunodactis Ney
Bupleurum eanaieuarin 1S
————— lanceolatum 115
—- longicaule 115
———_——- tenue 115
——-——-—- thomsoni TS
Burhinus oedicnemus 257
Butastur teesa 249
Butea frondosa 295 9
Butorides striatus 262
Cacomantis merulinus ... 234
Caesalpinia sepiaria : hE
Cajanus indicus 299, 300, 301,
302
Calaenorrhinus ambaresa 339
Calamintha clinopodium 123
Calanus ... ees 134
Calappa She abe “ee fat aon
Calappa lophos ... Ge sts Seon
Calotropis procera 74
Caltha palustris 1¢8
Caltoris cahira austeni 297
-- tulsi tulsi oa A, 297
Campanula aristata_... ate ose: ot 220
xviii INDEX OF SPECIES
Ei PAGE
Campanula cashmiriana 120
-—— colorata var. tibetica 120
Camponotus 303
Camponotus pompretenee 184, 299, 302, 303
Cannabis sativa ... ae i 125
Cantharospermum 310
Cantharospermum scarabaeoides 310
Capella gallinago vee aye ne 200
-nemoricola | 260
— stenura isi oh. 352, 28260
Capra siberica 346
Capricornus Sader 346
Caprimulgus asiaticus oF 24, 245
——-—— indicus .. ... 24, 244, 365
——-—-——— — macrourus 244
————-——. monticolus 245
Caprona ransonetti 339
Cardamine impatiens 109
Carduus nutans as ie 118
Carea subtilis eee a eat 418, 419
Carinella 133
Carissa carandus oe erage
Carpodacuserythrinus ... aoe 61,. 364
Gases bulbocastanum 115
carvi eee es ae 103; 116 -
Cassia fistula Se a 179
laevigata ... sth He Be Je
Castalius caleta decidia ese
——— deleta decidia 337
———— rosimon rosimon ais 282, 337
Catachrysops lithargyria ay pet 016
—————strabo ... BAG 286, 337
Catapoecilma elegans major 292
Catia catla Bass sie sor I stall
Catopsllia crocale B33
—— - crotale 72
Catopsilia crocale jugurtha ‘eo
— florella gnoma fe
——-—— pomona oan aes 72, 333
—_—-—— - var. catilla- 72, 333
=—— --——— pyranthe oat ae 72, 418
ss +. pyranthe’... 333
Catreus wallichii 346
Caucalis latifolia Jil
Caverndlaria ““ ... 7? sc. <= an ee eyanos
Gedrela toona’ 410
Cedrus deodara a 126
Celaenorrhinus dhanada dhanada 294
a -munda 294
— ratna:tytleri 294:
Celtis australis rere 1125
Choaspes xanthopogon ... -.«..
PaGE
Centropus sinensis op 235°
Centrotus were ms 302 *
Cepora nadina amba Aa
- —-nadina ... a
- nerissa nerissa ae
phryne eae
Cerastium aoe eae 104, lieing
— dahuricum .. —... I10~
— —— trigynum ~.. a 110°
Ceratium oe Sree en eS Tate
Ceratium furca 1S
——-—— fusus coo oe
——-——-tripos ... bee “> 137°
Ceriodaphnia 3p aS
Ceriops candolleana re ee
Ceriornis macrolophus ... wie 346°
Certhia familiaris E9634
Cervus elaphus maral ... va 44"
Ceryle rudis Sone 2 99gg4
Cethosia biblis tisamena > 86 -
Chaerophyllum sp. 103 ‘
Chaerophyllum villosum 116
Chaetoprocta odata 288°
Chaetura giganteus B: 243 ~
Chaimarrhornis leucocephalus 413~
Chalcophapsindica —.... Aeon t 252
Chaptia aenea: ~ 48, 50°
Charadrius dubius wes D5!
—. - jerdoni 176 °
Charana jalindra indra 292
Charaxes fabius fabius: 332; 335
—---~— polyxena hierax = 79°
—-- —— ——-+—— imna 331, 3355
Charybdis A reldar wate 137; 590%
Chela boopis 327-
Chenopodium album 124:
——_—=— blitum --124-
—_-——---——. botrys 105, 124-
Chersonesia risa. 84
Chibia hottentota 49.
Chilades laius laius 285
Chilasa agestor. agestor we --~-66-
——-— clytia clytia 331, 332.
— —-— ——- dissimilis 331, 332
——-— -epycides epycides vo). 166:
Chiiaria kina cacharh 292.
—_—-—- —— kina 292.
——-— othona so? eae
Chloropsis aurifrons - 31
—-—— jerdoni cigk
294
Chotispora sabulosa
Chrysocolaptes festivus
Chrysomma
Chrysomma sinensis
Cicendela ...
Cicer soongaricum
Cinclus pallasi
Cinnamomum tamala,
Circus aeruginosus
macrourus
Cirrhina mrigala
——_—— reba
Cisticola exilis
— juncidis
Citrus aurantium
Clamator coromandus ...
———-— jacobinus
Clematis connata grata
———-— graveolens
———-— orientalis
Clerodendron inerme
Closterium
-Cluytia retusa =...
Cluytia squamosa
——-—— stipularis...
Codonopsis clematidea ...
————_——— ovata
———_—— rotundifolia...
————— sp.
Coladenia dan fatih
~ Colchichum luteum
Coleas Sa ac
Colias electo fieldii
——— erate erate
Collocalia brevirostris ...
—_——-— fuciphaga
Colotis amata amata
——— calois modesta ?
——— etrida
Columba elphinstonii
————. leuconota
palumbus
Colutea nepalensis
Conochilus
Copsychus saularis
Coracias benghalensis .
Coracina novaehollandiae (macei)
Cortusa matthioli
Corvus frugilegugs ~~
—-— guttacristatus...
— indrana ere
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
109
24, 231
24, 231
43
29
139
113
353
299, 300
seems 200
250, 366
15.1718
14 17, 18, 143, 146
ses 52
299, 300
Seats)
Zo 200
108
108
108
159
14
308
308
308
120
120
120
104
295
339
127
298
73
73
365
243
334
334
334
ee UR
355, 413
147
113
BAe: nas
36, 37, 179, 407
Autioy somitons
..47, 54
Ge Ome 196
153
oae ve
5D.
xix
PAGE |
Corvus macrorhynchos 20, SOL
“— ————-——-— intermedius... 413
—-—— Splendens 25, 407
- ——-—— splendens- 170
Corydalis ... 106
Corydalis govaniana 110
——-——- ramosa 110
——-—— thyrsiflora 110
Coryllis vernalis 237
Corylus colurna 126
Cosmarium_ 14
Costus speciosus ... 427
Cotoneaster Bhp
Cotoneaster micropayiley 113
Cousinea thomsoni 118
Crataegus She
Cremanthodium nerarerel 118
Cremastogaster 230
Crex crex : 148
Crocopus Bribe Aicoprens oe 25
Crucigenia 14
Cryptoplectron srtirornmacnt m 24, 255
Ctenoptilum vasava vasava 295
Cuculus micropterus 349°
——-— poliocephalus ... 234
Culicicapa ceylonensis 42
Cupha erymanthus lotis 86
Curetis acuta dentata 289 —
- bulis 288"
- thetis 338°
Cyanosylvia svecica 35
Cyclops 141
Cyclotella ~ 14
Cymbella 14
Cymothoa 13S
Cynanchum glaucum wee 121.
—— - jacquemontianum 12
Cynictus penicillata ai sos 2 904
Cynniris asiatica st ~ 20/4: 220% 309
———— Jotenia ... oe ae 227.
— minima we 228
zeylanica 227, 228
Cynoglossum lanceolatum 121
———- ——— micranthus P21
—_—— Sp. ats 103, 104
——- wallichii ... -L2ie
Cynthia erota erota 86_
Cyperus compressus 159
—— —— rotundus 159:
Cypridopsis -. ... pees is 14
Cyrestis:-thyodamas ganescha ... 83:
XX
Cyrestic thyodamas thyodamas
Dactylometra
Daemia extensa ...
Dalbergia latifolia
Danais aglaea aglaea
—~— chrysippus
limniace mutina
piexippus
———— septentrionis
Danaus aglea melanoides
———- limniace leopardus
——— — plexippus ie
~——-- sita
- —-sita
--— tytia
Danio aequipinnatus
Darpahanria ...
Datisca cannabinna
Datura bf
Datura fastuosa ...
Delias aglaia aglaia
agostina agostina
belladonna
horsfieldii
berinda boyleae
—— descombesi descombesi
eucharis Avs
—— hyparete indica ...
sanaca confusa ...
— oreas
—— —— sanaca
——w— thysbe pyramus
=e
Delphinium ranunculifolium ...
Dendrocitta leucogastra
vagabunda
Dendrocopos javanensis
Dendrocopus mahrattensis
Dendrocygna javanica
Dendronathus indicus
Dendrophasa pompadora
Dendrostoma
Dephine oloides
Dermestes vulpinus
Desmodus rotundus murino
Deudoryx epijarbas ancus
Diagora nicevillei
———- persimilis persimils
Diaptomus
Dicaeum concolor
-chrysippus chrysippus
-—— - hamata septentriornis
PAGE
83
vice, 182
300, 303
22s 20)
334
£ asad
334, 418
334
334
73
74
74
74
74
73
73
a3
326
295
105, 106, 115
ay 08
300, 303
7
70
353
70
za
71
70, 333
ay meZO
7A
A eal
70 eal
vi
108
. 24, 26
24, 25, 50
232
408
263
225
ie bs
134
106
139
395
292
80
fete
14, 141
229
INDEX OF SPECIES
Dicaeum erythrorhynchos
———— erythrorhynchum
Dichoceros bicornis
Dichorragia nesimachus
Dicrurus coerulescens
— longicaudatus
———— macrocercus
Digitalis purpurea
Digitaria marginata ...
Dilipa morgiana
Dinopium javanese
Diogenes
Diphyes
Dipsacus inermis
Discophora sondaica zal
Dissemurus paradiseus
Dissoura episcopa
Diurella_ ... fa
Dodona adonira adonira
——--— dipoea...
— nostia
Ses
~——- durga
—— -— egeon
——-— eugenes
—-— ouida ouida
Doronicum roylei
Dotilla
Draba alpina
- lanceolata
— -—memorosa
—-— muralis
--—- obscura
——- oreades
—-— petraea 360
Dracocephalum nutans
Dryobates hardwickii
———-— macei
——_——— mahrattensis
Dryopteris blanfordii ...
—_———— brunoniana
a filix-mas
———-—-~, odonotolma
Ducula badia ..
Dumetia
Dumetia aibomuiatis
——-— — hyperythra Cipie nines)
———_- ——_ - ——— albogularis
Echinospermum barbatum
Edgeworthia oar Soe
Edgeworthia gardneri ?
Egretta alba
24, 230, 232
PAGE
229
155, 410
241
soe), 80
24, 25,48 ©
. 25, 48
, 25, 48, 407
122
159
79
Zo
136
132
47
79
26, 49, 50
261
14
282
281
281
281
282
281
282
118
128
con Og
LO
110
110
nae LO
109
110
123
358,, 365
24, 230
127
127
127
103
252
43
52
29
i753
121
356, 357
356
261
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Egretta garzetta 261
——_—. intermedia 261
Elanus caeruleus on we 250
Eleusine é gat one oe 58
Elsholtzia areata 123
——~-—— densa 1123
Elymnias hypermnestra nada ea 79
——-—— malelas malelas as an 79
——--—— vasudeva vasudeva sae 79
Emerita asiatica 136
Enicurus maculatus 353
Epilobium angustifolium qES
—- cylindricum ITS
— latifolium 115
Erebia annada annada... at, ade 78
="caeca i. ake aA 78
hyagriva ... mee ane ie 78
——— hybrida ... ae wea ae 77
——— nirmala nirmala as aps 77
scanda opima ... or oe 77
Eremopteryx grisea 226
Eremurus himalaicus eG Pen Lo
Ergolis ariadne pallidior ae ees 87
——-— merione assama ae aie 87
——— ——-— taprobana 337
Eriboea athamas athamas 79,331
-————- dolon centralis ak aes aS
———— eudamippus eudamippus ... 79
Erigeron andryaloides ... 118
———— multiradiatus 118
—_——-— patentisquama 118
Erionota torus 296
Eritrichiuma strictum 121
Eryngium coeruleum 116
Erysimum melicentae : 170
Erythrina ZO pols Os 00), 49, 54, Bs, 418
Erythrina indica ss tee 55, 500
—— lithosperma 22, 30
Esacus recurvirostris 257
Esomus barbatus 323
Euaspa milionia F 288
Euchrysops cnejus 2a oe we 289
-—— contracta contracta 286
——— pandava pandava 286
Eucyclops oan : ny 14
Eudynamis prolonacens, 25, 179, 180, 235, 407
Eugenia ey BS 418
Eugenia jamabolaia 418
Euglena ace 14, 141
Eulipis athamas fe 335
Eumiyas al bicaudata ... eae » 23, 41
: xxi
PAGE
Eumiyas thalassina 41, 364
Eunotia see 14
Euonymus fae ttatands 12
Eupoyrbia cornigera 125
——— pilosa wae ue 025
— —— wallichii 193, 125
Euphrasia officinalis 122
Euphrosia officinalis aes 103
Euploea core core 74, 334
———— coreta coreta 334
———— mulciber mulciber 74
Kupolia wae aos est oe 133
Eurema blanda silhetana ra 75
———- brigitta rubella 72
———- hecabe fimbriata - 73
——~—- laeta laeta a 73
Euripus consimilis re 80
Eurystomus orientalis ... 238
Euthalia garuda anagama 2 335
———— ——— suddhodana ... 81
——— — julii appiades ae 80
——-—— kesava arhat 80
———— lepidea lepidea 80
———-— lubentine 351
———— nais forst 336
———— nara nara 81
——— patala patala ... ; 81
——-—-—- sahadeva sahadeya ... 81
— telchinia 80
Everes argiades indica ... Foe toss 7
- dipora dee a Ue -f0.83
- parrhasius parrWanive 283
Excaecaria agallocha 158
Excalfactoria chinensis 254
Fagopyrum ee sate 107
Fagopyrum esculentum 103
Falco jugger wae ane Bere te:
—-— peregrinus peregrinator 247, 410
—-— tinnunculus « 9865
SS ee (ebinrcatte ?) 248
i: ae (tinnunculus ?) 248
Felina cafra 03 “as ae 395
Ferula narthex ... aes 105, 106, 116
Festuca me ye oa0
Festuca myuros .. 340, 341
~ octoflora 341
+= tenella 341
Ficus x ae 22
Ficus ben ealenbis 300, 301
—- glomerata ... 50, 233
54
——~ mysorensis ne ts
XXli
PAGE |
Fimbristylis ferruginea ee mee he,
——————————- polytrichoi-
des re “es i655 sae os aloo
Flacourtia ramontchi ... Kae Pa 21300
Foeniculum Ad aids or ahs 68
Fragaria vesca ... B ate Pope ES
Fragilaria mars a ine eae 14
Francolinus franeolinus be w. 346
——pondicerianus... Ped pas) s)
Franklinia eee a ss ae 43
Franklinia gracilis See ae a 52
Fraxinus xanthoxyloides wes Bria E40)
Frerea indica... zs a, eee eT
Frustulia cee Bie seh ae 14
Fulica atra ee sae oy eo
Fulvetta vinipecta 4 = og? OY
Galerida malabarica ... 24, 226
Galium asperuloides Cat) rcth een wie
-boreale ... ws +e a 117
Gallinula chloropus Lf ee Pepe OG
Galloperdix spadicea ... i ee eee:
Gallus sonnerati gat ry va. 04
Garra jerdoni.... ae os: ae 20
——- mullya 143, 146, 326
Garrulax albogularis ... FS sen, dunes
— delesserti neh std de HE
Gaultheria e- ae ee -s. OG
Gelasimus a oe as siemeallias
Gemmaria mee zee Bee Bee hes)
Gennaeus hamiltoni... oes vente O4O
Gentiana carinata cae Ao Ce All
—--——— decumbens ... ny meee 7)|
———— marginata ... Sas 2yGe eral
——_—- serrata var. stracheyi sively obi
— -— stracheyi wate se eae isi
Geokichla citrina cyanotus.... sa 38
w———-— wardi... .. a ae 38
Geranium kishtavariense aa we ved
— rectum Ser at ee el
——-—— wallichianum ae soe ee
Geum elatum ABE cas oe ries! a)
-- urbanum Bare Chea 2. aS
Glareolalactea ... ie see 13 AOS
Glaucidium brodiei' ... aoe af 366
—-— radiatum ... wei 24, 246
Glaucoma wee oe sae oe 14
Glenodinium ae ae on 14, 141
Gliricida maculata se ba ww 385
Glossogobius giuris ... i ORE ARES 6
Glyptothorax 367, 368
Gly ptothorax premalatensis .. 368, 369, 370
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Giyptothorax annandalei « 367,.369, 370
———-——- conirostre var,
.. 367, 368, 370
poonaensis
——~———.-— dekkanensis... mice: TRICO
——_——--—— housei ... ae 367, 368,
369, 370
— -—_—__— lonah 367, 369,
370
——--——--—-- Madtaspatanusi.., acco, 07,
368, 370
———-—--—-— trawavasae 367, 368,
369, 370
Gonaphalium stewartii ... we Bee ele}
Gomphonema .«. eae ate aa 14
Gonepterix mahaguru mahaguru .. 72
—- - rhamni nepalensis oe 72
(soniastraea eco Sor 153 Bo SYA
Gorgonia wo ae ae sore 84
Gossypium herbaccumne va sons LO
Gracula religiosa aes ne ar 54
Graphiumagammemnon agammemnon 69
——-——— ———_-—_—-—. menides 332
——-—--— bathycles chiron doc 68
——-——cloanthus ... ns a 69
————- —— cloanthus | re 68
——---— doson axion ees Says 68
——— -— eurous cashmiriensis ope
———_—— —--— sikkimica .. 0.4... 68
——— — gyas gyas ... ane ae 69
———-— nomius nomius BOS N307
——--——_- sarpedon sarpedon sa A RY
—-——-—---teredon sarpedon ... wee eh ae
Grapsus strigosus Ac Ace aol 38
Grevillea : Ss a 38, 54
Grevillea robusta... ae fe “es 22
Grevillia or Gre ae .. 418
Gymnodnium... Abd ae oie SH
Gymnorhis xanthocollis oe ooo aslo mail
Gypaetus barbatus sie he Pe 20
Gyps fulvus Ne ees ee 176, 246
—— indicus 0 use 176, 246
Haemadipsa zeylanica ... dss see) AES
Halcyon pileata dies a Rens. 4)
——-—-smyrnensis ... ies 240, 241
Haliastur indus ee coe ape e49
Halobates Go aa sia ue SD.
Halpe kumara ... ee Soe ear eo
Hantzschia eee a ScriLt Bean ipa
Harpactes fasciatus ia ay, el
Harpodon nehereus cnet aires wegret) eee
Hasora alexis alexis... ays) Smeal 830
INDEX OF SPECIES
a PAGE
Hasora chromus chromus 294
Hebomia glaucippe australis ... 334
——-———— ——_-—— glaucippe 13.
Hedysarum astragaloides 113
Heliophorus androcles androcles 288
———— -— bakeri Tyrant <0)
———-—-— epicles indicus see 8 SOF
——_—— oda 288
—_———-— sena 287
————--— tamu tamu 288
Hemicircus canente 232
Hemiprocne coronata 243
Hemipus 47, 244
Hemipus picatus ... : 44
Hemitragus jemalahicus is 346
Heracleum sp. 104
Heracleum thompsoni .. 116
Hestina nama ae 69, 80, 82
Heteropneustes fossilis ... 20326
Hibiscus ae 227
Hieraetus Pecineds 248
—--— pennatus 248
Hierococcyx sparveroides 234
————-— varius... 179, 234
Hilsa ilisha 14, 246, 415, 416
——- toli Sate : 415
Himantopus HiMmenieous: ‘bd 259
Hippolysmata _... 136, 417
Hippolysmata vittata 416, 4)7
Hippohae rhamnoides ... .-- 104, 106, 125
- Hirudo medivinalis see 423
‘Hirundo daurica 62
-- javanica 62
——-- —— domicola 23
-— rustica 62
-- smithii 63
Horaga onyx onyx 292
‘Horaglanis krishnai 323
Horsfieldia anita anita ... 338
Huhua nipalensis car 245
Huphina nerissa phyrrne “i... 333
Hydrocissa coronata. . 241
Hydrophasianus chirurgus 406
Hypacanthis spinoides ... 365
Mrypericum «-. ve. “Mees Joe SOU
‘Hypericum perforatum 111
Hypolimna bolina: 84, 336
- -—— misippus ax | (336
‘Hypolycaena erylus himavantus 292
Hypothymis azurea a 43
Hyoseyamus niger =< ,,. 105
Iambrix salsala salsala. .
Ianthia cyanura tale
- rufilata
Iberidella andersoni
Ibla quadrivalvis (?)
Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus
Ictinaetus malayensis
Impatiens brachycentra
——— — edgeworthii
———-— flemingii
——-—— glandulifera
———— royleana big
roylei
———-— thomsoni
Imperata arundinacea ?
Indicapus sylvaticus
Indigofera
Inula/obtusifolia
—— - racemosa ive
——- rhizocephaloides
——- royleana ae
Iole icterica one aes
Ipomoea Fi
Iraota timoleon timoleon
Irena puella
Iris hookeriana
Issoria sinha pallida
——- sinha
Ixias marianne
-——-- pyrene ste ai
familiaris ...
Ixobrychus cinnamomeus
~~
—
—a>
-——— sinensis
Ixops nipalensis ... ‘ae
Ixora parviflora ... vee
Ixulus flavicollis
Jaeskia gentianoides
Jamides alecto eurysaces
-- bochus bochus
———--- celeno celeno
Jasminum arborescens
Jugians regia
Juncus himalensis
- membranaceus
Juniperus Fe
Juniperus ccmmunis :
-macropoda ...
— recurva
——-—— squamata
Jurinea ceratocarpa
- macrocephala ..,,
Exiil
‘PAGE
meee 4o 5
363
413
110
135
249
as 240
suerte
es 112
an ccc Clee
ree Spe 8/4
ae .. 106
NUL OS je 8
PZ
179
243
351
118
ww 18
soo 1S
118
24, 32, 34
- 227
289, 338
53
127
86
86
333
333
73
262
262
362
Ooo
356, 363
L035 120
287
286, 337
286, 337
173
102, 125
127
127
104
su «6126
104, 105, 106, 126
106, 107
104
ioe LG
103, 119
XX1V
PAGE
Kallima inachus inachus , 84
-— philarctus horsfieldii ... 336
Kandelia rheedii ae 158
Ketupa ceylonensis 245
Kochia prostrata 124
Labeo calbasu ae 17,
fimbriatus 17, 143, 146
Lactuca lessertiana 119
——--—— longifolia 119
—— -— scariola 119
Lagerstroemia indica 184
Laiscopus collaris nipalensis ... fea SATS
Laiscopus himalayanus 357, 364
Lamium album nee 123
Lampides boeticus 286
Lanius cristatus 44
-excubitor .. 408
———-schach 24, 44
a a 44
- vittatus 04, 43, 44
Lantana . 21, 27,828; 253,-204
Lantana aculeata 22
Larus argentatus 568 380
—— -——— argentatus 380
_——- smithsonianus 280
———— fuscus 380
Lavatera kashmiriana 111
Lavetera ie 107
Lawsonia alba ... as sia 390;,301
Leioptila capistrata a 363
Lepidagathis sphaerostachya ... 428 |
Lepidocephalus thermalis 326
Lepidopygopsis typus 327
Leptorhabdos benthamiana ee papelze
Leptosia nina nina 69, 333
Lethe confusa confusa ... 76
—- goalpara goalpara 75
——-insana dinarbas 76 |
——- jalaurida jalaurida 7s
——- kansa sss 76
——~- maitrya maitrya .. 19
—- nicetella 75
——- nohria nilgirensis 335
——- pulaha pulaha 76 |
———- rohria rohria 76
——- sidonis sidonis 75
—- vaivarta 75
——- verma sintica 76
_——- yama yama 76
Leucopolius alexandrinus Ailsena rinus 176
Libythea lepita lepita aoe 281
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Libythea myrrha sanguinalis... 281
Ligia Ase 135
Ligia exotica ape A 135
Ligustrum nepalense sate (I2GS
Limenitis danava : ro
—— -—— dudu na6 one 81
——-—— procris 336
a procris 81
——--—— trivena pallida aos ee ro
Lindelofia angustifolia 121
——-—— longiflora 103, 104, 122
Liothrix lutea aed 363
Lobipluvia malabarica 259
Lobivanellus indicus .«. 258
Lobocla liliana ignatius ie 294
Lonicera asperifolia 116
—— —— quinquelocularis 116
Lophoceros 404
Lophophanes ater B09
- ater aemodius 413
—_——- —_—— dichrous 362
———- melanolophus 359, 361
————--—— rubidiventris ... wo SBG2
Lophophorus impejanus 346, 366
Lophotriorchis kieneri coo 8248
Loranthus 229, 353; 354
Lotus corniculatus ao 113
Loxura aty mnus atymnus ave 290, 338
Lucifer ... ioe #3 36
Lumnitzera racemosa 157, 158
Lycaena pavana oes 287,
Lycaena phloeas indicus 287
Lycaenesthes emolus em olus 286
———-— lycaenina lycambes 286
Lycaenopsis albocoerulea 284
a argiolus sikkima 284
——————- cardia dilecta 234
———-—-—- jynteana ... a ge. ASE
——__—-—-—-- ladonides gigas ... 284
_-————-- lavendularis placida 284
a marginata 283
— puspa 338
—_———_—_- ——- gisca SaA 283
——___-—-—_- transpecta 284
———-—-—.- vardhana 284
Lychnis cachemeriana 111
- nutans eee cor 111
Macaca mulatta mulatta SHO pee o)
Machlolophus xanthogenys ... 26, 179, 180
Macrognetus aculeata 327
Macrotomia benthami 104, 122
Mahonia
Mangifera indica
Mastacembelus armatus
Matapa aria eee
Matuta victor
Meconopsis aculeata
Medicago falcata
Megalaima haemacephala
———— rubricapilla
—_——_- ——. virens
—— viridis
Megisba malaya sikkima
Melanitis leda ismene
—— ——- phedima bela
Melilotus alba
Melitaea arcesia irma
Mentha arvensis
- sylvestris
Mepeta connata
- glutinosa
- Sp. °f)
Merismopedia _... ade
Merismopedium ...
Merops leschenaulti
~ orientalis
- superciliosus
— =e
Metopidius indicus
Michelia
Michelia ebatmpacd
Microcystis
Micropternus Ghachiy anes
Micropus affinis ...
— melba ...
Microscelis psaroides ..
Microtarsus poioicephalu s
Milvus migrans ae
Mimosa pudica
— torta
Mirafra affinis
Molpastes cafer
Monophyes
Monotretus
Monticola Beclothyacha:
erythrogastra
— solitaria ood
' Morina coulteriana
Morus alba ae
indica: ~~...
~Moschus moschiferus
— Gavanigus)
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
358
299, 300 |
326
296
137 |
109
113
24, 179,
233, 403 |
24 |
319
232, 233
283
serra
ithoa238
24, 25, 238
24
228
257
355
69, 300
14, 141
230
243
242
By
gen 94
249, 408
253
312
24, 226
24, 31, 32
132
323
39
363
39
117
102, 125
301
346
Motacilla alba
cinerea
— —.
————-- flava aA
—— ———- maderaspatensis
Mougeotia
Munia malacca .,
Muntiacus muntjac
Musca wae
Muscicapa parva ;
Muscicapula hyperythra
——-- pallipes
-———- ——-- rubeculoides
——-- tickelliae
Mussaenda hirsutissima
| Mycalesis francisca sanatana
—— —— - heri
--——_—- —- lepcha
lepcha
——-—- malsara
———-- mineus mineus
- polydecta
— ——- nicotia
— —-perseus
- blasius
——-—-- suavolens suavolens
—- visala visala
Myiophoneus caeruleus
—————-- horsfieldii
————-—-- temminckii
Myonax pulverulentus
Myosotis sylvatica
Mystus cavasius
- malabaricus
- vittatus we
Nacaduba dubiosa indica
a kurava euplea
——-——- nora nora
eee oe
a eee pactolus HeRGRCTAAIS
—————-- viola
Naja haje
Nasturtium palustre
Navicula
Nelumbium speciosum
Nemachilus denisonti
———_-—-—- evezardi
————-—-- gtintheri
—_——_——_—- triangularis
Nemorhaedus goral
Neophron percnopterus
Nepeta clarkei
... $23, 324, 326
XXV
PAGE
4 224
224, 353
275
224
14, 141
59
346
139
40
ae 40
34, 40
40
40, 41
426
74
75
350
Fe)
75
74
330
79
335
74
Ths)
iis)
349
39
364
395
122
326
327
327
287
287
287
287
338
432
A. lO
14, 141
102
327, 329
me 307
326, 328
326, 327
346
246, 410
123
XXVi
Nepeta eriostachya
—— govaniana
———- salviaefolia
———- Sp. -
Neptis ananta merece
antilope melba ...
— —— cartica cartica
—— columella
—- ophiava
hordonia hordonia
hylas astola
——_- ——- varuna
— mahendra
——— manasa
——— miah miah
——— nandina susruta
—-— narayana nana ...
——— nycteus nycteus
——— sankara
——_ ———- quilta
———_ —_—_—_- sankara
—--— yerburyi :
—~ —— —-- sikkima
—— ———-- yerburyi
Neptunus aa coe
Neptunus pelagicus ...
- sanguinolentus
——
oo
Nettapus coromandelianus
Neuracanthus lawii
—_—__-__—_—_—- sphaerostachyus
—_—__—___——-- tetragonostachyus
Ninox scutulata
Noctiluca
4
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
123
123
123
105
83
83
83
336
82
83
82
82, 336
_ 82
83
83
82 |
ane 83
83
&3
83
83 |
82
83
aan 83
135,137
137
137
263
a. 428
428
428
246
Mae seul
Notocrypta curvifascia cunvifesel Sea ZO
Notopterus notopterus
Nucifraga caryocatactes
Nycticorax nycticorax ...
Nyctiornis athertoni
Ochlodes brahma
Ochotona roylei
Ochromela nigrorufa
Octopus apollyon
Ocypoda eee
Oedogonium
Ompok bimaculatus
Onosma echiodes
—- kashmirica
Oocystis nee ode
Ophicephalus gachua ...
Ophicephalus striatus
—— feisthamelii alysos ©
296
327
349
262, 407
175
297 |
345
23, 42
435
138
14
326
104, 122
122
van v4
eve csi 926
tre 327.
PAGE
Ophrysia superciliosa .. ee sic, aie
Orchis latifolia ... coat STAR eee 126
Oreocincla dauma 23, 38, 363
Origanum vulgare eee rio Si" amet ao
Oricoma damaris _ ...... ¢ icpeapee ge eee
Oriolus chinensis... én ves. o> OA
——— oriolus 24, 25, 54
——— xanthornus .. 24, 25, 54, 407
Orobanche cernua ae, Bia a. 123
——_————- orientalis ... Sei eons 7% 1
————- sp. rime Fees hie OS
Orsotrioena medus node us i ee 78
Orthotomus sutorius io. cae SI
Oscillatoria wae 14, 141
Otinotus * ee Sie Ny ~ sew eee
Otinotus oneratus 183, 184, 299, 300,
301, 303
Otocompsa jocosa 24, 31,32, 34
Otus bakkamoena fe ie res <u
Ovis ammon hodgsoni .. dae 1a 1 BE7
Owenia aes ab care maaeled 4
Oxyrachis fenicala cee) aeceeoes SUD
Oxytropis:thomsoni) 75.0% 0c see j 7 AS
Padrona dara roll sees, SERBS seen) yr
Paeonia emodi aids i asic B08
Pagurus vor dee aes eee Seta go
Pandanus aa ole Zoos eco
Pandorina Re ni chk ay eee
Panicum miliaceum ... oe bburaoy
Panthera pardus ine coum pve, 346
Pantoporia cama Be oe ace 81
—_———-- inara ies ame ao
————-- jina, Jina. 2. ca bee 82
—_——_—--- nefte inara ... hath “tin 81
—_———-- opalinaopalina... “6 82
————-- perius Dep cert ites, mee
——-—-—--- selenophora selenophora .. 82
Panulirus sa ae wo <i, pee
Papilio 66 ee 68, 352
Papilio arcturus arcturus tt OF,
——— aristolochiae ... ehh S axe pastO7
“——-— bootes janaka ... 5 iac.- as 366
==. chaom chaon ue) sy eeioy
—-—_w— demoleus demoleus... ‘68, 332
=—=-——— Mector “Was Seahrebeinan seni OZ
——— helenus kelenus | Suet Cade
— 68
——— ———— ladakensis.... «=. 68
~—_-—- memnon agenor see FC) suew >? 200
———— ——_—_-- alcanor .~ sgaphieieo- 00
——— paris paris cape see ge 2 67
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Papilio polyctor ganesa 67
——— polymnestor a 332
—_-——- polymnestor 331
_——— polytes 332
—_—— ——— romulus : 67
—— — ——— stichius 67, 332
—--—— protenor euprotenor =: 67
——— rhetenor rhetenor 67
Paramoecium od 14
Paraquilegia prandificra 108
—————— sp. 104
Pararge menava menava 76
———- schakra schakra 76
Pareba vesta ce 354
Parnara guttatus Sania 298
Parnassia affinis 114
Paranassius delphius 298
————-—-- hardwickei hardwickei ... 69
Parrotia jacquemontiana 102
Parus major Se 23, 26
_ ——- monticolus Ponticolngt 413
——- xanthogenys 408
Paspaluin vaginatum = 159
Passer domesticus . 61, 171, 408
Pastor roseuS ... 55, 156
Pavo cristatus .. 253
Pedalion se oat 14
Pedesta masuriensis 295
Pediastrum 14
‘Pedicularis bicornuta 122
—_——-—.- pectinata ... 122
—_————-- pycnantha ... 122
————-- pyramidata 122
——— ---- roylei 122
————-- siphonantha 122
——_—--—-- sp. aie 103, 104, 106
——_——-- verticillata ... 122
Pellorneum ruficeps 29
Pelopidas mathias mathias 297
————-- sinensis 297
Penaeus 136
Pentaptera cromitata 306
——-——--- tomentosa ... 305
Penthoceryx sonneratii 234
Perdicula asiatica 24, 255
Pericrocotus flammeus 24, 46
———_—_-—_- peregrinus 24, 46, 408
Peridinium % 131, 141
Perissospiza carneipes ... 364
—————- icteroides .. 349
Pernis ptilorhynchus 291
RX vij
PAGE
Petaurista philippensis .. 164
Phacus 560 14
Phalacrocorax niger 261
Philyra scabriuscula 137
Phlomis bracteosa 103, 124
—- setigera sca ys) DZS
Phoenicurus frontalis 363, 413
ochruros ... oe 35
Phylloscopus affinis 361, 364
- — proregulus .. 364
——— —— pulcher 357, 361, 364
spp. : 52
Physalia 5c 132
Picrorhiza kurrooa 104, 122
Pieris brassicae nepalensis 70
-——-- canidia indica 70
——-- formosa 356
—-- napi montana 69
—-- ovalifolia 357
Picus chlorolophus 230
——- xanthopygaeus 230
Pimpinella 88
Pimpinella clarkeana 88
— urceolata eel 89
Pinnularia sot ase mes 14
Pinus excelsa ~ 102, "103, 104, 105,
106, 120
——- gerardiana 102, 105, 106, 126
——- longifolia 351
Piprisoma agile 229
Pitta brachyura 229
Platanus orientalis 125
Pleurobrachia 133
Pleurococcus 14
Pleurospermum condone! 116
- densiflorum ... 116
Pleurotaenium Pr 14
Ploceus manyar ane 58, 59
- ocularis 433
———- philippinus 37, 408
Podiceps ruficollis 263
Podophyllum 107
Podophyllum emodi 109
Poinciana regia 179
Polyalthia longifolia 184
Polycirrus 134
Polydorus asd 354
Polydorus aristolochiae 33
ase: aristolochiae. 66
—-—-—— dasarada ravana 4. ste 66
—— ——- hector 290 ase 332
| xxviii
PAGE
Polydorus latreilleilatreillei ... sis 66
—— ——-- philoxenus 350, 354
—_—_——_ —— philoxenus ... 66
—— plutonius pembertoni ... 66
Polygonatum geminifolium ... Hine. 04
Polygonum affine aoe see Tape ee es
--——— -alpinum #2... + 103, 124
—--—-—_ - amp lexicaule Ere ee Od
—————— dumetorum a4 as A
——- ——-- lapathifolium fe remakes (9
————_——-- paronychioides ... eyrent tl 5
———_——-- persicaria ... am Ue emu
—_-———- rumicifolium sie ee CLAS
—— - tortuosum ... re Hv a25
ae - viviparum Bd fa O24
Polyommatus astrarche a Ne 20
-eros ariana ae qe e929
—— -——____- - —-- stoliczkana foe 2OO
-galathea galathea -.... 285
Polytremis eltola cltola Mila peeled,
-Pomatorhinus horsfieldii ee ey! 28
Polemonium coeruleum fs ero ee
Populus alba ane 8 oe 103, 126
Populus ciliata ... see on oe OS
~- nigra var. pyramidalis ae P26
Porcellana <s ee ee 136
Poritia hewitsoni hewitsoni .., Sa aoe
Porphyrio poliocephalus ao Sie wee
Porpita wae hs ee See ese
Potanthus confucius dushta ... gcse Or
—_——_-- dara ae ie ace e200
—— ——--- pseudomaesa clio ... nak eo
Potentilla argyrophylla a al peep al S
—— -——-- curviseta ow “es vovvegpl ll 4
——-——-- desertorum ... big desta pedal
——-——-- fragarioides ... ons tomeL a
—_———- gelida wes des siayedd4
————- kashmirica ... ‘ce coe atauaet ate
——--—— leucochroa ... weg Slogan aa
——-——-- multifida 154 sax eels:
——-——nepalensis ... sig win (tlie
—— ——- reptans os ae oe elle
———- sibbaldi oa a vee apa
————- supina oe is sean ke
Prangos 588 cae oe LOS
Prangos pabularia 38 104,416
Pratapa bhotea ... ae a deer col
——- blanka argentia aa evpeicok
- - cleobis we wee 37-2 OL
_ctesia tes aa nee 291
= devalila 97. . «:.. a, aa 291
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Pratapa icetas icetasna i2. as ae OST
Precis ae Be Lit ¥ Po Cises 50
Precis almana almana 84, 336
—--atlites 30 ie bis a 84
——-- hierta hierta ms 84, 236
——--iphita pluvialis ... ae Wee 10)
——-- —-siccata_... ia ae 85
——--lemonias persicaria... vee 84
—-- ———— vaisya ae HiT aes ao
——-- orithiya a, e inte 30
-———-- ———--- swinhoei * Hi 84
Primula denticulata ... Be 2 E20
—- elliptica phe ts ie a2 0)
Primuloides ay, = RO ATNOL
Prinia inornata . fe ‘ 53
——-- socialis ae Ln 4 50
——-- sylvatica te RG “8 oO
Propasser thura af igs ore BOE
Prunella atrogularis ... ii Re 2) 8)
— strophiata oe oh A, Saray
Prunus armenica ae ae an eo rey he
- jacquemontii ... ane wee cue vie
- padus eb ec woonth eZ
Pseudergolis wedah ... ae es 84
Pseudogyps benghalensis cs wis oT PaLO
Psittacula columboides 24, 237
— cyanoceprala 24, 226
————-- eupatria : 24,236
——- krameri » 24236, 409
Pteropus giganteus ala aie ae MAO
Punica granatum aed oes se te OZ
Pycnonotus cafer ea ae ser OM,
——- gularis 33, 34
——- luteolus 24, 33
Pyrola rotundifolia can 505 LC6, M13
Pyrrhocorax graculus ... eA <a
pyrrhocorax was Ree 2)
Pyrrhula erythrocephalus ys 354, 413
Python molurus are Ace so. GUS
Quercus incana fe Bee oe ek
-- semecarpifolia 352, 358
Rallus eurizonoides ee A Jf, ZS
Ramphalcyon capensis on ax ye 220
Rana = ese aoe Mies wee Al
Rana cyanophlictis... ‘i ete af
erythraea 46: fe ae
taipehensis 414, 415
Ranunculus aquatilis var. trichophyllus 108
——-—— hirtellus.... aa ees
——--——— leetus en ae: to OS
——-——. munroanus Let 4.2 08
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
| Ranunculus trichophyllus 108 |
Rapala melampus ZUG ROOT,
— nissa nissa 293
——— - pheritimus petosiris 299
— refulgens TAS
——~—— schistacea 2935, S37,
-——-—-— scintilla 293
——-— tara ee 209
——-— varuna iavelina 37
— -— — orseis 293
Rasbora daniconius 326
— rasbora 327
Rathinda amor ; ; 3:8 |
Regulus regulus HAM cendis 413
Rhamnus Bu
Rhamnus Rroattats 12,
— -— virgata Le
Rhapicera satricus satricus Ti.
Rheum emodi 125
- webbianum 25
Rhipidura aureola 43
Rhizophora mucronata 158
Rhododendron arboreum 120, 358
- barbatum 259, 361
——— campanulatum 120, 359, 361
—- falconeri 358, 359
- - sp. 107 |
Rhopocichla : 29
Rhopocichla atriceps . 30, 42
Rhopodytes viridirostris 235
Rhyacornis fuliginosus ... 353
Ribes nigrum 114
—- orientale 114
Riparia concolor ... > O62
— rupestris 61
Rosa macrophylla 114
Ros tratula benghalensis 257
Rubia cordifolia 117
Rubus 27
Rumex acetosa 25
Sacculina 135
Sagartia ... ee 1325136
Salix alba... 126
—- flabellaris ... 126
-— — hastata ane 126
-—— lindleyana var. latifolia 126°
——- tertrasperma 126
—-sp. ... 3 102, 104, 106
Salvadora persica 159
Salvia glutinosa ... 105
—— hiana 107
RXix
PAGE
Salvia moorcroftiana 124
Sambucus wightiana 105; - 107
— wightianus ... 116
Saraca indica S73
Sarangesa dasahara aaa ara 295
---— desahara 339
Sarcogyps calvus 246
Saussurea 104, 107
——-— candolleana 19
——-—— falconeri Wg
——-—— lappa ... 103, 104, 106; 107, 119
Saxiccla caprata aes ae Bee 213)
—_—— — caprata Bh, nee 23
_———— —nilgiriensis ... sty 23
— torquata er ute 35
Saxicoloides fulicata 35, 36
Saxifraga androsacea var. tide tata 114
ae flagellaris 114
——_-—— ligulata LU3; 115
——-—— odontophylla 115
——--—— sibirica as
——-—— sp. 104
—_—— -— stracheyi i>
Scabiosa sp. 105
speciosa 15s
Scenedesmus aa ace as eee 14°
Scenedesumus 141
Scirpus ferruginea liste
Scolopax rusticola 260 |
Scorzonera diraricta We)
Scrophularia griffithii .. 104
—-- himalensis 122
—-- polyantha 122
Scutellaria prostrata 124
Sedum crassipes 115
ewersil si 115
quadrifidum ae we 115
rhodiola oe os 115
Sp. se ies ... 103, 104, 106
Seicercus xanthoschistos 364
Selenarctos thibetanus 346
Selenastr um sas ee er aa’ 14
Selinum papyraceum 116
——— vaginatum 116
Sempervivum acuminatum 115
Sendcis nahoor (error for Pseudois)... 346
Senecio chrysanthemoides 103, 104, 106
— jacquemontiana 103; 104
- — jacquemontianus ye)
- pedunculatus 119
- thompsoni 103, 119
XXX
Sephisa chandra Bae
— albina
—
Sertularia eae
Seseria dohertyi aenetiy
Sesuvium portulacastrum
Sicyopterus griseus
Silene inflata By
——— kunawarensis ...
——— moorcroftiana
——— tenuis
——— venosa ... aes
Silonopangasius childreni
Silundia sykesi ... ewe
Simulium :
Simulium grisescens -
indicum
——-—— striatum
Sinthusa chandrana
— nasaka pallidior
Siphia strophiata
Sisymbrium himalaicum
—-—— mollissimum
-—— thalianum
Sitta castanea .. aoe
——- frontalis
——- himalayensis
ees ett oe,
Siva strigula ily 6c ads
Skimmia ... =
Skimmia laureola
Smilax macrophylla
Solanum tuberosum
Solidago virga-aurea
Sonneratia acida...
apetala
Sovia grahami
Spalgis epius epius
Spiala galba so es
Spilornis cheela ...
—
Spindasis lohita himalayanus
~ —-~— lazularia
——-- ——. syaina peguanus.
——-—— vulcanus vulcanus ...
Spiraea _
——--— affinis :
Spirorbis ee eee
Spirulina nas 500
Spizaetus sae a ee
—-—--——. nipalensis
Sporobolus glaucifolius
a ae orentailis ceo ee
nipalicus nipalicus ...
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
a19s 82
79
131 , 136
goo, 324. 927
294
159
323
Tit
111
1
11]
lil
323
421, 422
421
422
421
293
293
364
109
109
109
+ 24, 27
sued 27
358, 363
362
67
111
85
103
119
158
158
296
. 282
295
248
290
337
290
290
337
351
114
134
14
248
248
159
159
Sporobolus pallidus
Squillia
Stachys sericea
Stachys sericev var. apna
Staurastrum
Stauroneis
Stellaria bulbosa
--— crispata
——--— cuspidata =
——--— davidi var. hinialaiee
——=- monosperma ...
——--— subumbellata ...
Stenothoe
Sterna aurantia ...
—--— melanogaster
Sternaspis a
Stibochisma nicea nicea
Stipa sibirica ee
Streptopelia chinensis ..,
——-—- —-— decaocto
——-—-—— orientalis
———-—— senegalensis
Strix aluco ? ane
indranee ... ons
Strobilanthes mas
Stromateus Seca teas Fes
Strychnos nux-vomica ...
Sturnia malabarica mae
— + — blythii
Sturnus contra ‘
——--— —-— sordidus
———-— malabaricus malabaricus
——-—tristis ..
——-— vulgaris
Stylonichia
Suaeda fruticosa
Suestus gremius gremius
Surendra biplagiata
Surniculus lugubris
Suya “0 Age
Suya criniger
Swertia perfoliata
———— petiolata
——-—— Sp.
————. thomsoni .
Symbrenthia hippoclus nase
————--— hypselis cotanda
Symplocos sumantia ..
Synedra
— quercetorum quereetorum a5
14, 141
PAGE
159
135, 136
124
124
14
14
111
111
T1
111
Jub
2 al
135
258
258
ae
be 80
102, 107
24, 253, 408
24, 253
24, 252
24, 253
366
ae tS
21, 30, 34, 42, 52,
254, 257
135~
354
55
55
407
17a
174
407
148
14
159
cao
. 5898
290°
235
356
349
121
121
103
121
85
85
1355
e's See
INDEX OF SPECIES
Thecla birupa ... ows see
ie 288
—_—_—_—_——— Cee
PAGE
Syntarucus plinus 263, 338
Tabanus © eee, lO
Be icdesgana athos se 294
———-— litigosa litigosa 294
———-— menaka menaka 294
ae illurgis 291
—- iilurgoides ve 20d
——-—. jangala ravata se 2G
——-— }uculentus nela 292
= -_- maculata’ 292
——-— yajna istroidea Mas Thee 40) |
Tamarindus indica ... 299, 300, 303
——__—-— indicus Pte et 170
Tanacetum falconeri 119
pe _---__ longifolium® ” 119
Taractocera ceramus ceramus "339°
—-——.— danna aed sere (0
Be. -— maevius sagara | eet ZUG
Taraxacum officinale’ ee ag:
Tarsiger brunnea y 34
Tarucus callinara Bip re tyhe Cee 283
——.—_-dharta nh E983"
Taxus baccata 13 796
Tchitrea paradisi 2 25, 23 353
Bicrebella ek RED SO
Teinopalpus =~. ee “69, 82-
Teinopalpus imperialis aoe (3016S
—-—~. impérialis = O95
Telchinia violae be Jans Mas 337
Telicota ancilla bambusae ~~... 297
Temenuchus pagodarum’” ,... 56
Tephrodornis... 47, 244
Tephrodornis gularis 24, 45
ee = pondicerianus 24, 46
Terias hacabe simulata wae 333
laeta sae ae oe 333
o—— libythea 333
——— venata venata % 333
Terminalia belerica ve 49
———-—— coriacea .. ihe 305, 306
——-—— crenulata .. 305, 306
——-— glabra var. anion 305
———-—— tomentosa ... 22, 305, 306
-—— ——--——- var. crenulata. 306
Tetraodon (Monotretus) travancoricus 323
Tetraogallus himalayensis ... woe . 346
Thalamita <a we 137, 138
Thalictrum cultratum cose 0S
_—— foetidum 109
— minus 104, 109
Thecla icana
—-syla assamica
Thlaspi cochlearioides ...
Thoressa aina a
—— gupta gupta ...
Thymus serpyllum
Tockus birostris ...
- griseus ...
Tragopan melanocephala
‘Tragopogon pratense
Trapa bispinosa
Travancoria
Travancoria jonesi
Trifolium sp. nae Pf
Triglochin palustre
Trigonella emodi var. pedserie
‘Trimeresurus gramineus
Tringa glarecla ...
-—— ochropus ...
Trochalopteron affine
re eee ee
Jerd Ont...
aaa ae Cau
Troglodytes troglodytes
Troides aeacus aeacus ...
—»—— helena cerberus ©
Prollius-acauhs-... -" sv.
Tropidonotus piscator ..
Tubulanus us
Tumidicoxoides jambolana
Turdoides oct ase
Turdoides sommervillei
—-——— striatus
~—— terricolor
Turdus boulboul ...
——— simillimus
Turnix suscitator
Turritella
Turritella acutangula
Tussilago farfara
Typha
Udaspes folus
Upupa epops aa
Urocissa erythrorhyncha
—_——— flavirostris
Uroloncha kelaarti
malabarica
punctulata
—- — striata
we 24, 241,
- affine affine
cachinnans -
‘variegatum ~
KxKI
PAGE
ce ie 200
288
110
296
296
124
241
403
346
119
102
324
330
103
127
ala}
414
260
260°
ye Peete (53/2
esl a ALS
23, 747)
DO Od
349, 362.
we aes OZ
aah we 863.
66
oe ae 65.
oun »- 109
183
133
418
oy 43
24, 27, 28
24, 27, 28
172
363
37
255
132
132
119
sc. 102
295, 339
241
353
353, 361
60
24, 60
60
24, 59
24,
526, 329,
Xxxli
Ursus arctos ae
Valeria valeria hippia ...
Valeriana ee
Valeriana dioica ...
———_— hard wickii
———-— jaeschkii
———— pyrolaefolia
———— wallichi
Vanellus vanellus
Vanessa canace canace ...
——-— ——— himalaya
——-—— cardui :
—-—— cashmirensis aesis
—-—~— indica indica a
——-— xanthomelas fervescens
Vaucheria ;
Verbascum thapsus
Veronica becabunga
—-—— deltigera
———— hirta
—_— serpyllifolia
Viburnum
Viburnum nervosum
Vicatia conifolia ...
Vicia faba
—-tenuifolia ...
Viola odorata
—-— sylvatica a
Virachola perse ghala ...
—— —— perse
Viscum album
PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS—14-9-1953. (C8793
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
346
73, 334
106
117
104
117
104, 117
103, 117
153
85
4 ot 8S
85, 336
85
85
85
ea Welt
103, 122
122
122
122
122
357
102, 116
116
Be
113
110
110
338
293
123
PAGE
Viscum album spp. 229, 354
Vivia innominatus ae 232
Walpig |... a3 50 340
Vulpia megalura 340, 341, 342
—— ———— myuros See Le
——— myuros 340, 341
—octoflora ... - 340
Wrightia tinctoria reels)
Xantho : Be oN 138
X (antholaema) rubricapilla ... 233
Ypthima baldus ... : 335
———— ——— baldus... 18
———— ceylonica kasmira 78
—— —— hubneri S30
————— nareda newara 78
—— —— sakra nikaea 78
Yuhina gularis 362
- occipitalis 362
Zanthoxylum ajiatum €7
Zeltus etolus He 292
Zemeros flegyas indicus seco: om TOOL
Zizera lysimon 285, 337
Zizera trochilus putli 337
Zizeeria maha maha 285
-- otis otis 285
~- trochilus trochilus .. 285
Zizyphus jujuba 102, 299, 300, 301
————-oenoplia ... : .- 300
————-- spp. 105
Zoanthus eee 183
Zosterops palpebrosa 227, 408
‘
@ '
_ de® :
x 4
: : 3
*
‘ 2 ~ a .
al _
oka eel
eo ‘ ;
’ a a fi
me ‘ ao
/ 7 }
ane
\ .
,
“ "
wt
:
'
: :
J
ra
.
)
.
“
‘
oe VS
aes 7
( ee |
wt Xe
aa |
Fi jane. | |
By
7 | |
Public life makes many demands
upon the time of the individual,
whose many engagements can
only be carried out smoothly if
due regard is paid to an orderly
schedule. Obviously, the first
essential is a reliable time.
keeper, for no schedule can be
kept without one. Men of affairs
know the value to them of a
*West End’ watch—its dependa-
bility ensures the perfect timing
of their daily programmes.
The All-Sports All-Proof
*‘SOWAR PRIMA SPECIAL ’
West End P
t. Everbright Steel ... Rs. 173 |
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50, No. 1
JUNGLE MEMORIES. Part IX. By Lt.-Col. E. G. Phythian-Adams,
O.B.E., F.Z.S., 1.4. (Retd.) (With two plates)
BIONOMICS OF THE MRiIGAL, Cirrhina mrigala (HAM.) IN SouTH INDIAN
WATERS. By P. I. Chacko and 8S. V. Ganapati
THE BIRDS OF CoorG. ParTI. By F.N. Betts. (With a map)
NoTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL. PaRTI. By Lt.-Col. F. M. Bailey,
cC.1.E. (With a map and 2 plates)
Two NEw SPECIES OF PIMPINELLA. By M. L. Banerji
Forty YEARS OF SPORT ON LITTLE KNOWN ASSAM RIVERS, PARTI. By
W.E.D. Cooper. (With 2 plates)
SURVEY OF ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR.
By L. D. Kapoor, R. N. Chopra and I. C. Chopra. (With a sketch
MAP) «+. ao6 ee eae :
STUDY OF THE MARINE FAUNA OF THE KARWAR COAST AND NEIGHBOUR-
ING ISLANDS. PARTI, By A.M. Patil, m.sc. (Witha map)
ON AN INTERESTING CASE OF CARP SPAWNING IN THE RIVER CAUVERY AT
BHAVANI DURING JUNE 1947, By S. V. Ganapati, K. H. Alikunhi and
Francesca Thivy seis ates :
BIRDS AND EcoLoGy. By M. D. Lister
SUCCESSION OF THE MANGROVE VEGETATION OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE
IsLANDS. By B.S. Navalkar. (Wzth 2 plates) ...
REVIEW :—
1, Nature through the Year. By Frances Pitt. (H.G.A.)
ADDITIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S LIBRARY
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
1. The Indian Wild Dog. By A. Middleton (p. 162). 2. A Wild Dog
Incident. By Joyce C. Winterbotham (p.163). 3. Rearing a baby Ceylon
Grey Flying Squirrel—Fetaurista philippensts lanka. (Witha photo). By
W. W.A. Phillips (p. 164). 4. Gaur attacking man. By Angus F. Hutton.
(p. 166). 5. The Great Indian Rorqual or Fin-whale Balaenoptera indica
Blyth of Umargam (Bombay State). By V. K. Chari (p. 167). 6. Biblio-
graphy of Big-Game Hunting and Shooting in India and the East— Addenda
and Corrigenda (p. 167). 7. Crows hawking fish on wing. By Harinarayan
G. Acharya (p. 169). 8. Mating of the House Crow (Corvus splendens
splendens Vieillot). By Harinarayan G. Acharya (p.170). 9. Large Grey
Babble: attacking metal hub-cap of car. By Hamid A. Ali (p. 171). 10. Birds
PAGE
128
161
161
it CONTENTS OF VOLUME 59, No. 1
attacking their reflections. By P. F. Cumberlege (p. 171). 11. Strange
behaviour of the Jungle Babbler (Zurdoides terricolor). By Harinarayan
G. Acharya (p. 172). 12. The Ashy Swallow-Shrike (Avtamus fuscus Vieillot)
atabird bath. (Witha bhoto). By C. M. Inglis (p.174). 13. Occurrence
of Hodgson’s Pipit (Anthus roseatus) in Saurashtra. ‘By K. S. Dharma-
kumarsinhji (p. 175). 14. Distribution of the Blue-bearded Bee-eater
[Nyctiornis athertoni (Jardine & Selby)]. By JamalAra (p. 175). 15. ‘Birds
of the Londa Neighbourhood ’—A Correction. By Salim Ali and Humayun
Abdulali (p. 176). 16. The position of Plovers’ eggs in nests. By Humayun
Abdulali (p. 176). 17. Bird Migration in India. By Editors (p. 177).
18. ‘Notes on some Asiatic Sturnidae (Birds)’—A Comment. By S. Dillon
Ripley (p. 178). 19. Duration of song in some common birds. (With five
graphs). By Jamal Ara (p.179). 20. Angling for Crocodiles with hook
and line in Krishnarajasagar Reservoir. By D. R. Krishnamurthy
(p. 181). 21. A curious death of a snake. By, B:.K. Behura and M> A,
John (p. 183). 22, Egg-laying by a Python in captivity. By C. Leigh
(p. 183). 23. A record of the common membracid, Ofinotus oneratus Walk.
(Homoptera: Rhynchota) from the City of Patna (Bihar). By Basanta
Kumar Behura and Viswanath Sinha (p.183). 24. Gleanings (p. 184).
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS IN THE SOCIETY’S LIBRARY. Part V. Invertebrata...
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS IN THE SOCIETY’s LIBRARY. Part VI. Botany
PAGE
187
193
- JOURNAL
OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
1951 VoL. 50 No: -1
JUNGLE MEMORIES
BY
Lt.-Cor. E. G. PHyTHIAN-ADAMS, 0O.B.E., F.Z.S., 1.4. (Retired).
ParT IX—ANTELOPE AND DEER
(With two plates)
(Continued from p. 607 of Volume 49)
Bal AC Kk BUC K
‘The Black-buck’ says Aflalo in The Sportsman’s Book for India,
‘deserves the premier place both from his numbers and his ubiquity, and
we might add, his beauty. He is a never ending source of interest and
excitement to the subaltern, and the pursuit of him supplies a perennial
and perfectly excellent school for the exercise of his ingenuity, patience
and marksmanship.’ To which one might also add that this form of
shikar never seems to pall, and though I seldom fire a rifle nowadays I
find that the sight of a good head impels me to do my best to outwit
hur. But I must confess that my memories of this elusive animal are
as hard to recapture as it is to bring him to bag, largely I suppose
owing to the fact that they are (or at any rate used to be) so common,
and that one’s recollections are therefore less vivid as compared with
the pursuit of nobler game. Not that I would for a moment depreci-
ate the Blackbuck, for a really fine head makes a grand tropiy and
the difficulty of securing it adds to its value. Still, the fact remains
that it is hard to remember details of individual stalks, for my diaries
are concerned more with regular shikar trips than with outings of a
day or two. However, as is only natural, I do remember my first
buck which was bagged near Kamptee so far back as 1906. <A good
iriend on the Railway used to take me and another subaltern down the
line in his trolley when he was on inspection duty, for any chances of
shikar which might offer. On one of these occasions we sighted a
herd with a good head.some 600 yards away, and as it was my turn for a
shot I went after it. A convenient nullah afforded a good line of approach
2 {OURWAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
so I slipped off while the trolley continued its course to divert the attention
of the buck. The nullah though winding gave good cover, and a
final crawl over the open to some convenient bushes brought me within
easy shot. The head was only 19$ inches, nothing to be compared
with those obtainable in Central at but it was my first and was
prized accordingly.
Having broken the ice [ Frahaged to secure several more heads
on subsequent occasions but buck were not common in that part, and
it was not till I marched with my regiment some months later from
Ikamptee to Poona, a matter of some 450 miles, that I met them in any
numbers. While we were passing through the Berars they were so
plentiful that seldom a day elapsed without my bagging one or more for
the officer’s mess and for the men. But even venison palls, and |
remember that my C.O. at last told me as Mess Secretary that a change
of diet would be appreciated. As it happened I had shot a nice young
buck that morning and when it appeared at dinner that night suitably
disguised, all admitted that the mutton chops were the best they had
ever tasted! What grand days those were. Everything was so well
organised that it went like clockwork. The Mess tent was struck after
dinner and sent on overnight to the next camping ground, accompanied
part of the way by the coffee-shop for officers and men. Reveillee
sounded at dawn and within an hour all the remaining tents had been
struck and packed, and the regiment paraded ready to march off. I,
as acting Quartermaster, had to ride on ahead to mark out the new
camp and to check over the supplies provided by the civil authorities.
The marches averaged 13 miles, though I remember one of only 4
when the whole regiment had to turn on to getting the carts through
the deep sand of the Godavari river. That day I certainly had my
hands full, but generally I had ample time to do a little scouting within
a few miles of camp before the regiment arrived, with a view to
shikar in the afternoon. We were, I believe, the first to march that
way for upwards of 100 years and any amount of small game was
available besides buck. I remember that one day the Deputy
Commissioner camped alongside us. He told me that not long before
while stalking a buck he had come across a party of no less than
five cheetahs engaged in the same quest. I do not suppose there are
any hunting leopards left in those parts now, and indeed it is doubtful
whether they are to be found in a wild state anywhere in India.
My best memory is of an enormous herd of buck numbering many
hundreds near Basim. Wauith some difficulty, owing to the number of
watchful eyes, I had managed to work up to a good buck, but when
[ fired he bolted 50 yards into a small patch of scrub from which I
saw him emerge on the far side and gallop off evidently untouched.
Rather disgruntled, and finding little consolation in the old saying
that all hits are history and all misses mystery, I was starting back
for camp when a villager working not far away called out to enquire
whether I did not want the buck I had shot. Investigation showed
the original animal lying dead in the bushes, shot through the heart.
As he fell at the end of his final spurt he must have put up another
whose departure I had viewed with such mixed feelings. All’ of
which shows as the monkey said, that things are not always what
‘they seem! The number of pode all over the Berars in those days
was incredible, but a friend who came the same way only 15 years
JUNGLE MEMORIES BS
later told me that in the meantime they had been practically ex-
terminated in most parts, owing to lack of control over the issue of
weapon permits and the absence of any otncial effort to preserve
wild life. I have never seen an albino buck outside a zoo, but when
passing through Ahmednagar on that march I heard of a weil-known
one said to be with a particoloured herd—however I had no time to.
go after it. Round a large military station like Poona buck were
naturally scarce, but even so they were obtainable near Lonikhand not
many miles out along the Sirur road. My best heads, which I still
have, were obtained at Yewat some way down the line. I had a
very pleasant Christmas camp there in 1910 with my shikari Diwaji
and enjoyed some excellent small game shooting as well. The next
blackbuck I shot was at the foot of the northern slopes wf the
Nilgiris many years later after I had retired, but the heads there are
poor, and in fact the whole~animal is noticeably smaller than those
in the Deccan and further north. My last was shot in the Bellary
district while on tour during the recent war. There are still a fair
number there as also in certain parts of Mysore State.
Blackbuck horns are measured straight (and not following the
curves as with a deer’s antlers) and it takes a good deal of practice
to judge whether a head is a good one or not. If it seems dispro-
portionately larger to the size of the animal than it certainly is, but any
may be considered shootable whose colouration is notably black and
white. In the South a 2o0-incher is definitely good. The handsomest
trophies are those heads with the tips of the horns wide enough apart
to form an equilateral triangle. Blackbuck are generally found on
cultivated land, and it is well to remember that a bullet from a high
velocity rifle carries a very very long way, and may find a billet in
some unfortunate villager far beyond. <A story was current many
years ago of a sportsman who had in this way killed a man, and the
shikari suggested concealing the body down a well, assuring his
master that no one else had seen the accident. Whereupon the sports-
man promptly shot the shikari also and then disposed of both bodies.
A very old chestnut, but so antique that it may bear repeating. When
after buck it is as well to take a local man with you as he will know
not only where they are to be found at diferent hours of the day,
but also where his fellow villagers are likely to be working. Even
so it is desirable to use the slope of the ground so far as possible to
act as a stop butt to the bullet. There is only one sporting way of
bringing a buck to bag, and that is by a fair stalk. Shooting them
from a car or from a bullock cart is sheer laziness and definitely not
sport. One can learn a lot too when stalking, for even in broken
country it is far from easy to get within the close range which is always
so desirable in any form of shikar. Blackbuck meat, it may be
added, is excellent.
C@ WAN -K A ROA
My experience with these sporting little gazelles is limited, as they
are far scarcer than buck, at any rate in the Deccan and South India.
My first was one of those lucky chances which befall all shikaris at
times, in fact it was a lucky day altogether. For it was on the way back,
after shooting my first tiger that I suddenly spotted a chinkara star-
4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST? SOCIETY, Vols 50
ing at us in the light scrub jungle not 40 yards away. ‘As the tonga
passed a good-sized bush I jumped out and from its cover got an
easy shot. The bullet caught the chink on the point of the shoulder
and apparently exploded there—it was a .4o00 Jeffery softnose with
a lot of lead showing. A patch of skin the size of a small plate
had completely disappeared, and no part of the bullet appeared to
have penetrated, but the animal was knocked over stone dead. IL
have had an exactly similar experience with a barking deer.
I do not remember shooting more than one or two chinkara on
the march from Kamptee, owing no doubt to the country being more
suited to blackbuck, but after arrival at Poona I soon discovered that
‘hey were not uncommon in the vicinity of Lonikhand hill, and often
went after them at week-ends. I found them far more difficult to bring
to bag than buck, though one would expect the converse to be the
case, as the broken ground they inhabit séems to offer such easy means
of approach. But the chinkara is extremely wideawake, and often when
J have reached a spot from which a close shot should have been
certain, I found that the herd had moved and was still out of range.
Since those days the only chinkara I have seen were in Las Bela while
I was after oorial. I did not go after them seriously and so never got
one, a fact which I now regret as I believe they are the Persian variety
of gazelle. A few are said to exist in Mysore State and in North
Coimbatore, but I have never come across them. I still have two
mounted heads to remind me of the Poona days, and handsome little
trophies they are.
INET EG Ag
These fine antelope carry such miserable heads that few sportsmen
care to shoot them, except to assist the villagers in protecting their
crops. The only one I have bagged was in Raipur in 1910, a good
head as they go, but the best part of the trophy was his splendid
iron-grey skin which made a very handsome rug for the floor. In
later years I came across them on several occasions in Hyderabad
State but never cared to fire at another, as the meat is generally
wasted owing to the quite erroneous belief that they are in some
way connected with the cow and that their flesh is therefore taboo.
In the Nilgiris 25 years ago there was a solitary bull near Kullar
at the foot of the Mettupalaiyam ghat, and at my suggestion the
Nilgiri Game Assciation afforded him and his kin full protection. But
no doubt he has passed on long ago, and I have never heard of
any others in the district, though the broken country beyond Anaikatti
at the foot of the northern slopes would seem ideal for them, and
there are said to be a few in the Taiaimalai forest just across the
Mysore Ditch which forms the boundary between the Nilgiris and
Mysore.
B.26°0_ RO RINCE D AUNGI Es OsesE
My memories of this sporting little “animal, %so' far! Mas* earlier
days are concerned are rather vague. I know that I shot a number
in the Central Provinces, generally in the course of chance beats for
anything which might turn up, but I have only a single skull to
JourN. BomBaAy Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE |
Photo Col. H. G. Rossel
Wie St AT
Photo Author
My first Thamin.
JouRN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLaTE II
= SE
BSS :
Photo Col. H. G. Rossel
Blackbuck.
H. H. The Maharao of Kotah
Photo
Bull Nilgai.
JUNGLE MEMORIES 5
remind me of those days. One occasion however I do remember as
it illustrates how easy it is to overlook an animal under certain circum-
stances. At the time we were hotfoot on the tracks of a bear when,
coming to an open spot, my shikari suddenly stopped and whispered
‘Maro’... Thinking he had spotted the bear I was looking round for
something black, when suddenly two four-horns dashed away and were
gone before I could lift my rifle. They had been standing not 4o yards
away but so well had their colour blended with the dry grass and bushes
that I had completely overlooked them.
Those which I shot in the C.P. had the full four horns, but in the
Nilgiris I have never obtained a head with more than two, the front
pair being represented by bony lumps under the skin. There are
records of their being shot on the plateau 70 or 80 years ago, when
they were termed ‘Elliotts’ or ‘Mountain Antelope’, but nowadays
the few that survive in the district are to be found only on the thinly
bushed grass land along the edge of the great ravine known as the
Mysore Ditch, at the bottom of which flows the Moyar river.
It was there that the two mounted heads I have were obtained some
years before the war. They are extremely wideawake little animals
and it is not easy to get within sporting range, while the fact that under
the Game Rules only males may be shot, renders it still more difficult
to bring one to bag, since even with fieldglasses it is hard to discern
such small horns. Their usual alarm note is a sharp bark verv like
baatwor the -kakar but. slightly different. in. tone: Their. venison, it
may be added, is the best of any antelope or deer.
SAMBAR
This grand stag is, in my experience, far more difficult to bring
to bag than a tiger; that is to say a good head. In fact it was not
till I had shot several tigers that I secured my first sambar, and that
was barely up to average. The finest stag I have seen was in Chanda
in 1907, and it was entirely my own fault that I failed to get a shot.
Breaking the rule which I used to observe while in the jungle, on that
particular evening I was not carrying the rifle myself. Suddenly I saw
a magnificent stag standing with a few hinds under a big tree not 100
yards away, the polished points of his antlers lit up by the setting sun.
There was a slight delay in getting the rifle from the shikari whose at-
tention was attracted in the opposite direction and who consequently
had not seen the animals. That delay was fatal. Before I could take
aim the sambar bolted out of sight, and though I ran hard after them
to the river bank which I knew was just beyond, I was still unable to
get a shot as they crossed and’ went up the opposite side, since one
or other of the hinds hid the stag from my view. What a chance lost !
That was very long ago, but many things I have seen in the jungle
in later years are less clear to my mind than that grand stag. Compar-
ing my memory of him with the massive heads which I saw in the
Chief Commissioner’s house at Nagpur not long after, I do not think
his horns can have been an inch under 45 and the spread was huge.
I have never seen his like again. And that was the last Indian sambar
I was to see for many years, though I did shoot two of the Malayan
type in Burma near Bhamo in 1914. Unfortunately however the larger,
which was an unusually fine head, was in velvet, so the horns were
6. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
useless to me though my Chinese munshi made quite a good sum by
selling them to be turned into ‘medicine’. The other was above
average for the Malayan type, but they are at the best poor trophies
compared with Indian horns.
The years passed and I began to wonder whether I should ever
bag a decent sambar, when suddenly I had a real run of luck. I had
been acting as D.A.A.G. to the Divisional Commander during the
Meplah rebellion in 1921-22, and when the permanent incumbent re-
turned from sick leave, I managed to fit in a few days leave at
Masnigudi, near the foot of the northern slopes of the Nilgiris, on
my way to rejoin my regiment. In those days nearly 30 years ago
Masnigudi was a splendid shooting centre. There were any number
of spotted deer within easy distance and, as I was soon to find, of
sambar also. On the morning after my arrival I started at dawn to
work the big lantana slope between the village and the stream, and
within an hour spotted a stag in the bushes not 4o yards off. A
quick shot in the neck brought him down, but I was disappointed to
find the horns taped only 33 inches—he was an old beast ‘going
back’. Next morning was blank, so when I got back to the T.B.
at 9.30 a.m. I went off at once in the car towards Teppakadu, 4 miles
away, to see if I could pick up a junglefowl for the pot. We had
not gone far when I noticed a sambar lying down in the open forest not
more than 40 yards from the road. His head was laid out flat on the
ground, and except for the horns he looked very like a cow asleep.
He never moved when the car stopped, and we thought him dead till
I saw an eye flicker. I was in doubt whether his horns were any
larger than those I had secured the previous day, but while hesitating
to fire he got up and went off, and then I saw that he carried a better
head with a good spread. Two running shots brought him to a halt
in a thicket and a final one behind the shoulder finished him, though he
stood for at least five seconds after the shot before falling. I was
using a .405 Winchester which should have been heavy enough, but
the sambar is a very tough animal. The horns taped two inches more
than the previous one, and I was pleased to have got a shootable head
at last, for in the Nilgiris a 35-incher is considered quite good. There
was a wound several days old in the chest, probably from fighting,
and there were maggots in the liver. This was possibly the reason
for his lying down in the open. The third morning I was off again
at dawn across the fields behind the T.B., and soon saw a small lot
of blackbuck, but no shootable head. Half an hour later [ came
across a herd of four sambar and another of eight chital, each with a
stag, but no better than I already had. I watched them for some
time at close range, but they did not bolt till we moved. We now
heard sambar belling and monkeys cursing downhill on our right
near the stream, evidently at a tiger or panther, so went to investi-
gate, and soon spotted the sambar. I could see that the stag carried
a fine head, so after verifying with my glasses that the horns were
clear of velvet, fired at his shoulder. I ran round the bushes and
found the herd standing motionless and the stag evidently very hard
hit, so gave him another. He tottered off 30 yards and fell dead
in a bush, and I was pleased to find that the horns measured 37%
inches, a head worth mounting. Three sambar previously in eighteen
JUNGLE MEMORIES i!
years, and then three in three days! It was too good to last, and
though I still had one stag left on my licence, I decided not to tempt
Fortune further, so packed up and left. Was I guilty of slaughter?
I don’t think so, as I was careful not to fire except at a head bigger
than I had already obtained, and none of the meat was wasted. The
story of that brief trip shows how plentiful deer were round Masnigudi in
those happy days nearly thirty years ago. Conditions now are very
different. Hydro-electric schemes have necessitated the construction
‘of new roads, of which car poachers (chiefly by night) have made the
fullest use. The result is that over a considerable area practically
no sambar or chital remain, while blackbuck have been completely
wiped out.
That Masnigudi shoot remains my best memory of this grand
stag, for though I have shot half a dozen more on the plateau in the
past 25 years, the details do not merit narration, and my ambition
to bag a 4o-incher is still unfulfilled. There was indeed one such stag
in the great valley behind Bangi Tappal before the war. I sighted
him more than once, but was never able to get within fair range,
-as his habits were so largely nocturnal that it was pure chance whether
one selected the right spot for him to emerge from the shola before
the light went, and this I never succeeded in doing.
As these Jungle Memories are written more especially for the
novice, a few notes may be useful, and perhaps the most important
of these is velvet. Unlike antelope, bison etc. whose horns have
a bony core, all deer (including even the humble barking deer) drop
their antlers periodically and grow fresh ones. While the new horns
are forming they are said to be ‘in velvet’ and stags in this condition
are very rightly not allowed to be shot. As the horns mature and solidify
the stag rubs off the outer covering against small trees, and as soon
as the points are clear and hard the stag 's said to be ‘in hard horn’,
even though strips of drying velvet are still adhering to the antlers.
All this is very elementary no doubt, but it took me several years to
discover exactly what happens, and perhaps there may be others
equally uninformed. Nearly all deer shed their horns. annually, but
some sambar may retain theirs for two years or more; these are
old animals ‘going back’, 1.e. the antlers having attained their maximum
length progressively decrease in size. Most sambar drop their horns
about April and are in hard horn again before November, but I have
records in my diaries of stags seen on the Nilgiris plateau in hard
horn for every. month of the year. As regards annual increase in
horn length, S. Haughton’s Sport & Travel records an_ instance
of a young sambar kept in captivity in Ceylon whose horns increased
from 54 inches in January 1877 to 25 inches in February 1882, 1.e.
approximately 20 inches in 5 years. It would be interesting to have
more data on the subject. In the Central Provinces among picked
up horns I noticed there were two distinct types as regards colour,
one yellowish and the other black. These were referred to by the
Gonds as ‘peelia’ and ‘telia’ respectively; in South India I have met
none except the latter. A peculiarity of this deer is the curious bare
patch, often raw, on the skin at the base of the neck, the cause of
which is unknown. In Burma I found that all sambar had this ‘sore
neck’, but on the Nilgiris it is not so common. The stags fight
desperately during the rutting season, and once I found the bodies
8 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISD. SOCIETY, Voll250
of two with horns inextricably interlocked near Kolimund in the
Kundahs; an extra tine at the end of one antler had apparently
caused the tragedy. Sambar are very difficult animals to drive owing
to their natural cunning, and the best way to bag a stag is either
by still-hunting or by stalking. The open grassy slopes of the Nilgiris
plateau overlooking the sholas where they lie up for the day,
afford good opportunities for the latter, and though sambar do not
carry such fine heads as used to be found in the north, a keen sports-
man should have no great difficulty in securing a really good specimen
in the Nilgiris. Forty inches are of course rare in the south,
but a fine head of 36 inches with a wide spread was bagged on the
High Range of Travancore as recently as March 1951. This would
be good anywhere in India nowadays.
(Cee Ase
Books on shikar and natural history are unfortunately oniv toa
prone to repeat without verification statements made in previous”
works, and thus in some cases perpetuate mistakes. One of these
is the entirely fallacious idea that spotted deer in South India carry
much smaller heads than those in the north. How this idea arase
it is impossible to say, but even The Book of Indian Animals falls
into the same error, for it states that ‘a 34-inch antler would be
good anywhere; 31 inches in South India’. Far finer horns than the
latter have always been and still are available in the low country of
the Nilgiris and in the Wynaad, and it is doubtful whether better
can be found today anywhere in India. I might add that for many
years I set myseif a minimum of 34 inches!
Before the Mudumalai Wild Life Sanctuary was formed in 1938
that area was a favourite hunting ground of mine, and it was there
and in the adjacent Doddakatti block that I obtained my best heads.
Most of the bucks are clear of velvet by the end of May, and it is
then that they start roaring and give a useful clue to their whereabouts.
One day is so much like another—the start at dawn, the slow hunt
till the herd is sighted, the endeavour to locate the master buck, the
circumventing of watchful does, and the final crawl to the cover of
some convenient tree or bush—that none merit more detailed. narra-
tion. So I will relate one episode only, and that the story of my finest
buck. During May 1923 I was in camp with the D.F.O. at Mudumalai,
and late one evening came across a large herd of chital feeding
over a maidan where the burnt grass was sprouting. There were
several good bucks, but the master of the herd carried an exception-
ally fine head, with a wide spread and those false points above the
brow antler which add so greatly to its appearance. I had already
shot the two bucks allowed on my licence, so after watching him for
some time, left him in peace and returned to the bungalow. It was
not till four years later that I met him again, though in the mean-
time I had searched long and often. On the day in question I had
been out since dawn, and had fired at a good buck, but my bullet had
been deflected) by a-branch. ~On the waysiback sto tne i Wimeacmml
reached the Teppakadu cross-road I suddenly saw a small herd of
chital in the bamboo jungle on my left, and with them, quite un-
mistakably, my old friend. They were off at once, and as the buck
——————
JUNGLE MEMORIES 9
disappeared behind a bush, in despair I fired a snapshot through it.
I did not know whether I had hit hirn or not, but when I ran up I
was delighted to find him lying there. The bullet had entered the.
throat and come out at the back of the neck, and how he came to be
standing at that angle I cannot imagine, unless he had paused for a final
look through the bush at us. Anyhow it was one of the biggest flukes
I have ever brought off! He appeared moribund, but after we had
dragged him the short distance to the road he began to revive and
kick, so I had to give him another quick shot through the heart,
otherwise I think he would have been off. The original bullet had
passed close enough to the vertebrae to stun him, but that was all.
The horns were all that I expected, only half an inch short of 38 in. ;
and his grand head looks down on me as I write to remind me of
that lucky chance. Subsequently I obtained another equally good
head {but with a more narrow spread), and I know of two more shot
in the same forest which taped the full 38 inches. I mention these
measurements to disprove once and for all the idea that good heads
are not obtainable in South India. It is true that much of the best
ground is now included in the Wild Life Sanctuary, but beyond it
again lie the Honurhatti salt-licks and the grassy maidans of the
Doddakatti block so seldom visited by sportsmen, where one can still
be sure of a really good head.
There are no horns so difficult to judge as those of the spotted
deer. Some have a wide spread and others are narrow; some curve
back while others go up almost straight, and it is therefore well
before firing (especially in an area where a size limit is imposed) to
view the head irom different angles. The additional short point or
‘sprag’ at the base of the brow antler certainly indicates an old buck,
as does also a dark coat, but neither of these is any certain indication
of horn length, for the head may be ‘going back’. So the sportsman
who has bagged his buck need not be surprised to find that the antlers
have shrunk two or more inches when he comes to run the tape over
them! First thoughts on the size of a head will probably prove the
most accurate.
Chital are far more irregular in dropping their horns than sambar,
and buck in hard horn may be found throughout the year, but in
the low country of the Nilgiris the majority will be clear of velvet
by the end of May, and it is then that they start roaring. At this
season one often hears the sound of antlers clashing as two bucks
fight, but fatal results are in my experience very exceptional, though
I remember one beaten buck pass close to me near Doddakatti with
a gaping wound in his stomach obviously from his opponent’s horn,
and most bucks brought to bag will be found to bear traces of battle.
Chitai suffer terribly from the depredations of wild dogs, but obtain
some respite at those seasons when the tall elephant grass in the
Mudumalai and Benne forests renders hunting difficult, not only be-
cause scent and visibility are poor, but alsc because the dogs fear
cutting their. pads on the sharp blades of the grass. The spear grass
at Anaikatti after the monsoon acts as a similar deterrent for a period.
Are there two types of chital, large and small? My old Kurramba
shikari, Kempe, asserted that there were, and at his request I once
shot a buck with well-formed sprags whose antlers measured only
10 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.“SOCIETY, Vel. 506
32% inches. This he assured me was the smaller type, but personally
I think it was an old beast ‘going back’, though the body certainly
appeared below average. Unfortunately I kept no other measure-
ments.
THAMIN
It was in April 1913, while stationed at Rangoon, that I had my
first chance at the Brow-antlered Deer, to give him his alternative
name. On the advice of a friendly Conservator I went to Paungde
some way up to the line towards Prome, and then marched seven
miles to the Mataing forest bungalow where I camped for several days
before moving further on. On my second morning after wandering
about for some time, I came across a herd of half a dozen thamin,
the stag being noticeably larger and darker than the hinds. I had
an easy chance at 50 yards but a tree covered the stag’s shoulder,
and while I was trying for a clear shot he spotted me and bolted. A
running shot broke a hind leg, and some dogs bailed him up in a
field 300 yards on. As I ran up to finish him off I fell base over apex
into a choung (nullah) eight feet deep, but no harm was done. The
head was quite a nice one, 334 inches with a brow antler of 15. Re-
reading my diary of that trip 1 am amazed at the amount of game I
saw. Every day I came across thamin, while gyee (barking deer) were
so common that one or more could always be beaten out of the
gardens near the village. There were several panthers about and not
far away tsine were to be had. I remember too that at one camp a
band of dacoits threatened to raid the village, but finally decided to
wait till I had moved on. I was rather disappointed when they failed
to turn up!
My best thamin was obtained on my last afternoon. We were
strolling down a forest path only 14 miles from camp when suddenly
I saw three stags staring at us within easy range. Two carried quite
good heads, but the third was like none I had seen. They were oft
before I could take aim, but my mckso (shikari) rushed me down the
path and as we reached a clearing two cantered across my front at
50 yards range. I let them go and then as the big one passed a whistle
brought him to a halt and a solid bullet from my .303 (all I had left)
broke both shoulders. He went on some 20 yards and fell. The head
was a magnificent one, measuring 384 inches with a brow antler of
144. It was of the unusual spatulated type with no less than 13 points
instead of the normal six. . The memory of that stag is one of my
clearest mental photographs, and I still have the head to remind me
of those happy days so long ago.
Are there any thamin alive in Burma today? I very much doubt it,
for even before the last war they had already been shot out in many
parts, and the Jap occupation and subsequent civil war must. have
wiped out the few remaining specimens of this fine deer.
i OG) iD EXER
My best memory is of one knocked over with a snapshot from my |
.303 as it bolted across a clearing in long grass. Not a difficult shot
really, and the head was not a good one, but it is the only one I have
JUNGLE MEMORIES Vi
kept. While stationed at Bhamo in 1913-14 we used to go after them
and anything else which might turn up, beating the grass-covered
islands of the Irrawaddy with the nine Commissariat elephants (formerly
King Thibaw’s) which we were allowed to hire on Sundays at one
rupee each. Very pleasant outings those were, though I do not re-
coliect much ever being brought to bag. But I do remember two really
good hog-deer seen in 1921 near Mandalay, neither of which afforded
a shot. The first was drinking at the canal as we motored along the
bank early one morning on our way out to a snipe shoot. It was
gone before we could unpack our guns, and the canal effectively pre-
vented pursuit. The second suddenly bolted out of a very small patch
of scrub in the middle of a lot of rice fields while we were shooting
snipe. I was loaded with No. 9 shot at the time, and before I could
change to $.G. the buck was out of range. And of course both these
heads were far finer than the single trophy I have. It is so often thus!
KAKAR
More commonly known as Barking Deer, or in the Nilgiris as Jungle
Sheep, this sporting little animal has provided me with lots of fun, as
well as most excellent venison. But when it comes to individual
memories, I must confess that I have few, many though I have shot.
Some however do, stand out. There was the buck that trotted out
tawards me in a beat near Paungde which I missed disgracefully,
only to roll it over with a second shot from my .303 when it was some
way off and going sixteen annas. Another stalked near Yinmabin
while drinking at a water hole was missed because the bullet hit a
bamboo and was deflected. Yet another near Mukerti Peak on whose
shoulder the bullet exploded without penetrating but which was knocked
over dead, like the chinkara referred to above; and a_ semi-albino
shot near Avalanche many years ago whose flanks were almost pure
white. A very old buck that, with exceptionally long pedicles but
very short horns; obviously ‘going back’.
But the one which intrigued me most of all was a buck shot
near Meiktila in 1920. We were out one evening looking for thamin
and from some rising ground spotted an animal feeding in some
light scrub about half a mile away. It was so dark in colour that
my Burmans were positive it was a thamin, though I could see with
my glasses that it was a gyee, as the kakar is termed in Burma.
Anyhow I got him and they declared they had never seen such a
one before, nor had I, for that matter. The coat was exactly the
same sepia colour as a thamin’s, quite different from the usual tawny
yellow or reddish shade of the kakar. Later I wondered whether
I had not by luck obtained a specimen of Fea’s Muntjac, but un-
fortunately both skin and skull were purloined by an acquisitive pie-
dog while drying behind my bungalow, so I was unable to pursue the
matter further. ,
The kakar is often obtained by beating, when a charge of S.G.
wili roll him over; the use of small shot !s neither effective (except at
very close range) nor sporting, and is in fact forbidden by the Game
Rules in many places. The most satisfactory way is to stalk him
with a rifle early in the day or late in the evening. He is such a
12 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vok-50
sporting little chap that he merits. a bullet in preference to a charge
of shot. In the interests of game preservation only the males should
be shot, but it is not always easy to differentiate, for an old female
generally has tufts of hair covering fleshy knobs which look remark-
ably lke short horns; the duller and darker coat of the male will how-
ever usually indicate the sex. Small as the heads are, when well
mounted they make handsome trophies; the best I have measures just
under 6 inches, excluding of course the pedicles. The latter are in
my experience longer in the Nilgiris than further north and apparently
increase with age. As is well known the barking deer is so called
from his alarm note which is remarkably like a dog’s bark. When
heard, it pays to investigate, for there may be the chance of a shot
at a tiger or panther, but I have known them to bark at red mongooses
and even at black langurs.
M-O8UcScE =e tes EGR
Our list would be incomplete without some mention of the Indian
Chevrotain, to give him his full name, which is almost as long as
the animal itself. The first I saw was in the Poona days while beat-
ing for panther near Khandala. It passed under my~tree but was of
course not. fired at, as I was expecting worthier game. Then for
many years I never saw one, but after retirement came across them
i: the low country of the Nilgiris, where every year a few are shot
in small game beats. The first I got was killed by chance as I was
driving in the Mudumalai forest before dawn. In the indistinct light
I thought it was a wild cat so ran over it. Another curious incident
-occurred in the Benne forest two years ago. The whole area had
been burnt and young grass was sprouting. I was wandering along
on the look-out for a pig when I heard a subdued grunting noise, so
got behind a tree and waited. Shortly after a mouse deer ran past
almost within touching distance, grumbling to himself and obviously
in a very bad temper. I was just going to move on when a large
red mongoose appeared, following intently the same line, and passed
without seeing me. Presumably it was after the mouse deer, but
what eventually happened I cannot say, as both animals went out of
sight. Incidentally the flesh of the mouse deer is the best of any
game animal in India; possibly the mongoose was aware of the fact,
and he was not hampered, as I was, by any consideration of the
close season !
(To be continued)
BIONOMICS OF THE MRIGAL, CIRRHINA MRIGALA (HAM.),
IN SOUTH INDIAN WATERS
BY
By ol) CHACKO AND, O-LV 2 GANAPATI
(Freshwater Fisheries Biological Station, Madras.)
The Madras Fisheries Department has been importing Mrigal
from Bengal since 1943 (Jagannathan, 1946), evidently not being
aware of its natural occurrence in the Godavari and Krishna rivers,
for distributing it into departmental farms in the Chingleput, North
Arcot and Kurnool districts. Recently Alikunhi (1949) and Chacko
(1949) recorded regular fisheries of the species from the Godavari
and Krishna rivers. The fish has now been stocked artificially in the
Cauvery and Tungabhadra rivers, but it is too early to say whether
it has established itself in these rivers or not. The acclimatisation
and growth of this species in the South Indian farms have yielded
some interesting results which it is the purpose of this article to
describe.
Mookerjee, Mazumdar and Gupta (1944) have studied the breeding
grounds and spawning habits of Mrigal in the Midnapore district.
Mookerjee and Ghosh (1945) have made preliminary observations on
the food of the fish. Khan (1924, 1942, 1943) has described the
spawning grounds, breeding habits and early development of ‘the
species in the Punjab. In the present communication an attempt is
made to record some observations on the bionomics of Mrigal in
South Indian waters.
COMMERCIAL FisHEry: As already pointed out by Alikunhi (1949)
and Chacko (1949), the Mrigal contributes on an average 20 per cent
of the catches in the Godavari and Krishna rivers and the connected
tank-systems. 2
Foop aNnD FEEpING Hasits: Mookerjee and Ghosh (1945) have
stated that the Mrigal takes a mixed diet but that the animal diet is
almost negligible in comparison with vegetable, and that the major
portion of the diet is the higher plant bodies in semi-rotten condition.
According to their findings, it would appear that the fish feeds at the
bottom on organic debris. Examination of the stomach contents of
South Indian specimens ranging from 2 to 30 inches has indicated
that in Madras waters the Mrigal feeds mostly on blue-green algae,
green algae and diatoms. Flagellates, rotifers and microcrustaceans
14 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
are also consumed in very small quantities. The following is a
comprehensive analysis of the diet of the fish :—
Myxophyceae: Anabaena, Anabaenopsis Gleotrichia,
Merismopedia, Microcystis, Oscillatoria and Spirulina; 7
Chlorophyceae: Ankistrodesmus, Closterium, Cos-
marium, Crucigenia, Mougeotia, Oedogonium, Oocystis, Pediasltrum,
Pleurococcus, Pleurotaenium, Scenedesmus, Selenastrum, Staurastrum
and Vaucheria ;
Bacillarieae: Amphora, Cyclotella, Cymbella, Eunotia,
Fragilaria, Frustulia, Gomphonema, Hantzschia, Navicula, Pinnularia,
Stauroneis and Synedra ;
Protozoa: Euglena, Glenodenium, Glaucoma, Pandorina,
Phacus, Paramoecium and Stylonichia ; |
Rotifera: Conochilus, Diurella and Pedalion, and
Crustacea: Alonella, Bosmina, Ceriodaphnia, Cypridopsis,
Diaptomus and Eucyclops.
Mud and dark mucilaginous matter are frequently met with in
the stomach contents showing that it feeds at the bottom also. There
is no difference between the food of the young and the adult. The
predominant herbivorous habit of the fish is indicated by its long
intestine, which measured 50 feet in a specimen of 30 inches in length.
Maturity: Practically no published data are available on the age
of maturity of the Mrigal. It is generally considered that the females
of the major carps become sexually mature not before they are two
vears old. But Mrigal fry of both sexes, about one month old, stocked
in Chetpat Fish Farm, Madras, in August 1948, were found in July
1949 to have their gonads filling the body cavity. The milt was
oozing from the males and the gonads of the females were in the
5th stage. Similar observation was made in June 1950 on Mrigal
fingerlings stocked in the same farm in September 1949. It can there-
fore be assumed that the male of this species attains full maturity at
the end of the first year and the female sometime later. That the
males mature earlier than the females has already been recorded by
Hora and Nair (1943) in the case of Barbus (Lissocheilus) hexagonolepis,
by Chacko and Ganapathi {1949) in the case of Hilsa ilisha and by
Alikunhi and Nagaraja Rao (1951, im press) in the case of Cirrhina
veba. The number of ova in one female individual averages about
two lakhs.
BREEDING SEASON AND SPAWNING CONDITIONS: The fish has been
observed to spawn in the Godavari and Krishna rivers from July to
September, i.e., during the south-west monsoon season, when the
rivers are usually in spate. During this period, hatchlings and fry
of all the major carps have been collected from the entire stretch of
the rivers. Later, in October and November, fingerlings of Mrigal,
are obtained from the irrigation tanks and paddy fields fed by the
canals starting from the Dowleshwaram and Bezwada anicuts across
these two rivers. The hydrological eeincintous Cua the Spanae
are generally as detailed below.
—<— ——= —
BIONOMICS OF THE MRIGAL 1S
HYDROLOGICAL CONDITIONS FAVOURABLE FOR THE SPAWNING OF
Cirrhina mrigale
ca EE EE
Godavari Godavari Krishra
Physico-chemical conditions below near Jalla- above
anicut kalva anicut
Date Sa oar aoe 22-7-48 14-9-49 | 21-7-49
Colour 66 He Bab brown brown brown
Turbidity (cm.) ae ane HS 15 Ie?
Temperature °C a a5 27°2 29°6 28°1
Depth of water (ft.) —... as Sez 10°0 10°3
Rate of flow ee rapid moderate rapid
Dissolved oxygen (ce/1) sani 4°877 2°93 5460
% saturation = oe &3°7 52°2 | 94:1
p 8:2 8°0 8°3
Chloride (pp. 100,000) .. res 1:0 0°8 | 10
The hydrological conditions of the nursery areas where the fingerlings
occur are as follows :-—
Ht DROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILING IN THE NURSERY AREAS OF
C. mrigala
Pond in the Paddy-field
veer ote midst of padd canals near
Tbysicc-cLenical corditicns fields in FRceain Ramachandra-
puram puram
Date <:..\<sn ee a a 20-9-49 17-9-49
Sime, +s a ae eee 10.20a.m. | 4.15 p.m.
Colour ..- eae at aes brownish brownish
Turbidity (cm.) sae ae on 5°4 5:6
Temperature °C. ... ae cy 28°0 33°8
Rate of flow oe Fes a _— | sluggish
Depth (ft.) : 35 3:
pH aa Ss ae Bx 78 7°6
Dissolved oxygen (cc/1) ASE “es 1:89 2°93
% saturation cae ahi 32°8 =
Chloride (pp. 100 000) 4° 12
From a comparison of the conditions of the spawning and nursery
grounds, it would be seen that the spawning grounds are characterised
by (1) a lower range of temperature from 27.2 to 29.6°C (81.0 to
85.3°F. versus, 82.4 to 92.8°F.), (2) deeply coloured water versus.
clearer water, (3) higher turbidity (1.2 to 1.5 cm. versus 5.4 to 5.6 cm.),
(4) higher percentage of saturation of dissolved oxygen (52.2 to
Bee, versus 32.8%), (5) higher range of pH (8.0 to 8.3 versus 7.6 to
7.8), and (6) low chloride content (0.8 to 1.0 pp. 100,000 versus 4.0
pp. 100,000). These differences might be due to the flood conditions
in the spawning grounds as against the normal conditions in the
nurseries.
Khan (loc. cit.) has observed Mrigal breeding in shallow areas of
flooded streams in the Punjab during the rainy season when the
16 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL’ AIST: (SOCIETY, Volk 50
temperature of water ranged from 76 to 98°C. Mookerjee et al.
(loc. cit.) found that the Mrigal spawned in the shallow areas of the
bundh-type of tanks in Midnapore district, Bengal, when the pH of
the water rose from 7.4 to 7.9 after a shower. A similar increase in
pH and oxygen content over the corresponding factors in the
nurseries is noticed in this case also.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SPAWNING OF THE MriGaL: Hora (1945)
reviewing our knowledge of the breeding conditions of Indian carps,
stated that a heavy monsoon flood is the primary factor that in-
fiuences the spawning of Indian carps and that the other topographical,
chemical and physical changes in the environment of the fish are
entirely dependent on it. Mookerjee (1945), on the other hand, con-
siders dissolved oxygen as a factor of primary importance in inducing
spawning of fish. According to him practically no freshwater fish
spawns without some amount of rain water mixed with the old water
of the pond, and for major carps almost pure rain water is needed
for spawning. But Ganapati and Alikunhi (1950) have shown that
spawning depended mainly on the availability of suitable shallow spawn-
ing grounds and have pointed out how the observations of Khan
(1924, 1947) also point to the same conclusion.
In the case of the Mrigal, the factors influencing spawning’ in the
Godavari and Krishna rivers seem to be due to the availability of
shallow spawning’ grounds. As already pointed out, the fish has been
observed to spawn in the two rivers during the south-west monsoon
season (July to September). Just prior to this period is the hot
weather, when the rivers are almost dry exposing large areas of sandy
region, and depth of water is very low and the water gets heated
considerably. Specimens caught and examined during this hot period
(March to June) were always in the last stage of gonadial development.
‘That intensified respiration is necessary during the period of ovulation
is well known; and this is taking place in the case of the major riverine
carps during the summer months when the temperature 1s compara-
tively higher. This is also confirmed by the observations of Smith
(1945) that the Mahseer only congregate at river junctions in order to
become pregnant by the warmer water and not for feeding purposes
as is commonly believed. Once the gonads are ripe, there is no need
for intensified respiration. The fish, thereafter, seem to need a
comparatively quieter period of lower metabolic activity in order that
tiiey may be able to concentrate on the only all-absorbing life instinct
cf spawning. The fish cannot do this act of spawning in the middle
of a river in great floods, where the current is powerful... They have
naturally to seek quieter shallow areas both in their own interest and
ol those of their spawn and fry. But with the onset of the south-
west monsoon floods in the Godavari and Krishna rivers, the exposed
sandy beds are covered with flood water and thus large areas of shallow
portions are made available not only in the river-proper but also in
the adjoining areas where streams and drainages enter the rivers.
Such places are seen all along the rivers, where the fish congregate,
sport among themselves and shed their reproductive elements. It
will thus be evident that the availability of shallow spawning grounds
is the important single factor which has to be reckoned for carp
spawning. This inference is also supported by two common obser-
|
BIONOMICS OF THE MRIGAL 12
vations—-(a) the inability of the major carps to spawn in confined
waters (fish ponds), and (b) spawning taking place only in the bundh-
type of tanks as in Bengal. The main difference between the fish ponds
and bundh-type of tanks is the availability of shallow spawning grounds
in the latter. If on the other hand, temperature is the main factor,
the inability of the fish to spawn in fish ponds immediately after the
onset of monsoon rains, when the right temperature of water is recorded
cannot be explained. So, the: main factor appears to be the availa-
bility of shallow spawning grounds.
COLLECTION OF FRY AND FINGERLINGS: The fry and fingerlings of
Mrigal are usually collected by means of basket traps set against the
flow of water in the numerous irrigation canals and channels. The
percentage composition of the catches made by these basket traps
in September 1949 was as follows.
Kind of fingerling Percentage
Catla catla car, ee 10
Cirrhina mrigala xv an 8
Labeo timbriatus Be de 10
L. calbasu ‘ ae 2
Cirrhina reba ame at 10
Other miscellaneous carps, minnows oP 40
Murrels, eels and cat-fishes__... at 20
Totaly .:: 100
The natural nurseries of this species thus located are being
utilised for stocking inland waters in Madras State. The fry and
fingerlings of Mrigal stand transport well, the casualty during tranship-
ment not exceeding 30 per cent.
GROWTH RATE: In Bengal, where the fish feeds on organic debris,
the average growth is 7 inches in the course of three and a half months
(Basu, 1946). In Madras, the growth is more rapid on account of its
somewhat diilerent feeding habits. The fish is found to attain a
Size of 18 to 24 inches and a weight of 2.5 to 4.0 lb. at the end of
the first year in some of the tanks and swamps of the Godavari and
Krishna: districts. As these waters dry up during the summer and
the pond bottom gets naturally fertilised, it is evident, therefore,
that the rate of growth of this species is accelerated in such waters
wing to abundance of food. In the Chetpat Fish Farm, where large
areas of the bottom dry up annually, the Mrigal has attained 22 to
Bowimehes and 3 to 5 Ib. in one year... The following is the recent
record of growth rate of Mrigal fingerlings (3-5 inches) stocked in
December 1949 in the Ichapur Fish Farm in North Vizagapatam, into
which sullage is drained:
Month Growth in inches
January 1950 oat Dae 5—6
February ee st 5—8
March ae we ig
April 3 nA OF 12
May ae as 10-14
June bs te A= 15
Z
18 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
The same stock of fingerlings have attained a size of 14 inches.
and 15 inches by June 1950 in the Dykes tank at Vizagapatam and
ia ‘the Government House Farm at Madras respectively. In the
former, a certain amount of sullage is-drained into while the latter
forms a catchment for a vast area from which dead organic matter
gets drained into the tank. The average growth-rate in such
foaled waters during the first year is thus ne to 2 inches per month.
In some other waters like the Dhobi tank, Chodavaram tank and
Abbi tank in the Ramachandrapuram area, which are not so well
fertilised and therefore not so rich in algal flora, the growth of the
fish is poorer, being only 10 to 15 inches and 12 to 16 ounces in the -
frst year. It is evident that the waters having abundance of algae
or in well-fertilised ponds, the Mrigal can be fattened more rapidly.
IMPORTANCE IN RuRAL PISCICULTURE: The easy availability of its
young stages in the Godavari and Krishna systems, non-cannibalistic
habit, and good rate of growth make Mrigal a valuable addition to the
fishes that are utilised for rural pisciculture in the Madras State.
As the Mrigal is a bottom-feeder, it is also a scavenger fish and can
be used advantageously in waters containing organic debris at the
bottom. Thus it can form a useful association with other species
that feed mostly on the surface or in the column of the waters.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: We are indebted to Dr. S. L. Hora for his
invaluable criticism and suggestions. We are also thankful to the
Director of Fisheries, Madras, for according meceoraty permission for
publishing this paper.
SUMMARY
The Mrigal contributes on an average 20 per cent of the commercial
fisheries in the Godavari and Krishna rivers. It feeds in mid-water
mostly on blue-green algae, green algae and diatoms. It feeds it the
bottom also. The male attains full maturity at the end of the first year.
The fish breeds in the rivers during the south-west monsoon season.
‘
nursery areas show that the former is characterised by a lower range
of temperature, discoloration of water, higher turbidity, higher per-
centage of dissolved oxygen and higher pH. The availability of
shallow spawning grounds in the river bed is considered to be the
main factor influencing spawning of the fish. The growth-rate is
rapid, about 14 to 2 inches per month, in the first year in fertilised®
waters. The species is now of rural piscicultural value in Madras.
REFERENCES
Alikunhi, K. H. (1949): ‘On the occurrence of the Mrigal, Civrhina mrigala
(Ham.) in the Godavari River’, Curr. Scz., 18, 11-12.
Alikunhi, K. H. and Nagaraja Rao, 8. (1951) : ‘Notes on the early develop-.
ment, ¢ crowth and maturity of Czrrhina veba (Hamilton) ’. In press.
Basu, S. P. (1945): Proceedings of the Conference of Fishery Officers of the-
Government of Bengal, held on 6, 7 and 8 November 1945. Appendix D.
Chacko, P. I. (1949) : ‘ The Krishna river and its fishes’. Proc. 36th Indian Sci...
Cong., 3, 165-166.
Chacko, P. I. and Ganapathi, S. V. (1949): ‘On the bionomics of Azlsa:
ilisha (Hamilton) in the Godavaririver’. J. Madras Uni., i8, 16-28.
“ comparison of the hydrological conditions of the spawning and
cee
BIONOMICS OF TRE MRIGAL 19
Ganapati, S. V. and Alikunhi, K. H. (1950): ‘Note on the spawning of carps
in the River Tungabhadra in response to off-season freshets’. J. Zool. Soc. India,
2, 93-95.
Hora, S. L. (1945): ‘ Analysis of factors influencing the spawning of carps’.
Proc. é Nat. Inst. Sci. India, 11, 303-312. .
Hora, S. L. and Nair, K.K, (1943) : ‘The game fish Bokar of the Assamese or
Katli of the Nepalese, Barbus (Lissochilus) hexagonolepis McClelland’. J. Bombay
Nat. Hist. Soc., 17, 3.
Jagannathan, N. (1946): ‘A note on theintroduction of Rohu and Mrigalh
into Madras Waters’. Jnudtan Farming, 71, 292-296.
Khan, H. (1924): ‘Observations on the breeding habits of some freshwater
fishes in the Punjab’. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 29, 958-962.
Khan, H. (1942): ‘Spawning of Carp and their spawning grounds in the
Punjab’. /6zd., 43, 416-427,
Khan, H. (1943): ‘Onthe breeding habits and development of an Indian
Carp: Cuirrhina mrigala (Ham.)’. Proc. Indian Acad. Sct., 18, 1-13.
Khan, H. (1947): ‘Observations on the spawning of carp in a tank in the
Punjab’. Proc. 34th Indian Sci. Cong., 3, 184.
Mookerjee, H. K. (1945): ‘ Factors influencing the spawning of principal carps
of India’. Pvroc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India, 11, 312-315.
Mookerjee, H. K., Mazumdar, S. R. and Das Gupta, B. N, (1944): ‘ Observa-
tions on the breeding ground and spawning habits of certain Indian Carps in the
Midnapore district, Bengal, with suggestions for their breeding, collection of eggs
and the rearing of fry’. Calcutta Unt. J. Sci. n.5s., 1, 81-91.
Mookerjee, H. K. and Ghosh, S. H. (1945): ‘Food of the common carps ’..
Proc, 32nd Indian Cong., 3, 110-111.
Smith, W. K.L. (1945): ‘Note on the factors influencing the spawning of
Indian Carp’. Pyoc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India, Ui, 328-329.
THE BIRDS OF COORG
BY
F. N. Betts
ParT I
(With a map)
FOREWORD
The following paper is intended to be a commentary on the Reports
of the Surveys carried out in Mysore and Travancore and Cochin States
by Salim Ali and complementary to them. It is the result of ten years
field work in which I collected eggs but no skins, and amassed a quan-
tity of notes on habits and distribution which I hope will help to fill out
the framework provided by the Surveys, along with which it is intended
to be read. | 7
The notes are entirely the result of personal observation, and in no
case have I drawn on hearsay or other written sources except where
expressly stated.
I have used binomials as no skin collection was made, but in practice
there could have been very little risk in using the trinomials of the
Mysore Survey.
A tribute is due to the thoroughness of Mr. Salim Ali’s work. In the
short space of six months, covering a very wide area, and some exceed-
ingly difficult country for the collector, I think that it is improbable that
a single resident species with the exception of one or two waterfowl
was missed, and his two papers in conjunction form a classic basis for
the study of the avifauna of S. W. India.
PHYSIOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
In both these respects Coorg is merely an extension of the ‘ Malnad'
of Mysore State, with the exception of a very small area at the foot of
the Western Ghats, which is typical Malabar Tropical Rain Forest, and,
on the east, a tract of dry country in the Fraserpet district resembling
the adjacent Mysore ‘ Maidan’.
The physiography of the Province is clearly defined. On the west
it is bounded by the line of the Western Ghats, rising from the coastal
plain at 2/300 feet elevation to peaks reaching at their maximum 5,800
ft. To the east of this range lies the main body of the Province, an
undulating basin, roughly twenty-five miles broad, formed by the courses
of the Cauvery and its numerous tributaries. The elevation ranges from
2,750’ to 4,000’ with a general average of 3,000’. The eastern border is
marked by another range of low hills running north and south, only
broken at Fraserpet where the Cauvery debouches into Mysore. North
east of Fraserpet, beyond this range, lies the small but very important
tract of ‘maidan’ country.
YVAOOD
9 \ SYONYNNVD
g 21009 Recs aw fy7 Gap Of OF
-ajeoG
“\
‘w=. bees
A Jomepuerpry
OC 3aYOSAW Pe,
y
Sy eee
ee jae
7ir\ . Lad¥wMwos fr a
7 *
snr! uoedeen} JLVLS SVYQVWN
é wn" Nee) j, 2
JLVLS AUYAOSAW ‘I+;
a ;
ee =a}
JYOTVIONVN
"208 “9SIR ‘“98N Avequiog ‘‘uanor
-—- ——__——-. —
HE BIDS OF COORG 21
METEOROLOGY
The climatic zones correspond very. closely with the geographical.
By far the greater part of the rainfall is precipitated during the S. W.
monsoon. Irregular showers begin in April and May; steady rains
follow through June, July, and August with strong westerly winds.
A break occurs in September, followed by the thunder showers of the
N. E. monsoon in October. From November till the end of March,
except for one or two showers, there is seldom any rain.
Western Ghats: Therainfall on the western slopes is enor-
mous: 250+”. The Malabar foot is always moist and hot, varying little
in temperature throughout the year. On the hill tops the monsoon
months are probably generally the coldest on account of the strong
winds, but the very highest peaks are occasionally touched by frost in
winter. }
Centrai Basin: The rainfali decreases very rapidly from west
to east. On the eastern slopes of the Ghats as much as 150” is experi-
enced, while the eastern ridge receives no more than 50/60”. The
average over most of the basin is 60/80”. The climate is remarkably
equable, the temperature rising occasionally to 90° for a few days at the
end of March before the first rains which is the hottest time of year.
The summer is cool on account of the rain and strong winds of the
S. W. monsoon, while, even in the winter, the nights rarely drop.
below 55°.
Dry Zone: Here the rainfall is less than 40”, a good deal of
which falls in the N. E. monsoon, and summer temperatures are much.
higher.
BIOTOPES
The following biotopes are clearly distinguishable. A full descrip-
tion appears in Salim Ali’s paragraphs on the Mysore Malnad and
Maidan and only a brief recapitulation is made here.
Wet Zone: .
The Malabar coastal plains and the western face of the Ghats, Up
to 4,000’ this is covered in dense Tropical Evergreen Forest (Champion,
Group 16, Type C). Above this height the forest, while remaining
evergreen, becomes dwarfed and less tropical in character, The peaks.
are usually bare of trees and under short grass, and are often crowned
with cliffs and rocky crags.
Intermediate Zone:
Moist Intermediate: This comprises the eastern slope of the Ghats
and that part of the central basin immediately at their foot. The
slopes of the hills are under short grass interspersed with evergreen
sholas, mostly small trees with an undergrowth of ‘eeta’ bamboo,
rattan canes, and Strobzlanthes. Cardamom and coffee plantations grown
under shade cover considerable areas, and the valleys are mostly under
paddy cultivation often with thickets of Pandanus along the streams.
There is little Laztana. Forest types: Southern Tropical Semi-ever-
green (Group 2A, Type C2).
Dry Intermediate: This lies to the east of the last, generally at a
lower elevation and comprises the greater -part of the central basin. It
22 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 50
is the most thickly populated area. Cultivation consists of wide stret-
‘ches of paddy land along the streams especially in the south; coffee,
pepper, and orange plantations. The coffee is grown under shade
usually of mixed types, both indigenous and exotic, including such
species as Grevillea robusta, Terminalia tomentosa, Dalbergia latifolia,
Erythrina lithosperma, Bombax malabaricum, and various varieties
of Ficus and Aléizzia. A great number of these bear fruit and Howers
attractive to birds, while the large numbers of standing dead trees,
ringed during shade control operations, provide unlimited breeding
sites for hoie-nesters, with the result that the coffee land probably car-
ries agreater and more varied bird population to the acre than any
other form of agricultural activity in the whole of India.
Lantana aculeata in impenetrable thickets covers all open land not
kept under cultivation or steadily grazed. In the north of the area,
particularly, there are considerable stretches of grassy downland,
known as ‘ dane’, kept down to a short turf by hordes of hungry cattle.
Deciduous Forest Belt: A strip ten to fifteen miles broad running all
along the eastern border of the central basin and including the eastern
ridge. This is uninhabited reserved forest, mostly Southern Tropical
Moist Deciduous, (Group 3A—Type Cl), characterised by Teak, Nandi,
Matti, Rosewood, and other valuable hardwoods intermingled with the
thorny, deciduous, giant bamboo Bambusa arundinacea. In the dry
country beyond the eastern ridge it merges into Southern Tropical Dry
Deciduous (Group 4A, type C2) of a scrubbier type with little bamboo.
Dry Zone: .
This is characterised, on the flat land along the Cauvery, by typical
Mysore ‘ Maidan’ dry cultivation; ragi, sorghum, and oil seeds and
pulses. The uncultivated portion is mostly open short grass and scattered
thorny scrub with much lantana (Southern Thorn-Group 5A). There
are a number of low rocky ridges running parallel to the main eastern
ridge, and one.ortwo small tanks, the largest, Halagote, not more than
fafty acres in extent, which provide the only habitat for waterfowl in the
swhole Province.
GENERAL NOTES ON THE AVIFAUNA
Before coming to a detailed consideration of the birds of the Pro.
vince, there are one or two very striking general features which call for
comment. |
MONTANE SPECIES
A number of species occurring, in most cases commonly, on the
Nilgiri Plateau appear to be completely absent from Coorg even in
apparently similar facies at the higher elevations on the Ghats. In most
cases the Mysore Survey found them in the Billigirirangan Hills, while ©
one or two turned up again in the Bababudans. These latter hills being
north of Coorg, the birds concerned may yet turn up in the Province.
Nevertheless the Billigiris do seem to forma very definite limit to the
distribution of a number of species. This is quite understandable, as
these hills, though cut off from the main tableland by the deep but
narrow valley of the Moyar River, are really an extension of the
Nilgiris, which are separated from the main spine of the N. Malabar
LE, BIRDS OF + COORG 23
and Coorg Ghats by the broad Wynaad plateau at an elevation of only
3-3,500’.
1. Tvrochalopteron cachinnans.
Confined to the Nilgiris. 7Z. jerdonz is supposed to occur in Coorg,
but I am fairly sure this is a mistaken report, although there is plenty
of the Abus facies so attractive to these birds on the high hills.
2. Brachypteryx major.
Common in Nilgiris and Billigiris. Frequent in Bababudans.
3. Parus major.
Very common on the Nilgiris and found in Billigiris, but rare in
Coorg and there only in the Dry Zone.
4, Oreocincla dauma.
Nilgiris and Billigiris, but always rare and easily overlooked.
5. Eumiyas albicaudata.
Nilgiris, Billigiris and Bababudans. A commonand conspicuous
bird in the Nilgiris, but must be very rare if at all occurring in Coorg.
6. Ochromela nigroruta.
Nilgiris and Billigiris.
7. Anthus nilghiriensis.
Nilgiris only.
8. <Alauda gulgula.
Nilgiris only.
9. Saxicola caprata nilgirviensts.
The Coorg bird is almost certainly subsp. caprata, as it avoids the
high downs beloved by the Nilgiri Bushchat, and inhabits an entirely
different biotope.
10. Airundo javanica domicola.
Nilgiris only.
ECOLOGICAL PARALLELISM IN THE WET AND Dry ZONES
In Coorg there are two very markedly distinct faunal zones, one
including the Wet and Inter Zones, and the other the Dry Zone. The
boundary is most definite and runs along the crest of the eastern ridge,
though certain Dry Zone species do wander across this in the dry
weather. One has only to cross the ridge to find a completely new set
of birds. While there are many forms which are represented solely in
one zone or the other, aremarkable and immediately noticeable paral-
lelism exists, in which a species on one Side is replaced by another
24 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
neatly related Species on the other side, occupying the corresponding
ecological niche.
TABLE OF ECOLOGICAL PARALLELS
A. WET ZONE B. Dry Zone
1. Dendrocitta leucogastra (West only) WD. vagabunda (Inter. and
Dry)
2. Sztta frontalis (W. and 1.) S. castanea (D.)
3. Lurdotdes somerville: (1.) T. striatus (D.)
4. Otocompsa jocosa (W. and I.) Molpastes cater (1. and D.)
These two species overlap throughout most of their range and are
only found separately at the two extremes.
5. ole icterica (W. and I.) Pycnonotus luteolus (D.)
6. Lanius schach (W. and I.) Lantus vittatus (D.)
9. TZephrodornis gularis (W.and I.) T. pondicerianus (D.)
10. Pericrocotus flammeus (W. and I.) P. peregrinus (D. 1. and D.)
ll. Dicrurus macrocercus (W. and I. as’ D. coerulescens (D.)
Winter migrant)
12. Oriolus oriolus (W. and 1.as Winter O. xanthornus (D.)
migrant)
13. Aethicpsar fuscus (W. and I.) Acridotheres tristzs (D.)
14, Urvoloncha striata (W. and I.) U. malabarica (D.)
15. Galerida malabarica (W. and I.) Miratra atfinis (D.)
Perhaps this is hardly a fair case, as though the two are the re-
presentative’ larks in their respective Zones, their habits are some- —
what different.
16. Dryobates hardwicki (W. and I.) D. mahrattensis (D.)
17. Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus (W.and_ C. festivus (D.)
W. I.)
18. Megalaima rubricapilla (W. and I.) M. haemacephala(D.)
19, Pszttacule cyanocephala P. krameri
20. Psittacula columboides how. and J.) P. eupatria i (ea)
21. Merops orientalis (Winter--W. and JM, superciliosus
I oumimers)))
22. Tockus griseus (1.) T. birostris (D.)
23. Caprimulgus indicus (W. and !.) C. astaticus (D.)
24. Glaucidium radiatum (D.) Athene brama (D.)
25. Dendrophasa pompadora(W.andI.) Crocopus phoentcopterus (D.)
26. Streptopelia ortentalzs ) S. senegalensis
27. Streptopelia chinensis (W. and I.) S. decaocto \(D)
28. Cryptoplectron erythrorhynchum (W. Perdicula asiatica (D.)
and I.)
LocAL MIGRATION
Besides the annual influx of migrants from beyond the northern
borders of India, there is a considerable local migration of resident
species, generally in an east and west direction. Such insectivorous
birds as Swifts and Bee-eaters move down into the Dry Zone after breed.
ing to avoid the heavy rains of the monsoon, while other species, which
breed in the Dry Zone, wander up into the Inter and Wet Zones in the
dry season.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 25
Apart from these however, there are some half-dozen species, nearly
all common Indian pleins types, which are extremely numerous all over
Coorg in the winter months but which do not breed in the Coorg Dry
Zone nor in the adjacent parts of the Mysore Maidan. Where they do
breed is a problem which has yet to be solved. A list is appended.
1. TZchitrea paradist
Dicrurus macrocercus D. coerulescens 1s the resident
2.
3, Dicrurus longicaudatus breeding Dry Zone spe-
4. Oriolus oriolus cles.
O. xanthornus is the resi-
dent, breeding Dry Zone
species
5. Clamator jacobinus
6. Eudynamis scolopaceus May breed in Dry Zone.
7 Merops orientalis Small numbers breed in the
Inter. Zone, more in the
Dry Zone but nothing
like enough to account
for the numbers of winter
visitors.
SYSTEMATIC LIST
Corvus macrorhynchos: The Jungle Crow.
Widely spread throughout Coorg, occurring chiefly in cultivated
country and round towns and villages, but also in deciduous forest as
anyone who has been big game shooting will know. They are the first
birds to find a carcase, long before the vultures arrive. They nest from
January to March. The nests are usually built high and inaccessibly in
the outer or topmost branches of a tall tree. One I examined consisted
of a rather scanty foundation of large sticks, surmounted by whippy
twigs and stout rootlets, with a cup lined with fine roctlets and coir.
The latter is a favourite lining material. In the Nilgiris I have seen
wool used. In my experience, one bird, presumably the female, does all
the building, her mate accompanying her to and fro in the search for
materials but not contributing any himself. The same nest is not used
twice though a pair will breed in the same locality year after year and
there may be a number of old nests in existence together. Four or
five eggs are iaid, and only one brood seems to be raised. Moulting
birds may be seen in August.
Corvus splendens ; The House Crow.
Confined entirely to the towns and not numerous there. I have
seen them in Fraserpet and Virajpet, elevation 3,000’, but not in
Mercara, 4,000’. A solitary pair lived for a long time in Somwarpet,
3,500’, but always appeared much harried and chased by their more
numerous and powerful jungle relatives. I have no records of breeding.
Dendrocitta vagabunda; The Tree-pie.
Common and widely-spread throughout Coorg, occurring equally in
the Dry Zone, deciduous forest, and Inter-Zone but not in the ever-
green forest of the Ghats. It is one of the typical members of the
26 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
coffee plantation avifauna and is always conspicuous in the mixed
flocks which are such a feature of the non-breeding season. The often
recorded association of this bird with Dzssemurus paradiseus is an
obvious fact, but as Salim Ali says in the Travancore Survey, may be
simply due to a community of interests. The two species are the
largest, noisiest, and most aggressive members of the mixed flocks,
and take it upon themselves to act as policemen, being the first to
chivy any hawk, owl, mongoose, or snake that appears on the scene.
Nevertheless the association does seem to be more than fortuitous, as
it continues after the flocks break up, and I have on more than one
occasion found the two species nesting in adjoining trees.
In Coorg, March is the usual breeding month. The nests are
‘scanty, flimsy cups of thin twigs built high up in the topmost branches
of a tall tree in light woodland. The tree chosen is usually leafless at
that time but the nests, though in consequence in full view, are by no
means conspicuous owing to their small size.
This bird is quite omnivorous. Fruit, especially various wild figs,
nectar from the blossoms of Bombax or Erythrina, insects large and
‘small, lizards, young birds, or eggs are all equally acceptable.
Dendrocitta leucogastra : The Southern Tree-pie.
Confined to the heavy evergreen forest of the Wet Zone and the
sholas onthe Ghat slopes. Here it replaces the last bird, but is never
common. Ii is as noisy as its relative but lacks the mellow, metallic,
fluty notes of the latter. I have not found a nest though it undoubtedly
‘breeds in Coorg.
Parus major: The Grey Tit.
Very rare in Coorg. I noted this bird in my original ‘ Notes on the
Birds of Coorg’ (/.B.N.A.S. 1928) as being fairly common in Pollibetta,
but this was incorrect. The only place I have actually metitis in the Dry-
Inter deciduous forest of the eastern ridge, at Sige Hosur on the edge
of the Dry Zone. It occurs again over the border in the Mysore Maidan.
‘This restriction to dry biotopes is remarkable considering that it is
very common at high elevations in the Nilgiris in the moist, evergreen
sholas on the plateau. : I have not found the nest in Coorg. In the
Nilgiris and Ceylon holes in stone walls are commonly used.
Machlolophus xanthogenys: The Yellow-cheeked Tit.
Typically a bird of the coffee plantations of the Inter-Zone, neither
extending into the Dry Zone, nor to the higher elevations of the Ghats,
though it is to be found in Moist-Inter forest. In the Nilgiris they are
common up to 4,500’ above which height they are replaced by the last
species. They live in family parties throughout most of the year, and
are constant members of the mixed flocks. They are typical tits in
their ways but are strictly confined to woodland country. One used to
roost regularly ina hole in a branch of a tree in my garden. The only
nest I have examined was found on 11th October in an old barbet hole
eight feet up in a tree stump in a coffee clearing ; it contained fully-
fledged young. The nest was a compact pad of felted bark, fibres, and
hair. I saw the young being fed on cockroaches, grubs, and a large
green caterpillar. Other nests I have marked have been in inaccessible
pitas
THE BIRDS OF COORG Or
ads
sites in old Coppersmith holes high up in dead and rotten trees. My
only clutch record is three.
Sitta castanea : The Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch.
Scarce and more or less restricted to the Dry Zone round Hebbale.
Strangely enough I have once seen one in my garden in the Inter-Zone.
It was in company with aS. frontalzs at the time so that there was no
doubt of the identification. I have not found the nest.
Sitta frontalis : The Velvet-fronted Blue Nuthatch.
A very common bird in coffee in the Inter-Zone, an invariable
member of the mixed flocks. It is also found on the Ghats up to the
highest sholas, and regularly if less commonly in the deciduous forest
belt. I have not actually found a nest, but I saw a bird flying about
with a feather in its billon March 29th, and saw a pair on Jan. 21st
both collecting down from seeding weeds growing on a fallen log.
Judging by the appearance of young birds, breeding extends from
January to April.
Garrulax delesserti: The Wynaad Laughing-Thrush.
Confined to the heavy evergreen jungle of the Western Ghats. I
have only come on them in deep, virgin forest at elevations ranging
from 1,000’ on the Iritti Ghat to 5,000’ in the belt of Wate bamboo,
which grows at that height on the upper slopes of Pushpagiri. They
live in very large flocks of 40 or 50 birds, whose noisy calls may be
heard at a great distance. They are very tame and inquisitive and are
extremely sociable, four or five frequently perching on the same twig
and preening each other’s feathers. I have no breeding notes.
Trochalopteron jerdoni : Banasore Laughing-Thrush.
Recorded from the Coorg and Wynaad Hills in the New Fauna.
Davidson is reported to have obtained it in the Brahmagiri Hills in the
south of the Province. It seems most improbable that this species
should occur so far north, cut off by 7. cachinnans in the Nilgiris from
its other races. One might well expect to find 7. cachinnans as its
favourite Rubus facies exists in quantity on the higher Ghats, but it
does not occur.
Turdoides somervillei: The Jungle Babbler.
A common bird in the deciduous forest belt especially among
bamboo, and on the outskirts and clearings. It occurs frequently, but
apparently rather as a stray in the coffee and Lantana and parkland
typical of the Inter-Zone. It is found in flocks of up to a dozen usually
travelling in company with other species. They feed mostly on the
ground, scuffling noisily among the dead leaves, the individuals playing
follow-my-leader through the undergrowth, only appearing at the tops
of the bushes to take flight to a new feeding ground. They do not
penetrate into the Wet Zone of the Ghats nor are they found above
about 4,000’. Their place here is taken by Argya subrufa, but though
the ranges of the two species overlap, they do not intermingle. On the
other border however, where they meet Zurdozdes striatus, both species
28 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIS?TASOCIEL Yo OVal, 150
associate freely. The only nest I have seen was found on April 20th
four feet from the ground in a coffee bush. It was a rough cup of
Coarse grass and roots, and could hardly be said to have been lined
though perhaps the innermost grass was finer in texture. There were
two unincubated eggs.
Turdoides striatus ;: The White-headed Babbler.
This species takes the place of the last in the Dry Zone scrub
country. Its habits are in every way similar to those of 7. somervillei.
It is abundant wherever there is thick scrub jungle and Lantana brakes,
and is extremely noisy, and assiduous in mobbing and abusing any
hawk, owl, or beast of prey that it finds on the move. A nest was
found on May 25th, seven feet up and well-concealed in a small,
creeper-grown thorn-tree in thorny scrub jungle on a rocky ridge. It
was the usual large, loose cup of dried grass and contained two eggs,
quite fresh, and probably not a full clutch.
Argya subrufa: The Rufous Babbler.
A bird mainly of the evergreen sholas of the Ghats. Salim Ali
apparently met it only up to 3,500’, but in Coorg it is more common
above 4,000’ than below, and I have seen it up tothe highest summits.
It prefers a facies where long grass is intermixed with the scrub and
trees, and abandoned paddy fields are a very favourite haunt. In one
such, on the estate on which I lived, a flock could always be found during
the seven years I was there, and never seemed to wander far away.
They are even greater skulkers than Z. somerville¢ and just as noisy.
They appear to be monsoon breeders. I caught a newly flown juvenile
in the Nilgiris on Sept. lst and found a nest with young ready to fly in
Coorg on August 13th. This was in a small bush in a little clearing
in the thick secondary vegetation growing in a sandalwood plantation.
The old birds were noisily demonstrative, giving away the site by their
abuse. The nest, with other old ones which I have seen, was quite
distinctive, being a large, very loosely-knit cup made entirely of the
twisted stems and tendrils of honeysuckle or some similar creeper, with
an apology for a lining consisting of a few rootlets.
Pomatorhinus horsfieldii: Horsfield’s Scimitar Babbler.
This bird occurs throughout Coorg, though nowhere in great
numbers, from the highest Ghat sholas to the scrub jungle of the Dry
Zone. It is probable that both the typical race and fravancoriensis
inhabit the Province but this remains to be proved. They are usually
seen in pairs, sometimes alone, but more often in the mixed flocks.
They are more arboreal than the preceding babblers, and their favourite
feeding grounds are the mossy limbs of forest trees, along which they
work, probing the crevices with their long, curved bills. They appear
to breed in the cold weather. I have twice found the nest. One on
Dec. 21st was a loose ball of dead leaves which fell apart at a touch,
placed in full view on the upper surface of a coffee bush two feet high.
There were two fresh eggs. The other, containing a chick about four
days old and an addled egg on Jan. 10th, was in the Dry Zone at the
foot of a lantana bush on the steep slope of a rocky ridge. The
thorny runners hung down and protected the nest, which was nothing
THE WIRDS, OF «COORG a9
more than a domed ball excavated out of the tangle of dead leaves and
grass lying against the bank. The entrance was woven of dry grass
with a slight platform of the same material in front. When feeding and
unexcited their note is a low, croaking chuckle, but under stress of
emotion they burst into a whirring call terminating in a series of
mellow ‘ wok, wok, wok’s.
Dumetia hyperythra [albigularis]: The Small White-throated Babbler.
In Coorg I have only met this bird in thorny scrub and grass jungle
in the Dry Zone at about 3,000’. ‘They do not occur or are rare in the
Inter-Zone and the Ghat slopes, though on the Nilgiris I found them
common on the edges of sholas, and have found a nest at 5,000’. They
are typical little babblers in their ways, wandering through the under-
growth in small flocks, keeping in touch with low calls not unlike those
of Rhopocichla.
My Nilgiti nest was on the Bhat on the banks of a watercourse
running through elephant grass and dwarf date palms. It was cunning-
ly concealed under the fronds of a date, and was a neat ball woven of
dry date leaves and grass without lining, and with the entrance at one
side. There were two fresh eggs on 21st May.
Chrysomma sinensis: The Yellow-eyed Babbler.
Confined as far as Coorg is concerned to the Dry Zone where it is
not uncommon in open, scrub-grown wasteland. A skulker like most
babblers, it is usually seen in small flocks, but occasionally singly or in
pairs. It has a sweet and quite powerful song. I found a nest which I
believe was attributable to this species in a Butea frondosa sapling, two
feet from the ground, on June 14th. It was a deep and well-built,
conical, cup of grass-blades so thickly bound with cobweb that it was
almost white in colour.
Pellorneum ruficeps: The Spotted Babbler.
Very common in the Inter-Zone and the Ghat sholas, and less
numerous in the Dry Zone, though I have found it breeding there. It
is partial to coffee cultivation but is seldom seen, being the most con-
firmed skulker of the clan. Its sweet call note-—‘ fee, pee, peeea’—isa
very common bird sound at certain times of the year, and besides this
it has in the breeding season a song, quite distinct from the call,
but of the same timbre. Except when nesting it is seen in small flocks
which keep entirely to the undergrowth and find most of their food on
the ground. I have found nests from the end of February to April.
They were allin very similar situations, in drifts of dry leaves at the
foot of bamboo clumps or lantana bushes, and were very flimsy, domed
affairs, made of the surrounding dry leaves, with the exception of one
which was of grass. The cupis sunk below the outer level and lined
with grass. ‘T'wo eggs form the clutch.
Alcippe poioicephala :-The Quaker Babbler.
One of the commonest birds in the Ghat sholas and evergreen forest
up to 5,000’. It is fairly numerous in coffee in the Inter—Zone, and
wanders into the Deciduous Forest, especially along ravines with strips
of evergreen growth along their slopes. It occurs in larger flocks than
30 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
the last species and is more arboreal, but keeps to the interior of the
woods, seldom venturing into the open or flying far. Tall Strobzlanthes
undergrowth is what it loves above all. It has a number of churring
and chattering call notes. The song, often heard in the first half of the
year, consists of four sweet notes, not unlike those of the Spotted
Babbler. Nests I have found have all been built in the undergrowth of
evergreen sfolas. They were in small, isolated shrubs, three or four
feet from the ground, and were quite conspicuous. They were substan-
tially, though roughly-built cups of green moss, lined with black
rhizomes. Two eggs form the clutch. Nesting mostly takes place from
February till April but lLonce saw a newly-fledged juvenile in August
so that the season probably extends throughout the monsoon.
Rhopocichla atriceps: The Black-headed Babbler.
Very common wherever evergreen forest occurs up to the highest
elevations, and to be found even in the small patches of evergreen
growing along ravines in the deciduous forest. Plenty of undergrowth;
Strobilanihes, rattans or young trees are essential to their require-
ments, and cardamom cultivation is a very favourite resort. They are
not arboreal birds, and seldom venture more than a foot or two above
the ground, skulking through the undergrowth in considerable flocks
of adozen or more. Normally they are very quiet but on being alarm-
ed set up a tremendous ‘ churring’, audible at a considerable distance.
They have a passion for nest-building and in any of their normal haunts
one will probably find a nest every hundred yards or so at any time of
year. They are very rough balls of dead leaves six to eight inches in
diameter which fall to pieces at a touch, jammed into a fork of a shrub
at two or three feet from the ground, and without lining. These nests
are not used for breeding, though the birds certainly roostin them at
times, if not regularly. The real nests are similar in design but much
more carefully built, and lined with black rhizomes and grass. They
are very well hidden in thick herbage within a couple of feet from the
ground, often on the edge of a skola, whereas the ‘cock’ nests are
usuaily inside. One exceptional one I have seen was quite as roughly
built as a ‘cock’ nest but lined. ‘There appear to be two breeding
seasons, before and after the monsoon. Nests found with eggs in
March, April and again in September. The usual clutch is two
eggs.
Aegithina tiphia: The [ora.
Common all over Coorg except on the higher hills of the Ghats, but
most numerous in the Inter and Dry Zones. Parkland, orchards, and
open, cultivated country are preferred to forest. Commonand brightly
coloured as it is, it is a bird which is heard more often than seen, as it
keeps much to the tree-tops where the green and yellow of its plumage |
blends with the leaves. It usually goes about in pairs which are
almost invariable members of the mixed flocks. Inthe breeding season,
the cock has a pretty display, flying up vertically for a few feet, and
descending with wings and tail outspread and all his feathers fluffed
out, especially those of the white rump, till he looks like a little ball.
The nesting season appears to be extended but the nests are hard to
find. April and May seem to be the chief months, but I have found
+) no) Seah aac
THE BIRDS OF COORG 3r
one in August. They are beautifully made, shallow cups not more than.
two and a half inches in diameter, built of shreds of bark so covered
externally with cobweb as to be almost white in colour, and lined with
a little grass. I have seen them four feet up in a coffee bush, or thirty
feet up in a big fig tree. They are slung in a horizontal fork of an
outlying twig. Both birds assist in building and brooding, but in one
case which [ watched, the cock did not feed the young himself, but
handed over the green caterpillars which he brought to the hen for
distributicn.
The Iora is the favourite host in Coorg for the Banded Bay
Cuckoo.
Chloropsis aurifrons: The Gold-fronted Chloropsis.
Common throughout the Inter-Zone and the lower slopes of the
Ghats, and extends into the deciduous forest. It is a noisy bird, and
owing to its green colour and its fondness for thick evergreen tree-tops,.
it is far more often heard than seen. Flowering trees in blossom
particularly Bombax, Erythrina, and Acrocar pus are a certain attraction.
One or two pairs can usually be seen in any of the mixed flocks. The
song is anextraordinarily loud and voluble rattle, and the bird is an
excellent mimic, introducing the calls of all sorts of other birds with
remarkable verisimilitude. I have never been able to find a nest, but
the season is probably prolonged as juveniles in immature plumage
~ may be seen both before and after the monsoon.
Chloropsis jerdoni: Jerdon’s Chloropsis.
Occurs, but without considerable collecting it will be difficult to.
determine its status as it is so similar in habits and field appearance to
the last species. I suspect however, as remarked by Salim Ali in the:
Travancore Survey, that it tends to replace C. aurifrons in the Dry-
Inter and Dry Zones.
Microscelis psaroides: The Black Bulbul.
Very common in the hiil so/as above 4,000’. It is a great wanderer:
in the cold weather, and may then be found in‘large, noisy flocks in the
Inter-Zone, especially where there are any nectar- bearing trees in flower.
In the Nilgiris I found that they mostly left the very wet western face
at the onset of the S. W. monsoon after breeding. The flocks follow
each other from tree to tree with harsh grating calls, and they are
entirely arboreal, never coming near the ground. Their food seems to:
be chiefly berries of various sorts and nectar when obtainable. Breed-
ing takes place from March to May, the favourite localities being the
edges of sholas from 4,500’ upwards, where the trees become stunted
and thin out into the grass downs of the tops. The nest is a neat cup of
green moss lined with grass. It is very shallow, and small for the size
of the bird, and is placed in an outlying horizontal fork of a small,
moss-grown tree at ten to fifteen feet from the ground, being far from
easy to spot. The usual clutch is two.
Molpastes cafer: The Red-vented Bulbul.
‘The distribution of this species in relation to Otocompsa jocosa is.
rather peculiar. In the Dry Zone scrubland, 1% cafer is the predomi--
32 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
nant species, though O. jocosa occurs. Throughout most of the Inter-
Zone both species are common with O. jocosa predominant. In the Wet
Zone evergreen above 4,000’, O. jocosa is found alone. Yet in the
Pollibetta district, c. 3,000’, Inter tending to Dry-Inter, O. jocosa is very
numerous, and JZ. cafer scarce, while round Mercara, c. 4,000’, wet
evergreen, J/. cafey abounds.
Fairly open country is its main requirement. It is usually seen in
pairs throughout the year. Fruit and berries are the principal food,
but numbers of insects are consumed especially when there are young
to bs fed, and they take part eagerly in the general crusade against the
emerging swarms of termites at the beginning of the rains.
The nest is usualiy built higher up than that of O. jocosa, and though
similar to that of the latter, can be recognised with a little practice.
A favourite site is at the end of a pollarded branch of an isolated tree,
concealed in a tuft of leaves. A solid foundation is preferred and the
nest is seldom built in a bush or at the end of slender twigs. The most
unusual site I have seen was on a verandah rafter of a bungalow. It
is often well hidden, but I have found nests in leafless trees, visible at
a great distance. Fine twigs and midribs of dead leaves are woven
into a neat cup, lightly bound on the outside with cobweb, and lined
with grass. Two, and less commonly three eggs form the clutch,
Breeding goes on through most of the year with peak periods in
March /April and again in September.
Otocompsa jocosa: The Red-whiskered Bulbul.
One of the commonest birds of Coorg from the highest to the
lowest elevations only absent from the Interior of the Wet Zone
Forests and becoming scarce in the Dry Zone scrub. It is one of those
species that appear to flourish solely through their omnivorousness,
adaptability and fecundity. It is on the whole chiefly a berry eater, but
all kinds of insects are grist to its mill, and much damage is done in
gardens among young peas and seedlings. The nests may be built any-
where, seldom at any great height and sometimes almost on the
ground. They are sometimes well-concealed, but frequently are very
conspicuously placed in some small isolated bush, and the bird who is
a close sitter gives the site away by her agitated departure at the last
moment. Itis safe to say that any seasons’s birds-nesting will yield
as many nests of this species as of all other birds put together.
Being so accessible and easily found, the casualties are enormous,
but the birds breed steadily throughout the year and seem to have
no difficulty in making up for the losses. The nest is a fairly neat cup,
flimsily built of fine twigs and dead leaves, and lined with grass. I have
seen one lined with hair. It is placed in any sort of small bush. The
clutch is two, less commonly three.
The young when first hatched are fed entirely on insects but as they
grow older, berries are brought to them. These bulbuls are regular
members of the mixed flocks, usually in pairs, but occasionally loose
parties of twenty or more may be seen. The jaunty black crest is .
always carried erect except when in flight or brooding.
Jole icterica: The Yellow-browed Bulbul.
A forest species, very common through the wetter, well-wooded
parts of the province. It does not however ascend much above 4,500’.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 33
and despite Mr. Salitn Ali’s remark in the Travancore Survey, I found
that this was usually its definite limit in the Nilgiris, though wanderers
may go higher for short periods. It extends into the deciduous forest
wherever there is a certain amount of evergreen vegetation along rivers
and damp ravines. It does not care for cultivation though a fair num-
ber visit coffee plantations if there is forest close at hand, and I have
found them breeding there. They are arboreal birds, noisy and cheerful,
with a variety of loud, mellow notes. They are mainly frugivorous,
and like all bulbuls are very fond of nectar. Breeding takes place
mostly in Feb./March extending to May. The nest is quite unlike that
of other members of the family. The usual site is in a thinly-foliaged,
isolated shrub in the interior of light forest. In most cases it is within
five feet of the ground, though an exceptional one was built in my
garden at the end of a bough in a tall tree at fifteen feet. It is a slight-
ly built hammock of grass and skeleton leaves, slung in a horizontal
fork with a certain amount of cobwebs and green moss on the exterior,
and lined with grass or black rhizomes, and looks very much like a large
White-eye’s nest. The normal clutch is two. i confirm Sdiim Ali’s
note that the young do notresembie the adults. They area general dull
brown all over the upper parts, head, and breast and lack the general
yellowish tinge of the adults. The only yellow is on the flanks,
Pycnonotus gularis : The Ruby-throated Bulbul.
A common species throughout much of Coorg. It is definitely a
forest bird, avoiding all forms of cultivation, even coffee, but in spite of
this is far from shy. While found in deciduous forest, it prefers
evergreen, and extends from the foot of the Ghats up to 4,000’, seldom
higher. Its most favourite haunt is the mixed stand of bamboo and ever-
green on the borders of the wet and Inter-Zones. It is usually seen in
pairs which keep in touch with a low, constantly uttered call-note, and
in addition it has a sweet, tinkling song. It is a tree-living species,
finding most of its food in the forest canopy, feeding on a variety of
fruit and insects. Lantana berries are largely eaten. I have found
nests from the end of February to early April. The favourite site is on
the edge of a patch of evergreen jungle. They are from ten to twenty
feet up in a thick-foliaged tree, often covered in creepers. From below
they are almost impossible to detect, as they are very small and consist
of a few large, yellow, dead leaves bound lightly with cobweb, and look
just like a casual, wind-blown accumulation of rubbish. The rim is
bound with grass stalks and there is a slight lining of grass. Two has
been the clutch in all nests I have seen.
Pycnonotus luteolus: The White-browed Bulbul.
A bird of dry, open country and scrub jungle. Itiscommon in the
Dry Zone, and also occurs in the Inter-Zone in the patches of ‘ dane’
land, grazing ground with short grass and scattered clumps of lantana
and small trees, which are to be found particularly in the north of the
province. It avoids continuous forest of any kind, and will not be found
above 3,500’. It isas arrant a skulker as any babbler, and is usually seen
in pairs or singly, never in flocks. It keeps entirely to the interior of
the scrub thickets, only emerging from one brake to make a quick dash
across to another. Wereit not for its loud cail, a rattling succession of
five or six notes, its presence would go undetected. The nest is not
3
34 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
easy to find as the birds are so shy, and avoid showing themselves in the
vicinity. The only two I have come across were built in January and
March respectively. One was ina small, scantily-leaved bush in under-
growth under a clump of trees; the other in an isolated thorn bushina
patch of lantana scrub. Both were within three feet of the ground and
might have been taken for those of O. jocosa, but were even more un-
tidily and Joosely-built with very little cobweb in the construction.
Microtarsus poioicephalus: The Grey-headed Bulbul.
This species is confined to heavy evergreen forest, especially along
the banks of rivers, or swampy ground where the trees are overgrown
with lianas and rattan. It occurs on the Ghats from sea-level up to about
3,500’, and is found in the Moist Inter-Zone wherever suitable facies
exist, but avoids cultivation with the possible exception of cardamom
sholas. It is decidedly local, but where found at allis usually numerous.
The pairs or small parties keep to the tops of tall, thick-foliaged trees
and so are not easy to watch. Thecallis a very characteristic, sharp,
finch-like, double ‘chink, chink’. A noticeable field characteristic is the:
width of the tail which is cut very square at the tip. They feed largely
on berries often in company with P. gularts and /. zcterica. 1 have only
found the nest once, on 13 March. It was in a shady ravine in a plant
of the S/rxobz/anthes which formed the undergrowth beneath the tall ever-
green forest. It wasa rough, shallow cup of dead grass and rootlets
lined with the latter, balanced on a leaf and bound to the mainstem with
cobweb so loosely that it looked as if it would overbalance at any
minute. The solitary hardset egg, though of bulbul type, was quite
distinctive and could not have been mistaken for that of any other
species.
Brachypteryx major: The Rufous-bellied Shortwing.
So far only recorded, as faras Coorg is concerned, by Davison from
the Brahmagiris on the extreme southern border of the Province. As
however Salim Ali has now found it on the Bababudans in N. Mysore,
it probably occurs in small numbers at high elevations all along the
Ghats though I have never come across it myself. In the Nilgiris it is
common and I have found a number of nests. The birds very much
resemble the White-bellied Flycatcher (Muscicapula pallipes) in habits.
They haunt the interior of dark sodas, lurking in the undergrowth and
seldom showing inthe open. They have a sweet, but low, warbling
song usually only heard at dusk. ‘They are late breeders, most nests
being found in May when the rains have broken. Rather surprisingly,
considering their retiring nature, they frequently build in quite cons-
picuous places. A favourite site is a perpendicular cutting at the side
of a path running through a shola. The nestis a large, loose mass of
green moss wedged into a hollow in the bank, the shallow cup being
lined with black rhizomes. Where the bank is moss-grown it is not easily
seen, but when, as often happens, a bare earth face is chosen, it is visible
at some distance. I have also found nests on a broken tree stump, and
in a hollow in the stem of a big tree. The usual clutch is two.
Tarsiger brunnea : The Indian Blue-chat.
A common winter- -migrant throughout Coorg, except, I think, in the
Dry Zone. They arrive in a wave about the third week in October
RAE BIRDS, OF- COORG 35
_ (dates over ten years Oct. 15th—27th), and fora few days their song may
be heard in every thicket. It is a loud ‘ peep, peep’, followed bya
tumbled jumble of four or five other notes. It is uttered suddenly and
surprisingly, and the bird then remains silent, save for an occasional low
‘tck, tck’, as it feeds. After a week or so numbers decrease presumably
owing to the departure of birds wintering further south. The song is
seldom heard after Christmas, and the birds remain silent until their
departure. They are the most arrant skulkers, keeping to the ground in
the heart of impenetrable thickets, and it is very hard even to catch a
glimpse of them. They havea habit of flirting the tail like a Redstart.
Saxicola caprata : The Pied Bush-chat.
A widespread resident in Coorg. It is common in the Dry Zone
and occurs throughout the Inter-Zone, where however it is more or less
confined to paddy fields. It does not occur on the downs at high-
elevations on the hills, a biotope so popular with the Nilgiri sub-species.
It isa highly territorial bird throughout the year, each pair claiming an
extensive range in which no trespassers are allowed, and there will
seldom be more than one or two pairs in any one stretch of paddy fields.
In the Dry Zone however where their range overlaps that of Saxzcolot-
des fulicata, the two species may be found in occupation of the same area,
despite both having similar habits and a highly developed sense of
property. |
Nesting begins about the end of March, a favourite site being a
paddy-bund. The nest is tucked into some hole or crevice in a bank, and
is asmall cup of grass, lined with rootlets and hair. In front there is
usually a small platform of dead leaves or grass. It is well-concealed
but the position is given away by the birds. The hen slips off quietly
at the first sign of danger, but both remain in the near vicinity scolding
angrily until the intruder is past. The hen does all the nest-building,
but both parents feed the young. The male has a sweet little song,
uttered as he springs in the air and returnsto his perch. I have heard
them singing on bright moonlight nights, long before dawn. In display,
the male crouches on the ground before his mate, singing loudly, wings
and tail spread to expose to full advantage the white rump and wing
patches. The food consists of insects caught by darting froma perch to
the ground or into the air.
Saxicola torquata: The Stone-chat.
A fairly common winter migrant in the Mysore ‘ Maidan’. I have
only once seen one in Coorg, in a paddy field near Fraserpet, in the
Dry Zone.
Phoenicurus ochruros : The Indian Redstart.
A moderately common winter migrant in the Mysore ‘ Maidan’. I
have seen them at Hunsur and Peripatnam and twice in the Coorg Dry
Zone near the Mysore boundary. Open, stony, scrub jungle seems to be
their favourite haunt.
Cyanosylvia svecica: The Bluethroat.
A fairly common winter migrant in Mysore where it is found along the
reedy margins of half-dried tanks. They flit about among the reeds in
36 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
a robin-like manner, but are silent, and I have never heard them uttera
sound. The only record which I have for Coorg wasa solitary seen on
the banks of the Cauvery at Ramasamy Kanave inthe Dry Zone, only
a few yards from the Mysore border.
Saxicoloides fulicata: The Indian Robin.
Confined strictly to the driest part of the province at 2,500’ /3,G00’
where it is common in the thin, stony scrub jungle, and to a less extent
in cultivation. Itis very like the Bush-chat in habits. The birds remain
paired and maintain their breeding territory throughout the year. They
are more terrestrial than the Bush-chat, obtaining most of their food by
hopping actively about on the ground with the long tail carried cocked
high, and in moments of excitement, almost touching the back of the
head. The song is a loud, short, sweet tangle of notes uttered from
the ground or a low perch. Nesting begins as soon as the first spring
showers give the vegetation a start. April and May are the principal
breeding months. ‘The nests are shallow cups of grass, lined with hair,
and are placed in a variety of situations, but usually on the ground ina
hollow in a bank or under a stone. I once found one in a thornbush, two
feet up, which might have been mistaken for a bulbul’s nest. They may be
well-concealed or quite open. Nests I found at Secunderabad nearly all
contained a piece of snakeskin in the construction, but I have not
noticed this in Coorg. The cock shares in the work of feeding the chicks
who are covered in blackish down. ‘Three is the normal clutch.
Copsychus saularis; The Magpie Robin.
Common throughout most of Coorg, but does not cccur on the
Ghats or in evergreen forest, andis less common inthe Dry Zone. Its
favourite haunts are the ‘dave’ lands round villages, open grazing
among scattered trees which are constantly pollarded for firewood and
previde numerous breeding sites in the decaying stubs. Beinga highly
territorial species it is rather thinly distributed, each pair occupying
a considerable area. My garden used to constitute two territories. In
the winter, both pairs came to feed amicably on the crumbs from my
tea-table, but during the breeding season there was continual bickering. .
The cocks come into full song ia January, being particularly vocal at
dawn and dusk. -In the presence of the female, they become quite
possessed, bowing with the body quivering all over, the tail cocked
right over the back, and singing as if their lungs would burst. On one
occasion I saw two males locked in combat on the ground, while the
female hopped round them singing lustily herself though not as loudly
as the males do. Most of their food is obtained on the ground, and
consists of insects. I have seen one attack and kill a young mouse.
In Coorg nesting takes place from February on until the rains, with
occasional post-monsoon broods. In Ceylon, a pair which lived in the
roof of my bungalow, raised a succession of at least three broods be-
tween Apriland August. When flown they all used to roost together on
a limb of a cypress in the garden until the hen began to sit again, and it
was only when the next brood were hatched that the last ones were
finally driven out of the area.
Though the roof of a building may be chosen for a nesting site, the
favour to position isa hole in a tree, either natural or the old boring of
THE BIRDS OF COORG 37
a woodpecker or barbet. It is usually at a considerable height from the
ground, though I once found one in a fence post at four feet. The
female does all the building, which merely consists of making an
exiguous cup of rootlets and the midribs of dead leaves at the bottom
of the hollow. There are usually three eggs. In the first juvenile
plumage, the head and body are mottled brown, only the wings and tail
showing the black and white of the adult. I have seen a completely
albino specimen.
Copsychus malabarica: The Shama.
The range of this species is strictly iimited to the bamboo facies of
the deciduous forest belt. Here it is not uncommon though far from
conspicuous as itis shy, usually silent, and decidedly crepuscular in
habit. It has the sweetest voice of any bird in S. India, and it is only a
pity that it makes such little use of it. The song may most often be heard
at dusk. A few spasmodic fluty notes of singular richness, reminiscent
of the best efforts of the Nightingale, are followed by several minutes’
silence, and then repeated as the bird moves about in the interior of a
bamboo clump. They feed mostly on the ground and among the under-
growth, seldom ascending high into the trees, ‘They are in song from
February onwards until well intothe monsoon. I have never found a nest
in Coorg, but once saw a pair with newly-flown young in June. As with
C. saularis, the juveniles are mottled brown over the head and body but
show the white rump, long black tail, and black and white wings of the
adult. A nest I found in Assam in March was just like that of C. sawlarzs
in a hole in a tree stump, three feet from the ground in mixed forest.
There were three young, When the nest was approached, the parents
uttered a loud alarm note like the creaking of two branches rubbing
together in a wind.
Turdus simillimus: The Blackbird.
A blackbird of some subspecies is resident on the Ghats from their
summits down to about 4,000’. It is to be met with throughout the year
in all the sholas and in the interior of evergreen forest, but is decidedly
shy. Ihave only found old nests butlike the Nilgiri bird they probably
breed during the monsoon when their haunts are difficult of access.
During the cold weather from October to March, blackbirds are
Common in the Inter-Zone specially in the coffee plantations in small
parties. Whether these are migrants from the north or have merely
moved downhill for the winter, I do not know, but I suspect the latter,
as a male I shot was identified as subsp. szmz/limus. The winter
flocks in the coffee feed on the ground among the dead leaves, flying up
into the trees with a squawk of alarm if disturbed. I have seen them
feeding on nectar from the blossoms of Lrydhrina trees.
On the Nilgiris the blackbird is very common, particularly so in
small sholas and patches of cover along streams out on the open downs.
Nesting begins in March, but is at its height after the onset of the
rains, and the males are in song all through the monsoon. I found
many nests there. A few were in evergreen shrubs and in these
cases were substantial cups of moss, grass and lichen with an outer
lining of mudand an inner one of grass. ‘The great majority, however,
were on ledges or cracks in banks where the earth had been laid bare
38 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
by a slip, and in such sites were often mere cups of mud lined with
grass with a little moss and lichen building up the front.. The clutch
is two, occasionally three. :
In Ceylon :the local subspecies is one of the few birds really at
home in tea cultivation. The nests are usually well-concealed in the
crowns of pollarded Gvevzllea trees, but may sometimes be found
completely in the open in a fork in one of the sparsely-leaved Erythrinas
grown for green manure.
Oreocincla dauma; The Nilgiri Thrush.
I have never seen this bird in Coorg myself though it may easily
occur in the higher Ghat forests as it is such a shy dweller in the
deepest woodland that it can easily be missed. On the other hand
since the Mysore Survey only records it from the Billigiris, it may well
be another of those high-level species which do not extend further north
than those hills.
Geokichla wardi: The Pied Ground-thrush.
Never seen in Coorg, and only once in the Nilgiris, where I came
across two males at 4,500’ in the Ochterlony Valley in forest on
Feb. 28th.
Geokichla citrina cyanotus : The White-throated Ground-thrush.
This very well-marked resident race seems almost worthy of specific
rank. It isa bird of medium elevations, and is numerous all through
the Inter-Zone. It does not occur on the Ghats much above 4,000’, but
extends through the deciduous forest belt in lessening numbers as the
rainfall diminishes to its limit on the edge of the Dry Zone proper.
Fairly open, well-wooded country suits it best, particularly coffee
cultivation. It has a typical thrush song, first heard in February, loud,
sweet and very variable. The bird sings from a perch well up ina tree,
In fact the trivial name is a bad one, for though they obtain most of
their food on the ground, they are otherwise largely arboreal. The
male has a peculiar display, standing very erect and rigid on a bough
beside his mate with the head bent stiffly and tucked into the ©
breast feathers as he sings vigorously. Breeding starts late, seldom
before the beginning of May by which time there has been a certain
amount of rain, and the ground is softening, and earthworms are
obtainable. It continues all through the monsoon up to September.
The nests are substantial cups of moss, roots, and wood pulp, and often
a certain amount of mud, with a lining of rootlets and leaf stems.
They may be found in a variety of situations from thirty or forty feet up
ona horizontal fork of a tall tree, to a crotch of a sapling or coffee
bush within four feet of the ground. Wherever it is they prefer an
open situation to one in the interior of a bush, and the lower nests are
in consequence extremely conspicuous, and casualties are very high
indeed. ‘They often choose the Avythrzna lithosperma saplings in young
coffee clearings. One pair which I had under observation made
unsuccessiul attempts to breed four times in different saplings over an
area of fifty square yards. I was able to follow one breeding cycle
right through. The hen was extremely bold while brooding, the cock
who did not seem to take his share in this work was much shyer. As
MIE BIRDS OF COORG i 39
soon as the young hatched, both parents fedthem, largely on earthworms,
It was noticeable that while the hen used to brood for a short spell after
each feed, the cock merely fed the young, swallowed any faeces that
were passed and went straight off. After the fifth day, the faeces
were no longer eaten, but simply removed and dropped over the side
ofthe nest. The incubation period was 13/14 days, and the young flew
on the 12th day from hatching. In order to get some moore photo-
graphs, I tethered one on the ground. The parents came to feed it and
still removed the droppings though it was out of the nest.
After the beginning of October, the birds become very shy and are
seldoin seen, keeping to the ground and the undergrowth. Their
numbers seem so reduced that I suspect that many migrate elsewhere
during the winter months.
Monticola cinclerhyncha: The Blue-headed Rock-thrush.
A common winter migrant throughout the Inter-Zone of Coorg,
particularly partial to coffee plantations. During its stay, it is to be
found mostly in woodland of a fairly light nature, and is almost
exclusively arboreal, living in the trees and finding most of its food
there in the form of insects picked off the trunks and branches. It is of
a solitary disposition as regards its own species but may sometimes be
seen accompanying the mixed flocks. The average date of arrival over
ten years has been Oct. 17th and it leaves about the end of March. I
have never heard it singing, but it has a peculiar grating call note,
seldom uttered.
Monticola solitaria: The Blue Rock-thrush.
A regular winter migrant but not nearly so numerous as the last.
It will be found singly on any of the more cragzy peaks of the Ghats up
to the highest elevations, keeping to bare sheets of slab rock, where it
feeds on insects caught in the crevices and under boulders. Occasion-
- ally a bird will adopt a building in otherwise unsuitable country. I have
twice known one spend a whole winter on or in the close proximity of a
coffee store with its adjacent cement drying floors, roosting under the
eaves and taking shelter there when alarmed, and never going more
than fifty yards away. I saw one of these dealing with a large centipede,
three or four inches long. It was beating it on a stone to subdue it.
They come in about the middle of October and leave in March.
Myiophoneus horsfieldii; The Whistling Thrush.
Common in the rain forest on the western slopes of the Ghats from
sea-level up to 4,000’ or more. It occurs sparingly through the Inter-
Zone wherever there are permanent, swift-running, rocky streams. It
is essentially a waterside bird, and demands rocks, rapids and shady
evergreen jungle. Slow, sandy or muddy rivers are ofno usetoit. It
is sedentary, each pair occupying the same territory year after year, and
building on the same site, often on the foundations of an old nest.
Except in the breeding season they are shy and silent, hunting their
food in the stream bed or in the undergrowth on the banks, the only
sound uttered being aloud, single call note. From April onwards the
males begin their sweet, loud song, a few rich notes wandering aimlessly
up and down the scale for allthe world like a boy whistling at random.
40 JOURNAL, BOMBAVANATURAL WISTS SOCIETY) Voll va0
It is most often heard at dawn and dusk. Breeding does not start until
the rains have well broken and the streams are coming down in spate.
It goes on from May to August in the height of the monsoon. The nest
is usually placed on some rocky ledge beside a waterfall or rapid, often
in a spot continually soaked in spray. At times however they will nest
in the rafters of a building, such as a mill or pulphouse on the river
bank. The nest isavery bulky and solid cup of moss, often plastered
in place with a foundation of mud especially when built on a sloping
ledge. The lining is of roots, and the clutch numbers two or three.
Two broods are often reared in the same nest without rebuilding.
Muscicapa parva: The Red-breasted Flycatcher.
A widely-spread and fairly numerous winter visitor over most of
Coorg. I have noticed it most often in coffee cultivation but any fairly
well-wooded country suits it. I have never seen one witheven a sug-
gestion of red on the breast. ‘T'he most distinctive feature is the partial-
ly white outer tail feathers which are displayed when the bird spreads
its tail and cocks it over its back, a constant habit while perching. It
is a typical flycatcher in its ways, flying out from a perch to catch
insects on the wing, or not infrequently on the ground, and cons-
tantly uttering its call note, a low ‘tck, ck’. It is seen singly and isa
late arrival appearing in the last week of October.
Muscicapula pallipes: The White-bellied Blue Flycatcher.
Not uncommon at medium elevations up to 4,500’. It is typically a
bird of dense evergreen forest, where it flits unobtrusively among the
undergrowth and lower trees. Its quietand retiring habits make it
seem rarer than itis. It does not often come into cultivation but I
have seen it on several occasions in the bamboo jungle of the Inter-
Zone well out of its normal range. Itis a sluggish little bird, seldom
catching insects on the wing, but working through the thickets or
dropping to the ground, constantly twisting and fanning its tail. The
call note is a low, ¢sk, tsk, and the male has a sweet little song of a few
notes uttered in a quiet, contemplative manner. I have not found the
nest, but saw a pair feeding newly flown young at the end of June, so
that it is probably a monsoon breeder.
Muscicapula rubeculoides ; The Blue-throated Flycatcher.
This species must occur in Coorg, as it is recorded as common
by the Surveys both of Travancore and Mysore. .I can only assume
that as it is not noted in the Fauna as being a S. Indian bird, I was not
on the look-out for it, and must have failed to distinguish it from
M. tickelliae. In view of this and Salim Ali’s discovery of M. supercilt-
aris in Mysor2, any worker in the south will be well-advised to pay
particular attention to the Blue Flycatchers, especially in winter, as it is
possible that more of the N. Indian species migrate south than are
suspected. On one occasion I had an excellent view of a typical
Muscicapula which I was unable to place. The upper parts were dark,
slatey blue, lores and cheeks black, a conspicuous but narrow white
supercilium, throat, breast, and underparts rufous. The only species
which at all appears to correspond is M. hyperythra. 5
LAGE P ERD STORTECOORG 41
Muscicapula tickelliae ; Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher.
Well distributed through Coorg at medium elevations. It does not,
I think, ascend the hills above 4,000’. It is perhaps commonest in the
Inter-Zone, both in the evergreen sholas and in coffee, and extends all
through the Deciduous Forest and into the Dry Zone wherever there
are clumps of large trees, such as mango topes and roadside banyan
avenues. Itis an arboreal species finding most of its food in the air
or among the treetops, and seldom if ever comes to the ground. The
breeding season is late—chiefly May and June. The males sing at
intervals throughout most of the year, but in April and May their
tinkling cadence is to be heard continuously. Most of the nests which I
have seen were built in crevices formed by the twisting aerial roots of
large parasitic fig trees. They are at any height from the ground,
usually well up, and consist of a little loosely-packed pile of green moss
filling up the hollow, with a shallow cup lined with black roots. I have
one record of a nest in an old barbet hole.
Eumyias albicaudata ; The Nilgiri Verditer Flycatcher.
I have never seen this species in Coorg. Since however Salim Ali
has obtained it both in the Billigiris and the Bababudans, it seems
probable that it must exist in the province on the Coorg Ghats, though
it is certainly very rare, as So distinctive a species would not be easily
overlooked, and I have searched for it carefully.
On the Nilgiris where it abounds, breeding takes place in March/
Apri). I have found many nests, in cracks in trees or among the
hanging roots on an undercut bank at no great height from the ground.
They are substantial cups of moss, lined if at all with black rhizomes.
The sholas and well-wooded gardens and plantations are its favourite
haunts at an elevation of 4,000’ and upwards. The song is a sweet
little warble up and down the scale.
Eumyias thalassina; The Verditer Flycatcher.
A regular winter migrant and widely spread but in small numbers.
I have seen them most often in coffee cultivation, where they occur
singly or in pairs, keeping to the highest treetops and hawking flies in
the usual flycatcher manner. They are late in arriving and leave early.
I have not seen them before the last week of October, and often not
until November, and they have left by early February. While in
Coorg I have never heard them attempt to sing or even utter a call note,
Alseonax latirostris : The Brown Flycatcher.
Alseonax muttui : Layard’s Flycatcher.
Iam not certain of the respective distribution and status of these
two species. A. dativostris undoubtedly occur throughout the year as
a resident in small numbers as I have records of seeing it in every
month, and I saw one feeding a newly flown juvenile on May 16th.
Numbers, however, are greatly increased during the ‘winter months,
and it looks as if the small resident population is augmented by migra.
tion from the north. Some of these are probably A. muttuz which I
am not prepared to identify in the field. Coffee cultivation and light
deciduous woodland, or the borders of evergreen sholas at medium.
42 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
elevations are their favourite haunts. They are nearly always seen
singly, and are silent unobtrusive little birds, keeping to the treetops
and catching flies on the wing.
~
Ochromela nigrorufa: The Black-and-Orange Flycatcher.
This is another montane species common in the Nilgiris whose
furthest northern limit appears to be the Billigirirangan Hills. I have
searched for it most carefully in the Coorg Ghats which appear to pro-
vide a perfectly suitable biotope but without success. In the Nilgiris
it occurs freely from 4,500’ upwards. These birds are far from being
typical flycatchers in habits. They frequent dark, evergreen sholas with
a plentiful undergrowth of Stvobilanthes or bamboo. Here they hop
about among the undergrowth, seldom ascending far from the ground.
They are silent birds and appear to have no song. The alarm note is
the usual flycatcher ‘ zz/, z7t’, and they have another call note, a
melancholy, low ‘fee’. They are tame and confiding, especially so at
the nest. This is normally built low down in a shrub in the interior of
a shola though I have found them just outside. It is almost indistin-
guishable from that of Ahopocichla atriceps, a ball of dead leaves, some-
times lined with grass, and sometimes quite unlined. The normal
clutchis two. Inthe case of one pair which I watched building, the
hen did all the collection of material and construction, but the male was
in close attendance. A juvenile being fed by its parents had black
wings, and russet rump and tail as in the adult, while the head, back,
and. underparts were speckled light and dark brown. May to July
seems to be the normal nesting season.
Culicicapa ceylonensis ; The Grey-headed Flycatcher.
The status of this bird in Coorg is rather obscure. It is presum-
ably resident in the hill sholas but I have not been able to confirm
breeding. They are certainly most numerous in the higher and wetter
parts of the province, but are nowhere as common as in the Nilgiris.
Elsewhere they are to be found at times throughout the Inter-Zone in
evergreen jungle and coffee cultivation but I have not seen them in
deciduous forests. At the lower elevations, they are wanderers, here
today and gone to-morrow, though a pair may occupy a particular beat
for some weeks together. They turn up at any time of year except
between March and May, when they are presumably breeding in the
hill forests. I have found nests in the Nilgiris and the Ceylon hills in
May. ‘They have been variously built on mossy tree trunks, a moss-
erown boulder, or a bare earth cutting. The nest is a beautiful little
half-cup of moss or lichen, felted with cobwebs and is usually composed
of the materials of the background to which it is attached so that it is
far ftom conspicuous. The sides of the cup are continued up for
several inches to strengthen the support on the vertical face. All
clutches I have seen have been three.
These little flycatchers are among the most active of their tribe,
performing themost vigorous acrobatics in pursuit of their prey, and
are constant members of the mixed flocks, acting, as Salim Ali well puts
it, as outriders, nipping up any particularly agile insects which escape
the main body. ‘They have a short, sweet, and surprisingly loud song,
which is constantly utterea,
THE BIRDS OF COORG 43
Tchitrea paradisi: The Paradise Flycatcher.
Apparently purely a winter migrant in this area. They begin to
appear in early October, and I have records up till the end of April, but
I have not seen them during the monsoon, nor have I been able to
detect any suggestion of their breeding in the province. Throughout
the winter months, they are to be found in small numbers, usually
singletons, all over the country; in orchards and gardens in the Dry
Zone, throughout the deciduous forest and coffee lands of the Inter-
Zone, and well up the slopes of the Ghats. They prefer fairly dense,
shady woodland, particularly along river banks and near water. All
phases of plumage may be seen, though fully white males are not as
common as females and juveniles, while males in the long-tailed red
plumage are rare. It commorly associates with the mixed flocks until
these break up at the onset of the breeding season.
Hypothymis azurea: The Black-naped Blue Flycatcher.
Quite common in the Inter-Zone. I have not seen it in the Dry
Zone nor on the Ghats above 4,000’. They like shady, well-wooded
country, particularly coffee cultivation. They are spritely, active birds,
regular members of the mixed flocks. There is no song, but the
constantly uttered, grating, double call-note is quite distinctive. They
are always on the move, and when excited they have a habit of postur-
ing and fanning the tail somewhat after the manner of Rhipidura
-aureola but not nearly to such an exaggerated degree.
Breeding starts rather late. I have found a nest in early March
but one most commonly comes on them in late April and May. They
are not hard to find if the birds are watched as the latter are by no -
means secretive. They are dainty, conical cups about 34” in depth by
24” in diameter, firmly bound to a vertical twig usually at the end of a
pendant spray. I have found them on coffee bushes within two feet of
the ground, but twelve to fifteen feet is more usual; often fully exposed
ona bare bamboo. They are made of shreds of bark and cobweb, the
exterior plastered with cobweb and cocoons until it is quite white. The
hen does all the building, though the cock accompanies her closely.
She sits in the incomplete nest, turning round and round, shaping the
cup with her body while plastering the outside or weaving in the strong
grass rim with her bill. The lining is of fine grass and the usual
clutch three.
Rhipidura aureola: The White-browed Fantail Flycatcher.
Confined strictly to the Dry Zone and uncommon there. It is found
in fairly open country in the neighbourhood of mango topes and banyan
groves. It is apparently resident, but I have not found anest. It is
frequently seen singly, though sometimes keeping company with a flock
of some other species such as TZurdoides, Dumetia, Chrysomma or
Franklinia.
It is an odd little bird, constantly pirouetting with extended wings,
and the long tail spread in a wide fan. The song is a merry, little
whistle of several notes, frequently uttered.
Lanius vittatus: The Bay-backed Shrike.
Restricted to the Dry Zone where it is found in small numbers in
open, scrub-grown wasteland. It is undoubtedly resident, though I
44 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
have not found the nest. A typical shrike in every way. From its
behaviour, I suspect it is a late breeder, nesting in May and June after
the early showers have brought on a growth of vegetation and insect life.
Lanius schach: The Grey-backed Shrike.
Well distributed throughout the more open parts of Coorg, but not,
I think at high elevations, though in the Nilgiris it is common enough
on the Plateau at 6,000’. In Coorg I have not seen it above 4,000’. In
the Inter-Zone it will be found wherever open grazing land occurs, and
in the Dry Zone in smaller numbers in the same country as the last
species though, as Salim Ali remarks, it tends to prefer a rather more
wooded and orchard-like factes. Numbers are never large as it is -
highly territorial and each pair maintains a large hunting ground which
is strictly preserved and occupied throughout the year.
In the Eastern Ghats Survey, Whistler suggests that some of the
Coorg birds may be winter migrants, ZL. s. erythronotus, but in fact all
our birds seem to be strictly resident, and I have seen no signs ofa
winter influx of visitors.
They are bold, fierce birds whose usual note is a harsh scream. re
the breeding season however, the male has a sweet song. It is uttered
in a low, meditative tone, and the bird is an excellent mimic introdu-
cing all sorts of other avian songs and calls.
The nest is usually placed in some isolated thorn bush well out in
the open. Although in most cases in the heart of the bush, and well-
protected by thorns, itis seldom at any considerable height from the
ground, nor particularly well-concealed. As I have noticed however in
the case of the European Red-backed Shrike, the materials used in the
exterior of the stoutly-wovencup are of an untidy, ragged, weatherworn
nature—small sticks, fragments of ‘Old Man’s Beard, ’ and dead leaves
and grass—so that at a casual glance the nest looks like an old one. The
lining consists of rootsand grass. Four eggs form the normal clutch,
sometimes five. Breeding does not begin much before mid-April, and
most nests are found in May.
Lanius cristatus: The Brown Shrike.
One of the commonest winter migrants teCoorg. It occurs, always
singly, all over the province in all types of country except the interior
of evergreen forest. Itis one of the earliest arrivals, and among the
last to depart. The first come in during the second or third week of
September, and most have left by the end of April, but I have seen
stragglers in early May. A large proportion of the birds visiting us are
juveniles with the lower plumage still faintly barred.
Hemipus picatus: The Black-backed Pied Shrike.
This little bird, in its habits, is much closer to the wood-shrikes and
minivets than to the true shrikes. It is fairly common at medium
elevations throughout most of the province. I have not noticed it
above 4,000’, and on the Ghats it avoids heavy evergreen forest. It is
most numerous in the lighter woodlands of the Inter-Zone coffee lands,
and the adjoining deciduous forest, becoming scarce if not entirely
absent inthe Dry Zone. It is strictly arboreal, and haunts the treetops
in small family parties, hawking insects actively on the wing likea
THE BIRDS OF COORG 45
flycatcher. It utters constantly a wheezy call-note of three or four
syllables.
Breeding takes place mostly in March while the deciduous trees are
still bare. The nest is buiit on a horizontal bough of a dead, or at any
rate leafless, tree, usually at a great height from the ground. Itisa
tiny, very- neatly-built, cup scarcely two inches in diameter, constructed
of lichen and cobweb, and so woven and blended to the upper surface
of the branch that from below it appears as a scarcely discernible knot
in the wood. Small as is the bird, when sitting she overlaps the nest
to such an extent that except for her rather hunched-up attitude, it is
hard to realise that she is not perching normally. The camouflage
extends to the young as they are covered in grey down of the same
colour as the nest and bough, and except in the presence of their parents
remain in a state of rigid stillness with beaks pointing vertically, and are
practically invisible. The arrival of the old birds with food breaks the
trance however, and I once saw a family roused toa great state of
excitement and demonstrativeness by a sunbird which settled within a
foot ofthem. The only nest which I have been able to reach was un-
usually low, 15’ up. The lining was of dried, fine grass. Both birds
were taking part in the building, but it was deserted on completion
before eggs were laid.
Tephrodornis gularis: The Malabar Wood-shrike.
A very common species in the wetter parts of the province at
medium elevations. It is found everywhere in evergreen forest up to
4,000’ but preferably ofa light ty pe, in well-wooded park land, and especi-
ally in coffee cultivation. It occurs in lessening numbers through the
deciduous forest belt, but its place is taken in the Dry Zone by
the next species.
Through much of the year, particularly after the breeding season,
they are found in large flocks, which make up a major proportion of the
mixed hunting parties. Atthis time oftheyear they are very noisy, con-
Sstantly uttering a loud call —‘chrrr, whit-lu, whtt-tu, whit-lu’ ora
harsh, querulous, single —‘chak’. The flight is undulating with slow,
sailing wingbeats. ‘They are active enough at catching insects on the
wing, but their special hunting grounds are the trunks and branches of
tall trees. Their eyesight must be very sharp as they will sail down
and pick an insect off a treetrunk fifty yards from their perch. They
specialise in those of the largest size, big moths, locusts, and caterpillars
which are hammered into subjection on a bough. In the evenings the
flocks may be seen bathing in a pool or stream, swooping down and
dipping on the wing as flycatchers and drongos do.
During the breeding season, they become shy and secretive, and
the nests are extremely hard to find. The birds are paired by
January but the main nesting period seems to be in mid-May. ‘The
few nests I have succeeded in finding have been in substantial
horizontal forks of shade trees in coffee at twenty or thirty feet from the
ground. They are shallow saucers about 4 inches in diameter, cemented
with cobweb onto the upper surface of the bough where it widens
Into the fork, and practically nothing shows from below. ‘The sides
are built up for an inch and a half with felted lichen and cobwebs, and
the lining is of grass and leaf-stems. Two eggs appears to be the
normal clutch. ‘The juveniles when they leave the nest are speckled
46 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Vol. m0
grey all over the upper parts, particularly on the head, but very soon
assume the adult plumage.
Tephrodornis pondicerianus : The Common Wood-shrike.
This species replaces the lastin the Dry Zone. The two overiap
on the borders of the deciduous forest, but the present species is much
less a woodland bird than its larger relative and is quite at home in
scrub jungle, provided there are a certain number of small trees.
Their habits are very similar to the last, but they are not such noisy
birds, and occur in smaller flocks, family parties of five or six being the
rule. Breeding takes place in February and March, for they do not
wait as do so many of the Dry Zone birds for the first showers. The
nest is built, entirely exposed, on a horizontal branch of some leafless
tree. They are small replicas of those of 7. gu/arzs and quite as hard
to see unless given away by the owners. ‘Three eggs seem the normal
clutch. The youngare clad in grey down, exactly the colour of the
nest and the lichen-covered bough on which it is built. Both parents
feed the young on insects, many of which are caught on the ground.
Pericrocotus flammeus: The Orange Minivet.
A common bird all over the Wet Zone in forested country, found in
the hill solas up to the tree limit, also through the wetter portion of the
Inter-Zone, particularly in coffee land, They hardly eater the deciduous
and are not found at allin the Dry Zone. They are very conspicuous
birds, with their bright colouring, and spritely flycatcher-like ways.
They roam through the tree-tops in smail parties of half a dozen or so,
in which scarlet males are in a minority. Common asthey are, I have
not been able to find a nest in Coorg, nor discover much about their
breeding habits. They appear to flock practically throughout the year,
and evidently nest high up among the tree-tops. I have seen nests
blown down in a storm which were presumably attributable to this
species, and in the Nilgiris saw one building in a tall Blue-gum in
November. On the other hand a male shot in September was in post-
nuptial moult, and I have records ox males in transformation plumage
from yellow to red in February and July so it looks as if the breeding
season is a prolonged one.
Pericrocotus peregrinus: The Little Minivet.
The Little Minivet is common inthe Dry Zone, and the adjoining
deciduous forest belt, and is fairly common in the drier portion of the
Inter-Zone in coffee land, but appears to be merely a wanderer there,
appearing spasmodically. Itisabsent from the higher and wetter paris
of the province. In the coffee shade trees, their habits resemble those
of the last species, They range the tree-tops in company with other
birds. On the other hand they are quite at home in the Dry Zone scrub,
where the largest trees are little more than bushes. The breeding season
appears to be mainly in Marchand April at which time the birds are
seen in pairs which keep very cluse company. The only nest I have
seen was just begun when found on April 22nd. Both birds were
bringing lichen to a bough seven feet from the ground in a thorn bush in
open scrub. ‘The nest was apparently complete a week later, but never
contained eggs. It was a beautifully neat, very deep little cup of flakes
of lichen and bark bound with cobwebs to the upper surface of the
THE: BIRDS: OF COORG 47
branch, and lined with rootlets. The walls though firm and strongly
woven were extremely thin. Although not quite so well camouflaged as
the nests of Hemipus and Tephrodornis, it was by no means noticeable
even at a range of a few feet, though quite unconcealed by foliage.
Lalage sykesi: The Black-headed Cuckoo-shrike.
A fairly common resident in the Dry Zone, both in cultivated areas
and scrub jungle. Over the rest of Coorg, it seemsa regular winter
visitor, arriving about the second week of October, and leaving in March,
and spreading all over the province up to considerable elevations on
the Ghats. Even in its winter haunts, however, it isa bird of fairly open
country with scattered trees, avoiding continuous forest and even
heavily wooded cultivation such as coffee under shade. It is usually seen
singly, and is a quiet bird. I cannot recollect hearing even acall-note.
It works the upper branches of trees and tall bushes for insects, flying
out to catch prey escaping on the wing. The only nest I have found
was in the Dry Zone in a small, isolated tree twenty feet high in open
scrub-grown grazing land on June 7th. The foliage was thin and the
nest, though small, was ina bare fork of two twigs about a foot from
the top and was not inconspicuous. It was a shallow saucer akout 23”
in diameter and was made of dry grasses, lightly bound with cobweb,
forming a compact and firm structure, but lacking the finish of the nests
of the minivets and woodeshrikes. It contained one well-grown chick
and an addled egg.
Coracina novaehollandiae [macei] ; The Large Grey Cuckoo-shrike.
A wandering species found in small numbers all through the
deciduous forest belt, the adjoining parts of the Inter-Zone, and the
better wooded portions of the Dry Zone. They are usually seen in
pairs or small parties, and seldom remain in one locality for more than
a day ortwo. ‘They keep to tall trees, playing follow-my-leader from
one to another with a swooping, undulatory flight, and are extremely
noisy, constantly uttering loud, querulous screams. The only nest I have
seen was found at the end of January. It was sixty feet up in a huge
Bombax tree on a fireline in the deciduous forest. It was built in a hori-
zontal fork of an outlying branch, and was quite inaccessible. It appeared
to be a small cobweb-covered hammock rather after the drongo pattern.
Artamus fuscus: The Ashy Swallow-shrike.
A very local species, but common where it occurs. Confined to the
deciduous biotope of the Inter and Dry Zones. It is most commonly
seen in teak and sandal clearings in deciduous forest reserves, where
isolated dead trees provide suitable perches and nesting sites. In habits
it closely resembles the bee-eaters. Numbers may be seen perched,
huddled together, flying out to capture their insect prey which is
invariably taken on the wing, and like bee-eaters they often soar for
considerable periods at great heights from tbe ground. They are parti-
cularly active at sunset, especially when a flight of termites is emerging.
They are bold birds, and chase with harsh cries any hawk or other
raptor which appears in the vicinity. The only nest I have knowledge
of, was being built on April 15th, in a hollow on the upper surface of
a main bough of a dead tree, 40’ up and quite inaccessible, in a sandal
clearing. Both birds were very busy bringing bits of grass, but one,
48 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
presumably the female, appeared to be doing all the actual construction,
her mate passing over the materials as he brought them. They were
very noisy at this time, uttering loud, querulous cries.
Dicrurus macrocercus: The Biack Drongo.
Very numerous throughout the province during the cold weather
except in dense forest and on the higher hill tops. They arrive in Octo-
ber and leave by the middle of March. Where our birds breed I do not
know as they are not found in the Dry Zone in the nesting season, nor
in the adjacent parts of the Mysore Maidan.
They are about the last of the diurnal birds to go toroost, and a
familiar spectacle on a cold weather evening is to see numbers, each
perched on the topmost twig of some commanding tree, flying up verti-
cally at frequent intervals to snatch some crepuscular insect outlined
against the afterglow, and diving back with closed wings to their perch.
Like all drongos, this bird bathes on the wing, plunging down to the
surface of a pool or stream, dipping, and returning toa perch to shake
off the drops and preen.
Dicrurus longicaudatus ; The Grey Drongo.
Similarin habits and statusto the last species, arriving and leaving about
the same time. The two species being so alike, I have found it difficult to
discover any outstanding difference in their distribution or mode of life.
Their range is more or less coincident, but the Grey Drongo appears
to bea bird of more forested country than its congener. Both birds are
regular attendants at the nectar feasts provided by flowering trees.
Dicrurus coerulescens; The White-bellied Drongo.
A resident species confined to the eastern borders of the deciduous
forest belt and the adjoining better-wooded portions of the Dry Zone.
Forest clearings and scrub jungle with a fair growth of large trees are
its favourite haunts. Salim Ali particularises bamboo facies, but while
this is popular, itis in my experience nowise essential. It is widely
distributed but is never numerous, each pair maintaining a wide territory.
It is a typical drongo in all respects, bold, conspicuous, and aggressive,
resembling the last two species in calls and habit.
Nesting begins in the latter half of April at which time unless there
have been unusually early rains, the trees are completely leafless and
the whole country bare and burnt over. The nests I have seen have
been built in horizontal forks of isolated trees at heights of 15 to 25 feet.
They are usually well out towards the tip of a bough, but the fork
chosen is a Substantial one, andthenest, which isa shallow, firmly-woven
saucer of grass and bark shreds, is wedged into it, but is not bound on
with cobweb, of which little is used. The normal clutch is of three eggs.
Both birds feed the young. Being fully exposed to the hot weather sun,
one of the pair spends most of the time brooding the chicks while they
are still naked, while the other does the foraging.
Chaptia aenea: The Bronzed Drongo.
One of the most familiar resident birds of the Inter-Zone, It avoids
extensive stretches of evergreen forest and is not found in the higher-or
wetter parts of the province, and it is also absent from the Dry Zone,
though common in the deciduous forest especially in teak and sandal
THE BIRDS’ OF ‘COORG 49
clearings. But undoubtedly its favourite haunts are the light wood-
lands shading coffee and cardamom plantations. It is a typical little
drongo, noisy and demonstrative, with a great variety of calls, many
strongly imitative. One common alarm note is very like the scream of
the shikra. Pairs keep together throughout the year, each maintaining
a permanent territory and breeding in the same vicinity season after
season. They are strictly arboreal, and never leave the shelter of the
woods, and will not be seen perching on the ground in the open or on
a cow’s back as the Black Drongo does. Breeding starts in March and
continues till May, but I think only one brood is reared though the birds
will build a second time if the first nest is destroyed. They are very
loath to desert. I knew of one bird which continued to sit after one of
the eggs had been broken in the nest. Another, after being robbed,
laid again in the same nest shortly afterwards.
The nests are mostly built at a moderate height only, from 12 to 25
feet. The usual site is a horizontal fork in the terminal twigs ofa
lateral branch of a sapling or small tree growing among others of larger
size. Tari (Zerminalia belerica) is a very favourite species. It is
leafless during the breeding season and the nests are in no way concealed.
Nevertheless, and though the birds are far from shy, they are not
at all conspicuous, being small, shallow hammocks of fragments of
inner bark, felted and cemented on the outside with cobwebs until they
are nearly white in colour. The lining is of grass. Both birds take
part in building. While applying the cobweb, the bird sits in the nest,
turning round and round, apparently smoothing the exterior with its
chin. Unlike the last species, the nest is actually slung under the fork
not built on top of it. Three eggs are the usnal clutch. The young
are driven out of the breeding area by June, the old birds remaining
throughout the monsoon silent and subdued, being then in full moult.
Specimens with half-grown outer tail feathers are commonly seen in
July.
Chibia hottentota: The Hair-crested Drongo.
A rather mysterious bird whose status I have been unable to deter-
mine. They are decidedly uncommon, but I have records of them from
Poilibetta in S. Coorg, and Somwarpet in N. Coorg, both in the Inter-
Zone. One or two are seen every year for a few days between
November and March and then disappear. They seem to be entirely
dependent on the nectar feasts provided by flowering Bombax, Ery-
thrina or Acrocarpus, and only on one occasion have I seen one
anywhere except among the hosts of drongos, bulbuls, mynahs,
grackles and other birds which visit these trees in the flowering season.
They are silent birds and extremely shy but their size and peculiar
Square-cut tails, curled up at the outer edges like a Blackcock’s are
very distinctive. The trees they frequent are of the largest size, and
as these giants are nowhere very numerous, it seems as if the birds
must wander widely in search of their favourite food. Where they
breed or how they subsist when the blossoming season is over is an
unsolved problem.
Strangely enough I have found this species to have entirely different
habits at the other end of India, in Assam. There it occupies much the
ecological niche which Dzssemurus paradiseus holds in Coorg, being
common in shaded tea gardens and light deciduous forest, and bold,
2
50 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
tame and familiar, whereas D. paradiseus in Assam is a shy bird of the
deep forest.
Dissemurus paradiseus: The Racket-tailed Drongo.
The range of this species coincides almost exactly with that of
Chaptia aenea. Itisa forest drongo, and is never seen outside continuous
woodland, but on the other hand avoids the depths of dense jungle. It
occurs on the outskirts and in clearings in the Wet Zone evergreen
from the lowest elevations up to 4,000’, avoids the higher hills, but
turns up again in great numbers in the Inter-Zone in the coffee and
cardamom plantations. It extends into the border of the deciduous
forest belt but gets scarcer as the country becomes drier and is absent
from the Dry Zone.
The Racket-tailed Drongo and the Tree-pie are the chieftains of the
coffee avifauna. Bold, bullying, and aggressive, they are masters and
leaders of the mixed flocks, both in foraging and in mobbing attacks
on any owls or hawks which venture into their domain. Their food
consists of insects of all sorts up to the largest size, and’ I would nct
put it beyond them to attack nestlings, or small, weak birds. On two
occasions I have seen one pounce on a particularly large sphingid
larva and carry it off in its claws, a raptorial action I have seen used by
no other passerine bird.
I have previously remarked on the apparent association between this
bird and Dendrocitta vagabunda. It certainly seems to be something
more than a simple case of common habitat and similar tastes in food.
I have several times found the nests of the two very close together,
once in adjoining trees, and have seen a pair of Racket-tailed Drongos
feeding four newly-fledged young who were perched within a few feet
of four young Tree-pies of similar age, also busily attended by their
parents without the slightest friction between the two families. Both
species are territorial and only one pair of drongos and one of tree-pies.
will be found in any one particular area.
Nesting begins in early April and only one brood seems to be
raised. Their nesting habits differ considerably from those of the
smaller drongos. The tree chosen is one in fullleaf, favourite species
being Atti (F7cus glomerata) and Beeti(Dalbergia latifolia). It is usually
a tall sapling growing among larger trees, and the nest is either in the
topmost twigs or towards the end of a lateral branch, seldom less
than twenty feet from the ground. It is a hammock of bark and grass
firmly slung to the twigs of a horizontal fork, but unlined and so loose-
ly woven thatthe eggs can be seen through the bottom. No cobweb
is used in the construction. ‘The sitting bird is shy and silent, slipping
unobtrusively off the nest at the first sign of alarm, but her mate who
remains on guard at a safe distance is as noisy as usual. They are very
faithful to their chosen breeding sites. I have records of nests for four
consecutive yearsin a particular tree. Three eggs is the normal clutch,
‘but as mentioned above I have seen four young being fed. The young
on leaving the nest have short tails but the rackets are fully grown by
mid-June. The old birds go into moult in July and August and lose
their rackets at thistime. The new ones grow from the quillin their
‘final form—an inch or more cf normal feather, and then six inches
of bare shaft with the webbing reduced to a mere vestige. ‘There
THE BIRDS OF COORG. 51
seems to be no sign that the birds trim off the webs themselves as
the S. American motmots are said to do.
The Racket-tailed Drongo is the noisiest of a noisy family. Their
range of calls both harsh and pleasing is extraordinary, and they are
remarkable mimics. In fact in their haunts any unusual and unfamiliar
bird note of any considerable volume that may be heard is likely to be
found to emanate from one of them,
Acrocephalus stentoreus: The Indian Great Reed-Warbler.
According to the Eastern Ghats Survey, there are two specimens
from Coorg in the B. M. I can only claim sight records which are not
reliable in the case of the warblers, but as far as I have been able to
determine, this bird is a regular winter migrant to Coorg in rather
small numbers turning up almost anywhere but chiefly in open country
with plenty of scrub and long grass often at a considerable distance
from water.
Acrocephalus dumetorum: Blyth’s Reed-Warbler.
A very common winter visitor throughout most of the district. It
avoids heavy forest and is most numerous in the more open parts
of the Inter-Zone, where scattered lantana brakes provide convenient
cover. Itis an arrant skulker, very hard to flush but makes its pre-
sence known by its constantly uttered call, a sharp, single ‘ ¢chk’.
Acrocephalus agricola: The Paddy-field Warbler.
Two specimens were collected by W. Davison in the Brahmagiris,.
but I have not come on it myself,
Orthotomus sutorius: The Tailor Bird. bs
I have only noted this species in the Inter-Zone and the lower slopes
of the Ghats where it is common. It avoids heavy forest, and is
eae scarce inthe Dry Zone scrub if it occurs at all. Cultivation,
ardens, and open jungle are its normal habitats. It is everywhere
ment breeding mostly during the monsoon when the herbaceous
growth it requires for nesting is atits maximum. At this time the birds
are very vocal, and their loud—‘chu-—6zt, chu—bit, chu-bit’ resounds all
day long, a call of astonishing volume for so small a creature. Normally
quiet and skulking mouse-like among the the undergrowth, under the
stress of sexual excitement the cock climbs to an outstanding twig and
pours out his feelings, his whole body vibrating with the effort, his tail
cocked till it nearly touches his back, and the feathers of his throat
parting to show their dark bases which gives him the appearance of
having a black gorget.
The nest may be built into one large or several smaller leaves. The
site chosen is in some soft-leaved herb and is seldom more than three
feetfrom the ground. The leaf or leaves are sewn into a bag with thread
made of vegetable down. One continuous thread may serve for several
stitches. ‘The ends do not appear to be knotted but flock out naturally
and hold themselves in place. ‘The upper portion of the leaf nearest
the stem arches over and protects the aperture which faces into the
interior of the shrub. ‘The true nest is built inside the leaf container,
and consists of a soft cup of green moss, feathers, spiders’ egg bags,
52 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
bast, and vegetable floss. The rim is strongly reinforced with bark
fibre. When built near houses or in pot plants ona verandah, as is
often the case, all sorts of unusual materials such as bits of string, wool,
or cotton may be ised. Three eggs are the usual clutch. The hen
when disturbed slips off quietly until she is at a safe distance when she
demonstrates loudly. After the young have flown the families often
join up with the mixed flocks.
Cisticola exilis : The Red-headed Fantail Warbler.
This bird has been recorded from the Brahmagiris in S. Coorg. A
small, dark warbler, which I believe is this species, occurs somewhat
scarely all along the line of the Ghats. I have only seen it at high
elevations of 5,000’ or over, where it lives right in the open among the
foot-high dwarf S/vobtlanthes which covers the hilltops above the tree-
line in a continuous carpet in many places. The little bird bobs up
under one’s feet like a tiny quail, slips a dozen yards with a weak,
fluttering flight, and disappears into the Stvobzlanthes again, and is
almost impossible to flush a second time.
Cisticola juncidis: The Streaked Fantail Warbler.
There are specimens from Coorg in the British Museum. In my
original Notes on the Birds of Coorg (JBNA'S May 31, ’29) I recorded
this species as very common. In the light of maturer experience, and
the knowledge of the danger of claiming definite records of the warblers
from mere sight observations, J must retract this, and cannot affirm that
I have ever unmistakably identified this bird in Coorg.
Franklinia gracilis ; Franklin’s Wren-warbler.
A regular and fairly numerous resident in the Dry Zone scrub, where
in the off season small partiesroam throughthe lantana brakes often in
company with Dumetia albogularis. I have only seen them in the
IntereZone and the deciduous forest in July and August during the
height of the monsoon. At this time of year, the breeding season, they
are particularly noisy and conspicuous and I may have overlooked them
at other periods. I have not found the nest in Coorg, but came across
several in the Ochterloney Valley of the Nilgiri-Wynaad, where they
are very common inthe long elephant grass, covering wide stretches of
land once cleared for coffee, but long abandoned. They were of two
types, but were all builtin large-leaved herbaceous plants growing in
the open among long grass. One form was a cup of fine grass flower-
heads, lined with still finer grass stems, slung all round the rim by
threads of cobwebs to the under-side of a leaf which formed a lid, leav-
ing a small entrance where the leaf-stalk joined the stem of the plant.
The others were just like tailor-birds nests. The two sides and the
end of a large leaf were sewn into a bag, and the nest proper built
inside. The clutches I found were in each case threes.
Phylloscopus spp.
Several species of Leaf Warbiers are very numerous as winter visitors
in Coorg, but not having shot Sperimens, Iam not prepared to attempt
to identify them.
THE BIDS OF “COORG 53.
Prinia sylvatica: The Jungle Wren-warbler.
A Wren-warbler, almost certainly this species, occurs in the Dry
Zone where its habitat seems to be restricted to the stony, uncultivated
ridges sparsely grown with grass and scrub which are a feature of the
area. A nest I found on August 19th was built in a tiny isolated thorn
bush, a foot high. In the middle of this was a little domed purse,
roughly egg-shaped, loosely made of coarse, broad-leaved grass lined
with finer grass. The two fresh eggs were whitish in ground colour,
well-marked all over with spots and blotches of reddish brown and
grey.
Prinia socialis: The Ashy Wren-warbler.
Considering what a familiar and common little bird this is in the
Nilgiris, it is rather remarkable that in Coorg it appears to be extremely
rare. Being one of the few warblers easily recognisable in the field, I
do not think I am likely to have overlooked it. My only record is from
a vegetable garden on the outskirts of Hebbale, a village inthe Dry Zone.
Prinia inornata ; The Nilgiri Wren-warbler.
A small wren-warbler which I suspect is this species is common all
through the Inter-Zone and the lower slopes of the Ghats wherever
paddy cultivation occurs. It frequents growing paddy, and the long
grass of the bunds, and is probably a late monsoon breeder when the
crop has reached its full height, as it is most conspicuous and noisy at.
that time. I have not found the nest however.
Irena puella: The Fairy Bluebird.
The true home of this species is the evergreen rain forest of the
Ghats from the lowest elevations up toabout 3,500’ or a little higher. Here
itis common, and may be considered one of the most typical inhabitants.
of this biotope. It occurs, however, as well all through the Inter-Zone
wherever patches of evergreen jungle are found, and is a regular member
of the avifauna of coffee plantations. It is more or less resident, but
like most frugivorous species wanders a good deal according to the
food supply. The various wild figs make up a large part of its diet, and
it is very partial to the nectar of flowering trees. Pairs are usually seen
and they are noisy birds. The male has an explosive, liquid, bubbling
whistle of two notes—’ whzt—iu, whit-tu, whit-tu.’ As itcalls the tail is
jerked sharply as if with the effort of forcing the air out of the lungs.
[ have found nests from March till May. In the jungle they may be
in any dense-foliaged evergreen, and they are hard to find, but in coffee
plantations in nine cases out of ten they are in ‘jak’ (Artocarpus integri-
_ foli#) saplings, so much so that if a pair is suspected of breeding in an
area, it is usually sufficient to search all the small jak trees in the
neighbourhood to find the nest atonce. It seems a szne gua non that
the chosen tree should be a dense and shady one. The nests are built in
a fork well in the interior from 15 to 20 feet up, though I once found
one in a coffee bush at 5 feet. This however was quite exceptional. The
hen does all the building, the cock accompanying her, calling loudly, and
thus often giving the game away. The nest is very distinctive and
cannot be mistaken for that of any other bird. It consists of arough
platform of straight dead twigs six or seven inches long and remarkably
thick, often at least 4” in diameter. On this is spread a layer of green
54 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
moss, and a scanty lining of rootlets and leaf-ribs, with sometimes a
few Albizzia leaves plucked green. ‘Two isthe invariable clutch in my
experience. Both birds feed the young which are clothed from the time.
of hatching in a thick coat of gray down.
Oriolus oriolus: The Indian Oriole.
A common winter migrant throughout the province up to about
4,000’, most numerous inthe Inter-Zone, and scarce if at all present in
the drier parts of the district. Females and young males come in about
the end of October, but the mature males seem much later in arriving, and
will seldom be seen before December. Even then they are considerably
in the minority. They are always to be seen among the mixed flocks in
the coffee plantations though their food is largely vegetable; the various
wild figs and other fruit and berries. They are noisy birds, their princi-
pal notes being a harsh shriek like that of Covacina novaehollandiae and
the mellow flute-like whistle which gives them their English name.
Oriolus chinensis : The Black-naped Oriole.
I have only once seen this bird, a solitary male in rather dull
plumage in a coffee estate at Pollibetta, S. Coorg, on Feb. 7th. I was
able to make a close and careful observation, and have little doubt of
the correctness of the identification.
Oriolus xanthornus: The Black-headed Oriole.
A rather uncommon resident confined to the Dry Zone where it is
found in the wilder and better wooded parts, and in the adjoining
portions of the deciduous forest. They wander a good deal in the off-
season, being frugivorous, and fruit-bearing trees scarce and widely
scattered in their habitat. They are nearly always seen in pairs, and
betray their presence by their frequently reiterated, melodious whistle,
a note not unlike that of O. ortolus but with a distinctive ‘timbre ’.
The only two nests I have found were begun in the early part of
April and completed by the middle of that month. They were both in
‘small isolated trees, standing in ‘ maidans’ inlight, open forest. They
were deep hammocks of strips of tow-like inner bark, the rim firmly
bound to the underside of a horizontal fork of an outlying bough ata
height of about ten feet. The lining was of grass, and in the only one
in which eggs were laid, a clutch of two was incubated. The female did
all the construction, the male accompanying her, calling constantly. They
were farfrom shy, and were extremely noisy in the vicinity of the nest.
Gracula religiosa: The Southern Grackle.
A common species in the wetter parts of the province, occurring in
evergreen forest from sea-level upwards, but most numerous in well-
shaded coffee and cardamom plantations between 3/4,000’. They avoid
open country and even deciduous forest unless there is a fair admix-
ture of tall evergreens, and they are completely absent from the Dry
Zone. They are frugivorous, living mainly on the various wild figs.
When the ‘Goni’, (/2cus mysorensis) is in fruit, the widespreading
branches festooned with orange-coloured figs attract swarms of birds
among which this species with the barbets and green pigeons are the
most numerous. They also visit flowering Grevillea, Acrocarpus,
Bombax and Eyrythrina trees in great numbers. They seem more
THE BIRDS OF COORG 53
sedentary birds than most fruit-eaters and a good deal of insect food
must be consumed, though they rarely if ever come to the ground.
Small flocks are seen throughout the year and they are extremely noisy
with a wide range of wheezes, chuckles, and whistles, some melodious,
some the reverse. They are favourite cage-birds and can be taught to
talk or whistle a tune as well as any parrot. The flight is direct and
powerful, the wings making a distinct whirring sound.
The breeding season is in March and April. If suitable trees are
available they breed colonially. They prefer above all others tall, soft-
wooded species of the largest size, particularly Ald¢zzza and Erythrina
indica, springing up 40/50’ without a branch. In the main trunks of
these they make their own excavations, large oval holes up to 6” in
vertical diameter at any height above 30’. Their work can always be
recognised by the untidy, chewed appearance of the bark round the
edge. Internally the cavity is capacious, about a foot deep by eight
inches wide. There may or may not be a rough lining of rubbish.
Several pairs use the same tree, and revert to it year after year, the
trunk becoming peppered with borings. In the event of their favourite
sites being unobtainabie they will use dead trees that have gone soft
and rotten or enlarge woodpecker holes in those which would otherwise
have been too hard for them to work on.
Pastor roseus: The Rosy Pastor.
A regular winter visitor to Coorg, but very variable in numbers,
In fact they may really be only birds of passage as they never remain
for more than a day or two in any one locality. They are usually only
‘seen between January and March, frequenting open cultivated country
in small parties in company with flocks of other species of mynahs.
The Bombax and Erythrina trees are in bloom at the time of their
visits, and are the most likely places to find them, though I have seen
them feeding on wild figs.
Sturnia malabarica: The White-headed Mynah.
One sub-species at any rate, probably the typical one, is a common
resident, and it is almost certain that S. m. dlythzz occurs as well as a
winter visitor, but not having shot specimens I cannot vouch for this.
The White-headed Mynahs are mostly to be found in the Inter-Zone
between 3,000’ and 4,000’. They are absent from the Dry Zone and
avoid high altitudes and continuous forest. Fairly open but well-
wooded cultivation, and coffee and cardamom plantations are their
favourite habitat, particularly village grazing grounds which provide
Spaces of open sward and numerous large trees which are continually
lopped for firewood and whose limbs are in consequence gnaried,
twisted and full of holes—admirable nesting sites for mynahs and paro-
quets. They are arboreal birds and seldom come to the ground.
While largely frugivorous they consume a good deal of insect food,
which they obtain by searching the crannies of the bark of the upper
limbs of tall trees. After the breeding season, they unite in family
parties but mostly disappear during the worst rains returning in large
numbers in September. The cold weather flocks are often large, and
they patronise big communal roosts in company with Aethiopsar fuscus
in reedbeds in tanks or isolated thickets of lantana. It is a most
interesting sight on a December evening to see the flocks of various
56 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
sizes coming in from every direction often evidently from a great
distance. Each as it arrives is greeted with a chorus of chattering
from those already there, and often the whole gathering will rise with
a roar of wings, and circle round before settling again. A deafening
uproar continues till well after dark. In the morning they do not
wake until the sun is fully risen, and there is less tumult, each flock
taking wing independently and setting off quietly and purposefully for
their chosen feeding grounds.
Breeding takes place from February to May, and probably two
broods are reared. Any suitable natural hole may be used, usually
in a side branch of a big tree at a great height from the ground. Only
once have I found one as low as ten feet. Old barbet and woodpecker
holes are equally welcome, nor need they always be old, for I have seen
a pair evict a couple of Yellow-throated Sparrows, and two others
having a violent quarrel with a Green Barbet and a Yellow-naped:
Woodpecker respectively, out of which the mynahs must have come
victorious as in both cases they were in possession on my next visit.
The nest consists of a pad of straw, feathers, and assorted rubbish on
which are laid the two or three pale blue eggs. A young bird found
fallen from the nest in my garden when placed in a cage hung from the
verandah eaves was fed by its parents or another pair with the
greatest boldness.
Temenuchus pagodarum: The Brahminy Mynah.
Confined entirely to the Dry Zone, and the bordering portion of the
deciduous forest. In this area it is common and the predominating
member of the family. They like open scrub jungle provided there
are plenty of large trees, and well-wooded cultivation. Though fond of
fruit when obtainable, they find much of their food on the ground, .
hunting grasshoppers and attending on grazing cattle for the ticks.
which frequent them, though not as regularly as A. ¢vistis. On the
ground they walk and run actively with a very erect stance. In the off-
season they roost communally with other species in reed-beds. Breed-
ing takes place in April and May after the first rains. Any natural hole
in a big tree suits them, and the nest is the usual mynah collection of
old rubbish. They tend to breed communally if sufficient sites close
together can be found. - .
Acridotheres tristis: The Common Mynah.
This mynah is restricted almost entirely to open, cultivated country.
It is fairly common in the Dry Zone round villages, but is not found in.
the scrub jungle or deciduous forest. They wander up into the Inter-
Zone up to 3,500’, but again are only seen in open grazing land and
round villages, and avoid coffee cultivation and any continuous wood-
land. These wanderers are on the best of terms with their far more
numerous cousins, Aethiopsar fuscus, and join their flocks and roosts.
freely. While fond of fruit and nectar when obtainable, the bulk of
their food is found on the ground and they are constant attendants on
grazing cattle for the ticks and flies which infest them and the grass-.
hoppers and other insects which they kick up. Ihave no data on the
breeding of this mynah, but as far as I can make out those which visit.
the Inter-Zone are merely winter migrants returning to the Dry Zone
to nest. My remarks under this species in my original Notes on the
THE BIRDS OF COORG 57
Birds of Coorg should in fact refer to A. fuscus and not the present
bird.
Aethiopsar fuscus: The Jungle Mynah.
Exceedingly common al] through the Inter and Wet Zones wherever
there is cultivation, but absent from the highest hills and all continuous
’ evergreen forest. They occur in smaller numbers through the decidu-
ous forest, turning up in clearings and plantations and are not un-
common in the scrub jungle and light woodland of the Dry Zone. In
habits they closely resemble 4. /rzstzs, and the two are generally so
similar that there seems very little justification for assigning them to.
separate genera.
They are catholic in their feeding tastes, taking all sorts of fruit,
berries and insects, as well as nectar. Round habitations they are
almost as atrant scavengers as the crows. Though to a great extent
social while feeding, they tend to spread out in pairs over a wide area,
assembling in flocks in the evening to fly to acommon roost often at a
considerable distance.
This is the only species which I have seen indulging in the peculiar
habit of ‘ anting’. ‘Two birds were watched sitting on the ground ina
most unusual attitude, leaning’back on their outspread tails with the
wings half open, and picking up small black ants and applying them to
their axillae. |
Breeding extends from March till June withits peak in April and May.
Any natural hole may be used at any height from six feet upwards.
The favourite sites are undoubtedly the isolated pollarded trees on
_ village grazing grounds where every suitable hole will be found to be
occupied. Competition is keen and weaker species such as hoopoes are
ruthlessly evicted. The nest is the usual pile of rubbish often in very large
quantities if the hole is a big one. One bird deceived me. On several
occasions I put her out of the nest but each time on feeling in could
only detect lining. At last on removing some of this I found the eggs.
buried underneath and almost ready to hatch. Apparently she covered
them each time before leaving. They are prolific birds; one raised a
family of six in March, and there was a second brood of four in the
same nest in the following May. Four or five is the normal clutch
though six is not uncommon.
Ploceus philippinus: The Baya Weaver.
The Baya is found as a breeding bird in the Inter and Dry Zones,
differing considerably in habits in the two biotopes. In the Inter-Zone it _
is entirely dependent on paddy cultivation. Numbers are small and
colonies, which will be found on trees and bamboos on the borders of
paddy fields, seldom exceed ten completed nests, and are often a mere
half dozen or so. There is only one crop of paddy in Coorg except in
a few smal] areas, and this is planted as soon as the rains break in
June. The Bayas, who have been conspicuous by their absence all
through the hot weather and early monsoon, appear about the beginning
of September when the paddy is a foot high and at once begin breed-
ing operations. They are very erratic in their visits. A colony in one
stretch of fields one year is no indication that they will be there next
season, or indeed anywhere within a considerable distance. Many weak
58 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
colonies are started, and then abandoned. Presumably the isolated
males that begin them fail to attract mates and go elsewhere. The
only materials used in the nest are thin strips of paddy leaf. The bird
nips the leaf to the required width and then flies off, tearing away a strip
as it goes. ‘The male does all the external building. As soon as the
main body of the nest is completed, the female, if she approves of it,
occupies it and begins to lay. Iam not certain whether it is not she
who adds the lumps of mud which are always found plastered onto the
walis of the interior. The male continues the entrance tunnel while
incubation proceeds and then goes on to build fresh nests. Many are
never completed, and numbers in various stages will usually be found
on the ground below, apparently cut down by the birds themselves for
some reason. Breeding goes on unti] the end of October after which
the males go into eclipse, and the birds unite in flocks and remain in
the neighbourhood until the paddy is cut, feeding on the ripening grain.
After January they leave the district, and the latest record I have is
February 13th.
In the Dry Zone they are much more numerous and the colonies
far stronger, 25 to 50 occupied nests being common. In this area paddy
is not grown, and the birds breed on the edges of tanks and streams,
nearly always in trees overhanging water, and make their nests of
strips of reed or the prevailing grain, ‘ Ragi’ (Al/euszne). Breeding
takes place earlier here, in June, July and August, the period of
maximum rainfall. The grain crops are harvested in early September,
and by mid-October the Bayas disappear. In some years when there
is a good autumnal N. E. monsoon a recrudescence of breeding
activity takes place in October/November. Two eggs are the normal
clutch.
Ploceus manyar: The Streaked Weaver.
A common breeding bird in the Mysore maidan where every village
has its tank. In Coorg however, there is such a small proportion
of Dry Zone country of this type that there is only one tank of any size
and not more than half a dozen which fulfil the necessary require-
ments of this bird. These consist of mainly strong stands of bulrushes
growing in fairly deep water. I only know definitely of two breeding places
and these are only used in years of good rainfall when there is plenty of
water and the rushes make good growth. In such favourable seasons
the colonies are large, fifty or sixty pairs at least. Most nests are built
on the fringe of the beds, on the edge of open water. The tips ofa
number of reeds are firmly lashed together and woven into the top of
the nest which lacks the suspensory neck of the Baya’s. As in the case
of that bird, the upper part of the nest is first completed and then the
rim of the cup is woven forming a stirrup.? At this stage the nest looks
like a helmet with chinstrap. Whereas in the Baya’s nest a few lumps
of mud are added at random internally, the Streaked Weaver, while
the nest is still at this stage regularly plasters a definite band of mud
half an inch wide all along the nape of the helmet. The cup is then
1In the case of the Baya surely the ‘ stirrup’ or ‘chinstrap’ is the first
portion to be completed after the initial attachment to a twig, extensions from
the two sides of which form the ‘ helmet’.—EDs.
Lae BIDS OF; COORG 59
added and the eggs laid. Sometimes no entrance tunnel at all is made.
Usually however a short tunnel is built on during incubation. It is
seldom more than six inches long, though I have seen one of a foot.
Three is the usual clutch.
As with the Baya, a Streaked Weaver colony at the height of the
season presents an extremely busy and noisy scene. ‘The males dash to
and fro with strips of rush, or perch on the reed tops, fluttering their
wings and displaying their goiden crowns, chattering excitedly especi-
ally when any female appears.
The rushes are usually sufficiently tall by early July, and from then
on until September nesting continues. After the season is over, the
birds disappear, and like the Bayas their subsequent movements are
unknown to me.
Munia malacca: The Black-headed Munia.
This bird is a constant associate of floceus manyar, and where
one occurs the other is sure to be found. It is an essentially waterside
species at any rate in the breeding season. I have never seen them
in Coorg except when nesting, nor have I seen them in winter on
the large Mysore tanks where the reeds remain throughout the year.
They begin to arrive in their breeding quarters early in July, shortly
after the Streaked Weavers, and building gets into its stride a fort-
night later. The nests are built in bulrushes standing in water, but
unlike the weavers are low down within a foot or so of water level.
They are large, loose balls of bulrush leaves nine inches in diameter,
woven round several reed stems. The lining consists of grass, and as
with practically all species of munia, a fringe of flowering grass heads
projects all round the entrance, in some particularly well-developed
cases suggesting an embryo type of the weavers’ entrance funnel.
They breed colonially in company with the weavers though the
nests are usually scattered over a wider area. One year there must
have been at least fifty occupied nests with as many or more of
P. manyar round one tank of about three acres in extent. By contrast
with their neighbours the munias are quiet little birds though far
from shy. I. have seen them settle on weavers’ nests and even go
inside, but have been able to find no proof that they are in anyway
parasitic. The full clutch is five or sometimes six, and as with many
munias two birds may often be found incubating at once, so that it is
possible that two hens may lay in the same nest. Breeding is usually
over by mid-September and they disappear shortly after that time.
They do not associate with the weavers while feeding, but join up in
mixed flocks with other munia species, and feed on various weed seeds
and often grain.
Uroloncha striata; The White-backed Munia.
The commonest munia in Coorg. They are most numerous in the
Inter-Zone and in cultivated country and range up to 4,500’. They
avoid continuous forest, but occur in maidans, in the deciduous
_ jungle, and are found in small numbers in the Dry Zone. Except
during the monsoon when they form large flocks they are inconspicuous
little birds and I have not been able to work out their movements. A
fair number must be permanently resident as I have found nests in
60 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL | HIST. “SOCIETY, Vol."50
almost every month of the year. They build in a variety of situations,
but prefer gardens, orchards, and parkland, usually choosing a small
isolated tree. The nest is placed among the upper or outer twigs at
a height of from 6 to 20 feet, and is often quite conspicuous. It is
a small, roughly built ball of coarse broad-ieaved grass or bamboo
leaves, lined with fine green grass whose flowering heads project round
the entrance hole which is on one side. Five or six eggs are laid. The
birds use the nests for roosting as soon as they are completed, and it
seems likely that two females may lay in the same nest as I have ona
number of occasions flushed three birds froma nest containing incubated
eggs, and it is very common to find two, presumably cock and hen, sitting
together. The whole family after fledging often return to roost in the
nest and it is positively startling to find eight or nine of them exploding
out of a nest which does not look big enough to hold half that number.
Like all the family they appear to be almost exclusively seed-
eaters, feeding on paddy and various other grass and weed seeds.
The eggs can be distinguished from those of other munias by their long,
pointed shape.
Uroloncha kelaarti: The Rufous-bellied Munia.
The range of this species more or less coincides with that of the last, .
but it prefers higher and wetter country, and I have never seen it in the
Dry Zone, nor is it ever as numerous as the White-backed Munia. ‘The
two species frequently consort in mixed flocks to feed on paddy or wild
grass seeds. They are only in evidence during the monsoon, and all
occupied nests which I have seen have been found between June and
August. They apparently sometimes build nests simply for roosting
purposes as I have twice put a whole flock of eight or ten birds out of
a nest which showed no signs of having been used for breeding. The
nests are indistinguishable from those of the White-backed Munia and
are built in similar situations. Broad-leaved grass is largely used and
one may see a bird flying along with a piece as wide as itself and twice
as long which practically hides it.
Uroloncha malabarica: The White-throated Munia.
I have only seen this species ona few occasions. Coorgis really out
of their range but odd pairs stray into the Dry Zone from the adjacent
Mysore Maidan, and I have found a nest in mid-June. six feet up ina
solitary thornbush on a rocky, scrub-grown ridge rising out of typical
Dry Zone cultivation. It was the usual untidy munia ball of grass with
the distinctive grass-flower entrance fringe.
Uroloncha punctulata: The Spotted Munia.
This munia which is the common species on the Nilgiri plateau at
high elevations, strangely enough is not found anywhere in Coorg except
in the Dry Zone where it is not uncommon in cultivated areas and
wasteland grown with light scrub. I have not found the nestin Coorg,
but those I have seen in the Nilgiris were quite typical munias nests
built in small trees from 6 to 10 feet from the ground.
Amandava amandava: The Indian Red Munia.
An uncommon species which I have only met on a few occasions in
the Dry Zone usually in small flocks in company with other munias. I
THE BIRDS OF COORG 61
saw a female carrying building material on Oct. 10th., but she disappea-
red in the long grass bordering a paddy field, and I was unable to find
the nest. On the same date some years later [ found a nest low down
in a thorn bush within two feet of the ground which probably belonged
to this species as I flushed one a few feet away, and the site was an
unusual one for any of the other munias. The nest which was new but
empty was a typical munia’s in every way including the entrance
fringe.
Carpodacus erythrinus: The Common Indian Rosefinch.
Common winter visitors. They arrive late, seldom appearing before
November, and are found in flocks of twenty or thirty in fairly open
country, grazing lands, cultivation, or the borders of jungle. They
appear to be largely frugivorous and may often be seen feeding on
nectar on flowering trees.
Gymnorhis xanthocollis ; The Yellow-throated Sparrow.
Very common throughout the yearinthe Dry Zone. They are to
be found in the Inter-Zone during the dry season and breed there, but
appear to migrate during the monsoon. In the Dry Zone they are
found in cultivated country, but they are much more jungle birds than
Passer domesticus, and are equally at home in light, open forest, or
scrub scattered with ancient trees whose gnarled and hollow limbs
provide nesting sites. They occur through the deciduous forest in
clearings and plantations. In the Inter-Zone they are most numerous
in the open grazing grounds with their scattered trees, but also may be
seen in thickly-shaded coffee plantations. In the Dry Zone they tend to
breed colonially if suitable sites exist and the nests may be quite low
down. In coffee plantations they nearly always choose an old barbet
hole or natural hollow in an outlying limb of a dead tree, at a great
height and usually quite inaccessible. The nest is a small pad of. hair,
feathers and grass. ‘The site is given away by the male, who spends
the greater part of the day sitting nearby, chirruping loudly and
monotonously. The hen does all the building, the cock merely accom-
panying her in her search for material.
Passer domesticus : The Indian House Sparrow.
Occurs throughout ‘Coorg but is nowhere numerous and is confined
entirely to the towns and larger villages, and will rarely be seen more
than a hundred yards away from human habitations. In habits it
resembles the species the world over. Breeding appears to go on inter-
mittently all the year round, and the nests are the usual untidy bundles
of straw and feathers tucked into a hole in the thatch or under the eaves
or on the rafters of some building.
_Riparia rupestris; The Crag Martin.
I have seen this bird in large numbers in company with ?. concolor
hawking round the cliffs of Cottabetta, a hill some 5,500’ high in N.
Coorg in March, and again at Mercara, 4,000’, in November. I take
it that they are regular winter migrants - to the higher crags and
precipices of the Ghats.
62 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Riparia concolor: The Dusky Crag Martin.
A regular resident on all the higher and rockier hills of the province,
though nowhere in very large numbers in any one spot. They are
quiet little birds, which spend their lives flitting up and down the face of
some rock wall, uttering a soft, mouse-like cheep.. They are not
entirely confined to cliffs, however, as they are sometimes to be found
in the neighbourhood of towns and villages such as Somwarpet and
Mercara in the hillier parts of the country. Here they breed in temples
and other large stone buildings, and they turn up again in the Dry
Zone on high, isolated rock outcrops. They are early breeders, begin-
ning about the end of January. They are not social in habits, the nests
being built singly against a rock face, usually close under an overhang-
ing ledge. They are shallow cups of mud, open at the top and lined
copiously with feathers. In the case of one site which has been used to
my knowledge for at least five years in succession, the owners seemed
to have a predilection for green feathers which always constituted a
—
major portion of the lining. Several broods are raised in a season, and ~
as the mud cup is usually built in a spot well protected from the
weather, it often survives from year to year with little repair, the lining
being changed after each brood.
Hirundo rustica: The Eastern Swallow.
A common winter visitor in the Dry Zone, and also in the Inter-
Zone wherever there is open country and paddy-field. From late
September to March they outnumber all the other resident swallows
put together.
Hirundo javanica: The Nilgiri House Swallow.
I am very doubtful about the occurrence of this bird in Coorg. My
record, vide Eastern Ghats Survey, was almost certainly an error. The
birds in question, in the light of subsequent experience, were probably
R. concolor.
Hirundo daurica: The Striated Swallow.
A resident species though nowhere seen in large numbers. They
are most numerous in the Dry Zone in cultivated country, but they are
also found in the Inter-Zone in open areas where large tracts of paddy
land occur, as round Virajpet and Ponnampetgin S. Coorg. In the
winter they flock and wander beyond their usual range in company with
A. rustica, though these may possibly be a migrant northern subspecies.
During the breeding season they are not sociable, and though one or
two pairs may occasionally be found nesting in company, as a rule they
build singly. For breeding purposes a horizontal stone slab on the
underside of which they can cement their nests seems to be a sine gua
non. Road culverts provide by far the commonest sites, followed by the
sluiceways of tanks and the small stone-built Hindu temples which are
frequent in the Dry Zone. Breeding seems to depend largely on the
rainfall, as they are by n> means waterside birds, and until water is
obtainable they cannot start work. The day after the first shower of the
year, be it in March, April, or May sees them furiously at work,
collecting mud from the nearest puddle. They do not go far to fetch it,
presumably because it would dry on the way and be ofnouse. The
THE BIRDS “OF COORG 63:
nests are hemispheres six inches in diameter with the entrance pro-
longed into a funnel, an inch and a half wide and six or seven inches
long, and often by no means Straight, running out at one side like a
giant termites’ gallery. The whole consists of mud firmly cemented to
the stone, and there is a copious lining of feathers. Breeding goes on
throughout the monsoon at intervals, the same nest being used again
after repairs and relining. ‘The only clutch record I have is three.
Hirundo smithii: The Wire-tailed Swallow.
This is essentially a waterside bird. They are found on all the
larger rivers and tanks of the Province, from the rapid torrents running
through forest-clad ravines at the foot of the Ghats only a few feet
above sea-levei to the broad stretches of the Cauvery flowing in the
open, cultivated country of the Dry Zone. They spend their time
hawking over the wider pools, and rarely leave the rivers except in the
monsoon spates when they take to the flooded paddy-fields on the
banks. Nesting begins in January and continues until the rivers rise in
June or July. The nests are, in my experience, invariably built over
water, seldom more than six feet from the surface, and often within a
foot of it. Large numbers must be destroyed by sudden floods. The
sites chosen are various; overhanging rock ledges, the underside of
fallen trees, culverts, siuices or boat-houses, butthey are always ina
position sheitered from above. They aresmall, shallow saucers of mud
with a scanty lining of feathers and sometimes straw. Three eggs are
laid, sometimes four. I do not know whether the male broods. He
certainly helps to feed the young. ‘The latter continue to use the nest
even when they are strong on the wing and more or less independent of
their parents, but after a weekor So they are driven off when the latter
begin to think about raising another brood. The old lining is removed
and afresh one added, but the mud cup is untouched though its
exterior is often in a filthy condition from the droppings of the young
birds, Atleast two and probably three broods are reared annually.
(To be continued)
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL
BY
L7T.-CoL: 2. Ms BAILEY, (Cl
PART I
(With a map and two plates)
Nepal lies for five hundred miles along the southern face of the
Himalayas, extending south of the foothills for a few miles into the
plains. This extension is the Terai. In the localities given for
species, and more especially for sub-species, in Evans’s ‘ Identification
of Indian Butterflies ’ we constantly come across ‘ Kashmir to Kumaon °
for a western form, and ‘ Sikkim to Karens’ or ‘ Dawnas’ for the
eastern. This is mainly a question of rainfall which necessarily affects
vegetation and all forms of life. The annual rainfall of Sikkim in the
east is about double that of parts of Kumaon in the west. Thus Nepal
constitutes a strip of some five hundred miles dividing the western
from the eastern forms, and, I hope, from this collection to find out
where these changes occur. The differences of local races are in many
cases very small, and it is often difficult to determine to which form the
specimens in the intermediate area belong. As the butterflies of Nepal
are little known, the result has been an extension of habitat of many ©
forms from Kumaon eastwards and from Sikkim westwards. I have
indicated this by an (E) or (W) as the case may be.
The saucer-shaped Nepa! Valley is about fifteen to twenty
miles in diameter. The general elevation above sea-level is about
4,300 ft. The rim of the saucer rises to 9,000 ft. The rivers outside
this curious circular elevation flow at about 1,500 ft. The floor of the
valley is densely cultivated with rice, maize and in winter barley and
wheat. Potatoes and other vegetable crops are also grown. The valley
is thickly populated. In the valley are some woods and wooded hillocks.
The capital, Katmandu, several other towns and the British Embassy
are also in the valley, The surrounding hills are covered in thick forest
with areas of short turf and bushes. On these hills are two places,
Kakni and Nagarkot, each about 6,000 ft. above sea-level, where the
Prime Minister maintains guest houses which he kindly allowed the
British Minister to occupy. ‘The climate here was fresher than the
damp heat of the valley, especially in late summer. In the south-east
of the valley is a place called Godavari where H. H. The Prime
Minister has a palace. Here the woods and streams were a relief from
the flat valley although the altitude was very little higher. Several
interesting species were found here among the gardens and rivulets.
This is the area to which the members of the British Legation were
confined when this collection was made. The ‘Valley’ in the follow-
ing pages refers to this area. There was one exception to this restric;
tion of travel: the Minister was allowed to go to Devighat on the Tri-
suli River, a day’s march from Katmandu outside the valley to the north,
where there was mahseer fishing. The altitude was 1,500 ft. The
journey to and from Raxaul, the railway station in India, also gave
(*Ppo}d9T[OD JJOM SIIBII}ING soYyM saiz]Loo"] edioutid oy} SsurMoys)
JOMIWIS 6
‘205 ‘“JSIH ‘JUN Avquog ‘’uanoe
ee Sa SY i
y t aa Ok , t
7 ‘9 Oe
: ! >. )
Powe 2)
WT yo ;
5
e
ii
*
’
j
‘
. «
NOTES ON BUTTERILIES FROM NEPAL 65 |
opportunities for collecting at lower elevations. Places on this road
were: Chandragiri (on the rim of the saucer 7,700 ft.), Chitlang,
Bhimpedi, and Amlekganj.
a 1D addition to the above the British Minister \ was allowed toshoot in-
the Terai, the belt of land in the plains below 1,000 ft. in altitude run-
ning up to the foot of the mountains. This was extensively cultivated,
but also contained much natural forest with tall grass especially in the
stream beds, the haunt of wild elephants, rhinoceros, buffaloes and tigers
besides deer and many other animals. The Terai was only visited in
winter. ‘These are the localities in which I was able to collect pet-
sonally during the three years 1935 to 1938 in which I wasin Nepal,
Besides these places in which I collected myself, I sent collectors to
other parts of the country. For this purpose I trained two Nepalese
boys, not only in collecting butterflies but also birds, plants and small
mainmals. In the summers of 1935 and 1937 these collectors visited
the country north of Katmandu while in 1936 they were sent to western-
Nepal and visited the Tibetan frontier. They did not bring anything
from the high Tibetan Plateau as the Tibetans would not let them
collect there. A special purpose of sending them here was to obtain
specimens of the Mountain Quail (Ophrysia superctliosa), a bird which
had not been seen since 1876. They were not successful in this. I found
that the collectors were unreliable in the use of an aneroid therefore no
altitudes are given for specimens collected by them.
There are a few Specimens in the British Museum labeiled ‘ Nepal’
but no indication as to who collected them. However, in the preface
to Moore’s ‘ Lepidoptera Indica ’, the author acknowledges specimens
collected by Maj-Gen. G. Ramsay when he was Resident in Nepal from
1852 to 1867. Ramsay’s notes on his collections were recorded in the
Proc. Zool. Soc. in 1874, ’77, ’78 and ’83. A large collection of
butterflies was made by Major W. G. H. Gough; his list was published
in Vol. 38 of the Journal. He records 162 species and sub-species,
almost all of which were collected in the valley and on the surrounding
hills. As he did not emphasize the extension of habitat I have included
those in Gough’s list when indicating an extension (EB) and (W). A few
specimens taken before 1934 are from the collection of Col. W. Smith
who was Legation Surgeon.
Ail species have a reference number to Brigadier Beads s ‘ Identi-
fication of Indian Butterflies’, 2nd. Revised Edition. Besides this a
reference has also been given to Talbot’s ‘ Fauna of British India’
which was published after Evans’s ‘Identification’. This only deals
with Papilionidae, Pieridae, (published in 1939), and Danaidae, Saty-
ridae, Amathusiidae and Acraeidae (published in 1947). In the Hes-
petiidae a further reference is given to Evans’s ‘ Catalogue of the
Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia and Australia in the British Museum’
1949. Brigadier Evans has kindly looked over the list of Hesperiidae
and checked the names.
PAPILIONID 42
1. Troides helena cerberus Fd.
Talbot F.B.I. lc; Evans 1. 1.
Much less common than Aeaeus.
Katmandu, June to September.
5
66 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
2. Troides aeacus aeacus Fd.
Talbot F.B.I. 2; Evans 1.2.
Common in the Valley in May and June; particularly plentiful at
Godavari in June. ‘
Gui-ye, North Central Nepal 20—5-37.
3. Polydorus aristolochiae aristolochiae Fab,
Talbot F.B.I. 12a; Evans 2.10.
Katmandu, 4,300 ft. March and May.
4, Polydorus latreillei latreillei Donovan.
Talbot F.B.I. 14a; Evans 2.12.
Valley up to 5,500 ft. May to July.
5. Polydorus philoxenus philoxenus Gray.
Talbot F.B.I. 17a; Evans 2.15.
Valley, April to August.
6, Polydorus dasarada ravana M.
Talbot F.B.I1. 18a; Evans 2.16.
Nepal Valley, May. |
A few brought in from the north, in May 1935 and May 1937.
7. Polydorus plutonius pembertoni M.
Talbot F.B.[. 20a ; Evans 2.18.
Three specimens: Valley, May 1937; Gui-ye, North Central Nepal
20-5-37; Nangang, West Nepal, 26-5-36.
8. Chilasa agestor agestor Gray.
Talbot F.B.I. 21a; Evans 3.1.
Rare—only two specimens; Katmandu 30-3-34 and 1-5-35.
9, Chilasa epycides epycides Hew.
Talbot F.B.I. 22a; Evans 3.2.
Valley, only in March and April.
10. Chilasa clytia dissimilis L.
Talbot F.B.I. 25a; Evans 3.5.
Morang, East Terai, 24-3-36.
11. Papilio memnon agenor L.
Talbot F.B.I. 27; Evans 4.2.
Valley, March to October, frequently at damp sand: Katmandu
2 agenor form, Oct. 1933; Katmandu @ alcanor form, Oct. 1933;
Devighat 1,500 ft. 25-10-35; Nangang, North Nepal 26-5-35;
Kashiganj 7-8-35.
12. Papilio bootes janaka M.
Talbot F.B.I. 29.a; Evans 4.4.
Valley, up to 5,000 ft., April to June; Kodari, North Nepal,
21-5-37; Nangang 26-5-35.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPALI. - 67
13. Papilio rhetenor rhetenor Wd.
Talbot F.B.I. 30a; Evans 4.5.
Valley and surrounding hills to 7,000 ft. March to August;
Nagarkot, 7,000 ft. 7-8-36. @
14. Papilio protenor euprotenor Fruh.
Talbot F.B.I. 31b; Evans 4.6. .
Valley and surrounding hills to 7,000 ft. March to September.
Larvae found on Zanthoxylum alatum Roxb. (Rutaceae) at Nagar-
kot, 6,000 ft. Pupated in autumn and emerged at Katmandu on dates
between 15th February and 11th March.
A pair were taken 27 copula at Sunderijal in the Valley on 4-7-36.
15, Papilio polyctor ganesa Db.
Talbot F.B.I. 35b; Evans A. 4.9.
Common on the hills above the Valley which rise to 7,000 ft.
The larvae were plentiful on Zanthoxylum alatum (Rutaceae) at
Nagarkot between 5,000 and 7,000 ft.; they were brought down to
Katmandu (4,300 ft.) where pupations of late autumn mostly emerged in
April. There were three early emergences at the beginning of March.
A few emergedin August anda single one which pupated on the 25th
of August emerged the same year on the 5th of October.
Many pupae were destroyed by parasites.
16. Papilio paris paris L.
Talbot F.B.I. 36b; Evans. 4.10.
Valley 3,000 to 5,000 ft. April to September.
17. Papilio arcturus arcturus Wd.
Talbot F.B.I. 37b; Evans, 4.11.
Sundarijal, Valley 5,500 ft. 3-8-36; hill above Kakni, 7,500 ft. 15-9-37.
Not common. [Larvae in Kashmir were found on Skimmia
(Rutaceae). ]
18. Papilio helenus helenus L.
Talbot F.B.I. 45a ; Evans 4.19.
Valley, March to October. One emerged at Katmandu on 23-3-38.
19. Papilio chaon chaon Wd.
Talbot F.B.I. 47a; Evans 4.21.
One specimen at Bhimpedi, about 1,000 ft. below the Valley.
20. Papilio polytes romulus Cr.
Talbot F.B.I. 51a; Evans 4.25,
Common in the Valley from March to November; particularly
plentiful in early April. Larvae feed on orange trees. Most females
are of form s/ichius Hub. mimicking P. arisfolochiae, but there are
several of form vomulus Cram. mimicking P. hector, a butterfly which
was never found in the Valley.
68 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
21. Papilio demoleus demoleus L.
Talbot F.B.I. 54a; Evans 4.27. |
The commonest Papilio i in the Valley where the larvae do appreciable
damage to orange trees. This butterfly was seen every month of the year
except January and February.
Autumn pupations emerged at the end of March. Pupae suffered
very much from parasites.
22. Papilio machaon emihippocrates Verity.
Talbot F.B.I. 56e; Evans 4.29. .
A few were taken in the Valley and on the surrounding hills (4,300
to 7,000 ft.) Some at Devighat 1,500 ft.
Four larvae were found on fennel [/Foentculum, (Umbelliferae)], in
the Legation garden at Katmandu. All these pupated on 15-11-36 and
two emerged on 8-4-37 and one on 1-5-37. Several brought down irom
the Tibetan frontier were the short-tailed /adakensis M. (Kuti 6-6-37,
Balwa 12-6-37 and 25-9-37.)
23. Graphium euros sikkimica Heron. (W)
- Talbot F.B.I. 58b ; Evans 5.1.
Valley, March to early May, not common.
24, Graphium nomius nomius Esp.
Talbot F.B.I. 61a; Evans 5.4,
Common on damp sand at Amiekganj below the Valley, 1,000 ft.
24-4-38. This.is an extension of habitat westwards in the Himalayas.
25, Graphium cloanthus cloanthus Wd.
Talbot F.B.I. 64; Evans 6.1.
Common inthe Valley. In company with Zeznopalpus imperialts
flies round isolated hilltops.
26. Graphium sarpedon sarpedon L.
Talbot F.B.I. 65b; Evans 6.2.
Common in the Valley, March to October. Females were seen
depositing eggs on 18-6-37 and 14-8-37. ‘These last eggs hatched out
on 19-8-37 and the butterflies emerged on 13-10-37, 6-3-38 and 9-3-38.
In these specimens the green bar across the wings is of a light greenish
yellow and lighter than in wild caught specimens. It would appear that
the female never deposits more than one egy on a bush. It seems
necessary for the female to wait and make a short flight between
depositing each egg. I was able to get several eggs by pulling up the
bush on which an egg had been laid and running down the pathway
through the forest, when the butterfly would deposit another egg on the
same bush in my hand and in this way I obtained several eggs.
27. Graphium doson axion Fd,
Talbot F.B.I. 66 c; Evans 6.3.
One specimen in.the eastern Terai on 26-3-36 at about 1,000 ft.
28, Graphium bathycles chiron Wallace.
Talbot F.B.I. 69 ; Evans 6.6.
Valley, March and April. Rare.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 69
29. Graphium agammemnon agammemnon L.
Talbot F.B.I. 71la; Evans 6.8.
Valley, March to September. . Larvae were found on Magnolia and
the butterflies emerged between 23rd and 28th September 1935,
In Central India I found this butterfly depositing eggs on Mchelia
champaca (Magnoliaceae).
30. Graphium gyas gyas Wd. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 75a; Evans 8.1.
Only two worn specimens taken at Godavari in the Valley on
29-4-36 and 3-10-37.
31. Teinopalpus imperialis imperialis Hope. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 79a; Evans 9.
Locally fairly plentiful on Mahadeo Pokri Hill 7,400 ft. at Nagarkot
above the Valley. Accounts of the habits of this splendid insect state
that it fies round the tops of high trees, The hill of Mahadeo Pokri
had been cleared of trees for survey purposes and in their places bushes
up to ten feet high had grown. This had the effect of a high tree top.
The male butterflies flew fast round this hill and descended to rest cn
the low bushes. Other butterflies flying with it were Gvraphium
cloanthus and Hestina nama. Thinking that Zezzofalpus did not occur
west of Sikkim I at first thought this butterfly, when seen on the wing,
was a torn specimen of G. cloanthus, when to my surprise it settled with
great suddenness on a leaf in front of me and I was able to recognise
and photograph it.
An account with photographs of this butterfly in Nepal was publish-
ed in the Journal of the Bengal Natural History Society, Vol. XIV,
No. 4, pp. 123 and 124.
At first. these butterflies were very wild and flew away at my
approach, flying round for a few minutes before returning to nearly
the same spot. After being disturbed a few times they seemed to get
tired of this and eventually I was even able to touch them without
frightening them away.
32. Parnassius hardwickei hardwickei Gray.
‘Talbot F.B.I. 86a; Evans 13.4.
Many brought in by collectors, May to Sentcmber
PIERIDAE | i
33, Leptosia nina nina Fab.
Talbot F.B.I.95; Evans 1.
Valley, 14-8-37. Rare.
Common in the western Terai, Beebe and January.
34. Pieris napi montana Verity.
Talbot F.B.I. 137b; Evans 4.7.
A few specimens in June 1937 from Kuti and Chosang on the
Tibetan side of the Nepal-Tibet border in the west,
70 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
35. Pieris canidia indica Evans.
Talbot F.B.I. 141b; Evans 4.10.
Conimon in the Valley and brought in from other parts of Nepal ;
also from the Terai in winter.
Pairs were taken zz cofulae on 16-3-35, 15-10-35, 1-11-37, and
1-12-27 Eggs were laid on garden stock on 1-3-35; these hatched on
11-3-35 but the larvae seemed- unable to eat the thick leaves and all
died.
The full grown larvae are green with fine white hairs on the tip of
which are minute drops of a colourless liquid.
36. Pieris brassicae nepalensis Db.
Talbot F.B.I, 142; Evans 4.11.
Common in the Valley and throughout the country to which
collectors were sent.
37. Aporia agathon agathon Gray.
Talbot F.B.I. 102d; Evans 5.5.
Very plentiful on the hills surrounding the Valley and the wceods at
Godavari and other places in the Valley. On 1-6-35 a female was seen
depositing eggs on Holly Berberis (2. aszatica, Berberidaceae) in deep
forest. No eggs were found on Berberis in open sunlight. Eggs were
laid in batches. Eighty-eight were counted in one batch and most
batches were about this size. Larvae hatched between the end of June
and up to the 9th of July. The young larvae eat the centre of the
leaves.
Specimens of 4. agathon caphusa M. were brought in from western
Nepal in May and June 1936.
38. Delias agostina agostina Hewitson.
Talbot F.B.I. 113; Evans 6.1.
One specimen at Katmandu, 4,500 ft. 15-4-34,
39. Delias eucharis Drury.
Talbot F.B.I. 114 ; Evans 6.3,
Only in the Terai.
40. Delias hyparete indica Wallace.
Talbot F.B.I. 115b ; Evans 6.4.
One in the Valley and two brought in by collectors in July and
November from the country north of the Valley.
41. Delias belladonna horsfieldi Gray.
Talbot F.B.I. 109a; Evans 6.7.
Very plentiful in ApriJ and May inthe Valley where it is found in
great numbers at moisture. An autumn brood appears in August to
November, but is not so plentiful.
A pupa was found fastened to the upper side of Holly Berberis
(Berberts asiatica). This emerged on 17-8-35.
42. Delias sanaca sanaca M.
Talbot F.B.I. 107 ; Evans 6.9,
Journ. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLaTE |
Papilios on wet sand—Papilio memnon agenor, polytes and paris
(or ganesa ?) can be recognized—also Cepora nadina.
ae Ls Oe Tee
Aporia agathon at Godavari, Nepal Valley, 7-5-1936.
‘LE61-S-9 ‘AayTeA [edonN ‘WeAepory ye svmvpody] suysasny
LOYUINP 0j0ud
JJ dlv1d ‘00S “LSIH “LVN AvaWog ‘Nunof
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 71
Two specimens from West Nepal (Pomo 15-6-36, Nilkarda 13-6-36)
are sanaca sanaca, One from Barai, West Nepal 14-6-36 approaches
sanaca confusa. D. sanaca oreas is from North Nepal: Trisuli 1-6-35;
Karai 19-5-35 and Kodari 1-6-37.
43, Delias berinda boyleae But.
Talbot F.B.I. 108a; Evans. 6.10.
Common at Katmandu and Godaveri up to 5,009 ft. in May and a
few in June. One at Nagarkot 6,000 ft. 7-6-37 and one at Kodari, North
Nepal, 1-6-37.
44. Delias descombesi descombesi Boisduval.
Talbot F.B.J. 112; Evans 6.11.
Two specimens: Nagarkot 7,000 ft. 12-7-35; Katmandu 4,500 ft.
29-4-35,
45. Delias aglaia aglaia L.
~ Talbot F.B.I. 110a ; Evans 6.12. :
Devighat 1,500 ft. 27-10-35 ; Kajuri 24-11-35; Galchi 5-11-36.
46. Delias thysbe pyramus Wallace.
Talbot F.B.I. llla; Evans 6.13.
A few at Katmandu, March and August; Devighat 1,500 ft. 15-12-35-
Bhimpedi 2,000 ft. 21—7-36. :
47. Anapheis aurota aurota Fab.
Talbot F.B.I. 122b ; Evans 8.
Katmandu 3-5-37, 20-6-37; Nagarkot 7,500 ft. 14-6-37; Devighat
HD00) ft.-25-12-35.
48. Cepora nerissa phryne Fab.
Talbot F.B.I.117a; Evans 9.2.
Katmandu April, May and June. August specimens are xerzssq@
nerissa Fah, A single specimen on 4-9-37 is dry-season form copia
Wall. At lower elevations Amlekganj and Bhimpedi about 1,000 ft.
this insect is commoner than further in the hills. A pair iz copula at
Chitlang 5,000 ft. 14-6-36.
49, Cepora nadina nadina Lucas.
Talbot F.B.I. 118¢c; Evans 9.3.
Only obtained from the Terai. Two specimens at Tribeni on 12-1-36
ate the dry-season form amba Wall.
50. Appias lalage Doubleday.
Talbot F.B.I. 124a ; Evans 10.2.
Scarce. Nagarkot 7,000 ft. 6-6-37; Godavari 4,500 ft. 17-4-38.
51. Appias lyncida eleonora Boisduval.
- Talbot F.B.I. 127c ; Evans 10.5.
A few at Katmandu, October and November. Godavari 8-10-36,
72 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.-SOCIETY, Vol. 50
52, Catopsilia crocale crocale Cramer.
Talbot F.B.I. 165; Evans 11.1.
One female specimen from Katmandu 4,500 ft. form jugurtha
Cram:
53. Catopsilia pomona Fab.
Talbot F.B.1. 166; Evans ied.
One female specimen at Katmandu 4,500 ft. 24-8-35 form catzlla.
Several at lower elevations including the Terai, December and January.
Amlekganj 1,000 ft. 15-11-35.
54. Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe L.
Talbot F.B.I. 168; Evans 11.4.
Two specimens at Katmandu 4,500 ft. 4-9-36 and 27-10-37. Plentiful
at Jower elevations especially at Devighat 1,500 ft. Larva on Cassia
laevigata (Leguminosae). At the end of October and early November
great numbers of larvae were pupating on the back of the leaves of the
food plant, others were emerging and mating.
55, Catopsilia florella gnoma Fab.
Talbot £.B.1. 169 Evans 115.
Three specimens at Katmandu 4,500 ft. 7-4-38 and 7-7-38. Nagar-
kot 6,000 ft. 8-8-35. Very many at Devighat where the perfect insects
were emerging at the end of October and early November. Pairs zz
copula on 27-10-35 and 30-10-35. The food plant is Cassia laevigata
(Leguminosae). This insect flies with C. pyranthe in great numbers
and the larvae feed on the same plant.
56. Gonepterix rhamni nepaiensis Doubleday.
Talbot F.B.I. 1720; Evans 14.1.
Common in the Valley and on the surrcunding hills. Katirandu
4,500 ft. May to November. On the surrounding hills up to 6,500 ft.
late June to mid-August when there were a great many at Kakni. One
brought in from Tsari on the Tibetan border, 14-6-36.
57, Gonepterix mahaguru mahaguru Gistel. (E)
Talbot F.B.i..174a; Evans 14.3.
. A few in the Valley: one at Kakni 7,000 ft. 15-4-37, and one
brought in from Surjekunda 11-9-35.
58. Eurema brigitta rubella Wallace.
Talbot E.R... 176;>Bvans lon.
A few at Devighat, April and September, and a pair zz copula
30-10-35. Baklore, Terai 4-4-36. A specimen brought from the Tibetan
border, Laptang, 22-6-37.
59. Eurema laeta laeta Boisduval.
Talbot F.B.I. 177a; Evans 15.2,
Common everywhere in the Valley and on the surrounding hills up
to 7,000 ft. at Devighat 1,500 ft, and in winter in the Terai, Wet
season forms June to September. Dry season forms in May, Octo-
ber and in winter in the Terai. One wet season form was taken at
Devighat on 25-11-35.
\
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 73
60. Eurema blanda silhetana Wallace.
Talbot F.B.I. 178a; Evans 15.4.
Katmandu May, August and October. Devighat 1,590 ft. 15-1-35.
6). Eurema hecabe fimbriata Wallace.
Talbot F.B.I. 179c; Evans 15.5.
Very common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills during
April and May and again from July to November. In the Terai Decem-
ber to February. Pairs were taken z7 copula 2-9-37 and 3-10-35.
62. Colias erate erate Esper. (E)
Talbot F.B,J. 194a; Evans 16.9.
Very common in the Valley from March to October, but never found
on the hills above the Valley, A pair zz coduwla at Katmandu 13-5-35,
A female seen depositing eggs 16-3-35
63, Colias electo fieldii Ménétries.
Talbot F.B.1J. 199; Evans 16.14.
Very common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills in March,
Apriland May. A few in the Valley as late as October, Many brought
in from the north and north-west of Nepal, May and Jure. A few in the
Terai in February. A pair were taken zz copula on 7-6-35.
64. Ixias pyrene familiaris Butler. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 151d; Evans 17.2.
One in the Valley 6=4=34. and two brought in by the collectors froin
the north, Gumar Set 2-12-35, Silagarhi, West Nepal 28-10-36.
65. Hebomia glaucippe glaucippe L.
Talbot F.B.I. 16la; Evans 19.
Rare in the Nepal Valley; only seen March, April and September;
Devighat 1,500 ft. 18-10-35.
66. Valeria valeria hippia Fabricius.
Talbot F.B.I. 164; Evans 20.3.
One at Katmandu 24-3-35. -Chandragiri above the Valley 5,500 ft.,
28-7-35, and a few at lower elevations.
Amlekganj 1,000 ft., 2-11-35. A few inthe Terai in February.
DANAIDAE
67. Danaus aglea melanoides Moore.
Talbot F.B.I. 213b; Evans 2.1.
Common in the Valley March to October; at Chandragiri above the
Valley, 7,C00 ft., 14-6-36. Also taken in the Terai in February. One
taken at Katmandu on 12-7-35, had orchid pollinia on the proboscis.
68. Danaus sita Kollar.
Talbot F.B.I. 217; Evans 2.5.
Only two specimens from the Valley. Forrn ¢yt¢a Gray 14-5-37 and
|. form szta Koll. 28-3-88.
- One brought in from Siligarhi, West Nepal, 29-10-36 appears to be
midway between the above two forms.
74 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
69, Danaus limniace leopardus Butler.
Talbot F.B.I. 210; Evans 2.9.
A single female specimen in the Valley 16-3-36. Several in the
Terai in winter.
70. Danaus hamata septentrionis Butler.
Talbot Eb: 12 bles. mvansiaed 0:
A few in the Valley in March, July, August and October. Common
in the Terai in November.
71. Danaus plexippus plexippus L,
Talbot F.B.I, 207; Evans 2.12.
Common in the Valley March to October and up to 5,000 ft. on the
surrounding hills; many in the Terai in winter.
72, Danaus chrysippus chrysippus L.
Talbot F.B.I. 206; Evans 2.15.
Very common in the Valley from March to October and in the
Terai in winter. Larvae on Calotropis procera (Asclepiadacae). Pupa-
tions at Katmandu on 30.4 emerging on 11.5 and on 1.5 emerging on
7.2, Other emergences in May, June and September.
73, Euploea mulciber mulciber Cramer,
Talbot F.B.I. 23]a; Evans 3.1.
Common in the Valley except November to February. On the
surrounding hills at Nagarkot 7,000 ft. June, July and August.
74. Euploea core core Cramer,
Talbot F.B.f. 228a; Evans 3.7.
Common in the Valley June to August, and in the Terai in winter,
Emergence dates 28-6-36, 19-7-37, 23-8-35 and 14-10-35.
SATYRIDAE
75. Mycalesis francisca sanatana M.
Talbot F.B.l. 24a; vans 2.0.
Common in the Valley. D.S.F. in April and May. W.S.F. April,
July and Augtst. A single specimen from Nagarkot 7,000 ft. on
7-8-36. was W.S,F.
76. Mycalesis perseus blasius Fab.
Talbot F.B.I. 248b; Evans 2.9.
Not in the Valley but common at low altitudes in the Terai in the
winter. All D.S.F. |
77. Mycalesis mineus mineus L,
Talbot F.B.I. 249; Evans 2.10.
Both in the Valley and in the Terai. In the Valley W.S.F. were
taken from May to September and D.S.F. in June and October. D.S. Be
common in the Terai in winter.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 75
78. Mycalesis visala visala M,
Talbot F.B.1, 252a: Evans 2.12.
-A single specimen at 5,000 ft. in the Valley on 27-10-35. A few
in the Terai in midwinter. :
79. Mycalesis suavolens suavolens W-M, and DeN. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 260a; Evans 2.23. |
Nagarkot 7,000 ft. in June and July. Katmandu 5,500 ft. 23-5-37.
80. Mycalesis heri M.
albot F.B: le 262; Evans, 2.25,
Valley, May to August. Not common.
81, Mycalesis nicotia Westwood.
Talbot F.B.I. 264; Evans 2.27.
Common in the Valley, May to September. A few specimens at
Nagarkot 7,000 ft. in June.
82. Mycalesis malsara M. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 265; Evans 2.28.
A few at Bhimpedi below the Valley 1,000 ft. early October.
83. Mycalesis lepcha lepcha M. (E)
Talbot F.B.I. 267a; Evans 2.30.
D.S.F. common in the Valley, March to May. One W.S.F. 5-5-37
and others in July, August and September,
84. Lethe sidonis sidonis Hew.
Walbot E.B.1 273; Evans 3.3.
Common in the Valley in June and October and a few in the inter-
vening months. Also on the surrounding hills up to 7,000 ft. Speci-
mens from North-west Nepal approach form vazvarta Doh. 3
85. Lethe nicetella DeN. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 275; Evans 3.4.
Three specimens only: Chandragiri 6,0C0 ft. above the Valley
24-6-36, 21-10-37; Godavari, 5,000 ft. 20-10-36. Always in thick forest.
86, Lethe maitrya maitrya DeN.
Mallbot /.B.1. 276a > Evans 3.5;
Several specimens brought in by collectors from North Central Nepal
in August 1937. Never taken in the Valley.
87. Lethe jalaurida jalaurida DeN. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 282a; Evans 3.11.
A single specimen brought in from Jalbiri, North Central Nepal,
3-8-37.
88. Lethe goalpara goalpara M. (E)
Talbot F.B.I. 285a; Evans 3.14.
A single specimen brought in from Barabar, North Nepal, 20-8-35.
76 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
89. Lethe baladeva M. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 288; Evans 3.17.
Four specimens only: Godavari, 5,000 ft., 10-5-37., Chitlang south
of the Valley, 5,000 ft. 23-4-38. Two brought in from North Nepal by
collectors, Dejen Gompa, 7-6-37, Patichaur, 14-5-37. I cannot distin-
guish the race azsa Fruh. from daladeva M. There is only one speci-
men of each sex of aésa in the British Museum.
90. Lethe rohria rohria Fd. (W)
Talbot F.B.L 293a; Evans 3.22.
Three specimens from the Valley 1-11-36, 30-10-37 and 24-3-39,
and one from Tnankot above the Valley, 6,000 ft. 17-7-37.
91. Lethe confusa confusa Aur.
Talbot F.B.I. 296; Evans 3.25.
Very common in the Valley. The spring brood are on the average ©
smaller than those appearing later.
92. Lethe insana dinarbas Hew.
Talbot F.B.I. 306b; Evans 3,34.
A few at Godavari in the Valley in May. Also on the surrounding
hills up to 6,000 ft. April to November. A few brought in from the
north by collectors in May. Always in thick forest. |
93. Lethe kansa M.
Talbot F.B.I. 311; Evans 3.38.
A few in the Valley in April and May and again in October. A few
at Nagarkot 7,000 ft. between July and November.
94, Lethe verma sintica Fruh. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 317b; Evans 3.44.
Common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills between May —
and October.
95, Lethe pulaha pulaha M.,
Talbot F.B.I. 318a; Evans 3.45.
A few brought from North Nepal in May and June. Barku 18-5-35;
Sandi, 2-6-35 ; Kuti on the Tibetan border, 6-6-37; Dejen Gompa
ook
96. Lethe yama yama M.,
Talbot F.B.I. 323a; Evans 3.50.
In the thick forest on the hills surrounding the Valley between
5,590 ft. and 7,000 ft. in May and June only.
97, Pararge menava menava M. (B)
Talbot F.B.I. 324a; Evans 4.1.
A single specimen from Nepko, West Nepal 11-6-36.
98. Pararge schakra schakra Koll. (E)
Talbot F.B.I. 325a; Evans 4.2.
Several brought in from West Nepal in June and July. Kale
17-6-36, Barai 19- 6-36 and 3-7-36.
“NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 77
99, Rhaphicera satricus satricus Db. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 330; Evans 4.7.
| A single specimen taken at Kakni 7,500 ft. 15-9-37. Also two seen
at the same place 14-8=35.
100. Orinoma damaris Gray.
Talbot F.B.I. 332; Evans 5.
Common in the Valley often at damp soil in May and June. A
second brood in September and October.
101. Aulocera brahminus brahminus Blanch. (B)
Talbot F.B.I. 355a; Evans 11.1.
A single specimen brought in from Tangar, West Nepal, 7-8-36.
Another specimen from Limotang, West Nepal, 16-7-36, appears to be
race brahminoides M. ‘This is an extension westwards.
102. Aulocera padma padma Koll.
Talbot F.B.I. 356a; Evans 11.2.
Many brought in by collectors from North Nepal, July, August and
September.
Two specimens appeared to be A. p. chumbica: Jalbiri 3-8-37, Sanu
Nyesum 20-7-37,. If my identification is right this is an extension of
habitat westwards.
Two specimens brought from Rasuagarhi 20-8-35, and Langdeng
30-8-35, are nearest to A. p. /oha Doh.
103. Aulocera swaha swaha Koll.
Talbot F.B.I. 357a; Evans 11.3.
Many brought in from North Nepal and from the Tibetan border in
July, August and September.
104. Aulocera saraswati Koll.
Talbot F.B.[. 358; Evans 11.4.
One from the Valley, 4,500 ft. 29-10-37; several from the surroun-
ding hills in August, September and October. Others brought in from
the north. -
105. Erebia nirmala nirmala M. (E)
Talbot F.B.I. 363a; Evans 13.4.
A few brought in from West Nepal in June 1936.
106. Erebia scanda opima Watkins. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 364b ; Evans 13.5.
Swarms in August and into early September at Kakni and Nagarkot
above the Valley between 6,000 ft. and 7,000 ft.
107. Erebia hybrida But. (E)
Talbot F.B.I. 365; Evans 13.6.
Very plentiful at water above Balaji in the Valley in April and
again in August. A great many at Kakni, 7,000 ft, mid-August.
*
78 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
108. Erebia annada caeca Watkins.
Talbot F.B.I. 367b; Evans 13.7.
Very common in the woods surrounding the Valley in May and
again in September.
FE. annada annada M. also occurs at the same time and localities.
If this identification is correct this is an extension of habitat westwards.
109. Erebia hyagriva M. (E)
Talbot F.B.1. 368; Evans 13.8.
A few in August and many in September and October, both in the
Valley and on the surrounding hills.
110. Ypthima nareda newara M. (E)
Talbot F.B.I. 373b; Evans 14.4.
Common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills May to Septem-
ber. One emerged on 25th August at Nagarkot 6,500 ft.
111. Ypthima ceylonica kasmira M. (£)
Talbot F.B.I. 380c; Evans 14.11.
None in the Valley but some at lower elevations. Common in the
Terai in winter,
112. Ypthima baldus baldus F.
Talbot F.B.J. 385a; Evans 14.15.
Very common in the Valley and also found in the surrounding hills
up to 7,009 ft. Common inthe Terai. A very dry form is found in
the Valley in March. Pairs were taken zz copula at Katmandu 20-9235
and 16-8=-37. Also at Devighat 1,500 ft. 25-10-35 and 31-10-35.
113. Ypthima sakra nikaea M. (E)
Talbot F.B.I. 390b; Evans 14.21.
Common in the Vailey from April to October and also up to
7,000 ft. on the surrounding hills. A pair taken zz copula at Katmandu
5-9-37 and another at Nagarkot, 7,000 ft. 22=7-37,
114, Orsotrioena medus medus Fab,
Talbot F.B.I. 393a; Evans 16,
Common below 5,00 ft. from August to April in all the .parts of
Nepal in which collections were made. W.S.F. were obtained in
August and September, otherwise most specimens were D.S.F.
A single W.S.F. was taken at Tribeni in the Terai in December, A
pair iz copula at Devighat 30-10-35.
115. Melanitis leda ismene Cramer.
Talbot F.B.I. 4€5; Evans 22.1.
Common in the Valley and especially so inthe Terai. W.S.F. were
taken in August and September only. ‘This crepuscular butterfly some-
times comes to light like-a moth.
116. Melanitis phedima bela M. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 406e; Evans 22.2,
Two specimens, one at Katmandu 4,500 ft. 9-10-36, and another at
Godavari 5,000 ft. 20-10-36.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 79
117. Elymnias hypermnestra undularis Drury.
Talbot F.B.I, 411c; Evans 25.1, |
At various places below the Valley in October and November at
altitudes between 1,000 ft. and 2,000 ft. Very common at Devighat.
118. Elymnias malelas malelas Hew. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 418a; Evans 25.8.
A few in October both in the Valley and at lower elevations. One
brought in from Central Nepal, Chauntara, 13-9-57. A pair zz copula
at Katmandu 2-10-37.
119. Elymmnias vasudeva vasudeva M, (WW)
Talbot F.B.I. 422a; Evans 25.12.
A single specimen brought in by collectors from Trisuli, 25-7-35.
AMATHUSIIDAE
120. Discophora sondaica zal Wstw. (W)
Talbot F.B.I. 443b; Evans 10.1.
A single male specimen was taken below Nayakot at 3,000 ft.
2-4-35. It was sucking moisture on the road. Thisis an extension of
the Amathusiidae westwards in the Himalayas. The family occurs in
South India.
NYMPHALIDAE
121. Charaxes polyxena hierax Fd. (W)
Evans 1.2.
A single ¢' specimen at Amlekganj 1,009 ft. 2-11.36.
122, Eriboea athamas athamas Dr.
Evans 2.2.
A few in the Valley in September and October.
123. Eriboea dolon centralis Roth. (W)
Evans 2.7.
Valley, April and May.
124. Eriboea eudamippus eudamippus Db,
Evans 2.10.
Three specimens in the Valley 4,500 ft. 10-6-34 ; 5,000 ft. 23-5-36 ;
9,000 ft. 3-10-37.
125. Dilipa morgiana Wd.
Evans 5.
A few inthe Valley, mostly at water, May, June and July. One
- from Laptang near the Tibetan frontier 22-6-37,
126. Sephisa chandra M. (W)
Evans 9.2. :
Males are common on the hills surrounding the Valley where they
fly round treetops. A few in May and July and many in September
and Octcber. One female of the albina form on 20-10-36.
80 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
127. Euripus consimilis Wd.
Evans 10.1.
A single male specimen feeding on a peach in the Legation garden
at Katmandu on 27-6-37.
128. Diagora perstule persimilis Wd. (W)
Evans 11.1.
Four males inthe Valley, April, May, July and September; some at.
water.
129. Diagora nicévillei M. (E),
Evans 11.2.
Several males in May at Godavari. See Journal of the Bombay
Natural History Society, Vol. 42, p.819 and Vol. 43, p. 537. This
butterfly is named from a singie specimen obtained by De Niceville ‘in
1879. No further specimens were obtained until [ found it not ©
uncommon in the woods at the fringe of the Valley. |
130. Hestina nama Db. -
Evans 12.
Common in the Valley between May and November. Males fly in
the morning round isolated hilltops on the ranges surrounding the
Valley.
131. Dichorragia nesimachus Bdv.
Evans 16.
Only two specimens taken in the Valley, 23-6-37.
132. Stibochioma nicea nicea Gray.
Evans 17.
Common in the woods in and around the Valley, April to October.
133. Euthalia lepidea lepidea But.
Evans 18.3.
Plentiful at Devighat (1,500 ft.) in November and December and at
lower levels outside the Valley. A single specimen was taken at
Godavari in the Valley on 17-4-38. It was also found in the Terai in
winter.
134. Euthalia julii appiades Men.
Evans 18.6.
Devighat 2,000 ft. 31-10-35. A few brought in by collectors from
lower levels outside the Valley.
135. Euthalia kesava arhat Fruh. (W)
Evans 188.
A single female specimen at Bhimpedi, 1,000 ft. early October’
1936.
136. Euthalia telchinia Men. (W)
Evans 18:10.
Three specimens in the Valley 5-6-35, and 6-6-36, and a ‘female ont
3-10-36.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 81
137. Euthalia garuda suddhodana Fruh.
Evans 18.14.
One female in the Valley, 30-10-36. Several of both sexes at
Devighat, 2,000 ft. 31-10-35.
138. Euthalia nara nara M. CW)
Evans 18.21.
Plentifal on the hills surrounding the Valley up to 7,000’, May to
August, and a few in the Valley itself.
139. Euthalia sahadeva sahadeva M. (W)
Evans 18.23.
As the last. In the Valley and on the surrounding hills up to
7,000 ft.
140. Euthalia patala patala Koll.
Evans 18.26. .
Common in thick forests in the Valley only in May and June.
141. Abrota ganga M.,
Evans 23.
A few in the Valley, June and July.
142. Limenitis danava M.
Evans 24.2.
Males common in the Valley, April and May. A few in October
which are rather larger and darker than the spring brood. A few
females were seen in August and October.
143. Limenitis dudu Wd. (W)
Evans 24.5.
A few in the Valley, April and May. A single specimen in August
and another in October.
144. Limenitis procris procris Cr.
Evans 24.7.
A few in the Terai in winter and one at Devighat 2,000 ft. 25-10-35,
~ Not seen in the Valley.
145. Limenitis trivena pallida Tyt.
Evans 24.8.
A few brought by collectors from West Nepal in June 1936,
146. Pantoporia nefte inara Db. (W)
Evans 25,2.
One in the Valley and several in the Terai and at Devighat in
‘winter.
147. Pantoporia cama M.
Evans 25.3.
In the Valley, April to October. At Nagarkot 7,000 ft. July to
September. One at Devighat 1,500 ft. 25-12-34.
6
82 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
148. Pantoporia selenophora selenophora Koll.
Evans 25.4.
A few inthe Valley, March to August and again in October. One
at Devighat 1,500 ft. 3-11-36.
149. Pantoporia opalina opalina Koll.
Evans 25.8.
Very common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills between
April and October. A Jarva found on Berberts asiatica Roxb.
(Berberidaceae). Pupated on the 10th of August and emerged on the
27th of the same month.
150. Pantoporia perius L.
Evans 25.14.
Plentiful in the Valley and on the surrounding hills where it flies
round isolated hilltops ‘along with males of Hestina nama, Sephisa
chandra and Teinopalpus. Also common at lower elevations at Devighat
and in the Terai in winter.
151. Pantoporia jina jina M.
Evans 25.15.
Three specimens in the hills above the Valley: Nagarkot 6,000
{t. 4-7-35; Godavari 6,000 ft. 28-7-37; 5,000 ft. 19-5=38.
152. Neptis columella ophiana M.
Evans 26.1. }
Only at low elevations outside the Valley. Bhimpedi 2,000 ft.
Octokter ’36. East Terai 2-3-26,
153. Neptis mahendra M. (E)
Evans 26.5.
Two specimens from West Nepal in June.
154. Neptis hylas varmona M.
Evans 26.6,
The low elevation form vavmona is common in the Terai and at
Devighat below the Valley. A few of this form were taken along with
the asfola form, which is more plentiful in the Valley and which is also
found on the surrounding hills from March to November. Specimens
taken in June and July are very dark on the underside.
LSD; Neptis nandina susruta M.
Evans 26.8.
A few inthe Valley in spring. Nagarkot 5,000 ft. 10-4-35. Kat-
mandu 11-5=35. Godavari 5,000 ft. 19=5-36.
156. Neptis yerburyi But.
Evans 26.9. .
Common in the Valley and a few on the surrounding hills, March to
October ; a few in the Terai in winter.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 83
Pairs were caught zz copula on 24-8-35 and 16-4-36. Both yerburyz
yerburyt But. and yerburyt stkkima Ev. were obtained. Specimens of
y. yerburyz were taken in the spring and y. s¢kkzma in the autumn.
157. Neptis sankara Koll.
Evans 26,10.
Three specimens at Godavari in the Valley. That taken on 9-5-37
is saxkara sankara; the other two on 20-5-34 and 14-8-37 are sankara
guilta Swin.
158. Neptis cartica cartica M. (W)
Evans 26.13.
Not uncommon in the Valley. A brood appeared in May and
another in August.
159. Neptis ananta ochracea Evans.
Evans 26.15.
Common in the Valley in May. Two specimens at Nagarkot
7,000 ft. 8-9-35 and 5,000 ft. 10-9-35.
160. Neptis miah miah M. (W)
Evans 26.16.
One specimen at Bhimpedi below the Valley 2,000 ft. early October
1936, and one specimen at Katmandu, 4,500 ft. 13-5-35. |
161. Neptis antilope melba Hv. (W)
Evans 26.18.
Four specimens at Godavari in May 1937.
162. Neptis manasa M. (W)
Evans 26.21.
A few were taken at Godavari 5,000 ft. in May 1937, but at no other
time or place.
163. Neptis nycteus nycteus DeN. (W)
Evans 26.22.
Two specimens at Godavari.5,000 ft. 15-5-37, 19-5-38.
164. Neptis narayana nana DeN. (W)
Evans 26.23.
Not uncommon in the’ Valley but only taken in May.
165. Neptis hordonia hordonia Stol.
Evans 26.32.
Common at Devighat and ‘other places below the Valley.
166, Cyrestis thyodamas thyodamas Boisduval.
Evans 27.4.
Common in the Valley ; often at water and damp soil. One specimen
at Devighat, 1,500 ft. 31-3-35 ; several at Nagarkot 6,500 ft. in Septem-
ber. The specimens vary between the forms ganescha Koll. and
thyodamas Bdv.
84 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. “SOCIETY, Vol. 50
167. Chersonesia risa Db. & Hew.
Evans 28.1.
A single specimen at Nowakot north of the Valley, 3,000 ft. 17-10-35.
168. Pseudergolis wedah Koll.
Evans 29.
Not uncommon at Godavari in the Valley in October.
169; Hy polimnas misippus L.
Evans 30.1.
Several males in the Valley in September and October.
170. Hypolimnas bolina L.
Evans 30.2.
None in the Valley but a few at Nagarkot between 6,000 ft., and
7,0CO ft. in September ; also several in the Terai in winter. A pair
were taken 272 copula at Nagarkot 6,000 ft. 31-7-37.
171. Kallima inachus inachus Bdv.
Evans 34.2.
Many in the Valley, March to October, More plentiful in the spring.
At lower elevations in October.
172. Precis hierta hierta F.
Evans 35.1. |
Not uncommon in the Valley from March to May; a second brood
appears from August to October. Common at Nagarkot up to 7,000
ft. Pairs were taken zz copula in July.
173. Precis orithya swinhoei But.
Evans 35.2.
Very common in the Valley, Marchto August. Also common on the
surrounding hills up to 7,000 ft. between July and the 8th of November.
Also common in the Terai. The Terai winter form is paler than the
specimens taken in the Valley in summer. Several were taken 72 copula
at Nagarkot in July.
174. Precis lemonias persicaria Fruh.
Evans 35.3.
Common in the Valley. D.S. F. from January to April; W.S.F. in
August. D.S. F. in the Terai in December and January.
175. Precis almana almana L,
Evans 35.4.
In the Valley D. S. F. were found from September to November
and W.S.F. Juneto August. In the Terai and at lower elevations the
D.S.F. was common October to February.
176. Precis atlites L.
Evans 355.
A single specimen at Balaji in the Valley 4,500 ft. 2-9-37,
Many in damp scrub at Devighat 1,500 ft. at the end of October.
~
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 85.
177. Precis iphita siccata Stich.
Evans 35.6. R
Common in the Valley all the year except November to February.
Femaies were seen ovipositing at Balajiin the Valley 29-7-35, and at
Nagarkot 6,000 ft. 2-9-35.
178. Vanessa cardui L.
Evans 36.1.
Common in the Valley and upto 7,000 ft. at Nagarkot in the sur-
rounding hills. It is found all the year round except from November
to February. Inthe Terai in winter.
179. Vanessa indica indica Herbst.
Evans 36.3.
Very common in the Valley. A spring brood appeared in March
and April and an autumn in July and August. Again very many
appear in October and November after which they are not seen till
March. Many larvae and pupae were found in colonies on nettles.
One emergence in July and many in October and November.
180. Vanessa canace canace L,
Evans 36.4.
Common in all localities, in the Valley, on the surrounding hills, and
at lower elevations outside. Not seen during December, January end
February. A larva was found on Smilax macrophylla (Liliaceae)
pupated on 22-8-35. and emerged on 2-9-35. Most are sub-species canace
L. but some approach Azmalaya Evans.
181. Vanessa cashmirensis aesis Fruh.
Evans 36.10.
Very common everywhere except during December, January and
February. Many emerged at the end of October.
182. Vanessa xanthomelas fervescens Stich. (E)
Evans 36. LI.
One in the Valley 5,000 ft. 9-3-36. One at Nagarkot 7,000 ft. 8-5-37,
and one brought in from Patichaur in north Nepal 11-11-37.
183. Symbrenthia hippoclus khasiana M.
Evans 38.1.
Appears in considerable numbers in the Valley in March.
184. Symbrenthia hypselis cotanda M.
Evans 38.3. :
A few in the Valley in March and April. A fresh brood appears in
September and October. It is found both in the Valley and inthe hills
up to 7,000 ft.
185. Argynnis hyperbius hyperbius L.
Evans 39.1.
Common in the Valley and the surrounding hills; more plentiful —
from June to September. Pair z2 copula 12-9-37,
Emergences on 3-10-35, 1-11-35 and 9-10-36.
86 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
186. Argynnis childreni childreni Gray.
Evans 39.2.
Not uncommon in the Valley and on the surrounding hills up to
7,000 ft., from May to July; a few in October. It was not seen in the
Terai or at lower elevations. Several were brought in from North
Nepal by collectors.
187. Argynnis kamala M. (EB)
Evans 39.3.
A few brought from western Nepal June, July and August.
188. Argynnis lathonia issoea Db.
Evans 39.8.
In the Valley and the surrounding hills from March to June. A
great many brought i in from western and northern Nepal in May and
June. A pair zz copula 15-5-37.
189. Melitaea arcesia irma Higgins. (Zyvansactions R. Ent. Soc.
Vol. 93, Aearte7. Tod:
Evans 40.7.
Many brought in from West Nepal in July and August 1936.
190. Cupha erymanthus lotis Sulz.
Evans 41.
A few in the Valley and surrounding hills from May to August; a
single specimen in October.
191. Atella phalanta Drury.
Evans 42.1.
A few in the Valley, and the surrounding hills from May to October.
An egg deposited on 15-8-35, hatched on 21-8-35 and the imago emerg-
ed on 11-9-35.
192. Issoria sinha sinha Koll.
Evans 43.
A few in the Valley, June to October. One taken inthe Terai on
16-1-36 is form pallida Evans.
193. Cynthia erota erota F. (W)
Evans 44.
A single worn specimen at Nagarkot 6,000 ft. 3-7-37.
194. Cethosia biblis tisamena Fruh. (W)
Evans 47.1.
Common in the Valley, March to April. A second brood appearing
from August to October. Many larvae on Passion Flower (Passiflora=
ceae) in the Legation garden pupated in December 1936; of these two
emerged on 7-3-37 and five on 11-3-37. Eggs on Passion Flower
hatched on 17-8-37. Seven of these pupated on 6=9<37, and others a
few days later. These emerged as perfect insects on 16th, 17th and
18th of September the same year.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 87
195. Ergolis ariadne pallidior Fruh.
Evans 49.1.
A single specimen from the western Terai on 2-1-37.
196. Ergolis merione assama Ev, (E)
Evans 49.2.
Not uncommon in the Valley but only found in September and
October. A single specimen at Devighat 1,509 ft. 25-11-34.
ACRAEIDAE
197, Acraea issoria issoria Hub.
Talbot F.B.I. 450a; Evans 51,
Kakni, above the Valley, 7,000 ft., June to September. In Septem-
ber the butterflies were seen emerging in great numbers.
The separation into sub-species by size does not seem to be
justified. According to Talbot inF.B.I. 4.2, zssoria Hub. (50 to 70 mm.)
is from the eastern Himalayas while A.z. anomala Koll. (45 to 65 mm.)
is from the western Himalayas. The largest specimens I have are
from the Simla Hills ; a male is 70 mm. and a female 80 mm.
(Zo be continued )
TWO NEW SPECIES OF PIMPINELEA
BY
M. L. BANERJI
(Botany Department, Meerut College)
The author, while identifying the Umbelifers of his collection of
Nepal plants, came across two hitherto undescribed species of
Pimpinella in the Herbarium, Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta.
These species have not been listed by Wolff in his monograph of
the genus in Engler, Pflanzenr. IV, 288 (1927). They are not given
in the subsequent supplements of the Index Kewensis either.
Pimpinella clarkeana Watt ex Banerji, spec. nov.
Herba erecta, parva, tenuis, 15-30 cm. alta, caulibus teretibus,
striatis, non ramosis, cavis. Jolia radicalia atque caulina, mem-
branacea, glabra. Folia radicalia longe petiolata, patentia, 3-foliolata ;
petiolus tenuis, complanatus, 5-15 cm. longus, ad basim alatus alis
squamae similibus; foliola 1.5-4.5 'x 1-3.5 cm., ovata, simplicia vel
praesertim foliolum terminale 2-3-lobata vel 2-3-fida (folioli bilobati
segmenta varia, inaequalia), cuneata vel rotundata ad basim, foliolum
terminale regulare, caetera inaequalia, ad margines alte serrata, acuta
ad apices; petioluli 2.5-7.5 mm. longi. Folia caulina multo minora,
3-fida vel 3-lobata, petiolis 1-2 cm. longis.
Inflorescentia terminalis, ad 4 cm. diam.; radii primarii inaequales.
longitudine, 12-17 numero, ut plurimum erecti; bracteae nullae. Radii
secundarii tenues, inaequales longitudine, 0.5-2 cm. longi, 3-5-flori;
bracteolae 1-3, lanceolatae; pediculis circa 4 mm. longis. Flores albi,
hermaphroditi. Calycis segmenta lanceolata; petala glabra, obovata,
emarginata. Fructus oblongus, circa 4 mm. longus, tenuiter assym-
metricus ; sulci: 2-3-vittati; carpophorio bifido.
Typus, G. Watt 6556, lectus in loco Chingsow, Manipur (Assam),
altit. 8000 ped., die 18 mensis aprilis, 1882, invenitur in Herb. Calcut. ;
paratypus, Banerji 446, lectus in loco ‘Arun Watershed’ (Nepalia), altit.
circa 10,000 ped., die 21 mensis mati 1948, invenitur in Herb. Calcut.,
et Blatter Herb., St. Xavier’s College, Bombay, et Herb. Meerut
College, Meerut.
Pimpinella clarkeana Watt ex Banerji, spec. nov.
A slender, small, erect herb, 15-30 cm. high, with rounded and
striate, unbranched, hollow stems. JLeaves radical and cauline, mem-
branous, glabrous. Radical leaves long-petioled, spreading, 3-foliate ;
petioles slender, flattened, 5-15 cm. long, base often with scale-like
wings; leaflets 1.5-4.5 x 1-3.5 cm., ovate, simple or, especially the
terminal one, 2-3-lobed or-fid (in 2-lobed leaflets the lobes various,
unequal); base of leaflets cuneate or rounded, in the terminal one
regular, in the lateral leaflets often unequal-sided; margins deeply
TWO NEW SPECIES OF PIMPINELLA 89:
_ serrate, tips acute; petiolules 2.5-7.5 mm. long. Cauline leaves much
smaller, 3-fid or -lobed, petioles 1-2 cm. long.
Inflorescence terminal, up to 4 cm. diam., primary rays unequal
in length, 12-17 in number, mostly erect; bracts none: Secondary
rays slender, unequal in length, 0.5-2 cm. long, 3-5-ilowered,
bracteoles 1-3, lanceolate; pedicels about 4 mm. long; flowers white ;
hermaphrodite. Segments of the clayx limb lanceolate; petals glabrous,
obovate, emarginate. Fruit oblong, about 4 mm. long, slightly
asymmetrical; furrows 2-3-vittate; carpophore bifid.
The type, G. Watt 6556, was collected at Chingsow, Manipur
(Assam), at an altitude of 8,000 ft., on 18 April 1882; the paratype,
Banerji 446, was collected at the Arun Watershed (Nepal), at about
10,000 ft. altitude on May arst, 1948.
Pimpinella urceolata Watt ex Banerji, spec. nov.
Herba robusta, alta, erecta, 30-50 cm. alta, caulibus teretibus,
striatis, ramosis, cavis. Folia membranacea, glabra, ut plurimum
caulina; radicalia folia raro adsunt; cum _ vero adsunt,
sunt indivisa. Folia caulina 3-foliolata, petiolis complanatis atque
tenuiter striatis, 4-8 (generatim 8) cm. longis, pilosis. Foliola tenuiter
pilosa, ovata, 1.5-4 x 2-4.5 cm.; foliolum terminale in inferioribus foliis
tripartitum, in superioribus vero indivisum, omnia glabra vel glabres-
centia supra, pilosa infra praesertim ad nervos; ad margines serrata,
ad basim ut plurimum cordata, aliquando tamen rotundata vel cuneata,
ad apices acuta vel acuminata; petioluli 5-15 mm. longi, raro longicres,
tenuiter pilosi.
Inflorescentia terminalis vel axillaris vel folio opposita ; radii primarii
g-12, longitudine inaequales, circa 15 mm. longi, patentes; bracteae
nullae. Radii secundarii 6-9 (ut plurimum 8) ; bracteolae 3-5, filiformes,
2-4 mm. longae, tomentosae. Flores albi, minuti, hermaphroditi ;
pediculis 5 mm. longis, nonnumquam tamen brevioribus. Calycis
limbus squamae similis; petala glabra medio nervo prominenti ornata,
tenuiter mucronata; stamina petalis aequalia. Fructus 2, raro 2.5 mm.
longus, lateraliter compressus, initio pilosus, tandem pubescens,
oblongus; sulci tenues; stylopodium capitatum.
Typus, Anderson 623, lectus in Sikkim, in loco Tonglo, altit.
3,500 ped. die 2 octobris 1862, invenitur in Herb. Calcut.; paratypi
(a) duo specimina in Herb. Calcut. ex loco Tonglo absque nomine
auctoris, lecta die 1 octobris 1857; (b) Kurz, tria specimina in Herb.
Calcut. absque numero, lecta die 14 octobris 1868 and die 21 octohris
1868, ex loco Tonglo? ; {c) Gamble, ex loco Tonglo, 9,000 ped. altii.,
lectus mense julio 1882.
Pimpinella urceolata Watt ex Banerji, spec. nov.
Tall, robust, erect herb, 30-50 cm. high, with rounded striate,
branched, hollow stems. Leaves membranous, glabrous, mostly
cauline, the radical ones seldom present and then undivided. Cauline
leaves 3-foliate, petioles flattened and slightly striate, 4-8 (generally
8) cm. long, hairy. Leaflets slightly hairy, ovate, 1.5-4 x 2-4.5 cm.,
the terminal leaflets in the lower leaves 3-partite, in the upper ones
undivided, glabrous or nearly so above, hairy beneath especially along
the nerves; margins serrate, base mostly cordate, occasionally rounded
‘90 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
to cuneate, tip acute or acuminate; petiolules 5-15 mm long, rarely
longer, slightly hairy.
Inflorescence terminal, axillary or leaf-opposed; primary rays 9-12,
unequal in length, about 15 mm. long, spreading; bracts none.
Secondary rays 6-9 (mostly 8); bracteoles 3-5, filiform, 2-4 mm. long,
tomentose. Flowers white, minute, hermaphrodite; pedicels 5 mm.
long, occasionally shorter. Calyx limb scale-like; petals glabrous with.
a somewhat prominent midrib, slightly mucronate; stamens equalling
the petals. Fruit 2, rarely 2.5 mm. long, laterally compressed, at
» the beginning pilose, at length pubescent, oblong; ridges faint ; stylopod
capitate.
Ty Be Anderson 623, from Tonglo in Sikkim, collected at 3,500 ft.
altit., on Oct. 2, 1862; paratypes (a) two sheets in Herb. Calcut. from
Tonglo, without collector’s name, gathered on Oct. 1, 1857; (b) Kurz,
three sheets in Herb. Calcut. without number, collected on Oct. 14,
1868 and Oct. 21, 1868, at Tonglo? (c) Gamble, Tonglo, 9,000 ft.
altit. July 1882.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is indebted to the authorities of the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, for the necessary information and to Drs. S. K. Mukerji
and V. Puri for their help, suggestions and the facilities in complet-
ing this work. To Father H. Santapau s.j., ph.p. the authour ex-
presses his deep gratitude for the valuable advice, correction of the
manuscript and the Latin diagnosis of the two species.
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON LITTLE KNOWN
ASSAM RIVERS
BY
W. E. D. CoOoPER
ParRT I
(With two plates)
My first Christmas day in India in 1900 was spent in a houseboat on
the lower reaches of the Barak River which fired me with a desire to see
what lay above, an urge I never lost and was nearly able to complete as
far as these rivers were navigable, 30 odd years later. ‘The Barak flows
from the state of Manipur into the plains of Cachar and eventually into
the delta of the Brahmaputra. It is fed by four main hill rivers above
where it enters the plains of Cachar which were al! the home of the
noble Mahseer. Of these the Tepi’, coming from the Lushai hills, was
my first and last love, but I had also excellent sport on the Jheeri and
later on, when I was able to get there, on the Macrup and Irung by
hauling boats through the Big Gorge and over the Elephant Rocks,
which, in my earlier days, were considered impassable. Three years
later a friend and I, on a fortnight’s leave, managed with a crew of six,
a cook and a bearer to drag a houseboat up the rapids to within half a
day of the mouth of the Tepi’, which we reached in a dugout in seven
or eight days, a trip we did in three days with the aid of a motor boat
up to the first rapid, in later years. The country then was quite un-
spoilt, and with the exception of a wandering Lushai or Kooki, one saw
no human beings.
We had no fishing tackle with us and I well remember seeing shoals
of fish leaving the shallows. Shooting, however, was good and we had
no difficulty in keeping the camp supplied with meat. This consisted
chiefly of sambar and barking deer, with plenty of junglefowl, pheasants
and pigeons of various sorts, with occasional duck and teal. What
we could not eat was dried over camp fires ona bamboo frame and
taken home for consumption by the crew. Turtle eggs were plentiful
and excellent eating. .
Camping on a sandbank was fairly primitive and I remember a
tiger walking down to drink one night between a Boy Scout tent which
we were sleeping in, and the cook under a tarpaulin a few yards away.
As after this I always kept a big log fire going all night it never
happened again.
Two years later I managed to acquire some fishing tackle, and with
another friend, set off in two small and two large dugouts with a crew
of twelve and reached the first rapid at Minadhur in two days, here the
fishing water began. Our tackle consisted of bamboo trolling rods and
a fly rod each, some No. 7 and 8 spoons and fly spoons. The first
mahseer I caught was 27 Jb. It took my 150 yards of line out to the
wood of my reel, but having ‘ Griffin’s luck’, stopped at that moment
and with the aid of my boatmen, I managed to land him by beaching
Onaspit of sand. I know nothing that gave me such a thrill as the
first rush of that mahseer!
92 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
—
We explored tne Tepi’ and caught fish, also got as far as the Big
Gorge on the Barak, a rather awe-inspiring length of the river, which
here narrows down from one to two hundred yards width to twenty or
thirty, rushing down between huge blocks of rock which have come
down from the overhanging cliffs, through which I did not take the ~
boats till 25 years later. I see from an old record that I landed 90 Ib.
of mahseer and we shot 14 pheasants, 39 junglefowl and 2 deer, which
does not in anyway represent the fish hooked or ammunition expended.
I was also up the Barak in 1906 when I Janded 108 Ib. of fish and shot
an 18 ft. Gharial (Long-nosed Crocodile) up the Tepi’. In these early
days one saw a dozen or more basking on sandbanks, but this was the
first time I had an H. V. rifle capable of severing the spinal chord at the
neck, the one shot that will prevent them slipping back into the water.
I remember trying to gaff one whose back had been broken froma
dugout which would have caused a disaster if I had not let it take my
gaff.
In 1908 I went up with my brother for three weeks at Christmas and
discovered that mahseer go clean off in very cold weather, the fishing
was poor, so all subsequent trips were made in November as soon as .
these rivers had cleared sufficiently to fish. |
I left this district in 1908 and it was not till 1916 that I was able to
fish again, this time with an experienced fisherman who taught me how ~
to use a fly onthe smaller rivers. I also started to write up a log over
the camp fire every night from which I shall quote in the rest of this
story.
The Jheeri, a pleasant little hill river without the magnificent
scenery of the Barak, we could reach by a track, on horseback, riding
out some 25 miles to aspot where we had sent our boats three days
before. These were newly built boats with flat bottoms. much more
comfortable than dugouts to fish from. In later years I built my own
at a cost of Rs. 1/6 per ft., supplying planks and fittings myself.
The flies we used were large salmon flies which we called Yellow —
Spider and Claret & Mallard, a 10 ft. split cane and a short American
spinning rod were my first tools. I also used a fly spoon a lot which,
was especially effective when water was at all discoloured. In a week’s
fishing my mentor landed 77 fish and I 55, the best fish weighing 7 lay
I lost a good few, especially on the short spinning rod.
In 1917 the Jheeri again with the same companion. Wehad by this
‘time formed an Angling Association which hired the fishing rights on
this river from Government, and kept two watchers to prevent netting
when the rivers were low. On this trip, using similar methods we
landed 140 fish between us, the best 10 lb. I have never known a
mahseer over 10 Ib. to take a fly; anything bigger was caught spinning
or trolling.
When at the top of the river we heard drums beating all over the
hills, and on our arrival back in civilization three days later were told
that the hill people were in revolt, had burnt all the rest houses on the
track into Manipur and killed the caretakers. ‘They did not interfere
with us. This revolt was not squashed for two years, the ringleaders
being rounded up on a hill above where we were camped when we-
heard the drums.
In 1923 and 1924 1 ened the Jheeri again with less experienced
companions. We caught rather fewer fish than on previous trips, and
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON ASSAM RIVERS 93
there was not a great deal to shoot on this river, but we had enough for
the pot. Otters were common in packs, and as they spoilt the fishing,
were shot. I also remember seeing a pack of red dog in full cry after
asambar, making a noise rather more like a monkey than a hound.
When the sambar eventually stands, they jump up and blind it with
their teeth, without leaving a mark on its face, and then tear it to
pieces. A friend of mine actually watched this taking place.
I see we had some difficulty in getting to our boats, as, after
swimming our horse across the Jheeri, found all bridges had been
washed away and we had to walk the last five miles. Also that on the
last trip I landeda 10 1b. mahseer after falling on my back in the boat
and dislodging myreel. The catch was 78 fish, the majority caught on
a Claret and Mallard.
Up the Barak again after seventeen years, with two ladies, Our
companions on this trip were experienced campers and really knew how
to do things in comfort. My boats were sent off two days ahead, and,
leaving in a motorboat we were at the first rapid in a morning to find
camp all ready for us.
Three days slogging up rapids brought us to the mouth of the Tepi’
with little fishing on the way as the river was fullup with timber rafts
and bamboo cutters; very different from what I remember it.
There was, however, a lovely new sandbank at the mouth of the
Tepi’ which looked proimising and on which we made our permanent
camp. Gharial were still fairly plentiful and my companion, who had
not fished before, spent most of his time after them whilst I fished the
Tepi’ where it was thrilling to recognise scenes of early adventure.
The top gorge produced a 24 1b, mahseer which, with my wife and
three men in the boat, took some landing as both banks were sheer rock
and we had to use the net. Our friendshad brought up a bottle of
champagne to be opened for the first fish over 20 lb. so we were soon
celebrating. What I had learnt on the Jheeri served me in good stead
on the Tepi’ which I soon discovered was the pertect fly river, and
landed 10 good fish onthe evening rise. In this type of fishing the
boatmen, without taking their paddles out of the water keep one at
casting distance from the rocky banks, and by casting from a sitting
position low down in the boat many more fish were hooked than when
standing up, especially when water was very clear. It did not seem to
matter much whether one fished up or down except in fast water, when
by fishing up one did not overrun the water.
Paddling down slowly I watched two fishing cats scooping up small
fish from an overhanging branch. I shot one with a pretty and rather
rare skin. Having warned our companions not to get benighted as there
were several bad rapids to be negotiated, I sent them up to troll the
top gorges and had some good sport with a fly spoon lower down. My
diary for that evening was as follows:
‘W, though an experienced camper had not done any fishing, went
up the Tepi’ with his wife to troll the two top gorges and we followed
later. Owing to a landslide water dirty and fish not taking a fly at all,
Only one little mahseer in the morning, but had a good evening rise,
all good fish which I landed safely, chiefly on a fly spoon after some
excitements and got back to camp at dark to find the servants had
killed a good barking deer, chased into the rapids by wild dogs. No
94 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
sign of the W'sso sent Off a boat with lamp and torch. Began to get
alarmed as they did not arrive till 7-30 p.m. having been benighted and
upset ina rapid. They had got on toa rock on one side of the river,
while their crew, who had gone overboard were washed to the other
with the boat, allin the pitch dark. Glad to have everyone back in
camp safely. An exciting day all round and an unpleasant experience
for the W’s who will get back in daylight in future when bad rapids
have to be negotiated. W had caught his first fish and stayed too long
in the gorge. I had 6 good fish and a pigeon.’
On the way down the Barak, still full of elephants and timber
watched a young elephant having a great game withtherafts which it
was trying to break up till its mother’s mahout intervened,
At the top of one quiet rapid I hooked the biggest mahseer I have
landed in these rivers, 37 lb., after a good long fight. A little further
down found W with a 17 ft. Gharial he had killed at well over 100
yards and helped him getit downto our camp on the Kommandhur |
pool where I remember in an earlier trip a friend landed 6 mahseer
between 20 and 30 lb. each one afternoon. Dropping down to join our
motorboat, stalked and shot a 13 ft. Gharial, just the size my wife
requires for a suitcase.
The next two years, seeking new pastures, I sent my boats into the
Sonai, a river flowing from Lushai into the Barak lower down. Two
young friends had borrowed my boats in January a year before, and
had done quite well spinning until chased out by a rogue elephant. On
neither trip were we lucky with the water which was too cloudy.
Owing to the sandy bottom being full of snags in the shape of trees
that had been washed down in the monsoon, we lost two out of three
fish hooked on light fly tackle. The following extracts from my diary
are typical of our sport in the upper reaches :—
‘Left camp 7-30, water high but clearing, got intoa fine gorge at 12
and had lunch with B who went down and [I up. Nothing but thrills
from the time he left. A big one took on my short rod, but hooks
came away after he had taken out 30 yards of line, lost another and
landed one on the fly rod, then got into another big fish on fly which
ran down a rapid taking all my line before [ could get the boat round,
and broke me. A cheerful afternoon of combined bad luck and bad
management in a fine wild country. B had 2 fish and had risen
several; also had seen 4 red dogs and shot several pigeons.
Left at 8 a.m. for the gorge country again in shikar boats, not a fish
moving in the morning, but shot asambar where a big fish broke me
yesterday. Had lunch with B who started down whilst I picked up the
gambar I had cached. Ran a few fish and landed a nice little 5 lb.
mahseer on a fly, reached camp at dark and found B with one decent
fish and a broken fly rod. Also shot a garganey and pigeons.
Made a late start, mahl (baggage) boats left ahead for our second
camp. ‘Tried everything in the morning but nothing taking. Putona
Claret and Mallard 3 p.m. and fish came on well. Reached our second
camp late with 7 fish, the best 5 1b; B had only one.’
I also shot a Monitor lizard 8 ft. long with an H. V. rifle, far the
biggest I have ever seen in these parts.
The Barak again in 1928 with the same party asin ’25 and did not
reach the mouth of Tepi’ till the fourth day owing to heavy water.
Camps were all on island sandbanks with a rapid on each side which
JOURN. BomMBAY Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE I
LS
So
Author
The Boro Hattias.
* esuni 1yyed , pue Jsesyeul V “yeleg oY} WIOI} Ioasyeul poos OMT,
sojoy
AOYINP
IJ a1v1d ‘90S LSI] ‘LVN AVvaWwog ‘Nunof
_
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON ASSAM RIVERS 95
made them particularly pleasant. Found the Tepi’ more populated
with orange groves on the hill-sides, and cow tracks on the river banks.
where formerly only game tracks were visible, so took a light camp up.
the Barak to below Big Gorge which we explored with a view of taking
boats through one day. Found we had left all drinks behind at the
main camp and having no fish or game, had to open tins for dinner, a
rare occurrence on these trips.
I returned to the Tepi’ early and landed 3 fish up the little river on
the evening rise. W came in later with a 29 1b. Mahseer caught on the
troll and had lost another owing to line fouling his boat when landing.
The same evening we were joined by another friend who had come
up, travelling most of the night before with a full moon. Our new
friend M and I went up the Barak next morning, and had one of the
best days I remnember for big fish. My diary reads as follows :—
‘Went up the Barak and passed him landing a 29 lb. mahseer; as I
did so I hooked a 14 lb. mahseer and landed it on the same bank, had a
great afternoon coming down and a big fight with a 27 1b. fish, foul
hooked on dead bait tackle, which we followed for a mile down stream
before landing it. Wife thrilled. I landed another 26 1b. fish and came
in with 4 fish, 73 lb; M with 5 fish 64 lbs. W had a blank day up the
Tepi’ where he was trying a fly and a fly spoon.
Left camp next morning and I was lucky going down to Komman-
dhur, landing a mahseer at nearly every run, six in all including a
Black Mahseer, nothing over fifteen pounds, all caught on a Macdonald
Spoon. In the run below camp struck a wonderful rise of
‘ Butchwa’, one of our best eating fish, and landed 12, three over 2 lb..
Blackamore Fly, before dark. M, who had stayed another day in our
Tepi’ camp landed a 55 lb mahseer the heaviest I have known taken
out of this river on rod and line. A trip which began badly and ended
well. One never knows with fish !
I was on leave in 1929 and decided to try the Jheeri again with B.
The fly fishing was good as ever and accidents more frequent than
usual. We landed 104 fish and my diary records these accidents :—
‘Left a not too comfortable camp where my bed broke. B follow-
ing with camp. Water looked good, but did not move a fish till after
11 a.m. when I did well. with a Blackamore for 2 hours. B caught me ,
up after lunch as I was landing a 4 lb. mahseer on my trout rod. He
had left the boats just behind. I got to camp Site at 4 p.m. but no sign,
so went back, and met my boatmen whe told me that one of B’s boats.
had upset in a rapid. Went on down and collected it at 5 p.m., all very
wet. The most serious losses were rice, lamps, shoes, 100 cartridges.
and batteries for torch: a chapter of accidents as I also broke a rod and
lost a good spinning line. Camp pitched well after dark with a small
fire; decide to stay tomorrow in this camp and dry things, sending the
river chowkedars, who joined us, back to Jheeri Ghat for more rice. I
had 6 useful fish, all on fly; B only one, using a fly spoon.
B went off 8 a.m.; I at 10 a.m. after sorting tackle and a bath.
Broke my small rod top in a fish just off camp, not much doing till 12,
after which fish were taking well; saw B in the distance and turned.
All my fish were Carp, (Bora) caught on a yellow Spider. Boys
recovered some of the lost property and a lamp by diving.
I had 11 fish; B had 6, best 34 lbs.’
96 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
B who did not like drinking his evening peg out of my aluminium
mugs had carefully brought two glasses in a haversack on his back ona
horse. These like other things were lost when his boat upset so had
to drink out of my mugs afterall]! On my way home my diary records
more accidents ‘ went off 8 a.m., started trolling 11 a.m. and immedi-
ately landed a 12 1b mahseer. Had a good day with my fly rod after-
wards’. B came on with the camp as there were bad rapids and did not
get as far as usual. I got back to camp at dark with 10 fish and found B
with three, his best a 4 1b carp.
B left early and I followed in charge of mah/ boats as they took a lot
of time getting up rapids. A day full of incident, lost an artificial shrimp
in a big fish (English mountings not good enough for strong mahseer),
and also broke my old Gamage Split Cane in a fish far too big for the
rod; it finished by taking my cast. Otherwise had a good day and
eventually got camp pitched 4 hours or so below Jenam Mukh. B had
a good day too with various breaks and came in with 5 fish, best 44 Ib.
I had 12, best 5 1b. mahseer. .
A drop of rain at dawn which soon cleared. B up and I down, alter
saying goodbye to the river chowkedars who came up from Jheeri Ghat
in 2 days with a lamp, more rice etc. to replace what we lost. Both
had rather a poor day; B struck rafts coming down and I broke
another rod top in a fish on my trout rod.
B came in with 5 fish, best 6 lb; I with 7, best 24 Ib.
B went up and I down, mahl boats passed me at 12 at a bad rapid
where mine shipped some water and damaged cartridges. Fish rising
well. I broke my last fly rod so was reduced to fly fishing with a troll-
ing rod, without much success, fish either coming short or getting un-
hooked. Also was snagged and broken and lost a good bit of spinning
Jine. Both arrived in camp very tired. B had a wonderful day, 13
fish, best 12 lb, and 2 garganey. {! had 6 fish, best 3 Ib.’
Up the Barak again in 1931. When on ieave I had acquired
considerably better tackle, a new Silex, Spinning Rod and Fly Rod
bought in England. My companion this time was a young friend, who >
had not fished before and was unlucky to lose most of his best fish.
‘On atriving at the first rapid by motorboat, where camp had been sent,
saw mahseer feeding, and, spinning with a No. 7 spoon landed two
before dark. Next day I recorded :—
‘Fish still feeding in the rapid at daylight and I landed an 11 Ib.
mahseer whilst E was shaving, but could not get another. Water very
strong in the long dismal reach above Minadhur and sun very hot.
Reached Kommandhur, met E and decided to camp early as boats
were one hour behind. Few fish to be seen in the good runs so spent
most of the afternoon in the shade watching for a feeding fish. Casta
No. 8 spoon over the only one I saw and landed an 8 lb ‘Tiger fish.
Left Kommandhur ahead, had 2 shots at Gharial and hit one hard
E caught me up for lunch 1.30. Water very strong and big, trolled and
spun, but neither of us could move a fish. Camped about a day below
Tepi’, may just get there tomcrrow. We both shot pigeons.
E went on ahead and I followed, water very strong and too much
of it for fish. Caught E up at 12.45, just below the gorge below Tepi’
Mukh and had lunch. He had seen wild dogs chase otters into the
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON ASSAM RIVERS 57
river, also some Gharial. Arrived at Tepi’ Mukh 3-30 and found a
decent little sandbank just round the corner for camp.
E went up the Barak and I up the Tepi’. Glad to find some fly
water and landed 3 decent fish before dark, mah/ boats arrived late but
managed to get camp pitched. Everyone glad to get into camp fora
day or two’s rest. Found river chowkidars at Tepi’ which also was
high but fairly clear. E came in with a pheasant and we both had
pigeons.
Went up the Tepi’.. Water clear but very high. Did not movea
fish on either fly or spoon till 4.15 and finished by being snagged by a
good one on my fly rod. Found the Tepi’ altered considerably. ‘There
is now no waterfall but rapids are bad. Found E in camp after a moder-
ate day up the Big River. Weather extraordinarily warm and, what
appeared to be lightning in the sky; most unusual at this time of year.
E had 4 fish, best 7 1b and I only two.’
The lovely Tepi’ being full of bamboo cutters and rafts, after rather
poor days at the mouth moved camp up to just below the Big Gorge.
Shot a gharial which managed to get into the water and was picked up
next day by my companion, the bullet having piercedthethroat ; the only
one I have ever recovered after it had got into deep water. The local
hill people paid us a visit and took away all the meat which by them is
looked upon as a great delicacy. I do not think it is generally known
that crocodiles are eaten. I once tried a gharial’s egg ‘never again’! A
pleasant enough trip but saw less game than in former years and too
many humans, including Lushais who spoke English. At our first camp
on the way down an elephant marched through the camp in the night
which alarmed the crew somewhat, but went off without doing any
damage, when I turned on my torch on him. We landed 35 fish only
weighing just under 200 Ib and shot one deer only.’
‘I was unable to get away for a trip before Christmas, so, having a
few days leave at the end of the year, sent my boats up the Jheeri and
joined them at Jheeri Ghat with a young friend. We had one boat fitted
with an outboard engine but, having broken several propeller pins,
decided the river was far too shallow and went to Godown Ghat.
The Jheeri at this time is too shallow for boats or fish so made a camp
where the track to Macrup and Imphal leaves the plain. My friend
returned and I was joined by two others and decided to march to
Macrup Ghat with a light camp, about 12 miles over a 1,300 ft. hill, and
examine the possibilities of hauling boats over this and coming down
the Barak of which the Macrup is a tributary. Somewhere about 1905
two men I knew had conceived the idea of making rafts and floating
down through the Hattia Gorges. ‘They took provisions for a fortnight
and arranged for boats to meet them below the Hattias up which it was
considered impossible to take boats. As they had not arrived in three
weeks their boatmen ran out of food and returned for more, eventually
meeting them at Tepi’ a month after they started. Continually making
new rafts had taken longer than they expected and they ran completely
out of food, living on monkeys, the only thing they could find to shoot
in the Gorges. To lighten their raft they had cached fishing rods and
anything they could do without in the jungle. Indians will tel! you that
something awful will happen to anyone eating monkeys and, within two
years of this trip one of these men had committed suicide, the other was
ina mental home and their head boatmen and shikari had died of
7
98 JOURNAL, "BOMBAY NATURAL HIST? SOCIETY Vol. 50
cholera! Incidentally he was the man who landed my first big fish for
me. Some time later 2 other men I knew had two dugouts dragged up
this track by elephants and got through, but I gathered they did not find
it a comfortable trip and were too concerned with getting through to fish
much.
With this background and boatmen carrying a light camp we got
away about 10 a.m. and reached Macrup, where there is a bamboo
suspension bridge, before dark. A fascinating spot and an ideal fly river
with quantities of fish to be seen from the bridge. Spent one day there,
but only caught an odd fish or two as it was impossible to get up or
down far without boats and I came to the conclusion that these must be
got there by water. Left next morning and returned to our base camp:
my friends sitting over a drink after I had turned in, suddenly woke me
up and said they were being stalked by two leopards. Armed with
torch and rifle I saw four eyes wandering about at the edge of the water
and being somewhat sceptical when I got nearer and turned my torch
on, discovered they were two very large civet cats eating refuse, so
returned to bed rather annoyed at being woken up.’
This trip convinced me of the impracticability of taking boats over
the hills and that they must be got there by water.
The dream of many years at last, after much preparation and
pleasant anticipation which preceded these trips by W and myself,
seven boats were got off on November 3rd after a cock had been
sacrificed and water poured into the prows of the boats, a ceremony
always insisted on by the boatmen to propitiate the Gods of the Barak.
Boats arrived at the Macrup Bridge on the 15th, having got through
the gorges without much trouble with the aid of a long rope. My head
man did the 30 miles home by 4 p.m. on the 16th and we got off the
stores with 40 carriers by midday 19th. We walked and rode 8 miles in
the afternoon to a rest house en route where we stayed the night as
often before when fishing the Jheeri.
The following extracts from my diary indicate that our efforts to
get our boats above the gorge were amply rewarded :—
‘ After a comfortable night at the rest house, rose at 5 a.m. and
had whole party off by 7-30 and across the Jheeri by 8. Arrived at
Macrup 2.45 rather weary. We make the distance a good 14 miles and
the height of the highest point 1,300 ft. Found the people left in charge
of the camp rather at sixes and sevens but soon straightened things out,
and, after a cup of tea, took my light fly rod up the river and landed a
nice 3 lb. fish for dinner. W staying in camp to superintend camping
arrangements at which he is most expert, so found everything ship-
shape on my return.
Had a goud night and sent back our porters, some 30 odd, and got
up the Macrup with a light boat and 2 men. W, who prefers big stuff,
went down to the mouth to fish the Barak. Left Okai my head shikari
and boatmen to divide the stores up so that we could leave what was
not required with the river chowkedars and take a light camp when we
moved. Hada first class day with my fly rod, 11 good fish weighing
28 lb. and a 10 lb. mahseer spinning, lost one only. Got back 5 p.m.
and found W with 3 good fish caught on the troll in a pool at the mouth.
He had been broken and lost two more and 50 yards of line. His 3 fish
weighed 43 Ib. Had a round table conference at night and decided to
move only as far as the Macrup mouth next day and not attempt to
BORTY YEARS: OFVSPORT .ON ASSAM RIVERS 99
reach Hattias as long as fish were taking well higher up as I had
previously arranged for two young friends to take the boats back through
the gorges, fishing on the way.
Made a late start from Macrup Bridge as all stores had to be sorted,
and only necessities taken. Two more carriers returned andchowkedars
were left in charge of the balance. Water very low in the Macrup,
boats had to be dragged down rapids. I arrived at the mouth 12.15; W
at 12.30; mah/ boats aot till4 p.m. Little good fishing water en route.
Had lunch and immediately caught a 32 lb. mahseer spinning on my
light rod and No. 7 spoon which took some time to Jand. W went up
the Barak and caught two good fish on the troll and another off camp
as the boats arrived. Madea late camp at Mukh and everyone rather
weary. W’s fish weighed 35 lb, 22 lb and 4 lb. Mine 32 1b with 2
smaller caught on fly.
Had a good night in spite of camping late, took some time fixing up
heavy tackle and putting W in the way of using a spinning rod, on
which he subsequently caught a fish. I Janded a small mahseer off
camp while trying rods and then went off up the Barak to explore some
new country. Got another fish very soon spinning, also a gharial.
After that fish went off in the Upper Gorges which much resemble the
Hattias on a smaller scale and finish with a waterfall beyond which it is
impossible to take boats. W had a fair day downstream, was broken
by a big fish, saw nothing to shoot except a deer which escaped wound-
ed. He had 2 fish 12 1b; I had four 17 Ib.
Went downstream 8,45 a.m. and never had a dull moment all day,
no luck trolling which is not my strong suit and several accidents
spinning, losing 2 big fish on light tackle, one of which broke me at the
top of a rapid, another slipped the hooks after being played 10 minutes,
I lost 3 spoons and landed 6 small fish only. Shooting was: more
successful, killed a fine stag and the biggest red: dog I have ever seen
both at about 100 yards, so with a boat loaded to the gunwale returned
slowly to camp.
W went upstream and did not. get a fish, but, trolling past camp,
hooked and landed a 24 lb. mahseer.. I had 6 fish 3-4 lb, each. Two
Kuokis who visited us in the morning and were given tea, returned in
the evening with eggs. Gave them 2 fish and the carcase of the wild
dog, which stank the whole camp, as they assured me it was far better
-eating than venison! We sent them across the river in a boat where
they squatted on a sandy spit, cooked and ate the dog, also the entrails
of the stag, and seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.
Sorted tackle and went upstream rather late after catching a couple
of Chilwa for bait. Barak upstream very short as one soon got into the
gorges and waterfall. Hooked a good fish trolling on the way up, but
it took me straight into a sunken tree and tied up the line where I had
to watch it unhook itself in clear water, but managed to rescue my
Spinner. Could not move anything spinning so returned to camp for
lunch and went upthe Macrup with my fly rod where I got two decent fish,
some pigeons and a monitor lizard. W came in after an excellent day
downstream with the best fish so far, a 36 1b mahseer several smal!
ones, 2 caught spinning: seven in all.
Started the day by catching Chilwa for bgit and my bearer finished
it by catching Butchwa for dinner ona night line. Went downstream
and had very few dull moments. Got a couple of fish trolling, trying for a
100 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
big one which I eventually got intoat 11.30, wastaken over a rock ledge
and broken losing a new trace and spinner. As I was repairing tackle
saw a fine sambar stag crossing a rapid below me. Hada shot at 100-
150 yds. and missed in front, but got him as he was galloping back to
the jungle.
After towing it up the rapid got it into the boat and it took my
crew and self all our time to get to camp upstream by 5 p.m. Met W
just below camp; he had been exploring the gorges up above and,
though he had no luck with fish he had shot two duck and a pheasant.
I had 2 fish 5and 4 lb. We seem to be more successful with gun than
rod. No end of food however, camp absolutely stinking with smoked
fish and meat which the crew will take home with them. My bearer
caught another good Buthewa at 7-30 p.m. for dinner. We are leaving
tomorrow for a stiff pull up the Macrup where the water is low.
Returned to Macrup Bridge as the water in the Macrup was falling
rapidly and is much lower thanin any normal year and difficult for
heavily laden mal boats. Also we had done very well at Macrup Mukh
and thought it well to leave well alone and get the meat and fish to the
road to be dried, with a day in hand to sort the stores for E and R who
are taking the boats home through the Hattias. I started the day well
by landing a 12 lb mahseer off camp on a homemade spinning rod, Our
Kooki friends turned up and were given the balance of the sambar
meat with which they were delighted. I left ahead of the mah/ boats and
collected 4 decent little fish spinning as they were not taking a fly in the
morning. Got to Macrup Bridge 3 p.m. closely followed by :mah/ boats
and saw camp started. Went upand got 3 fishona fly after 4 p.m.
W went down the Barak hoping to get another big one but had no luck
and a hard pull up in the afternoon with no time to fish.
Very comfortable camp, baths, etc. with our own fish and pheasant.
for dinner. I think someone has been at the brandy bottle!
Weather turned rather cold; water in Macrup very low and mostly
gin clear. W went off upstream after I had fixed him up with spinning
and fly spoon tackle. Ileft § hourlater but could not move anything
either spinning or with fly till 11-30., then by careful fishing, sitting
low in the boat, had some good sport with a 5 lb. carp on my trout rod.
Had lunch in a big gorge which looked like fish, but nothing doing and
fish went clean off assoon as the sun got off the water. W caught me
up 3 p.m. having gone as far up the Macrup as he could get his boat;
he had 2 fish, caught spinning.
Macrup, last day. JI.eft early upstream for a short day, water far
clearer and dropping rapidly. W came up and we lunched together.
Nothing doing in the morning; worked hard with the fly but fish kept
coming short and only got three just before returning to camp 3-30 p.m.
We then got down to sorting things and making a list of what we were
leaving for E& R.’
On Nov. 30 Jeft our camp at Macrup Bridge standing for E and R who
brought the boats back without any trouble, catching a few fish en route.
Our total catch in a week’s fishing was 68 fish weighing 362 lb, the
best for weight of any trip I did, as well as samples of nearly all the
game to be found in these parts. We decided to do the round trip next
year and explore a new river, the Irung.
(Zo be continued )
ae
SURVEY OF ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
1. .SINDH FOREST DIVISION
BY
L. D. Kapoor, R. N. Cyopra and I. C. CHOPRA
(Drug Research Laboratory, Jammu and Kashmir)
(With a sketch map)
The Sindh Forest Division lies to the north-east of Kashmir valley.
between lat. 34° 7’ & 34° 37’ N. and long. 74° 36’ E. Its boundaries
touch the outskirts of Srinagar city and Baramulla Tehsil of Kashmir
Province.
The area is bounded on the north-east by the great Himalayan
‘Range which separates the water-sheds of the Kishanganga river from
those of Jhelum River. This division includes Gurez, Dras and
Warwan illagas and areas right up to Gilgit and Kargil on the north,
and the Dachigam Rakh and the Dara nala right up to Srinagar
municipal limits and the Jhelum river on the south. It is separated
from the Kamraj division in the west by a chain of hills starting from.
Miyanigul and sweeping gracefully down to the pyramidal hillock
of Baba-Shukar-Din on the banks of Wular Lake
The main topographical features are the great Himalayan Range
in the north-east and the numerous marshes and lakes in the south,
with two main series of mountains running from the east to west
and enclosing the Sindh valley. The northern range branches off near
Barihal into two main ridges; one of these extends right upto Kazinag
and the other with its everlasting snows of the Harmukh (16,903 ft.)
ends at the domeshaped hills of Manashbal. From these slopes, and
especially from the top of Harmukh, numerous streams start and
radiate in all directions and eventually empty themselves into the
Wular or into the Sindh river.
The jurisdiction of the Sindh Forest Division has lately been
extended from the Kamri and Burzil passes to the inner dry valley of
Astore right up to Bunji. Herein lies the peak of Nanga Parbai
(26,182 ft.). This inner dry valley is fed by the Astore river and
many other streams coming from the glaciers of Nanga Parbat and
Burzil mountains. The Astore river pours into the Indus at the Partap
Bridge near Bunji. The major part of this area is a dry rocky tract
with sand in the valleys and of a bleak and rugged appearance.
The elevation ranges from 5,200 ft. at Zurimanz on the Wular to
26,182 ft. on the Nanga Parbat. The forests lie mainly on the northern
and eastern aspects of the valleys at altitudes between 6,000 to
11,000 ft.
This is the richest forest. division of Kashmir well known for its
natural resources because of its varied climate and abundance of minor
102 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HiST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
forest products; Rhubarb, Colchicum, Aconites, Belladonna, Saussurea,
Podophyllum, Male-fern, Juniperus, Artemisia, Valerian and many
other plants of economic importance are here found in profusion. The
area is not only rich in common herbs but also contains some rare
plants such as Asafoetida and Pinus gerardiana which afe not found
in any other part of Kashmir.
In order to explore the possibilities of the exploitation of some of
these common economic plants and to find some other plants of interest,
a botanical excursion was arranged from Bandipore to Astore and back
and from Srinagar to Vishnu-Sar via Sonemarg and back in the
summer of 1946. The area traversed is shown in the attached map
and represents the major part of the tract covered.
The party consisted of Dr. R. R. Stewart, Principal, Gordon
College, Rawalpindi, Mrs. Stewart, Prof. Nasir of Gordon College,
Dr. Stuenz and his wife. The authors acknowledge with thanks the
help received from Dr. Stewart and Prof. Nasir by way of determination
of plants collected. The other members of the party were also
interested in natural history, particularly in birds, etc. They all
contributed towards the information recorded here.
Bandipore is connected with Srinagar by a 34 miles long, direct
motor road and also by the river Jhelum and the Wular Lake, and
from here starts the road to Gurez and Astore valleys. Chatternar,
situated at the head of the Wular Lake commands a wonderful view
of the lake which supplies the adjoining areas with such economic
products as Nelumbium speciosum, Trapa bispinosa and Typha, the
cat-tail which is used in the manufacture of the mats so largely used
locally. This grass-like plant and other aquatic weeds are harvested
from the Wular Lake for use as fodder and manure. The Forest
Department maintains the Ningli plantation for raising different species
of willow for commercial purposes. Bandipore has a vegetation similar
to the Dal Lake near Srinagar. Trees of Punica granatum, Zizyphus
jujuba, Salix sp., Morus alba, etc. and several other species occur
in this area. Rice, wheat, barley and maize are cultivated around
Bandipore.
As the route ascends from Bandipore to Tragbal, the forest flora
of this region comes into evidence. The raaize and rice fields are left
behind and Pinus excelsa with its undergrowth of Stipa sibirica,
Viburnum nervosum and Parrotia jacquemontiana are met with. The
timber from Pinus excelsa is very useful and contributes largely to
the State revenue. Stipa sibirica is a grass poisonous to livestock
containing cyanogenetic glucosides. Parrotia jacquemontiana (Hatab)
is a common slow growing tree or large shrub yielding a wood useful
for the manufacture of tool handles and also for fuel.
From Bandipore there is a steep ascent of about 12 miles to
Tragbal. It commands a beautiful view over the river Jhelum as
it runs into and emerges out of the Wular Lake, and also of the
adjoining valley surrounded by the snow covered range of the Pir
Raniak
Tragbal (9,000 ft.) is a small meadow at the base of the Rajdhani
Pass which is nearly 12,000 ft. high. Abies pindrow is the common
fir growing here along with broad-leaved trees like Juglans regia,
Betula utilis, Prunus padus, Acer pictum etc. The road passes through
YINHSVY GNV AWNWYV!
ees \ HINN g xz
N | Dd
\ : oe
JONNO4) ——— nlgwHan Seujueuy| \ 8 ey
gs aa | —— “
oVE
oo
| hd: eS) > a
yemse?? ni eandipueg >
3 peqesryyezny
aye] AeSnuys
=e
e
LAULE)) 9”
‘puedeyey rts
\
stHty
> doysye__ Oruey
°
— eerenereen er te ee
‘208 “ISIH ‘JUN Aequiog “uanop
7
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU &@ KASHMIR 103
forests of Pinus excelsa on both the eastern and southern aspects of
these mountains.
The ascent to Rajdhani Pass leads through beautiful open meadows
on which amongst many other plants are found Verbascum thapsus,
as well as Jurinea macrocephala (Dhup) used commonly as incense.
Some trees of Pinus excelsa were seen attacked by Arceuthobium
minutissimum, a minute parasitic plant which kills the trees. Samtiucus
wightiana, commonly known as ‘faklua’, due to its unpleasant smell
is very common in the tract. Impatiens roylei, Artemisia graia,
Senecio jacquemontiana, S. chrysanthemoides, Lindefolia longiflora and
Cynoglossum sp. were also very common on both sides of the path
leading to Rajdhani Pass.
The top of Rajdhani or Rajdhiangan is an open meadow. Here
at about 12,000 ft. is a junction of different routes coming from Gilgit,
Bandipore, Viji and Basam Gali. Pedicularis sp., Chaerophyllum
sp., Saussurea lappa, Polygonum alpinum, Phlomis bracteosa, Euplhor-
bia wallichii, Saxifraga ligulata, Sedum sp., Achillea millefolium, and
Carum carvi were among the common plants seen here.
From Rajdhani the road zigzags down through commercial and
non-commercial forest belts of Abies pindrow and reaches Koragbal
and on to Kanzalwan where the river Kishanganga turns and flows
towards Keran Division. The forest flora along the roadside is rich
and includes the plants mentioned above and many more.
At Koragbal Artemisia brevifolia Wall. is seen growing wild in
profusion. This plant is common in the Gurez and Rattu valleys
and it is annually collected for the manufacture of santonine at
Baramulla. A stream running from Viji (13,000 ft.) to Koragbal
(8,000 ft.) and flowing past its rest house was also explored, and
among others Dryopteris odontoloma, Aileantum patatum, Valeriana
wallichi, Achillea millefolium, Orobanche sp., Saussurea lappa and many
other plants mentioned in the appendix were collected.
The main road runs along the river upto Badwan and Gurez valley
8,ooo0 ft. and then crosses the river Kishanganga. The Gurez valley
iS a narrow strip surrounded by hills with a meadow and river
Kishanganga running through and Populus alba and P. ciliata grow-
ing in abundance. Visitors often camp in this area and enjoy trout
fishing in streams maintained by the Forest Department. The Gurez
valley is surrounded by hills on all sides and is rich in vegetation.
Sambucus wightiana, Brunella sp., Swertia sp. and Jaeskia gentianoides
grow profusely here. Euphrosia officinalis and Senecio thomsoni are
common in Badwan and so also is Red clover (Trifolium sp.) which
is good fodder for livestock. Along the road from Badwan_ to
the Kamri Rest House (9,000 ft.) some arable fields are seen near
Dawar, Churwan and Kamri villages where Fagopyrum esculentum,
Solanum tuberosum and barley are cultivated by the local people for
food.
At Churwan a path leads to the Talil valley which is visited by a
large number of shepherds with large flocks of sheep. Adjacent to
Talail valley lies Vishnusar which is easily accessible via Sonemarg.
In the fields and round about the main route Carum carvi (Zira) of
good quality with strong aroma commonly grows, and this is harvested
for marketing in Kashmir where it is well known as ‘Zira of Gurez’.
104 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 50
As the road to Kamiri ascends along the river Kishanganga the
belt of Abies pindrow is left behind and scattered trees of Juniperus
macropoda are seen commonly up to the rest house at the Kamir:
Pass. Juniperus forms a small thin forest crop in this area. Its
seeds yield the essential oil which is used in the preparation of gin
and for flavouring liquors. The wood can best be utilized for the
manufacture of pencils. Prangos pabularia and Aconitum chasmanthum
occur in fairly large quantities. Prangos is aromatic and locally serves
as a good dry fodder for livestock in winter. Aconitum chasmanthum
root finds a good market as an Indian substitute for the officinal Aconite.
Artemisia bvevifolia is abundant in this area and is collected com-
mercially. Codonopsis sp., Nepeta sp. and Heracleum sp. were also
common in this part of the tract. Kamiri rest house at 10,000 ft. is
situated amidst fir and Betula ulilis (Bhojpatra) trees.
Kamiri Pass is about 6 miles from this rest house and the bridle
path has profuse vegetation right up to the top. Among others which
have been recorded near Rajdhani, Valeriana pyrolaefolia, V. hard-
wicki, Aquilegia fragrans, Polygonatum geminifolium, Onosma
echiodes, Thalictrum minus, Sedum sp. Saxifraga sp. Paraquilegia sp.,
Primuloides, Senecio jacquemontiana, Artemisia parviflora, A. laciniata,
Saussurea lappa and other species of Saussurea, Picrorhiza Kurrooa,
Macrotomia benthami, Juniperus squamata, etc., need mention. A de-
tailed list is appended.
From the Kamiri Pass on clear days an excellent view of Nanga
Parbat (26,740 ft.) to the north and Harmukh (16,700 ft.) to the south
is obtained.
Kamiri Pass is the boundary line of the Gurez range and as the
descent begins on the other side of the pass we enter the Astore range.
From the pass there is a zigzag descent of 7 miles to Kalapani Rest
House. Aconitum hetcrophyllum, A. chasmanthum and Scroplvwilaria
griffithtt are common and so are Pedicularis sp. and Senecio chrysan-
themoides, etc. This side of the pass presents chiefly rocks with only
humble vegetation over it; hence the name Kala Pani. The trees of
Betula utilis are only seen in small patches along with fir trees.
Kalapani (10,000 ft.) is rich in alpine flora. The water here contains.
silica and needs filtration before it can be used for drinking purposes.
There is no village near Kalapani except at Chachri-Kadal about 8
miles distant. Hevacleum sp., ‘Lindelofia longiflora, Cynoglossum,
Cerastium, are common near the rest house. Artemisia brevifolia is
not seen from Kamiri Rest House to Chachri-Kadal but it makes its
appearance only beyond Chachri-Kadal right upto Rattu and Rampore
where it grows profusely. That it does not grow between Kamiri and
Chachri-Kadal may be due to the fact that it is more xerophytic; near
the pass there is much moisture until July. The route leading from
Kalapani to Rattu passes through barren areas excepting near a few
villages at Shankargarh etc., where wheat and barley are cultivated.
Hippophaé rhamnoides, Salix sp. and Artemisia brevifolia are common
all along the route. From Shankargarh again the peaks of Nanga
Parbat are visible. The path leads along with Chachri-Kadal stream.
which later on joins the Astore river.
Rattu is one of the chief centres for the collection of Artemisia.
Pinus excelsa is seen growing at Rattu. On the plateau at Rattu
_ Journ. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE [I
A view of Nichnai (12,000 ft.).
‘Teay puke S}OOI VUUOpPR] [eq Ssulj}eIa}[Npe ‘(sjuerd surtomoyj) vpyaof vénfiaim1y)
JOJ pesn st pue pyiMm smois (suTjMIy) vsoutsv voIvIOJAY I
400dv J “I “T
&
fo
!
ye
4
3
%
cd
a
(es sc PBS.
IJ alvtd ‘90S ‘“LSIPT ‘LVN Avawog ‘Nunof
- ay
ECONOMIC. VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU d¢ KASHMIR 105
(Cantt. area) Scabiosa sp. is very common. Rattu is mosily sandy and
barren except for Artemisia and Scabiosa. The height of Rattu is
6,000 ft. and flora is representative of the inner dry valleys of the
Himalayas.
As the route proceeds from Rattu to Rampore along the river,
Melilotus alba, Artemisia brevifolia, Hyoscyamus niger and cultivated
fields of barley, maize and potatoes are commonly met with. Scattered
trees of Pinus excelsa and Abies pindrow are also found. Rattu iilaga
is a favourite hunting place for ibex, etc. Rampore is about 10 miles.
from Rattu and here too the collection of Arlemisia is carried on
vigorously by the santonine manufacturers.
From Rampore a footpath leads to Tarshing and ene -nalla at
the base of Nanga Parbat. The snow clad peaks of Nanga Parbat
namely Dameir and Rakhiote present a marvellous view when the
morning rays of the sun fall on them or when the light of full moon
makes them glow.
Salvia glutinosa, Chenopodium botrys and Nepeta sp. and Datiscu
cannabinna were commonly seen while trekking from Zaipur village
across the snout of the Nanga Parbat Biaeicr to Tarshing village
situated just at the base of Nanga Parbat and protected from glaciers
by lateral moraines. Ice cold water oozes out at various places in this
village obviously as a result of seepage from the glacier separated by
the moraines. The Rupal-nalla beyond Tarshing, similarly presents.
beautiful views of the glaciers.
The commonest plant here is Artemisia. It is a very hardy weed
and can stand the cold winds blowing from Nanga Parbat and also the
drought in summer. Tarshing stream contains dirty glacier water
and is utilised for irrigation purposes at some places. The water
here is lacking in iodine and it generally causes goitre in the ilagqa
where it is used for drinking purposes. |
The road leading from Rampur to Astore along the Tarshing nalla
(later on known as Astore river when streams from Kamiri and Brizil
meet at Gorikot) presents the inner dry valley vegetation. A thistle with
globeshaped heads and Anaphalis and Zizyphus sp. are amongst the
common vegetation on this route. At Gorikot it meets the main road
from Burzil to Gilgit.
From Gorikot to Astore trees of Pinus gerardiana and Juniperus
macropoda are again met with. This illaga is otherwise sandy except
at places where some irrigation is made possible and cereals are
cultivated. It is very thinly populated; the inhabitants are related to
the Chillas tribes.
Astore, a small village and the district headquarters, is situated
at an altitude of 7,000 ft. above sea level with very scanty cultivation.
aires szerardiana and Jumperus macropoda are used for house building
s well as for fuel. There is no proper forest protection in this illaqa.
ER octida (Ferula narthex) which is widespread at Harchoo be eae
Astore, is allowed to go waste without extraction of its gum resin
(Hing). Abies pindrow is found scattered here and there. Grape
vines, apples and apricots are also grown here in small gardens.
At a distance of about 7 miles from Astore is situated Rama
Lake. It is a small glacier lake at the base of Nanga Parbat on
the northern side of Tarshing.
106 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Jumperus recurva is very common at Rama. Along the path
from Astore to Rama, Hippophaé rhamnoides, Astragalus strobili-
ferus, Salix sp. and,Pinus excelsu were seen. Pyrola rotundifolia was
also collected at Rama.
Pinus gerardiana seeds provide the ‘Jalgoza’ of commerce but they
are not collected by the inhabitants for commercial purposes.
Juniperus macropoda can yield a good wood for the manufacture
of pencils, but the transport cost would be so prohibitive that it is
not an economical proposition to exploit it.
Asafoetida (ferula narthex) is common, and this is the only place
in Kashmir where this plant is found in abundance. The gum resin
popularly known as ‘Hing’ is commonly used in medicine and also for
flavouring food articles. If exploited it would provide additional in-
come to the inhabitants.
From Astore the party returned via Burzil pass (13,500 ft.). The
track upto Gorikot from Astore was the same already trodden. From
Gorikot to Godai along the Burzil stream the road is sandy for the
major part. Astragalus strobiliferus and Dephine oloides is commoniy
seen here. Astragalus strobiliferus can yield the Indian substitute of
the officinal gum Tragacanth. Dephine is a poisonous plant. Bupand
valley near Godai is reported to be famous for big game and it is also
reputed to be rich in medicinal plants such as Saussurea lappa, Valeriana,
and Angelica glauca etc.
Passing through Khiram and Dass small villages where Ariemisia
lacimata, A. amygdalina, A. parviflora are growing wild, the route
leads to Chillam Chowki. Hardly any growth except Betula utilis,
Salix sp., and juniper trees are seen about here. The road further
leads to Sirdar Kothi. |
This part of the valley is quite rich in vegetation. Plants such
as Aconitum heterophyllum, A. chasmanthum, Pedicularis, Senecio
chrysanthemoides, Corydalis sp. were commonly seen. Most of these
plants have been observed at Kamiri and Kalapani also.
From Sirdar-Kothi there is a gentle ascent to Burzil top at 13,800
ft. above sea-level. The top commands a good view on all sides. The
snow clad peaks around add to the grandeur. As the road climbs
down to Burzil Chowk: it opens out into an area bedecked with the same
alpine flora which we saw at Kamiri. From Burzil Chowki the belt of
Betula utilis begins down to Pushwari where Abies pindrow appears.
Artemisia brevifolia which has been left behind at Godai again appears
at Minimarg. Datisca cannabiana was observed in many patches
between Burzil Chowki and Minimarg. Impatiens royleana was in
abundance near Minimarg and lower down the valley. The river
Kishanganga passes by Minimarg and a road leads to Skardu from
this junction. Pushawari which is the next halt is a small village
surrounded by fir forests. Angelica glauca (chora) is found here in
abundance. Its roots contain an essential oil. From Pushawari on
to Dawar and Badwan the artemisia is common.
Behind Badwan Rest House a forest road leads to Viji and to
Bandipore. ‘This area is rich in Kuth and other medicinal plants men-
tioned previously and the forest contractors extract drug plants from
this side in fairly considerable quantities.
The list of plants collected is given in the appendix. It is in no way
an exhaustive list because only flowering plants at the time of our
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU € KASHMIR 107
tour were collected. Medicinal plants such as Belladonna, Lavetera,
Podophyllum, Saussurea etc. are annually collected from different loca-
lities of this valley by the Forest Department.
A motor road runs through the Sindh valley along the Sindh
river from Srinagar to Sonemarg which is a developing health resort
and attracts visitors in good numbers. This is the main route leading
to Ladakh and Kargil in the north. The motor road now runs through
Woyil, Kangan, Gund, Sonemarg and upto Dras. The land along
the river is cultivated with maize, barley and wheat up to Gund. The
local people at Sonemarg grow Fagopyrum, potatoes and barley. The
average altitude ranges from 9,000 to 10,000 ft. at Sonemarg.
Thajiwas provides a beautiful camping ground near Sonemarg at the
base of glaciers. The streamlets from the Amarnath glaciers and
Baltal feed the big Sindh stream.
The common plants collected on this way are also given in the
appendix. A path leads from Sonemarg to Vishnusar lake which then
continues to the Tilel valley and meets the Gurez valley on the sorth.
There is a steep path up to Sari village. Sambucus wightianu
is common here. The path further leads to Nichni. It is surrounded
by rocky mountains on all sides and a small stream flows by. On the
way and passing through forests, plants like Meconopsis aculeata,
Aconitum laevi, Saussurea lappa, Salvia hiana, Artemisia grata etc.,
were common. The Nichnai Pass is about 13,500 ft. The path leads
to Vishensar at the base of Harmukh. Here are vast meadows where
livestock graze.
Vishensar is a glacier lake at the base of the snow clad peaks.
There is a foot path to cross this hill leading to Gangabal Lake which
can also be approached via Kangan. Juniperus recurva and Rhododen-
dron sp. are common in this region; they are only used as fuel by the
shepherds and the graziers. Stipa sibirica is a common grass from
Sonemarg to Baltal. It contains cynogenetic glucoside and is poisonous
to livestock.
Sindh Forest Division abounds in economic plants. It is believed
when more detailed and exhaustive excursions in different seasons
are organised this list may be greatly increased. But it will suffice as
a basis for future work.
Our thanks are due to Father H. Santapau for going through the
manuscript and for his many helpful suggestions.
SYSTEMATIC LIST OF THE PLANTS OF SINDH DIVISION
In the following list plants are arranged according to the order
of the families of Hooker’s Flora of British India. The scientific name
of the plant is given first in every case, then follows the synonym in
a number of cases, lastly the exact localities where the plants have
been found are mentioned.
RANUNCULACEAE
1. Aconitum chasmanthum Stapf ex Holmes.
Kamari, Gurez, Burzil.
2. Aconitum heterophyllum Wall.
Kamri, Kalapani, Burzil.
108
TO).
P4OTC
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISf. SOCIETY, Voll 50
Aconitum laeve Royle.
Baltal, Koragbal.
Aconitum violaceum Jacq.
Sardar Kothi.
Actaea spicata Linn.
Below Razdhanigan.
Adonis chrysocyathus Hook F. & T.
Sonmarg, Nichnai. w
Anemone polyanthes D. Don.
Kamri.
Anemone rupicola Camb. var. sericaea H. & T.
Kanrri.
Anemone tetrasepala Royle.
Nichnai.
Aquilegia fragrans Benth.
Nichnai.
Aquilegia jucunda Fisch. & Mey.
Kamri.
Caltha palustris Linn. var. alba Jacq
Sonmarg, Nichnai.
Clematis graveolens Lind.
C. connata DC. grata Wall.
Astore. Gurikot.
Clematis orientalis Linn.
Koragbal.
Delphinium ranunculifolium Wall.
Sonmarg.
Paeonia emod: Wall.
Gurez.
Paraquilegia grandiflora Drum. & Hutch.
Kamri Pass.
Ranuncilus hirtellus Royle.
Kalapani.
Ranunculus laetus Wall.
Baltal, Koragbal.
Ranunculus munroanus J. R. Drumm.
Kamari Pass.
Ranunculus trichophyllus Chais.
R. aquatilis var. trichophyllus H. & T.
Rattu. 3
Thalictrum cultratum Wall.
Kamri.
23:
eye
20:
25.
29.
37:
38.
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS Of JAMMU & KASHMIR
Thalictrum foetidum Linn.
Gurez.
Thalictrum minus Linn.
Gurez.
Trollius acaulis Lindl.
Nichnai.
RERBERIDACEAE
~ Podophyllum emodi Wall.
Sonamarg, Serrai, Gurez.
PAPAVERACEAE
Meconopsis aculeata Royle
Nichnai, Razdhanigan.
CRUCIFERAE
Arabidopsis himalaica Edgew. O. E. Schula.
Sisymbrium himalaicum H. & T.
Baltal.
Avabidopsis mollissima O. E. Schulz.
Sisymbrium molitssimum C. A. Mey.
Pushwari.
Arabidopsis thaliana Schur.
Sisymbrium thalianum Gay & Monn.
Pushwarl.
Avabis glabra Crantz.
Koragbal.
Arabis tenurostris O. E. Schulz.
Rattu.
Barbarea inteymedia Bureau. )
Gurez.
Barbarea vulgaris Br.
Kamri.
Brassica napus Linn.
Gurez.
Cardamine imbatiens Linn.
Baltal.
Chorispora sabulosc Camb.
Nichnai.
Draba alpina Linn. j
Draba oveades Schrenk.
Kamri.
109
110
A2,
43.
44.
49.
nO:
Cr
cn
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Draba lanceolata Royle.
Kamri.
Draba nemorosa Linn.
D. muralis Linn.
Tarshing.
Draba obscura Dunn.
Aphragmus obscurus Dunn O. E. S.
Kamri.
Draba petraea Baung.
Nichnai.
Erysimum melicentae Dunn.
Thlaspi cochlearioides Hk. f. & T.
Baltal, Zozila.
Iberidella andersoni Hook. f. & T.
Nichnai.
Nasturtium palustre DC.
Astore:
FUMARIACEAE
Corydalis thyrsiflora Prain.
Kamri.
Corydalis govaniana Wall.
Kamri.
Corydalis ramosa Wall.
Kamri, Sardarkothi.
VIOLACEAE
Viola sylvatica Fries.
Koragbal.
Viola odorata Linn.
Gurez. |
CARYOPHYLLACEAE
. Arenaria Kashmirica Edgew.
Rampore.
Arenaria parviflora Benth.
Rampore.
Arenaria neelgerrensis W. & A.
Kamri.
Cerastium dahuricum Fisch.
Kamri.
Cerastium trigynum Villars.
Koragbal.
hs 35
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
v1.
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
Caucalis latifolia Linn.
Kamri.
Lychnis nutans Benth.
Kamri.
Lychnis cachemeriana Royle.
Koragbal.
Silene inflata Sm.
S. venosa Gilib.
Silene Kunawarensis Benth.
Rattu.
Silene tenuis Willd.
Kamri.
Silene moorcroftiana Wall.
Shankergarh.
Stellaria crispata Wall.
S. monosperma Buch. Ham.
Baltal.
Stellaria cuspidata Willd.
S. subumbellata Edgew.
Ss. bulbosa Wulf.
S. Davidi Var. himalaica French.
Kamri.
HypERICACEAE
Hypericum perforatum Linn.
Rattu.
MALVACEAE
‘TLavatera kashmiriana Camb.
Gurez.
GERANIACEAE
Geranium pratense Linn.
Vishensar.
Geranium Kishtvariense Knuth.
Kamri.
Geranium rectum Trauty.
G. wallichianum D. Don.
Kalapani.
RUTACEAE
Skimmia laureola Hk. f.
Kangan.
111
112 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
BALSAMINACEAE 3
72. Impatiens brachycentra Kar. & Kir.
Sonemarg.
73. Impatiens edgeworthiu Hook. f.
74. Impatiens Flemingu Hk. f.
Impatiens Royle: Walp.
J. glandulifera Royle.
Koragbal.
Impatiens thomson Hk. f.
Koragbal.
CELASTRACEAE
76. Euonymus hamiltonianus Wall.
Kamri.
RHAMNACEAE
77. Rhamnus prostrata Jaq.
Kamri.
78. Rhamnus virgata Roxb.
Chatternar and Haran.
SAPINDACEAE
79. Acer caesium Wall.
Baltal.
80. Aesculus indica Hiern.
Kangan.
PAPILIONACEAE
- 81. Astragalus bicuspis Fisch.
Rattu.
82. Astragalus himalayanus Klotz.
Koragbal.
83. Astragalus longifolius Lam.
A. longicaulis Barker.
Kamri.
84. Astragalus orobrephes W. Smith.
Astore.
85. Astragalus oplites Benth.
Pushwari.
86. Astragalus peduncularis Royle.
Astore.
87. Astragalus rhizanthus Royle.
Shankergarh.
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
88. Astragalus royleanus Bunge.
Pushwari to Gourikot.
89. Astraglus strobiliferus Royle.
Astore.
go. Astragalus webbianus R. Garh.
Gudei. |
gi. Cicer soongaricum Steph.
Pushwari.
92. Colutea nepalensis Sims.
Astore.
93. Hedysarum astragaloides Benth.
Rampore.
94. Lotus corniculatus Linn.
Koragbal.
95. Medicago falcata Linn.
Kamri, Gurez.
96. Oxytropis thomsoni Benth.
Kamri.
97. Trigonella Emodi Benth. var. podperae Sirjaev.
Gudei.
98. Vicia faba Linn.
Rampore.
99. Vicia tenuifolia Roth.
Shankergarh.
ROSACEAE
-100. Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb.
Gurez and Koragbal.
1o1. Alchemilla vulgaris Linn.
Kamri Pass.
102. Cotoneaster microphylla Wall.
Rattu.
103. Fragaria vesca Linn.
Baltal, Sonamarg.
104. Geum elatum Wall.
Vishensar, Nichnai.
105. Geum urbanum Linn.
Vishensar.
106. Potentilla argyrophylla Wall.
Badwan.
8
113
—
114 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
107. Potentilla curviseta Hook. f.
Kamri.
108. Potentilla desertorum Bunge.
Badwan.
109. Potentilla fragarioides Linn.
Baltal.
110. Potentilla gelida C. A. Meyer.
Rampore.
111. Potentilla kashmirica Hook f.
Rampore. :
112. Potentilla leucochroa Lind}.
Gurez.
113. Potentilla multifida Linn.
Rattu.
114. Potentilla nepalensis Hook.
Badwan.
115. Potentilla reptans Linn.
Pushwarl.
116. Potentilla sibbaldi Haller. f.
Kamri Pass. <
117. Potentilla supina Linn.
Kamri.
118. Prunus jacquemontii Hk. f.
Rampore.
119. Rosa macrophylla Lindl.
Baltal.
120. Spiraea affinis R. N. Parker.
Tarshing.
SAXIFRAGACEAE
121. Paynassia affums Hk. fy and (2.
Rampur.
122. Ribes nigrum Linn.
Rama, Astore.
123. Ribes orientale Desf.
Rampore.
124. Saxifraga androsacea Linn. var. tridentata
Kamri pass.
125. Saxifraga flagellaris Willd.
Kalapani.
Gaud.
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU &¢ KASHMIR 115
126. Saxifraga ligulata Wall.
Nichnai.
127. Saxifraga odontophylla Hk. f. & T.
Kamri.
128. Saxifraga sibirica Linn.
Kamri.
reo, saxivasa straciey, Hook. f. & 1.
Kamri.
CRASSULACEAE
130. Sedum crassipes Wall.
Kamri.
131. Sedum ewersi Ledeb.
Kamri.
132. Sedum quadrifidum Pall.
Vishensar.
133. Sedum rhodicla DC,
Kamri.
134. Sempervivum acuminatum Dene.
Pushwarl.
ONAGRACEAE
135. Epilobium angustifolium Linn.
E. latifoliwum Linn.
Sonamarg.
136. Epilobium cylindricum D. Don.
Below Kamri.
DATISCACEAE
137. Datisca cannabina Linn.
Badwan, Nichnai, Harn plantation.
UMBELLIFERAE
138. Bupleurum canaliculatum.
Gurez.
139. Bupleurum lanceolatum Wall.
Rattu.
140. Bupleurum longicaule Wall.
Kalapani.
141. Bupleurum tenue D. Don.
Koragbal.
142. Bupleurum thomsoni Clarke.
Kamri.
116 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
143. Carum bulbocastanum C. Koch.
Bunium persicum (Boiss.) Fd.
Koragbal.
144. Carum carvi Linn.
Ratu, Gurez.
145. Angelica glauca Edgew.
Pushwari.
146. Archangelica himalaica Clarke.
A. officinalis in F1.-Brit; Ind.
Koragbal.
147. Chaerophyllum villosum Wall.
Vishensar, Gurez.
148. Eryngium coeruleum Bieb.
Bandipur.
149. Ivevula narthex Boiss.
Astore, Harchoo.
150. Heracleum candicans Wall.
Gurez.
151. Heracleum thompson Clarke.
Koragbal. |
152. Pleurospermum candollei Benth.
Pushwari.
153. Pleurospermum densiflorum Benth.
Kamri Pass.
154. Prangos pabularia Lindl.
Kamri.
155. Selinum papyraceum Clarke.
Gudai.
156. Selinum vaginatum Clarke.
Pushwari.
157. Vicatia coniifolia DC.
Vishensar.
CAPRIFOLIACEAE
158. Lonicera asperifolia Hk. f. & T.
Shankergarh.
159. Lonicera quinquelocularis Hardw.
Shankergarh.
160. Sambucus Wightianus Wall.
- Serrai Sonamarg.
161. Viburnum nervosum D. Don.
Below Tragbal.
Be
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
RUBIACEAE
162. Galium asperuloides Edgew. (triflorum Michx.).
Gurez. |
163. Galium boreale Linn.
Kalapani.
164. Rubia cordifolia Linn.
Sardar kothi.
DIPSACEAE
165. Dipsacus inermis Wall.
Kamri, Gurez.
166. Scabiosa speciosa Royle.
Koragbal, Kamri.
167. Morina coulteriana Royle.
Koragbal, Kamri, Rattu.
V ALERIANIACEAE
168. Valeriana dioica Linn.
Kamri.
169. Valeriana jaeschkii Clarke.
170. Valeriana pyrolaefolia Decaisne.
Koragbal.
171. Valeriana wallichi DC.
Badwan.
COMPOSITAE
172. Achillaca millefolium Linn.
Koragbal.
173. Anaphalis nubigena DC.
Rama.
174. Arctium lappa Linn.
Koragbal.
175. Artemisia brevifolia Wall.
Gurez, KRattu.
176. Artemisia dracunculus Linn.
Rampore.
177. Artemisia grata Wall.
Nichnai.
178. Artemisia laciniata Willd.
Rattu, Gurez.
117
118 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
179. Artemisia parviflora Roxb.
A. japonica Thunb.
Rampore. .
180. Artemisia siversiana Willd.
Gurez.
181. Artemisia vestita Wall.
Pushwari.
182. Aster falconert Butch.
Kamri.
183. Aster flaccidus Bunge.
A. heterochaeta Benth.
Vishensar.
184. Aster molliusculus Wall.
Kamri.
185. Carduus nutans Linn.
Kamri.
186. Cousinea thomson.
Gudat.
187. Cremanthodium decaisnei Clarke.
Pushwari.
188. Doronicum Roylei DC.
Kamri.
189. Evigeron andrvaloides Benth.
Rampore.
190. Erigeron multicaulis Wall.
Tarshing.
191. Erigeron patenlisquama J. F. Jeltrey.
Shankergarh.
192. Erigeron multiradiatus Benth.
Kamri.
193. Gnaphalium stewartii Clarke.
Rama.
194. Inula obtusifolia Kerner.
Tarshing.
195. Inula racemosa Hook.
Girez.
196. Inula rhizocephaloides C. B, Clarke.
Rama.
197. Inula royleana DC.
_Pushwari.
_ oa
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
198. Jurinea ceratocarpa Benth.
Pushwari.
199. Jurinea macrocephala Benth.
Burzil. Raz-Dhani.
200. Lactuca longifolia DC.
Rattu.
201. Lactuca lessertiana Clarke.
Kamri.
202. Lactuca scariola Linn.
Rampore.
203. Saussurea candolleana Wall.
Kamri pass.
204. Saussurea fulconeri Hk.f.
Sardarkothi.
205. Satssurea lappa Clarke.
Guinrez:
206. Scorzonera divaricata Turcz.
Rampore.
207. Senecio jacquemontianus Benth.
Koragbal, Razdhani.
208. Senecio pedunculaius Edgew.
Tarshing.
209. Senecio thompson: Clarke.
Badwan.
210. Solidago virga-aurea Linn.
Kamri.
211.. Tanacetum falconert Hk: f.
Burzil.
212. Tanacetum long:folium Wall.
Burzil.
213. Taraxacum officinale Wigg.
Kamri, Gurez.
214. Tragopogon pratense Linn.
Badwan.
215. Tussilago farfara Linn.
Astore.
ERICACEAE
216. Pyrola rotundifolia Linn.
Thajwas, Sonamarg.
119
120 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
217. Rhododendron arboreum, |
Kamri.
218. Rhododendron campanulatum D. Don.
Nichnai.
CAMPANULACEAE
219. Campanula aristata Wall.
Kamri.
220. Campanula cashmiriana Royle.
Kamri.
221. Campanula colorata Wall. var. tibetica H.f. & T.
Kamri. :
222. Codonopsis ovata Benth.
Koragbal, Charwan.
223. Codonopsis clematidea Schrenck.
Badwan. Charwan.
224. Codonopsis rotundifolia Benth.
Koragbal, Charwan.
PRIMULACEAB
225. Androsace duthieana R. Kunth.
Kamri.
226. Androsace mucronifolia Watt.
Baltal.
227. Androsace primuloides Duby.
Kamri.
228. Androsace rotundifolia Hardw.
Kamri.
229. Androsace sempervivoides Jacquem.
Vishensar.
230. Cortusa matthioli Linn.
Kamri.
231. Primula denticulata Sm.
Vishensar.
232. Primula elliptica Royle.
Kamri.
OLEACEAE
233. Fraxinus xanthoxyloides Wall.
Gudatl.
ie
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
ASCLEPIADIACEAE
234. Cynanchum glaucum Wall.
Shankergarh.
235. Cynanchum jacquemontianum Decne.
Kamri.
GENTIANACEAE
236. Gentiana carinata Griseb.
Vishensar.
237. Gentiana decumbens Linn.
G. Thianshanica Rupr.
Burzil, Gurez.
238. Gentiana marginata Griseb.
_Kamri.
239. Gentiana strucheyt C. B. Clarke.
Gentiana serrata Gunner. var. stracheyi Clarke.
Rampore.
240. Jaeschkea gentianoides. Kurz.
Koragbal, Badwan.
241. Swertia perfeliata Don.
Shankergarh.
242. Swertia petiolata Royle.
Pushwari.
243. Swertia thomsoni Clarke.
Rampore.
POLEMONIACEAE
244. Polemonium coeruleum Linn.
Nichnai.
BORAGINACEAE
245. Cynoglossum micranthus Desf.
C, lanceolatum Forsk.
Sonemarg.
246. Cynoglossum wallichi: G. Don.
Koragbal.
247. Echinospermum barbatum Lehm.
Kamri.
248. Eritrichium strictum Dene.
Sonamarg.
249. Lindelofia angustifolia A. Brand.
Kamri.
121
122 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
250. Lindelofia longiflora Baillon.
Vishensar, Nichnai.
251. Macrotomia benthami DC.
_Vishensar.
252. Myosotis sylvatica Linn.
Nichnai.
253. Onosma kashmirica Johnnston
O. echioides.
Kamri.
SCROPHULARIACEAE
254. Digitalis purpurea Linn.
255. Euphrasia officinalis Linn.
Kalapani, Badwan.
256. Leptorhabdos benthamiana Walp.
Pushwari. :
Pedicularis bicornuta Klotzsch.
Shankergarh.
258. Pedicularis pyramidata Royle.
Kalapani.
259. Pedicularis pectinata Wall.
Gurez.
260. Pedicularis verticillata Linn.
P, roylet Maxim.
Pushwarl.
261. Pedicularis siphonantha D, Don.
Kamri. |
262. Pedicularis pycnantha Boiss.
Rampore.
263. Picrorhizu kurrooa Benth.
iarmniy MGMteZ,
264. Scrophularia himalensis Royle.
S. polyantha Royle.
Koragbal.
265. Verbascum thapsus Linn.
Sonamarg.
266. Veronica becubunga Linn.
Astore, Rama.
267. Veronica deltigera Wall.
Kalapani.
268. Veronica hirta Pennell.
Kamri.
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
269. Veronica serpyllifolia Linn.
Nichnai.
OROBANCHACEAE
270. Orobanche cernua Loeffl.
Kamri.
271. Orobanche orientalis Beck.
Kamri.
L,ORANTHACEAE
272. Pages album Linn.
Gurez.
LABIATAE
273. Calamintha clinopodium Benth.
Sonamarg.
274. Dracocephalum nutans Linn.
Sonamarg.
275. Elsholtzia cristata Willd.
Sonamarg.
276. Elsholtzia densa Benth.
Sonamarg.
277. Lamium album Linn.
Gurez, Haran.
278. Mentha arvensis Linn.
Gurez.
279. Mentha sylvestris Linn.
Gurez.
280. Nepeta clarkei Hk.f.
Koragbal.
281. ‘Nepeta connata Royle.
Kalapani.
282. Nepeta eriostachya Benth.
Koragbal.
283. Nepeta glutinosa Benth.
Rampore.
284. Nepeta govaniana Benth.
285. Nepeta salviaefolia Royle.
Tarshing.
286. Origanum vulgare Linn.
Kamri.
123
124 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
287. Phlomis bracteosa Royle.
Nichnai.
288. Phlomis setigera Falc.
Koragbal.
289. Salvia glutinosa Linn,
Rampore.
290. Salvia hians Royle.
Nichnat.
291. Salvia moorcroftiana Wall.
Bandipore, Ganderbal.
292. Scutellaria prostrata Jacquem.
Kamri, Gurez.
293. Stachys sericea var. alpina.
Koragbal.
294. Stachvs sericea Wall.
Baltal.
205. Thymus serpyllum Linn.
Gurez.
CHENOPODIACEAE
296. Chenopodium album Linn.
Astore, Bandipore.
297. Chenopodium blitum Hk.f.
Kamri, Charwan.
298. Chenopodium botrys Linn.
Rampore.
299. ‘Kuchia prostrata Schrad.
Rampore.
300. Alriplex crassifolia Camb.
Gudai.
POLYGONACEAE
301. Polygonum affine D. Don.
Vishensar.
302. Polygonum alpinum All.
Koragbal.
303. Polygonum amplexicaule D. Don.
Vishensar.
304. Polygonum viviparum Linn.
Vishensar.
305. Polygonum dumetorum Linn.
Budwan, Minimarg etc.
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
306. Polygonum paronychioides C. A. Mey.
Gurez. | |
307. Polygonum lapathifolium.
Pushwari.
308. Polygonum persicaria Linn.
Tarshing. —
309. Polygonum rumicifolium.
Kamri.
310. Polygonum tortuosum D, Don.
Rampore.
311. Rheum emodi Wall.
Rheum Webbianum Royle.
Gurez.
312. Rumex acetosa Linn.
Koragbal.
ELEAEGNACEAE
313. Hippophaé rhamnoides Linn.
Shankergarh, Rama.
’ EUPHORBIACEAE
314. Euphorbia cornigera Boiss.
Koragbal.
315. Euphorbia pilosa Linn.
Shankergarh.
316. Euphorbia wallichi Hk. f.
Kamri.
URTICACEAE
317. Cannabis sativa Linn.
Ganderbal.
318. Morus alba Linn.
Ganderbal.
319. Celtis australis Linn. ~
Bandipore.
PLATANACEAE
320. Platanus orientalis Linn.
Ganderbal.
JUGLANDACEAE
321. Juglans regia Linn.
Gurez and Kangan.
125
126 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
CUPULIFERAE
322. Betula utilis D. Don.
Burzil, Kalapani.
423. Corylus colurna Linn.
Kangan.
SALICACEAE
324. Populus alba Linn.
Ganderbal.
325. Populus nigra var. pyramidalis Spach.
Astore.
326. Salix alba Linn.
Ganderbal.
327. Salix flabellaris Anders.
Nichnai.
328. Salix hastata Linn.
Kamri.
329. Salix lindleyana Wall. var. latifolia Parker. Af
Kamri.
330. Salix tetrasperma Roxb.
Nichnai.
CONIFERAE
331. Abies webbiana Lindl.
Gurez, Astore.
332. Cedrus deodara Hook. f.
Krishanaganga valley.
333. Juniperus communis Linn.
Rampore.
334. Juniperus macropoda Boiss.
Kamri.
335. Pinus excelsa Wall.
Sindh valley.
236. Pinus gerardiana Wall.
Astore.
3327. Taxus baccata Linn.
Gurez and Astore.
-ORCHIDACEAE
338. Orchis latifolia Linn.
Kamri, Rattu and Badwan.
ECONOMIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR
= IRIDACEAE
: 339. Iris hookeriana M. Fost.
Nichnai.
LILIACEAE
340. Allium semenovii Regel.
Kamri.
341. Allium rubellum M. Bieb.
Rampore.
342. Eremurus himalaicus Baker.
Kamri, Burzil and Gurez.
(343. Colchicum luteum Baker.
Gurez.
JUNCACEAE
344. Juncus himalensis Klotzsch & Garcke.
Burzil.
345. Juncus membranaceus Royle.
Tarshing.
ARACEAE
346. Avisaema wallichianum Hook. f.
Koragbal.
NAIADACEAE
347. Triglochin palustre Linn.
Kamri.
GRAMINEAE
348. Panicum miliaceum Linn.
Astore. |
FILICES
349. Dryopteris brunoniana C. Chr.
_ Vishensar.
350. Dryopieris blanfordu C. Chr.
Koragbal.
351. Dryopteris filix-mas sens. lat.
Gurez.
352. Asplenium viride Hudson.
Kamri.
127
STUDY OF THE MARINE FAUNA OF THE KARWAR COAST
AND NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS
BY
A. M. PartiL, M.sc.
(Department of Biology, Karnatak College, Dharwar)
Part I: Protozoa TO ARTHROPODA
(With a map)
CONTENTS
PaGE
I. Introduction wee set Eee ee Sales
II. Methods of Collection ae ae ae som les
III. Conditions on the Karwar Coast ny Pe La ... 129
IV. Systematics hse se Le sek din LER
V. References ae cae ne As a hs 4)
l. AINTRODUCTION
Most of the available knowledge of the fauna of the west coast of
India is confined to the narrow limits of fishes, as sucl work was
undertaken mainly by the Departments of Fisheries of the several
States bordering the coast. The present work was undertaken with
a view to study the fauna from an academic standpoint. Karwar
being the nearest coastal town from Dharwar and exhibiting various
types of ecological conditions, was chosen for study. The marine
fauna of the Karwar coast has not been investigated by any zoologist
so far. In 1940, however, two naturalists, Dr. Maurice Suter and
Mr. Charles McCann, made certain observations which were mainly
concerned with the angling of fishes and the inland fauna of the place.
With a view to collect a comprehensive knowledge of the fauna,
several trips, arranged during the various seasons of the year, were
carried out and these have given an idea of the seasonal fluctuations
of the marine life of this coast. The animals were studied with
reference to their natural surroundings, and in the present paper, no
attempt has been made to study the detailed systematics of the speci-
mens collected. Such a study has, however, been started with some
groups, particularly the Mollusca, and the account will be published
in due course.
The paper is written with a view to facilitate any biologist who
may be interested to collect and study the forms available in this
urea, Hence, some of the conspicuous features of many of the animals
have been included. Wherever possible the ecological conditions
have also been alluded to.
4%
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST & NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS. 129
I wish to express my indebtedness to Prof. P. W. Gideon, m.a.,
- Head of the Department of Biology, Karnatak College, Dharwar, who
introduced me to this interesting study by initiating and joining the
collection trips and for helping me in various ways throughout the
period of study. I am equally indebted to Dr. J. P. Joshua, M.a., ph.v.,
Professor of Zoology, Madras Christian College, Tambaram, for
his keen interest in my work and for guiding me in the field work as
well as laboratory study. My thanks are also due to my colleague,
Shri H. V. Kashyap, m.sc., for his helpful suggestions in preparing
the manuscript. I also wish to thank my colleagues and students
who joined me in the collection trips and enriched the collections.
fie METHODS OF COLLECTION -
Most of the shore collection was made at low tide. In sandy
areas, the specimens were collected by hand or digging with a spade.
In rocky areas, the hammer and chisel were used for removing the
animals which were firmly attached to the rocks. The nets drawn by
the fishermen to the beach were also examined. Plankton collections
were made from the open sea by using a fine bolting silk tow-net,
dragged along by the local boats fitted with outriggers. Usually the
plankton was collected at intervals throughout the night. Specimens
were also collected by dredging at certain areas in the Karwar Bay.
An iron dredge measuring 2 ft. by 1 ft., with a string net of close
mesh reinforced by a coir netting of large mesh, was used for the
purpose.
lil, SC ONDITIONS ON THE KaRnRWwar Coasr
IXarwar, the headquarters of. North Kanara District, is about
300 miles south of Bombay (latitude 14° to 15°N; longitude
74° to 75°E). The entire coast is hilly and rocky and at many points
steep hills rise straight up from the sea. At the southern end a
piece of land juts into the sea and is known as the Karwar Head,
the shores of which are all rocky. On the northern side of Karwar
Head, however, is a small sandy beach—--Lady ’s Be ac h—hemmed
in between two large projections of rocks. Between the Karwar
Head and the mainland is an extension of the Karwar Bay, which
is known as the Baitkal Cove. This cove is shallow and has
a muddy bottom and nearly half of it is exposed at low tide. On
the west and parallel to the town stretches the long sandy Karwar
Beach, extending from the mouth of the river Kalinadi in the north
to Coney Poirt in the south. This beach is about three miles
in length and is the longest sandy beach near about Karwar.
About three miles north of Karwar town is the village,
Kodibag, which is situated on the bank of the Kalinadi estuary. On
the opposite bank is the small town, Sadashivgad. To the west of
Sadashivgad is a small stream called Mavin Halla, which enters
the Kalinadi river just before it joins the sea. At low tide a large
extent of this stream is exposed forming a rich collecting ground of
estuarine forms. Further up the river, on the northern bank, near
9
130 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
the village Kadra, there is a vast muddy area which is exposed at low
tide. On the southern bank, opposite the Kadra area, is a long
muddy creek of the river extending for about two miles in a southern
direction. This is the Sumkeri. Cyeekso\ The; tauna ant hoth
Creo Devgad Istana
Ong
po ot
rshery Sch.
jj
Scale, $= 1 Mile
Karwar Coast and neighbouring Islands.
these areas, as also on the small mud-banks situated in the river
and exposed at low tides, is very similar.
in Karwar Bay there is a cluster of islets known as Oyster
Rocks. “On the largest’ of ‘these; "Dev © ad ds land aren:
seven miles west of the mainland a light-house has been built. About
four miles north-east of these rocks are situated two more islets
known as Madtingad and Kurmugad. Five. miles south-
west of Karwar and about two miles from the mainland there is a
Portuguese island known as Anjidiv. 7
Along the road to Ankola, the rocky coast is broken up by several
sandy beaches which are placed in between groups of rocks that jut
into the sea. The first of these sandy beaches is called Kincaid’ s
Bay and is about a mile from the town. Further down about two
miles and three miles from the town, are Kamat’s Bay and
Binge Bay respectively. The majority of the animals recorded in
this paper have been collected from Kamat’s Bay. About five miles
from Karwar, onthe. road to Ankola, is the village Arge.
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST & NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 13}
Between this village and the sea, there is an expansive flat sandy area
(about 6 sq. miles), through the middle of which a narrow stream.
meanders into the sea. This area called the Chendie Creek
is completely submerged at high tide.
Thus Karwar presents a variety of ecological conditions showing
a representative marine fauna. There are sandy beaches, rocky shores,
islands, coves, creeks, an estuary, mud-flats and marshes, all within
easy reach of the town.
IV SV STE MAT ECS
PROTOZOA
‘All the Protozoans recorded were from the plankton collected in
Karwar Bay. The majority of the forms are flagellates belonging
to the genera: Noctiluca, Ceratium, Gymnodinium and Peridinium.
Noctiluca has been observed in large numbers and they can easily be
recognised at night by the bio-luminiscence they exhibit whenever the
surface water is disturbed. Ceratium is represented by three species :
C. tripos, C. fusus, and C. furca.
Radiolarians were represented by the genus, Acanthomeira, which
were seen in quite good numbers, especially in the plankton collected
at midnight. Sometimes, a few living Foraminifera have also been
observed in the plankton. Large numbers of their skeletons, how-
ever, are washed ashore and can be seen if a sample of sand is
examined under the microscope. The Ciliates are ‘represented only
by the Vorticellids attached to ae of sea-weeds.
PORIFERA
No special search for sponges has Been made. but a few pieces
washed ashore and somié“ercrusting on the ‘rocks have been collected.
Adocia is the encrusting form found on the rocks of Kamat’s Bay and
Binge Bay. It may be orange, yellow, green or -blue in colour.
Halisayca is the. one that is usually washed ‘ashore. and has been
collected at Kamat’s Bay and Anjidiv island. It consists of small
branches with conspicuous oscula.
COELENTERATA
Coelenterates are well represented in Karwar. ‘They include the
representatives of all the four classes of the phylum except the corals,
which have not been observed in a living condition at all, but a few
pieces of dead coral have been collected occasionally on the shore.
The most familiar coelenterate, however, is the jelly-fish.
~HYDROZOA:
Sertularia is the most common form found beneath the rocks on
all the rocky shores. The colonies are dark in colour and may be
found under water or sometimes exposed at low tide. A few
hydrozoan medusae and some microscopic siphonophores have been.
132 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
observed in the plankton. Physalia, one of the large siphonophores,
has often been found washed ashore, and Porpita is frequently seen
floating about as a disc with dark blue-green marginal tentacles. Two
other siphonophores, Diphyes and Monophyes, have been collected in
very large numbers, only once, during May 1946, in. Kamat’s Bay.
The whole beach was glistening with the beautiful floats of these forms.
SCYPHOZOA:
Two common jelly-fishes known in Karwar are Dactylometra and
Acromitus. Dactylometra is the larger of the two types, where the
umbrella is comparatively flat and the surface coarse to the touch.
The lips are produced into long delicate arms. Acromitus has a
dome-shaped umbrella with a smooth outer surface which appears
finely granular when magnified. The lips are divided into eight
short thick arms, each produced into a long thread-like filainent. In
certain seasons, generally during the cold weather, these jelly-fishes
appear in shoals and are found washed ashore in enormous numbers.
ANTHOZOA :
Among the Anthozoa, sea-anemones and Cavernularia are the only
forms best represented in Karwar. Corals are almost absent and
none have been recorded in the living condition so far, but dead and
worn out pieces of the coral, Goniastraea, have been collected some-
times. Fragments of Gorgonia have also been collected occasionally
on the shore. Sea-anemones have been recorded in a variety of
places, on free surface of rocks, in the holes and crevices of rocks,
buried in sand, in rock-pools and attached to molluscan shells either
empty or occupied by hermit-crabs. The sea-anemones occurring in
these habitats are described as follows:
Actinidae: Anemonia is fairly common in the intertidal
zone, generally on bare surfaces or crevices of rocks. The margin
of the discs bears a number of irregularly arranged knobs and
humerous tentacles. The animals are usually red in colour, some-
times purple, and the tentacles are darker or even deep violet with
light-coloured tips.
Bunodactis has a number of species very variable in its characters,
but all have longitudinal lines of warts on the column. The species
found in Karwar are about 1% inches in length and are attached to
rocks either submerged in water or exposed only at low tide. The
upper part of the column bears longitudinal rows of suckers to which
are attached fragments of shells and other particles. The disc is
greenish in colour and the tentacles are pale and pointed.
Sagartidae: Sagartia is a very common form attached
to molluscan shells, empty or occupied by hermit-crabs. Many have
been collected attached to empty shells of Turritella (T. acutangula)
buried in the sand with only the disc exposed. When contracted,
Sagartia looks like a small translucent onion with a few filaments
projecting from the pointed end. These anemones are brownish
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST & NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 133
yellow in colour with light longitudinal stripes. When fully expanded
the column is about two inches in length. :
Zoanthidae: Zoanthus is a small colonial form frequently
seen in the crevices of rocks or in the rock-pools in the tidal region.
Its column is long and yellowish grey in colour and the disc presents
shades of brown with a variety of green marks. The tentacles are
striped and are of different colours. When sand particles are strewn
over the disc by the action of waves, the animal is difficult to detect.
Gemmaria is similar to Zoanthus, but is smaller and generally
found in large numbers spreading over the rocks. When expanded,
they form a conspicuous mosaic of hexagonal figures. They usually
grow on horizontal and vertical surfaces of rocks. These animals
are sand-encrusted and leathery to the touch. The column and the
tentacles are brown and the disc is green.
Caverfularidae: Cavernularia is a pear-shaped colonial
form and a very beautiful object to see when expanded. They stand
erect in water with only the stalks buried in the sand. They have
been observed in large numbers in their natural surroundings, in the
creek at the mouth of the river Kalinadi. Occasionally, however,
they are washed on the beach in a contracted condition, when they
look like short clubs with narrow grooved handles and with brown
depressions over the rest of the body, indicating the position of the
contracted polyps.
CTENOPHORA :
Two representatives of Ctenophora, observed in Karwar, are
Pleurobrachia and Beroe. Pleurobrachia has been collected in large
numbers, washed ashore on the beaches and looking like small blobs
of jelly. Beroe has also been collected occasionally on the shore and
sometimes in the plankton.
PLATYHELMINTHES
The common marine flat-worms are the planarians, found crawling
on the rocks, sea-weeds and among the bivalve molluscs. Some
have colours merging with the background, sometimes brown and
grey, and are often inconspicuous, while others are brilliantly coloured.
The planarians of Karwar have not been identified.
NEMERTEA
The Nemertine worms, collected from Kamat’s Bay, were found
on the rocks among the attached animals and sea-weeds. Only two
forms are known. Eupolia is a slender brownish red worm with a
dark streak on the middle of the back. It was about ten inches in
length when expanded. Another worm about twenty inches long
was collected from the same locality. It was violet in colour with
regular, narrow, circular white bands at intervals. It resembled
Tubulanus (Carinella, McIntosh), recorded in the British Isles,
134 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL I1IST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
ANNELIDA
The free-living Polychaets are represented by a number of Nereid
worms collected from sea-weeds, among encrusting animals on rocks,
and various other habitats. Polynoe is commonly found on the
underside of the rocks on all rocky shores. Post-larval Polychaets
have also been collected from the plankton. The tubicolous Polychaets
ere represented by the following four forms:
Polycirrus and Terebella are recognised by their numerous long,
orange-red, brightly coloured, sticky tentacles. They have been
collected from the empty oyster shells encrusted on the loose rocks in
the muddy areas of Kadra and Chendie Creek.
Owenia is found in large numbers in Kamat’s Bay. They live in
sandy tubes which are so closely packed together, that they give the
appearance of coral-like encrustations, extending over a large area in
the inter-tidal zone. The mouth of the worm is surrounded by a
membrane which has marginal filaments. ®
Spirorbis lives in small calcareous tubes found as encrustations on
the sea-weeds. They occur in large numbers all over the coast.
Sternaspis is a representative of the burrowing Polychaets and has
been collected by dredging in Karwar Bay. It possesses a_ short
body with a thickened anterior region, carrying on each side three rows
of setae. On the ventral side of the posterior end of the body, there
is a bilobed horny plate with a number of bundles of long setae.
The anus is situated on the dorsal side with two bundles of filamentous
branchiae on either side of it.
Dendrostoma is the only Sipunculid represented and is found
burrowing into the sponges encrusting the rocks. It is shaped like
a base-ball bat, the handle being the neck which is protrusible through
a circlet of branching tentacles. Usually it is about four inches in
length.
ARTHROPODA
CRUSTACEA: ; : :
The Crustaceans, which form the bulk of the marine Arthropods,
are found almost everywhere in Karwar. It is difficult to avoid seeing
or coming across a crab in any locality of Karwar. Large numbers
of Dhobi-crabs waving their coloured chelae can be seen in a number
of places. Hermit-crabs inside empty malluscan shells are found
everywhere near the shore. The plankton teems with a large variety
of minute crustaceans and their larvae. The following are some of
the common crustaceans recorded:
COPEPODA: A large number of Copepods are found in the surface
waters and have been collected in the plankton. Calanus is the rmnost
common and is cosmopolitan in distribution. It is recognised by its
iridescent plumed hairs borne on different parts of the body, the
long antennae and the single egg-sac. There are also many forms
of copepods parasitic on the body of fishes,
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST ¢ NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 135
CIRRIPEDIA: Acorn-barnacles are by far the commonest. They
are found in vast numbers attached to rocks, to wood and to molluscan
shells, The following two species are met with in large numbers:
Balanus tintinabulum (Linnaeus) is a large barnacle with purple
coloured plates and is found on rocks which are always very near the
water. .
Balanus amphitrite (Darwin) is a small and lighter coloured animal,
found in thousands encrusting the rocks in or near the water. They
are found so crowded together that they almost look lke sheets
covering the rocks.
A point to be noted regarding the feeding habits of these barnacles
is that they are dependent on the place of their attachment. Thus,
those that are permanently submerged can feed at all times; those
living between tide marks obtain their food only twice a day during
high tides; and lastly those that live beyond the high tide level get
only what little food is provided by the spray that comes their way.
Goose-barnacles are not very common in Karwar. Only two forms
have been collected.
Lepas, attached to floating pieces of wood and cuttle-bones, has
been occasionally found washed ashore.
Ibla quadrivalvis (?) is found in small groups attached to stones
in Kamat’s Bay. It is easily distinguished in having only two terga
and two scuta, and the animal is completely covered by soft brown
spines pointed posteriorly. This species is interesting in that, though
its presence in the Indian Ocean has been recorded, the exact locality
where it occurs seems not to have been known so far.
Sacculina is the parasitic cirripedia observed on the crab
(Neptunus), which have been collected from the rampan nets.
ISOPODA: <As_ elsewhere, the Isopods are quite abundant in
practically all littoral regions of Karwar. The majority of them are
small and many are coloured like their surroundings. Those found
among the sea-weeds have almost the same colour as the sea-weeds,
red, green or brown. Those living among the rocks are slate-coloured,
e.g. Ligia. Ligia exotica (Roux) is found in large numbers on boats,
on logs of wood near water, and along the rocks and stones of the
shore. They are semi-terrestrial, living near the water, and would be
drowned if submerged for sometime.
Cymothoa has been observed living parasitically in the mouth of
Pomfrets (Stromateus). It is possible that more isopod parasites
would come to light if further search is made, in view of the fact that
Karwar has such a rich variety of fishes.
AMPHIPODA: Amphipods are also quite abundant in the littoral
regions. Stenothoe is a very common. sand- hopper, living on sand
or on decaying sea-weeds, easily recognised by its jumping movements.
Another odd-looking amphipod, seen crawling over the hydroids or
algae, is a Caprellid. They move about like a caterpillar with looping
movements and their colouration is similar to that of the surroundings.
STOMATOPODA: Squilla is the only Stomatopod collected at
Karwar. They are seldom found with the objects washed up on the
136 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
shore, but are brought in by fishermen in their nets and are discarded
as they are inedible. They need to be handled with care because
they can inflict injuries with their tails and maxillepedes. Alima,
the larva of Squilla, has often been observed in the plankton. It is
recognised by its great size (about 3 cms. in length), glass-like
transparent body, long, broad carapace, unlike that of the adult, and
and a pair of prominent stalked eyes.
DECAPODA: The first large living animals that one frequently
meets on the shores of Karwar, are the Decapods, be it a prawn,
swimming in the shore waters, or a crab, running about on the beach,
or a hermit-crab, strutting about with a molluscan shell.
“e
MACRURA:
Penaeus is the common edible prawn that is sold in the market,
either in fresh condition or dried. They can be recognised by their
serrated rostrum and chelate legs. They are usually brought to the
shore by the fishermen in their nets.
Lucifer, with its elongated body, slender limbs and long eye-stalks,
is a luminiscent form usually found in the plankton.
Alphaeus is found in the crevices of rocks. Its first thoracic leg,
either the right or the left (never both), is very much enlarged. They
—make a peculiar noise by means of these appendages.
Hippolysmata, possessing a large rostrum and prominent eyes, is
usually found in rock-pools and on sea-weeds.
Panulirus is the ‘painted spiny lobster’ living on the rocks, whose
skeleton is often washed ashore.
ANOMURA:
Hermit-crabs, living in empty molluscan shells, are found in large
numbers on the shores and also in the rock-pools. A majority of the
Karwar forms belong to two genera: Diogenes and Pagurus, which
are recognised by their unequal chelae. Those living in water often
‘carry sessile animals like Sertularia, Sagartia, or Balanus amphitrite,
on their backs.
Porcellana is usually found living under encrusting sponges,
ascidians and hydroids. Their abdomen is symmetrical and flexed
beneath the thorax and bears a well-developed telson. In the plankton,
the peculiar Zoea larva of Porcellana is observed quite frequently and
is readily recognised by the enormously long rostrum and _ posterior
spines.
Emerita asiatica (Milne-Edwards), the mole-crab has an oval body
about one inch in diameter and is pinkish in colour. They are very
abundant occurring on open sandy beaches between tide marks. As
the waves beat shoreward, they emerge from the sand and are carried
higher up the shore along with the water, thus exposed to view for a
brief period, and when the waves recede they rapidly burrow into
the sand and wait for the next wave to repeat the process. During
low tide, when they are stranded on the shore, they burrow deep into
the sand and reappear at the next high tide,
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST ¢d NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 187
el ie
Albunea symnista (Linnaeus) is another mole-crab, stouter than
Emerita, and lives buried in the sand below the low tide level, but
is sometimes brought to the shore entangled in fishermen’s nets,
Very few of them have been collected.
BRACHYURA:
Crabs form a characteristic group of the fauna of Karwar. They
are found in very large numbers, in a variety of habitats all along
the coast. Only those actually found on the shore, or those living
in areas adjoining the shore, have been described here. Other crabs
living beyond the littoral zone are known only by their remains that
are washed ashore from time to time. Crabs belonging to the follow-
ing six families have been recorded.
Calappidae:
Calappa lophos (Herbst) and Matuta victor (Fabricius) are repre-
sented here, and of these the former is rare and the latter more
numerous. -
Calappa lophos has a large arched, semicircular box-like carapace
and the crested chelae are massive and fringed with hairs.
Matuta victor has a rounded carapace with a single stout triangular
spine projecting on each side. The two chelate arms are large
and the four pairs of legs are broad and flat and are used as paddles
when swimming. It is much more active than Calappa, but u-ually
spends much of its time buried in sand between the tide marks.
Leucosiidae:
Philyra scabriuscula (Fabricius) is the most common species and is
found in large numbers on the sandy beaches between tide marks in
Kamat’s and Binge Bays. They are small lightly coloured crabs,
more or less globular in shape, with long slender legs. They are
usually seen hurriedly burying themselves into sand as the waves
retreat.
Fon tu nuicd ae:
These are swimming crabs with only the last pair of legs paddle-
like, the first three pairs being adapted for walking. The
carapace is depressed with distinct characteristic teeth on the antero-
lateral margins. The following three are the most common genera:
Neptunus, Charybdis and Thalamita. These are the common edible
crabs sold in the market and are collected from fishermen’s nets.
Neptunus is recognised by the antero-lateral margin of the
carapace bearing nine teeth and a long spine projecting sidewards.
Two species have been collected: Neptunus pelagicus (Linnaeus)
and N. sanguinolentus (Herbst). In the former, the carapace
has a network of coloured markings and the back margin of
each of the chelae bears a terminal spine. It is commonly seen swim-
ming rapidly in the shallow waters of the creeks, with one chela
stretched and trailing behind, and then often mistaken for a fish. In
N, sanguinolentus, the carapace is uniformly coloured with three
138 JOURNAL, BOMBAY -NATURBAL AIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
large red spots on it, and the back margin of the chelae is without
teeth.
Charybdis has the antero-lateral margin of the carapace with six
teeth and is collected in good numbers from the nets. In one species,
C. crucnera, the design on the carapace looks like two angels on either
side of a distinct cross and it is therefore held in reverence by some
Christians.
Thalamita has five teeth along the antero-lateral border and the
eyes are widely separated. It is usually found in the creeks.
Xanthidae:
Xantho and Atergatis are the two forms found on rocky shores
between tide marks. The antero-lateral borders of the carapace are
thick and blunt. Xantho is small with heavy chelae and the surface
of its carapace is furrowed. Atergatis is bigger and oval in shape,
with the surface of the carapace smooth and pink coloured with
small white spots all over.
eae:
Grapsus strigosus (Herbst) is the common form found in large
numbers on the rocky shores, seen either in or out of water. They
are very active crabs with a medium sized, roughly hexagonal, flat-
tened carapace, which is green in colour and shows dark stripes
directed towards the posterior median line.
Ocypodidae:
The members of this family are very prolific on the shores and
the creeks. The carapace is more or less convex, eye-stalks greatly
developed, and the legs have pointed ends. They are active creatures
living in deep burrows on the sandy shores. This family is represented
by the following three genera: Ocypoda, Dotilla and Gelasimus.
Ocypoda is a familiar genus living in burrows in the sand near or
above the high tide mark. They are flesh coloured, with the eye-
stalks extending beyond the corneal surface. They run fast on the
tips of their legs, keeping the body well raised above the ground.
When chased they retreat into their burrows or escape into the sea.
They can be seen in large numbers at night.
Dotilla are found moving about in groups of thousands in the
Chendie Creek. They are small in size with globose bodies, living in
sand or mud only below the high tide level, usually in-the backwaters,
but never on steep beaches. Their appendages are slender and pink
coloured, and the body is dark.
Gelasimus or the ‘dhobi-crab’ is more common than Dotilla and
is found in very large numbers on sand or mud banks of Chendie Creek
and Kalindi estuary, usually along with Dotilla. The males are
characterised by having one chela very large and brilliantly coloured,
and they have a peculiar habit of constantly waving this chela (like
a dhobi beating clothes on a stone, hence the name), sitting at the
mouth of its hole, presumably to attract the mate. Extensive areas
of mud banks with thousands of waving chelae of these crabs is a
“very impressive sight in Karwar.
cep niet
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST ¢ NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 139
ARACHNIDA :
The only marine arachnid observed is a pycnogonid occurring in
Kamat’s Bay. These ‘no-body-crabs’ are generally found crawling
among the hydroids, sea-weeds and polyzoans.
INSECTA:
Strangely enough there is only one true marine insect, which is
found in the sea far from the shore. It is the wingless bug, Hulobates,
whose eggs in various stages of development are often found on the
cuttle-bones washed ashore.
Cicendela is a beetle, that is found on the shore among decaying
weeds, and is recognised by the way it takes to wing when a wave
rushes up, and settles on the sand as soon as the water recedes.
Dermestes vulpinus is another beetle found in large numbers infesting
the fish that is being cured.
A species of Musca is found in thousands in the fish-curing yards
during the mackerel season. There is also a species of Tabanus, a
few specimens of which have been collected in Kamat’s Bay.
V. REFERENCES
1. Calman, W. T. (1909): Crustacea, Lankester’s Treatise on Zoology
(London).
2. Eales, N. B. (19389): The Littoral Fauna of Great Britain (Cambridge).
. 3. Gardiner, Stanley J. (1906): The Fauna and Geography of the Maldive
and Laccadive Archipelagoes, Vols. I & II (Cambridge).
4. McCann, C. (1943): Two Naturalists visit Karwar, N. Kanara. J. Bomb.
N. H. Soc., XLII, pp. 602-610. :
5. Menon, M. G. K. (1930): The Scyphomedusae of Madras and_ the
Neighbouring coast (Madras).
6. Nichols, J. T. & Bartsch, P. (1946): Fishes and Shells of the Pacific
World (New York).
7. Nilsson-Cantell, C. A. (1938): Cirripedes from the Indian Ocean in the
Collection of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Mem. Ind. Mus., XIII, Part I
(Calcutta).
8. Sedgwick, A. (1927): Students’ Text-book of Zoology, Vols. i,
(London).
9. Various Authors, (1927): The Littoral Fauna of Krusadai Island in the
Gulf of Manaar (Madras).
II and TIl
ON AN INTERESTING CASE OF CARP SPAWNING IN THE
RIVER CAUVERY AT BHAVANI DURING JUNE, 1947#
BY ’
S. V. GANAPATI, K,. H. ALIKUNHI AND FRANCESCA THIVY
(Freshwater Biological Research Station, Government Fisheries, Madras)
INTRODUCTION
The fluviatile species of Indian carps generally breed during the
monsoons, June to August and November to December. Hora (1945)
reviewing our knowledge of the breeding conditions of Indian carps
concludes that ‘a heavy monsoon flood is the primary factor that influ-
ences the spawning of Indian carps and that the other topographical,
chemical and physical changes in the environment of the fish are entirely
dependent on it’. He further states that there is ‘a consensus of
opinion that the flooded condition of a river or a tank is the primary
factor that is responsible for the spawning of Indian carps’. Mookerjee
(1945), on the other hand, considers dissolved oxygen asa factor of
primary importance in inducing spawning of fish. According to him
‘practically no freshwater fish spawns without some amount of rain -
water mixed with the old water of the pond’, and ‘for major carps
almost pure rain water is needed’ for spawning. But in a previous
contribution Ganapati and Alikunhi (1950) have endeavoured to show
that spawning mainly depended on the availability of suitable shallow
spawning grounds and have pointed out how Hamid Khan’s observations
(1947) also support the same view, although the latter arrives at a
different conclusion. In the present paper a peculiar instance of carp
spawning in the river Cauvery at Bhavaniin South India, is described
which further supports the view that while neither rain water nor turbid
flood water is essential for spawning, the availability of suitable spawn-
ing grounds appears to be the deciding factor to induce spawning.
PRE-SPAWNING CONDITIONS
The south-west monsoon was practically a failure in Madras during
1947 and water level in the Stanley Reservoir, Mettur Dam, was therefore
very low. There was no rain in the Mettur-Bhavani area during
June. The water in the reservoir was very clear and not muddy-brown,
since rains were scanty in the upper reaches also. The level of water
in the reservoir was maintained at the surplus level only from the Ist to
the 20th June, when the surplus channel ceased to function. The level
of water in the river below the dam, consequently, was very low result-
ing in portions of the river-bed being exposed and dry. When the
surplus channel was not functioning, limited quantities of water were
*Published with the kind permission of the Director of Fisheries, Madras _
Paper read before the 35th Indian Science Congress, Patna, 1948.
CARP SPAWNING IN THE RIVER CAUVERY 141
being sent out through the sluices, for irrigation purposes and this,
besides maintaining a continuous flow of water in the stretches of the
river Cauvery immediately below the dam, had resulted in the re-
inundation of the shallow portions of the river-bed which had previously
become exposed when the surplus channel ceased to function. Owing to
the failure of monsoon rains, almost summer conditions thus prevailed
in the river and the water was very clear with a bluish tinge.
SPAWNING IN THE RIVER
From 23rd June 1947 onwards the River Survey Staff at Bhavani
were obtaining a few eggs, almost daily, in the spawn nets fixed in the
river proper, at Bhavani. The time of collection varied from 6 p.m. to
8 a.m., but the eggs were coliected usually in the morning for a few
hours only. These contained mostly catfish eggs; and the local staff
had not made any systematic attempt to ascertain when the eggs began
to appear in the nets daily and whether carp eggs were also available in
the river at any other time of the day.
Detailed observations were carried out on 28th and 29th June 1947.
Samples of water were collected for analysis at four-hourly intervais and
by 6 p.m. spawn nets were fixed at a selected spot about a furlong
below the bridge and close to Kumaramangalam on the left bank of the
river near the marginal zone where the depth of water was only about
2:0 to 2:5 feet, and where there was fairly rapid flow of water from the
main current. The nets were examined at hourly intervals but till
11 p.m. no spawn was collected in them. From 12 p.m. (mid-night)
onwards carp eggs began to be caught in the nets in large numbers.
The physico-chemical conditions of water prior to and during collection
of spawn were as shown on page 142.
The water was flowing at a velocity of about 5 miles per hour.
Phytoplankton was fairly rich and representative, and consisted of
Myxophyceae (Merismopedium, Microcystis, Osctllatoria, Anabaena and
Anabaenopsis), Chlorophyceae (Scenedesumus and Mougeotia), Bacillariae
(Synedra and Navicula), Dinophyceae (Peridinium and Glenodinium),
and Euglenophyceae (Auglena). Zooplankton was poor and consisted
of stray specimens of copepods (Cyclops and Diaptomus) only.
During the period of about 22 hours there had been no appreciable
change in the physico-chemical variables of the river water. While
neither the actual spawning ground nor the process of spawning was
observed, the fact that there was no appreciable change in the physico-
chemical conditions immediately prior to and immediately after
spawning probably shows, that the spawning conditions were not widely
different.
NATURE OF THE SPAWN COLLECTED
The mid-night collection contained fertilized, developing eggs, in
advanced stages of segmentation. All the eggs were more or less in the
same stage of development—the blastoderm cells about to commence
invasion of the yolk. The eggs were almost transparent, with spacious
periviteiline area. The diameter ranged from 2.8 mm. to 4.0 mm.
There were no catfish eggs. Three distinct sizes could be distinguished
in this collection of eggs. These were isolated and kept for rearing
50
ET y, Vol.
NAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCI
JOUR
143
‘000'00T Jed sjied ul possoldxa sjpnsay,,
+ ote fe a + + ar an te oe + + ae N SON
+ 4° + + a + a5 ++ a: a fe ie ae "© 4a
LT LeL L-1 LT Lel LT LT Lel LT LT L-T LZ-1 BS sxS°0PlLIO[ yd
€-88 €-88 oS8 é:S8 6-¢8 6-28 9-£8 9-€8 L£-98 £-98 2:6 6-c6 °°" "8S G
9S6-F | 9T0-S | 988-6 | 988-6 | 9FZ-b | OFL-b | OFL-b | OPL-b | 988-P | 988-b | SOE-S Teg f° (1/99) ‘o'a
C8 ¢8 G-8 ¢:8 C-8 ¢-8 ¢:8 S-8 9-8 9-8 9.8 £8 ee "Hd
j 069-ZT | 069-ZT | OO€-8I | OOE-ST | S66-ZU | 069-ZT | 069-ZT | S66-ZT } S66-ZT | S66B-ZT | OOE-8T FI-8 es *° OOH
£.0 ¢-0 §-0 6-0 €-0 0 £-0 $0 6-0 €-0 ¢-0 €-0 f°" «OO
“TIN ‘IIN “TIN ‘TIN UEN “IN “TEN “TIN ‘IIN “TIN “TIN LIN a *00 ee14
1.82 | 8.82 Z-82 Z +82 §-82 §-8Z 8-82 8:82 §-62 6-62 €-62 P62 [°° = (0.) ‘duray,
Sa C-¢=50°6- —> "HW S-Z—062 ee -yods 01}
-d9T]09 je yidog
ee —— ‘suis 9¢= ——_ > ‘sma o¢=— eee A}IPIQIn
ele u9e18-YSIn[q —> u9018-YSIn[g ase anojo9
| | SUIV@I ON — JUS] -uOoO;, SUIvI ON—1931]000TI ON se = ABOLOIOIjJOW
= nee 3 | , 7
"jog | "Ins | "j0qg | ‘Ing ‘j0q | "Ing ‘jog "Ing *j0gG “Ing "j0oq "Ing
|
|
SYACUII YY ‘Ul 8 OL ‘Ue 9 | ‘ae F JUSIUPIN ZT ‘tu'd OT ‘ard g 23°C
L¥.-9-62 SuluMeds Joye Ajo}vlpourm pue (2) Sung L¥,-9-8z Sulumeds-o1g
a
"pe}o9T[00 Sem uMeds divo uoyM ‘/FET OUNL 4IGZ PU YIGzZ UO IUVALY je ‘AIOANYZ JOAN OY} UI J0}eM Jo sUOT]IPUOD [ed Way o-oo1sAy
TATIvL
CARP SPAWNING IN THE RIVER CAUVERY 143
fot purposes of identification. The nets were thereafter cleared at
hourly intervals. Collections continued to be heavy, but eggs in
advanced stages of cleavage were not available. Embryonic develop-
ment had progressed in the meantime and as the day advanced only
eggs with well differentiated embryos, executing movement inside,
could be procured. These later collections contained about 10% of
catfish eggs which were easily distinguished by their greater opacity
and the conspicuous zona radiata forming a thick membrane outside
the vitelline membrane. By about 8 a.m. carp eggs were not available
in the river and the net collections contained only few catfish eggs with
fairly advanced embryos.
The collections were repeated on 30-6-47 (night) also, but were not
as heavy as on the previous night.
The different types of eggs were carefully described and reared in the
laboratory. Samples were transported to Madras and after successful
rearing for about three weeks, were identified. The largest eggs, about
4.0 mm. in diameter, were those of Laéeo fimbriatus (15%), the medium
sized eggs (about 3.4 mm. in diameter) were those of Czrrhina reba (60%)
and the third type, the smallest (diameter, 2.8 mm. to 3.0 mm.) were
those of Garra mullya (25%). Details of the embryonic and larval
development of these species are described by Alikunhi and Rao (1951).
The catfish eggs could not be reared to the stage at which they could
be identified for species.
DISCUSSION
Upto 3-6-1947 carps had been spawning in the Cauvery, every day,
continuously for over a week. On 29-6-'47 when a thorough study was
made and collections were taken during the night, large number of eggs
could be obtained. Spawning on the 30th also was fairly heavy.
While, on the previous days, no attempt was made to collect spawn
either during the night or in the early morning hours, the collection of
only limited number of catfish eggs after 6 a.m. does not preclude the
possibility that spawning might have been more or less heavy during
these days also. In all probability spawning was perhaps continuing
after the 30th June also. Extended spawning has thus been taking
place in the river and all these days almost summer conditions were
prevailing in the locality and all along the river.. No sudden fluctuations
in the physico=chemical conditions of water were recorded during this
period. Monsoon floods and turbid flood water that are generally asso-
ciated with carp Spawning were adsen/ in the present instance where the
river water was perfectly clear and had a bluish-green colour. As
there were no rains during this period and as only stored and settled
water was being discharged from the Stanley Reservoir, at Mettur Dam
the river water had no admixture of fresh rain water either. In spite of
these, the conditions were congenial for Z. fembriatus, C. veba and G.mullya
for continued spawning. It is thus an instance which seeks exception to
the statements that a heavy monsoon flood is the primary factor that:
influences spawning of Indian carps (Hora, loc. cit.) and that practically
no freshwater fish spawns without the influence of some amount of rain
water (Mookerjee, loc. cit.). The observations of Hamid Khan (loc. cit.)
also support the above conclusion, although his own inference is that
sexual play of the breeders induces spawning. -
144, JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
In the Batala fish farm in the Punjab ke found that so long as the
breeders remained confined in the tank, they did not spawn even when
flood water entered the tank, but when they were given access to
inundated fields they spawned. It is therefore obvious that availability
of and access to shallow spawning grounds was the deciding factor that
induced the fish to spawn. While the instance of spawning recorded in
the present paper took place under extraordinary circumstances, it
clearly shows that even when the monsoon fails, if spawning grounds
are available the fish readily spawns.
While large numbers of eggs were collected, the actual spawning
grounds could not be located and the process of spawning was not
observed. The exact conditions of the water at the spawning ground
at the time of spawning are theiefore not known. However, as already
indicated, the facts that the physico-chemical conditions of water in the
river for over a week were more or less uniform and that the pre- and
post-spawning conditions do not show any significant difference pro-
bably justify the assumption that the spawning conditions were per-
haps the same as those soon after spawning, when the first collection of
eggs was detected in the nets. A critical study of the physico-chemical
conditions attending spawning (vide Table I) shows that factors like
turbidity, flow of water, pH., dissolved oxygen, percentage of satura-
tion of dissolved oxygen, free carbon-dioxide, etc. had not appreciably
changed at the time of spawning. The dissolved oxygen and percentage
of saturation during day time (10 a.m.) as also in the evening (6 p.m.)
when no eggs were available, were higher than the same at 10 p.m. to 12
midnight when eggs began to appear in the nets. The view that high
dissolved oxygen content which is associated with rain water is the
deciding factor for inducing spawning cannot, therefore, be supported
from the present observations. While the temperature of water during
the day did not show any marked fluctuations, it was found that during
the time of spawning (when the first lot of eggs were coliected) there
was a slight reduction in temperature, accompanied by homothermal
conditions from top to bottom. The eggs collected at 12 midnight
being 3to 4 hours old after fertilization, the spawning time is indicated
as8to9 p.m. The temperature of water in the river at that time was
about 0.5°C higher than that at 12 midnight. Homothermal conditions
probably prevailed from 9 p.m, onwards. Other than this factor there is
nothing to explain why the fish were spawning only in the night. 4
The almost routine manner in which spawning had been taking place
in the river for over a week also probably indicates that no particular
factor other than the diurnal fluctuations in temperature was immedi-
ately responsible for inducing them to spawn during the night.
These fluctuations are, however, very slight and since major carps
are known to spawn at all times of the day, some other explanation
has to be sought for this continued spawning during nights only. Of
course, the re-inundation of shallow portions of the river-bed by
water discharged from the sluices in the Mettur Dam had provided
ample suitable spawning grounds in the river itself. When the surplus
channel of the dam is functioning, the water level in the river will be
high and naturally there will be considerable depth of water over the
SSS eet
%
2 Can perhaps light intensity have any effect on actual spawning ?—=EDs.
CARP SPAWNING. IN THE RIVER CAUVERY 145
above mentioned shallow portions of the river bed. But as already
explained, when the surplus ceased to function there was a sudden
lowering of the level which exposed the shallow portions. The dis-
charge of water from the sluices started on the 21st June and the
collection of eggs from the 23rd June onwards indicates that the fish
had responded quickly to the re-inundation of the shallow spawning
grounds. It would thus be apparent that the availability of and access
to suitable spawning grounds with shallow depth of water at the right
time of maturity of the fish is the most important single factor that
induces spawning of carps.
The eggs that were first caught in the nets at midnight on 28-6-’47
were only about 3 to 4 hours old after fertilisation. Assuming that as
soon as laid these eggs were drifting with the current which was flowing
at the rateof about 5 miles per hour, the spawning would have occurred
in the river about 15 to 20 miles above the collection spot. Later
collections procured only eggs in advanced stages of differentiation and
according to the above assumption- the eggs collected at 6 a.m. at
Bhavani, being about 9 to 10 hours old after fertilization, should have
been liberated at about 45 to 50 miles above the collection spot. This
however, appears to be highly improbable since spawning in all proba-
bility had taken place at one or-more points below the Mettur Dam only,
which is about 27 miles above Bhavani.
It is therefore possible that fish began to spawn, more or less at
the same time, in scattered spawning grounds within the 27 miles stretch
of the river between Mettur Dam and Bhavani. Spawning might have
taken place in relatively sheltered places where the current was not fast.
The eggs would take a longer time to drift into the main current from such
places than when they are laid in the main current itself; and hence the
nearest spawning ground from the collection spot might well have been
within a couple of miles distance. The eggs from the nearest spaw-
ning grounds to the collection spot got drifted and were caught first,
while those from farther grounds took a longer tiine to be drifted into
the nets and were thus in advanced stages of differentiation.
SUMMARY
1. A peculiar instance of carp spawning in the river Cauvery,
within the Mettur-Bhavani stretch under almost summer conditions, is
described.
2. Monsoon floods and turbid flood water generally associated
with carp spawning were absent and the water was clear and bluish-
green in colour.
3. The dissolved oxygen content and the percentage of saturation
of dissolved oxygen in water were not higher at the time of spawning
than at other times of the day.
4. Other physico-chemical factors like flow of water, pH, free
carbon dioxide, carbonates, bicarbonates, etc., did not show any signifi-
cant variation during pre-spawning, Spawning and post-spawning periods.
5. Availability of and access tosuitable shallow spawning grounds
with shallow depth of water, even in the river bed itself, at the right
stage of ripeness of gonads appear to be the most important factors
inducing spawning.
10
146 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
6. Fish appear to spawn more or less at the same time, in a fairly
long stretch of the river, in areas where the current is slow: and from
where the eggs slowly get drifted into the main current.
7. The spawn collected was reared in the laboratory Raa was
identified as that of Labeo fimbriatus, a major carp of the Cauvery,
Cirrhina reba, a minor carp extensively used for stocking purposes
and Garra mullya, Catfish eggs collected could not be reared. ©
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The observations detailed in this paper were made in the course of
investigations under the Madras Rural Piscicultural Scheme sponsored
jointly by the Indian Council of oe Research and the Govern-
ment of Madras.
REFERENCES | oF ng vitigs
1. Alikunhi, K. H. and Nagaraja Rao, S. (1951): Notes on the developivent,
growth and maturity of Czrrhina reba (Hamilton), Jour., Zool. Soc. Ind. -3(1) ;
2. Ganapati, S. V., and Alikunhi, K. H. (1950): Note on the spawning: of
carps in the Tungabhadra in response to off-season freshets, Journ., Zool. Soe.
India. Vol. II, Part I,
3. Hamid Khan (1947) : Observations on the spawning of Carp in the Punjab.
Proc. Ind, Sc. Congr. New Delhi, Sect. 7; Zool. and Ent:, abstract No: 35.
4, Hora, S. L. (1945): Symposium on the factors S influencing ue eee As
of Indian carps; Proc. Nat. Inst. Sc. India.
5. Mookerjee, H. K. (1945): Ibid.
’
BIRDS AND ECOLOGY
By 25%
M. D. LISTER
1. WHAT Is, ECOLOGY ?
- Ecology i is the study of plants and animals (in the widest sense) in
relation to their surroundings. It is in the meaning to be given to the
term ‘surroundings’ that the real extent of the subject lies. One is
inclined to think of surroundings as ‘just a bit of jungle’, as though it
were quite fixed and subject to no change; but we must think of them
instead as consisting of the earth on which the jungle grows and the
rocks under the earth, as well as the atmosphere whose warmness or
coldness and humidity influence the type of plants growing in the jungle,
if we are to understand the relationship at all. This larger conception
of the surroundings is referred to as a ‘habitat’, and the study of the
habitat is the foundation of all ecological work. The ocean is just as
much a habitat for the whale, and the body of the host-is just as much
a habitat for the parasite, as the jungle is for atigerora bird. —
Having determined and described the habitat, the next logical step
is to catalogue exhaustively the plants and animals and other livestock
to be found there. Ina full ecological survey this is done by the
collection of specimens, and this is the only satisfactory way in which
the identity of many species can be established beyond doubt. It is,
however, still possible to do useful work without the collection of
specimens. The fatina and flora having been adequately catalogued the
way is open for the more interesting and complex aspects of the full
survey—the study of the inter-relationship of animals and plants among
themselves, the effects of changes in their environment brought about
by such matters as changes in the food supply,” by ‘drought; flood “and.
disease, and so On. Theré are many more factors which “néed “not be.
mentioned here, for there will be few amateurs who are ‘able or quali:
fied to carry out work of such detail and complexity in such a way as
to satisfy the scientists; for true ecology is rapidly becoming a‘science.
To investigate fully the structure of a community and the effects on
that community of the many variable factors which may play upon it,
needs advanced scientific training, a good deal of equipment, the co-
operation of other experts, and an abundance of time and patience. |
In view of the difficulties which attend a full ecological survey of
any natural community, it is not surprising thata good deal of attention
has been given, particularly in Europe and America, to more limited
aspects of ecology. Many enquiries have now been undertaken either
into one particular subject such as the habits and habitats of Antarctic
whales, or the fisheries of the North Sea, or to answer some ‘particular
question such as.the enquiry undertaken in the British Isles during the
recent war to find out just what damage was done to crops by Wood
Pigeons (Columba palumbus). On the medical side there aré the well-
known investigations of Ross into the activities and life- history of the
148 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 60
malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito, and similar: investigations on the
fleas carrying bubonic plague. Properly controlled enquiries into
selected subjects are of the utmost importance to mankind.
It is not quite so easy to see just how investigations into the ways
and habits of birds can benefit man in any material sense, but it must
be remembered that this is as yet almost a virgin field which on close
study may well reveal causes and effects hitherto quite unsuspected.
A few years ago it was thought that the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) was
responsible for carrying foot and mouth disease to Great Britain from
the Continent of Europe, though the general opinion today seems no
longer to support this view. And birds are certainly responsible for
the distribution of the seeds of many trees and plants. ‘There aremany
examples of the converse, of the effect of man’s activities on birds.
One of the most striking and well-known is that of the Corncrake (Cvex
crex) which was common in the hayfields of England in the last century.
The introduction of earlier-seeding grasses for the hay and of mechani-
cal reapers has so reduced the acreage of grassland suitable for it to nest
in that this is thought to have contributed largely to the decline of the
Corncrake in many parts of England to-day.
2. THE Stupy oF HABITATS
There is much useful work which can be done by the amateur who
has neither the qualification, nor the time, nor the inclination to join
with others in a full ecological survey. In the forefront is the study of
habitats.
Plant ecology got away to a much earlier start than did animal
ecology, and the geographers and plant ecologists have worked out from
a mass of observations the major vegetation types for most of the world.
The kinds of plants and trees that will grow in any particular place
depend on many physical factors, such as the suitability of the soil and
the climate. ~Palm trees, for instance, can grow only within certain
limits of heat and humidity, and where these limits are passed, either
through distance from the equator, elevation or dryness of the soil, no
palms are to be found: The limits of their’ range: ‘can therefore be plot-
ted fairly accurately on a map.
In the delta area of Bengal are large areas of land devoted to the
growing of paddy and jute, liberally interlaced with patches of mixed
jungle. Ifthe species of plants and trees to be found in these areas aré
compared with those growing in the Irrawaddy Delta, some 500-600
miles away, they are found to possess many common characteristics,
one of the major ones being that they require a great deal of moisture.
Further to the west of the Bengal delta region, where the south-west
monsoon does not carry ‘quite sucha heavy rainfall, the plant associations
are all of a kind requiring less moisture for their support. By careful
comparison of the plant associations in different parts of India, combined
with a study of the geology and soils and particularly of the climatic
conditions, it has been possible to plot on maps the areas where the
plant associations have enough common characteristics to be considered
as belonging to one particular type of vegetation. In each of these
general types certain kinds of plants and trees are found to be dominant.
And in each of them will be found many different local or minor associ-
ations possessing recognisable characteristics of their own, in each of
BIRDS AND ECOLOGY 149
which different kinds of plants and trees may be dominant. We speak,
for instance, of teak forest or a mango or palm grove, when the domin-
ant trees are teak or mangoes or palms; but other plants and trees are
nearly always to be found in the same association, though to a lesser
extent than the dominant species.
In the study and analysis of the birds to be found in these minor and
major plant associations or habitats there is a great deal of scope for
the bird-watcher. That different associations of birds are to be found in
different habitats is almost an axiom. Compare the birds to be found
in an extensive bamboo brake with those of the luxuriant Bengal jungle,
with its rich undergrowth, or those of a Himalayan pine or rhododen-
dron forest, and they will be seen to be quite different. SSome species,
however, may occur in each and much has still to be learnt about the
exact habitats in which any given species can be:found and the use to
which each is put.
E. M. Nicholson in ‘The Art of Bird Watching’ (Witherby,
London, 1931) has compiled a tentative classification of the types of
habitat occurring in the British Isles, and with patience and co-operation
from others his method could quite well be applied to the habitats to
be found in any part of the world. Broadly he divides all habitats into
certain major categories, e.g. a Coastal Group, an Inland Water Group,
a Mountainous and Waste Land Group, (in India this could more satis-
factorily be divided into two separate groups), a Woodland Group,
a Cultivation Group, and a Civilisation Group. These main groups are
subdivided. The Coastal Group, for instance, is composed firstly
of the different kinds of rocky beaches, secondly of the various kinds of
beaches without rocks, and thirdly of miscellaneous types such as sand
dunes, salt marshes and so on. Each of these minor habitats is given
an index number composed of a letter referring to the class of habitat
and a number referring to the specific type of habitat. The following
is an extract from his Coastal Group:
Rocky beach, with precipitous chalk cliffs.
Type: Beachy Head, Sussex ... See be, A?
Rocky beach, with Devonian cliffs.
Type: Baggy Point, Devon ie see BS
Shingly beach, without cliffs.
Type: Pevensey Bay, Sussex ... ss Boe ie 54
Muddy or sandy beach, without cliffs ; sce? ero
Sand dunes see see a CO
Salt marsh.
C6
Type: Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk
In this paper I include India, Pakistan and Burma in the title
‘India’ for the sake of brevity; after all, birds can hardly be expected
to recognise political boundaries. A larger number of major vege-
tational regions is represented in India than in the British Isles, and in
applying Nicholson’s system to Indian habitats it would probably be
helpful to prefix a second index letter to signify the major vegetational
region concerned.
H. G. Champion (1936) has worked out a comprehensive provisional
classification of forest types occurring in India based on four tem-
perature zones, tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and alpine, each
150 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
subdivided according to moisture conditions as reflected by the relative
importance of evergreen, deciduous and thorny trees. His main divisions
are as follows: ¢ se er 54 59:
Moist Tropical Forests.
Group 1.. Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests. ~
Group 2. Tropical Semi-evergreen Forests.
Group 3. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests.
Dry Tropical Forests.
‘Group 4. Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests.
Group 5. Tropical Thorn Forests. a
- Group 6. ‘Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests.
~ Montane Sub-T. vopical Forests. eo i
Group 7. Sub-tropical Wet Hill Forests.
Group 8. Sub-tropical Pine Forests. .
Group 9. Sub-tropical Dry Evergreen Forests.
(Montane) Temperate Forests.
Group 10.. Wet Temperate Forests,
Group 1l. Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests.
Group 12. Himalayan Dry Temperate Forests.
Alpine Forests.
273°) Group 13; Alpine Forest.
~~~ Groups 14 and 15. Alpine Scrub. |
These groups he subdivides into their various characteristic com-
ponents and he also lists the subsidiary edaphic and seral types occur-
ring in each main group. Anyone proposing to undertake any ecological
work which involves jungle of any description would do well to study
this paper beforehand and to decide into which category the jungle
concerned falls. | | |
Champion’s classification covers only the forest types and it would
be a very useful preliminary to future ecological work if an exhaustive
(even if only tentative) classificatiun could be made of all other main
habitat types occurring in India, and approved by some body of stand-
ing in order to minimise the risk of confusion in later comparative
work. . ae
3. HABITAT SURVEYS
Although information is needed on all kinds of habitats, one should,
in selecting a habitat for survey, choose one that can be covered
adequately with the resources at one’s command. A patch of jungle
may appeal as containing more kinds of birds than are found
among paddy-fields, and therefore being on the face of it more in-
teresting, but it is infinitely more difficult to survey it adequately.
Until one has worked out one’s own technique on easier habitats it is
BIRDS -AND ECOLOGY . 151
wiser not to attempt a comprehensive survey of so difficult a subject
as jungle or scrub if one is aiming at detail and accuracy, as the
results will probably be neither accurate nor complete and may well be
misleading.
. It is advisable to select a habitat that is characteristic of other
districts as well, so that it may be used for comparative work later on,
though surveys of isolated and non-recurring habitats are still valuable
in view of the paucity of records so far collected, particularly if it is
one which is likely to disappear eventually. Another point to bear in
mind is that what are natural boundaries to us may well be ‘ highways’
or gathering points for the birds we wish to study. A hedge or a
Continuous line. of bushes may be a serious obstacle for man (and
therefore a convenient boundary to his activities) unless there are gaps
through which-he can pass, but it is likely to be the headquarters of
many birds, -.
. ‘The type of habitat to survey must inevitably depend to a great
extent on one’s resources and qualifications and objects. If one is
working with other specialists as a team with the object of undertaking
an intensive and exact study of the structure of a community, one must
of necessity choose a somewhat limited area. On the other hand, if one
is working entirely alone and one’s opportunities for field work are
restricted. or irregular, it is probably wise to limit one’s object to
compiling a comprehensive list of all the birds seen in the district. In
this case a larger area can be covered, but one should be prepared to
sub- divide it into its component minor habitats and to try to disentangle
the real use to which each one is put by the birds seen there. If one
moves about the country from time to time similar methods can be
applied to each place visited and interesting comparisons can later be
made between the various habitats covered. It is useful when doing
this to work out a formula or ‘ pro-forma’ for the form and order in
which one’ S reports are to be couched, as this facilitates comparisons
later.on.
In carrying out a general survey of a larger area it will probably be
found that it comprises certain minor features which cannot easily be
separated as distinct habitats and these can be treated as part of the
surroundings in which they stand, provided that this is made clear in
one’s records. In Bengal, for instance, the villages are liberally
prinkled with tanks, which are the resort of kingfishers, pond herons
and so on; the tanks are the chief attraction to these birds, though in
their comings and goings they use the surrounding habitat in which the
tanks stand, and many of the other birds living in the neighbourhood go
to the tanks to drink and bathe. These tanks are so numerous and so
‘small that it is very difficult to separate them satisfactorily from the
‘surrounding habitat.
- In studying any particular habitat the first thing to be done is to
describe it fully and accurately, and in this it is a great advantage if the
help of a competent botanist can be enlisted to describe the vegetation,
-an entomologist to deal with the insects, and of other specialists to
cover-such matters as the local climatic conditions, the fauna, and the
‘soil and geology. A team of observers, each one competent in his own
‘particular field, is ideal for any habitat survey, and the combined
knowledge of such observers as are available may be sufficient to
bridge the gap left by the absence of, say, a geologist. Even so, 4 lot
152 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
of useful work can be done by one man working on his own, provided
he is observant, accurate and knows his own limitations.
Many features in any habitat change during the course of a year
and full records should, of course, be kept of these as they may well
affect the bird life. Plants come into flower and fruit, the leaves of
some of them fall leaving the-branches bare and a carpet of dead leaves
on the ground beneath, which provides cover for insects; paddy is
planted, flooded and harvested and all these changes may in some way
or another influence the use to which the birds put the jungle or the
paddy-fields. The metereological records should include temperatures,
rainfall, humidity, wind, cloud and so on in order to provide a
comprehensive record of the weather experienced during the survey
period. Some animals are known to be seen more often in a dry
season, some plants thrive and fruit better in a wet one, but we know
little of the limits within which dryness and wetness are effective..
The natural complement to a full description of the survey area is a
map or plan of it. More often than not it is necessary to prepare one’s
own sketch plan and this should be large enough to show all the impor-
tant features clearly. Ifthe survey area comprises more than one kind
of minor habitat, these should be shown on the plan by means of
different kinds of shading or hatching, or better still by the use of
different coloured inks. The writer has found it very useful to give
each prominent feature an identity number or letter. In studying a
group of six fields, for instance, each field will be given a number, and
the corners and centre points of each will be given a letter. This is
much simpler than having to refer to ‘the middle field on the eastern
side of the area’; and it is easier and shorter to refer to ‘Point A’, or
merely to ‘A’ rather than ‘the south western corner of the north
eastern field’. One can use one’s time in the field more profitably in
observing than in repeatedly writing down long terms which are
constantly recurring, and provided one’s records are accurate it does not
matter how abbreviated a code one uses. In surveying small dreas,
where the number of species likely to be met with is not large, it is
also useful to make a list of all the species one may reasonably expect
to see there and to give each one a code number or letter. The key to
this, with a small copy of the sketch plan, should be written down at.
one end of the field note book, so that one always has it with one for
reference. It is surprising how quickly one evolves one’s own code and
learns it by heart.
Before embarking on any survey it is a good plan to formulate
certain guiding ‘rules’. Are you, for instance, going to include birds
seen only flying over, and if so how are you going to refer to them in
your notes and in your final report? How do you propose to dea! with
mixed hunting parties, which are only passing casually through the
survey area? Are you going to attempt periodic counts of numbers ?
If so, they will require a special set of rules of their own. The making
of censuses is outside the scope of this paper and anyone interested is
advised to look up the reports of past censuses. Decide on these points
before starting on the actual survey, so that your records may be
consistent throughout.
Having selected the survey area, made a sketch plan of it, and
written down a fuli description of the habitat, one can then begin
a survey of the birds. If one is aiming at great exactitude and a
BIRDS AND ECOLOGY 153
detailed result, the area should be inspected at frequent intervals
preferably every day, and as far as possible one’s visits should take
place at the same time or times each day. This is not always possible,
nor is it always essential if one is aiming only at a more general result.
A small note-book should always be carried in the field and the obser-
vations entered in this during or immediately after the visit to the
survey area; memory dulls one’s observations very quickly and
accuracy may often be lost in a matter of an hour.
Some years ago the writer carried out a survey of the birds on a farm
in southern England through which he passed nearly every day on his
way to and from the office; this survey lasted about six years. It was
by no means an ideal survey as it had to be moulded to fit the
conditions under which it was made. The method adopted was to give
each field an identity number, and each prominent feature (including
the centre point of each field) was allotted a code letter. Another series
of code letters and numbers was used for the kinds of birds usually
seen. The use of these codes very quickly became automatic and the
saving in time and space was enormous. Having noted in the field
note-book the date and hour of the visit, any agricultural operations
which were taking place, the weather and any special incidental items,
a short record was made of each species seen, its numbers wherever
possible, and where seen. In the case of small birds, such as larks, it
was quite impossible to estimate their numbers during the 10-15
minutes in the survey area, which was usually all that could be spared,
and comments had to be in such general terms as ‘a few’, ‘several’,
‘a flock of about 20 in Field I anda few in III’, and so on. In the case
of larger birds, such as Rooks (Corvus frugilegus), and Lapwings
(Vanellus vanellus), an attempt was always made to count them, or at
any rate to estimate their actual numbers, and it was surprising how
quickly one learnt to give an estimate within about 5 per cent of the
correct number. At the end of the survey, the records were analysedin an
attempt to show the use made by the birds of each kind of cultivation,
as well as the seasonal fluctuations. For the larger birds graphs were
drawn for each species, based on the largest number seen each week,
and these suggested an interesting annual rhythm in the numbers.
It is not always possible to carry out such anintensive survey as this
and one must work out one’s own technique to suit the circumstances.
The habitat in the survey mentioned above was a simple one, consisting
only of arable and pasture land covering about 150 acres, without the
complication of any woodland. While serving in India during the
recent war, when opportunities of bird watching and of writing up
records were very irregular the writer adopted a different technique;
this has already been shortly described in his paper on ‘ Some Bird
Associations of Bengal’,
Whatever method be used for keeping records of the survey, it is
important to evaluate one’s observations in order to avoid giving
a distorted impression to others. If one is not absolutely certain of the
identity of a bird seen it is essential that this be made clear in the
records. There are many occasions on which even the most
experienced ornithologist is not absolutely certain beyond all doubt of
the identity of the bird he has seen, and there is nothing to be ashamed
of in confessing one’s uncertainty. Here again the use of signs and
symbols can save a lot of time and trouble. For example, a tick can be
154 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
used for a bird ot whose identity one is Positive ; a star for one whose
identity is uncertain; a cross for’a ‘ possible’ and so on.. The same
rule applies in recording plants and trees, animals and insects. dae
~The records should always include a note of the time and conantens
under which they were made, and of all incidental matters which might
affect. either. the birds themselves or the validity of the record,
Observations with the naked eye froma moving train or,car:-are
obviously more open to mistake and inexactitude than observations
made with field glasses at only a few yards range. : And the fact that
aircraft are constantly taking off and landing at an aerodrome while
observations are being: made Uren may well. affect ithe numbers and
kinds. of birds seen. |
Although bird ringing was -dSsigned primarily to nasise fhe tase a
migration, coloured rings can be a great help in studying a very small
area. The British Trust for Ornithology (91 Banbury Road, Oxford,
England) has published a very useful Field Guide (No.1) on ‘Trapping
Methods for Bird Ringers’ by P. A.D: Hollom!?, and this is well worth
consulting by anyone who PEOPASES: to use ringing as an Boe to a
survey. ; ee
iW
4. OTHER SuRVEYS eae a cuigen
- Another method which can give useful results if properly organised
and controlled, where a continuous survey is not possible, is the taking
of thorough samples at longer intervals. The. margin of error: is,
however, inclined to be greater than in a ‘running survey “and there i is
a danger of missing trends,
-. Yet another method that can be usefully eumploved: in. icerepes
surveys is the transect. ‘This is a detailed record of all birds seen on,
say, along train journey, or a voyage by boat up a river, or a long
trek on foot. In each case, of course, an exact note is made of the
habitat through which one happens to be passing at the time each bird
is seen. Transect reports might have a good deal of value if there
were a large number of them covering the same route at all times of
the year, but their very nature is inseparable from incompleteness and
inexactitude, though observations taken on a trek on foot will naturally
be fuller and more accurate than those made from a moving vehicle.
In recent years some extensive surveys have been carried out into
the distribution and. habitats of- particular species. The- Lapwing
Habitat Enquiry, organised by the British Trust for Ornithology in the
British Isles in 1936 and 1937, is a good example. This survey was
carried out by numerous observers all over Great Britain, who recorded
their observations on special forms. ‘The results were correlated and
analysed by E. M. Nicholson (1939). The study of the habitats of a
‘particular species or group of species would be an interesting task
for someone with few restrictions on time or travel, but really a survey
of this kind requires the co-operation of a large number of observers in
different parts of the country, especially in so large a country as India,
working under some central direction. -A very-useful preliminary
would be the cataloguing of-all the different habitats occurring there.
fa wood
» Noticed on p. 773 of Vol. 49 (4) of the Jowrnal—April 1951.—Eps, _
rion
BIRDS- AND ECOLOGY 155
. It sometimes SENOS that a river changes its course or a lake
- dries up, uncovering ‘new’ Jand which is bare of all vegetation. A
somewhat similar thing happens when a hillside is scarred by ar
landslide. Plant ecologists distinguish between the two cases, but
there is no need to do so here. Within a short time wind-blown seeds
germinate on the new earth and these quickly cover it with an open
vegetation with plenty of spaces between the plants. In another
season these gaps will have been closed by the growth of the plants
already established and the arrival of other seedlings, and then the
struggle for existence really begins. If such an area is watched year
after year it will be seen that the character of the vegetation changes
as the plants become more congested and new layers of humus are
added from the fallen and decayed leaves. One particular plant wil]
succeed better than the others and will tend to crowd the others out.
As time goes on the small first stage plants will be succeeded by larger
plants and trees and eventually the climax vegetation (usually similar
to that of the surrounding country) will be reached beyond which the
succession does not go. Plant ecologists call this succession of
vegetation a‘sere’. As the vegetation changes so the bird associations
found there will change, and a complete survey through all the stages
of a succession would be a most valuable contribution to ecology.
A rather similar kind of succession can be found where virgin
jungle is cleared and the ground turned over to crops; or where a town
is extended outwards into what had previously been countryside.
Forest firés, earthquakes, landslides, prolonged flooding, extreme
drought, plagues of insects and so on can all initiate a greater or lesser
vegetational succession in which the sequence of bird associations is
worth studying. Change is always taking place and the record of hcw
any particular change affects the bird population is interesting and
valuable.
In Bengal and other parts Bi India and Burma vast areas of paddy
land are flooded every year as part of the regular cultivation of the
crop. Flooding on such a large scale is certain to produce reactions
among the avifauna of the districts affected and also the surrounding
districts, and this is a subject which would be well worth organised
study. Everyone keeping accurate records for his particular district
would be making a valuable preliminary contribution.
Certain trees and crops prove an attraction for some birds. - When
the Red Silk Cotton trees (Bombax malabaricum) are in bloom, numbers
of birds can be seen about the large flowers. Whether they are after
the nectar, the dew collected in the cup of the blossom, or the insects
attracted by the nectar is not known for certain, and this is a question
which photography might well be able to answer. Probably the truth
lies in a combination of all three, as not all of the many species of birds
seen at the flowers are habituai insect-eaters. Whatever the attrac-
tion, there is no doubt that one of the results is that the birds assist in
the pollination of the flowers. Many kinds of birds are also attracted
by the tapping of toddy palms, but again whether by the liquid or the
insects attracted by the liquid is not certain. Probably each is an
attraction to certain kinds of birds. The writer has certainly seen a
Tickell’s Flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchum) catching the drops
of liquid as they fell.
Commensalism is another allied subject that has so far received
156 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
comparatively little attention. Cattle Egrets (Bubulceus 7b¢s), mynas and
wagtails can often be seen foraging about grazing cattle and it is
known that they obtain benefit from doing so in the form of insects dis-
turbed from the grass by the movements of the beasts. Just what benefit
birds find from foraging or consorting together is less clear. What,
for instance, is the underlying reason for small birds to join together
in mixed hunting parties, or for Rosy Pastors (Pastor rvoseus), for
instance, to join together in flocks of their own kind, outside the
breeding season? Is the only reason that wagtails roast together
the shortage of suitable roosting places? Why do birds nest and live
in colonies like the Weaver Birds? These are all questions to which
no final answer has yet been found.
5. CONCLUSION
Bird ecology is only in its infancy and there is enormous scope for
experiment and research. Teams of observers, each one an expert in
his own subject, are ideal for the full study ofa limited area and the
structure of the community inhabiting it, but a single watcher working
on his own can still do alot of useful work. The control of some
central body directing the activities of numerous observers spread over
the whole country is essential to the success of some kinds of investiga-
tion; in the British Isles this function is fulfilled by the British Trust
for Ornithology. ‘This central body should also act as a clearing and
storage house for individual reports and records, even if they are never
published, where they may be available for reference and comparison
by other workers. In its present state almost any contribution to
ecological knowledge is likely to be useful, provided only that it is
accurate.
REFERENCES
Champion, H.G. (1936): ‘A Preliminary Survey of the Forest Types of
India and Burma’, Jud. For. Rcds. (New Series), Sylviculture, Vol. 1,
No. 1. 1-287.
Lister, M. D. (1951): ‘Some Bird Associations of Bengal’, /.B.N.A.S.
49 (4) ; 695-728.
Nicholson, E. M, (1931) : ‘ The Art of Bird Watching’. Witherby, London.
———— —- (1939): ‘ Report on the Lapwing Habitat Enquiry, 1937’.
Brit, Birds, XXXII (6) ; 170-271.
SUCCESSION OF THE MANGROVE VEGETATION OF
BOMBAY AND SALSETTE ISLANDS
BY
B. S. NAVALKAR
(Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Bombay, 1)
(With two plates)
[ENERO DUC TION
While studying the ecology of the mangrove vegetation of Bombay
and Salsette Islands, it was thought that it would be interesting tc study
the succession of the mangroves and its governing factors. Previously
Blatter (2) studied the mangroves of Bombay and its biology; Biswas
1) made a comparative study of Indian species of Avicennia. Similarly
Cooke (3) has described some of the species in his Flora of the Presi-
dency of Bombay. But no attempt had so far been made to trace the
succession of the mangroves. Due to earlier detailed study of rocks, soil
salinity, soi] humidity and biotic factors of the mangroves by Navalkar
& Bharucha (4), it has been possible to trace out, in the present work,
the different stages of the succession.
The existing mangrove vegetation in Bombay and Salsette Islands
is spread on the shores of the creeks and coast of the surrounding sea.
These shores of the creeks are an alluvial deposit of recent formation,
as has been previously mentioned in the earlier work (4).
THE VARIOUS STAGES OF MANGROVE VEGETATION
The succession of the mangrove vegetation is governed by four
factors: (1) Disintegration of rocks, (2) Soil salinity, (3) Soil humidity
and (4) Biotic factors,
Due to the biotic influence, the mangrove vegetation is fast dis-
appearing from the coasts of these islands; plants are either cut by the
inhabitants near by for fuel, or uprooted and eaten away by cattle, as
fodder. In Bombay there is a constant cutting and grazing of the man-
grove vegetation, so that plants like Avicennia alba Blume, which
normally grow into trees, are never seen here except as shrubs. This
intensive cutting and browsing has resulted in the almost total elimina-
tion of some of the species; Lumunztzera racemosa seen on the shores of
Bandra in 1934, now is there no more. Another important biotic factor
resulting in the gradual disappeararce of this vegetation is sewage. At
Worli, Dadar and Bandra near the mouths of the sewage disposal pipes
even hardy species like Avicennia-alba Blume are unable to grow, and
it will be interesting to find out what exactly is the factor responsible
for this.
There are about 12 mangrove species round about Bombay and
Salsette. Of these only one seems to be predominant, viz. Avicennia
158 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
alba Blume. Hence this mangrove association can be named as
Avicennia alba Association, consisting of the following species:
(1) Avicennia alba Blume. ! erg
(2) Avicennia officinalis Linn. J YSIS Ue
(3) Acanthus dicttoltus Linn. j u
(4) Aegiceras majus Gaertn.
(5) Bruguiera gymnorhiza Lam.
(6) Ceriops candolleana Arn.
(7) Excaecaria agallocha. Linn.
(8) Lumnitzera racemosa Willd.
(9) Kandelia rheedit Wight. & Arn.
(10) Rhizophora mucronata Lam.
(11) Sonneratia acida Linn.
(12) Sonneratia apetala Ham.
first Stage.
(a) This association at its optimum stage of development is 46. ‘he:
seen on the foreshores of the creeks, where the tidal water bathes the.
vegetation twice daily, in other words this association lies between low
and high tide lines... But it is rarely that all the species mentioned
above are found atatime. It is only in such far away places 45 Ghod-
bunder that there are possibilities of finding a complete association.
But this, too, has in recent years been made impossible by man.
Ruthless-cutting has resulted in the destruction and disappearance of
almost all- the species except Avzcennia alba. So that. to’ speak of.
Avicennia alba Association today is a misnomer. It is for this reason
that inthe -present study-not much. attention has. been- paid: ta. fer
ane pee Avicennia alba. 722 O02 I Sarees: ert
~_ PS i Sete # = 2 Cbs ae eho aa 2 SS
Second Gare ete rotisi ChE Wie bo LOGS Ohi? GiSh SPOT BES Spe aR
(6) In those places where the shore is broad and extends inwards
passing the high tide line, the vegetation changes with- decreasing
salinity of the soil. As mentioned above, due to the great influence of
cutting, most. of: ‘the ‘species have ‘disappeared “from the’ first Stage
except Avicennia alba and Acanthus tlicttolius. These persist. with
increasing distance from the shore due to their high germination
capacity and form the second stage of succession. This. ‘means that
this stage of Avicenna alba and Acanthus ilicifolius is found on higher
ground and in less.saline soil than the main association...
(c¢) However it is found that in those areas where sweet. water from
rivers mingles with that of the creek, as at Mumbra, where Ulhas river
flows, the main association is deflected toa Siege dominated By. Certops
candolleana and Acanthus ilicttoltus. ae :
Third Stage.
-(d) With 1 increasing biotic factors and greater distance from the shore
Acanthus ilicttolius disappears and the 2nd stage then turns into a pure
stage of Avicennia alba. This is probably due to the hardiness. of the
plant and its higher range of adaptability, for it is found also - ‘on
slightly weathered rocks at Colaba, Mahaluxmi, and Wott oe
*eIQUIN]
‘eIpueg WOl} vq7p viNUuaIIEP Wolf smiofi91z0 snYyyUuvIP pue wuvazopuvd sdotsag
‘ADVIS ae "ADVLS (V)Z
404] / S0jJOUg
—
‘Aequiog Ivau— urIy
‘eIpueg UWIOIf swiof191720 snyJUDIP pUe VvqID vIUUaILp woly (ase}s wmnuitjdo) uolzeDossy vqzy vinuaap
‘HOVLS ANZ oy eS. ist
II aLVIg
“eMIG{—P1q UN JT
sndoanjap pue wnasvovnjzsog wniansas
‘ADVIS HIS
WRPOUISDA WNnTOGESD GY pue suagad Ssnqdoanjay
MIVLY HiLy
SOloug
‘P[ePeA WOI, mnsAsvovInj4og mntiaAnsas
‘ADVLS HIP
EP Senbte a &
‘90S “ISIH “LVN AvaWog ‘Nuno
_ SUCCESSION OF THE-MANGROVE VEGETATION 159
Fourth Stage.
(ce) When the distance from the shore is sufficiently big and where
the tidal water bathes the soil for a short time Acanthus cliccfolius
‘shows signs of disappearance and is replaced by Sesuvium portula-
castrum Forsk. As a-‘tresult one finds big patches of land covered
completely by this plant at Bandra, Mahim and Vadala.
Fitth Stage. ri - er Se
(f) With increasing height and decreasing salinity above sea level,
Sesuvium portulacasirum is invaded by the grass, Aeluropus repens
Parl. These two form the 5th stage of succession.
Sixth Stage. POU. , , :
*"--(g)-With increase in the-above two factors,-Aeluropus repens. Parl.
with Digitaria marginata Link., D. fimbriata Link., Paspalum vagina-
tum Sw., Sporobolus glaucifolius Hochst., S. ordentalés Knuth., S. pallidus
Boiss., Cyperus compressus Linn.,- C. votundus Linn., Fimbréstylis
terruginea Vahl., F. polytrichoides Vahl., Scirpus ferruginea Vahl. form
the halophytic pastureland. . =.
Seventh Stage. : cay T) es rg
_ €h) Finally may be mentioned the most arid stage of succession and
‘one which can thrive-in ‘soils with very little salinity, the Clevodendron
inerme stage. This stage is found-generally on the bunds of salt- pans
and includes plants like Swaeda fruticosa Forsk., Arthrocnemum indicum
‘Moai, Atriplex stocksiz Boiss, and Salvadora persica linn. That the
plants of this stage thrive well in least saline soil, is proved from the
fact that Clerodendron inerme Gaertn. has become a hedge plant in
Bombay gardens.
The succession traced above, is diagrammatically represented in
the following table:
SUCCESSION OF VEGETATION IN THE MANGROVE SWAMPS OF
BOMBAY AND SALSETTE
Soil | Baty ae Stages of Succession
Blackish or grayish of clay 1. Avicennia alba Association
and salt. Always inundated (Optimum Stage)
and swampy, lying between 2. Avicennia alba and Acan-
low and high tide marks. thus tlicifolius Stage.
High level of ground with Cutting and 2(a). Ceriops candolleana and
_ less-salinity of the soil. burning Acanthus iticifolius Stage.
Areas where sweet water
mingles with creek water.-
Greater distance from shore Increase in 3. <Avicennia alba Stage.
and weathered rocks. biotic factor
Still greater distance from 4, Sesuvium portulacastrum
the shore. Stage.
Increase in height above the 5. Sesuvium portulacastrum
sea level and decreasing and Aeluropus repens
salinity. | Stage,
Still increase in height above | 6. Aeluropus repens and Pas-
the sea level and decreasing balum vaginatum Stage,
salinity.
Increasing aridity and very 7. Clerodendron inerme Stage,
little salinity.
DI TN A a oa
160 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
SUMMARY
In the present study an attempt is made to trace the different stages
of succession of mangrove vegetation of Bombay and Salsette islands.
The mangroves are mostly dominated by Avicennia species. The
different stages of succession are traced and it is found that the near-
ness of sea and consequently the salinity of the soil, together with the
biotic factor, are chiefly responsible for the succession.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincere thanks are due to Professor F. R. Bharucha, F.N.L.,
D.sc., for suggesting and taking interest in the work, and to Professor
S. P. Agharkar, F.N.1., for general guidance and suggestions from time
to time. I have also to thank Rev. Fr. Dr. H. Santapau for correcting
the paper critically and making useful suggestions.
REFERENCES
1. Biswas K. (1934): A comparative study of Indian species of Avicennia.
Notes R.B.G. Edin, UXXXIX.
2. Blatter, E. (1905): The Mangrove of the Bombay Presidency and _ its
Biology. Journ. Bomb. Nat. His. Soc., XVI.
3. Cooke, T. (1908) : The Flora of the Presidency of Bombay.
4. Navalkar, B. S. and F. R. Bharucha: Study in the Ecology of Mangroves.
J, III, IV and V (1940, 1942, 1948 and 1949). Journ. Univ, Bomb.
REVIEW
Some Nee et EROUGH THE YEAR. By Frances Pitt.
Pp. 300. Macmillan & Co. Ltd., London (1950). Price 18s. net.
Miss Pitt’s latest book appears to be a reprint of articles published
week by week through the year. She gives a good picture of the
course of life for birds, insects and other creatures season by season
in the English Midland counties. The book is enlivened with numerous
charming photographs.
Miss Pitt has an easy chatty style She wanders from one subject
to another. There is no attempt to explore any matter to its roots.
She is content to make her comments, often pertinent, and then to
pass on to another topic. But the book is full of country lore.
It could advantageously have been more carefully edited for
publication. We are told the same facts about badgers and about -
rats two or three times. The proper names for the male and female
swan recur. There is, indeed, quite an annoying amount of vain
repetition.
Another book of somewhat similar character came into my hands
recently. “The Strange World of Nature’ by Bernard Gooch
(Lutterworth Press, tos. 6d.). Mr. Gooch, like Miss Pitt, finds
frogs and spiders just as fascinating as tits and woodpeckers. But
Mr. Gooch, without ever becoming dull or difficult to follow, penetrates
much more profoundly into the mysteries of natural life. Miss Pitt,
like most of us, takes her morning walk, stops for a few moments
here and there, comes home again and writes her report of things
seen and heard.. Mr. Gooch, though he does not tell you so, has the
capacity for concentrating all his faculties, hour after hour, on one
seemingly trivial aspect of natural life. And what amazing discoveries
he makes! Slugs, we learn from him, suspend themselves in the
air on a self-produced thread of slime, in order to mate with one
another. Snails shoot a cupid’s dart at the intended mate. Wasps
sometimes use a small stone as a tool for hammering the earth. You
do not believe it? Then read Mr. Gooch’s book and [ think he will
convince you.
Miss Pitt’s book serves pleasantly enough to pass an idle hour.
But Mr. Gooch leads you through magic casements into undiscovered
worlds.
; H.G.A.
The following books have been added to the Society’s Library
since April 1951 :—
1. CHECK-LIst oF BIRDS OF THE WorLp. Volume VII. By
James Lee Peters. (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge,
IQ51).
‘i A Dictionary or Biotocy. By M. Abercrombie, C. J. Hickman
and M. L. Johnson. (Penguin Reference Book, 1951).
3. ANIMALS WITHOUT BACKBONES. Volumes I and II. By Ralph
Buchsbaum. (A Pelican Book, 1951).
4. BEES—THEIR VISION, CHEMICAL SENSES AND LANGUAGE. By
Karl von Frisch. (Cornell University Press, 1950).
11
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
1. THE INDIAN WILD DOG
Notes on Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton’s article published in Vol. 41 (4):
| 692-715.
Wild and Partah Dogs, Page'692. I'know of’.a case
of a smallish red pariah bitch that used to play with the wild dogs
whenever they came near the village cattle. Unfortunately no record
of any inter-breeding was obtained.
Another black and white pariah dog from the coolie lines used to
follow the wild dogs if they ran a sambar anywhere near, and used
to return full fed, so the coolies used to follow it when it went for
another meal, hoping to get a bit of meat themselves. When it met
the pack it used to lie on the ground very apologetically and whine.
Two Species, Page 693. The Mysore shikaris (not profes-
sional) near the Western Ghats used to say there were two species,
and gave the name of ‘whistling dog’ to the smaller one, probably
because being young their call was shriller. Professor Littledale’s
suggestion seems correct, and the big packs were probably composed
of several three-quarter grown litters. The largest dog I ever saw
was a solitary, well known to the coolies who often met him hunting
ion his own, but it was not shot.
Pairs were also seen hunting together, and more often they were
running a barking deer than a sambar. Once a big pack was apparent-
ly beating a long strip of jungle, with two or three dogs posted at
- each gap in the ridge on one side, at which game would be likely to
break, the other side of the jungle being estate.
Colouration, Page 695. I’ve never seen a completely white
tip to a tail on the Western Ghats, only a few white hairs; but dogs
very often had a white patch with red spots on one paw.
Litters, Page“6o97.° ‘I once took”a ‘litter-of 11 ‘cubs fromean
earth. The bitch came out in a beat, and got away wounded. Beaters
reported the earth, and I sat over it and shot the dog, and then dug out
the litter. There was no indication of two litters in the one earth.
I tried to rear the cubs, but they were very wild and died off one by
one, though one survived about a year.
Voice, Page 7oo. I.found an empty .303 cartridge used as a
whistle to be the best note for calling up dogs, pressure should be
decreased at the end to give a wailing note, and dogs answered it
especially if they had been scattered by a shot, or driven off a kill,
and it usually paid to alter position and to take good cover.
Cattie killing, Page 703. J verknown: several instances
of full grown cattle being killed by dogs, the worst being when a
pack stampeded a herd of cattle which charged into a nursey under a
pandal, and five or six cattle were pulled down in the nursery, and
unfortunately only one dog was shot, as the cattleman only possessed
a S.B. muzzle-loader.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 163
Attitude to Mankind, Page 706. I remember two
instances of coolies being treed by dogs. Two coolies tried to drive
the dogs off a kill, but the dogs came at them snarling so they climbed
trees, and stayed there till the dogs fed and cleared off. Another
cooly met a pack on the cart road, which did not clear off when he
shouted, but came on, so he climbed a tree, and the dogs sat around
under the tree for a bit looking at him.
I checked up on this by the tracks in the dust.
Wild ws. Domestic Dogs, Page 709. On two occasions
I had my terriers chased by wild dogs, which only stopped when I
rode at them shouting. Once a terrier running a line was killed and
eaten, judging by the hair in the wild dog droppings. I have how-
ever seen a big solitary wild dog running from quite a small fox
terrier, but the wild dog may have spotted me.
Toughness, Page 712. I confirm their toughness and vitali-
ty, and consider that proportionately they take more killing than
any other animal in these parts.
YELLIKODIGI ESTATE, A. MIDDLETON
CHIKMAGALUR DISTRICT,
Mysore STATE, 3
20th March, 1951.
2. A WILD DOG INCIDENT
One evening I went for a walk with our four dogs, a black cocker
spaniel, two black and tan dachshunds, and a golden retriever. I
emphasise the colour as it seems to have some bearing on this incident.
We took a path through some thick bamboo jungle, and suddenly
they all picked up the scent of something, and disappeared, barking
excitedly. I had seen nothing, and thought they were on the scent
of a hare as usual. I whistled, and after a few- minutes the three
black ones returned, tails down, and obviously very unhappy about
something. They would not leave my side, and sat crouching as
near me as they could get. This worried me somewhat, as the re-
triever was not mine. I was only looking after him while his owners
were on leave in England. Moreover he was an old gentleman, nearly
Ir years, and had two years previously been badly gored by a wild
boar.
After about five minutes of silence, I heard him barking in the
distance, and whistled to him again. This time he came, tail up, look-
ing extremely pleased with himself. To my amazement he was leading
a pack of wild red dogs, who had obviously accepted him as one
of themselves. He came over to where I stood, and for a few seconds
we all stood and looked at each other, the pack 15 ft. away, and our
four, and myself. Then the wild ones turned and disappeared the
way they came. I counted five, but there may have been more. —
Another thing that impressed me was the polite manner in which
they saw ‘Bowler home’, so to speak. He was obviously very thrilled
at being accepted as ‘one of the boys.’ Why the other three dogs were
164 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
so frightened, I cannot say. I can only assume they were the wrong
colour to be recognised as the same species.
‘CHEMBRA PEAK ESTATE, JOYCE C. WINTERBOTHAM
‘CHEMBRA P.O.,
via MEPPAD, MALABAR,
27th March, 1951.
3. REARING A BABY CEYLON GREY FLYING SQUIRREL
(PETAURISTA PHILIPPENSIS LANKA) |
(With a photo)
March 5th (1951) saw the arrival of a new and somewhat strange
baby—a very young and helpless Grey Flying Suirrel of the local
race lanka.
It was brought in while I was in my office, by a villager from
below the estate (Galapitakande) who said that he had found it in a
hole in a branch when he was cutting down a dead tree for firewood.
He did not see the mother-squirrel so, presumably, she must have
escaped, unseen, as soon as the cutting down started.
The baby flying squirrel was very young—probably little more than
a week old—but I had no means of ascertaining his exact age. He
- just fitted nicely into the palm of the hand, as a warm, furry, greyish
ball.
My wife took to him at once; he was so pathetically helpless,
yet so attractive with his large dark eyes, and his long, black, furry
tail wrapped round his little soft body. Preparations to feed and
rear him were immediately made-—although he looked a little young
for hand rearing. A tin of Klim, another of glucose and a little
‘calcium were produced, together with a glass tube-bottle, for use
as a feeding bottle, with a piece of felt wrapped round it to form a
feeding-funnel and mouth-piece. Felt appears to suit most young
animals better than rubber as they can get hold of it and suck it more
easily. Every two hours, throughout the day, from 6 a.m. to Io p.m.
was the routine to start with, but after a week or so longer intervals
and larger feeds were given so that within ten days of his arrival he
was having two teaspoons of Klim, two of glucose and a pinch of
calcium at each feed, well mixed with hot water and allowed to cool
off. To this was added, after the first week, a little mashed plantain,
after it had been put through a sieve. When not feeding, he slept
very soundly, loosely wrapped in an old, knitted, woollen shawl, in
a small box-cage where he was as warm and as snug as he would
have been with his own mother.
Right from the day he was brought to us he thrived on this diet,
so that after three weeks or so he had more than doubled his size and
was able to sit up, in a proper squirrel like attitude and grasp his feed-
ing tube in both his little, hand-like forepaws.
Now, just two months after his arrival, he is a fine animal ie a
long, silky, grey coat, just the colour of Silver-fox fur, a long, bushy
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 16%
black tail and black limbs with little maked knuckles to his long
slender forepaws. He is perfectly tame and lops along to meet his
mistress, when he is out playing in the evening. No longer does he
have to be hand fed; he feeds himself, selecting his food from a very
mixed diet consisting of tomatoes, sweet-potatoes (yams), nuts, raisins.
and plantains, washed down with his usual Klim or other milk-powder,
glucose and calcium from a bowl. Cow’s milk he does not have as,,
Young ¢ Ceylon Grey Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis lanka)
being fed with milk sclution
curiously enough, cow’s milk does not agree with the majority of
small wild animals.
Until the evening, he likes to lie sleeping in his covered-box, but
as dusk falls he becomes active, if not lively, and hops around in
his rather ungainly manner or climbs up anything handy—preferably
cloths to a convenient shoulder. He is very gentle and confiding, but
if alarmed he will grunt at the intruder in a curious Bandicoot-like
manner and attempt to frighten him away. I have heard no other
sound from hun.
Flying squirrels of this species are to be met with in the well-wooded
foothills of this neighbourhood. They are certainly not common, but
being purely nocturnal they are probably more numerous than they
appear. Although they are, perhaps, more plentiful in the lower foot-
hills, they have been encountered even on the Horton Plains, at
altitudes of over 7,000 feet.
TTONACOMBE,
NAMUNUKULA, WwW. W., A-, PHILLIPS
7th May, 1951.
166 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 56
4. GAUR ATTACKING MAN
I thought you might be interested in the following account of an
attack by a bull bison on a solitary coolie which ended fatally.
Between the Anamallai Hills and the High Range Hills, at an
elevation of about 6,500 feet, there is a large stretch of grassy downs
with small patches of shola on them. Through this country runs a
short-cut of some 20 miles occasionally used by coolies though generally
only parties travel together on account of the numbers of bison and
elephants which are to be found there. At the beginning of March
two coolies on their way back from the High Range came upon the
body of a coolie who had come over ahead of them on his own. He
had apparently come upon a solitary bull bison on the path just after
he had crossed a small stream (which is a popular watering place for
bison) and they believed he threw stones at it, though this is not certain.
The bison anyhow charged him and gave him a good tossing, and
ripped him up a bit with its horns and then after trampling on the
aa make sure of its job, it left the scene.
J. S. MacPherson the Asst. Manager of Akkamallai Estate
me ee saw the body on the spot, wrote to me and said that the
coolie’s cloth was found hanging in the branches of a tree (showing
how high he was tossed). The body was very badly gored. One horn
had entered below the left shoulder blade and had ripped diagonally
upwards passing through the spine at the base of the neck. The other
inajor injury was an abdominal one and was even more gruesome as
his stomach and intestines were tucked under his left arm. Mr.
MacPherson’s theory for this accident is, that the bison while coming
for a drink at its watering place, finding the coolie in the way, promptly
charged and killed him, probably being aggravated by the coolie
throwing stones at it (though I personally think that no sensible
ccoolie would do such a thing). If anyone shoots the bison another
reason might be found such as an old wound or something.
The particular solitary bull bison who lived in this locality was
well known to me and certainly on the numerous occasions I met
it, it never attempted to be aggressive. The only theory (other
than the one above) that I can put forward is that the bison had been
mauled by a tiger and later seeing the coolie mistook him for the ©
enemy and proceeded to get his own back.
It is of interest to add that some two weeks before the above
incident I shot a bull bison about 2 miles away from the scene, which
had been very badly mauled indeed by a tiger about the face and
neck—one of the healing scars being over 2 feet in length. This
bison was in a herd of 19 and none of them appeared aggressive, least
of all the bull which I shot.
Perhaps some more experienced person can put forward other
theories ?
Rouspon Mutat Estate, ANGUS F. HUTTON
Devata P.O.,
NILeir1 WyYNAaAD,
237d April, 1951.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 167
. THE GREAT INDIAN RORQUAL OR FIN-WHALE
BALAENOPTERA INDICA BLYTH OFF UMARGAM
(BOMBAY STATE)
The carcase of a whale—Balaenoptera indica Blyth, was washed
ashore at Umargam on 14th May, 1951 (100 miles off Bombay on
the B.B. & C.I. line) which had the following measurements.
Total length (tip of snout to tip of flukes) 74 ft.
do (don to centre of fukes) 168 if.
Bluke 6 ft:
Height 5 ft: 5 imches.
Snout 13 ft. 6 inches.
Width just behind the head, between flippers 21 ft.
Flipper 6 {t. 1 inch.
Lower jaw 16 ft. 3 inches.
The carcase was in a high state of putrefaction rendering any
anatomical examination impossible.
The last whale record off Bombay was that of an immature speci-
men—Balaenoptera sp.—stranded at Mahim on 12th April 1949 taping
20 ft., published in Volume 48, No. 2, pp. 358, by Mr. N. G. Pillai.
BomBay NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,
BomBaAy, . V..K.. CHARI.
24th May, 1951. Assistant Curator,
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BIG GAME HUNTING AND
SHOOTING IN INDIA AND THE EAST
[Published in Vol. 48, No. 2. (August 1950).]
ADDENDA
The following titles to be added :—
AUTHOR TITLE PUBLISHED
29a. Berg, Bengt .. PA JAKT ENORNINGEN. 1932
Deals with Rhinoceros and
some other animals. 67 plates.
29 b. hae aarie .. ‘'TIGRAR’. 1934
Tiger and other animals, scenery
and people. 68 plates.
53 a. Burton, Capt. R.G. TROPICS AND SNOWS. 1898
58 b. Carruthers, Douglas BEYOND THE CASPIAN. 1950
73a. Cunningham, Col, INDIAN SHIKAR NOTES. 1929
A. H.
77a. Demidoff, E. ... A SHOOTING TRIP TO KAMCHATKA 1904
92 a. Fawcus, L. R., REPORT OF THE GAME AND 1943
¥,C:S. GAME FISHES PRESERVATION
COMMITTEE on the existing
species of Game in Bengal in-
cluding a specially interesting
article on the Rhinoceros in
Bengal.
114 a. Gordon Graham, HUNTER AT HEART. 195
B. N
~
168 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
AUTHOR TITLE PUBLISHED
143.a. Journal of the Dar- 1923 to 1930. Title changed in
jeeling Natural 1930 to the Bengal Natural
History Society. History Society, 1930 to 1949 and
onwards (?)
155 a. Lambert, Cowley. A TRIP TO CASHMERE AND LADAK 1877
(in 1874)
169 a. Mathias,H.V .... FIVE WEEKS’ SPORT IN THE 1864
INTERIOR OF THE HIMALAYAS.
174 a. Mohan Jai Ram USEFUL INSTRUCTION IN SHooT- 1885
Gir, Shri ING. 7
(Printed in English and Hindi
in parallel columns. Thirteen
chapters, and a number of very
amusing illustrations.)
36a. Bloomfield, ... LHE DOINGS AND DESTRUCTION OF-~ —-—
Col. Arthur THE MOST MURDEROUS ROGUE
(C.P. elephant).
160 a. Leveson, H. A. ... HUNTING GROUNDS OF THE OLD 1878
WORLD. (?)
Part 1. India; Part II. Circassia ;
‘ Part IDL . Algeria; Part LV:
Firearms Hints.
as CORRIGENDA
On page 235, under Lydekker, enter :—
6a. lLydekker, R. ... CATALOGUE OF THE HEApDS AND 1913
HorNs OF INDIAN BIG GAME
bequeathed by A. O. Hume, Esaq.,
to the British Museum of Natu-
ral History.
‘On page 235, Pigsticking. Insert between the two entries :—
« Raoul” .... PIGSTICKING IN BENGAL. —.
On page 239, under Zzon, enter:
23a. Lion 2¢, DHE oo KATHIAWAR ~ Lion. By? A9U)
Lt.-Col. A. A. Fenton. Vol. 20,
No. 53, (pp.2 73? to77524,+bhis
deals with hunting the Lion in
Gir Forest.
Opposite item 23, enter year of publication 1909:
On page 239, under Lon, strike out the line: (also see
Vol. 48. 493-515, 1909)
On page 239, enter :—
23 b.~ Lion .. THE GIR FOREST ANDITS Lions. 1949
By M. A. Wynter-Blyth.
Part I. With a Map. A full 1949
and informative description
of the area. Vol. 48, pp. 493-
514.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 169
Part II. By M. A. Wynter- 1950
Blyth and Kumar Shree Dhar-
makumarsinhji, Vol. 49, No.
3, pp. 456-470. The Test _
Count—The Census—Conclu-
sions and Recommendations—
History of Junagadh Lions
1886 to 1936.
Part III. By .K. S. Dharma- 1951
kumarsinhji and M. A. Wyn-
ter-Blyth, m.A. Vol. 49, No. 4,
pp. 685-694.
Vegetation—Habits and mea-
surements.
On page 237, opposite item 14, last line, enter year of
publication. 1925
WANTED. Year of publication of items: 58 b, 89, 90, 139,
209 and of ‘ Pigsticking in Bengal’ by ‘ Raoul’.
Members able to supply the above wants, or to make any
suggestions for further additions or amendments are asked to
send these to the Honorary Secretary. |
- BANGALORE, R. W. BURTON,
15th June, 1951. Lt Col, Whe etd.)
7. CROWS HAWKING FISH ON WING
It was early morning of December 31, 1945 and I was walking
along a high bank of the tank at Unjha (a big town on B.B. &. C.I.
Railway, 54 miles north of Ahmedabad), when my attention was at-
tracted by a number of herons and egrets flying over the calm water of
the tank. When crossing over from one side to another, the birds flew
very low, sometimes actually skimming the surface and at suitable
places, they would dip their long bills with part of neck into the water
and pick up fish which they swallowed upon reathing the bank. What
wus more remarkable was the presence of some House Crows among
them, behaving likewise. These crows, about eight in numebr, were
flying in company of the herons and egrets, though not so near the
surface, and imitating their companions by actually diving for fish!
They did not penetrate the water very deep but just broke the surface,
and were not always successful in catching fish. But whenever they
were able to strike a catch, the crows left the herons and egrets and
immediately flew to the nearest bank and devoured the fish piecemeal.
After consuming the fish, they returned to join the herons in fishing.
As the crows are constitutionally unfit for aquatic Ife, their diving
stunts appeared ludicrous. They looked particularly foolish when a
pariah kite—one of several hovering about—pursued an unlucky crow
with a fish in its bill and snatched away the tasty ‘morsel. This game
went on for quite a time till the sun rose and the tank began to be
crowded with cattle and human beings, when the herons and egrets
retired to the shelter of neighbouring trees. The crows too, in the
170 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL pe ae SOCIETY, Vol. 56
absence of their companions, lost interest in fishing and flew off else-
where.
SANATORIUM, SHAHIBAG,
AHMEDABAD, HARINARAYAN G. ACHARYA
oth May, 1951.
8. MATING OF THE HOUSE CROW (CORVUS SPLENDENS
SPLENDENS VIEILLOT)
I am to record the following two experiences which, I hope, will
further help to clear the mystery that still seems to surround the mat-
ing habits of the Indian House Crow in some quarters.
In May, 1946, having been bitten by a mad dog, I had-to attend
the Civil Hospital daily for a fortnight for taking a course of anti-
rabic treatment. This hospital is. situated in the heart of the city
and is much overcrowded at all hours. On the 17th of the month at
12 noon, after taking the injection I was leaving the hospital when
a pair of House Crows flew down from an adjacent tree, apparently
quarrelling, and settled on the ground in the middle of the main gate
and exactly in front of my bicycle. To avoid injuring the birds, I
instantly stopped the bicycle and without alighting, waited for the
birds to fly away. Watching closely, I found that the crows were not
fighting but what appeared to be a ‘quarrel’ was actually their way
of expressing endearment and mutual love preparatory to mating,
for immediately on reaching the ground, the pair started copulating.
The female was sitting on the ground and the male bird was treading her
in the normal manner of birds. The pair were so engrossed that the
continuous passage of human beings through the gate and the noise
and bustle around them did not seem to disturb them.
The birds were hardly a couple of feet from my bicycle and I
could observe the whole function minutely from start to finish. During
the act the male was cawing somewhat loudly but the female only
uttered a sweet and low cooing expressive of her satisfaction. The
act continued for some seconds, when the male bird got off the back of
his mate ard both flew away together into a tree and I proceeded on my
way. About a week after the above incident I got another opportunity
to observe the mating of House Crows. On 26th May 1946 I was re-
turning home after getting my regular dose of injection at the hospital.
Outside the city limits, on the road leading to the Cantonment, I heard
a loud cawing from a roadside tree. I got off my bicycle to investigate.
The female crow was calling softly from a branch in a nim tree, and the
male bird was loudly replying from a superior branch in the same tree
about ten feet away. This continued for two or three minutes, when the
male bird flew down from the upper branch, mounted the female bird
and copulated with her. In this case also there was no haste during the
act and both the birds were silent except for a soft cooing by the female
bird as before. The act must have lasted a few seconds, when the
pair separated and flew away to different trees. The time Of day was
1 3p.m):
SANATORIUM, SHAHIBAG,
AHMEDABAD, HARINARAYAN G. ACHARYA
oth May, 1951. |
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 171
9g. LARGE GREY BABBLER ATTACKING METAL HUB-CAP
OF CAR
In the third week of March, I was staying with friends at 8, King
George’s Avenue, New Delhi. One morning, as I was walking about
in the garden, I heard strange sounds from the direction of my car
which was standing under a tree on the lawn. I found a Large Grey
Babbler behaving exactly as described by Mr. H. G. Alexander on
p. 550 of the Society’s Journal for December 1950. I am sure Mr.
Alexander will be interested to read of this ‘Parallel Experience’ of
an old friend.
‘SOUTHWOOD’
MussooriE U.P. FEAMID: A. ALI
22nd April, 1951.
10. BIRDS ATTACKING THEIR REFLECTIONS
I am inclined to disagree with Mr. H. G. Alexander in his opinion
that the babbler which attacked the hub-cap of his car did so for auditory
rather than for visual reasons (p. 550 of the Journal, Vol. 49, No. 3).
YT once had a similar experience with a House Sparrow (Passer
domesticus) and a small shaving mirror. The latter, when pecked,
made only a dull rattling sound, but my sparrow waged war on it
for some hours with an appearance of extreme annoyance which I
attributed to the clear reflection of himself which he had in front
of him.
This happened in Mominabad in the north-western part of Hyderabad
State, while I was spending a couple of days in a dak bungalow.
The sparrow, a cock bird, arrived in my bathroom shortly after I had
unpacked my kit and at once began to attack my shaving mirror,
chirruping hard. He kept this up for the rest of that day and for
the whole of the next morning, until I packed up once more to
leave. He was absent during the day for only very short intervals. I
had ample time to spare and so sat for some hours watching him,
and when I realised how engrossed he was in his campaign, I drew a
chair close up to the scene of operations and in a very short time, by
making my hand the only convenient place on which to stand in front
of the mirror, I had him perching on my finger and continuing his
attacks from there.
That he was really annoyed with his imagined rival, I am quite
certain, for he permitted me to raise my hand some distance in the air
so long as I kept the mirror near with the other hand. As soon as I
lifted him too far from the mirror he would hop off my finger and
carry on the fight from some other vantage point. He even ended up
by pecking fiercely at my knuckles when he could not get at the
mirror, and I am convinced that had he been merely fascinated by
the sound of his beak against the glass he would not have been so
fearless of my movements. As it was, I think that he was indeed so
concerned with the rival in the mirror on whom he could make no
impression, that he failed to react in the normal way to the presence
of a by no means motionless human hand.
Honckone House,
CALCUTTA, Pp. Ff. CUMBERLEGE
gotn. Apri; 1951.
172 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 30
ir. STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF THE JUNGLE BABBLER
(TURDOIDES TERRICOLOR)
One of our neighbours owns a Hillman car, which he occasionally
parks for the night in the compound in front of our house. The
wheels of this car have shining convex nickel-plated hub-caps with
a smooth surface. On Sunday, the 6th May 1951, at about 7 a.m.,
I was idly watching three Jungle Babblers (Turdoides terricolor)
feeding on the ground in front of my house. When they reached
the front off-side wheel, they suddenly started jumping up and peck-
ing vigorously at their reflections in the metal hub-cap. <A fourth
bird joined them. The pecking was so vigorous that the loud and
sharp ‘thud’ ‘thud’ of their beaks on the metal plate could easily
be: heard at a distance of 25 yards. Not satisfied with jumping up
from the ground to peck, two of the four birds took their station
on the rim of the metal cover on opposite sides and kept on drum-
ming. This must have lasted for over a minute when, apparently
disgusted by the cowardly behaviour of their opponents within, the
four babblers in a body moved to the rear off-side wheel and repeated
the performance with very little variation. This time only the original
three birds took part in the onslaught; the fourth bird, after a couple
of half-hearted pecks, lost interest in the fray and moved away in
search of better sport. The three musketeers, when they found that
even here there was no response to their challenge, again returned to
the front off-side wheel and renewed their attacks once more.
After a time, they went round the front end of the car to its other side
and started pecking on the metal cover of the front right-side wheel.
After vigorous pecking for a minute or so, when they found that their
attempt to provoke the birds there also failed, they got under the
car and crossed over to the other side and started pecking at the cap on
the front off-side wheel. Meeting with continued lack of response
the three babblers quieted down and without further efforts few away
to fresh pastures.
On 8th May, 1951 I again—this time in company of my family and
several children from the neighbourhood—witnessed the same perfor-
mance repeated. The time was 1 p.m.; the number of performers 2 to 4
Jungle Babblers. The attack was repeated at intervals of a few
minutes: this time only on the front and back hub-caps on the off-side
of the car which was in shade, the birds moving in and out of the
adjoining shrubbery for repeated attacks. They were still at it when
Tleft the place atj1:45 p.m.
The metal covers are 12” across and their lower edge comes to
within about 7” of the ground level. On examination I found that
the figures of the attacking birds reflected in the metal cover, though
much reduced, were in no way distorted, for squatting at a distance
of a couple of feet from the wheel, I found my own reflection quite
proportionate.
Our house is situated in a big compound with several large trees
and a small garden. There are about 23 Jungle Babblers living in
this compound. The birds are sometimes found moving together, but
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 173
usually they live upto their name of ‘Sat Bhai’: ‘Sat’, here meaning
anything from five to nine. They are absolutely fearless and boldly
enter our house whenever they wish to. On the verandah, we have a
wide sofa-like wooden swing, fitted with a looking glass in the middle
of the back-rest. This has always proved a red-rag to the Jungle
Babblers. Every day and at all hours, a party of these birds comes to
the mirror and whiles away considerable time in pecking vigorously
on the glass surface at their own reflections in it. When the attackers
are more than one, they, instead of jumping up from the floor of the
swing and pecking on the mirror, actually fly to the sides of the
mirror and holding on to the rim with their feet, peck their heads
away. Getting tired of the unbearable mixed noise of their vocal
clamour and hammering on the glass, my wife often covers the mirror
over with a thick blanket or a folded saree. The birds, however, do
not find the eight folds of a saree a great deierrent and undaunted
they boldly go under the folds of the cloth and start jumping ip and
pecking at the mirror behind the curtain. The undulating swift
movement of the folds of the saree covering the mirror, <ives the
illusion of a writhing snake attempting to free himself of the cover-
ing’.
We are living in this compound for the last thirteen years and
during that period, the Jungle Babblers have been our constant com-
panions and they breed here. I cannot say whether they are the
same birds, but there is no great variation in their number. I have
never seen either the Large Grey Babbler (Argya malcolmi: or the
Common or Striated Bush-Babbler (Argya caudata) in our compound,
though, several years back, two pairs of the Rufous-bellied or Mount
Abu Babbler (Dumetia hyperythra albogularis) had built their nests
close to the wall of our house—one, on ground, in depression at foot
of a cactus plant, 4 eggs, 11-6-1938; the other in a Kund (Jasminum
arborescens) bush about 2 ft. from ground, 3 eggs, 25-8-1938.
The Jungle Babblers are extremely noisy and their boldness is
remarkable. For the past several years, our household has been
lorded over by a family of pet cats. By nature very quiet and always
well fed, some of these cats sometimes do hunt birds, if the effort
is not too great. Their ‘usual prey has been squirrels, pigeons, doves,
an occasional myna and once a Red-vented Bulbul who had become
so bold as to attempt to pick up food from the cat’s table. Even the
nimble-witted Magpie Robin has not been able to escape the attention
of a wary cat. But, strange to say, the cats have never preyed on
the Jungle Babblers. Usually the cats’ food-piates are placed on the
verandah in front of the kitchen and a variety of birds come to feed
from it. But they hardly dare to fly down to the plates if any of the
cats is about. Not so the Jungle Babblers. They not only ccme
to the plates but actually ‘mob’ the cat, who enjoying her siesta,
finds the tremendous babbling too much for her sensitive nerves and
moves away elsewhere, leaving the field to the babblers. The cats,
some of them at least, always dare the peacocks and peahens that
come every morning and evening te our house to be fed by my
wife, but until now no cat has ever caught any of the Jungle
Babblers or has even molested or pursued them. Perhaps the
174 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
cat, being an epicurean in her tastes, does not fancy the Jungle
Babbler. Who can say!
oS
SANATORIUM, SHAHIBAG,
AHMEDABAD, HARINARAYAN G. ACHARYA
Sth May, 1951.
12. THE ASHY SWALLOW-SHRIKE (ARTAMUS FUSCUS
WIEILLOT) AT: A: BIRD, BATH.
(With a photo)
Although I have no evidence of this Swallow-Shrike actually set-
tling on the ground I have proof of the nearest thing to it. Some
years ago while staying with my friend, the late H. V. O’Donel, on
the Huldibari Tea Estate in the Duars, the bird bath was visited by a
F
Grey-headed Myna [| Sturnus m. malabaricus (Gmelin)]. The bath was
in the garden quite close to the house. Immediately afterwards an
Ashy Swallow-Shrike settled on the plinth quite close to the myna.
As my friend had a permanent hide near the bird bath this photograph
was easily obtained. I consider this observation of sufficient interest
for. record. ~
JKENILWORTH,
Coonoor, Cy. MeGINGEIS,
NILGIRIS, FiZsS!,C.M.B.0.0-
14th April, 1951.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 175.
13. OCCURRENCE OF HODGSON’S PIPIT (ANTHUS
ROSEATUS) IN SAURASHTRA
It was at the end of March and beginning of April that I witnessed
the return migration of different kinds of wagtails on the Gaurishanker
lake, Bhavnagar. There were a multitude of them, but what attracted
my attention was a pipit, much like our tree-pipit, walking by itself
on the green grass close to the water’s edge. It was brighter but
appeared much the type which Horace Alexander had recently pointed
out to me in Delhi as Hedgson’s Pipit. That bird I never saw again,
but in trying to rediscover it I came across a number of others in fresh
plumage—vinous pink or warm buffy breasts, heavy striations on the
upper parts and conspicuous black streaks on the flanks—-answering
to what Alexander had described as their breeding plumage. There
were also a few without the bright breasts. But as I had never met
the species here before, specimen collecting was the only way of
confirming my identification. It was more than difficult to approach
the birds as they took wing just out of range; and as soon as I flushed
a bird it chased another and the pair settled far away, always keeping
to the waterside. I finally managed to collect three of which two were
sent to the Bombay Natural History Society for verification. Salim
Ali informs me that he has never seen this species fron further
south than Gwalior so this would seem to be a new record.
Dit BaAuar,
BHAVNAGAR, K. S. DHARMAKUMARSINHJI
1st May, 1951.
14. DISTRIBUTION OF THE BLUE-BEARDED BEE-EATER
[NYCTIORNIS ATHERTONI (JARDINE & SELBY)]
With reference to ‘Notes on some Asiatic Meropidae’ by Daniel
Marien in Vol. 49. No. 2 (p. 162) I have to point out that Mr. E. H. N.
Lowther in his book ‘A Bird Photographer in India’ reports on page
34 the occurrence of the Blue-bearded Bee-eater at Topchanchi Reservoir
in the Manbhum District of Chota Nagpur.
I have also come across another reported occurrence of the species
in Chota Nagpur, where according to Mr. Marien the bird has not been
seen. A pair was seen on 5-11-44 by Captain R. H. Baillie at Hazaribagh,
and was reported by him in the Journal of the Bengal Natural History
Society (Vol. XX, No. 4, April, 1946). Dr. S. C. Law commenting
on Captain Baillie’s recordings in a series of critical notes in subsequent
issues of the same journal referred to his own experience of the bird-
life of Hazaribagh and said that the Blue-bearded Bee-eater was rare
in the District and its status and distribution uncertain.
I have never seen the Blue-bearded Bee-eater myself in Chota Nagpur
proper, but I have seen it a little to the north-east at Gidhaur in Monghyr
District. According to Mr. Marien himself the bird was collected in
476 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Surguja, at Ramanujganj, which village is separated from the Palamau
District of Chota Nagpur only by a narrow stream.
c/o Samt AHMAD, Esg., JAMAL ARA -
ForEsT Rest House, :
Minoo, P.O., RANCHI,
5th March, 1951.
i5:/ “BIRDS OF THE LONDA NEIGHBOURHOOD =—
A CORRECTION
In the journal Vol. 45, p. 236 while referring to the erroneous re-
cords of the occurrence of Gyps fuluus around Bombay we doubted
Koelz’s inclusion of this species in the birds of the Londa Neighbour-
hood (J.B.N.H.S. Vol. XLIII, p. 28) where he claimed to have obtained
a specimen and seen a congregation of 50 individuals. The last
remark in particular prompted us to write for verification to the
American Museum of Natural History where the collections are now
housed, and we understand that the specimen is actually Gyps indicus.
114, APOLLO STREET,
BOMBAY, SALIM ALI
2sth May, 195t. HUMAYUN ABDULALI
16. THE. POSIVION OF PLOVERS? EGGSIN WESis
On Sunday the 13th May 1951 I visited the north end of Walwan
Lake, Lonavla (Poona District) to examine a nesi of the Little Ringed
Plover (Charadrius dubius jerdoni) which Br. Navarro of St. Xavier's
High School, Bombay, had discovered. The three eggs were laid in a
slight hollow in the coarse sand—there being no appreciahbie nest—-with
the points downwards. ‘The circular broad ends of the eggs alone were
visible from above in the form of tiny domes.
K. S. Dharmakumarsinhji of Bhavanagar, to whom I mentioned
this states that he has seen nests of both the Kentish Plover and the
Little Ringed Plover with eggs resting in a similar vertical position.
This does not appear to have been recorded hitherto for Indian
birds, though the ‘Handbook of British Birds’, Vol. IV, p. 361, says
of the Kentish Plover (Leucopolius a. alexandrinus)—‘Nest: Some- ~
times a mere hole in sand in which eggs are usually buried, points
downward.’ .
c/o Faiz & Co. HUMAYUN ABDULALI
75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET,
BompBay, 19th May 1951.
177
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
‘SSHOLIGH
bery ‘INsoy
jo Uj10t
Soma Og
jnoge “Yeprey -
|
abl |
psig |
yeyq Ul eujnd |
P2IBAOIOI
e104 M
ddPId |
SyIeUlsy
Ussuy UvA
‘peg soley
YIVsily
jo a}joyo
-uelg ‘O'N
Aq
pojtoday
‘TS6l toy pug ‘hoquog
‘LuOg ‘IAHULS OTITOdY ‘FIT
Mom ne RR ot oe
MOOSOWT | | (ej
| ‘neomngq | -[eq. e8]o A) (soy
suipureg | @ALOSII J -uhysnzv71g (VMMSON)
ZPEI-I-PI | bal [esque oyeul UBYYVISY SvUp) Plel[eW | 6E6I-8-8 ad OSssZ
| a OF |
MOOSO oLL N.SE |
‘nvaing | | oFg ‘Aueyg |
sulpusg ayvVIJ WsBiqo | (vjngv | (vM4aSON )
OS6I-CI-/e | PllEE TesyMeD | ayeutos | YSIIQISOAON | Soup’) [TeIUId | 6P6I-Z-TZ CI. 6EE TPT
peeset | footer lee, |
ee | tes Snes i | pesurs | paid on | San
aye] | omen sy eutoy | d19YM Soe g jo 9WeN | jO ‘ON
a a a a PON Se Cen Ne eI TE Be ee
) —MOOSOJ UL BIPUT JO Assequiq] SY} Jo Seoqyo
poos oY} YSsnoiy} Moose Ul N¥eINg SuIpUeg PIG 94} WO] Spliq pactli Jo Sefteaooel JOYJIN} OM} SUIUIQOUOD patlle}qo
ugeq SEY UOTeUIIOJUL SUIMOTTOJ 94} OC “d ‘PF ‘TOA pur GE9-069 “dd “ZF “JOA UE Sprooar oy} suryst[qnd g0ulg
VIGNI NI NOILVUDIW GUIA “ZT
eZ,
178 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL GHIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
18. ‘NOTES ON SOME ASIATIC STURNIDAE (BIRDS)’—
A COMMENT
In his paper in the December issue of the Bombay Natural History
Society’s Journal (49, 1950, pp. 481 and 484), Mr. Daniel Marien has
made some comments about two new races of Indian starlings proposed
by me (Postilla, No. 1, 1950). In the case of the first form, Sturnus
contra sordidus, Mr. Marien has quoted part of my description and
the range as given, and then goes on to add that a single specimen
in the Rothschild Collection in New York shows none of the stated
characters of this race.
In the case of the second form, Acridotheres cristatellus fumidus,
Mr. Marien has quoted part of my description and the range which is
north Cachar and Lakhimpur and the Mishmi Hills in Assam. In
this case Mr. Marien has looked at four worn males from the Khasia
Hills and finds none of the characters of fumidus in these birds.
In view of the fact that Mr. Marien has looked at one specimen of
Sturnus contra from the range of sordidus and four specimens of
Acridotheres cristatellus fumidus from the Khasia Hills which is not
in the range as given by me—the Khasia Hills being west of
Cachar—-it kecomes difficult to take the rest of his critical remarks too
seriously. Since reading Mr. Marien’s paper I have checked my
original conclusions by sending my types and accompanying series of
each of these forms to another museum requesting independent con-
firmation of my findings. I have been pleased that the colleague who
examined this material and who is familiar with Asian birds, has
agreed with me and has upheld the characters of my races as published.
I should point out, however, that on p. 4 of my description of fumidus,
where it has been compared with grandis, the printed word should
be ‘lighter’ rather than ‘dark’. But this point is immaterial in the
present discussion.
The factor which at once appeared surprising to me in reading
Mr. Marien’s paper is that the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City, where the collections are housed of which this
gentleman writes, and the Peabody Museum of Yale University where
the material to which he refers is located, -are only seventy-five miles
apart. It is extremely easy to communicate by a variety of means
between these museums. In fact I myself am frequently in the New
York institution working on ornithological research, and in the
seventeen years that I have been associated with ee institution as
a co-worker in ornithology I have borrowed materiai freely at all
times and always been accorded numerous gracious courtesies. From
a physical point of view therefore there should be no impediment to
ready exchanges. From a scientific point of view it is not thorough
or systematic to leave such ravelled edges to a review of species.
Occasionally a museum may be encountered whose philosophy may
include the feeling that ‘a subspecies is not a subspecies if it ts not
included in our collection,’ but I am sure from my experiences in New
York that this can hardly be the philosophy of my colleagues there
nor could Mr. Marien have been so indoctrinated. It is far too
unscientific. Nor can such a lack of liaison do anything but cast doubt
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 179
upon the professional capabilities of the museum workers concerned,
and thus tend indirectly to discredit the profession as a whole.
PEABODY MusEum oF NATURAL HIsTorRy,
YALE UNIVERSITY, Sa OO TEIEON REPL E Yo:
NEw HaAveEN, Connecticut, U.S.A.
sth May, 1951.
19. DURATION OF SONG IN SOME COMMON BIRDS
(With five graphs)
During April, 1950, I was at Daltonganj, the headquarters of the
District of Palamau in Bihar. The residence I was occupying had
several young mango trees in its compound, but on the north a large
orchard adjoined. This orchard was in a sadly neglected condition,
but from my point of view was ideal. Apart from the fruit trees
i.e. mango and guava, this orchard had several other species, mainly
Butea frondosa, Broussonetia flabellifera, Cassia fistula, Poinciana
regia, Bombax malabaricum, Azadirachta indica, and Tamarindus
indicus. There was a dense undergrowth of lantana and coarse
spear grass (Imperata urudinacea?). Twenty-seven species of birds
were seen by me in this area during a stay of approximately 44 months,
out of which eight species had started nesting by the middle of April
when I left. The territories of the Crimson-breasted Barbet
| Megalaima haemacephala (Muller)] and the Magpie-Robin (Copsychus
saularis Linn.) were very well defined and comparatively narrow, and
were incorporated by me in a single field sketch. While studying
the territories of these birds, I was struck by the remarkable periodicity
their songs seemed to have, and I decided to time them over a number
of days to check up this impression. Observations started at 5 a.m.
and were continued till after sunset over a period of 10 days. Neither
of these species commenced calling before 5 a.m. and so this hour
was selected as a convenient starting point for the observations. No
observations could be made after dark. By confining my observations
to the territories of these birds I ensured that the singing time of the
same individual was noted over the entire period. At the same time
I made observations on the Papiha or Brain-fever Bird (Hierococcyv
varius Vahl.), and the Koel (Eudynamis scolopaceus Linn.) as well.
But as these birds have apparently no fixed territories I am unable
to guarantee that the same individual was concerned throughout the
period. All the same it must be noted that only a single pair of each
' species had been observed in the area over a long period of time, so
it would not be unreasonable to presume that the individual birds
observed during the entire period of 10 days were the same. Observa-
tions on the Yellow-cheeked Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys Vigors)
made at Ranchi in the first week of May 1950, were confined to the
territory of the nesting bird.
The duration of each burst of song was timed with a Rolex Oyster
wrist watch fitted with a centre second hand and noted against the
hour at which the song was heard. On the completion of the
observations, the total duration of song over each clock-hour was
averaged and plotted against the middle of that clock-hour. It will
therefore be noticed that all. the curves began from 5.30 a.m., but
180 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
the inference should not be drawn that all these birds started calling
precisely at that time. This time is just the middle of the clock-hour
from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. and the time against it expresses the total
duration of the call during this particular clock-hour. The same re-
mark applies to all the points of the curve. The results may be
summed up as under :-—
Magpie Robin, Male.—A peak early in the morning,
followed by a very steep descent to the middle of the day. A minor
peak again late in the afternoon.
Crimson-breasted Barbet.—A peak in the early
morning followed by a minimum between 7 and 8 a.m. Then follow
peaks of increasing amplitude culminating in another maximum late
in the afternoon.
Yellow-cheeked Tit.—Two pronounced maxima early
morning and late afternoon, with a subsidiary peak late in the morning.
Brain-fever Bird (Papiha).—A maximum between 6 and
7 a.m. followed by peaks of decreasing amplitude, culminating in
another maximum in the evening.
Ko e1.—A very pronounced maximum early in the morning
followed by a steep fall; a subsidiary peak early in the afternoon,
culminating in another maximum in the evening.
fa:
V
5'
qi!
AY
BU
qf
: S30 6f30 739 «Bo 30 Bo 30 Yae otha Y30 GBo Sho Bo
Koel (Eudynamis scolopaceus) ¢
The weather throughout was warm with one or two cloudy days.
Dust storms were fairly common throughout the interval, generally
in the afternoon. Average time of sunrise was 5.50 a.m. and sun-
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Pate |
24”
ra’
3!
ry
2 Po Po tio F305 180 FB Riya 30 ore 5/30 W399 Sho Y0
Dyalh or Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis) 3
4
I
6
4
a
© fro Yo 30 Ho mo a0 Ho IB pe Yo ho 0 So 0
Crimson-breasted Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. | Prate II
HM
q!
fo) Sl30 6f0 Yo 80 GB f0f30 BoA 30 po 3po 0 Sf 50
Yellow-cheeked Tit (Machlolophus xanthogenys) (
IW
4 Papi ha
5
a! | | °
(’
’ = (2) er
© §/30 G30 Bo 830 300/30. I30 So o 64439 a, 4ho P30 (/i9
Papiha or Brain-fever Bird (Hierococeyx varius)
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 181
set 6.15 p.m. No attempt was made to co-ordinate the duration of
calls with the type of weather prevailing. It is hoped to make tliis
the subject of a future study.
I am not aware if such studies have been made on Indian birds
before. No such information is available from the literature in my
possession. I shall be much obliged if any reader will put me in
touch with earlier observations of this nature.
- The total output of song in a day of approximately 12 hours and
25 minutes for each of the species under observation was as follows :—
Magpie Robin (male)—53.6 minutes.
Crimson-breasted Barbet—58.5 minutes.
Yellow-cheeked Tit—28.7 minutes.
Brain-fever Bird (Papiha)—-21.8 minutes.
Koel (male)—24.5 minutes.
in BON H
SUMMARY
During April and May, 1950, observations were made on the dure,
tion in minutes of songs of 5 different birds at hourly intervals. The
results show that peaks occur in the morning and evening with a
period of comparative silence in the middle of the day.
JAMAL ARA
20. ANGLING FOR CROCODILES WITH HOOK AND LINE
IN KRISHNARAJASAGAR RESERVOIR
It is common practice to angle for fish; but to angle for and land
alive a crocodile is novel and very exciting. :
The author started with the idea of devising a method to catch
crocodiles on hooks. No data was available except local stories of
live dogs and cats being used as baits with country-made hooks tied
around their necks and left tethered on the river bank in likely
spots.
The rented: of catching fish on night- -lines with bait could be suit-
ably modified for the purpose in question by using bait other than
live cats or dogs.
Ho o k.—The largest size of Norwegian fish-hooks i.e. No. 1 size
3 in. long by 4 in. thick were procured. As double hooks are not
available, two such hooks were jointed shank to shank so as to have
the prongs facing out.
Line.—Strong coir rope, too ft. long, $ in. in diameter and
hand-twisted was used.
At first chunks of butchers’ meat were used. But with
the heavy hooks and stout ropes the whole bait sank to the bottom
and no results were achieved over half a dozen trials. Since while
lining for fish the baits whether alive or otherwise would float on
water, it was thought better to give a floating bait to the crocodile.
An empty sealed tin was used as buoy, but 3 or 4 trials resulted in
failure. =
Now it was decided to change the bait; as such, sheeps’ lungs
was chosen this time to replace meat. Sheeps’ lungs besides being
cheap are capable by themselves of ate afloat even with the
heavy hook imbedded inside.
On the first attempt when the baited hook was left overnight and
182 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
examined the next morning, the rope (minus bait and hook) was
found floating in the water, the cut-end of the rope clearly showing
that it had been chewed up between the jaws of a crocodile. This
kindled hopes of eventual success. To prevent the hook being torn
away a one yard length of the line between hook and coir rope was made
up of about a dozen thin but highly twisted cotton rope-strands loosely
put together. As each strand was only + in. in diameter, it was ex-
pected that the strands would slip between the ‘V’ shaped teeth of
the crocodile and thus escape being bitten through.
Attempts were renewed and quickly met with success as narrated
below.
9-4-50.—At 7 pm., the baited hook was taken out
and left floating about 20 ft. from shore where the water depth was
about to ft. The other end of the rope was strongly secured to a
steel crow-bar driven deep into the ground.
10-4-50.—At 6 a.m. it was noticed that the bait was no longer
floating. A slight exploratory pull on the rope resulted in violent
disturbance in the water and the crocodile made himself visible by
lashing out his tail. When it was made certain that the reptile was
properly hooked, the problem was to secure him alive. The alter-
native was to get him shot.
A second rope was procured and placed in a loose-hitch on the
first rope. By having two men pull on this rope, the crocodile was,
with great difficulty slowly hauled ashore and held between the two ropes.
A running noose was, with great difficulty, placed over the
snapping jaws; and another secured the lashing tail. The crocodile
was now hitched up between two stout and long bamboos. It took
8 men to carry him over to the dam-side where he was left in a
shallow fountain sufficiently well secured. It measured 10 ft. 9 in.
The hook was deeply imbedded and could not be safely dislodged.
T1-4-50.—The next morning the crocodile was found dead, obviously
due to hook-injuries as the hauling-in caused the hooks to tear deep
in the guts. This was later confirmed.
Post-Mortem.—tThe hook was found deep in the guts in
the stomach-region and large tears in the abdominal wall were found.
Examination of the guts disclosed some remarkable contents.
(7) over a dozen pieces of bone 3-4 in. long and 1-14 in. in diameter.
The bones were broken up, hence it was not possible to make out
whether they were human or animal in origin. (2) about a dozen
pebbles 4-1 in. in size and worn smooth. (3) human-body remains :—
a human left hand cut off at the wrist and a human left foot cut at the
ankle. These were fairly fresh except that the colour was very pale.
Finger and toe-nails were nearly intact. Loosely hanging nerves
and muscles indicated that swallowing had been fairly recent.
Conclusion.—The above method having met with success
deserves to be tried out regularly and further developed. The
elimination of these dangerous reptiles is very necessary for the -afety
of the villagers and their cattle not to speak of the thousands of fish
that must be destroyed by the large number of reptiles that inhabit
the reservoir. | :
DEPARTMENT OF A.H. SERVICES, D. R. KRISHNAMURTHY
BANGALORE. Fishery Research Assistant
15th April, 1951
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 183
21. A: CURIOUS DEATH OF A SNAKE
On 29-4-1947, the senior author found a dead Tropidonotus piscator
(Schn.)—popularly known in Oriya as ‘Pani Dhanda’—in his pond in the
heart of Cuttack. On examining for the cause of death it was found
jaa the «snake shad in - its. mouth; cavity an entire: fish
Callichorous pabda (Day). The fish specimen measured 8.11 inches
in length and 3.7 inches in its greatest circumference. The snake
was an adult measuring 3 feet 1.6 inches’in total length. The species
is Common in our ponds and subsists on fishes. It is probable that
the pectoral spines of the fish stuck in the snake’s mouth and so it
could not be swallowed, neither could it be rejected owing to the
nature of curved teeth characteristic of the Ophidians.
We are thankful to Sri S. R. Upadhyay of our laboratory for
the determination of the fish and to Prof. D. Mukerji of the Depart-
ment of Zoology, University College of Science, Calcutta University
for kindly going through the manuscript.
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,
RAVENSHAW COLLEGE, B. K. BEHURA
CUTTACK M. Ao JOHN
22. EGG-LAYING_BY A PYTHON IN. CAPTIVITY
Your Journal, December 1947, published a note of mine on the
breeding of the Indian Python (Python molurus).
Details up to date, 21st May 1951 are as follows :—
On 4 April 1938 this python, a pet of mine, mated with a small
male, and laid eggs on 4 June 1938. After 4 April 1938 no male
pet python has ever been near the cage.
Date Number of eggs laid Period of captivity
4 June 1938 (2 months after mating)
9 June 1947 16 9 years
6 June 1948 20 OU Fig:
5 June 1949 16 0 EB Tey
and 2] May 1951 ¥2 LS ease
These last eggs are: 7 of normal size 84 inches round the centre.
104 Sa, ,, the ends.
5 small, the size cf a goose egg.
Loyota COLLEGE,
MADRAS, ® ©, LEIGH, -s1.
-21st May, 1951
23.. A RECORD OF THE COMMON MEMBRACID, OTINOTUS
ONERATUS WALK. (HOMOPTERA : RHYNCHOTA) FROM THE
CITY OF PATNA (BIHAR)
This is an extension of the distribution of the common membracid
Otinotus oneratus Walk, in Bihar and an addition to the list of its
hostplants. It was only reported from Ranchi in Bihar (Distant,
W.L. 1907. ‘Fauna of British India. Rhynchota’, 4: 40-41).
184 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Adults and nymphs of O. oneratus were collected by us in the
garden of the Science College, Patna on 28-8-1950 from the following
plants : —
1. Carissa ‘cavandus Linn. | ~ Hindi: Koiraundo
2. Lagerstroemia indica Linn. a Swani
3. Polyalthia longifolia B. & H. a Asoka
In all cases membracids were attended by the common black ant
Camponotus compressus Fabr.
We are thankful to Sri Jangilal Srivastav of the Department of
Botany, Science College, Patna for kindly identifying the. plants.
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,
RAVENSHAW COLLEGE, BASANTA KUMAR BEHURA
CUTTACK. VISWANATH SINHA
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY,
ScIENCeE COLLEGE, Patna.
24. GLEANINGS
Quenching thirst with raw fish.
‘The old natives know well the device which many supa ieee
men hit upon during the war—chewing thirst-quenching moisture out of
raw fish. “One can also press the juices out by twisting pieces of fish
in a cloth or, if the fish is large, it is a fairly simple matter to cut holes
in its side, evnich soon become filled with ooze from the fish’s lymphatic
glands. It does not taste good if one has anything better to driak,
Fruit the percentage of salt is so Jow that one’s thirst is quenched’.
Flying Cuiilefish.
During the course of the voyage several cuttlefish were found on the
deck [of the raft] and even on the top of the roof of palm leaves. It
was some time before the reason was discovered.
‘One sunny morning we all saw a glittering shoal of something
which shot up out of the water and’ flew through the air like large
rain-drops, while the sea boiled with pursuing dolphins. At first we
took it for a shoal of flying fish, for we had already had three different
kinds of these on board. But when they came near, and some of them
sailed over the raft at a height of four or five feet, one ran straight
into Bengt’s chest and fell slap on the deck. It was a small squid.
Our astonishment was great. When we put it into a sailcloth bucket
it kept on taking off and shooting up to the surface, but it did not
develop speed enough in the small bucket to get more than half out
of the water. It is a known fact that the squid ordinarily swims on
the principle of the rocket-propelled aircraft. It pumps sea water with
great force through a closed tube along the side of the bodv, and can
thus shoot backwards in jerks at a high speed; and with all its ten-
tacles hanging behind it in a cluster over its head, it becomes stream-
lined like a fish. It has on its side two round fleshy folds of skin
which are ordinarily used for steering and quiet swimming in the
water. But it was thus shown that defenceless young squids, which
are a favourite food of many large fish, can escape their pursuers by
taking to the air in the same way as flying fish. They had made the
ie
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 185.
principle of the rocket aircraft a reality long before human genius
hit upon the idea. They pump sea water through themselves till
they get up a terrific speed, and then they steer up at an angle from
the surface by unfolding the pieces of skin like wings. Like the
flying fish, they make a glider flight over the waves for as far as
their speed can carry them.” After that, when we had to begin to pay
attention, we often saw them sailing along for fifty to sixty xards,
singly and in twos and threes. The fact that cuttlefish can ‘glide’ has
been a novelty to all the zoologists we have met’.
Sharks and Shark-fishing.
‘Generally it is smell more than sight which excites sharks’ voracity.
We have sat with our legs in the water to test them, and they have
swum towards us till they were two or three feet away, only quietiy to
turn their tails towards us again. But if the water was in the least
-bloodstained, as it was when we had been cleaning fish, the sharks’
fins came to life, and they would suddenly collect like bluebottles from
a long way off. If we flung out sharks’ guts, they simply went mad
and dashed about in a blind frenzy. They savagely devoured the iiver
of their own kind, and then if we put a foot into the sea they came
for it like rockets and even dug their teeth into the logs where the
foot had been. There are sharks and sharks, because the shark is
completely at the mercy of his own emotions’.
‘The last stage in our intercourse, with sharks was that we began
to pull their tails. Pulling animals’ tails is held to be an inferior form
of sport, but that may be because no one has tried it on a shark. For
it was in truth a lively form of sport.
To get hold of a shark by the tail we first had to give it a real
tit-bit. It was ready to stick its head high out of the water to get it.
Usually it had its food served dangling in a bag. For if one has
fed a shark directly by hand once, it is no longer amusing. If one
feeds dogs or tame bears by hand they set their teeth into the meat
amd tear and worry until they: get a bit off,’ or until they’ get the
whole piece for themselves. But if one holds out a large dolphin at
a safe distance from the shark’s head, the shark comes up and
smacks his jaws together, and without one having felt any tug half
the dolphin is suddenly gone, and one is, left sitting with a tail in
one’s hand. We had had a hard job ourselves to cut the dolphin in two
with knives, but in a fraction of a second the shark, moving its
triangular saw-teeth quickly sideways, had imperceptibly chewed up
the backbone and everything else like a sausage machine. When
the shark turned quietly to go under again, its tail flickered up above
the surface and was easy to grasp. The shark’s skin was just like
sand-paper to hold on to, and inside the upper point of its tail there
was an indentation which might have been made to allow of a good
grip. -If we once got a firm grasp there, there was no chance of
our grip not holding. Then we had to give a jerk before the shark
could collect itself, and get as much as possible of the tail pulled
in tight over the logs’.
[We have here quoted at length from ‘The Kon-T:ki Expedition’ by
Thor Heyerdhal (George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1950) and
cannot help mentioning that it is the most remarkable true adventure
186 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY. Vol. 50
story we have read for a long time. It chronicles the voyage on a
raft across the Pacific from South America to Polynesia in an attempt
to prove a theory that the South Sea Islands were originally populated
from South America. |
Oryxes caught alive. .
The following is an extract from the Day Bulletin of the Arab
News Agency dated 15th March 1951.—
‘Recently the Emir Saud ben Juluwi was on a hunting trek in
the Rab’ el Khali, the great desert of Arabia, when his party came
across a herd of 36 oryxes, the largest number to be seen together
in many years.
With great personal bravery, the Emir’s principal hunter captured
‘several oryxes by leaping from a fast-moving car and grabbing the
animals by their horns and throwing them to the ground in cow-boy
fashion.
Two of the animals which the Emir’s hunter captured alive, are
now being kept at the Governor’s palace in Hofuf.’
A Cure for Colic?
Col. O., Vickers in the Mield of 3) Februaryv1951° writes:” While
serving with General Younghusband’s mission in Lhasa some 50
years ago I noticed many mules in the Tibetan and Bhutian caravans
-on the mountain tracks had only one ear. When one of my transport
mules got colic and could not stand up, we gave him up for lost.
A Tibetan came up to me and said, ‘‘Your mule will not die if you
cut off his left ear.’’ We performed the operation and the mule re-
‘covered.’
Guils on Snow.
The Science Newsletter No. 6 issued by the Indian Scientific
Liaison Officer in the United Kingdom, a copy of which was received
by us from the Department of Scientific Research, Government of India,
‘quotes from a report of the Arctic Health Research Centre of the U.S.
Public Health Service, Point Barrow, Alaska:
‘Gulls can walk indefinitely on snow at—50°C. Measurements were |
made of the rate of heat loss through the feet of live gulls when placed
in iced water. This was so low that it suggests a rate of blood
circulation at the rate of only a few cc. per hour.’
50,000 Year old Lotus Seeds sprout now.
Science Newsletter No. 17 quotes from the Times of 6th March 1951.
‘Two lotus seeds estimated by officials of the National Park Service
-of the Department of the Interior to be 50,000 years old were to-day
reported to be sprouting in a moisture chamber where they had been
‘placed for germination tests.
These seeds, originally found in Manchuria by an archaeological
expedition were presented to the Park Service last year. They had been
kept in a safe until last week when it was decided to make these tests.
The surfaces of the seeds were filed to make them more sensitive
to water before they were placed in the chamber, where they are now
showing green shoots. The age of the seeds has been estimated on
+the basis of the deposits in which they were found.’
Serial No.
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS IN THE BOMBAY NATURAL
HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY
I—Invertebrata
Part V—INVERTEBRATA
I R—Invertebrata—Reference volume, not lent out.
Classification
Accession No
/3
=
39
12
37,
38
on
| Cabinet
| Shelf
|
Author
Title of Bock
—
| Abercrombie,
Alexander
Agassiz, Alexander
Agassiz, Louis
Ashworth, J. H.
Awati, P. R. & Rai,
HS.
Baylis, H. A. &
Daubney,-R..
Bernard, Henry M.
do.
(See Melvill, James Cosmo).
REPORT ON THE ECHINI.
Reports on the results of
dredging in the Gulf of
Mexico (1877-78), by the
U.S. Coast Survey steamer
‘Blake "—Memoirs of the
Museum of comparative
Zoology at Harvard College
Vols. Xe No. 1,-1883.
| MONOGRAPHIES D’ECHINO-
| | DERMES VIVANS ET FOSSILEs,
1838.
| CATALOGUE OF THE CHAETO-
PODA IN THE _ BRITISH
Museum (NaTURAL His-
TORY). as. Polychaeta ;
Part I Arenicolidae 1912.
OSTREA CUCULLATA (The
Bombay Ovster) — The
Indian Zoological Memoirs
on Indian Animal types
(edited by Bahl, K. N.),
1931. ;
| A SYNOPSIS OF THE FAMILIES
& GENERA OF NEMATODA,
iP ethe British Museum
| _ (Natural History), 1926.
| CATALOGUE OF THE MADRE-
| PORARIAN CORALS IN THE
BRITISH Museum (Natural
History). ‘The genus Tur-
_ binaria, the genus Astraeo-
pera—Vol. II, 1896.
| do. the genus Montipora, the
genus Anacropora—Vol.
| III, 1897. (for volume I see
Brook, George).
188
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
| Serial No.
| Classification
ioe)
14 |
15
18 |
19
20
—
oon Al eee
=
wait ey ee
' Accession No.
W
Oo
als
| Cabinet
| Shelf
Author
fs
Title of Book
un
o1 un
|
|
|
mo
wie)
|
i}
| Brook, George
Clark, Hubert Lyman
Colthurst, Ida
do.
Crouch, Edmund A.
Daubney, R.
|
Duncan, Winifred
Ellis, R. A.
Fischer, Dr. Paul
| Hickson, Sydney J.
Hornell, James
do.
Karandikar, K. R. |
Kennard, A. S. &
Woodward, B. B.
Lang, William Dick-
son,
Smith, Stanley
& Thomas, Henry
Dighton
|
|
| CATALOGUE OF THE MADRE-
| PORARIAN CORALS in the
British Museum (Natural
| History). The genus
| Madrepora, Vol. 1. 1893.
| (For Vols. II & III see
| Bernard, Henry M.)
A CATALOGUE OF THE RECENT
| Sea Urcuins (Echinoidea)
in the collection of the
British Museum (Natural
History). 1925.
SHELLS OF THE ‘TROPICAL
SEAS, 1930.
do.
| AN ILLUSTRATED INTRODUC-
| TION TO LAMARCK’S CON-
CHOLOGY, 1827.
(See Baylis, H. A. & Daub-
ney, R
WEBS IN THE WIND—the
| habits of web-weaving
| spiders, 1949.
SPIDER-LAND, I912.
| MANUEL DE CONCHYLIOLOGIE
' et de Paleontologie con-
chyliologique ou Histoire
Naturelle des Mollusques
vivants et fossiles, 1887.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE
STUDY OF RECENT CORALS,
1924.
‘THE SACRED CHANK OF INDIA.
A Monograph on _ the
Indian Conch (Turbinella
pyrum), Madras Fisheries
Bureau, Bulletin No. 7,
1914.
| THE ComMMON MOLLUSCS OF
SoutH InNp1a—Report No.
6 of 1921, Madras Fisheries
Bulletin Vol. XIV, pages
97 to 215, 1922.
(See Subramanyam, T. V.
Karandikar, K. R. &
Murthi, N. N.)
SYNONYMY OF THE BRITISH
NONMARINE MOoLiusca—
(Recent & post-tertiary),
British Museum (Natural
History), 1926. |
INDEx PALAEOZOIC CORAL
GENERA—British Museum
(Natural History), 1940.
(os ner ane ea nm ae RR RR A ATS
BOOKS IN BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY
SOCIETY S VIBRAKY 189
(
| Serial No.
22
23
24.
25
26
27
28
29
30
32
33
34
- Classification
=
°
Z,
¢
(o) ~
9g 2
o he
liza
a OD
19 5
Suz 5
| |
34.1 5
BU MOG
16 5
21 5
22 5
23. 152"5
II 5
|
eG ks 5
|
| |
i 4te | 5
| |
|
Pe
| pois
|
| \
25n 5
"Shelf
o)
0
Bes
| Savory,
Author
Melvill, James
Cosmo & Aber-
crombie, ©
Alexander
Murthi, N. N.
Rat, H..s:
Reeve, Lovell
Robert, Paul A.
Shipley, Arthur E.
| Subrahmanyam, T.V.
Karandikar, K. R.
Smith, Stanley
Sowerby, J.
do.
do.
& Murthi, N. N.
| Tate, Ralph
‘Thomas, Henry
Dighton
Thorrel, T.
Various Authors
Verbeek, R. D. M.
Vertrees, Herbert H.
Theodore H.
| PeaRLS & PEARLING
Title of Book
"THE MarINE MOLLUSCA OF
Bomsay. Reprinted from
the Memoirs and proceed-
ings of the Manchester
Literary and Philosophical
Society, Series 4, Vol. VII,
1893.
(See hem ens oY:
Karandikar, K. R. &
Murthi, N. N.)
(See ee Pe Re Raise S.)
‘THE LAND & FRESHWATER
MOLLUSKS indigenous to or
naturalised in the British
Isles, 1863.
WONDERS OF THE SEA-SHELLS,
1945.
THE BIOLOGY OF .SPIDERS,
1928.
PEARLS AND PARASITES, 1908.
(See Lang, William Dickson,
Smith, “Stanley & Thomas,
Henry Dighton).
GENERA OF RECENT AND Fos-
SIL SHELLS, Vol. I, 1822—
do. Vol. II, 1822-'34.
do. Vol. III, 1822-'34.
THE MARINE PELECYPODA OF
BomBay. Reprinted from
the Journal of the Univer-
sity of Bombay, Vol. XVII,
Part 5, 1949.
A PLAIN AND EASY ACCOUNT
OF THE LAND AND FRESH-
WATER MOLLUSKS OF GREAT
BRITAIN, 1866.
(See Lang, William Dickson,
Smith, Stanley & Thomas,
Henry Dighton).
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF
THE SPIDERS OF BURMA
based upon the collection
made by Oates, Eugene
W., 1895.
PAPERS ON LAND AND MaRINE
MOLuusca, a bound serial.
RAPPORT SUR LES MOLUQUES.
Edition francaise du Jaar-
bock Van het Mijnwezen in
~ Nederlandsch Oost—Indié
Tome, XXXVIT, 1908.
1913.
190
Serial No.
W
an
WwW
nN
3H
38
39
40
41
42
Classification
=
— pd
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
S |
Zi |
ae:
is ade Ee Author Title of Book
Nn prc ial Set
eo eae
a oS) | a
L333 5 D Warburton, Cecil SPIDERS, the Cambridge
| | Manuals of Science and
Literature, 1912.
14 5 D Withers, Thomas CaTALOGUE OF FossIL CiR-
| Henry : RIPEDIA in the Department
of Geology, Vol. I—Trias-
sic and Jurassic, British
Museum (Natural History),
1928.
35 5 D do. CATALOGUE OF THE MACHAE-
RIDIA (Turrilepas and its
allies) in the department
of Geology, British Mus-
eum (Natural History)
1926.
YO as F do. CATALOGUE OF FOSSIL CIR-
RIPEDIA in the department
| of Geology (Cretaceous),
| Vol. qi) ross.
| 24 5 D Woodward, B. B. THE LIFE OF THE MOLLUSCa,
1913.
Wi inez 5 D Woodward, S. P. A ManvuaL oF THE MOL-
LuscA or Rudimentary
treatiSe of recent and fossil
shells, 1851-56.
28 5 D do. do. 1880.
29 5 D do.
Woodward, B. B.
do.
(See Kennard, A.S. & Wood-
ward, B. B.).
BOOKS IN BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY
SUPPLEMENT TO PART V
19¥
I F R—The Fauna of British India Series ; Reference volume, not lent out.
g/g
fe) = rs
4 r= 3 © | Author
s D o iS |
8 8 edie od gee
ep Oo <x Ori aa
| |
MER |) oe5 | v7 | B-° |- Annandale, Ni
2 | IFR sb| 7] B a do
ae) i Lon 7 |B Baylis, aan.
|
aol ER su 7 | B do.
#6) IER .\12-73 | 7 | B do.
Zo TER I Fil oh: Bhatia, B. L.
8 | IFR Zea eB do.
g | IFR Bile ye eS do.
10 | IFR 4\ 4° \-B do.
11 | IFR Ty oa) «AB Blanford, Dr. W. T.
| | & Godwin-Austin,
| Lt.-Col. H. H.
| IPR is |. 7 |-B do.
| Godwin-Austin, Lt.-
Col. Ho. A.
13. | IFR 21 idee 8’ Gude, G. KG
14 | IFR 22n\G a7ein aS do.
15-16 | IFR 23-24 Fi ab. 4 _ do.
17 | IFR 13 7 | B_ | Harding, W. A. &
Moore, Prof. J.
Percy.
18 | IFR 14 7a 8 do.
# Moore, Prof. J. Percy
19 | IFR 25 Ze B Pocock, Ry I.
20 | IFR 265)°°7. |\.B do.
Title of Bock
The Fauna of British India
including Ceylon &
Burma, Freshwater spon-
ges, Hydroids & Polyzoa,
IQII.
do.
do. Nematoda, (Ascaroidea
& strongyloidea) Vol. 1
1930.
do. (Filarioidea, Dictophy-
moidea & Trichinelloidea).
Vol. II, 1939.
do.a duplicate set.
The Fauna of British India
y
including Ceylon &
Burma, Protozoa: sporo-
ZOa, 1938.
do
do. Protozoa: Ciliophora,
19306.
do.
The Fauna of British India
including Ceylon &
Burma, Mollusca—Tes-
tacellidae & Zonitidae,
1908.
do
See Blanford, Dr. W. T. &
Godwin-Austin, Lt.-Col.
loledile
The Fauna of British India
including Ceylon &
Burma, Mollusca (Tri-
chomorphidae--Janellidae)
Vol. II, 1914.
do. Land Operculates (Cy-
clophoridae, -Truncatel-
lidae, Helicinidae) Vol.
III, 1921.
do.a duplicate set.
The Fauna of British India
including Ceylon &
ee ae 1027,
oO.
See Harding, W. A. '&
Moore, Prof. J. Percy.
The Fauna of British India
including Ceylon and
Burma, Arachnida, I9go0o.
do.
192 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
S | |
8 Z, | |
© S ¢ |
Z g 3 @ | Author Title of Book
= 3 cacy US eee
4 & Br ees al ee |
oD O <a O wn
21 | “hER HO Mee 7, B Preston, H. B. | The Fauna of British India
| | including Ceylon &
Burma, Mollusca (Fresh-
water Gastropoda &
Pelecypoda), 1915.
22-| LER 20 7 B do. do.
2-cle DMR ee | 67a B Southwell, T. | The Fauna of British India
| | including Ceylon &
Burma, Cestoda, Vol. I,
1930.
24.) IFR 18, eis, B do. do. Vol. II, - 1930.
25-26 | IFR“-4\. 98207) 7 | B do. | do. a duplicate set.
27.1--LR sot dei (ah 8. Stephenson, J. The Fauna of British India
| | including Ceylon &
| | | Burma, Oligochaeta, 1923.
28 IFRegbisecr6 | 7 |/ EB do. | do.
BOOKS IN BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY 198
Part VI—BoTANY
B—Botany
B R—Botany—Reference volume, not lent out.
B F I R—The Flora of British India series. Reference volume, not lent out.
B F B R—The Flora of Bombay series. Reference volume, not lent out.
B F M R—The Flora of Madras series. Reference volume, not lent out.
B Ay.—Agriculture. |
B S—Silviculture.
B P—Pharmacopia & Medicine.
Serial No.
bo
Un
3
bie |
an g
a 3 o | Author Title of Book
- 2 Slow
3 Be |e
oO < oO ep)
B 130.|ro |) D Aitchison, :-J. E. T. ON THE FLoRA OF THE KuRAM
VALLEY ETC., Afghanistan
(Reprinted from the Jour-
nal of the Linnean Society),
Vol. XVIII, 1880.
B 200,17 11 C Allen, Grant THE STORY OF THE PLANTS,
1895.
B DO |) LO? | ~ Es Alston, A. H. G. | THe Kanpy FLora, 1938.
B PS 4h Owe, Astbury, W. T. ‘TEXTILE FIBRES UNDER THE
X-RAys.
BR 216 | 25 A Bailey, L. H. THE STANDARD CYCLOPEDIA
OF HORTICULTURE A—E,
Voll d 1927,
BEARS 217. (25 A do. : do.) PO} Vole Ey! 1927.
BR 250 |) 25 A do. do..P—-Z,, Vol. Tlf, 1927.
iB A erOe ie A. Baillon, H. THe Naturat History oF
PLANTS —- Ranunculaceae,
| Dilleniaceae, Magnoliaceae
Anonaceae, Monimiaceae,
Rosaceae, Vol. I, 1871.
B SyicLO A do. do. Connaraceae, Legumano-
ceae, Proteaceae, Laura-
ceae, Elaeaznaceae & My-
} tisticaceae,— Vol. II, 1872.
B GC Ctor} A do. do. Menispermaceae, Berbe-
| ridaceae, Nymphaceae,
| | Papavaraceae, capparida-
be ceae, Cruciferae, Reseda-
\
ceae, Crassulaceae, Saxi-
fragaceae, Piperaceae, Urti-
caceae, Vol. III, 1874.
rile eke: A do. do. Nyctaginaceae, Phytolac-
| caceae, Malvaceae, Tilia-
| ceae, Dipterocarpoceae,
| Chlaenaceae, ‘Ternstroe-
miaceacé, Binaceae, Cista-
ceac, Violaceae, Ochnaceae,
Rutaceae, Vol. IV, 1875.
194
Serial No.
\
|
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 56
| Classification
Accession No.
Shelf
Author Title of Book
laa
N
13
15
16
19
21
22
se)
Io
249
21
22
188
290
291
293
2.04
295
296
135
140
239
= en
| 10
sae)
ND HAN
Io
>
mi Wh se) Qr FP Bw >
Ow
WO
|
| Barron,
F
‘Benthall, A. P.
ee
Baillon, H. do. Geraniaceae, lLinaceae,
Tremandraceaze, Polyga-
laceae, Vochysiaceae,
| Euphorbiaceae, Terebin-
| thaceae, Sapindaceae, Mal-
pighiaceae, Meliaceae, Vol.
| V, 1878.
| do. Celastraceae, Rham-
| maceae, Penaeaceae, Thy-
melaeaceae,
Castaneaceae,
do.
| Ulmaceae,
Combreta-
| ceae, Rhizophoraceae,
| Myrtaceae, Hypericaceae,
Clusiaceae, Lythrariaceae,
| Onagrariaceae, Balaropho-
| raceae, Vol. VI, 1880.
| do. Melastomaceae, Cor-
naceae, Umbelliferaze, Rubi-
aceae, Walerianaceae, Dip-
| sacaceae, Vol. VII, 1881.
do.
Edition, 1892.
ALBUM OF INDIAN FERNS,
1887.
do. do.
Beccari, Dr. Odoardo | RELIQUIAE SCHEFFERIANAE,
| illustrazione di alcune Pal-
| mae Viventi nel Giardino
Botanico di Buitenzorg,
Baynes, CE.
1885.
Asiatic PALMS-——LEPIDOCAR-
YEAE—THE SPECIES OF
CaLamus Part I, Annals
of the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Calcutta, Vol. XI,
1908.
do. Supplement, 1914.
do. Supplement Part I, Vol.
XI; Cee 1913.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Archibald | Vines & VINECULTURE, Third —
do. do. THE SPECIES OF DAEMO-
NOROPS, Parts I-III (Text), |
Annals of the Royal Bot- |
| anic Gardens, Calcutta,
Vol. XII, ror.
do. do. Plates.
Beddome, Col. R. H. | HANDBOOK TO THE FERNS OF
: BRITISH INDIA, Ceylon &
ol Malay Peninsula, 1883.
do. do.
BEETON’S ILLUSTRATED BOOK
OF THE GARDEN—the theory
and practice of gatden in
all its branches, 1889.
its neighbourhood, 1946.
emer Sens sc eS SS SS SS
Tur TREES OF CALCUTTA and >
BOOKS IN BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY 195
Serial No.
BN)
9
30
Sa
82
eK)
34
35
36
37%
Classification
wolce
BR
BS
Accession No
168 |
139
50
297
252
Io
Io
Io
25
Shelf
iH ©
wie>
D
a
ACe |
a |
A
B
E
Author
Bibby, Cyril
Birdwood, George
do.
Birdwood, G. C. M.
Birdwood, H. M.
Biswas, Dr. K. |
Blake, Ernest G.
Blanchan, Neltje
Blatter, The late
Rev. E. & Muil-
lard, Walter S.
Blatter, Ethelbert
Bintan, E. &
D’Almeida, ett.
Blatter, Ethelbert
Title of Book
SIMPLE EXPERIMENTS IN
BIOLOGY, 1944.
CATALOGUE OF THE ECONOMIC
Provpucts of the Presidency
of Bombay—being a cata-
logue of the Government
Central Museum, Divi-
sion 1.--Raw_ produce
(vegetable), 1862.
do.
CATALOGUE OF THE VEGETABLE
PRODUCTIONS OF THE PRESI-
DENCY OF BOMBAY; in-
cluding a list of the drugs
sold in the Bazaars of
Western India, 2nd Edition
1865.
A CATALOGUE OF THE FLORA
of Matheran & Mahablesh-
war (Revised Edition),1897-
THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY
VOLUME OF THE ROYAL Bo-
TANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA,
Parts I & II, 1942.
THE SEASONING & PRESER-
VATION OF ‘TIMBER, being
a treatise oN the various
methods employed for dry-
ing and preserving timber
against decay with a chap-
ter on the origin and the
spread of the dry rot and
the best methods to be
adopted for its eradication,
1924
WILD FLOWERS—The Nature
Library, 1926.
SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN
TREES, 1937.
PLaNtT Tpes for College
students, I9I7.
THE FERNS OF BOMBAY, 1922.
THE PALMS OF BRITISH INDIA
& CEYLON, 1926.
Hie S. J. Ethel-| BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS OF KasuH-
bert
MIR, Vo. I, 1928.
do. Vol. IT, 1928.
Blatter, E “McCann, THE FLORA OF THE! INDUS
C; & Sabnis, J. S.
Blatter, E. &
McCann, C.
DELTA, 1929.
THE BomBpay GRASSES—
Scientific Monograph No.
5—The Imperial council
of Agricultural Research,
1935.
Classification
Accession No.
| Serial No.
Cabinet
Author
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Title cf Book
ve)
Io
Io
woliee)
sO
R
ee BO
leat
N
we)
114
247
Ut
aes
e—
19
TO
102 IO
CS RET LE I TSA NE ST SA SLES
Eo"
ro: |
| 10 |
enrol
©
E
Blatter, The late
Rev. E. & Muil-
lard, Walter S.
Bose, Sir Jagdis
Chunder
do.
Bower, F. QO.
Brandis, Dietrich
do.
Burkill, I. H.
Burns, W.
Caccia, A. Vis.
Cain, Stanley A,
Cameron, J.
Carey, M. C. &
Fitchew, Dorothy
Champion, H. G.
Champion, H. G. &
Mahendru, I. D.
Champion, H. G.
Cheeseman, T. F.
Cheyney, E. G,
|
|
~FIRMINGER’S
SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN
‘TREES, 1937.
LIFE MOVEMENTS IN
PLANTS—T'RANSACTIONS OF
the Bose Research Institute,
Calcutta, Vol. I, pts. 1 & 2,
1918.
do. Vol. II, 1919.
PLANTS & MaNn—a series of
essays relating to the Bot-
any of ordinary life, 1925.
INDIAN ‘TREES—an
of trees, shrubs, woody
climbers, Bamboo and
Palms indigenous or com-
monly cultivated in the
British Indian Empire,
1906.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE FOR-
EST FLORA OF NORTHWEST
AND .CENTRAL INDIA, 1874.
\
account ~
A WoRKING LIST OF THE ©
FLOWERING PLANTS
BALUCHISTAN, 1909.
FIRMINGER’S MANUAL OF
GARDENING FOR _ INDIA,
6th Edition (Revised &
Edited), 1918.
See D’Arcy, W. E. & Cac-
cia, A. M, E.
FOUNDATIONS OF
(GEOGRAPHY, 1944.
‘ MANUAL
GARDENING FOR
5th Edition, 1904.
WILD FLOWERS AT A GLANCE,
1949.
SILVICULTURAL MANUAL for
use in India (The experi-
mental manual), general
Volo ul, vost.
do. Statistical Research (the
statistical code), Vol. II,
TOQ1.
A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF
THE FoREST TYPES OF INDIA
& BurmMa—Indian Forest
Records—(New Series)
Silviculture, Vol. I, No. 1.
1936.
OF
OF
INDIA,
MANUAL OF THE NEW ZEa-
LAND FLORA, 1906.
WHAT TREE IS THAT? 192”,
PLANT”
BOOKS IN BOMBAY
NATURAL HISTORY
SOCIETY'S, LIBRARY 197
}
oer eA
S z 3
7 &
a 0 a
= ;
61 | BR 207,
62 97
63 | B Ag 203
64 | B 87
65 |B 70
66 | B 74
67 | BFBR 36
68 | BFBR 37
69 | BFBR 38
70 | BFBR 39 |
71 | BFBR 40
72 | BFBR 4I
73 | BFBR 42
PIEREBR |. 43
75 | BFBR 44
76 | BFBR 45
77'|BAg | 244
78 | B Ag 273
Title of Book
COMMELYNACEAE ET CyrtT-
ANDRACEAE BENGALENSES
(Paucis Aliis Ex ‘Terris
Adjacentibus Additis), 1874.
NEW ZEALAND PLANTS and
their story, 1910.
| Citrus FRuits—an account
of the citrus fruit industry
with special reference to
requirements
and practices and similar
| THE ARTISTIC ANATOMY OF
‘TREES—their structure and
treatment in painting, 1925.
FLORA SIMLENSIS, a handbook
of the flowering plants of
Simla and neighbourhood,
| FAMILIAR FLOWERING TREES
THE FLORA OF THE PRESI-
DENCY OF BomsBay Vol.
T, Part I (Ranunculaceae—
do. Part II (Simarubaceae—
Legumanoceze), 1902.
do. Part III (Legumanoceae
contd.—Rubiaceae), 1903.
do. Vol. II, Part I (Com-
positeae — Borag:nacege),
do. Part II (Boraginaceae
contd.— Verbenaceae), 1905.
do. Part UII (Verbenaceae
contd.— Euphorbiaceae),
do.-Part IV (Euphorbiaceae
contd.—Araceae), 1907.
do. Part V, (Araceae contd.
—Graminae with Index),
do. Vol. I (Ranunculaceae
—Rubiaceae), 1901-1903.
(ina single volume).
do. Vol. II (Compositeae—
Graminae), 1904-1907. (in
a single volume).
Manvures & ManuriInc—a
handbook for practical
farmers, students and
LIME IN AGRICULTURE—a
handbook for practical
farmers, students and
others, 1926.
oD Author |
& ce
a) 3
oO op)
B_ | Clarke, C. B. |
| |
Lorrie Cockayne, L. |
aa | Coit, J. Eliot
| | California
| | conditions, 1920.
LOM) oe Cole, Rex Vicat
10°| B Collett, Col. Sir
| Henry
| | 1921.
tO | Colthurst, Ida
| | IN INDIA, 1924.
IO | | Cooke, Theodore
| ! Rutaceae), 1901.
IO | do.
10. do.
10 | do. |
| 1904.
10 do.
10 | do.
| 1906.
10 | do.
10 | | do.
| 1908.
Mus} B do.
Mus | do.
ras
25 B | Corrie, Frank Ewart
|
| Others, 1927.
25 Gc | do.
|
|
|
198
Serial No.
J
Ke)
oo QO
HO
00
N
Cc 6
ae 5
oo
in
86
87
93
OF
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Classification
a
eohee)
coher
ee)
>
gg
BR
Accession No.
aN
nN
CO H
vor
\o
oO
heer |
66 |
133 |
142 |
IQI
248
196
106 |
104 |
30
Cabinet
| 10 |
LO™|
LO: ||
IO |
Il |
25 |
II
Io
Io
IO
whe)
Qs Our 3@)
| D’Arcy, W. E. &
| Davis, R. A.
| Detmer, Dr. W.
Author
Cowen, D. V.
Curtis, Chartes H.
Duthie, J. F.
Daglish, E. Fitch
D’Almeida, J. F.
Dalgado, Dr. D. G.
Cacia,A.M.F. |
DalzeneNicholse a
& Gibson, Alexander
|
\
!
{
do.
Darwin, Charles
t
do.
|
{
Davis, Kary C.
Dhargalker, Lakehs
man B |
|
| Drury Maj.Heber _|
Duthie, J. F.
Title of Book
FLOWERING ‘l’REES & SHRUBS
In INpDIA, 1950.
OrCHIDS for Everyone, 1910.
THE FODDER GRASSES OF
NORTHERN INpD1A, 1888.
MARVELS OF PLANT LIFE,
1924.
See Blatter,
media, J. F.
FLORA DE Goa E SAVANT-
VADI, 1898.
PREPARATION OF FOREST
WORKING-PLANS IN INDI4,
4th Edition, 1910.
THE BomBAay FLORA or
SHORT DESCRIPTIONS of
all the indigenous plants
hitherto discovered in or
near the Bombay Presi-
dency together with a
supplement of introduced
and naturalized species,
1861.
E. & D/Al-
do.
‘THE VARIATION OF ANIMAL S
& PLANTS under domes-
tication, Vol. II, 1868.
THE VaRIOUS CONTRIVAN-
CES BY WHICH ORCHIDS
ARE FERTILIZED BY IN-
SECTS, 2nd Edition,
1885.
CITRUS GROWING IN SOUTH
AFRICA, 1924.
HORTICULTURE ENTERPRISES,
1929.
LEHRBUCH DER PFLSNZEN-
PHYSIOLOGIE, 1883.
NOTES ON THE 'THERAPEU-
TICS OF INDIGENOUS VEGE-
TABLE DRUGS, Ist Edition,
1899. Pal
THE USEFUL PLANTS’ OF
INDIA alphabetically
arranged with botanical
descriptions, vernacular
synonyms and notices of
their economical value in |
commerce, Medicine and
the Arts, 1858.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE IN-
DIGENOUS FODDER GRASS-
ES of the plains of North-
western India, 1886.
BOOKS IN BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY 199
S
: &
Aes ee
5 ic
7) Ss)
95 ; B Ag
96 | BP
|
97 | BP
99 | B Ag
too | B Ag
TOD |B
702) B
7o3"| B
104 | B
105 | B
106 | B
107 |BFMR
108 |BFMR
109 IBFMR
Accession No
oe
go
ie)
275
276
277
269
2°70
20
125
Io!
141
231
115
61
62
63
( 25
Cabinet
I!
II
II
25
25
10
|e)
Io
|e)
se)
Io
Io
Io
Shelf
Author
Title of Book
(®
QQQ
>A
we
|
|
|
|
|
|
a eT ar a a a Te er Tena nD nT
ntemewmrgreooers ha Laahiibii bbe alate pres bine hel linbreereanh ohn fn ne he mmne meal aah dL
Se
Duthie, J. F.&
Fuller, J. B.
Duthie, J. F.
Dymock, William
Warden, C.J.H. &
Hooper, David
do.
do.
Eisen, Gustav
Eisen, Gustav
Exell, Arthur Wallis
Fawcett, W.
Firminger, ‘Thomas
Ane.
Fitchew, Dorothy
Fletcher, S. W.
Freeman-Mitford,
A. B.
Fuller, J. B.
Gamble, J. 5S.
do.
do.
do.
FIELD AND GARDEN CROPS
OF NORTH-WESTERN PRO-
vinces & QOvuDH, with
illustrations—Department
of Agriculture & Com-
Merce—N.W. Provinces
& Oudh, Part I, 1882.
See Strachey, Lt.-Genl. Sir
Richard & Duthie, J. F.
PHARMACOGRAPHIA INDICA—
a history of the principal
drugs of vegetable origin
met with in British India,
Vol. I, 1890.
do. Vol. II, 1891.
do. Vol. III, 1892.
THE Fic: its history, cul-
ture and curing with a
descriptive catalogue of
the known varieties of
figs—U.S. Department
of Agriculture Bulletin
No. 0; 1001:
do.
CATALOGUE OF THE VAS-
CULAR PLANTS OF 5S.
ToME’ (with principe and
annobon) British Museum
(Natural History), 1944.
THE BANANA—its_ cultiva-
tion, distribution and
commercial uses, 2nd
Edition (enlarged), 1921.
A MaANuaL OF GARDENING
FOR BeEeNnGai. & Upper
India, 3rd Edition,
1824.
See Carey, M. C. & Fitchew,
Dorothy.
STRAW-BERRY GROWING,
the ‘rural science series
(edited by Bailey, L. H.),
TOU
‘THE BAMBOO GARDEN, 1896.
See Duthie, J. F. & Fuller,
J. B.
A MANUAL OF INDIAN 'TIM-
BERS—an account of the
structure, growth distri-
bution and quantities of
Indian woods, 1881.
FLORA OF THE PRESIDENCY
oF Mapras, Vol. I, 1915
do. Vol. Il, 3923.
dowrVole Ill, ‘tos7-
200 JOURNAL, BOMBAY :NATURAL: HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
eS ee
S 3 eI
Z. e < a Author Title of Book
aes aa 2) S Gey
a S) < 0 2)
| | ee
110 | BOR yaiow4as no | E. | ‘Garden,ilihe * HORTICULTURAL ILLUSTRA-
| | TIONS, Vol. I, 1890-1899.
tor | Bar f464|- to} | do. do. Vol. II, do.
112) | BR | TAF SO o\ ee ae do. do. Vol. III, do.
113.) B | x94 | 11 | C | Giboin, Lucien M. EPITOME’ DE BOTANIQUE ET
| | DE Matiere Médicale de
| L’inde et spécialement
Des Establishment Fran-
| | cais Dans L’ inde—Thése,
1949.
114} 8B | Pros ane Gr 3 do. do.
Tris) ois | 113 | 10 | D_ | Good, Ronald THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE
| FLOWERING PLANTS, 1947.
116 | B Ag ZA40)\ 25 B | (Gould bak. PEACH-GROWING, 1918.
m7 64 | 10] B_ | Grant, Capt. Bartle TTHE ORCHIDS OF BURMA
| _ (including Andaman _Is-
lands) Described, 1895.
118 | B 94 | 10] C | Greaves, Joseph E.& | BACTERIA IN RELATION TO
| | Greaves, Ethelyn O. SOIL FERTILITY, 1926.
119418 5 7 EO E | Government Publi-| A Manuat or Forest Law.
| cation —compiled for the use of
the students at the Im-
| perial Forest Ccllege,
| | Dehra Dun, 1906.
1207) BS ls §290.4lvmE C | Government of India A ConcisE MANUAL OF
| | SYLVICULTURE for the use
| | of the Forestry students
| in India, 1906.
120. be $200): aia Cc Government of India | AGRICULTURE IN INDIA—
J | | The Publications division,
| | Ministry of Information
| & Broadcasting Govern-
ment of India, Delhi,
1950.
aes | go0|10{-C | Graham, John A CATALOGUE OF THE PLANTS.
| GROWING IN BOMBAY AND
| ITS VICINITY ; Spontaneous,
cultivated or introduced,
as far as they have been
| ascertained, 1839.
123.1 BR 278 6 A | Griffith, William & PALMS OF BRITISH Easr
| M?Clelland, John INDIA, 1850.
Greaves, Ethelyn O. See Greaves, Joseph E. &
Greaves, Ethelyn O.
124 |B ZO50) aa C Haines} Hite A Forest FLORA OF CHOTA
Nacpur including Gang-
pur and the Santalpar-
ganahs—a description of
all the indigenous: trees,
shrubs and climbers, the
‘ principal economic herbs.
and the most commonly
cultivated
shrubs, 1910.
trees and
>
Serial No.
BOOKS IN
c
°
=
~
fas)
iS)
cm
=
n
Dn
a)
—_
Oo
Accession No.
Shelf
Author
BOMBAY NATURAL -HISTORY. SOCIETY’S LIPRARY 201
Title of Book
129
130
132
133
BFIR
| BFIR
BFIR
BFIR
BFIR
BFIR
N
12)
NI
86
229
25
Wa w «he
Haines, H. H.
Harler, Agnes W.
Haskell, Sidney B.
Head, Brandon
| Hedrick, U. P.
Pemies Rei.
Hibberd, Shirley
_ Hibberd, Shirley
do.
Hillhouse, W.
Hole, R. S.
Holland, John Henty
Hooker, Sir J. D.
do.
do.
do.
Hooker, Sir jf. D:
do.
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF ‘TREES,
SHRUBS AND ECONOMIC
HerRBS of the Southern
Circle, Central Provinces,
1916.
‘THE GARDEN IN THE PLAINS,
3rd Edition, 1948.
See Voorhees, Edward B. &
Haskell, Sidney B.
THE FooD OF THE GODS, a
popular account of Cocoa,
1903.
MANUAL OF AMERICAN
GRAPE-GROWING, IQIQ.
GLOSSARY OF THE BOTANIC:
‘TERMS USED IN DESCRIBING
FLOWERING PLANTS, 1899.
THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN
GARDEN—a handy guide
to the formation and
Management oi the kit-
chen garden and the cul--
tivation of useful vege-
tables and fruits.
See Hulme, F. Edward &
Hibberd, Shirley
New & RARE BEAUTIFUL
LEAVED PLANTS; contain-
ing illus.rations and des-
criptions of the most orna-
mental-foliaged Plants,
1870.
See Strasburger, Dr. E. &
Hillhcuse, W.
A Manual or BoTany
FOR INDIAN STUDENTS,
1909.
See Nicholls, Sir Henry
Alford & Holland, John:
| Henry.
| THE: FLORA OF BRITISH
Inpra, Vol. I (Ranun-
culaceae—sapindaceae),
Loe.
do. Vol. II (Sabiaceae-Cor-
naceae), 1882.
' do. Vel. III (Caprifoliaceae-
| Apocynaceae), 1879.
do. Vol. IV (Asclepediaceae
| —Amarantaceae), 1885.
| THE FiLora’ oF _ BRITISH
| Inp1a, Vol. V (Cheno-
podiaceae —- Orchideae),
1890.
do. Vol. VI (Orchideae
contd.—-cypetaceac), 1894.
202 JOURNAL, BOMBAY “NATURAL HiST, SOCIETY, Volz 50
Spe ah aa :
Z on | 3 Author Title of Book
s D ae Pia =
m oo} 9
i, 2 [43] 2
139 | BFIR 58 | IO | B | Hooker, J. D. THE FLora oF _ BRITISH
| | | INp1A, (Cyperaceae contd.,
| | | Gramineae & General In-
| laepegesl | dex), 1897.
140|BR 286 Oa) 7B do. ILLUSTRATIONS OF HziMa-
| LAYAN PLANTS, 1855.
-_ Hooper, David _ See Dymock, William War-
| | | | «denvC. J. Ho & “Hooper.
| | | David
141 | B | r19 | 10! D | Howard, Albert & | WueaT IN INDIA—-its pro-
| | Howard, Gabrielle, ducticn, varieties and im-
| ace | plovement, 1909.
| Howard, Gabrielle L.. See Howaid, Albert & How-
(Ch | ard, Gabrielle Ll 7©
142" /7B E21" vor | Hughes-Gibb,
| Eleanor | ‘TREES AND MEN, 1938.
143° '|°b | 261 | 25 | B- | Hulme, F. Edward & | FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOWERS
| | Hibberd, Shirley | —first series.
144 | B 262,925 1 ole do. | do. second series.
ra54 6 263° 25 |B do. | do. third series.
146 | B WPeoumie2c |). B do. | do. fourth series.
147 | B (226502551058 do. | do. fifth series.
148 B 255 |25 | B | Hulme, F. Edward | Familiar Wild Folwers—first
| series.
swMevelfas 3) 2560) 25) Be do. do. second series.
150 | B Ae fal Ie kan he oS do. | do. third series.
751 1B 28°) 257)" do. do. fourth series.
152 | B Peano 25, 1b do. do. fifth series.
153 | B 260} 25°| B | do. do. sixth series.
154 |B | cg") ro | B | Hutchinson, J. THE FAMILIES OF FLOWER-
| | ING PLants 1 _ Dicotyle-
| | dons, 1926.
55.108 P66 810 1s Bat) do.' do. Il Monocotyledons, 1934.
56 |B | ‘as58 70 |7 - 4) Jacquet, Ae INCENDIES EN FoRET (Forest
| | | Fires) (Translated by
| | | Fisher, C.-E. ‘©, 1010,
157 |B Pe gOS gO aL | Jekyll, Gertrude Woop & GaRDEN—notes
| | | | | and thoughts, practical
| | | and critical of a working
| | | | | | amateur, 1899.
758 | B | Tsoplero. Eo ii<apun. San A MAaNuaL OF THE AIR
| | | | SEASONING OF INDIAN
| TIMBERS, 1934.
159 |B | 88 | 10] C_ | Keeble, Sir Frederick; LiFe oF PLANTS, 1926.
160 BP 200 | 11 C | Khory, Rustomjee THE BomBay MaAartTERIA
| | | Naserwanjee Mepica & THEIR THERA-
| | PEUTICS, 1887.
161 ' BR 289 6| B_ | King, George THE SPECIES OF Myris-
| TICA OF BritisH INDIA,
| | Annals of the Roval Bot-
| anic Gardens, Calcutta
| | Vol. III (pt. 4), 1891.
162 B Ag | 246 25 B King, F. H. IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE—
principles and prac ice of
their cultural phase. 8th
Edition, 1922.
BOOKS IN BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY
203
| ©
| § Zi
fe} = fs
Zz & = a Author
= es 7a) q Cm
= 2 2 ps) Ba
3 a 5} EI de
9) (O) x | 1S) : Cee arm ;
163 rt LO D Kirk, Thcmas
164 2 | Lon Klages, Karl H. W.
165 I50 |-10 E Kurz, Sulpice
166 | B Ag 2a 725 B Landolicus
167 | B LOZ | Tt C Lanjouw, J.
erat
|
168 | 18 | ro | iS DOae de Ca
169 (> T7670) | H do.
170 | 198 II Lister, Arthur &
Lister, Gulielma
| | Lister, Gulielma
|
171) B |) 82y) 11] C> | Lloyd, C..G.
\
1729) 5 | T7e hor Ot Ws - as Wowe, Ws. ].. &
| Howard, W.
ae
ipemiek | 27 lrr0 |) A Lowis, Lena
74/BR | 28110] A do,
HAsO, 2 |). 20>) 10 |) 7A do.
176 | B Ag | 2269) 25 B Lyon, T. Lyttleton
pS aceite. 028 = Wisemillan 4a: F.
178 | B | 69 | 10 | B do.
1797) B | ose 10:1) (Cc Madison, Harold L.
Title of Book
THE STUDENTS’ FLORA OF
NEW ZEALAND, 1899.
ECOLOGICAL Crop GEOG-
RAPHY, 1942.
PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE
ForEesT & OTHER VEGE-
TATION OF PEGU, 1875.
"THE INDIAN AMATEUR
GARDENER, practical hints
on the cultivation of gar-
den flowers and impor-
tant vegetable seeds adap-
ted for the plains of Ben-
gal, the North-west Pro-
vinces and _ hill-stations,
3rd Edition, 1902.
SYNOPSIS OF PROPOSALS con-
ceining the internaticnal
rules of Botanical ncmen-
clature submitted tc
the seventh International
Botanical Congress—Stock-
holm, 1950.
List OF BomBay GRassEs &
THEIR USES, 1896.
UsEFUL PLANTS of the
Bcmbay Presidency, 1886.
A MONOGRAPH OF THE My-
CETOZOA—a descriptive
catalogue of the species in
the Herbarium of the
British Museum, 2nd Edi-
tion, Revised, 1911.
See Lister, Arthur & Lister,
Gulielma.
INDEX OF THE MyYCOLOGICAL
WRITINGS Vol. VI, 1920-
Ig2I.
BEAUTIFUL LEAVED PLANTS ;
being a description of the
most beautiful plants in
cultivation in this coun-
try, 1845.
FAMILIAR INDIAN FLOWERS
with coloured plates, 1878.
do.
do.
Soits & FERTILIZERS—
Rural Text-book series,
1926.
TROPICAL GARDENING AND
PLANTING with special ref-
erence to Ceylon, 1925.
do.
WILD FLOWERS OF OHIO,
1938.
JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL | HIST: SOCIETY. Vol. 50
Serial No.
Classification
Accession No
Shelf
Author
Title of Book
180 |
i” ee eg cd
186 | B
187
188
189
a ——————_——__——————_————
oS wt wo
Ag
Ag
107
184
185
186
202
266
117
160
TO
IO
Io
IGA
Tet:
Il
sae)
TOM |
Oe Gls
Mahendru, I. D.
Maiden, J. H.
do.
do.
do.
| Maiden; J. H.
| McCann, Charles
do.
do.
McCurdy, Robert M.
| McDonald, Donald
M’clelland, John
| Millard, Walter S.
do.
Mollison, J.
do.
do.
Mooney, Herbert
Morfit, Campbell
Miller,
mann
Murray, James A.
Prof. Her-
a peepee epee EeESneEEEEeEEnpgEepNSETSgErEESapereaeesereeereerereTe
See Champion, H. G. &
Mahendru, I. D.
THE Forest FLora oF NEw
SoutH Wa.es Vol. I
(parts I-10), 1904.
do. Vol. II (parts 11-20),
1907.
do. Vol. III (parts 21-30),
1908.
do. Vol. IV (parts 31-40),
1908.
THE USEFUL NATIVE PLANTS
OF AUSTRALIA (including
Tasmania), 1889.
TREES OF INDIA—a popular
Handbook, 1947.
See Blatter, E.& McCann, C.
See Blatter, E., McCann, C.
& Sabnis, T. S.
GARDEN FLOWERS, ‘The
Nature Library, 1926.
ENGLISH VEGETABLES &
FLOWERS IN INDIA & CEY-
LON, 2nd Edition, 1890.
See Griffith, William &
M’clelland, John.
See Blatter, the late Rev.
E. & Millard, Walter S.
See Blatter, the late Rev. E.
& Millard, Walter S.
A 'TEXT-BOOK ON INDIAN
AGRICULTURE—SOILS,
MANuRES, IMPLEMENTS,
I19OI.
do. CaTTLE BREEDING &
MANAGEMENT OF FARM
STOCK, generally, the
Breeds of the cattle of the
Bombay Presidency, 1901.
do. Fretp & GARDEN CRops
OF THE BOMBAY PRESI-
DENCY, 1901.
SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOTANY
OF BiHaR & ORISSA, 1950.
A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON.
PURE FERTILIZERS, 1873.
THE FERTILIZATION OF
FLOWERS, 1883.
THE PLANTS AND DRUGS OF
SIND ; being a systematic
account, with descrip-
tions of the indigenous
Flora and notices of the
value anduses oftheir pro-
ducts in commerce, medi-
cine and the arts, 1881.
A
BOOKS IN BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY 205
Author
Title of Book
ee SS ee ns = - ee
6
yp dl a ea a |
i) =
_ Se D 3 |
33 2 OMe) ahr
a = 8 md a
oO |
Nn So) < Oj} mn
195 | 254 | 25 | B
197 Ag Ege lero |
198 | B Ag | 232 | 25 |
199 R 268 | 25 | €
|
200 | Loge Ta | C
| |
201 | Ag | eta jugs Gam on
202 126 | 10 D
203" i277 ore’ | 1D
2.04 | TO4= | mon |) 1H
| |
205 |B R | 283 Or 14 A
| |
206 | B Ag ! eaters aC
|
207 BR | 288, 6, B
| ee |
| ere.
208 | [23 \- 10 |
209 | B Ag 250 | 25 | B
210 245 | 25 | B
| |
|
| Nadkarni, K. M.
|
_ Nairne, Alexander
Kyd
| Nicholson, Sir F. A.
Nicholls, Sir Henry
Alford & Holland, |
John Henry
Oliver, Professor
, Ordance Laboratories
| -P. C
Pfleiderer, I.
do.
Pierce, Newton B.
Pierce, L.
Popenoe, Wilson
| Prain, David
do.
Quinn, George
| Reeves, J. A.
Patil, Rao Bahadur)
INDIAN PLANTS & Drucs
with their medical pro-
Perties and uses, 1908.
THE FLOWERING PLANTS
OF WESTERN India, 1894.
NOTE ON AGRICULTURE in
Japan, 1907.
A Texr-Book oF TROPICAL
AGRICULTURE, 1929.
| JLLUSTRATIONS OF THE
|
PRINCIPAL NATURAL
ORDERS OF THE VEGETABLE
KINGDOM, 1874.
FicHt FuNnci—the preven-
tion of the damage io
military equipment by rot
and mildew, Pest control
pamphlet No. 5, 1946.
PRINCIPLES AND. PRACTICE
OF FARM COSTING WITH
FARM STUDIES, Depart-
Ment of Agriculture, -
Bombay, 1933.
GLIMPSES INTO THE LIFE OF
INDIAN PLANTS—an ele-
mentary Indian Botany,
1908.
do. 4th Edition, 1921.
PEACH LEAF CURL, Its nature
and treatment—U.S. De-
partment of Agriculture,
Bulletin No. 20, 19c0.
Flore Forestiére de la coch-
inchine.
MANUAL OF ‘TROPICAL &
SUBTROPICAL FRUITS, ex-
cluding the banana, cocoa-
nut, pineapple, citius
fruits, olive and fig, 1927.
THE SPECIES OF Pedicu-
laris OF THE INDIAN
EMPIRE & ITS FRONTIERS,
Parts I-III, Annals of the
Royal Botanic Gardens,
Calcutta," Vol; IIL, 1800.
BOTANICAL Notes & PAPERS,
I1gol.
Fruit TREES & GRAPE VINE
PRUNING—a handbook for
fruit and vine growers,
6th Edition, 1921.
SAP—DOES IT RISE FROM THE
ROOTS ? Experiments and
observations on trees and
other plants, 1890.
SA A TN EAN DE RS TEE I SD I CE TIES OGD I a TIT IS NTR EE EE OS RT
206 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
6
ema ee
° 8 <¢
4 a | ‘3 8 Author Title of Book
S 4 6 jal &
5 & 6 ise
a of | 2a |O| @
211 | BS LOS 4s £1 ec Ribbentrop, B. FORESTRY IN BRITISH INDIA,
| 1900.
212 | B WS ViekO C Ridley, Henry N. |THE FLORA OF THE MALAY
| | PENINSULA — Polypetalae,
| | | Volo by 1922:
213 | B 7O \To AC do. | do. -Gamopetalae, Vol. II,
1923.
214 |B pik LO C do. do.-Apetalae, Vol. III, 1924.
215 | B 78 10 G; do. do. -Monocotyledones, Vol.
| IV, 1924.
216 | B FQ | 10 Cc do. do. -Monocotyledones (con-
| cluded) Gymnospermeze,
| | General Indices, Vol. V,
| 1925.
217 | B bo r8 to | AD do. THE DISPERSAL OF PLANTS
| | THROUGHOUT THE WORLD,
| | 1930.
mei BeR suiiaige tiger) A Robert, Paul A. & ALPINE FLOWERS, Iris
: . | Schroeter, Prof. Books, 1945.
| Dr. Carl
219 | B 128 | 10 D Robinson, W. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GAR
DEN & HOME GROUNDS,
8th Edition, 1902.
220 C73 iO.) | 1s Rogers, Julia Ellen | TReES—The Nature Lib-
| rary, 1926.
221 ToSs|) to.) 'C Royal Botanic Gar- OrcuIps—Collection of pic-
dens, Kew. ture post cards of various
| Orchids.
222|BR | 2aig6 toa) | aA Royle, J. Forbes | ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE Bor-
| | | ANY & OTHER BRANCHES
| | OF THE Natural History
| OF THE HIMALAYAN
| | | MOUNTAINS AND OF THE
| | | FLORA OF CASHMERE, 1839.
223 | B 27025) ee do. |THE FrBRous PLANTS’ OF
Inp1a fitted for cordage,
| clothing and paper, 1855.
224 | B ls erG leo | <A Roxburgh, William | FLora Inpica or Descrip-
| | | tions of Indian Plants,
| 1874.
225 | B 129) | G01) 1) do. | do.
| Sabnis: a. 0: See Blatter, E., McCann, C,
| & Sabnis, T. S
225 | B 162<) 10") °F Sahasrabuddhe, Rao | EXPERIMENTS IN MANURING
Bahadur D. L. CROPS IN THE BOMBA
| | | PRESIDENCY 1896-1931,
First Edition, 1934.
227 | BOR 27040 7), A Sander, F. REICHENBACHIA— Orchids
illustrated and described,
Vol. I, 1888.
228 | BR 2SOuiriO? | eX do. do. Vol. II, 1890.
229 |.B.R 284 | 6| A do. REICHENBACHIA— Orchids
illustrated and described,
Vol. I (second series),
1892.
230| BR 285 6; A do. do. 1894.
Serial No.
I
N
Ww
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
BOOKS IN
Classification
BOMBAY. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S LIBRARY 207
Accession No,
Cabinet
Shelf
Author
Title of Book
BR
B Ag
|
Ke)
Ke)
109
208
166
151
152
137
136
272
Io
Q
Oa)
Sawer, J. Ch.
Seemann, Berthold
Simari, R. F.
Sloane, Boyd L.
Smythies, E. A,
| Snyder, Harry
Stevens, T. H.G.
Strachey, Lt.-Genl.
Sir Richard &
Duthie, J. F.
Strasburger, Dr. E.
& Hillhouse, W.
Sweet, Robert
Talbot, W. A.
do.
do.
Taylor, J. E.
Temple-Wright,
Mrs. R.
Tompkins, B.
ODOROGRAPHIA—a Natural
History of raw materials
and drugs used in the per-
fume industry including
the aromatics used in
flavouring, 1894.
POPULAR HISTORY OF THE
PALMS AND THEIR ALLIES,
1856.
OLIVICOLTURA ED OLEIFICIO
MODERNO, MANUALL
HOEPLI, second edizione,
1023.
See White Alain & Sloane,
Boyd L.
INDIA’s) ForREST WEALTH,
2nd Editicn, 1925.
SoOIts & FERTILIZERS, 3rd
Edition, 1918.
TREE & SHRUBS IN MY
GARDEN, 1938.
CATALOGUE OF THE PLANTS
OF KUMAON and of the
adjacent portions of Garh-
wal and Tibet, 1906.
HANDBOOK OF PRACTICAL
Botany for the botanical
laboratory and _ private
student, 4th Edition,
Revised, 1911.
SWEET’s Hortus’ BRITAN-
Nicus, or A catalogue of
all the plants indigenous.
or cultivated, in the gar-
dens of Great Britain,
arranged according to the
Natural system, 3rd Edi-
tion, 1839.
SYSTEMATIC LIST OF THE
TREES, SHRUBS AND WOODY-
CLIMBERS OF BOMBAY
PRESIDENCY, 1894.
FoREST FLORA OF THE Bom-
BAY PRESIDENCY & SIND,
(Ranunculaceae to Rosa-
ceae) Vol. I, 1909.
do. (Rhizophoraceae ito
Gramineae) Vol. II, 1911.
THE Sacacity & MORALITY
OF PLANTS, 1884.
FLOWERS & GARDENS IN
INDIA—a Manual for
beginners, 1895.
SPRINGS OF WATER and
how to discover them by
the divining-rod, 1925.
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
°
B02
3 = =
Pd 5 LOT ies
cay a ®
3 2 Go) sae ee
Bo | 8 So ite al te
Nn O q |O op)
246 | BR 17221| LO E
247 B 179 10 E
248 Bak 149 | 10] E
249 | B 80 Io C
250 | 2b 81 | 10 | C
|
251 | 82 me) |
252 S35. 50
253 | gi Lo |
254 B Il | me) | A
255 | B 125), 10 A
256 | B 13.) 10 /
257 BS oq to. ee
258 | B Bites TO meee
259| BS 251 | 25 | B
260 | BAg biboy ar [es Ea |
261 | B I1O |e) a)
Author
Tournefort
Trelease, William
Trimen, Henr y
do.
do.
do.
do.
Trotter, H.
‘Troup aR: S:
do.
Turner, William Bar-
Well .
| Unwin, A. H.
Vasey, Dr. Geo.
Title 02 Book
~
THE COMPLEAT
1716.
HERBAL,
E1ctH ANNUAL REPORT,—
Missouri Botanical Gar-
den, 1897.
PLates IN ILLUSTRATION OF
A HanpBook To THE
FLORA Or CEYLON—
Plates I—XXV, 1893.
A HAND-BOOK TO THE FLORA
OF CEYLON containing des-
criptions of allthe species
of flowering plants indi-
genous to the Island and
notes on their history, dis-
tribution and uses—
Ranunculaceae — Ana-
cardiaceae—FPart I, 1893.
do. Connaraceae— Rubiaceae
and index to Parts I & II,
Part II, 1894.
do. Valerianaceae ae Balano-
phoraceae, Part III, 1895.
do. Euphorbiaceae —Naiade-
dae, Part IV, 1898.
THE COMMON COMMERCIAL
TIMBERS OF INDIA and
their uses, 1929.
| THE SILVICULTURE OF
INDIAN ‘TREES—Dullenia-
ceae to Legumanoceae
(Papilionaceae), Vol. I.
NOZT.,
do. Legumanoceae (Caesal-
pinicae) to verbenaceae,
Volos) frozt
do. Lauraceae to Coniferae,
Vol. Tih e292
INDIAN ForREST UTILIZATION,
1907.
ALGAE AQUAE Du tcIs INDIAE
ORIENTALIS—THE FRESH-
WATER ALGAE (principally
Desmidae) oF East INpia,
1892.
GOAT-GRAZING AND FORESTRY
IN CYPRUS.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NORTH
AMERICAN GRASSES, Grassses
of the south-west,—U.S.
Department of Agricul-
ture, Vole i608.
Vines, Sydney H. | A SrTuDENT’s TExT-BoOK OF
| BOTANY, I9QIo.
|
tle
aa é |
Z a= = 5) Author
= 7, n SG a
s 2 5 ue) "Oo
7 = 3 cia) ets
ao) O x O 7p)
262 | B Ag 242 n25 | B Moe eae B.
Haskell, Sidney B.
263 |BR 281:|,6| A Wallich, Nathaniel
|
264; BR 282) fovOr |e uk do.
Warden, C. J. H.
265 | B Ag 2n3u\e25) tas Watson, W.
266|BR ZrO) 25 A Watt, Sir George
267|BR 22000253) 2s Watt, George
268 | BR 22a eZ le do.
269 |BR 222) \ 25, le ae do.
270|/BR 22S ale2 Spe ee do.
en BR 22AS 25a aes do.
272 |B R 22525 1 oA do.
273-1 BR 220) \325 A do.
era AR 2275. | AS do.
27s iB RR 228 | 25 A do.
270 |. B Ag 234250, B Wheeler, Homer J.
277 \ B 1035 FO. White, Alain &
Sloane, Boyd L.
278 | B Ta) 10 A do.
BOOKS IN’ BOMBAY NATURAL-.HISTORY -SOCIETY’S LIBRARY 209
Title of Book
FERTILIZERS—the source,
character and composition
of fertilizer materialsand
suggestions as to their
- use, 1926.
PLANTAE ASIATICAE RARIO-
RES or Descriptions and
figures of a select number
of unpublished East In-
dian plants, Vol. I-ll
Text, 1830.
do.-Plates, 1832. _
See Dymock, William War-
den, Ci Ju.
& Hooper, David
CACTUS CULTURE FOR AMA-
TEURS : being descriptions
of the various cactuses
grown in this country
with full and practical in-
structions for their suc-
cessful cultivation, 1889.
‘THE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS
oF INpDIA—being an |
abridgment of ‘ The Dic-
tionary cf the Economic
Products of India’, 1908.
A DICTIONARY OF THE ECO-
NOMIC PRODUCTS OF INDIA,
cabbage to cyperus, Vol.
Il, 1889.
do. Dacrydium to Gor-
donia, Vol. III, 1890.
do. Gossypium to Lino-
ciera, Vol. IV, 1890.
do. Linum to Oyster, Vol.
VG ESOL:
do. Pachyrhizus to Rye,
Part I, Vol. VI, 1892.
do. Sabadilla to Silica, Part
II, Vol. VI, 1893. .
do. Silkto Tea, Part III,
Vol. VI, 1893.
do. Tectona to Zygophil-
lum, Part IV .Vol. VI,
1893.
do. Index, 1896.
Manures & FERTILIZERS—
Rural Textbook series,
1924.
THE STAPELIEAE—an intro-
duction to the study of
this tribe of Asclepia-
daceae, 1933.
THE STAPELIEAE ,Vol. I,
and Edition, 1937.
Title of Book
THE STAPELIEAE Vol. II.
do. Vol. III.
THE CALIFORNIA’ FRUITS.
and how to grow them,
3rd Edition, 1900.
do. 9th Edition, 1921.
THE PRINCIPLES OF IRRI--
GATION PRACTICE, 1926.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN:
Botany or figures illus-
trative of each of the
Natural Orders of Indian
plants, described in the.
author’s Prodromus
Florae Peninsulae Indiae-:
Orientalis, 1840.
do.
IcONES PLANTARUM INDIAE.
ORIENTALIS or Figures of
Indian Plants, plates 319-
736, Vol. II, 1843.
do. Plates 737-1163, Vol.
III, 1845.
do. Plates 1164-1621, Vol.
IV, 1850.
do. Plates 1622-1920, Vol.
NV, 2852.
do. Plates 1921-2101, Vol.
VI, 1853.
TROPICAL AGRICULTURE,
1929.
A ManuaL & DICTIONARY
OF THE FLOWERING PLANTS.
AND FERNS, 3rd_ Edi-
tion, 1908.
AGRICULTURE IN THE.
‘TROPICS—an elementary
treatise, 3rd Edition, Re-
vised, 1922.
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF TREES,
SHRUBS, CLIMBERS & Eco-
NOMIC HERBS of the North-
ern & Berar Forest Cir-
cles,
1916.
Gardening in India, 1889.
Central Provinces,.
do. 1903.
GARDENING IN THE 'TRO-
210 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
a a
3
Se
} 3 |
A e ‘3 vs) Author
a o See es
Hy tas} o o
a 5 2 {o| &
279 | B 2|10}| A _. | Sloane, Boyd L.
280 | B Bho Aer do.
281 | B Ag 170 | 10 | E* | Wickson, Edward J.
282 | B Ag 207 4| 25 C do.
283 | B Ag 24T \i25) |B Widtsoe, John A.
284 R 209 | 25 Wight, Robert
285 | BR 210). 25° | A do.
286 | BR 28t|\25 A | do
287 Web aR 2I2) 2's A do.
288 | BR ZI ZN 225) | Wight, Robert
289 | BR ZEA E25 A do.
290|BR 215. 1525 A do.
291 | B Ag 2351 ne5 les Wilcox, Earley
Vernon
292 |B 93 | 10 WillssJ. 1C-
293 | B Ag 230 1425 B do.
294 |B 2.04. Peehec Witt, D. O.
295 98|"10 | (2€ Woodrow, G. Mar-
shall
296 | B 99 | IO (Ci do.
297 | B 100} ro |) iC do.
Pics being a_ seventh
edition of ‘ Gardening in
India’ adapted for tropi-
cal or semitropical regions.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY V. M. PHILIP AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS,
18 CHURCH ROAD, VEPERY,
EDITORS :
MADRAS.—Z28-9-1951
C3985
sALIM ALI, S. B. SETNA AND H. SANTAPAU
114 APOLLO STREET, FORT, BOMBAY
NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS
Contributors of scientific articles are requested to assist the
editors by observing the following instructions ;
1. Papers which have at the same time been offered for publica-
tion to other journals or periodicals, or have already been published
elsewhere, should not be submitted.
2. The MS should preferably be typed (double spacing) on
one side of a sheet only, and the sheets properly numbered.
3. Allscientific names, to be printed in italics, should be under-
lined. Both in zoological and in botanical references only the initial
letter of the genus is capitalized. ‘The specific and sub-specific names
always begin with a small letter even if they refer to a person or a
place, e.g. Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni or Streptopelia chinensis suratensis
or Dimeria blattert.
Trinomials referring to subspecies should only be used where
identification has been authentically established by comparison of
specimens actually collected. In all other cases, or where identification
is based merely on sight, binomials should be used.
5. Photographs for reproduction must be clear and show good
contrast. Prints must be of a size not smaller than 34 x 24 inches
(No. 2 Brownie) and on glossy glazed paper.
6. Text figures, line drawings and maps should be in Indian ink,
preferably on Bristol board.
7. References to literature should be placed at the end of the
paper, alphabetically arranged under author’s name with the abridged
titles of journals or periodicals underlined (italics), and titles of books
not underlined (roman type), thus ;
Roepke, W. (1949); The Genus Nyctemera Httbner. Trans. ent.
Soc. Lond., 100 (2); 47-70. :
Prater, S. H. (1948); The Book of Indian Animals, Bombay.
Titles of papers should not be underlined.
8. Reference to literature in the text should be made by quoting
the author’s name and year of publication, thus; (Roepke, 1949).
g- Synopsis: As recommended by the Royal Society Scientific In-
formation Conference (July 1948), the editors consider it desirable that
each scientific paper be accompanied by a synopsis appearing at the
beginning, immediately after the title. The synopsis should be factual.
It should convey briefly the content of the paper; draw attention to
all new information and to the author’s main conclusions. It should
also indicate newly observed facts, the method and conclusions of an
experiment, and if possible the essential points of any new finding,
theory or technique. It should be concise and normally not exceed
200 Words.
When the synopsis is complete it should be carefully revised by
the author to clarify obscurities, and further compressed wherever
possible without detracting from its usefulness.
114 Apollo Street, Fort, EDITORS,
Bombay 1. Journal of the Bombay Natural
History Society.
tay ee Ts SOCIETY'S PUBLIK ATIC NS.
| ie Pies ee
Mammals. a Pig hae aya hak
sey
alas
Book of Taian | Animals, by Ss. H. Prater, with many coloured and b
“white plates. @. a
ie 3 Price to Members| ban
4
4 Birds, ©4/% |
Game Birds of India, Vol. III. Pheasants, ast Edi ition
Book of Indian Birds, by Salim Ali, aah. many ‘colour and ita ip
Rs. I i> ‘
plates, 4th edition, ‘revised oo enlarged. Be he :
ve) WPricelte Members Rs. rape
Set of 12 Coloured Picture Postcards of Common Indian Birds, Rs. 24 pets er
é
¥
Fish. Arab i Ag: ae m mie
nye 4
Circumventing the Mabseer and Other Sporting Fish a India ee : a
Burma. ; : Rs. as: ear:
Teak . (Price to Members Rs. 2) > eat
| Snakes! \i5) "1840s Se ee ae Ss ad ae
Identification of Poisonous Snakes— eg ah Se le Pili! Mie a
Rein Chatty. neues pia a “a Rs, 2-8.
Miscellaneous. PRC ether o. MINN. Sa
Wall Chart to distinguish a Wild Dog from a Domestic ‘Dog or Beh
fad etc. ah: ; S. 2-
Back Numbers of the Journal. ni oo Z
Back nome of the Society’s Journal. Rates on at ; H wrk Ps,
Obtainable from: = = et) a i Pe } , "i ae
The Honorary Secretary, _ 1 OE os Mai AS 0: Ae A
Bombay Natural History Society, © Shes dking i oa ae
114 Apollo ey ert eee, 1 mee Paes Pin
London Agents: ; ia AVE Ha ohn
Messrs. Wheldon & Wesley Ltd., tk se he pas | hes i
83/84 ‘Berwick Street, Dn te ny ee et
he Be SS oe ae tN
London, WwW. ao Pee Poy fil, eRe '
ry. e ss : : , Fi tif by: en > Fs ' ?.
ay ae Bi M a3 Ay
4 eS 2 eC uF Pi Ke
Ary tas “,
EXW ce Tae A it ¥
Life Masthbers pay an entrance ee of Rs, 2 5 and a Life “Membership fee of
Rs. 500. anh 4 y" ol y , a
Ordinary Members pay an entrance ee of Rs. 25 and an
tion of Rs. 30. ;
The subscription of members elected in October, Nc
covers the period from the date of their election uP tll
year.
The terms are the same for bic ee es outside Ind
should pay their subscriptions by means of orders on tl eir T
amount of the subscription, plus postage—in all Rs. 3 31-12- -0 to t
Bombay on the 1st January in each year. If this cannot be done, hi
of £2-8-0 should be paid annually to the Society’s London B
National Bank of India, Bishopsgate eae pose ‘EC. dhe Y
vehi } sah a
~ { Ween!
een gn
JOURNAL OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
Vol. 50, No. 2
Editors
SALIM ALI, S. B. SETNA, H. SANTAPAU
ZaMiS ON,
MAR 11 1952
= HERARN.
DECEMBER 1951
Rs. 15
oe ‘) oe
Cvperce
ie never made to sells rs
et the lowest possible’:
price, sacrificing ad.
vantages: which a good ‘3
Watch must embody,
Prices vary consider.
ably, but whatever you
pay for your West End
Watch you can be sure
of Reliability, Strong
Construction and Attract.
ive Appearance,
MINIATURE
_ CRYSTAL SECUN DUS
.s
Ad
e
*«
ey a a Wi
SECUNDUS
NEW CALIBRE SQUARE “B’”’ ees SOEs veeees:,
Rolled Gold, 20 Microns Rs. 144 é : aes
WEST END WATCH co
BOMBAY CALCUTTA
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50, No. 2
PAGE
JUNGLE MEMORIES. Part X. By Lt.-Col. E. G. Phythian-Adams,
O.B.E., F.Z.S., 1.A. (Retd.) (With two plates) 211
THE BIRDS OF CoorG. PART II. By F.N. Betts. (With two plates) 224.
THE HILSaA FISHERY OF THE CHILKA LAKE. By S. Jonesand K. H.
Sujansingani. (With a map, 2 plates, 3 graphs and 2 diagrams.) 264
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL. Part II. By Lt.-Col. F. M. Bailey. 281
HABITS OF THE COMMON MEMBRACID (‘ TREE-HoOpPPER ’) Otinotus oneratus
WaLk. (HomopterRA: RHyNCHOTA). By B. K. Behura, msc. (Cal.),
Ph.D. (Edin.). F.R.E.S. | wee
CRITICAL NOTES ON THE IDENTITY AND NOMENCLATURE OF SOME BOMBAY
PLants. By H. Santapau, S.J., F.L.S. (With 2 plates)
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON LITTLE KNOWN ASSAM RIVERS, PARTII. By
Wil. DB. Cooper,
FISHES FROM THE HIGH RANGE OF TRAVANCORE. By E.G. Silas. (With
two text figures) ... as
THE BUTTERFLIES OF BOMBAY AND SaLSETTE. By A. E. G. Best
THE GENUS Vulpia GMEL. IN INDIA. By N. L. Bor
A NATURALIST IN THE NoRTH-WHST HIMALAYAS. PARTI. By M. A.
Wynter-Blyth, M.a. (With one text map and two plates) ...
SOME BIRDS SEEN ON THE GANDAK-KoSI WATERSHED iN Marcu, 1951
By Mrs. Desirée Proud, (With a sketch map and a plate)
NOTHS ON FISHES OF THE GENUS Glyplothorax BLYTH FROM PENINSULAR
INDIA, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES. By E. G. Silas
THE PROTECTION OF WORLD RESOURCES: WILD LIFE AND THE SOIL.
By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton, 1. 4. (Retd.)
REVIEWS :—
1, Contributions to the Breeding Biology of Larus argentatus and Larus
fuscus. By Knud Paludan. (S.A.) ine :
2. Audubon Water Bird Guide. By Richard H. Pough, (S.A.)
. Taiwania. (H.S.) er ae
4, Beautifying India. By M.S. Randhawa. (H.S.)
ADDITIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S LIBRARY
299
305
344
355
367
371
li CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50, No. 2°
PAGE
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
1. Abnormal behaviour of a male Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta
mulatta Zimmerman). By H. Khajuria (p. 389). 2. Tiger eating carrion. By
F. M. Needham (p. 389). 3.‘An extraordinary find in a Panther’s
stomach’. By Randolph C. Morris (p. 390). 4 ‘ Rabies in Tiger ’—A dis-
cussion (p 391). 5, Wild Elephant seeks assistance. By Frank Nicholls
(p. 396). 6. Habits of the Mongoose. By W. T. Lloyd-Jones (p. 397).
7. Crab-eating Chital. By J. K. Stanford (p.398) 8 ‘ The Most Mur-
derous Rogue’. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton (p. 399). 9. What is the best
means of control and destruction of Flying Foxes[(Brtinn.)] Pleropus gigan-
éus). By E. P. Gee, and Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton (p. 401). 10. Some notes
on the Malabar Grey Hornbill [(Bath.)] Zockus griseus. By Humayun Abdulali
(p. 403). 11. A nesting colony of small Swallow-plovers in Mysore State.
By C. BrookeWorth (p. 405). 12. Occurrence of the Pheasant-tailed Jacana
phasianus chirurgus (Scopoli) in Madras. By Editors (p. 406). 13. Morning
and Evening bird calls. By Jamal Ara (p. 407). 14. Stray bird notes
from Tibet. By H. E. Richardson (p. 413). 15. Breeding of the Green
Pit Viper (Zvimeresurus gramineus). By J. N. Barooa (p. 414). 16. Sur-
face locomotion of certain frogs (ama) and the occurrence of A. taipehen-
sts van Denburgh in India. By J.D. Romer (p.414). 17. Hilsa catches
on the Kodinar (Kathiawar) Coast By T. V.R, Pillay (p. 415). 18. A note
on the eggs and the first stage larva of Hippolysmata vittata Stimpson. By
G. K. Kuriyan (p. 416). 19. Butterfly migration in the Niigiris. By
Margaret Villiers Briscoe (p. 417). 20. A short note on the Eugenia Leaf
Caterpillar Carea subtilis Wik. (With a text figure). By K.R. Anantha.
narayanan and S. Venugopal (p. 418). 21. A Note on the Blood-sucking
Simulium of Ceylon. By T. R. Sandrasagara (p. 421). 22. Mating
behaviour of Leeches. By C. J. Leslie (p.422). 23. Description and
discussion of the biting of an Indian Land Leech (Annelida: Hirudinea).
By C. Brooke Worth (p. 423). 24. A teratosis of MWussaenda hirsutissima
Hutch. By W. Wilson Mayne (p.426). 25. Fyverea indica Dalz.—A new
recordin Bombay. By H.Santapau (p.4?7). 26. A branched specimen
of Costus speciosus Smith. By H. Santapau (p. 427). 27. A note on Neurac-
anthus sphaerostachyus Dalz. (With two plates). By P. V. Bole and H.
Santapau (p. 428). 28. The flowering of Strobi/anthes in Khandala (IV).
By H. Santapau (p. 430). 29. Preparation of a Flora for Madhya Pradesh
and the central parts of the Indian Union. By C. E. Hewetson (p. 431).
30. Shooting of Peafowl and Antelope (Blackbuck) prohibited in Madras
State. By Lt.-Col! R. W. Burton (p.433). 31. Gleanings (p. 433).
Annnal Report of the Bombay Natural History Society for the year ending
31st December 1950 ales er 54 bess bas
The Honorary Secretaries’ Report for the year 1950
Appendix to the Honorary Secretaries’ Report covering the period
January to September 1951 es = aa ae Za.
' Statement of Accounts of the Bombay Natural History Society
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting ‘fe nae ss
436
437
442
445
450
— ee
JOURNAL
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
1951 : Wow 50 No. 2
JUNGLE MEMORIES
BY
Lr.-Cot. By Ge, Conan ane OSBRE- yh) 2ESy, oleae, (Net.
PaRT X—MIxED Bac
(With two plates)
_ (Continued from p. 12 of this Volume)
nis ay ee
‘.. Few opportunities for pig-sticking have come my way, as I was
never stationed in Bengal, and outside that province the country, vast
though it is, with few exceptions does not lend_ itself to that grand
form of sport. My memories of pig are therefore chiefly of those
encountered in the jungle and shot as food for the men. Not that
anyone uninhibited by religion need turn up his nose at a pigling or
even a young sow, provided it is shot far from any village. In this
connection I remember one bagged in Chanda in 1907. I jokingly
asked: my Gond shikari whether he would eat it, and he replied that
of .course everyone ate pork. When I pointed out that Muhammedans
did not, the reason he gave startled me. Perhaps I had better not
quote it, though my Muhammedan butler merely remarked that the
shikari was an ignorant old man, when I told him. |
Most of my pigs have been bagged in the Nilgiris and some of
the forest boars I have met were immense brutes with tushes running
up to gs inches. Only once have I shot a ten incher and that was
at Bison Swamp during Christmas 1927. We saw him while marching
out to camp but failed to contact. Next morning we came across
him again while making our way to a lookout spot soon after dawn.
He ‘was quite close, but by the time I had snatched the sight-protector
off the rifle and loaded a cartridge from the magazine (I should have
done all this before setting out), he was well awav up the hill. I
fired two shots both of, which I was sure had found their mark, but
he still carried on. I was about to fire again when he staggered and
212 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
fell, kicked a bit and then rolled downhill dead. One bullet had
pierced through shoulder and heart, the other was far back and had
come out of the stomach. He was one of the biggest boars I have
seen, and my shikari ‘Old’ Anthony estimated his age at 20 years.
Height at shoulder was 36 inches, length of body (excluding: tail)
5 ft. 3 inches, and girth of neck tight behind the ears 29 inches, while
the tushes taped the full 10 inches. , The men had some difficulty in
eating him, he was so tough. Anothes boar shot near Hodg'son’s
Hut was remarkable for having one hind leg missing. He was
beaten out of a shola, and I did not realise that he was in any way
maimed until I had rolled him over. Presumably the lower part of
the leg had been shattered by a bullet and had sloughed off; the wound
had healed completely and gave that leg the appearance of a ham.
I have known a similar case with a tigress, which came out of a
beat at full gallop and showed no sign of injury. Yet another boar
was bagged under rather unusual circumstances near the Toda
Cathedral. We were beating a shola for small game, when the shikari
came out and told me there was a pig lying up in a thicket which
refused to move. I had no rifle with me that day, so loaded my 12
bore with Lethals and approached the spot, but the bushes were so
dense that I could see nothing. Finally I wormed my way in at fuil
length along the ground, and at last saw the animal only 5 yards off.
A lucky bullet killed it, and when the beaters hacked their way in
and dragged it out, I discovered how foolhardy I had been, for instead
of the half grown pig I expected, it proved to be a big boar with
94 inch tushes. What possessed him to lie so low I cannot imagine,
as he was not in any way injured. It was lucky for me that he did
not prove aggressive or I should have been for it properly. Two
other boars I remember at which I did not fire though both were
close shots. One was while I was working the country from
Masnigudi towards the foot of the hills. We spotted a sounder of
about 20 pig some 300 yards away and went after them. As we
reached the bottom of a deep nullah which lay between, I saw an old
boar 20 feet above looking down at us. It is a sound rule not to
fire at a dangerous animal above one, so I stood still and waited for
him to make the first move. I have never known pig to be aggressive
unless wounded, and this one proved no exception, for after a good
stare at us he turned and trotted off. The other was encountered
near Mudumalai while after chital. We were working up to a good
buck, when suddenly an old boar passed between us and the deer.
He spotted us, had a good look and then moved a few yards towards
us. I did not want to fire as it would have spoilt our chance at the
buck, but the range was getting desperately close and I thought I
should have to do so, when he decided that we were harmless and
cleared off. That was the only time when I have seen a pig un-
certain whether to attack or not. Following up a wounded boar is
a far more dangerous undertaking than in the case of tiger or panther,
for nothing but death will stop his charge and one slash from those
razor sharp tushes can disembowel a man or sever the femoral artery.
A pig-sticking friend advised me that when down with the boar
standing over one, the only thing to do was to lie flat on one’s face
fee
JUNGLE MEMORIES 213
with both hands held tightly round the back of the neck. In this
Way the vitals are covered and if a man remains motionless, the
chances are, he said, that the boar will be content with a few slashes
on the back and then leave him. I am glad to say I have never had
to try this, but pass. on the tip in case it may be useful in such an
emergency.
Pigs give excellent practice with the rifle and many are the beats
I have had for them on the slopes round my home in recent years.
They are so destructive to the crops that the villagers are only too
glad to turn out for the purpose, and they also much appreciate the
meat. Shots are seldom under 100 yards and nearly always running
ones, but these present little difhculty if one remembers to give the
animal a slight lead and to keep the rifle swinging until after the
trigger has been pressed. The most convenient position for such
shots is sitting, and the rifle I use for this purpose is my .318. A
pig’s sense of smell is extremely acute, and the greatest attention
must be paid to the direction of the wind. Their small brain might
lead one to think that they are stupid animals, but on the contrary
they are extremely wide~awake, and if a gun is not weil concealed
in a beat they will almost certainly break out to one side. Nor will
they tolerate an electric light flashed on them at night, so sitting up
for them over a waste butter-milk pit, as at Anaikatti, is best con-
fined to the period round about full moon. Their food tastes are
catholic. I have known pigs return again and again to the carcass
of an elephant, and have found two snakes in the stomach of a huge
sow shot at Anaikatti in 1947, but as a general rule they feed on
roots, tubers etc., routing about for which leaves traces which will
be evident to the observant shikari. On the Nilgiris plateau they
do great damage to the potatoes which form the main crop of the
district, and at one time Government used to pay a reward of Rs. §
on each wild pig killed. This has unfortunately now been stopped
owing to lack of funds, but the meat sells so well in these days as
generally to cover the cost of beating, and as I said above they afford
excellent practice with the rifle. So with average luck quite a lot of
fun can be had at little expense, and no excuse is needed for shooting
pig on ground where they cannot be ridden.
The tushes make up into handsome miniature trophies, one of the
most useful I have seen being a pair mounted upright on an ebony
plinth with a small silver table gong suspended between. When
extracting them it should be remembered that some two-thirds are
hidden in the skull. If the latter is boiled, the tushes can be removed
without difficulty, but any attempt to cut them out is almost certain to
result in their being damaged. During intense hot weather tushes
are sometimes liable to flake, as happens also with tiger’s teeth. ‘This
can be prevented by a thin coating of bees-wax.
CROCODILES
My earliest memory of crocodiles is of these in the pit at Mugger
Pir some miles outside Karachi in 1905. They were packed so tightly
that a sporting midshipman was said to have run across over their
214 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 30
backs some years before. The pit was enclosed by a low wall, so
I climbed down and took some photos at close range. I was careful
to keep well clear of the heads of those lying on the mud, not
realising that the tail end is the danger spot, for with one sweep of
it a crocodile can knock a man or animal off his feet into the water, -
to be dealt with before he can recover. However, these particular
brutes were so lethargic that they let me approach within a few feet
without showing the least interest. Not long after my shikari per-
suaded me to try for one, reported to be very large, in one of the
pools of the Habb river. I was well hidden in some tamarisks
while the shikari tied up a goat on the opposite bank. The goat
called well but nothing materialised, and after an hour or so I gave
it up as a bad job. I was young and inexperienced in those days
and thought the shikari was stringing me, but reaily I believe it is
possible to get a shot in this manner.
Many years later I shot a number in he Mysore rivers and up
the backwaters round Cannanore, and soon found how extremely
accurate one has to be to bring one to bag. If shooting down, as
for example into a pond at close range, a bullet through the brain
will do the trick, but usually it is a question of stalking one lying
asleep on a sandbank, and it is very seldom indeed that one can get.
within 100 yards without being spotted. A bullet through the heart
merely results in the crocodile reaching the water and being lost;
for they will not float for 24 hours and by that time the skin is ruined.
The only certain shot to anchor one on the spot is through the middle
of the neck, and to secure the extreme accuracy needed on such a
small target a telescopic sight is invaluable. Sometimes a wounded
crocodile will, after a short time, return to the land either because
water has got into his lungs or from annoyance caused by fish
nibbling at the wound. So if it is not killed on the spot, it is as
well to take up a position under cover and watch for half an hour
or so. Generally it will be time wasted, but occasionally one gets
a second chance in this way.
Crocodiles are uninteresting brutes, and though I have shot a
good many I have kept no details, but so far.as I recollect none have
been over 1c feet, not to be compared with the monsters of the
Ganges. Except in the case of very small ones when the back may
be utilised, the only part of the skin which is worth keeping is that
from the belly, so the cuts should be made round the sides and not
down the central line as in the case of other animals. The way in
which the muscles twitch while the skin is being removed is apt t9
be disconcerting at first. Common bazaar salt, finely powdered, is
the best preservative, and it should be well rubbed in after all flesh
and fat has been scraped off. The sooner the skin is then despatched
to the curers the better. The Chrome Leather Co. (Chromepet P.O.,
S. India} have turned out very good work for me, and I can recom-
mend them. The cured skins can be made up into a number of
useful articles e.g. handbags, note-cases, bedroom slippers, suitcases,
etc. But in my experience they are not suitable for ladies’ shoes as
they tend to split.
I saw
JUNGLE MEMORIES 215
SNAKES
Memories of the jungle would be incomplete without some mention
of snakes, and I certainly have come across a fair number during so
‘many years in India. One of my earliest experiences was at iKamptee
in 1905. Eggs had been disappearing mysteriously from the Mess
fowl house. The culprit proved to be a large cobra which one day
stayed too late and paid forfeit. I well remember the snake zigzage-
ing down the drive pursued by several irate sepoys armed with long
bamboos, which proved less effective than my swagger cane. Kamptee
with its thatched bungalows was a bad place for snakes, and one
of our officers had a lucky escape when a krait fell from the ceiling
cloth on to him while he was reading a paper, stretched out at ease
with his legs up in a long chair. |
Then there was an immense python at Bhamo, whose wide track
in the mud on several occasions. It was credibly reported
to be in the habit of taking mules at night from the Chinese caravans
encamped near the steamer ghat and the men complained to me
bitterly about it. I was always hoping to come across it, but never
did. I remember that one evening just before we left Bhamo two
of my recruits came running in with the news that they had seen it
devouring a half grown buffalo in the jungle near the rifle range.
I hurried off with them, taking both gun and rifle as I was not sure
which might be required, but they were unable to locate the spot
again before dark, and so I lost my chance, and my only memory
of ‘Rupert’ as we called him, is of his immense track in the mud.
Judging by that he must have been well over 20 feet long. I found
another large python lying dead in a swamp near Doddakatti in
May 1929. Its head had been based in, and by it lay a doe jungle-
sheep which it had evidently disgorged. It measured 15 feet andywas
little damaged though several vultures were in attendance; the skin
was unfortunately too far gone to be worth taking. I have come
across a number of pythons at other times in the Nilgiris, but this
was the biggest | have seen. A curious incident in connection with
these snakes occurred while I was in camp at Anaikatti during Xmas
1936. My shikari Banta who had gone towards Sirur to tie up a
young buffalo for tiger, returned after dark with a 7 foot python.
It had been knocked on the head and appeared to be dead, so I left
it in the verandah of the forest bungalow, intending to skin it iater.
Shortly after, while I was having dinner, I heard a weird groaning
noise which I thought at first was a buffalo being killed by a tiger
some distance away. But it continued, so I went out and found it
was made by the snake. It was still tied up and showed no other
signs of life, but presumably had not been hit sufficiently hard on the
head. This is the only occasion on which I have ever heara a snake
make any kind of sound other than a hiss.
The handsome black and yellow Banded Krait running up to
4 feet or more, was common at Meiktila, and quite a number were
killed while I was stationed there in 1920-21. The bungalows were
Situated round the edge of the lake, and often when motoring over
to Mess in the evening I drove the car over snakes crossing the road
216 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
on their way down to the water, but it seemed not to have the least
effect. Russell’s Vipers were common in the Anaikatti-Masnigudi
area in the old days, but seem less so now that the prickly pear has
been so drastically reduced by the very ill-advised introduction of the
cochineal insect. Not that I regret the absence of snakes! It is the
lack of nesting cover for game birds which is so deplorable. I
remember one morning many years ago I was working the jungle
towards Westbury, when over a bush I saw a bird’s wing fluttering
near the ground. On going closer I found that a Russell’s Viper
had a quail in its mouth with one wing still beating. A charge of
shot blew both snake’s head and quail to pieces. The Russell's
Viper is commonly supposed to be a sluggish snake, but it can move
like lightning when it wants to. One morning in October 1929 near
Anaikatti we were following a path through dense prickly pear, when
my shikari Jaora who was leading, nearly stepped on one. As he
jumped to avoid it, the snake seemed to rise on end and threw itself
backwards into cover, and was gone like a flash. I had no idea that
they can move so quickly, but there was no doubt about identifica-
tion, as I was following next and had a clear view at very close
range. These vipers have a nasty habit of lying on pads of floating
weed near the edge of a tank, where bulrushes afford shade and at
the same time protection from birds of prey. More than once while
wading after duck near Gundlupet I have nearly bumped into them
in this way, but a loud hiss has always warned me in time. Whether
they can strike effectively in this position, I do not know, but I
should not care to experiment !
- Of Hamadryads I have one memory only. During the last war
I was motoring down the Mettupalaiyam ghat early one morning,
and a mile or two before reaching the bottom saw a large snake
cross the road 50 yards ahead and climb up on to the berm at the
side.. As we drew level it sat up and spread its hood, and it was
not till then that I realised what it was. A good 15 feet long and
shining jet black, it looked like an animated steel bar, and gave thé
impression of tremendous power. I could not help thinking what
utter nonsense it is to imagine, as some people apparently do, that
such a thick set massive brute can be killed with a cane. Nothing
short of an iron rod would have the least effect! And how grand
he looked compared with those captives from Mount Popa which I
had previously seen on show at Meiktila. As different as a wild
tiger from one in a zoo. Even if I-had had a-gun with me I do not
‘think I could have brought myself to shoot him. That I should
have encountered only one hamadryad during so many years wander-
ing in the jungle, often in parts where they were reported to exist,
goes to show how uncommon they really are. I suspect that in many
cases reported, large cobras are mistaken for them. No one couid
possibly fail to recognise the real article, it is simpiy terrific. |
Ratsnakes are among the commonest in India. They do such
good work killing other snakes that I never destroy one nowadays.
But I would gladly have put a charge of shot into one-neac Poona
many years ago. I was shooting snipe round the edge of the Khadak-
vasla lake, and dropped a bird very close to, if not. actually on the top
2 a
JUNGLE MEMORIES 217
of a iarge ratsnake lying out unseen in the short grass some 30 yards
ahead. eonen a gift was as welcome as it was unexpected. The
snake seized the bird and was gone down a hole before I realised what
was happening. Another ratsnake I remember shooting at Bhamo,
mistaking it for a cobra. A Burman working nearby asked if he
might have it, so I handed it over. When I asked what he intended
to do with it, he replied ‘To eat it’. There certainly is no accounting
for tastes !
A little drama I witnessed in 1945 some miles out of Mangalore
remains in my memory. I had finished lunch and was sitting quietly
by the roadside, when in the ditch just below me I saw a green grass
snake also looking for his tiffin. He came quietly along nosing
under the overhanging grass and ferns till presently he put up a frog.
With a couple of jumps the latter got away, but the ditch ended,
and seeing he was cornered the frog leaped back right over the snake.
I thought the latter had lost his chance, but he was round in a flash,
and in two bounds had caught the frog and went off with it. He
deserved his success and I did not disturb him.
Snake skins can be made up into handsome articles. They should
be taken off as soon as possible after death, and will come off easier
so. Pounded salt, as with crocodile skins, is the best preservative.
BEES
While wandering through the jungle one may have the luck to
come across a hollow tree in which bees have their hive. If time
permits, it is worth while stopping to take the honey, which is ex-
cellent. My first experience of this was in June 1909 while I was
in North Kanara after bison. My men spotted bees coming out of
a fallen tree and cut out the comb, which weighed about 3 lb. They
said that particular kind of bees did not sting, but I noticed that they
took the honey some 20 yards away, when all the bees left them. i
kept a piece of comb for myself and the rest was eaten by the shikari
and tracker on the spot. They squeezed out the honey into leaf cups,
and then dipped into it pieces of comb containing the live grubs. I
suppose it was that which made the incident stick in my memory.
Rather like the Chinese delicacy of baby white mice also dipped in
honey! Those were the small jungle bees; the large rock bees are
quite a different proposition.
Their huge dark brown combs, suspended from the branch of a
lofty tree or from an overhanging rock are a common sight. But it
is not everyone who realises how dangerous these brutes can be. So
long as they are undisturbed, all is well, but the sound of a shot near
at hand, the smoke from a camp fire, or even the odour of tobacco
will at times enrage them and bring them down in their hundreds,
with disastrous, if not fatal, results. I remember that while I was
stationed at Kamptee in 1906, the Field Artillery battery out exercis-
ing one day passed under a tree having several huge nests. The
rumble of the wheels on the hard highway disturbed the bees, and
down they came. The horses became uncontrollable, and while some
teams galloped towards cantonments, others broke away across
218 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. &0
country. Luckily there were no fatal casualties but it was some time
before the battery could reassemble. In: ‘Birds of Southern India’
Col. Baker relates how a Honey Buzzard striking at a comb in the
centre of Ootacamund infuriated the bees, and created a panic among
passers-by, some of whom were badly stung. And as recently as
November 1950 a similar occurrence in Coonoor resulted in the death
of an old woman.
I had a very unpleasant experience with them myself while living
in Mysore in 1932. I had gone out one morning to the big Arsinakere
tank some 4 miles beyond Nanjangud, to try and pick up a few duck,
and on arrival saw that there were a number of pintails within range
of a small bush-covered mound. I stalked them and laid out a
couple, and was on the point of going to pick them up, when ‘Little
Boy’, (who was as good at retrieving duck as he was at following
up a tiger), rushed past me with his black coat literally covered with
bees. The next second more were on to me. I dropped my gun,
and did what must have been the record quarter mile for Mysore,
but could not throw them off. Matters were getting serious, but
luckily I remembered a tip I had been given many years before by
an old shikari. I tore off my coat, wrapped it round my head, and
lay motionless on’ the ground. I could hear the angry hum of
hundreds of bees as they crawled over-my coat, but they soon left,
and I was able to get up in time to see G. take to the water. He
was unaware what had happened, but realised that something was
wrong, so was running to my assistance when he also was attacked.
We were lucky to get away with it. I had 17 stings on my face and
neck, besides others on my hands and arms, and the dog also was
severely stung, but G. got off fairly lightly. Remained now to recover
my gun, and I wondered how on earth we could manage it, when a
villager came by who volunteered to do so. Plucking some wild garlic
and waving it round his head, he returned without a single sting ;
a tip worth knowing if you can recognise the plant. Revisiting the
spot at a later date, I found that the front side of the bush covered
mound I have mentioned had been quarried for stone, and the bees
had a comb there. Whether it was my shot or the dog routing about
in the bushes which disturbed them, I am unable to say, but certainly
the result was sufficiently unpleasant. I look back on that affair as
one of the narrowest squeaks I have had. 1
The large yellow wasps are nothing like so dangerous, at least
in my’ experience. Their round papier-mache nests, suspended from
a low branch are familiar to most people. Near Secunderabad I
ran full tilt into one while chasing a winged partridge. I received
-several stings before I could get clear, but the results were negligible
as compared with rock bees.
=== 1
Ginto sie O.UcA;RyT ER Sep We To BEAN ieee
While writing the section on panthers, I could not help reflecting
‘that in the course of so many years, I had been extremely fortunate
to have experienced no untoward incident with these animals. | It is
true that, so far as possible, I have made a point of not firing at
Journ. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE I
The Bison Swamp Boar.
Photos + | | | t _ Author
Scene of panther incident.
I]
4oyny
‘Ioysn} ysey ATW
‘oureyg ye sjueydoys s,meqiyy UA
S0J0YU I
aLVIg
‘00S ‘LSIE] ‘LVN AVaWog ‘Nuno[
JUNGLE MEMORIES 219
any animal until reasonably certain of inflicting a mortal wound with
the first shot. That, I suppose, coupled with iuck, was the reason
why I had come off so well. But the old adage that accidents will
happen in the best regulated families, was forcibly brought home to
me on the 29th December 1950, when I had an experience which I
am not likely to forget.
With two other guns I had gone down to Anaikatti at the foot
of the northern slopes of the Nilgiris for a small game shoot. During
the morning we had a number of beats over the open country, with
a view to driving such birds as were not brought to bag into a long
heavily wooded nullah, which always provides a mast satisfactory
holding covert. Nothing of much interest occurred, except that in
one beat a large boar passed between me and the next gun, unfired
at, since neither of us had time to slip in a ball cartridge; and we
started beating down the long nullah before lunch. After that we
moved to what is generally the best beat of all. I was centre gun,
standing alone on an open sheet of rock. My shikari was out of sight
on my right, covering the wet nullah along which we knew by ex-
perience that birds were inclined to run out. On his right again was
G., another gun. Ten yards away on my left was my chokra Vasu,
acting as stop behind a thick clump of bushes, and beyond him was
H., the third gun, and his shikari.
The beat started, and we had all fired a few shots, when I heard
an animal grunting some way in front. H.’s shikari called out that
a pig was coming, and I thought it was probably the boar which we
had seen earlier in the day. A head-on shot at pig is always unsatis-~
factory, so I moved some to yards to my right, where a tall but
leafless thorn bush afforded a little cover from view. My intention
was to take a side shot at the animal, as soon as it had passed me,
and was clear of the others. It did not occur to me for one moment
that it would do anything except break out by the most direct route,
to escape from the clamour of the approaching beaters. Vasu was
well covered from view by the thicket close to which he was crouch-
ing, and so long as I remained motionless, I was not rate: to be
spotted. Had I known that it was a panther and not a pig, I should
not have considered any further precautions necessary.
As I reached my new stand, I opened my gun, and was on the
point of slipping in a cartridge loaded with S.G., when through the
top of the bush I saw a panther, obviously a female, coming out it
big bounds, and seemingly on tiptoe. I remained motionless expecting
her to pass at about 10 yards range, but evidently she spotted me,
for on coming level she swung round at right angles, laid her ears
flat, and came straight for me. Dropping the shot cartridge on the
ground, I had time only to close the gun and fire one shot from the
hip just as the panther reached me, and then went over backwards
‘into the thorn bush. Whether she actually knocked me over, f
cannot say; but one claw caught me on the right knee, and on the
left lez of my shorts was a broad smear of blood which certainly
was not mine; presumably it came from her wounded shoulder.
However that may be, my shot fortunately deterred her from further
attack, and she left me and rushed back into a thicket. I now became
220 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL’ HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
aware that Vasu was shouting loudly, so fearing that he too had
been mauled, picked myself up, reloaded, and started to investigate.
But I was pelicved to meet him running up, and to find hee his
anxiety had been on my behalf, as he had witnessed the whole episode.
He said that after leaving me, the panther kept falling over, so
presumably one shoulder had been shattered by my _ shot. Feeling
rather shaken, I then sat down to assess damage. It was amazingly
slight. Besides the claw mark on my right knee which was bleeding
freely, there was a painful wound in my left wrist, which we thought
at first was due to a bite, but later proved to be a large thorn which
had penetrated deeply, and then broken off; a fine crop of prickly
pear spines in my backside did not make themselves known till later !
While applying first aid, we heard the panther growl at a village
dog which had gone to investigate, so as soon as 1 was ready we
started to follow up. There was a good deal of blood across the
sheet rock leading into some dense lantana bushes, but though we
searched for 10 minutes or more we were unable to locate the animal,
and in view of the necessity for early medical treatment, much to
my regret I had to give it up for the time being.
But the idea of leaving a wounded animal to be a possible source
of danger to the villagers, apart from questions of humanity, was
unthinkable, and since my wounds were so slight and healed well,
within ten days I was able to revisit the spot and renew the quest.
Unfortunately, however, an intensive search of over two hours through
some very thick stuff proved unsuccessful. There were no pug marks
at the water within half a mile, and the shikaris were of opinion that
the animal had got into one of the dense thickets we were unable to
penetrate, and had died there. Actually they were wrong, for she
had carried on for some distance further, and had died after crossing
the river. Her remains were found the day after I had come away,
and enough was left to show that my shot had, as I expected, smashed
the right shoulder, but being a glancing one, had failed to penetrate.
With such a wound it was surprising that she had survived for ten
days. As to the reason for her attack, we could find no trace of cubs,
whose presence would have accounted for such behaviour, but the
shikaris were of opinion that she was the mother of a small cub which
had been shot in the vicinity not long before in the course of a beat
by another party. That may be so, but personally I think a more
likely explanation is that hearing the beaters behind and the shots
in front, she felt herself cornered.
I was extremely lucky to get off so lightly. My shot must have
caught her in the split second when she was reaching out at me
with her claws. Was it only a coincidence that not fifty yards away
was the tamarind tree under which I had stalked a panther some time
before, as related in the third section of this series? That too was
a bad tempered beast which growled at us before moving on. The
whole affair shows how easily accidents can happen, and that in
the jungle one must always be prepared for the unexpected. Though
the experience was not a happy one, the memory of my amazingly
lucky escape is not likely to fade.
JUNGLE MEMORIES 221
My tt As boku SikE R
When I wrote the chapter on elephants in this series, I little
thought that I should ever be called upon to tackle another rogue.
However, fate ruled otherwise, and since the following episode is
typical of elephant shikar, and is at the same time a pleasant memory
of the jungle, I am including it here.
Elephants are always to be found along the base of the northern
‘slopes of the Nilgiris, but in 1950 they were unusually numerous, and
solitary tuskers were constantly chasing people and generally giving
trouble. My shikari’s brother, whom I had known since he was
a small boy, was killed close to Anaikatti village, and another man
had previously met the same fate, so the two animals concerned
were proscribed. No one else appeared to be keen on tackling them,
so I decided that it was up to me to take the job on. After obtaining
the necessary permit, I made three trips to Anaikatti during May
-and June in the hopes of shooting at least one of them, but without
success. The smaller of the two seemed always to get wind of my
arrival at the forest bungalow, for though he might prior to that
have been in the vicinity for a week or more, no sooner had I appeared
‘on the scene than he cleared right out of the area. The other and
larger one proved equally elusive, and though we got on to his
overnight tracks more than once, I was unable to come up with him.
Then for a fortnight all trace of him was lost. I suspected—as
indeed proved to be the case—that he had been wounded by someone
and had retired to a place of refuge until he recovered. ‘This elephant
‘carried a very fine pair of tusks which met at the points, and gave him
the name of ‘Cross Tusker’.
On the 24th June I went down to Anaikatti again for the fourth
time, which I determined must be my final effort. We could find no
traces of either animal in the usual localities, so decided to try the
circular valley below the Ebanaad waterfall, some 7 miles from the
bungalow. This is a favourite haunt of elephants, and here if any-
where we might at last locate the rogues. Passing the Anaikalmari-
gudi temple, we entered the valley and proceeded along the track on
the left side of the river, while the trackers worked the opposite slope.
The path we were following was evidently well used by elephants,
and during a halt a small tusker came round the corner behind us
‘about 100 yards away. Fortunately we spotted him in time to take
evasive action in case his intentions were aggressive, but he was not
out for trouble, and on seeing us turned down to the river. Resum-
ing our progress, we carried on till about 10.30 a.m. when we reached
a central position where the trackers had asked me to wait until they
could report results. We had not been there long when I heard a
branch break in the river bed below us, and this was followed by a
series of squeaks and squeals, some of which sounded remarkably
like a dog barking. I thought it was a herd with baby elephants,
but Kunmada, who went along the high bank till he got a clear view,
_reported that it was another small tusker, and not one of the pro-
scribed animals. On getting our wind it turned back and went up
a side valley to the left, and we saw no more of it. At 1 p.m. just
222 JOURNAL, BOMBAY: NATURAL: HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
as I was finishing my sandwiches, Bomma and the tracker arrived
and reported that they had located Cross Tusker far uphill in a ravine
‘which they pointed out, on the opposite slope. After so many pre-
vious fiascos I was rather sceptical, but both men were positive about
the animal’s identity, so obviously there was no alternative but to go
and see for myself, little as I relished the thought of the tremendous
climb which lay ahead, and its effect on an already weak heart.
The wind was blowing strongly up the valley, so it was necessary
for us to continue on the same side of the river till we had got beyond
the animal before crossing over. The path led through some un-
pleasantly thick brakes of bamboo and lantana, which I was relieved
to pass without meeting any stray tusker, and rising steadily, at last
“brought us after an hour’s hard going, to the head of the valley,
where we crossed the river. Now came the worst part: an open
spur of dry grass and loose stones, so steep that it was difficult to
negotiate without slipping back. I never thought I should be able
to manage it. However, after half an hour's slow but steady pro-
gress, we arrived near the spot where the elephant had been located.
I sat down for a breather, while the trackers went on to ascertain
whether the animal was still there. From my position I could see
over the whole valley, and could appreciate the height to which we had
climbed ; in fact a reference to the map afterwards showed that we had
ascended 2000 feet above the temple which we had passed in the
morning.
The trackers soon returned and reported that all was well, so I
climbed still higher and at last saw below me the huge brown form
of the tusker. He was about 50 yards away in a regular cul-de-sac
of immense rocks well shaded by bamboos on which he was feeding,
and while we watched, he raised his tusks vertically, for the fact that
they were touching at the tips prevented him from lifting his trunk
to feed in the normal manner. There was now no possible doubt
about his identity, but before firing it was necessary to approach
closer, as an elephant’s brain is small, and one wants to make sure
of the shot. Cautiously descending, I reached a rock within 1o yards
of the animal, which now had stopped feeding and seemed uneasy.
Possibly a back eddy of wind from the cliff behind us had carried to
him a faint taint of human scent. Obviously there was no time to lose,
and though a head shot at an elephant standing tail on is far from
satisfactory, there was no alternative, so I whispered to G. to get
ready. I fired the right barrel of the .476 Westly Richards at the
back of his head, and G. fired a second later with his .423. But the
angle was too flat, as we were practically level with his back, and
neither shot had any effect except to cause a slight stagger. Fortuna-
tely he then turned a little giving me a better angle. I fired again
and this time there was no mistake, for the bullet entered behind the
ear and passed through the brain. At the shot his hind legs gave
way, and he fell backwards head over heels downhill, with a resound-
ing crash, passing us almost within touching distance. It was ar
impressive sight. A final sharp crack warned me that a tusk had
broken. After making sure that he was dead, though there could
JUNGLE MEMORIES 223
be little doubt about that, we descended to examine our prize and
take measurements.
In spite of his obvious age, he was not a very large animal; only
g feet 4 inch at the shoulder, and not to be compared with the ‘Cradle
Tusker’ shot in 1932 which taped 1o feet 6 inch. But the tusks were a
very fine pair, and after extraction measured 6 feet 6 inches and 6 feet
3 inches respectively. The right one had come in contact with rock as
he fell, and a piece about 6 inches long had broken off the tip, but
luckily we found it. I was amazed at the power of the .476 as com-
pared with the .423, which I always have, and still do consider quite
adequate for elephant. Whereas the bullet of the latter had remained
in the skull, both those of the heavier rifle had passed clean through,
the first emerging just above the bump, and the second between eye
and earhole on the left. All three were of course solids.
‘ And so Cross Tusker met his fate, and I obtained a very fine
trophy. But as I sat alongside him enjoying the first cheroot of the
day, I could not help regretting that it had been necessary to destroy
such a magnificent animal, which may have been roaming those
jungles for over a century. However, his life was forfeit, as he
had killed at least one man already, and the four unhealed bullet
wounds which he bore would have made him sttil more dangerous
had he remained at large; so it was just as well that he should have
no further chances of mischief. But what is one to think of the
culprit who had fired those four shots, and then instead of following
up and finishing off the animal, as every dictate of sportsmanship
and humanity required, had failed even to report the matter to the
forest authorities? However, a glance at my watch brought these
reflections to an end. It was too late to cut out the tusks that day,
but quite time that we were starting back. It was a long trek to
the bungalow, and we did not get in till nearly dark, very tired, but
with that comfortable feeling which success in shikar always brings.
The pursuit of this rogue was typical of elephant hunting: days’ of
searching, hours of tracking, and then the climax in a matter of
seconds.
(To be continued)
THE BIRDS OF COORG
BY
F. N. Betts
Part II
(IVith two plates)
}
(Continued from p. 63 of this volume}
Motacilla alba: The White Wagtail.
A tairly common winter migrant in the Dry Zone. Odd birds find
their way up into the Inter-Zone. These usually settle down in some
farm-yard or coffee pulphouse and spend the whole winter there, rarely
moving a hundred yards from their headquarters.
Motacilla maderaspatensis: The Large Pied Wagtail.
An exclusively waterside wagtail whose range coincides with that
of the Wire-tailed Swallow. They are found on all the large rivers
of the Province, both those running out into Malabar from the foot
of the Ghats, and the waters of the Cauvery system flowing east
through the deciduous forest, becoming most numerous of all on the
main river when it reaches the open country of the Dry Zone. The
smaller streams and brooks among the higher hills do not attract
them. They are found occasionally round large tanks but prefer
running water. They are nearly always seen in pairs which hold
together throughout the year, and spend their time hunting over the
rocks and islets in mid-stream. If the banks are open they extend
their forays some way inland particularly in the monsoon when the
rivers are flooding. The breeding season is extended, beginning as
soon as the rivers drop to dry-season level about Christmas, and
continuing until the break of the rains in June. Nesting sites are
varied. If possible they choose some grassy rock or islet well out
from shore; in such situations the nest is tucked away among the
roots of the long grass and very well concealed. Other sites which
I have seen were in hollows of stranded tree-trunks, under bridges,
and once on a car-ferry in constant use. They are always however
within a few feet of the water. The nest is a rough collection of
roots and coarse grass in the centre of which is a neat cup lined with
hair. The birds have a loud, cheerful, rattling song which is as much
a demonstration of anger or alarm as of pleasure, for it is uttered by
both sexes when any intruder approaches the nest.
Motacilla cinerea: The Grey Wagtail.
The commonest of our winter migrants. They visit the whole of
Coorg in great numbers though they are scarcer in the Dry Zone,
and are one of the first species to arrive, coming in at the beginning
of September, while odd birds linger on until mid-May. They scatter
widely during the daytime, but in the evening gather in big communal
THE BIRDS OF COORG 225
roosts in thick trees or patches of lantana scrub. In some cases at
least the identical birds return every year to the same winter quarters.
One, distinguished by a particularly large white wing patch, spent
three winters running in my garden, and used to conduct daily battles
with its reflection in one of the bedroom windows.
Motacilla flava: The Grey-headed Wagtail.
A regular winter visitor to the Mysore ‘Maidan’ and almost certainly
must visit the Coorg Dry Zone occasionally, though I have not seen
‘ile
pendronanthus indicus: The Forest Wagtail.
A common winter visitor in the Inter-Zone. Coffee plantations
are their favourite habitat, but they may be found anywhere in ever-
green woodland of an open type. They avoid dense forest, nur are
they found in the deciduous forest belt or the Dry Zone. They are
usually seen singly, feeding on the ground under the coffee or
‘undergrowth, and fly up into a tree when disturbed, where they
utter a ‘chink, chink’ note like that of the European Chaffinch, and
oscillate the tail from side to side, not up and down like the true
wagtails. They are much more arboreal than the latter, and a good
deal of their food is found in the trees.
Anthus hodgsoni: The Tree Pipit.
A common and regular winter visitor, closely resembling the last
species in habits and distribution. The Inter-Zone, particularly coffee
land are their favourite haunts and they will rarely be found outside
evergreen woodland. They live in flocks of considerable size, feeding
on the ground and flying up into the trees when disturbed.
Anthus nilghiriensis: The Nilgiri Pipit.
- Anthus similis: The Rufous Rock Pipit.
Both these species, particularly the second, might be expected to
occur on the grassy crags of the higher Ghat peaks, but I have failed
to find them myself and no one else has recorded them from Coorg.
Anthus rafulus: The Indian Pipit.
The common resident pipit of Coorg, found all over the Province
from the Dry Zone to the high Ghat peaks, and even in the forest
wherever there are considerable clearings. They are usually seen in
pairs, and are typical pipits in all their ways. Such song as they
have consists of a wheezy trill uttered as the bird flutters a few feet
into the air and dives earthwards with closed wings. The breeding
season extends throughout most of the dry season from January till
the break of the rains. ‘The nest is very well concealed in the depths
of a grass tuft, and is only to be found by watching the bird. Three
eges form the usual clutch.
Anthus thermophilus. Blyth’s Pipit.
A specimen from Coorg is in the British Museum. I have not
come across this bird myself.
226 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL (HISE SOCIETY, Vols 50
Mirafra affinis : The Madras Bush-Lark.
Fairly numerous in the Dry Zone in scrubby grazing’ and rather.
than cultivation, turning up again in large clearings and abandoned
paddy fields in the deciduous forest provided the grass is short. « Its
requirements seem to be grassland with plenty of scrub and low trees.
They may be seen singly or in pairs, feeding on the ground, creeping
about very quietly and inconspicuously. The flight is: weak and when
disturbed they fly up into the trees. The breeding season is rather
late, depending on the time of the first rains. The song is a success-.
ion of whirring notes uttered as the bird flutters up to a height of,
30 or 40 feet and then floats down on outstretched wigs to the nearest
low tree or rock. Oe gy
. The only nest I have seen was found late. ; in May and contained
well- -grown young. It was a grass cup, well concealed in a tuft of
grass the growing blades of which were interwoven overhead to form
a regular dome. |
Galerida malabarica: The Malabar Crested Lark.
~The common lark of Coorg and very numerous on open maidans and
close-cropped grazing grounds throughout the Inter-Zone, and in
cultivation and open country through the Dry Zone. They like
short-grassed downland clear of scrub and trees up to an elevation
of 4,000 ft. but are not found on the high downs of the Ghat summits.
Except during the breeding season they tend to flock and wander a
good deal, particularly during the monsoon. Nesting takes place
from January till the break of the rains. Unlike many of the open
country birds they do not wait for the first showers and many nests,
are destroyed in the grass- -fires in March. The song is quite a fine
one, uttered on the wing, the bird rising to a considerable height.
Unlike the last species they are entirely terrestrial, rarely if ever
perching on trees or bushes. The nest is built in- the open without
concealment, though often backing against a tuft of stiff grass. le
is a neat cup nearly always surrounded by a conspicuous platform
of dry grass and bits of cowdung. The young are clothed in down
when hatched, and are fed very largely on grasshoppers, At an early.
stage they leave the nest and seek shelter in neighbouring grass
tufts, where their cryptic plumage makes them ve hard to ind.
Hine usual clutch is two. :
Ammomanes phoenicura: The Rufous-tailed Finch-Lark. |
Seen on one occasion in the driest part of the Dry Zone. It was
very tame, relying on squatting motionless for concealment,. and I
was able to approach within two: yards before it soo wing.
Eremopteryx grisea: The Ashy- -crowned Finch-Lark.
Only seen in one locality in the driest part of the Dry Zone. On
a grassy patch of maidan just outside the village of Hebbale, one
could usually come on one or two along the dusty cart tracks, dust
bathing or picking about among the goat and cattle droppings.
When flushed they merely flutter a few yards and settle again, or
if one does not come too close, merely crouch without taking wing
LAE, BERDS: OF COORG 227
at all, thus hiding the conspicuous black underparts. I have not found
a nest, but they probably breed there as they are very sedentary birds.
Zosterops palpebrosa: The White-eye.
Widely distributed through the wetter and. more well-wooded por-
tions of the Province. They are numerous in coffee cultivation and
in the evergreen sholas up to the highest peaks of the Ghats, also in
the canopy of the rain forest on their western slopes. They go about
in large flocks keeping up among the tree-tops. Most nests in Coorg
are built high up, well out of reach, in contrast to the Nilgiris where
they are frequently found within a few feet of the ground. I have,
however, found one in a coffee bush at four feet only. The nest is a
tiny and very fragile, loosely-built hammock of fine grass, slung in
a horizontal fork in a tuft of leaves at the end of a bough, and well-
concealed. Two pale blue eggs are laid. The nesting season lasts
through the hot weather from March to May, and breeding is some-
times resumed in September after the monsoon.
Cynnyris lotenia: Loten’s Sunbird.
This sunbird is fairly common throughout the greater part of
Coorg at medium elevations, but less so than either C. asiatica or
C. zeylanica. They are most numerous in the Inter-Zone and the
neighbouring parts of the deciduous forest, and on the lower Ghat
slopes, but I have not seen them in the Dry Zone. As with most of
the family, well-wooded but fairly open country with plenty of flower-
ing trees and shrubs, gardens and cultivated land are their favourite
haunts. In thick evergreen forest, where they occur at all, they are
confined to the canopy. The nest may be distinguished from that of
other species by the comparative lack of cobweb in the construction
of the exterior. The outside is extremely untidy, being covered in a
mass of dead leaves which hang below the nest proper in a ragged
tail several inches long. They are usually at a fair height, ten feet
Or more, and tend to be built in the shade or in the interior of some
fairly dense-foliaged tree, and would be difficult to find were it not
for the bold demeanour of the birds. The main breeding season is
March to May, and the normal clutch is two. The cock has a loud,
sweet, cheerful song. ‘The nectar of flowers and the small insects
found in their corollas form the greater part of their food.
Cynniris asiatica: The Purple Sunbird.
This species is commoner and more widely-spread than the last
and may be found anywhere throughout the Province, except perhaps
in the heart of heavy evergreen forest. They are most cheerful,
friendly little birds. Any flower garden is certain to have a regular
population, and they play an important part in the cross-fertilisation
of flowers. Their foreheads may often be seen plastered with pollen.
Nevertheless, although the beak and tongue are so well-adapted for
probing the recesses of blossoms, in many cases of flowers with long
corollas such as Hibiscus and Ipomoea they do not approach by the
front door, but find a short cut to the nectaries by piercing the petals
at the base.
2
228 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Nests may be found at almost any season, but mostly between
February and May. They are built in the most conspicuous places ;
a rose bush in a garden; suspended from a bit of string hanging in a
verandah ; a wire trellis or the extreme tip of some bare twig at any
height between one foot and twenty from the ground, but usually
within six feet of it. Despite the lack of concealment, the nest often
escapes notice as it may easily be taken for a casual, wind-blown
collection of cobwebs and rubbish. It is very like that of the last
species, but a much greater use is made of cobweb which forms the
major part of the exterior of the pear-shaped pouch. Dead leaves,
pieces of bark and lichen are added freely and hang below in a ragged
tail. The entrance is at one side with a well-defined porch above it.
The outside casing is first completed and it is then well stuffed with
vegetable floss by way of lining. As with the last species the hen
does all the building, the cock merely accompanying her and singing
loudly as she works. He does not appear to take any share in the -
incubation, but is active in feeding the chicks as soon as they are
hatched. Very small insects seem to be the chief food provided for
them. Two egeg's is the usual clutch.
The male has a very distinct eclipse plumage in which the
underparts are yellow with a purple ventral stripe, but the assumption
of this seems to depend rather on the individual than the season, as.
one may see males in this condition while others are breeding.
Cynniris zeylonica: The Purple-rumped Sunbird.
Almost everything written about the last species applies to this
one, except that the males have no ‘eclipse’ plumage. It is just as.
common and wide-spread, and unless the birds are seen it is almost
impossible to distinguish the nests and eggs. A slight difference lies
in the fact that the nests of the present species tend to be placed higher
up, sometimes forty or fifty feet high in the top of a tree, and that they
breed very freely in September after the monsoon which is not character-
istic of asiatica.
Cynniris minima: }ne Small Sunbird.
The tiny sunbird is common in the Wet Zone and the moister parts
of the Inter-Zone. It is more of a forest and jungle bird than the
others and ranges higher, up to the tops of the Ghats. The nests
are neater in appearance as they are made largely of green moss
with little cobweb and usually lack the tail of rubbish hanging below.
They are also quite frequently well-concealed in a terminal tuft of
leaves. They are suspended from the tip of a twig, generally fairly
low down in a bush or sapling on the edge of a woodland path or
clearing. I have only found two nests, one in December and one
in April.
Arachnothera longirostra: The Little Spider Hunter.
I have never come across this bird though I have kept a sharp
look-out for it. Nevertheless it must almost certainly occur as Salim
Ali obtained it at Sakleshpur just over the border in typical Coorg
Inter-Zone country.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 229;
Dicaeum concolor: The Nigiri Flowerpecker.
Likely to occur, but not recorded as in the field it is impossible to
distinguish from the next species. On the other hand as Salim Ali
only found it in the Builligirirangan Hills, it may be another of the
high-level Nilgiri forms which reach their limit in that range.
Dicaeum erythrorhynchos: Tickell’s Flowerpecker.
Extremely common all over the Province in cultivation or forest
wherever there are trees afflicted with the parasites, Loranthus and
Viscum spp. They feed voraciously on the berries, which pass through
the body with great rapidity. The sticky mucous covering the seeds
is quite undigested and on being voided they cling to any twig on
which they fall. The flowerpeckers are undoubtedly the principal
agents in the spread of these plants. They are very strong on the
wing for such tiny birds, and fly high and rapidly and for long
distances. They are birds of the canopy of the forest and seldom
come below the tree-tops, while their nests are nearly always at a
great height and exceedingly hard to find and even harder to reach
when found. ‘They are minute purses of green moss and spider cocoons
lined with vegetable down, slung from the tip of a twig well-hidden
in a bunch of leaves at the end of a lofty bough. Breeding takes
place in Feb./March and again in September.
Piprosoma agile: The Thick-billed Flowerpecker.
Fairly common throughout the Inter-Zone and the adjacent decidu-
ous forest, but I have not seen it on the higher Ghats or in the Dry
Zone, and it is nowhere as numerous as the last species. They scem
rather less dependent on the Loranthus than other flowerpeckers.
They may often be seen carefully searching the extreme tips of the
twigs of a leafless tree presumably picking up small insects on the
buds. While doing this they have a characteristic habit of twisting
the tail slowly from side to side. The nests, which are built in
January and February while the trees are bare are quite unique. They
resemble those of the last species in shape but instead of being hidden
in a bunch of leaves they are fully exposed at the tip of a naked twig.
Despite this they are far from easy to see, being so small and nearly
always so high up. They are made of a peculiar reddish brown
material apparently some sort of vegetable down woven into a solid
felt, so compact that the nest may be crushed in the hand and will
resume its shape when released.
Pitta brachyura: The Indian Pitta.
A regular and fairly numerous winter migrant. They turn up
almost anywhere on their first arrival in October, and often very weary ;
understandably so considering the weakness of their wing power.
During their stay in Coorg they frequent shady woodlands where
they feed on the ground in the undergrowth, astonishing one with
the flash of their brilliant colouring when they are disturbed and
flutter weakly for a few yards. They are very silent and I have never
heard them utter a sound. They have peculiar habit of bobbing on
their long legs and at the same time jerking their almost non-existent
tails like some mechanical toy. Some birds remain very iate, up till
230 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
the end of May, but I have seen no sign of their ever attempting to
breed in Coorg. , .
Picus xanthopygaeus: The Little Scaly-bellied Green Woodpecker.
A scarce resident. A few pairs may be found scattered here and
there through the Inter-Zone and the Ghat sholas. It does not a
think, occur in the drier parts of the Province. As with the other
woodpeckers, it is an early breeder excavating a hole high up in some
dead tree in January or February.
Picus chlorolophus: The Yellow-naped Woodpecker.
A common species in the Inter-Zone and_ the neighbouring
deciduous forest, wherever there is a certain admixture of evergreen.
They are usually seen singly or in pairs, frequently in the company
of the mixed flocks, but the families do not seem to keep together
after fledging, as do so many other woodpeckers. Breeding takes
place early in December/January. The site chosen is some rotten
tree trunk in deep shade in a wooded ravine, and the hole is usually
within 15 feet of the ground. On a number of occasions I have found
it placed immediately under one of the large plate-shaped fungus
growths which are so common on dead trees in damp positions. Two
or three eggs form the clutch. These woodpeckers are quiet birds
but occasionally utter a very distinctive note, a single loud, sharp
‘Chak’
Dryobates mahrattensis: The Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker.
Occurs sparingly in the driest parts of the Dry Zone where
cultivation is mingled with scrub jungle and scattered large trees such
as tamarind, peepal, and banyan. They are usually seen in pairs
and are quiet and inconspicuous.
Dryobates hardwickii : The Pigmy Woodpecker.
Commoner than is generally realised in the Inter-Zone nd _ the
deciduous forest belt. It is a very quiet, unobtrusive little bird
living among the upper branches of high trees, and is easily overlooked.
It prefers fairly open woodland. Breeding takes place from December
to February. The nests are usually very high up and quite inaccessible.
The hole is bored in some quite small dead bough and the entrance
is frequently on the underside. This is one of the species which I
have noticed drumming. It is also the only one which I have seen
carrying insects to the young in the beak. All the larger woodpeckers
appear to feed the nestlings exclusively by regurgitation.
Micropternus brachyurus: The Rufous Woodpecker.
This remarkable woodpecker is fairly common throughout the
Inter-Zone and the deciduous forest wherever giant bamboo grows
and the Cremastogaster ants, with which it is symbiotic, are found.
They are quiet birds, usually seen singly, and seem to feed almost
exclusively on the above-mentioned ants which build large black
‘papier mache’ nests in treetops and tall bamboos. They breed in
February and March in these same ants’ nests. A hole two inches
in diameter is bored in one side, and the interior excavated leaving
THE BIRDS OF COORG 231
a wall an inch thick? What. is so extraordinary is that this does
not cause the desertion of the original owners who remain in
occupation of the walls throughout the whole period of incubation
and fledging. I have climbed to an occupied nest and been
furiously attacked and yet found naked young inside completely
unharmed. Shot specimens are said to have a peculiar acrid smell
due to their diet of ants, and one can only assume that this extends
to the young and protects them from their vicious little hosts.
Certainly few birds can have such well-protected nest!
Brachypternus benghalensis: Phe Golden-backed Woodpecker.
Common throughout the Inter-Zone, the deciduous forest, and
the more well-wooded parts of the Dry Zone. Generally the commonest
woodpecker of the countryside, a noisy, conspicuous bird usually seen
in small family parties, and an invariable member oi the mixed flocks.
Breeding takes place between December and February. The nest
is excavated in the trunk or a main bough of a dead tree in open
woodland or coffee plantations. It may be at any height from the
ground, but is commonly between ten and twenty feet. The entrance
is a neat round hole with the horizontal axis usually slightly greater
than the vertical.
Dinopium javanense: The Three-toed Golden-backed Woodpecker.
Similar in every way to the last species. Their range very largely
overlaps, but the present bird tends to favour a wetter biotope and is
absent from the Dry Zone. It is nowhere nearly so numerous as
B. benghalensis, and is much quieter. The nesting habits appear
tv be very similar. The two species are by no means easy to distinguish
in the field, the best mark being the rump and lower back when
seen in flight: crimson in this bird, black in B. benghalensis.
Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus: Maiherbe’s Golden-backed Woodpecker.
Very similar in habits and distribution to B. benghalensis and
D. javanense but it prefers a wetter climate and higher altitude.
They range through the evergreen forests of the Wet Zone up to
the highest Ghat sholas, and abound in the coffee plantations of the
Inter-Zone, but scarcely enter the deciduous forest. They are bold
noisy birds usually seen in family parties. The call is a high, tinny
scream, very distinctive. Breeding begins very early as I have found
occupied nests in December, though apparently only one brood is
raised. The same dead tree may be used for years in succession,
a new hole being excavated each time. The nest of this bird can
be distinguished at a glance as the entrance is oval with the tong
axis vertical, while the lower edge is bevelled off at a slope in a rather
untidy manner. The normal clutch is two or three.
Chrysocolaptes festivus : The Black-backed Woodpecker.
May possibly occur very rarely in the Dry Zone. [I have once
seen it in a coconut plantation at Periapatam a few miles over the
Mysore border.
232 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 50
°
Hemicircus canente: The Heart-spotted Woodpecker.
Common in the Inter-Zone and the deciduous forest, but not found
in the Wet or Dry Zones. In fact their range coincides with that.
of the giant bamboo. They are odd little birds with ridiculously
short tails and quaint jerky movements. Presumably owing to the
shortness of the tail they do not assume the usual woodpecker attitude,
braced against a tree-trunk or branch, but perch across a bough like
a Passerine and search the small twigs rather than the main limbs
for food. They are usually seen in pairs which keep in touch by a
constant squeaky call, flying from tree to tree with a comic exaggera-
tion of the typical bounding woodpecker flight. I have never been
able to find a nest though they are strictly resident, but suspect them
of excavating holes in the bamboos.
Dendrocopos javanensis : The Great Black Woodpecker.
Occurs throughout the Wet and Inter-Zones and occasionally in
the deciduous forest, but is never numerous. It is essentially a bird
of the deep forest, only found where there are extensive tracts of
woodland with trees of the largest size. They are great wanderers,
however, and are often seen in coffee plantations on the borders of
forest. They live in small family parties for most of the year and
are extremely noisy, the loud clanging calls being audible at a great
distance. In spite of this they are extremely shy, especially at the
nest. This is excavated early in January high up in some tall dead
tree. The size of the circular entrance hole, a good five inches in
diameter, serves to distinguish the ownership at once. The interior
hollow is about two feet deep by a foot wide at the bottom. Though
normally so noisy the birds are most careful to avoid being seen or
heard in the neighbourhood of the nest, and will desert at once if
they think they have been detected, even if no attempt is made to
climb the tree. During incubation the brooding bird pops her head
out of the entrance at the slightest unfamiliar sound, but flies off
only if danger actually approaches. Most woodpeckers and barbets
have this habit which has a definite protective value. The dark,
clean-cut entrance shows up conspicuously at a distance, and the pro-
yecting head blocks this and looks like a natural branch stub.
The only nest I have been able to reach had four incubated eggs.
Vivia innominatus : The Nilgiri Speckled Piculet,
Probably more numerous than one suspects for as Salim Ali points
out it may very easily be overlooked. I have only seen one once in
ten years’ residence, when I found a nest in March in a dead branch
of a large tree in a shady ravine forming an isolated strip of ever-
green just inside the deciduous forest. The bird flew out with an
almost inaudible squeak and remained hopping anxiously about among
the top branches of a neighbouring tree, perching across and not
along the twigs. The entrance to the nest was barely an inch in
diameter, smaller even than that of D. hardwickii, while the chamber
was about six inches in depth and two and a half in width. There
were two glossy white, almost spherical egys. There was an occupied
nest hole of Megalaima viridis a foot higher up in the same stub.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 233
Megalaima viridis : The Small Green Barbet.
One of the commonest birds of Coorg especially in the Inter-Zene.
Their monotonous notes resound ceaselessly all day in all directions,
and it would be almost impossible to find a spot anywhere in the
wooded parts of the district during the dry season whence at least
half a dozen could not be heard calling. They are fairly common in
the Ghat sholas though scarce in the interior of extensive evergreen
forest. They are also found in small numbers in the Dry Zone where
one would expect to find them replaced by T. zeylanicus. The latter
species, however, does not seem to occur. Their real home is the
coffee land where the shade trees provide ideal living conditions. The
various fig trees furnish a supply of food throughout the year, and
those killed and left standing during shade control work provide the
dead soft-wooded stumps which they especially prefer for nesting
purposes. They are almost entirely frugivorous, but I have seen
them catching large insects on the tree trunks, and they sometimes
join in the feast when there is a flight of termites, though their efforts
at fly-catching are clumsy and not very successful. The principal
breeding season is from February to April, but they start excavating
holes as early as September. These do not appear to be used unless
for roosting as I have never found eggs betore New Year. Work
goes on in a desultory manner. There are two or three days of
feverish digging and then the job is left for a week or so, or may
even be deserted. Two eggs are laid. The young are fed on fruit
from the earliest stages. At first this is regurgitated, but later given
direct. A fresh chamber is normally dug out for each brood, but
I have once or twice found them breeding in what appeared to be an
old hole. The nests may be excavated in any dead soft-wooded tree
at any height from the ground, sometimes even in a fence post. In
Coorg quite the favourite species is Ficus glomerata, one of the
commonest coffee shade trees. This, when two years dead, has a
smooth barkless outer surface with a hard rind half an inch thick while
the interior is soft punk which can be dug out with the fingers.
Barbets are quarrelsome birds and though several pairs may breed
in the same tree, and scores be seen feeding together on a big tig
in fruit, there is continual bickering and querulous argument which
often ends in actual fighting.
Megalaima haemacephala: The Crimson-breasted Barbet.
Confined to the Dry Zone being replaced in the Inter and Wet
Zones by next species. Its range extends up to the deciduous forest
where the two overlap but rarely intermingle, the present bird being
found in the drier and more open parts, while X. rubricapilla prefers
areas where there is an admixture of evergreen. It is nowhere numer-
ous in Coorg, suitable fruit trees and nesting sites being scarce in
its range. |
Megalaima rubricapiila : The Crimson-throated Barbet.
This species has practically the same range as Megalaima viridis
and is as common. Its metallic ‘tonk, tonk, tonk’ uttered for minutes
together without a break is one of the most familiar bird calls in
234 JOURNAL,. BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
—
Coorg. In feeding and breeding habits they resemble their larger
cousin. By preterence, however, they choose small boughs in which
to excavate their nest holes, sometimes so slender that the walls of
the chamber are not more than a quarter of an inch thick. They
show great skill in their carpentry and rarely break through the sides
and spoil the work. A horizontal bough is often chosen and the
entrance is on the under side. February to March are the principai
breeding months and two eggs are laid.
This species is even more exclusively frugivorous than M. vividis
and 1 have never seen insect food being taken.
Cuculus poliocephalus: The Small Cuckoo.
Has been recorded from Coorg. I have not seen it myself.
Hierococcyx sparveroides: The Large Hawk-Cuckoo.
I suspect that this bird occurs as I have on several occasions seen
a very large Hawk-Cuckoo, but I have not definitely identified it.
Hierococcyx varius: The Common Hawk-Cuckoo.
A common winter migrant throughout the Province. I have only
seen them between October and April, and while with us they are
silent and furtive. I have never heard the call, so it seems unlikely
that they breed here.
Cacomantis merulinus : The Plaintive Cuckoo.
Not uncommon in the Inter-Zone, but I have been unable to
determine its status. It appears to be a wandering bird, stray speci-
inens turning up at any time of year and disappearing after a few
days’ stay. I have heard them calling but have no evidence of their
breeding. They are quiet, skulking birds living in scrub and lightly
wooded country. I have seen one feeding on a repulsive looking
scarlet bug which lives on rotten fruit and which from its gaudy,
warning colouring one would have expected to be highly distasteful.
Penthoceryx sonneratii: The Banded Bay Cuckoo.
It is surprising that the Mysore Survey did not come across this
bird as it is the commonest of the small cuckoos in Coorg and the
only one of which I have definite evidence of breeding. It is fairly
numerous in the Inter-Zone and lower Ghat sholas. I have not seen
it in the Dry Zone. I suspect that these birds migrate during the
monsoon as one does not encounter them between July and December.
In March and April they become very noisy, and their loud ‘crescendo’
call is continually uttered. They inhabit much the-same country as
C, merulinus, fairly light forest and well-wooded cultivation, but are
more arboreal and keep to the treetops. The usual host for their
young is the Iora, though I have once seen one being fed by a pair
of Magpie Robins. Early in the monsoon when the big mixed flocks.
first form, one may often see a young of this cuckoo in the party being
attended by its foster parents. It keeps up a continuous loud,
querulous call, and though strong on the wing and apparently perfectly
capable of looking after itself, makes no attempt to find its own focd.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 235
*
Surniculus lugubris: The Drongo Cuckoo.
I believe I once saw one in the Dry Zone but could not be quite
sure, and the record must be taken as doubttul.
Clamator jacobinus: The Pied Crested Cuckoo.
Occurs apparently as a scarce and irregular winter migrant. I have
seen them in the Dry Zone, but more frequently well up on the Ghat
hillsides on the borders of sholas. They are evidently on passage as
they are here today and gone tomorrow. I have never heard then:
calling and do not think that it is at all likely that they breed in Coorg.
Clamator coromandus: The Red-winged Crested Cuckoo.
Once seen in the heart of a dense evergreen hill shola at about
4,500 ft. in May. It was skulking silently in the undergrowth and was
very tame, allowing close approach and observation, so I have no
doubt of the record. Evidently a mere rare straggler to Coorg.
Eudynamis scolopaceus: The Indian Koel.
Resident in small numbers in the Dry Zone. It is a regular visitor
to the Inter-Zone in the hot weather apparently to breed though I
have never seen young birds there. From January to March they are
found in cultivation and lightly-wooded grazing grounds near villages,
wherever in fact their hosts, the crows, abound. They betray their
presence by their reiterated crescendo call, but are otherwise some-
what shy, keeping to the interior of leafy tree-tops. When moving
from one to another, they dash across the open space with a great
flurry and bustle as if in a desperate hurry, probably to escape the
attentions of the crows, who lose no opportunity of harrying them.
They leave the district on the outbreak of the monsoon. Males seem
greatly in the preponderance, but this may be because they are more
conspicuous.
Rhopodytes viridirostris : The Small Green Malkoha.
A resident in the Dry Zone in small numbers. They certainly breed
there though [ have not found the nest. In the cold weather from
November to March they wander up into the Inter-Zone where they
are found on scrubby downland and grazing grounds, but not up to
any height on the Ghats. It is a silent, solitary, skulking bird seldom
seen far from some lantana brake where it can hide if alarmed.
Centropus sinensis: The Common Crow-Pheasant.
A very common bird all over Coorg in almost every biotope, though
scarcer in the more open parts of the Dry Zone. They ascend the
hills to the highest sholas on the Ghats and are equally at home in the
steamy tropical jungles at their western foot. As one would expect
with a bird of such weak wing power, they are extremely sedentary,
each pair remaining year after year in their own comparatively res-
tricted territory. They breed in tangled cane brakes or trees in ever-
green forest smothered in creepers and lianas, while in the drier areas
a favourite site is in the heart of a clump of giant bamboos where
the interlocking stems hold up a mass of dead leaves and debris and
form an impenetrable stronghold. They are very adaptable birds
236 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
however, and are one of the few species which have made themseives
reaily at home in tea cultivation, where the open nature of the land,
and the constant weeding and tidying that goes on, is by no means to
the taste of most forms of bird life. Here they breed in the crowns
of pollarded Grevilleas lining roads or planted as wind-breaks. The
nests are simply made by twisting the living, growing leaves into a
rough dome open at both ends, and despite the size of the bird they
are remarkably inconspicuous. The usuai breeding season is in June
and July, during the rains, but after the first and heaviest burst.
Psittacula eupatria: The Alexandrine Parakeet.
I have seen this species in Coorg on two occasions only; once a
solitary bird in the Dry Zone near Hebbale, and once a large flock
flying home at sundown to roost in a patch of sugarcane near Yaslur
in the extreme north of the province. This, though well in the Inter-
Zone, is much more open country than most of Coorg—treeless downs
with coffee and cardamom, and paddy cultivation along the streams
in the valleys.
The large size of these parakeets and their very distinctive call
make them unmistakable.
Psittacula krameri: The Rose-ringed Parakeet.
A common bird in the Mysore maidan, occasionally wandering
over into the Coorg Dry Zone.
Psittacula cyanocephala: The Blossom-headed Parakeet.
The common parakeet of Coorg, extremely numerous throughout
the Inter-Zone and the deciduous forest and also found in the Drv
Zone. They avoid, however, the Wet Zone forests and are not seen
above 4,500 ft. While mainly frugivorous, they appear to eat large
quantities of leaves and buds and are extremely wasteful and destructive
in their feeding habits. At certain times of year they are a plague
in a garden. A flock will strip a hibiscus hedge bare of every leaf in
a couple of mornings. They are highly sociable and live in large
flocks. They breed early, pairing off in the first week of January.
They nest usually in old barbet or woodpecker holes or natural hol-
lows, enlarging them considerably to suit their requirements. One
can always tell when a parakeet has been at work by the shape of the
chips of wood at the foot of the tree. A woodpecker or barhet chisels
out long slivers, while tlie parakeet bites out dice-shaped chunks. Two
or three eggs are laid. The hen alone incubates and during the process
her long tail feathers become very abraded and worn down to less
than half their proper length. The young are fed by regurgitation
and at long intervals, certainly not oftener than once an hour. In
nests which I have kept under observation, the hen alone supplied
food. By early April the young, distinguishable by their green heads
and short tails, are all on the wing.
Out of the breeding season, these parakeets roost communally in
large, dense-foliaged trees. They are very noisy birds, but their voices
are not unmusical and are quite pleasing to the ear.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 237
Psittacula columboides: The Blue-winged Parakeet.
Replaces the last species on the higher Ghats up to 5,000 ft. and
in the wetter parts of the province. They do not extend to the Dry
Zone, but over most of the Inter-Zone the two occur side by side in
equal numbers. In habits this bird is entirely similar to P. cyanocep-
hala, and is quite as noisy, but in this case the screams are extremely
harsh and discordant.
Salim Ali states that in Mysore this is the only Parakeet found
in the coffee plantations, but in Coorg both this and P, cyanocephala
occur and breed freely in coffee cultivation.
Coryllis vernalis: The Indian Loriquet.
Very common throughout most of the province in well-wooded
areas. It is not found much above 4,oo0 ft., and I have not seen it
in the Dry Zone. These little birds, though almost as numerous as
the parakeets, are not neariy so conspicuous. Their small size, leaf-
green colouration, and predilection for the highest treetops all help
to conceal them, while unlike their larger relatives they are by no
means noisy, their only note being a low, squeaky, bat-like trill. They
do not flock, and except when the young have just flown are seen
singly or in pairs. They feed largely on the nectar of flowering trees,
clambering from truss to truss with the aid of beak and claws in a
highly acrobatic manner, being quite as much at home hanging upside
down as when the right way up. They breed in January or February
in natural hollows of trees at any height from ten feet upwards. The
holes are enlarged to suit, and a small pad of green leaves is added
by way of lining. In this they differ from the parakeets, none of whom
line their nests. The clutch is a large one, 5 or 6 eggs being laid.
The young are fed by regurgitation and there appears to be only one
brood annually. .
Coracias benghalensis: The South Indian Roller.
Quite a common resident in the open, cultivated Mysore ‘maidan’
country round Periapatam and Hunsur beyond the eastern border of
Coorg. I have found them breeding in holes in dead palm trees killed
by excessive toddy tapping. In the province it is a regular but casual
winter visitor, turning up in clearings in the deciduous forest, and on
open grazing grounds in the Inter-Zone, but seldom lingering in one
spot for more than a day or two. They are sluggish birds, spending
hours together perched on a telegraph wire or treetop, flying down
at intervals to catch a grasshopper or other insect on the ground.
Their powers of sight must be phenomenal as I have frequently seen
one spot some quite small prey at a distance of at least a hundred
yards. Comparatively dull-coloured while at rest, the sudden flash
of brilliant blues as it opens its wings is positively dazzling. In the
breeding season they become more active, indulging in remarkable
antics on the wing, rolling and swerving like a tumbler pigeon and
uttering the most diabolical screams. An odd pair or two may breed
in the Dry Zone among the cultivated lands along the Cauvery, but
I have never found a nest myself.
238 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SO CEI. Vole ou
Eurystomus orientalis : The Broad-billed Roller.
Not yet seen in Coorg, but it is extremely probable that it does
occur in the clearings and rubber plantations in the tropical evergreen
forest on the western slopes of the Ghats.
Merops orientalis : The Indian Bee-eater.
A very numerous winter visitor all over the province except in the
most thickly forested areas. They appear in early October, and the
great majority depart in March to breed. Odd solitary pairs, however,
remain and nest in sandpits or roadside cuttings usually in grazing
land or on the Ghat downs. During the winter months they are
highly sociable, living in large flocks. They are intolerant of cold
and on a chilly January morning, 4o or 50 little towzied green balls.
can often be seen packed tight as sardines along a bough, refusing
to stir till long after sunrise when the world has begun to warm up.
They are very fond of taking dust baths on sandy roads.
Breeding takes place between December and February. The nest
tunnels vary considerably and may be excavated in vertical banks.
or in almost level ground. Unless the soil is very intractable, they
are of considerable length, 4 feet or more, and wind and twist to avoid
stones and roots. Wherever possible they are sloped slightly upwards.
The bird pecks away at the soil and then throws back the loosened
material with a furious scratching action using both legs so that
tne dust flies out in a cloud. A newly excavated hole can always be
recognised by the two grooves made by the feet in the floor of the
entrance. Both birds feed the young which number five or six. ‘he
latter do not leave the nest until they are fully fledged and already
strong on the wing.
Merops superciliosus [javanicus] : The Blue-tailed Bee-eater.
Common along the seashore on the Malabar coast. I have only
once met them in Coorg when a small colony of three or four pairs.
lived for some months around Halagote Kere, the only tank of any
size in the province, in the Dry Zone. I did not actually find the
nests, but they certainiy bred there as I saw them feeding very newly-
flown young on 25th May. They left at the beginning of the rains
aud never returned in subsequent years. In habits they closely
resemble the last species.
Merops leschenaulti: he Chestnut-headed Bee-eater.
A well distributed resident species throughout the province. They
are water-loving birds and spend most of the year in small flocks along
the Cauvery and other large rivers, both in their upper reaches where
they flow through the deciduous forest and in the Dry Zone where the
banks are open and cultivated. During the monsoon the flocks leave
the rivers and wander far and wide over the countryside. They breed
colonially, half a dozen pairs scattered over a hundred yards of ground,
excavating their holes in sandbanks on the river’s edge, avoiding by
preference anything like a vertical face. In fact they often choose
almost level ground and such soft sand that it is remarkable that the
holes do not cave in. The tunnels vary from two to six feet in length,
but are usually nearer the latter figure. The season is March to May.
THE ABIRIDS OF; € OORG 239
Five or six eggs are laid. Like so many insectivorous birds, they
bathe and drink on the wing, flying down to the water and dipping
and splashing for a second before rising again.
Alcemerops athertoni : The Blue-bearded Bee-eater.
An uncommon bird though widely distributed through the province
in wooded country. They are most commonly seen on the edges of
clearings and young teak plantations in the deciduous forest. They
are sluggish birds compared with their smaller relations, and spend
most of their time perched on an outstanding bough, only taking wing
when some insect is actually in view, and rarely if ever soaring and
cruising round in flight. The note is a harsh, low, most distinctive
croak audible at a surprising distance and like no other bird note. The
only attempt at breeding which I have come across was when a pair
started excavating a tunnel in September in a roadside cutting in a
coffee estate. It was abandoned after reaching a length of eighteen
inches and the birds disappeared without making a second attempt.
This rather unusual breeding season was confirmed some years later
at the other end of India in the Lushai Hills of Assam. In a hundred-
mile march froin Ayal to Lungleh in early October, I passed literally
dozens of tunnels in process of excavation in the banks of the mule
track in bamboo jungle.
Ceryle rudis : The Pied Kingfisher.
Common on the larger rivers such as the Cauvery, Hemavathi, and
Lakshmantirtha after they leave the forest and enter the Dry Zone
where their banks become open and cultivated. They are exclusively
fish-eaters and do all their hunting on the wing, flying up to a height
of fifteen to twenty feet where they hang hovering motionless on
rapidly beating wings, the tail spread and bent forward as a brake
and the bill pointed vertically downwards while they scan the water
for anything edible. If prey is seen the bird turns over and plunges
vertically down on it. If not, after a few seconds it flies on to hover
again in a different spot. They are early breeders, excavating a hole
in January in some vertical clay bank on the riverside, three or four
feet above water-level. It is not usually of great length, 12 to 18
inches being normal. The chamber is some nine inches in diameter
and five or six eggs are laid. As with all kingfishers the nest becomes
extremely foul before the young finally leave. Both chamber and
tunnel are choked with a stinking litter of fish-bones, scales, and
excreta, Swarming with maggots. The young only emerge when fully
developed, and remain dependent on their parents for a couple of
weeks. It is a delightful sight to see half a dozen youngsters sitting
en a rock in mid-stream being fed industriously by the old birds.
Alcedo atthis: The Indian Common Kingfisher.
Found throughout Coorg wherever there is water along the stream-
lets running down from the high hills, whether they run through open
downs, thick forest, or paddy fields, and equally on the larger’ rivers
both in the Wet and Dry Zones, and also on nearly every tank or
cattle pond. They resemble their near relative the European King-
fisher in habits, feeding on small fish and tadpoles which are caught
240 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
by diving from a perch overhanging the water, though they occasionally
hover like the Pied Kingfisher. The usual breeding season is in March/
April but I have found a nest in September so that there may be two
broods. The tunnel, 3 or 4 feet long, is excavated in a vertical river
bank, but I once found one in the wall of a dry well three feet below
ground level and two hundred and fifty yards from the nearest water.
Alcedo meninting: Beavan's Kingtisher.
This species which closely resembles the last is distinguishable in
the field by the lack of the white shoulder patches and the deeper blue
of the upper parts. It is a rare bird. I have only once seen a pair on
one of the main tributaries of the Cauvery where it flows through
heavy bamboo forest. Though only a sight record the birds were
tame and I was able to observe them carefully and am confident of
the identification.
Ramphalcyon capensis: The Brown-headed Stork-billed Kingfisher.
Found wherever a suitable biotope occurs though never numerous,
as each pair occupies a large territory. They are confined to the
larger rivers where they flow through thick, wild forest, and will never
be seen in open country. They are shy birds, spending much of their
time perched in some thick tree overhanging the water. They are
the possessors of portentous voices, bursting forth at intervals into
a terrifying cacophony of wild, shrieking laughter, bobbing up and
down on the perch, and flicking up the short tail till it almost touches
the back. Breeding presumably takes place in the hot weather, but I
have never succeeded in finding a nest or seen young, though the old
birds are undoubtedly resident throughout the year.
Halcyon smyrnensis: The White-breasted Kingfisher.
The commonest kingfisher in Coorg, and unlike the others by no
means confined to the waterside. They are most numerous in and
about paddy fields, but one also finds them in cultivation or jungle
clearings a long way from the nearest pond or stream. They ascend
the hills to the limit of paddy cuitivation, and elsewhere are numerous
in fairly open country throughout the Wet, Inter, and Dry Zones.
They feed very largely on big insects, small lizards, and land-crabs,
employing the typical kingfisher tactics of swooping down from a
perch. They are also quite at home in-more normal surroundings
along the rivers and as adept at fishing as the rest of the family.
The call is a loud, piercing laugh. Breeding takes place in late March
and April, the tunnels being excavated in vertical banks, sand-pits
and roadside cuttings often far from water. The very first nest I
found was in a hole left for drainage purposes in the masonry of a
bridge, but they generally dig their own dwelling. The passage is
often quite short, 18 inches or less. Four to six eggs are laid.
Halcyon pileata: The Black-capped Kingfisher..
This is a coastal species, common on the brackish estuaries, back-
waters and mangrove swamps of the Malabar Coast. Nevertheless, I
have met it twice in Coorg; once on a small stream running through
a coffee plantation at 3,000 ft., and once on the Cauvery some five
THE BIRDS-OF COORG 241
miles away. In the former case I saw a solitary bird on one occasion
only, in January. Two years later, possibly the same bird turned up
in the same spot and remained for several months, in fact until the
break of the monsoon. In size and build they resemble H. smyrnensis
closely, but apart from the black head, may be distinguished in the
field by the deep, purplish blue upper parts which in smyrnensis are
a lighter shade tending to green.
Dichoceros bicornis: The Indian Great Hornbill.
Must almost certainly occur in the heavy rain forest of the western
slopes of the Ghats, but I have not come across it.
Hydrocissa coronata: Malabar Pied Hornbill.
Found in the Wet Zone rain forest on the Ghat slopes running
down to Malabar. Seen in small parties, but not at all common.
Tockus birostris: Common Grey Hornbill.
Common in the Dry Zone wherever there are large trees such as
roadside avenues of banyans, and also found throughout the deciduous.
forest belt. They are usually seen in small flocks of half a dozen
individuals though I once saw one of at least fifty. They are noisy
birds with a great variety of loud, weird calls. The only nest I have
come across was in a hole in a big horizontal bough, 50 feet up in an
enormous wild fig standing on the bund of a tank in the Dry Zone.
This was in April, and one bird only was bringing food (fruit of some
sort), so presumably this was the male feeding his sitting mate.
Tockus griseus: The Malabar Grey Hornbill.
Replaces the last species in the evergreen forest of the Wet Zone
where they are fairly common from almost sea level up to 4,000 ft.
Whey are ‘strictly forest birds, more. often heard than seen. Like the
last species they live in small flocks and are equally noisy. I have
not found a nest.
Upupa epops: The Hoopoe.
Permanently resident in the Dry Zone, and a common dry weather
visitor to the more open parts of the rest of the province, arriving in
September, remaining to breed in February/March, and only leaving
in June at the onset of the monsoon. They are essentially ground
feeders, running about actively on their short legs, picking up ants
and small insects, and probing the cracks and crannies of the soil
with their long, curved bills. In the Nilgiris they breed freely in
holes in stone walls and buildings. In Coorg I have found them
always to choose natural hollows in trees, especially clefts and splits
in the trunks, the result of lightning blast or the breaking of a major
limb. Where the entrance is a very narrow one, it often presents a
pecked appearance the birds evidently enlarging it sufficiently to allow
easy access, though considering their long, delicate bills, this work
must be very difficult for them. Half a dozen greeny-white, rough-
shelled eggs are Jaid. The hen apparently does all the incubation.
The cock at this time roosts somewhere in the neighbourhood. In the
case of a nest near my bungalow, he used to occupy a wide fork in
_
242 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST? SOCIETY, Vol. 50
the trunk of a small tree some three hundred yards away, in which
he squatted instead of perching on a twig in the manner of most
arboreal birds. The eggs are laid on a pad of moss and hair, and
soon become very stained as there is no attempt at sanitation, and when
the young hatch the hole becomes extremely foul.
The familiar double call from which the bird gets its trivial name
is uttered with closed crest, swelling neck, and bil! pointed vertically
downward. It has the effect of coming from a distance even when
the caller is close at hand. During courtship or when alarmed or
angry it has another call, a harsh, croaking scream. In the courtship
display the crest is erected and the wings spread and fluttered to
show off the black and white barring. I have seen copulation taking
place even when incubation was well advanced which seems unusual,
the cock calling the hen off the eggs for the purpose. Both birds take
part in feeding the young, and work most industriously. They seem
to give themselves a lot of unnecessary labour. In the case of the
above-mentioned nest near my bungalow, they used to fly to a maidan
at least a quarter of a mile away before starting to search though
there were precisely similar and apparently equally fruitful feeding
grounds much nearer at hand.
Harpactes fasciatus: The Malabar Trogon.
Scarce but widely distributed. They seem to be great wanderers,
singletons or pairs turning up for a few days at a time almost any-
where in the deciduous forests and coffee plantations in the Inter-Zone,
or the Ghat sholas of the Wet Zone up to high levels. Although I
cannot prove it, I suspect that the rain forests of the Malabar slope
are their real home. They are sluggish birds, usually encountered in
the interior of heavy forest, perching for long periods on a bough, and
flying out occasionally to take an insect on the wing. The only note
is a low croak seldom uttered. The long tail, square at the tip and
the same width throughout its length, is a very distinctive feature.
I have once found a nest. This was in March and it was in a big,
natural hollow in a rotten branch stub, twenty feet up in a fig tree
in a coffee plantation. The three eggs were laid on the decaying chips
with no attempt at a lining.
Micropus melba: The Alpine Swift.
Colonies of these swifts live on most of the higher precipitous crags
of the Ghats. While birds of such great wing power must cover enor-
mous distances during the day, they appear to return to their home
cliffs to roost, at any rate during the Dry Weather. In the monsoon
the hilltops are wrapped in almost continuous fog and rain, and if
is probable that they migrate as Salim Ali records of the Jog birds,
but I have no idea where they go as I have never seen them in Coorg
except on’ the ‘hills. They ‘breed im January in clefts;insthe faceyar
cliffs, usually in some quite inaccessible position. The nest is a flimsy
half saucer of feathers and straw cemented with saliva. One colony
of my acquaintance builds within 6 feet of a Shahin Falcon’s eyrie,
neither species taking the slightest notice of each other. In addition
the neighbouring rocks are festooned with the combs of the big Rock
FHE BIRDS OF. ‘COORG 243
Bee, but the swifts fly in and out among them without the least com-
punction.
Micropus afiinis: The Common Indian House-Switt.
Locally common. Colcnies of varying size breed in large buildings
in the chief towns, such as the Fort at Mercara, and the Kachcheri at
Somwarpet. They also use the underside of big bridges and more
rarely cliffs on the Ghats. Their breeding season seems to differ
considerably according to locality. They nest in June and July under
the arches of bridges over the Cauvery in the Dry Zone. This is
during the rains which, however, are light in that area, and it is pro-
bably the season of maximuin insect abundance. The large colony on
Mercara Fort in the Wet Zone ouly starts operations in. September
after the worst of the cold, wet monsoon weather is passeds — ‘Une
nests are built of feathers, straw and any air-borne rubbish, cemented
with saiiva, and are more or less hemispherical with a smal! entrance
hole. But usually forty or fifty are glued together in one amorphous
lump, so that it is impossible to tell their reai shape.
Chaetura giganteus: The Brown-throated Spinetail.
This grand swift is something of a mystery. They turn up re-
gularly in the wake of the violent thunderstorms which mark the
end of the Dry Season in April and May. Large numbers appear in
open country, swooping low over the newly moistened ground, feeding
on the swarms of awakening insect life. They fly at an immense
speed, and as they sweep past their wing's make a noise like a sword
cut. At other times of year they are rarely seen, though they probably
breed in the Ghat forests. Unlike most swifts they, are silent birds.
Indicapus sylvaticus: The White-rumped Spinetail.
Quite a common species, but like the last puzzling in its distribution.
They are seen in large flocks, most often along rivers but they may
turn up anywhere.- They seem to have no fixed abode and J have
never found them breeding. They are, however, mainly forest haunters
and I have rarely met them in the Dry Zone.
Collecalia fuciphaga: The Edible-nest Swiftlet.
Not Common, but colonies exist on some of the higher and craggier
hills of the Ghats. The only actual breeding site with which I am
acquainted is beyond the Coorg border on the Kudere Mukh, the
highest peak of the Mysore section of the Ghats. Here twenty or
thirty pairs nest in the belfry of a ruined Jesuit chapel at over 7,000 ft.
The nests are small, shallow half-saucers, largely composed of whitish,
isinglass-like saliva with a plentiful admixture of green moss. The
males and non-breeding members of the colony roost beside the sitting
birds, clinging back dow nwards to the rafters on which the nests are
glued. The above colony and the only other I have seen—in Ceylon—
were both breeding in March. Two eggs are laid. ;
Hemiprocne coronata: The Indian Crested Swift.
A common species in the deciduous forest and the neighbouring
parts of the Dry and Inter-Zones. They are birds of fairly iene open
3
244 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
woodiand country. While strong on the wing they are not nearly such:
wanderers as the true swifts, and remain in more or less the same
area throughout the year except perhaps in very stormy weather. They
perch freely on trees. Breeding takes place from late February until
April. Three or four pairs usually nest within a few hundred yards of
each other. ‘The nest is a minute half-saucer an inch and a half long:
by an inch wide, just large enough to contain the single egg. It is
composed of a grey, horny substance two or three millimetres thick,
apparently a mixture of dried saliva and shreds of lichen. This is.
glued to the side of a thin, bare bough in a treetop. It may be sixty
feet up in a giant Bombax, but often a low scrubby tree not twenty feet
high is chosen. The incubating bird perches on the bough in the nor-.
mal manner, and covers the egg with her breast feathers. The only
way of finding a nest is to watch until a bird is noticed continually re--
turning to a particular perch, as the nest is quite undetectable from
below. The young are clad in grey down, and when not actually being
fed remain posed in a state of rigid immobility, most excellently camou-
tlaged as a broken lichen-grown stub. In this they resemble the young
of Hemipus and Tephrodornis which breed in similarly exposed:
positions and whose nests are almost though net quite so exiguous.
Caprimulgus macrourus: The Long-tailed Nightjar.
Occurs in the Inter-Zone, though J cannot speak for the other parts
of the province. They may be distinguished from the other two Coorg
nightjars by the darker plumage. They frequent downland and graz-
ing grounds, spending the day roosting on the ground among the dead.
leaves in some thicket. The only nest I have found was in just such
a situation in. March. The sitting bird was so well camouflaged by
her cryptic colouration that on returning to the nest a second time I
stood within a yard without being able to see her, and until she
flew off imagined that the eggs had been stolen. The two eggs are
quite unlike the usual nightjar type. They are the normal shape, a
regular oval equal at both ends. But in colouring they are a uniform.
pale coffee with small black spots. They are laid on the bare ground.
with no attempt at a nest. When returning after a disturbance, the
bird would alight within a foot of the eggs and shuffle on to them. The
young are clad in cinnamon down and almost from the moment of
hatching are capable of crawling away and hiding under dead leaves,.
if frightened.
Caprimulgus indicus: The Jungle Nightjar.
The commonest nightjar in Coorg, particularly in the deciduous.
forest. They have a particular predilection for squatting on roads at
night. Driving through the jungle after dark, one flushes dozens of
them from the dusty surface, their eyes gleaming like rubies as they
reflect back the headlights of the car. They breed in the open, in
clearings in forest or on rocky outcrops. The nesting season is in,
March and April. Two eggs are laid, sometimes in the shade of a
bush, but often right in the open on some rocky slope fully exposed to.
the blazing hot weather sun.
THE, BIRDS OF -GOORG 245
Caprimulgus asiaticus: The Little Indian Nightjar.
Very similar to the last species in habits, but confined to the Dry
Zone where they abound in open scrub and cultivated country. They
can be distinguished from the other Coorg species by their small size.
They breed rather late in April and May, after the first showers. The
eggs are laid usually on some stony outcrop, fully in the open.
Caprimulgus monticolus: Franklin’s Nightjar.
Never identified, but may well occur.
Asio flammeus: The Short-eared Owl.
A rare visitor. The only ones I have ever seen were the twenty or
so referred to by Salim Ali in the Mysore Survey, at Hebbale in the Dry
Zone in January. They were roosting on the ground at the foot of
bushes at intervals of a few yards. I returned to the place on a
number of occasions after Salim Ali’s visit, and the birds remained in
the area for several weeks. Each retained its particular roosting spot
where it could be flushed at any time through the daylight hours.
Strix indranee: The Brown Wood-owl.
This bird has been recorded from Coorg. I have not definitely
identified it myself in the province, though it is a common bird in the
Nilgiris.
Ketupa ceylonensis: The Fish-owl.
Found throughout the province, except in the Dry Zone, along
streams and rivers and in the neighbourhood of swamps, prefe-
rably in forest. They rarely stray far from water. In a well-shaded
locality they are more diurnal in habit than most owls. They appear
to feed largely on frogs and crabs. I have not found the nest, but
suspect them of breeding in hollows and forks of the huge wild mangoes
and other large trees which abound along the banks of the Coorg rivers.
Bubo bubo: The Indian Great Horned Owl.
A very large horned owl is widely distributed, but nowhere numerous
in the province. I had always put it down as Huhua nipalensis, but,
in view of the findings of the Mysore Survey, it is likely to be this
species. They are commonest in the deciduous forest. They are
strictly nocturnal, spending the day perched in some thick, creeper~
clad tree. When driving at night along a forest road, one occasionally
sees them perched on a milestone or boulder by the _ roadside,
presumably waiting to pounce on any rat or small mammal exposing
itself on the public highway. Their call is a low, rumbling murmur.
A pair used to frequent some large trees in my garden, and one could
easily mistake their voices for those of two humans taiking in an
undertone.
Otus bakkamoena: The Scops Owl.
Never actually identified, but a very small owl which can hardlv
have been anything else used to visit my garden at night, and perch
in a tree-top, uttering a double noted call for minutes together.
246 JOURNAL, BOMBAY: NATURAL FYSF VSOCIETY, ols es0
Athene brama: The Spotted Owlet.
Very common indeed in the Mysore ‘maidan’. It occurs somewhat
sparingly in the cultivated portions of the Coorg Dry Zone.
Glaucidium radiatum: The Jungle Owlet.
Fairly common in the deciduous forest, extending into the scrubby
jungle on the edge of the Dry Zone. I have never seen it in ever-
green country. The only nest I have found was in March, in a hole
twenty feet up in a teak tree in light, open woodland. There were
three eggs reposing on a musty smelling mass of pellets, largely
composed of the fur and bones of mice. Both birds were in the hole
so that it looks as if the male roosts beside his mate while incubation
is going on. It is a comparatively diurnal bird, actively on the wing
throughout the day except perhaps during the hottest hours.
Ninox scutulata: The Hawk-Owl.
Has been recorded, but I have never come across it myself.
Sarcogyps calvus: The King Vulture.
A regular resident, but never numerous. In the dozens of White-
backs which gather round any dead bullock, one usually sees one or
two birds of this species. They live up to their name and keep
the others at a distance. I suspect them of breeding on some of the
precipitous crags which rise up on the edge of the Dry Zone in the
N.E. of the province, but I have never found an eyrie.
Pseudogyps benghalensis: The White-backed Vulture.
The common vulture of the province. At almost any time it is
only necessary to scan the sky for a few moments to see one or more
circling round at an immense altitude, and the carcase of any large
animal left lying in the open attracts scores to the feast Ihe 2 Meny.
short time. They squabble and fight over the carrion, braying like
donkeys, and gorging themselves until almost too bloated to, ily.
I have not, however, been able to find any breeding colony in Coorg
though there may be one somewhere on the forested cliffs of the
Ghats.
Gyps fulvus: The Indian Griffon.
Gyps indicus: The Long-billed Vulture.
Neither positively identified, but they probably occur as J have met
them in the Nilgiris, and Salim Ali records them from Jog in the Mysore
'Ghats.*
Neophron pércnopterus: The White Scavenger Vulture.
While numerically not so abundant as the White-backed Vulture,
this is a much more familiar bird. The White-backs when not feeding
spend their whole time soaring high in the sky, while the Neophron,
2 See Correction on p. 236 of Vol. 45 of the Journal. The birds from Mysore
were evidently all indicus. The record of fulvus was due to mistaken identifica-
tion. "EDS:
Journ. BomBay NAT. HIsT. Soc. PLATE
Egyptian Vulture.
Photos Author
Shahin Falcon.
BoMBAY NAT. HIstT. Soc.
Stone Plover.
Autho
7
II
PHE BIRDS OF COORG 247
though a magnificent flier, passes much more of its life on the ground.
They are unable to get a look in at the bigger banquets attended by their
larger relatives, and have to work to obtain a living on the filth and
scraps round villages, a large part of their food being human excre-
ment. The towns and larger villages each support a number of pairs.
I have been well acquainted for five or six years with one pair whose
foraging ground is the little town of Somwarpet in N. Coorg. They
bred annually on the rocky crag of Alikutty, 3 miles away, using
a ledge on a cliff fifty feet high. The nest consists of a few filthy
rags by way of a lining with bits of stick, bones and lumps of dung
scattered round as decoration. In five consecutive years, one egg was.
laid on three occasions and two twice, but never more than one
chick was hatched. The incubation period is a long one. The egg
is laid in early February and the young bird does not leave the
nest until the end of April. The sitting bird seems to be much troubled
by parasites as is hardly surprising, and is continually pecking and
scratching various parts of its anatomy. The young bird is fed at
long intervals by either parent on scraps of carrion and other doubtful
delicacies. Although such a dirty feeder it has some idea of sanitation,
and at a very early age learns to scramble to the edge of the nest and
void its droppings over the side.
Falco peregrinus [peregrinator Sundevall]: The Shahin Falcon.
Nearly every one of the higher, rock-crowned peaks along the line
of the Ghats has its pair of these magnificent falcons, as well as
several of the lesser hills along the ridge bounding the province on the
N.E. Each pair seems based permanently on its particular strong-
hold though ranging over a wide area when hunting. The eyries are
usually built on a ledge on some totally inaccessible precipice. The
only one I know which is at all easily approachable is half way down
a cliff some 150 ft. high on the Alikutty Rock referred to in my account
of the Neophron, but half a mile away from the nest of the latter, at
ithe other end of the crag. It is on a broad grassy ledge ten feet
long by six at its widest, overhung by a jutting nose of rock. It is.
not hard to reach with the aid of a rope, but is well protected by
swarms of the fierce Rock Bees whose combs hang from the rock-
snout above. It was only when one year these had been smoked out
by the Kurumbas, a local jungle tribe who are ardent honey-hunters,
that I was able to get down. I found three eggs laid in a scrape in
the grass with no attempt at a nest, on 15th February. On reaching
the ledge it was found that I could not be pulled up again owing to
the overhang, and I was marooned there for several hours while
another rope was brought to allow me to go on down to the bottom
of the cliff. Though I was sitting not a couple of yards from the eggs,
the falcon returned within a quarter of an hour and brooded fearlessly,
allowing me to move and take photographs. She was so close that I
could hear her panting in the heat as she sat with open beak. At
intervals she rose and stood over the eggs, shading them with half-
spread wings. I never saw any prey being brought in, but judging
by remains at the cliff foot, parakeets from a considerable portion of
the food. The fledging period is prolonged and the eyasses are not
on the wing until well into April. During the incubation period, the
tiercel when not hunting kept watch from a neighbouring pinnacle,
248 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL FIST SOCKET YE Violzeo0
Falco tinnunculus (objurgatus ?): The Indian Kestrel.
A resident subspecies of kestrel is found on the higher hills of the
Ghats breeding in holes or ledges of the cliffs, usually in very inacces-
sible positions. I have never found an eyrie which could be reached
without ropes and much labour. They breed early in the year. They
are commonly to be seen hunting mice and beetles on the grassy
downs of the Ghat summits, hovering in the usual kestrel manner.
Falco tinnunculus (tinnunculus ¢): The European Kestrel.
A kestrel apparently rather larger and lighter in colour than the
last is a widely distributed and fairly numerous winter migrant through-
out the more open parts of Coorg.
Hieraetus fasciatus: Bonelli’s Eagle.
I have seen this eagle on several occasions, usually soaring high
overhead in the Ghat country. On one occasion I obtained a close
view of one feeding on the ground on a crow-pheasant which it had
caught on the edge of a hill shola.
Hieraétus pennatus: Booted Eagle.
Has been recorded from Coorg. Probably a scarce winter visitor.
Lophotriorchis kieneri: The Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle.
I have seen this bird on two or three occasions in light woodland
country both in the deciduous forest and the Inter-Zone, usually not
far from water. Its small size and rich colouration render its identi-
fication easier than that of most of the larger birds of prey.
Ictinaétus malayensis: The Black Eagle.
A wide ranging species which turns up all over the province except
in the Dry Zone. They are most often seen in the Ghat forests which
I suspect are their breeding grounds. They are wonderful fliers.
Their usual method of hunting is to float lightly as a butterfly on
motionless wings within a foot or two of the forest canopy, or even
lower among the boles and branches of the trees, avoiding obstacles
in the most uncanny way, despite the great wing spread of five feet
or more. They are silent birds except in the breeding season when
courting couples swoop and wheel round each other in play with shrill
velping cries.
Spizaétus cirrhatus : The Crested Hawk-Eagle.
Spizaétus nipalensis: Hodson’s Hawk-Eagle.
One or other, or both, of these eagles are regular residents in
small numbers throughout the hillier and more well wooded parts of
the province, but lacking specimens I have not identified them definitely.
Spilornis cheela: The Crested Serpent Eagle.
The common eagle of the province, found throughout the Ghats,
the Inter-Zone, and the moister parts of the deciduous forest iin
well wooded, well watered country. Though a magnificent flier, and
during the breeding season especially given to spending hours together
soaring in circles, uttering its wild, whistling scream, it is on the whole
EEES BIRDS OF COORG, 249
more sluggish than many of the family, and passes most of its day
perched on a prominent bough on the edge of some swampy forest
clearing or jungle waterhole, ready to pounce on frogs and small
snakes which form its usual food. I have never found an eyrie, but
suspect it of breeding deep in the interior of thick forest.
Ichthyophaga ichthyaétus: The Large Grey F ishing-eagle.
Occurs along all the larger rivers of the province. They are not
very active birds, and though fine fliers seldom spend long periods
soaring high in the air apparently purely for recreation as do. so many
eagles. ‘They confine themselves strictly to the waterside, and will
seldom be seen more than a very short distance from some river or
tank. They feed almost exclusively on fish, which they catch by
swooping from the wing, or more often from a perch on a bough
overhanging the water. Fish up to several pounds in weight are
captured.
The eyrie is a huge pile of sticks in a tall tree by the waterside.
It is used for years in succession, being gradually added to until it
reaches an immense size. Each pair seems to maintain two or three
eyries within a mile or two of each other which are used more or less
alternately. The breeding season begins in December at which time
the birds are very vocal. Their cry is a weird, very loud, clanging
succession of screams.
Butastur teesa: The White-eyed Buzzard.
Very rare in Coorg, and confined to the Dry Zone where I have
once seen one near Hebbale.
Haliastur indus : The Brahminy Kite.
Found all along the larger rivers, particularly common in the Dry
Zone, and somewhat less numerous on their upper courses through the
deciduous forest and the Inter-Zone. Odd pairs, however, adopt the
habits of Miluvus migrans, and become parasitic on man, making a
living by scavenging round towns and nallbeaes far from any large
body of water. The jungle-dwelling birds ied largely on fish, frogs
and crabs which they catch for themselves. They breed in February,
making a substantial stick nest a couple of feet in diameter in some
big mango or other evergreen tree at the waterside. Two eggs form
the normal clutch.
Milvus migrans: The Pariah Kite.
Common round all the larger villages and towns, though their
numbers are small compared with the myriads which haunt the plains
villages in Mysore. As everywhere they are cowardly, scavenging
birds, though wonderful fliers, and are a great pest to the poultry
keeper, levying a heavy toll on young Grictens and ducklings. Thev
are very cunning, being well aware of the danger of a gun, and biding
their time to pale a sudden swoop when no one is een bey
breed in March and April, building a large stick nest usually high
up in a tall, isolated tree, but sometimes quite low down. There is
usually no nine but sometimes leafy twigs or scraps of cloth are
added.
)
250 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST... SOCIETY, Val. 56
Elanus caeruleus: The Black-winged Kite.
This graceful little kite is a regular winter migrant in smalt
numbers. They are usually seen in open country such as the cultivated
parts of the Dry Zone and the grass downs of the Ghats, byt I have
also found them in teak clearings and young plantations in the heart
of the deciduous forest. They resembie the kestrel in their hunting
habits, hovering on the wing, and swooping down on grasshoppers
and field mice,
Circus macrourus: The Pale Harrier.
The harriers, except for males in full plumage, are difficult to dis-
tinguish in the field and I hesitate to be dogmatic about them. The
present species does undoubtedly occur, but I cannot say how common-
ly as the old males which can be definitely identified are almost
certainly greatly in the minority as compared with females and im-
mature birds.
Circus aeruginosus: The Marsh Harrier.
This appears to be the most numerous species and is a common
winter visitor all over the province, found everywhere except in forest
country. They favour paddy fields especially, and swampy ground,
where they feed on frogs. They do attack larger prey, however, and
are a nuisance at duck shoots, making off with wounded birds often
almost as big as themselves. That they will attack unwounded water-
fowl seems unlikely as their presence is usually disregarded and does
not cause the consternation evident when a Shahin Falcon or a
Goshawk puts in an appearance at a tank.
Astur badius: The Shikra.
A regular and widespread resident, but in surprisingly small numbers
compared to those in which it occurs in the Nilgiris in similar biotope.
They are found equally in the Dry Zone and the Inter-Zone in fairly
open but well wooded cultivated country. They feed largely on lizards,
but also on small birds who regard them as deadly foes, and flee with
shrieks of fear at their approach, or gather in indignant flocks to
mob them. The only nest I have found was thirty feet up in a sapling
in the deciduous forest, and was a small platform of, stucks.,; “There
were three eggs in early April.
Astur trivirgatus : The Crested Goshawk.
Somewhat uncommon, occurring chiefly in forest in the Wet and
Inter-Zones. Its method of hunting is to perch unobtrusively in a
leafy tree and thence pounce out on some unsuspecting bird in ore
swift dash, pursuing relentlessly until it captures its prey or the latter
escapes by going to ground in a thicket. The only nest I have found
was in the Niteiric in March. It was in a creeper-grown tree in the
heart of an evergreen shola, at a height of thirty feet, and was a
rough platform of dry sticks a foot wide, lined with green leaves,
on which lay a single egg in an early stage of incubation. The sitting
bird flew off silently and, though remaining in the neighbourhood, made
no sound or demonstration.
LEE BIRDS. OF COORG
LO
wr
la
Accipiter virgatus : The Besra Sparrowhawk.
Fairly Common in the Inter-Zone and the deciduous forest. I have
not seen it.in Wet Zone evergreen forest, though it may occur there.
It is a woodland species and the deadly foe of all small birds who realise
this all too well and lose no opportunity of mobbing it if this can be
done with safety. I have seen one capture a parakeet as big as itself,
and watched another make an unsuccessiul attempt on a three-toed
Woodpecker. The latter gained a defensive position on a tree limb,
and there ensconced and pointing its formidable bill to the enemy,
drove off several attacks until the hawk gave up and retired in disgust.
Pernis ptilorhynchus : The Crested Honey-Buzzard.
I believe I have seen this bird in the Wet Zone in a Ghat shola,
but it requires confirmation. It certainly should occur as it is fairly
numerous on the Nilgiris in this sort of biotope, and Salim Ali
encountered it in’ Mysore.
Baza jerdoni: Legge’s Baza.
An uncommon resident through the Inter-Zone and the eastern
slopes of the Ghats where sholas and downland intermingle. Thougii
I: have not found a nest, it undoubtedly breeds as I have repeatedly
seen pairs accompanied by juveniles which are easily distinguishable
by their very pale colouration.’ The species is chiefly notable for its
remarkable courtship flight. The pair soar round each other in circles
Mem tn tine vain. Onevon them. then. towers vertically ‘for ‘twenty .or
thirty feet, and, turning completely over, dives headforemost to its
former level. Throughout the performance it utters a series of excited
screams—‘kip, kip, kip’. The demonstration may be carried out three
or four times in a quarter of an hour. I have seen one with a captured
lizard, and imagine that these and small mammals are their chief prey as
they are slow on the wing and hardly seem sufficiently active to catch
birds. .
Crocopus phoenicopterus : The Southern Green Pigeon.
Not uncommon in the Dry Zone where it breeds. They wander
up occasionally inte the deciduous forest, and even the Inter-Zone
when some particularly favourite fruit is in season there. They are
entirely fruit-eaters living principally on banyan and other wild figs.
A nest found in April was twenty feet up in an open thorny tree on the
edge of a clearing in deciduous forest. It was an extremely flimsy and
fragile platform of thin twigs insecurely balanced on the crossing
point of two branches. There were two eggs.
Dendrophasa pompadora : The Grey-fronted Green Pigeon.
A common bird throughout the Inter-Zone and in the evergreen
forest of the Ghats up to 4,500 ft. They are much more numerous
than is generally realised as they are so wonderfully camouflaged. It
is usually their sweet mellow, whistle which gives away their presence.
Any large fig tree is certain to be visited when the fruit is ripe
especially ‘Gonis’ and ‘Basris’. Such a tree is sure to be alive with
barbets, quarrelling and clambering among the outer branches. They
are conspicuous enough, but there may be twenty or thirty pigeons in
252 JOURNAL, “BOMBAY NAT RATE Fil Ses OnE Diveen Viole
the tree whose presence will be quite unsuspected as they keep hidden
among the leaves on the highest branches. Even if one knows they are
there, one visiMucky ai Aer a prolonged search with binoculars one
can pick out one or two.
I have not found a nest.
Ducula badia: Jerdon’s Imperial Pigeon.
Strictly a Wet Zone species confined to the evergreen forests of
the Ghats and extending up to the highest sholas. They are hard
to shoot or even catch sta of, as they rarely emerge from the tree-
tops except when flighting from one feeding ground to another. At
these times they fly very high and strongly with slow, purposeful
wingbeats. They are undoubtedly more numerous than one realises
as one constantly hears their deep, moaning croon in the depths of
the sombre forest. I have not found them breeding in Coorg, but
on the Kudere Mukh in Mysore they were numerous in the sholas at
7,000 {t. in January, and evidently about to breed as courtship was in
full swing. The courtship is of the typical pigeon type, in which the
male advances along a bough towards his mate with bowed head and
inflated throat cooing vigorously.!
Chalcophaps indica: The Bronze-winged Dove.
Another Wet Zone species, though found in small numbers
throughout the Inter-Zone and occasionally in the deciduous forest.
Their real home, however, is the heavy rain forest on the Malabar slope
from plains level up to 4,500 ft. Here they are extremely numerous,
and may be seen in numbers on roads running through the jungle
especially round cart-stands where they pick up the fallen grain. At
other times one usually meets them flying low and swiftly beneath
They. are ground feeders. The call is a
the canopy of the forest.
I have not found the nest, though
low, deep moan of several notes.
they undoubtedly breed in Coorg.
Columba elphinstonii: The Nigiri Woodpigeon.
Has been recorded from the Brahmagiris in the extreme south of
Coorg. Although I have never personally seen it in the province it _
probably occurs sparcely all along the Coorg Ghats as Salim Ali found
it both in the Billigiris to the south and the “Bababudans to the north.
Streptopelia orientalis: The Rufous Turtle Dove.
Occurs in varying numbers as a winter migrant only. They are
only to be found in the deciduous forest where there is plenty of
bamboo, and mainly in the neighbourhood of rivers and the larger
streams. In 1933, when large areas of bamboo flowered, they were
particularly numerous and were feeding exclusively on the bamboo
seed. They are very shy and difficult to shoot, and are generally in
pairs, but occasionally in small parties. Their rufuous colouration serves
to distinguish them in the field from the Spotted Dove.
———aeee
* For an account of the aerial display see Sdlim Ali, ].B.N.H.S., 39:-338.
itie BLEEDS: Ok .COORG 253
Streptopelia chinensis : The Spotted Dove.
Extremely common all over the province in all types of country
except heavy evergreen forest and the windswept downs of the Ghats.
They are entirely ground feeders like the rest of the genus, and live
on grain and various wild seeds. One which I shot had its crop stuffed
with the seeds of the Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica). They breed
anywhere, often in the most ridiculously conspicuous situations such
as a low, open thorn bush, within a yard of the ground and seldom
at a height of over twenty feet. Nesting goes on throughout the
year.
Streptopelia senegalensis: The Little Brown Dove.
Found only in the driest part of the Dry Zone, where it is common
in cultivated country and light scrub jungle. It much resembles the
last species in habits. They breed in some low thorn bush or skimpy
hedge within a few feet of the ground. The breeding season is
quite indefinite though most nests will be found after the first showers
in April. Although built in such open situations, the nests are such
flimsy little platforms of twigs and the incubating bird sits so closely
that they are not conspicuous.
Streptopelia decaocto: The Indian Ring Dove.
Found only in the Dry Zone, but not so numerous as the last
species. It is rather more a bird of the jungle, and will be found more
commonly in the scrub-grown wastelands than in cultivation. Its
call is a-very distinctive one. One note at_a distance sounds very
much like a herd boy calling his cattle. The only nest I have found
was in early March, well hidden in the interior of a small, leafy tree
in thick scrub at about ten feet from the ground. It was the usual
flimsy construction of sticks, and there were two eggs.
Pavo cristatus: The Peafowl.
Rather surprisingly the Peafowl is found throughout the deciduous
forest belt often in quite thick woodland, though they prefer the
neighbourhood of rivers where there are stretches of open maidan
and big clearings. They do not, however, venture beyond the forest
belt into the Inter-Zone. They are most at home in the scrub jungle
of the Dry Zone where they are definitely common. They are extremely
shy however, and though their caterwauling may be heard on anv
morning at sunrise, it takes very careful stalking to get a view. The
way in which such large and highly coloured birds can hide them-
selves is amazing. They are usually seen in small flocks of six or
seven, but one not infrequently comes on cocks by themselves. They
emerge into the open to feed in the early mornings and evenings and
spend the heat of the day resting in the heart of some impenetrable
Lantana thicket. Unless flushed with dogs it is very hard to get
them to fly, but when they do, even an old cock with his long, heavy
train will rocket straight up out of the bushes and rise thirty or
forty feet almost vertically to clear the treetops. They apparently breed
in the monsoon, probably about June, as though I have not found
a nest, [ have on a number of occasions seen families of young the
size of domestic fowls in August. ee
254 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SO GLE T Ve Vor aod
Gallus sonnerati: The Grey Junglefowl.
Despite constant persecution by gun and snare, the Grey Jungle-
fowl is found in some numbers all over the province in forest land.
They exist even in the heart of the Wet Zone evergreen forest, a
habitat shunned by many other almost ubiquitous species. ‘Ehey -
ascend the Ghats to the highest sholas, and also frequent the thin,
scrub jungle of the Dry Zone wastelands. They are commonest of
all in the deciduous forest, and in the Reserves, where the Forest
Department can exercise some control over shooting and trapping,
are really numerous. In the dry weather, from January to April in
this region, the crowing of the cocks may be heard on every side.
They are to some extent migratory on particular occasions. The
flowering of the Strobilanthes undergrowth in the Ghat sholas which
occurs every seven years or so, attracts very large numbers to the
hills, and the same applies when the bamboos flower in the deciduous
belt. The breeding season varies somewhat with the locality, from
January to March in the Wet Zone, and later, in April and May in
the Dry Zone where they wait for the first showers to put an end to
the forest fires and start a growth of vegetation. The. nest~may
be anywhere on the ground, usually under a bush. The clutches are
small, two or three eggs oniy. The cocks appear to be polygamous
and take no interest in the rearing of the brood.
Galioperdix spadicea : The Red Spurfowl.
While very like the junglefowl in range and habits, this ‘species is
even more widely distributed, as it is by no means confined to
uninhabited country, but is numerous in coffee plantations, and any
patch of Lantana or woodland of any size even close to villages.
Despite this they are shy birds, scuttling away into the undergrowth
if disturbed, and very “seldom seen “in the jopen) exceptwatteiedue
paddy harvest when numbers may be seen of an evening in any field
bordering on forest. When flushed by a dog, they fly up into the
trees, and, crouching motionless on a lofty bough, are very difficul:
to pick out. The junglefowl has the same habit.. Unlike the jungle-
cock, the male spurfowl leads an exemplary married life. He lives
with his single wife throughout the year and is a devoted father, though
{ do not know whether he shares in incubation. If one disturbs a
brood of young chicks, both parents become quite distracted and try
to draw off one’s attention by floundering about as though in extremis,
while the young freeze among the dead leaves where their cryptic
colouring makes them almost invisible. Breeding takes place early in
the year, from late February till April. No nest is made, the eggs
being laid in a scrape usually on sloping ground among a drift of dead
leaves under a bush. The hen is timid and deserts easily. The normal
clutch is two eggs only. The call is a long loud, bubbling rattle.
Excalfactoria chinensis : The Blue-breasted Quail.
I once flushed a very small, very dark quail in long grass on
the edge of a paddy field. I failed to shoot it, but it was undoubtedly
a new species to me, and would seem likely to have been this bird.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 255
Cryptoplectron erythrorhynchum : The Painted Bush-Quail.
Conimon throughout the Wet Zone wherever there are considerable
stretches of long grass on the borders of paddy fieids, especially thosc
avandoned or fallowed. It is also found on the grass downs of the
Ghausee vite does notvoccupminethe Dry Zone or far into _the deciduous
forest. The birds live in bevies of considerable size, a dozen or mor2
individuals. have never found the nest in Coorg, but in the Nilgiris
one that I came on in September was a small pad of grass in a patcis
of long grass on the edge of a shola. The young had hatched, leaving
one addled egg, unmarked and whitish in colour. The normal breeding
season is evidently in August and September, after the worst of the
rains are over, and the grass has attained a good height. The cock at
this time becomes very vocal, constantly reiterating his sweet doubie
eall-note. Phe elutches must. be large as one’'sees up’ to ten or more
young with their parents, who are both most devoted. The chicks
can fly at a verv early age, even when they are still down-clad mites
scarcely bigger than bumble-bees.
Perdicula asiatica: Phe Jungle Bush-Quail. _
Replaces the last species in the Dry Zone where it is very common
both in the scrub and in cultivation. They are found in considerable
bevies, not quite so large as those of the last species, but from six
to ten is a normal number. In the dry season they keep mainly to the
scrub, but as soon as the young corn begins to give cover in the
‘ragi’ fields in June, they flock thither, and though I have not found
a nest I suspect that this is where they breed. Eggs must be laid
in early July as the young are well grown by the time the ‘ragi’ is
reaped in August.
Francolinus pondicerianus : The Grey Partridge.
Occurs in considerable numbers in the open cultivated area of the
Dry Zone, and the patches of wasteland grown with thin scrub which
occur therein. Though shy, one comes on them quite close to villages
and they are said to be very dirty feeders, though I cannot confirm
this. They pair in January and early February at which time the
cocks become very vocal and pugnacious. In fact partridge fighting
is a favourite pastime of the local inhabitants, and numbers of birds
are snared for the purpose. Breeding appears to start with the first
rains in May or June, and the five or six young remain in the covey
until the following pairing season.
Turnix suscitator: The Common Bustard Quail.
Occurs in the Dry Zone, though by no means common. I have seen
one solitary bird shot there.
Rallus eurizonoides : The Spotted Crake.
The only occasion on which I have met this species was on a hill-
side in the deciduous forest in thick bamboo jungle, a long way frorn
water. I was in hiding by a game trail when a family party came by,
and passed unsuspectingly within a few feet. It was a charming
spectacle. One parent led the way, the picture of caution and alertness,
peering this way and that as it picked its way along, constantly jerking
256 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY," Vol 50
its tail to display the bright rufous under-tail coverts. Behind, twa
little chicks, clad in black down, stumbled through the dead leaves
while their other parent followed behind shepherding them alone if
they showed signs of dawdling. This was in September. ;
Amaurornis fuscus : The Ruddy Crake.
A water-loving species which I have never seen except on the
borders of flooded paddy fields or round tanks. Common round the -
big tanks in the Mysore maidan where there are reedy margins. The
only record I have for Coorg is one flushed in a bed of bulrushes
growing in a small tank in the Dry Zone. They swim freely and even
dive when wounded, if chased. ;
Amaurornis phoenicurus : The White-breasted Waterhen.
Common throughout the province in paddy fields and in the neigh-
bourhood of any permanent standing water such as the ponds which
are maintained by every coffee estate to supply water for washing
and pulping the crop. Though perfectly capable of swimming, they
do not do so unless it cannot be avoided, and seek their food on the
marshy margins, never very far from some thicket or clump of bushes
into which they scuttle for cover on any alarm. They perch freely,
clambering up the trees to a considerable height. I have not found
a nest, but it would appear that they breed during the monsoon as I
have seen a pair in attendance on a couple of downy young in late
July. Though normally silent, they give vent at times to the most
appalling catcalls of astonishing volume.
Gallinula chloropus : The Indian Moorhen.
The only place in Coorg where I have seen this bird is Halagote
Tank, where it is a breeding resident except when, as happened in
38/39, a succession of short monsoons caused the water almost to
dry up and killed the reeds. Two or three pairs ordinarily nest there
and remain throughout the year, but their numbers are greatly augmented
in the winter by migrants. I have seen as many as fifty or sixty in
December. They are indistinguishable in the field from the British
bird. Nests which I have found have been substantial floating masses
of bulrush leaves anchored to a reedstem, and built up seven or eight
inches from the water with a deep, well-formed cup on top. Five
or six eggs are laid in July, by which time the tank is or should be
full and the reedbeds providing plenty of cover.
Fulica atra: The Coot.
A winter migrant, visiting Halagote Tank in varying numbers.
Porphyrio poliocephalus : The Purple Coot.
A dozen or so of these birds normally inhabit Halagote Tank
more or less permanently, though they were absent in the drought
years of ’38/’39. Their status is somewhat puzzling as though one or
two are to be seen even in July which is presumably their breeding
season, I never succeeded in finding a nest nor saw young birds. It
would appear that they go elsewhere to nest and that those that remain
are non-breeding specimens. Though entirely water birds and rarely
Tit BIRDS Of COORG 257
seen on land, they avoid open water and do not swim if they can
help it. Their whole life is spent clambering about in the reedheds or
wading on the matted beds of floating waterweed. They are noisy,
ili-tempered birds with loud, harsh voices, and are continually quarrel-
ling and chasing each other about.
Metopidius indicus : The Bronze-winged Jacana.
In normally wet years this species occurs in numbers on Halagote
Tank, but as with the last its status is uncertain, since though I visited
the tank in all months of the year and have nearly always found them
present, I have never been able to find a sign of eggs or young. They
resemble the Purple Coots in habits, but are much more active, run-
ning rapidly over the floating weeds and taking wing freely, though in
the air they look extremely clumsy with their legs trailing awkwardiy
behind them. They are extremely noisy birds with a variety otf
trumpeting and braying calls.
Rostratula benghalensis : The Painted Snipe.
Common in the Mysore ‘maidan’ round tanks with extensive ‘reed-
beds. In Coorg they are scarce though one occasionally comes on an
odd bird while out snipe shooting. Their favourite haunts are the
thick patches of Pandanus which are found at the head of most
stretches of paddy land in the Inter-Zone. Where there is one bird,
there are likely to be five or six. They sit very closely, and when
fiushed rise singly and silently and never fly far. They probably breed
in the province, though I have not found a nest.
Burhinus oedicnemus : The Stone-curlew.
Occurs in the Dry Zone, and is also thinly distributed through the
deciduous forest and the Inter-Zone wherever there are patches of
downland or jungle clearings, of considerable size, where the grass is
kept short by grazing and which include patches of scrub for cover
They are shy birds, largely nocturnal in habit. Throughout the day-
time they lurk in the shelter of a bush, but at night are active on the
wing, and their wild cries can often be heard as they pass overhead
in the darkness from one feeding ground to another. They are on the
whole sedentary, each pair living through the greater part of the year
in their breeding territory. Eggs are laid in February. The clutch is
two and there is no attempt at a nest or even a scrape. They are
deposited among dead leaves under some small isolated tree. Although
usually laid in the open, there is always some thick cover close at hand
into which the bird can slink on the slightest alarm, with the result that it
is extremely hard to discover her secret. I] have not been able to
detect whether the male shares in the incubation, but he is never far
away and keeps a constant watch for enemies.
Esacus recur virostris : The Great Stone Plover.
A bird of the lower reaches of the larger Indian rivers. In Coorg
two or three pairs only may be found within the provincial boundary,
on the Cauvery where it flows through the open cultivation of the
Dry Zone. They are to be found in stretches where the river widens
and runs among boulders and bare, rocky islets. Although like other
258 JOURNAL, “BOMBAY “NATURAL SEIST!* SOCIETY, “Vole 0
Stone Plovers they are really nocturnal birds, feeding and becoming
active at night, they are by no means shade lovers and spend the day
drowsing in the full glare of the sun om some baking rock. They
breed in February, and the two eggs are usually laid on a patch of sand
or gravel within a foot or two of the water on a ledge of a slab or rock
i mid-stream. The same site-is used year, alter year. — Une beds
are not shy, brooding unconcernedly while bathing, watering of cattle,
and all the activities of Indian village life go on along the shore a few
yards away. Incubation throughout the day at any rate is of necessity
very close as the nesting site becomes so hot that were the eggs ieit
uncovered for more than a few minutes at a time, they would certainly
be cooked. I cannot say whether both birds share in brooding, but
it seems likely as the strain in such heat must be severe. They feed
chiefly on crabs, and possibly frogs and tadpoles, their strong recurved
bills being admirably adapted for prying under stones of some size.
The cry is a loud creaking note, not at all like the ‘curlew’ call of the
common Stone Curlew.
Sterna aurantia : The Indian River Tern.
A few pairs are to be found in the same locality as the last species,
that 1s along the Cauvery in its lower and more open reaches where
it runs through the Dry Zone on the Mysore border. Each pair occupies
a long stretch of water, and they strongly resent trespassing on the
part of others of their own species, birds of prey, and any unusual
humans or animals, especially in the breeding season. - They swoop
round the intruders, screaming angrily. They are exclusively fish-
eaters, catching their prey in the normal tern manner by plungiug
from the wing, very rarely settling on the water or swimming.
Breeding goes on from March to May. The eggs are laid without
any sort of nest in a hollow of a rock in mid-stream and number two
or three. The young when hatched are clad in grey down and can
hide themselves in an amazing manner simply by squatting motionless
fully in the open on their home rock. They are fed by both parents
till they are well on the wing.
Sterna melanogaster: The Black-bellied Tern.
I have seen birds of this species occasionally along the Cauvery in
the same-area as the last, but they are by no means so common and
I have not found them breeding.
‘Charadrius dubius : The Little Ringed Plover.
A few of these little plovers may occasionally be seen along the
lower reaches of the Cauvery in the Dry Zone and I have seen one or
two on the shores of Halagote Tank. All my records have been in
March, and I am uncertain whether they are likely to be the resident
‘or the migratory race. I have not found signs of breeding. They
thhaunt sandbanks and sandy stretches along the shore, but occasionaily
may be found on bare fallows or ‘maidans’ some way inland.
Lobivanellus indicus : The Red-wattled Lapwing.
Extremely common all along the larger rivers both in their forest
reaches and the open country lower down, but especially in the latter.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 259
They are essentially waterside birds, and though one occasionally sees
them on ‘maidans’ and forest clearings in the deciduous forest and
the Inter-Zone some way from the river, they are only temporary
visitors in these places. They spend the day standing about, drowsing
on rocks in the stream, and only become active in the evening and
during the night, especially when there is a moon, at which times
their calls may be heard overhead in places where they are never scen
normally. The breeding season is in February and March. Oddly
enough in my experience though an occasional nest may be found on
an islet in the river, the great majority leave the waterside at this
time and go inland for up to a mile to some secluded clearing in the
jungle or a ploughed field, if in cultivated country, The four eggs are
laid in a scrape in the ground, sometimes with a slight lining of small
pebbles or bits of dried cowdung. Until the eggs hatch, the birds are
very secretive. On an alarm, the sitting bird slips off the nest and
runs to a safe distance and then both she and the male fly right away
in silence. After hatching however their tactics change completely.
Any intruder is greeted with shrieks of abuse, the old birds flapping
and swooping round his head, or flopping frenziedly along the ground
as though seriously wounded.
Lobipluvia malabarica : The Yellow-wattled Lapwing.
I have only come on this bird at one spot in Coorg, the Belur Golf-
course near Somwarpet, some 200 acres of downland lying on the
borders of the deciduous forest. Here two pairs lived for five years
between °35 and ’40 when I left the district. They appeared annually
about Christmas and stayed until the break of the monsoon. ‘They
attempted to breed the first two years, but only managed to raise one
brood out of four and in subsequent years do not appear to have nested
though I kept a constant watch on them. The clutch was four. All
four nests were within a few yards of the same spot, fully exposed on
short grass in the middle of the fairway, and they were not incon-
spicuous, being quite substantially lined with bits of grass and dried
cowdung. The first year, however, when they raised a brood, the eggs
were of the normal colour and blended well with the surroundings. In
subsequent years the male must have got a new mate, as the eggs were
of a bright erythristic type, contrasting vividly with the olive green
turf, and they were taken almost as soon as laid. It is of interest to
note that Belur is only some sixty miles from the red laterite plains
of the Malabar coastal belt where apparently this species regularly lays
erythristic eggs which match well with the surrounding soil. All nests
I have seen were in March. These lapwings are quiet birds compared
with the last species and do not require the close proximity of water.
Himantopus himantopus: The Black-winged Stilt.
I saw three birds, my only record, at Halagote Tank on 9-1-39, a
dry year when the tank was reduced to a mere puddle of muddy
water in which the birds were wading thigh deep. One comes on
them quite frequently on the big tanks in Mysore.
4
260 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Tringa ochropus : The Green Sandpiper.
A common winter visitor both in the Dry and Inter-Zones. They
are to be found wherever there is water and open country on the
shores of tanks, paddy fields, and along streams, usually singly. They
arrive in September and leave late, some lingering till May.
Actitis hypoleucos : The Common Sandpiper.
The earliest winter migrant to Coorg, arriving before the end
ol August. It is entirely a waterside species, found on all the larger
rivers both in their forest reaches and lower down in open country,
but nowhere in large numbers. Usually a pair is the most that will
be seen together. They also appear on the shores of Halagote Tank
and the big Mysore tanks.
Tringa glareola: The Wood Sandpiper.
A waterside species found in large numbers in winter on the shores of
all the big Mysore tanks. In Coorg, Halagote Tank is the only
place where I have seen them, especiaily in dry years when large
stretches of open mud are exposed. Unlike the Green Sandpiper,
they do not like reeds or swamps grown with long grass, and they
are much more sociable than that species.
Scolopax rusticola : The Woodcock.
Probably occurs regularly in small numbers as a winter migrant,
haunting the cardamom plantations and evergreen sholas on the
eastern slopes of the Ghats above 4,000 ft., as it is well known in
Mysore in such country. The only one, however, that I have actually
seen in Coorg was a stray on the banks of a stream running through
coffee near Somwarpet at 3,500 ft. In Mysore they are very conser-
vative in their habits. On an estate near Chikmagalur with which I
am acquainted, half a dozen or so are to be found every year in one
particular small ravine and nowhere else.
Capella gallinago: ‘The Fantail Snipe.
Recorded from Coorg, but nowhere numerous. It is much commoner
in Mysore round reed-grown tanks in the ‘maidan’. :
Capella stenura : the Pintail Snipe. ,
The common snipe of the province found in considerable numbers
in winter, varying according to the water available. They occur
wherever there is suitable feeding ground, in the shape of swampy,
fallow paddy fields. They like the soil to be soggy but without actual
standing water, and the grass must not be more than three inches long.
Strangely enough they will rarely be found in flooded standing paddy,
a favourite haunt on the Malabar Coast. They feed mostly in the
morning and evening, and very often spend the day in any jungle,
especially screwpine or lantana, adjoining their feeding grounds. They
arrive early in September and leave in April.
Capella nemoricola : The Wood Snipe. |
I was shown a specimen shot near Mercara on 28-1-38 and another
obtained just over the Mysore border, near Somwarpet. These are
the only two records for the district.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 261
Phalacrocorax niger : The Little Cormorant.
Occurs on the larger rivers. It is common on the Cauvery in its
lower reaches on the Mysore border, and occasionally wanders some
‘way up into the forest stretches. It does not breed in the province.
All those found there probably drop downstream to nest at the big
heronry at Palhalli near Seringapatam.
Anhinga melanogaster: The Darter.
Found singly and in small numbers all up and down the bigger
rivers well up into the forest reaches. Unlike the cormorant which
cusually chooses a rock, the darters frequently perch in trees, choosing
a thick one overhanging the water from which they can watch for
their prey. Like the last species they breed at Palhalli during July
and August.
Anastomus oscitans: The Open-billed Stork.
Occurs occasionally on the wide, open reaches of the Cauvery in
the Dry Zone below Fraserpet, usually singly but sometimes two or
three together. These also breed at Palhalli.
‘Dissoura episcopa: The White-necked Stork.
I have once seen a pair in Coorg, and one or two others just over
the Mysore boundary, in all cases in wild, uninhabited, open scrub
country.
Ardea purpurea: The Purple Heron.
This bird is only to be found in the neighbourhood of tanks in which
large, dense reedbeds grow. One may often see a solitary bird at
Halagote in wet years when the reeds are tall, and also at another
small and very reedy tank nearby. They are shy birds. Their great
height enables them to see over the reed tops, and pick out any
approaching danger, when they do not freeze like the Bittern, but
take wing with a great fluster, and fly off croaking harshly. A small
‘colony nests at Palhalli, not on the main island among the other birds,
but on a separate islet covered with Pandanus. The nests are in the
heart of the Pandanus tops and quite invisible from outside. The
breeding season is from July to September.
Egretta alba: The Large Egret.
Egretta intermedia: The Smaller Egret.
Egretta garzetta: The Little Egret.
All three egrets occur sporadically round Halaguote and the other
small Dry Zone tanks, also on the lower reaches of the Cauvery.
E. alba and E. intermedia are much less common than E. garzetta
The Large Egret is generally solitary, the other two are occasionally
found in small flocks. Though common in flooded paddy fields in
Mysore, in Coorg they are confined to the Dry Zone and are not found
in the paddy cultivation of the Wet Zone or the deciduous forest belt.
All three breed during the rains at Palhalli.
262 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
Bubutcus ibis: The Catte Egret.
Commoner than any of the last three though confined to the Dry
Zone where it occurs in small flocks along the lower Cauvery and
also round tanks. Unlike the other egrets they wander considerable
distances from water, attending on herds of cattle and buffaloes,
picking the ticks off the grazing animals and pouncing on insects
yiee by them. Like the other egrets they breed at Palhalli in
the rains.
Ardeola grayii: The Pond Heron.
Common throughout the province wherever there is water, whether
paddy fields, ponds, pulphouse reservoirs, tanks and along the main
rivers. I suspect them breeding on occasion in Coorg having seen
« juvenile apparently too young to have come far on a stream near
Somwarpet. But the great majority depart in the early rains. The
only certain breeding place I have come across is Palhalli, where a
comparatively small colony builds on the fringe of the main heronry
in some clumps of screwpine, but these cannot represent a fraction
of the total population of Coorg and the surrounding parts of Mysore,
and there must be other breeding grounds. The very handsome
breeding plumage is only assumed for a short time, and all those one
sees in Coorg are in the drab plumage of the off-season.
Butorides striatus: The Little Green Heron.
Occurs in small numbers along forest streams and rivers with shady
banks overhung with trees. Here it is found singly, lurking under
a steep bank or in the lower branches of a thick bush over the water.
On being disturbed it flies silently away for a hundred yards or so,
and settles in cover once more. I once found the remains of one
which had been killed and was being eaten by a hawk-eagle. They
appear to be resident and probably breed in their usual haunts though
I have not found a nest. They do not breed at Palhalli.
ixobrychus cinnamomeus: The Chesnut Bittern.
Found in small numbers widely spread over the province. An
extremely shy, skulking bird usually only encountered out snipe-
shooting when singletons are occasionally kicked up out of long grass
on the banks of streams or from reedbeds near ponds and small tanks.
Ixobrychus sinensis: The Yellow Bittern.
My only record for Coorg is of a pair which I found breeding in
September in a bed of bulrushes growing in a small tank a couple
of acres in extent in the Dry Zone near Hebbale. The nest was
formed from the tops of a number of reeds, bent over and roughly
interwoven at a height of four feet from the water. There were five
eggs. Salim Ali does not record the last three species from Mysore,
but they must undoubtedly occur.
Nycticorax nycticorax: The Night Heron.
An occasional stray bird wanders up the Cauvery into Coorg. It
is a common species in the irrigated areas of Mysore, breeding in
very large numbers at Palhalli.
THE BIRDS OF COORG 203
Nettapus coromandelianus: The Cotton Teal.
A regular frequenter of Halagote Tank. A couple of dozen birds
are always to be seen there in normal years though in the drought
seasons of ’38/’39 they disappeared. Though they seemed to remaia
there throughout the year I could never find any trace of their breeding.
Occasionally an odd bird may be seen on the Cauvery, but they are
essentially birds of stagnant, not running water.
Dendrocygna javanica: The Lesser Whistling Teal.
The notes on the last species apply equally to this one. In normal
years a few pairs are always to be seen at Halagote, but they do uot
seem to breed there. They will only be found on tanks with a heavy
growth of reeds and water-lilies, and avoid open water.
Podiceps ruficollis: The Little Grebe.
Found on all the small tanks in the Dry Zone and occasionally,
though uncommonly, on the Cauvery. At least fifteen pairs inhabit
Halagote Tank normally, and even in the drought years when the
tank was reduced to a muddy pond, a bare hundred yards in length,
a few remained. They begin to breed in June as soon as the new
growth of reeds is well established. The nests are floating masses
of water-weed in a decayed and fermenting condition, which provide
a regular hot-bed for the eggs and prevent them chilling though
they are always soaking wet. Breeding goes on until the end of
August and there seem to be at least two, if not more broods. The
usual clutch is four. The sitting bird always covers up the eggs
before leaving the nest. On an alarm she does this with a few swift
movements of the beak, and then dives silently over the edge, coming
up some way off and creating a great splashing and disturbance to
attract attention from the nest. The hen alone seems to feed the
young. The latter can swim as soon as hatched, but take some time
to learn to dive. One may see a parent feeding chicks which swim
about in great agitation whenever the old bird goes under until she
reappears.
THE HILSA FISHERY OF THE CHILKA LAKE!
BY
S. JONES anp K. H. SUjJANSINGANI,
Central Inland Fisheries Research Station, Barrack pore,
(With 2 plates, 3 graphs and 3 text figures)
EN. ERoO) DAU GRE Onn
During the fisheries investigations in the Chilka Lake (Fig. 1), from
where the city of Calcutta draws an appreciable part of its fish supply,
W. BENGAL
AND
ORISSA
COASTS
Oo 10 20 40 60
Seale in Miles
wf -
4 >)
undarban®
GOPALPUR: ”
Fig. 1. West Bengal and Orissa coasts, showing the Chilka Lake and other
centres of observation. The arrow indicates the position of the Naraj Anicut.
certain observations were made on the biology and fishery of the Indian
Shad, Hilsa ilisha (Hamilton), which are detailed below. According to
* Published with the permission of the Chief Research Officer, Central Inland
Fisheries Research Station, Barrackpore.
TNE RILSACRISHERY “Cr THE CHILKA LAKE 269
the figures collected by the Orissa Fisheries Department, 3443 maunds!
of fresh hilsa fish were exported by rail in the year 1948 and 1255
maunds in 1949, out of the total export of 71,400 maunds and 61,100
maunds of tresh fish during the respective years.
In view of the low economic standard of the local people and the
high price obtained for the fish at Calcutta, almost the entire catches
of hilsa are exported, and thus the above figures represent over 95%
of the hilsa yield from the lake for these years. The available statistics
_ show considerable variations in exports from month to month in dif-
ferent years, on account of great fluctuations in the catches from
the lake, and it is necessary to study the statistics for a number of
years to be able to explain the cause for fluctuations in the fishery.
The Chilka is a large brackish-water lake, in the deltaic
region of the Mahanadi, extending over an area of about 450 square
miles during the monsoons and about 350 square miles for the rest of the
year. In the east, it is connected to the Bay of Bengal by nieans of
a narrow bent channel, about 14 miles long and in the northern section
it receives flood waters from the Daya, a branch of the Mahanadi.
The lake is very shallow, except in the southern sector, where it is
somewhat deep. The fish fauna, which is mainly estuarine in .com-
position, gets continuously replenished from the sea and its consequent
elements at any one time largely depend on the salinity and other
general hydrological conditions which vary from season to season,
both in the lake and the channel. In the summer, the main area of
the lake is distinctly brackish, whereas at the end of the monsoons
a great part of it is fresh and the change from the water of low to
that of comparatively high salinity takes place by the ingress of sea
water through the channel. The hydrological conditions in the lake
are mainly influenced by the flood waters of the Daya. Lying north-
east close to the lake is a chain of hills which leaves only a narrow
stretch of catchment area, giving rise to a very few small streams
that drain into the lake during rains. The effect of the local rainfall
thus being not appreciable, the cyclic change from brackish to fresh
water in the lake depends almost entirely upon the flow from the
Daya, as the flood waters not only check the ingress of sea water
through the channel but also gradually push out the brackish water
and the Chilka becomes a fresh water lake.
FISHERY
Hilsa is fished in the Chilka throughout the year and the figures
shown in the tables I and II throw some light on the relative abundance
of the fish in the different parts of the lake. Though the catch is
dependent on various factors and the occurrence of the fish near the
different centres may not necessarily be proportionate to the export
figures recorded from those centres, it is obvious that the fish
does not occur in appreciable quantities in the southern sector, 1.e.
south of Balugan where the salinity is generally higher, and is
available in greater abundance in the northern section, 1.e. towards
Kaluparaghat side. In the ordinary course, the fish 1s exported
11 Maund=82.28 lh.
266 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST; SOCIETY, Veal. 30
from the centre nearest the fishing ground and as such generally the
fish caught near Parikud and between Parikud and Satpara is
exported from Balugan [Plate 1 (1)|. The catches from the Satpara
side are however exported from Balugan as well as Kaluparaghat,
as Doth the centres are more or less equidistant, whereas, most of the
catches from Tuaside and beyond in the north, are diverted to Kalu-
paraghat. Exports from Gangadharpur and Kuhuri consist mainly
of the catches round about these centres, though occasionally some
catches from Gangadharpur are diverted to Balugan also. In the
bay near Rambha and Kallikhota, there is not much of hilsa and the
catches are exported from the nearest centre.
Fishing methods. Gilling nets are used for the purpose
of catching hilsa by encircling, and these are locally known es ‘Bhid
Jal’, ‘Garoa Jal’ and ‘Patua Jal’ [Plate 1, (2 and 3)]. Strictly speak-
ing “‘Patua Jal’ is not operated as a means for catching hilsa, but
accidentally the fish gets caught in the net, when the latter is operated
for catching ‘Patua’ (Engraulid) fish.
lish trade. As the fish fetches fairly high price outside the
province, it 1s rarely salted and that also only in the remote fishing
cenires, from where it is difficult to transport it to the exporting centres
in time. At times lack of ice and persistent bad weather, specially in
the monsoon season, necessitate the salting of the fish, but otherwise
the fishermen export it through co-operative societies [Plate II (x)]| or
nierchants who hold permits for export outside the State of Orissa.
Fish is packed in bamboo baskets [ Plate II (2 & 3)] one maund in each,
with about a maund of well-crushed ice. An advance against the
weight of the catches tendered for sale, upto the Civil Supplies rate
of Rs. 32 per maund of 4o seers is paid to the fishermen, if required,
at the time of delivery, and the account is finally settled on the basis
of the ‘chalans’ received from the market where the fish is auctioned
or otherwise disposed of. A deduction of about Rs. 16 per basket of
one maund of fish is made from the rate shown in the ‘chalan’ towards
export duty, transport, cost of ice and other incidental charges. For the
fish exported to Calcutta, the fishermen get roughly Rs. 45 to Rs. 50 per
maund, though the sale price there generally varies between Rs. 80
and Rs. roo. It may be mentioned here that the Chilka hilsa fetches
a lower price than the Ganges hilsa, which is received in better condition
and consequently is in greater demand.
SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS AND CROp MOVEMENTS IN RELATION TO
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHANGES
‘The export figures for 1948 and 1949 given in tables I and II,
which are very nearly equivalent to the catches from the lake in these
years, as there was no difference in the fishing conditions or the local
demand, indicate the presence of two peak periods, which obvious-
ly correspond to two main waves of migration of fish (Graph I) into
the lake, one at the close of the winter and the other at the commence-
ment of the monsoons. In the Hooghly also there are two periods
of migration, one by about February, i.e. at the close of the winter,
and the other with the onset of the monsoons. Though statistics of
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
PLATE |
Dentist
(1) A view of Balugan,.one of the main fish assembiing and exporting centers in
the Chilka. Fish is being unloaded from the country boats seen in the foreground
(2) A view of the gilling nets in operation,
Joyal
oo
gid
as they come in.
ee eR er —
SEY out JU MOIN VW (G)
~ pue poryIEa Iie SvYySt tgyJO pue esi a Ul Sy}o
P Peet 154 l B EY Yor E
Si x
‘sso1s01d ul o1v ysy Jo surypoed pue Surysiom aszayn
‘SUMOPOS 94} JO UO JO JOLIA}UL BY} JO MalA Y (¢)
‘sdeq Auuns ul syoojq oo1 uleyUuo
UMOPOS 3} Avou pexyied syieg ‘pourwuexs ota sueueds esiy jo aaquinu
o81v, Vo oo *punosrso410f 941 UL UMOpOs YsY pue pUNOIsyIvVq ay. UL SeoqJo sry)
iw fuesneg ‘Ajol00g aABrodo-0) S,uataYysT.y eoIquUIy ey, Jo MaIA Y (qT)
i ‘ .
1] atvig ‘20§ ‘JSIH “JEN Avquog ‘‘uanog
PE VAL ESASEISHERY TOR THE CHILKA LAKE 267
catches for the Hooghly are wanting, general observations indicate,
that the ascent during the floods is of considerable magnitude compared
to the earlier one, while in the Chilka, it can be seen from the figures,
MAUNDS
900
800
700
600
$007 \9491
'
400
300
200
100
Graph I. Showing export of fresh hilsa from the Chilka Lake in the years
1948 and 1949.
that the late winter or the early spring migration is of equal, if not
greater, intensity.
As the statistics of export show, the hilsa catches were higher in
1948 than in 1949 and enquiries made among fish merchants and
fishermen reveal that catches in 1949 were distinctly lower than during
the past few years, in spite of the fact that the intensity of fishing was
the same. Though it is premature to attribute th's decline to any
particular cause, a tentative explanation may be offered. <A study of
the flood level over the Naraj Anicut and the rainfall in the Chilka
region indicates that both the flood level and the rainfall were less in
1949 than in the previous year as is shown by the graphs II and III,
and table 3. The rainfall at Puri, Gopalpur and Khurda in 1948 was
Forze 30-60, sand 55.02 inches respectively, and im 19409, . 52.57,
37.15, and 33.41 inches respectively. Though the rainfall at Puri and
Gopalpur, i.e. along the coast was more in 1949 than in 1948, the
case was reverse at Khurda, that is to say in the hinterland where the
rainfall was about two-thirds of the previous years’. Obviously it is the
rainfall in the hinterland which influences the flood levels in the
268 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 56
Mahanadi and the subsequent flow in the Daya, which in turn causes
changes in the hydrological conditions in the northern sector of the
lake and thus influences the fishery. The following comparative rain-
fall figures also confirm the above view. The rainfall at Puri, Gopalpur
and Khurda in October 1948 was 4.51, 3.83 and 5.24 inches respectively,
FEET
1&
|
&
'
‘
~ 1 5
4
efCResy ceiver v
ST SUNRISE
pete Pat
JULY AuGUS? ’ SEPTEMBER ' OCTOBER
i]
t
b
Graph II. Showing rainfall over the Chilka region in the years 1948 and
1949. (Average of Gopalpur, Khurda and Puri.) >
and in October 1949, 21.69, 20.46 and 7.51 respectively, which means
along the coast it was nearly three times more than at Khurda which
is towards the interior, but still there was practically no rise over
the crest level of the anicut. On the other hand due to high rainfall
in the interior in 1948, the flow over the crest level was substantial
and steady even in October 1948, though the rainfall during that month
in the coastal area was less than in the corresponding month of the
following year. As regards rainfall along the coast, when it is substan-
tial, it probably creates conditions which result in congregaton of sholas
in the coastal waters and this may account for the heavy catch along the
Puri coast in September 1949 as stated elsewhere in this paper. It
could therefore reasonably be presumed that in 1949 the flow of water
from the lake into the sea,, might not have been sufficient to
stimulate large numbers of spawning fish to react against the current
and thus ascend from the coastal waters to the lake. In this connec-
tion a similar observation recorded by Chacko and Dixithulu (1951)
on the hilsa in the Godavari, that owing to the fall in the flood levels
DHESAIESA FISHERY COFOITHE CHITKA LAKE 269
and the silting up of the river, the hilsa shoals did not enter the
Godavari, but migrated towards the north and contributed an ‘unusual
sea fishery of considerable magnitude’ at Kakinada (Coconada)
about 50 miles away lends support to the above view, and it will be
interesting to conduct investigations on the above lines for the Godavari
"] Inches
TOTAL RAINFALL 1948-47. 76”
TOTAL RAINFALL 1949- 40.97”
Graph Wl Showing trend (i.e. continuous rise or fall) of flood levels in the
Kathjuri (branch of the Mahanadi), over the crest level of the Naraj Anicut in
the years 1948 and 1949.
region also. The abundance of the hilsa fishery thus seems to be
dependent on a combination of factors, as in the case of the American
Shad, for the migratory movements of which, according to Leach
(1925), freshets, unusual turbidity of water, and the direction and the
velocity of the wind, all are influential factors.
In order to study the movements of the fish, investigations were
made to find out whether the fish is a permanent inhabitant of the lake
and breeds there, or whether it comes from the direction of the sea, and
if so where it breeds. Elucidation of these points is likely to be
helpful for formulating conservancy measures required if any, for this
important fishery. There is no data available on the bionomics of the
Chilka hilsa except the remark by Chaudhuri {1917) that the fish
occurs throughout the year though ‘it must remain doubtful if the
species breeds there’. A general study of the distribution of the fish
shows their comparative abundance in the northern section of the
270 JOURNAL,. BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCTERY 2 Wal. 50
lake, where the salinity is always lower on account of the influx of
water during the rains from the Daya, one of the deltaic branches
of the Mahanadi River'. The salinity and the general hydrological
conditions in the lake, which have a profound effect on fish life, how-
ever, vary from season to season.
In the case of the American Shad, Alosa sapidisima, it is said that its
movements are largely controlled by the water temperature and that
‘it is believed, that it seeks to occupy an area having a temperature
of 60 or 7o degrees, and that its migrations are determined by the
shifting of this area’. (Leach 1925, p. 465). The influence of
temperature on the movements of the Indian shad is not known, but
our observations regarding catches at Barrackpore show that the
fish react to the variations in the temperature, showing very restricted
migratory movements during the cold season. In February 1950,
when the first wave of migration commenced, hilsa was found in the
catches near Barrackpore and it was breeding also in the Hooghly.
Later on there was a spell of cold wave from 12-2-50 to 16-2-50 and
very few fish were reported in the catches and breeding activity was
also considerably restricted. In the coastal waters, however, fluctua-
tions in temperature should be more frequent than in the open sea,
and are to a very great extent influenced by currents, winds and tides.
The actual movement of the fish from the sea into the lake and
vice versa could not be studied, but results of local enquiries indicate
that large shoals generally come from the direction of the sea along
the channel of the lake by February, (January to March), when the
fish is caught in appreciable numbers. In September 1949, there was
an unusually heavy catch of hilsa from the sea at Puri, and this goes
to indicate the presence of hilsa in the coastal waters, in the neigh-
bourhood of the Chilka.
Regarding the seaward movement of the fish no information is
available, but judging from the fishing conditions it may not be
wrong to presume that intensive fishing in the shallow waters of the
lake spares very few spent adults to perform the return journey and
as such, movement of the stragglers if any, could not be conspicuous
enough to receive attention. Prompted by the spawning urge, the
breeders ascend the rivers and the spent fish drift with the flowing
waters and the young also start on their gradua! seaward movement.
In the Hooghly the young hilsa move to the lower regions of the
estuary, but the movement of the young from the Chilka to the sea
is not known, as no nets similar to ‘Bhin-Jals’ or ‘Dhara Jals’ which
are so common in the Hooghly and at Chandipore, are operated in the
channel and its neighbourhood, and as such the young are rarely
caught.
S1ZE GROUPS AND SEXES ’
During the course of the investigations an attempt was made to
determine as far as possible the size groups, the rate of growth and ratio
* For general information regarding the hydrography of the lake see Mem.
Indian Mus., 5 (1): 5-12.
THE PILSA FISHERY OF THE CHILKA LAKE 271
of sexes of the fish in catches and to interpret the same statistically,
and accordingly from August, 1948, onwards, samples were collected
from time to time, from fish godowns at various exporting centres,
for the purpose of detailed examination. The observations were
continued for over a year, during which period 1762 specimens as
detailed below were examined.
SIZES AND SEX RATIO OF THE SPECIMENS EXAMINED
Number of Hilsa Combined Male Female
oN specimens examined range range rar ge
M F Xx oe A B A B A B
1948—
August wae) 1392-188 14) 347 31506 134.0 457 «1291 » $062 2198
September .. 188 98 39 325 520 208 449 208 520 229
October ve 3 36 — 397 485) 9025755303 5209-485. 257
November Po 17 12 150 179 485 213 485 244 483 294
December ane 32 7 574 613 480 84 431 216 480 317
1949—
January oo — — 25 25 434 934 —- — — —
February oo oo 6 6 408 307 — — — —
March See 28 12 4-347. 383!" 1938" "383. 227 300° 265
April it. 2 2 1 S: 325°° 206::'315 250°: 325-308
May ao 125 ratelak 10 33 470 266 382 266 470 272
June oes 13 at hk 25 463 230 380 230 463 305
July sia 20 6 — 26 384 233 376 308 384 233
August — a3 21 25 — 46) 435' > 221 7383)" 221-435" 231
September aie 10 2 — 30 413 247 408 247 418 264
November nes 10 ll Let 22 idGo 19240, 17314. 1246 1385725)
M=Males. F=Females. X=Unidentified sex. T= Total. A =Maximum
length. B=Minimum length. Length is indicated in mm.
It was found that under the existing conditions, samples conforming
to the standard of truly representative and random samples, which
could yield reliable information about larger bulk of the population
were difficult to obtain. Besides, a number of specimens which on
applying pressure gave no indication of their sex, specially in November
and December 1048, but from their size appeared to be either immature
or spent fish, could not be cut open to ascertain the nature of their
sex. Thus the observations had to be based only on those individuals
which were definitely identified by pressing and a few which could possi-
bly be cut open and the data tabulated shows that the proportion of the
‘males to the females in the catches is not constant as has already
been observed by Southwell and. Prashad (1918).
BIONOMICS
Examination of a large number of specimens showed that the gonads
were in ripe condition from August to October with September-
October as peak period both in 1948 and 1949. Spent hilsa were
collected from November onwards in 1948 and sexually mature fish
272 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
were rather rare thereafter till July-August of the next year, and
a regular extended breeding season did not appear to exist as in the
Hooghly hilsa (Hora and Nair rg4o a). A specimen measuring 47 mm.
was obtained at Balugan towards the end of October, 1948, and young
hilsa measuring from 84 mm. to 133 mm. began to appear in the
catches along with other small clupeids in December 1948. Further,
small specimens measuring about 110 mm. were found in the catches
in April 1950. Analysing these size groups on the basis of observations
made by Hora and Nair (1940) and Job | (1941) on the young fish
collected from the Pucca Settling Tanks of Pulta Water Works that
the young fish grows roughly at an average rate of about 25 mm. a
month and that ten months to a year old fish-are just about a foot in
length, it is possible to estimate that the breeding would have taken
place by about August-September, if the fish grows at the same rate
in open waters also, and thus the young specimens found in the catches
in April 1950 might be the progeny of the late breeders.
Efforts were directed towards the location of the spawning grounds
of the hilsa in the Chilka. Plankton collections made from the lake
proper did not show any eggs or early larvae of the fish. It was felt
that investigations in the northern section of the lake would yield
interesting results in the location of the spawning grounds of the fish
and with this object in view a systematic search ‘was made near the
mouth of the Daya, during the third week of September, 1949. On
the afternoon of the 16th September, plankton collected from the river
at Jagdala showed along with others, a certain type of lightly
demersal eggs, and on the following morning drag net collections made
from the neighbouring inundated areas of the lake showed the pre-
sence of young hilsa of about 32 mm. to 43 mm. On the next day,
viz. 17-9-’49 at about 2-30 p.m. some three miles up the river, near
the fishing village of Garasaguda, plankton collections from the river
showed the presence of the eggs of the same type as mentioned above.
They were in the early stage of development with the blastoderm as
a cap of cells. The zona radiata was strikingly large and swelled up
showing fine streaks on the surface and forming. a double layering on
preservation. The yolk was segmegted as is the case in other clupeid
eggs and there were several light yellow oil globules. The identity
of the eggs was not clear at that time, but after working out the develop-
ment of hilsa at Barrackpore, from the material collected from the
Hooghly, (Jones and Menon 1950), it. was possible to identify the
material obtained from the Daya. At Garasaguda, along with the eggs
postlarvae of hilsa (about 15 mm.) were collected, which is of signifi-
cance, since it indicated the possibility of the fish breeding in the river.
There was no fishing going on in the river at that time, but enquiries
from the fishermen revealed thai the fish goes up the river in large
numbers when the latter is in floods. It could hence be said that tne
Chilka hilsa breeds in the lower reaches of the Daya, and probably
in its associated branches also. How far up the river the fish breeds
is difficult to say, but it is known to negotiate, during the Bea
floods, the Naraj Anicut in the Kathjuri (from which the Daya branches
off) and reach the Mahanadi. The ascent of the hilsa in the main
Mahanadi river, which is spanned by the Cuttack ‘Anicut, also takes
place by about September, depending on the intensity of the floods.
Tipe TESA USHER OF THE CHILKA LAKE 273
During exceptionally heavy floods, hilsa is known to ascend as far
as Sambalpur about 250 miles from the sea.
Foop
The fish is essentially a plankton feeder. The oozing individuals
do not appear to feed. There is no selective feeding as far as plankton
is concerned. Copepods and diatoms have been found invariably to
be the dominant items depending on their availability. Spent speci-
mens have more of fine sand grains, showing more or less a sort of
feeding habit at the bottom layers, while the young specimens appear
to be mid-water teeders. The food of hilsa in the coastal waters has
been given by Prashad, Hora and Nair (1940) and by Chacko and
Ganapati (1949). ars a
COASTAL FISHERY OF HILSA AND ITS BEARING ON CHILKA: STOCKS
The hilsa fishery in the Chilka cannot be regarded as a detached
and isolated one by itself as the crop is dependent on the stocks present
in the adjacent coastal waters. -Along the Orissa coast, as at Chandi-
pur (Balasore) and Talpada hilsa move about in shoals and these
are ~caught regularly from the inshore waters from the month of
November. Towards the end of September 1950, large numbers ot
young hilsa measuring from about 38 mm. to 90 mm. were obtained
by us from Chandipur and the older lot among these should be the
progeny of-the fish that bred towards the end of summer or the begin-
ning of the monsoons, say May-June. Since collections from the same
place, viz. Chandipur, during the previous months did not yield any
stages of hilsa, it could reasonably be presumed. that the fish has Leen
breeding in some of the tidal stretches of rivers, as has been found in
the Hooghly (Hora & Nair 1940 and Jones & Menon 1950 & 1951) and
that the young are moving about in the coastal waters. In this
connection the observations of Hora and Nair (1940 b) on the Tatka
(young hilsa) fishery of East Bengal and the movements of hilsa in
Sunderbans deserve special mention. The Jatka, two to five months
old, feed in the estuaries and move about in shoals and though there 1s
no definite evidence to show the actual direction of their movements,
it is probable that they move from estuaries upstream and along the
coastal waters. De (ig1o) refers to this upward movement and
observes that the fish is found as high up as Goalundo in the Ganges
from February to April. When exactly the first downward movement
takes place is not stated. According to Howard (1938) ‘the
young fish after about two months’ stay in the sea, add considerabiy
to their size and weight, and towards the end of December they return
to the estuaries (Sunderbans) in shoals. The fish at about this time are
7 to g inches long and in search of new feeding grounds’. Thus the
presence of the young hilsa in the catches at Chandipur as _ stated
above, and also at Janput along the Contai coast where specimens
measuring about 50 mm. in total length were obtained in June 1949
(Jones & Menon 1951), lend support to the observations regardingt
the movement of the fish in coastal waters. The shoals of young hilsa
274 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
thus appear to wander about along the Bengal-Balasore coasts where
the hydrological conditions are similar, but whether the sea in the
Fig. 2. Surface salinity of the Bay of Bengal (modified after Sewell): (a) from
March to May; (b) from June to August; (c) from September to November ;
(d) from December to February.
neighbourhood of Chilka also comes within the orbit of their wanderings
is yet to be ascertained. In winter months most of the adult fish fall
back from the rivers to warmer waters of the estuaries, but with the
advent of the hot weather they begin to show greater activity. While
the mature fish react to the current and go against it like other anadro-
mous fishes, this does not appear to be the case with the young,
which have not been observed to travel against strong currents of
flooded rivers. If the salinity, temperature and flow of the currents
have anything to do with the movements of the fish, it will appear that
the young fish in the tidal zone and the coastal waters is subject to
a diversity of ecological conditions. The comparatively low salinity _
(Fig. 2), favourable direction of currents (Fig. 3), availability of food
etc. may be contributing towards the presence of the hilsa in the coastal
_waters after the monsoon’s, and the various factors influencing the
migrations require to be studied with special reference to the physiologi-
cal requirements of the fish. In this connection influence of the salinity
fHE HILSA FISHERY (OF THE CHILKA LAKE 275
of the coastal waters on the distribution of the Bombay-Duck, Harpodon
nehereus (Ham.) pointed out by Hora (1934) is significant.
The currents in the sea indicate the net resultant movement of
waters, inclusive of the effect if any, produced by the winds. Condi-
tions are however different in the Chilka where similar currents are
absent, tidal influence is not much specially in the main area, and the
water is very shallow. The winds over the lake blow generally
from the south-west from March to September and from north-
60: hs . 50° 100° 80° G0 ie 100°
Fig. 38. Surface currents of the Bay of Bengal (modified after Sewell): (a) from
March to May; (b) from June to August; (c) from September to November; (d)
from December to February.
east in the remaining part of the year, that is to say opposite to the
general direction of the currents in the sea. The meteorological data
available for the years 1948 and 1949 for Puri and Gopalpur coasts
indicate, that the average monthly wind velocity at these centres did
not exceed the limits of the fresh breeze on the Beaufort scale and the
maximum velocity at these centres, during the period, was 36 and 44
miles per hour respectively, that is to say it never exceeded the limits
of strong gale, and was only of a few hours duration. Even moderate
winds disturb the surface layer considerably and as such should affect
the movements of the fish in the lake in view of its shallowness.
h)
a0
V of.
SOCIETY,
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.
276
6
)
‘OPEL UNL Ul SOU9}SIXO OJUL OUIED OI]U9N TLInYyNy x
‘SYV]BILD pu SI9ES ‘SPUNCU UI PepIODEI ST JUSBION Ley
‘jusMI}Iedaq Selleysiy BSSIIQ ay} Aq pezaT[Oo so1}sT}¥IS | id oat
| | i : os ne
0°€ Spe |G F gpez| zi oz zez| € BL sce] 8 OT Osh) Byezes ial Ee | % TOL : rah o,
mec OL ceG & 219 ay CLESoes 8 T¢ &I | v ect | —8 oi a a Ss ane see pears cae
PL Go +18 G2 Tz 8. SZ Or |. & GE zZ -|° 8° \Ze ST | Saleenpe te 28 “ yequisaoN
8 £2 SPI | F 9€ 82 GIZE.S1 1 Goel dies 1 ae SB tied aS a on ~~ 39q0220.
vaca Oc eEtl 19 apa) a) |) — res) es sreg ey cer | ey: a vee “+ gaquroydeg
—z se |erizest | 8 of 19 | et ve6r | F E6 | atte ce = “35 — snsny
—g gz9 |— ze os | F FZ 801] F 121 8 ¢ £9 | ss eg as vs Ane
Qu 7a Leb act 6: ¥¢ Guefeate ales cee eck ac 27. | a ro a te? eunf
GUAGE ESc- “le aeic SST = [EMO Cle Lae oL | lian a a nt Ae
@l ez Ste | 8 Lz 68T —etes | » segs’ | —set rs = iS = pady
IT € 1g8 | % 62 629 L 68 TET | 219 Zt | b 8 Zz se oy & = yore]
8 £ LO |b S 92 21 € 29 | gezt | —orzt ce " wv Areniqag
€I £2 sS2 | 16 S6T b 2 61 | rar SCS CHET ATC Ola a ereecel ees: 4 oS “ Arenuer
|
TAG | Sages Ec ete cab: nna 5 uvsneg | woymey | vyquey SP6T
4 SEL ¥2 wyjeyD ay? rUuosg DSpEFT Jo p00gxH
T ‘(ON ATAVL
a6
CHILKA LAKE
FISHERY OF THE
THE HILSA
‘SyE1eUD PUL SI90S ‘SPUN BUT UI PapIOde ST IYSIOM
‘juoulyIedaq SOlISYSIy BSSIIO 9} Aq pa}o9T[O9 solstjeIC |
Sa FAL | 21S 20h 21 2 98T | pL dec | etree tiz| F 686 | F E19 | THIOL
g seoe | F £6 Te | — FF =16 £6) Pe cle —Z- 1)" ae ae + Jaquraceq
8 OL z Cup z aoe = clevatae 8. 0 cel Le lee@ SUL al 9 Clee alee a: ss “+ Jaq UIsAON
PLC AS 8 G1. 09 SUIS LE ee cl — 6 | 3 | ook a Ze 83 I9q0O
8 82 L6 Glaerey bere, OL<7|| ca vSe 7 SIE G falco ees = Ss = aaquiaydag
=~“0G €Z 7 8G rs bp TE OF CU=0G. = we 0G. 2 ie me = or jsnsny
ZI 2 06 8 12 OL ZL PE 6 8S I—-i—Ss b | eR es ig a < Ame
— szoer | zt 92 19 PaGiw tose ZL 62 6 eel 3 af — euny
— S$ ST 8 6 Z | ’ plait | @tit — | -—mw- fie eos a 3 ac: Kew
= 76 SI Pi Cea AGL) Es SG Aaa al AR a ok ee sy te. [idy
Ciara ie | HeSeROL [8 S60. | et-21sc (le — selet Vp. e oe bet ae A es yore
v 82 66 Grae. Cr la — fe | 2L.6c.F +) 8 -0e— | = FL6 g—— | a ip sv Sreniqed
g ez | peep | + t pe | 8 2 Sér | Zt 82 0oL | F It 16 | 8 96 6h | ae ast ee Arenuer
[230], | Poe | wmyny a aes uvsnyeg | wjoyTTey | eyquey 6761
EET
4 GFEL 22 vyj2yD ay? mos] ws]2FT Jo p4ogxey]
6 ON ATIVL
Vol. 50
ry
s
f
a
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIE
278
ance — | /T.0 |SS.91| ST-Z | 2h8 | #9-6 | €8-T | 6-0 | #70] — | $90 | 62-0 a3v49Qp7
Ue | eles iicaz) 1) eS9'o) | OP-cUle OS:c | 27-0.) GB-Lalnte0 ) =~ |. 53 a), 09-0 epangy
GLese ie te ROP OC e2.9| ep | 12¢ | 96-1 | 060] 920) — | — | — indjedoy | 6F6T
tg.z¢| — | 1g.0 |69-1Z| SP-8 | ZP8 | 16-2] IT-%| $90} 190] — | S6-T | 22-0 ng
ia | |
| ee is | | |
9L17| — | PS | EGF OLB | ET 2-9 | 96-2 | Lz-€ 45-0 | F0-0 | ZTE | 86-0 gSvAI0p
z9-S¢| — | LBS | $2- | 20-01] $O-8T | L6- | S%-€ | S9-€ | TE-L | 20-0 | F2-2 | 26-0 epinuy
esse} — | 92-6 e8-c | g¢.g | 14:6 S0-S | 65.0 | PP. 12.0 IL-0 | TS€ | 40-0 indjedoy | per
LL0¢| — | 86.2 | 19-% , 99-8 | 6L2E ET-0T} €0-S | TZ-2 | 10-0 | — | 9-€ | 61-0 ng
| ! |
S | g = | g | z E E | 2 2 é 5 908|q Ieox
2 | he zB | | 3,
DpANY YY pun ANGJoGOL) ‘2ANG JO SayIUL Ul JJDJUIDY
€ ON ATAVL
RES SASS hy OF Hh CHILKA LAIE 279
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE FISHERY
Although the protection of the breeders and the young as suggest-
ed by Hora (1941) and Devanesan (1942) may be the best course for
the conservation of the hilsa fishery, the conditions prevalent in the
lake, present many difficulties for the successful achievement of this
object. The vastness of the lake, coupled with its shallowness and
intensive fishing which is in vogue, make it very difficult to restrict
fishing for any period or to observe any close season, more so since
the fishing is not done for the sake of catching hilsa alone, as is the
case in rivers, at the time of the ascent of the fish. Added to this,
the close-meshed ‘Patua Jals’ which are used for catching anchovies
and white bait, which do not grow to a large size, entrap young hiisa
as well, during the course of the fishing. However, the possibility of
restricting fishing for some limited period in the narrow belt of water,
near the. mouths of the Daya and the Makra cannot be entirely ruled
out, so that the breeders coming up to the river mouths from the lake
may get a chance for access into one of these. The fish coming from the
sea through the channel first get scattered in the vast expanse of the
shallow waters of the lake, but later on are led by the current in the
direction of the rivers, at their points of discharge. Restriction on
fishing in the lake from the mouth of the Makra to the mouth of the
Daya in a narrow belt of 2 to 3 miles is not likely to affect mate-
rially the fishing industry, but would afford opportunity for the protec-
tion of the breeders and the young and the consequent conservation of
this important fishery. The success of this measure, in a rather out of
trying and its long range effect worth studying.
As similar hydrological conditions exist along the Bengal-Orissa
coasts, the hilsa studies in this region may be co-ordinated so as to
enable simultaneous detailed studies of the biology of the fish with
special reference to the movements of the crop. While in rivers the
fish is known to ascend for hundreds of miles, the range of its move-
ments in the coastal waters remains to be studied. The migratory
movements and the raciation studies of the fish are also likely to in-
dicate whether or not the fish moves to the parent waters for breeding.
The nature of shoals and their size, and the seasons when their move-
ments take place, are also points which require to be studied in detail if
ihe hilsa resources are to be properly utilised. The studies of the
movements of the fish and the factors influencing migration would
require a team of workers to conduct marking experiments, length
and weight studies, etc., and to collect hydrological, meteorological and
other relevant data over a wide range.
CRN OLW LE DIG EM EN T
Our thanks: ace due io, Dr. SS; LC. Hora, Dr’ TY. |; Job and Dr.
J]. D. F. Hardenberg for their valuable criticism of this paper. We
are indebted to Mr. G. N. Mitra, Deputy Director of Fisheries,
Orissa, for affording us facilities for conducting investigations in the
Lake and for the fresh fish export figures collected by his staff.
280 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCI#TY, Vol. 50
REFERENCES
Chacko, P. I. and Dixithulu, D. V. H. (1951): An unusual occurrence of a
fishery of Hilsa ilisha in the Godavari Coast. Proc. 38th Indian Sci. Congr., pt. 3,
Abstracts, p. 227.
— —— & Ganapathi, S. V. (1949): On the bionomics of MHilsa ilisha
(Hamilton). J. Madras Uni., 18: 16-22.
Chaudhuri, B. L. (1917): Fauna of Chilka Lake.—Fish. Mem. Indian Mus.
5 (4): 427. |
De, K. C. (1910): Report on the Fisheries of Eastern Bengal and Assam,
pe Le.
Devanesan, D. W. (1942): Weirs in South India and their effect on the
bionomics of the Hilsa in the South Indian Rivers, the Godavari, the Kistna and
the Cauvery. Curr. Sci. 11 (10): 389.
Hora, S. L. (1934): Wanderings of the Bombay-Duck, Harpodon nehercus
(Ham. Buch.), in Indian waters. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 36 (8): 640-654.
— — — (1940): Life-history and wanderings of Hilsa in Bengal Waters.
J. Roy. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, Science. 6 (2): 93-112, 1941.
———& Nair, K. K. (1940a): Further observations on the bionomics and
the fishery of the Indian Shad, Hilsa ilisha (Hamilton) in Bengal Waters. Rec.
Indian Mus., 42 (1): 35-50.
—-— — ~(1940b): The Jatka fish of Eastern Bengal and its signi-
ficance in the fishery of the so-called Indian Shad, Hilsa ilisha (Hamilton). Rec.
Indian Mus., 42 (4): 553-565.
Howard, Stanley (1938): The Hilsa The Statesman, Town Edition (September
7th)
Job, T. J. (1941-42): Hilsa Investigations in Bengal Waters. Sci. and Cullt.,
7 (): 427-429
Jones, S. & Menon, P. M. G. (1950): Spawning of Hilsa ilisha (Ham.) in
the Hooghly River. Sci. and Cult., 15 (11): 443-444. ¥
— — — (1951):. Observations on the life-history of the Indian Shad, Hilsa
ilisha (Ham.) Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., Bangalore. 38 (3): 101-125.
Leach, Glen C. (1925): Artificial Propagation of Shad. U.S. Bur. Fish.,
Washington, Doc. 981: 459-486.
Prashad;,.B., Hora,,, S.- L. & —Nair, K:.-~K,,; (1940): Observations ‘on “ithe
seaward migration of the so-called Indian Shad, MHilsa ilisha (Ham.). Rec.
Indian Mus., 42 (4): 529-552.
Sewell, R. B. Seymour (1929): Geographic and Oceanographic Research in
Indian Waters. Mem. Roy. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, 9 (5): 280-293.
Southwell, T. & Prashad, B. (1918): Hilsa Investigations in Bengal and
Bihar and Orissa. Bull. Dept, Fish: Bengal and Bihar and Orissa, 11,
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL
BY
Lt.-CoL. F. M. BAILEY, C.1.E.
PARD TT
(Continued trom p. 87 of this volume)
ERYCINIDAE
198, Libythea lepita lepita M.
Evans 1.2,
Very common in the Valley, March, April and May. Often at damp
soil. A pair zz copula 1-4-38.
199. Libythea myrrha sanguinalis Fruh.
Evans 1.3.
Uncommon. A few in the Valley in August. One specimen in
October and one in November.
200. Zemeros flegyas indicus Fruh.
Evans 2.
Common in the Valley all the year except December, January and
February. Also many brought in by collectors from the north.
201. Dodona durga Koll.
Evans 3.1.
A single specimen at Chitlang, 1,500 ft. on 20-7-35.
202. Dodona dipoea Hew.
Evans 3.2. |
In the Valley and surrounding hills from March to October.
Especially plentiful in May and September. A single specimen was
taken on 15-11-37. Both subspecies D. d. mostza Fruh. and D. dipoea
Hew. appeared to be together, but there is very little superficial differ-
ence between them.
203. Dodona eugenes Bates.
Evans 3,3.
Very common in the Valley and the surrounding hills ; most plenti-
ful in April, in early May, and again in September. A female was seen
depositing dull pink globular eggs on the woody stalk of the food plant
on 6-8-35.
As in the case of the last, both subspecies Z.e¢. eugenes and £.e.
venox Fruh. are found together, but the subspecies are almost indistin-
guishable,
282 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80
204. Dodona egeon Db.
Evans 3.4.
Common in the Valley especially so on the surrounding ‘hills from
March to November. Most plentiful in May.
205. Dodona ouida ouida M.
Evans 3.5.
Common in the Valley and especially in the surrounding hills March
to November.
205. Dodona adonira adonira Hew.
Evans 3.6.
At Gedaveri in the Valley, Mav and June and again in October
usually on damp stones.
207. Abisara fylla Db.
Evans 4.1.
A few in the Valley, April to November.
208. Abisara neophron neophronoides Fruh.
Evans 4.2.
A single specimen at Nagarkot, 6,000 ft. 7-6-37.
209. Abisara echerius suffusa M.
Evans 4.5.
Not found in the Valley. Common at Devighat 1,500 ft. and the
Terai in winter. ;
LYCAENIDAE
210. Poritia hewitsoni hewitsoni M.
Evans 2.5.
Not in the Valley. Bhimpedi, below the Valley, in October; Devi-
ghat 1,500 ft. 3-11-35. ; eastern Terai 28-2-38.
211. Spalgis epius epius Wd.
Evans 8.
Two Specimens at low elevations; Amlekganj 1,000 ft. 15-11-35 ;
Tribeni, Terai 5-12-35.
212. Castalius rosimon rosimon F,
Evans 11.1.
Notin the Valley but only at lower elevations. Devighat 1,500 ft.
October; the Terai in winter.
213. Castalius caleta decidia Hew.
Evans 11.2.
At Devighat 1,500 ft. and in the Terai in winter. This is an exten-
sion of habitat westwards in the Himalayas, 1
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 283
214. Tarucus dharta B—B. (Ww)!
Evans 12.2.
A single specimen at Amlekganj, 1,500 ft, 36-36.
215. Tarucus callinara But.
Evans 12.4.
A single specimen at Devighat 2,000 ft, 31-10-36.
216. Syntarucus plinius F.
Evans 13.
A single specimen at Katmandu 4,500 ft. 12-9-35.
217. Everes argiades indiea Ev.
Evans 18.2.
Common at Katmandu and in the Valley. A few on the surrounding
hills, April to October.
218. Everes dipora M.
Evans 18.4.
Not in the Valley but on the surrounding hills. Nagarkot 6,000 ft.
28-7-37 ; Chandragiri 6,000 ft. 10-4-37; Chitlang 4,000 ft. 23-2-37. A
few brought in by collectors from west Nepal.
219. Everes parrhasius parrhasius F.
Evans 18.5.
One in the Valley, Katmandu 13-10-35 ; one at Kakni, above the
Valley 7,000 ft. 25-8-37; two at Devighat 1,500 ft. 31-3-35 and
29-10-35 and one brought in from Galchi, west Nepal 5-11-36.
220. Megisba malaya sikkima M.
Evans 20.
One specimen at Godavari in the Valley 5,000 ft. 31-7-35; one at
Nagarkot 5,500 ft. 3-8-35; several in the Terai in winter.
221. Lycaenopsis puspa gisca Fruh.
Evans 21.2.
Common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills. A few in
March and April, very many in July and August, fewer in September
and October. A pair zz copula at Nagarkot 7,000 ft, 31-8-35.
222. Lycaenopsis marginata DeN.
Evans 21.11.
Common in the Valley, the surrounding hills and in the Terai. A
few in April, many May to August. Pairs zz copula at Nagarkot 6,000 ft.
29-7-35, and at Kakni 6,500 ft. 28-8-37,
1 (W) or (E) indicate extensions of known habitat from Sikkim westward or
from Kumaon eastward, respectively.
284 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
223. Lycaenopsis transpecta M. (W)
Evans 21.12.
A few in the Valley and the surrounding hills in May and June.
Devighat 1,500 ft. 31-10-35,
224. Lycaenopsis vardhana M. (E)
Evans 21.13,
Five specimens at Sheopani above the Valley, 8,000 ft. on 14-9-37.
The specimens are rather brighter blue than specimens from Simla.
225. Lycaenopsis albocoerulea M.
Evans 21.15.
Common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills from the end
of March to the end of October.
226. Lycaenopsis lavendularis placida DeN., (W)
Evans 21.19.
A single specimen at Godaveri in the Valley 5,000 [t. 20-6-36.
227. Lycaenopsis cardia dilecta M.
Evans 21.20,
Common in the Valley and surrounding hills end of March to early
November, Most plentiful May to July. Often at damp sand and
cowdung.
228, Lycaenopsis hugelii hugelii M. (E)
Evans 21.22.
Not found in the Valley, but two specimens from the surrounding
hills, Nagarkot 6,000 ft. 4-7-36 and Kakni 7,500 ft. 15-9-37.
Very many brought from north-west Nepal between the end of
May and mid-September. A pair zz copula 1-6-36.
Several specimens of Z. hugelzz oveana Swin. were taken at Godaveri
5,000 ft. May, June and October ; some also on Sheopuri Hill 8,000 ft.
14-9-37,
229. Lycaenopsis ladonides gigas Hemming. (BE)
Evans 21.23.
West Nepal 1936.
230. Lycaenopsis argiolus sikkima M. (W)
Evans 21.24.
A few in the hills above the Valley up to 7,000 ft. March to
September. A single specimen on 28-12-36 at 2,000 ft. at Bhim-
pedi below the Valley.
231. Lycaenopsis jynteana DeN. (W)
Evans 21.25.
Only two specimens Katmandu 4,500 ft. 25-36; Nagarkot
7,000 ft. 24-6-36.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 285
232, Polyommatus astrarche Berg. (E)
Evans 22.10.
A few brought from north-west Nepal, Yakpa 27-8-36, Pensa
13-9-36.
233. Polyommatus galathea galathea Blanch. (B)
Evans 22.19.
Several brought in from north-west Nepal, July 1936.
234, Polyommatus eros ariana M.
Evans 22.27. |
Many brought in from north-west Nepal. Simkot, June to Sep-
tember 1936; Yakpa 27-8-35. Pensa 13-7-36 and 13-9-36. The sub-
species is doubtful. I have never found any form of evos in Sikkim,
Chumbi Valley or Bhutan, though evos stoliczkana Fd. is common in
Tibet north of the Tang La and at Gyantse, Lhasa and in the Tsangpo
Valley. I have caught it as far east as Sangaché Dzong, E Long.
approx. 97° 10’.
235. Chilades laius laius Cr.
Evans 23.
Tribeni, Terai, 13-12-35.
236. Zizeeria trochilus trochilus Freyer.
Evans 24.1.
Devighat, 1,500 ft. 29-10-35; Katmandu, 4,500 ft., 9-10-36 and
29-10-36.
237. Zizeeria maha maha Koll.
Evans 24.3.
Very common at Katmandu March to October. Also common at
Nagarkot and Kakni 6,000 ft. July to October. Pairs zz copula at
Katmandu 4-3-35 and at Nagarkot 26-7-35. Common in the Terai in
December. |
238. Zizeeria lysimon Hub.
Evans 24.4.
Terai, December and March. Not found in the Valley.
239, Zizeeria otis otis F,
Evans 24.6.
A single specimen at Katmandu, 4,500 ft. 10-10-35. Common in
the Terai, October to March, and at Devighat at the end of October,
240. Euchrysops cnejus F.
Evans 25.1.
Common in the Terai, scarce in the hills. Katmandu 4,500 ft.
4-6-35. Nagarkot 6,500 ft. 6-9-35. A pair zz copula at Devighat
2,000 ft. 25-10-35.
286 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 50
241. Euchrysops contracta contracta But,
Evans 25.2.
A single specimen in the Terai 26-3-36.
242, Euchrysops pandava pandava Hors.
Evans 25.3.
Many of the wet season form in the Legation garden in early
August 1937. Most were on Michaelmas daisies.
243. Lycaenesthes emolus emolus God.
Evans 26.1.
A single specimen in the Valley 24-4-37, and two at Nagarkot,
5,500 ft. in July. Others at lower levels and in the Terai in winter. An
extension westwards in the Himalayas.
244. Lycaenesthes lycaenina lycambes Hew. (W)
Evans 26.2.
Not found in the Valley, but a few at lower levels. Nowakot, 3,000 ft.
17-10-35; Devighat, 1,500 ft. 30-10-35; Bhimpedi, 2,000 ft. 21-7-36.
245. Catachrysops strabo F.
Evans 27.1.
In the Valley and up to 7,000 ft. at Nagarkot, March, July, Septem-
ber and October ; also in the Terai in winter.
246. Catachrysops lithargyria M. (W)
Evans 27,2.
A single female specimen at Katmandu 4,500 ft. 18-3-37. Evans
gives ‘Assamto Burma’. This butterfly has never been taken in Sik-
kim so this is a considerable extension of habitat westwards. The
specimen was identified at the British Museum.
247, Lampides boeticus L,
Evans 28.
Very common everywhere. In March females were depositing eggs
on the buds of wistaria ana lupin in the Legation garden. The buds
were So covered in eggs that from a few feet away they appeared quite
grey.
248. Jamides bochus bochus Cr.
Evans 29.1.
A few of both sexes in the Valley and up to 6,000 ft. on the sur-
rounding hills in June and November ; also inthe Terai in winter.
249, Jamides celeno celeno Cr,
Evans 29.5.
Very common in the Valley; W.S.F. July to October and D.S.F.
October to December. Specimens in October and November are very
variable. Specimens taken in the Terai in December are of an extreme-
ly dry form. A single specimen of the D.S.F. was taken in the Valley
on 20-3-33. |
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 287
250. Jamides alecto eurysaces Fruh.
Evans 29.9.
A few in the Valley in October ; very commortin the Terai in Decem-
ber and January. This is an extension westwards in the Himalayas.
251. Nacaduba pactolus continentalis Fruh. (W)
Evans 32.2.
A single specimen at Katmandu 4-10-37,
252. Nacaduba kurava euplea Fruh. (W)
Evans 32.8.
Three female specimens Katmandu 4,500 ft. 26-9-35 and Nagarkot
7,000 ft. in July.
253. Nacaduba nora nora Fd.
Evans 32.15.
Several specimens from Nagarkot 6,000 ft. 7-6-37. Also several in
the Terai in winter. None were actually seen in the Valley.
254. Nacaduba dubiosa indica Evans.
Evans 32.16.
None were taken in the Valley but a few at Nagarkot 6,000 ft.
7-6-37; also in the Terai in winter. Specimens were identified at
the British Museum.
255. Lycaena pavana Koll. (EB)
Evans 34.1.
A few brought in by collectors from north-west Nepal in May and
June 1936.
256. Lycaena phloeas indicus Ev. (W)
Evans 34.2.
Very many brought in by collectors from north-west Nepal June to
August 1936.
257. Heliophorus sena Koll. (E)
Evans 35.1.
ines few brought in by collectors from west Nepal, June and October
258. Heliophorus epicles indicus Fruh.
Evans 35.2.
Common in the Valley, May to November, and also at lower
elevations.
299. Heliophorus bakeri Ev. (E)
Evans 35.4.
ea brought in by collectors from west Nepal in May and June
288 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
260. Heliophorus oda Hew. (E)
Evans 35,5.
A single specimen brought in from Melcham, west Nepal, 12-6-36..
261. Heliophorus androcles androcles Hew. (W)
Evans 35.8.
Many brought in by collectors from west ona north Nepal and the
Tibetan border, May and June. One from Patechaur, north Nepal,
11-11-37. A single male on Sheopuri Hill, above the Valley, 8,000 ft.
14-9-37.
262. Heliophorus tamu tamu Koll
Evans 35.9.
Many in the Valley, mostly at damp soil, May to September. Kakni,
7,000 ft. 24-8-37. Many on Sheopuri Hill, above the Valley, 8,000 ft.
14-9-37 and many brought in from the north,
263. Euaspa milionia Hew. (E)
Evans 40.
Very common in the woods in the Nepal Valley, April to July ; ;
specimens taken after May were very worn.
264. Thecla icana M. (EB)
Evans 41.1.
Two male specimens at Chandragiri, above the Valley 6,000 ft., .
14-6-36. These have more orange than usual at the tornus unh. I
have also taken this in Bhutan and in southern Tibet. .
265. Thecla birupa M. (EB)
Evans 41.12.
Several on the hills surrounding the Valley, 5,009 - to > 7000. fe s
May, June and July.
266. Thecla syla assamica Tyt. (W)
Evans 41.14. ne
A single female specimen from Jalbiri, north central Nepal, 3-8-37,
The specimen was identified at the British Museum.
267, Chaetoprocta odata Hew. (E)
Evans 42.
Many at Godaveri in the Nepal Valley in May, flying round, and at .
dusk roosting on the upper sides of leaves of walnut trees; also many
brought in from north-west Nepal in June 1936,
968. Curetis bulis Db. & Hew.
Evans 44.4.
A few in the Valley, April, May and June.
dines,
NOTES ION BUPTERFLIESVFROM, NEPAL 289
269. Curetis acuta dentata M.
Evans 44.6.
Tribeni, in the Terai, 1,000 ft 26-1-36; Bhimpedi, 1,000 ft.
October. A female in eastern Terai, 3-3-26. One at Katmandu, 4,300 ft.
in the Valley, 17-10-36.
270, Iraota timoleon timoleon Stoll.
Evans 45.1.
Several in the Valley and up to 6,000 ft. on the surrounding hills,
May to September.
271. Amblypodia oenea Hew. (W)
Evans 49.27.
A single specimen at Katmandu, 4,500 ft., 4-10-37.
272. Amblypodia alemon DeN.
Evans 49.34. .
One specimen in the Valley, 5,000 ft. 22-5-37. Common in the
Terai in winter.
273. Amblypodia centaurus pirithous M.
Evans 49,36.
; Very common at Devighat October to. May ; common also in. the
Terai in winter. A few in the Valley.
274. Amblypodia amantes amantes Hew.
Evans 49,39.
Only in the Terai in winter.
275. Amblypodia singla DeN. = (Wy
Evans 49.40. _ .
A few in the Valley up to 6 ,000 ft., March to August.
276. Amblypodia bazalus Hew. (W)
Evans 49.41.
_A few in the Valley and up to 6,500 ft. on the surrounding hills.
277, Amblypodia eumolphus eumolphus Cr.
Evans 49.42.
A few in the Valley, July and August.
278. Amblypodia dodonea M. —_(E)
Evans 49.50.
A single specimen from Yarsa-in west Nepal, 5-8-35.
279. Amblypodia ramarama Koll,
_ Evans 49.51.
_ Very common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills, March to
October. A few at lower elevations and in the Terai in winter.
290 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
280. Amblypodia paramuta DeN. (W)
Evans 49,53.
In the Valley and up to 7,000 ft. on the surrounding hills; common
at Nagarkot July to October.
281. Amblypodia ganesa ganesa M. (EZ)
Evans 49.65.
Three specimens in the hills above the Valley; Nagarkot, 7,000 ft.
2.7-37: Thankot, 6,000 ft. 17-7-37; Kakni, 7;000 it. 27-8237." Eins
subspecies was checked at the British Museum.
282. Amblypodia paraganesa paraganesa DeN.
Evans 49.66.
In the Valley and on the surrounding hills up to 7,000 ft.; common
July to September. A single specimen as late as 9-11-35. at Nagarkot,
5,000 ft. |
283. Amblypodia chinensis Fd. (W)
Evans 49.78.
A few in July and August on the hills surrounding the Valley,
between 5,000 and 7,000 ft.
284. Amblypodia areste areste Hew. (W)
Evans 49.79.
Four specimens on the hills above the Valley. Nagarkot, 6,000 ft.
1-7-37 and 9-9-37 ; Kakni, 7,000 ft. 26-8-37 and 15-9-37.
285. Surendra quercetorum quercetorum M.
Evans 50.1.
A single specimen at Devighat 1,500 ft. 27-10-35.
286. Loxura atymnus atymnus Cr.
Evans 53: .
A single specimen in the Valley, 4,500 ft. 7-8-37. Common at
lower elevations in August and September
287. Spindasis nipalicus nipalicus M.
Evans 57.9.
One specimen at Katmandu, 4,500 ft. 10-6-35. Several at Nagarkot,
7,000 ft.in May. A few in the Terai and at lower elevations, March to
October.
288. Spindasis syama peguanus M.
Evans 57.12.
Bhimpedi, early October 1936; Devighat 1,500 ft. 1-4-35 and thtee
specimens on 25-10-35. This is an extension of habitat westwards in
the Himalayas.
289. Spindasis lohita himalayanus M. (W)
Evans 57.13.
Common at Katmandu especially on Michaelmas daisies in the
Legation garden in August and September. One brought in from the
north, Chauntara, 13-9-37.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 291
290. Pratapa ctesia Hew.
Evans 59.2.
Common above the Valley between 5,000 and 7,000 feet, where it
flies round tree tops; May to August.
291, Pratapa blanka argentia Aurivill. (W)
Evans 59.4.
A single female at Devighat, 2,000 ft., 25-10-35.
292. Pratapa deva lila M.
Evans 59.5.
A few on the hills above the Valley, 5,000 to 7,000 feet, in Vas A
single specimen at 5,000 ft., 15-10-36. Flies around tree tops.
\
293. Pratapa icetas icetas Hew. (B)
Evans 59.6, | ae
Common on the hills above the Valley, 5,000 to 7,000 feet, July to
September. Flies around isolated tree tops.
284, Pratapa cleobis God.
Evans 59.8. | |
Common on the hills above the Valley, July and August and a few
in June, September and October; 5,000 to 7,000 feet. A few were
taken in the Valley between April and November.
' 295, Pratapa bhotea M. (W)
Evans 59.9. }
_ A single specimen at Kakni, 7,500 ft., 15-9-37.
296. Tajuria jangala ravata M. (W)
Evans 60.1.
One female specimen at Nagarkot, 5,500 ft, 8-8-35, and a male
brought in from Dendrowati, 1&-5-35.
297. Tajuria yajna istroidea DeN. (W)
Evans 60.4.
Two specimens which appear to be nearest to zstrocdea, Nagarkot, ?
7,000 ft., early August; Katmandu, 4,500 ft., 2-9-37.
298. Tajuria illurgis Hew.
Evans 60.20. |
Katmandu 4,500 ft., April and August; Nagarkot, 6,000 and 7,000
feet, July and August. Two specimens brought in from the north,
Kodari, 17-5-37, and Gumtang, 20-5-37,
299. Tajuria illurgoides DeN.
- Evans 60.21,
Nagarkot, 7,000 ft., 5-6-37. Two from Kang Lang, north Nepal,
19-5-37, |
6
299 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 80
300. Tajuria luculentus nela Swin. (W)
Evans 60.22. :
A single female specimen at Thankot, above the Valley, 6,000 ft.,
26-4-36. This single specimen is abnormal and may be new and has
been given to the British Museum. It is a considerable extension of
habitat westwards. Evans gives Assam as the habitat in India.
301. Tajuria maculata Hew. (W)
Evans 60.23.
Two specimens, Sundarijal in the Valley, 5,500 ft., 4-7-30;
Nagarkot, 7-9-37.
302. Charana jalindra indra M.
Evans 61.1. é
Several in and around the Valley, May to October, This is an
extension of habitat in the Himalayas westwards.
303. Horaga onyx onyx M.
Evans 77.1.
A single specimen, Katmandu, 4,300 ft., 9-10-35.
304. Catapoecilma elegans major Fruh.
Evans 78.1.
Devighat, 1,500 ft., 31-3-35, 1-4-35 ; Nagarkot, 5,000 ft., 17-6-35.
305. Chliaria othona Hew.
Evans 79.1.
A single specimen at Bhimpedi, below the Valley, 2,000 ft., 27-9-36.
306. Chliaria kina cachara M.
Bvans 79.2. -
Common on damp stones in the Valley and up to 6,000 ft. on the
hills, March to October. Two specimens may be C. kina kina Hew.
These are extensions of habitat east (C. & £zza) and west (C. &. cachara).
307. Hypolycaena erylus himavantus Fruh. (W)
Evans 80.3.
Valley April to July, some at lower elevations in October.
308. Zeltus etolus F, (W)
Evans 81.
Two specimens below the Valley, Nawakot, 3,000 ft., 17-10-35 ;
Devighat, 2,000 ft., 1-11-35. |
309. Deudoryx epijarbas ancus Fruh. (W)
Evans 83.1.
Common in the Legation garden at Katmandu in July, August and
September. Frequently at Michaelmas daisies. A female bred from a
larva in an apple emerged 2-7-37. The subspecies was checked at the
British Museum.
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 993
310. Virachola perse perse Hew.
Evans 84.2.
Two specimens in the Valley, 1-9-35; a female specimen at
Devighat, 1,500 ft., 3-11-36.
311. Rapala refulgens DeN.
Evans 85.5.
A few taken in the Valley between April and September.
312. Rapala tara DeN.
Evans 85.9.
A few at Godaveri in Valley, 5,000 ft. in May and October, but at no
other time or place.
313. Rapala varuna orseis Hew. (W)
Evans 85.11.
Katmandu, 4,500 ft., 4-5-35, 11-10-35, 3-9-37. A specimen at
Tribeni in the Terai, 3-12-35.
314. Rapala schistacea M.
Evans 85.12.
Not uncommon in the Valley and up to 6,000 ft. at Nagarkot;
April to September.
315. Rapala scintilla DeN. (W)
Evans 85.13.
On the hills surrounding the Valley. Two specimens, Nagarkot,
7,000 ft. end of October 1936; Thankot, 6,000 ft., 26-4-36.
316. Rapala pheritimus petosiris Hew. (W)
Evans 85.14. |
. A few in the Valley, between June and October; Devighat, 1,500 ft.,
25-10-35 ; a specimen brought in from the north Dendrawati, 18-5-35.
317. Rapala melampus Cr.
Evans 85.16. | 7
A single specimen at Katmandu 4-6-35. This is an extension of
habitat eastwards in the Himalayas.
318. Rapala nissa nissa Kol.
Evans 85.19.
Very common in the Valley. The first appearance is in March
when a great many are seen on flowering shrubs. A favourite bush is
Ligustrum nepalense Wall. The numbers gradually diminish until
October. Up to 7,000 ft. at Nagarkot, June, July, and August.
319. Sinthusa chandrana M.
Evans 86.2.
A single specimen at Katmandu, 23-3-37.
320. Sinthusa nasaka pallidior Fruh. (E)
Evans 86.3.
A few in the Valley, March to September,
294 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 59
HESPERIIDAE
321. Hasora chromus chromus Cr.
Evans 1.16, Cat. A.3.13.
Katmandu, 24-4-37, 23-6-37.
322. Bibasis vasutana M.
PW VANS elo. -A@atee A oe
Godaveri, Valley 5,000 ft., 20-10-36.
323, Choaspes xanthopogon Koll.
Evans 4.4. Cat. A.5.4.
Valley, March, May, August and October.
324, Celaenorrhinus ratna tytleri Evans. (W)
Evans 11.9. Cat. B.6.9.
One specimen at Katmandu 20-3-36.,
Several on Surrounding hills up to 7,000 ft. Like its congeners it
inhabits dense forest where it settles on the underside of leaves.
B29. Celaecnorrhinus munda M.
Evans I1:17. Cat.B.6.19.
Kodari, north Nepal, 27-5-37.
326, Celaenorrhinus dhanada dhanada M.
Evans 11.29. Cat.b.6.27.
One specimen, Katmandu, 2-9-37.
327. Lobocla liliana ignatius Plotz. (E)
Evans 12.2. Cat.B.4.1.
Many in the Valley and on the surrounding hills where it flies round
tree tops in bright sunlight in May and June. A specimen from Kodari,
north Nepal, 22-8-37.
328. Seseria dohertyi dohertyi Watson.
Bvans 13.7. Cat.©. 8.2.
Stx specimens in the Valley, April to July.
329. Tagiades gana athos Plotz.
Evans 14.3. C.12.2.
A single specimen in the eastern Terai 8-3-26.
330. Tagiades menaka menaka M.
Evans 14.9. Cat.C.12.9.
Common in the Valley from April to October.
331. Tagiades litigosa litigosa Mosth.
Evans 14.10. Cat.C.12.8.
Common in the Valley, March to May; some at lower elevations in
October. |
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 295
332. Coladenia dan fatih Koll,
Evans 20.1. Cat.C€.5.1.
Common in the Valley, May to August. Many brought in by collec-
tors from west Nepal.
333. Sarangesa dasahara dasahara M.
wEvans 21033 Cat:C.6.2:
Devighat, 1,500 ft. and lower elevations below the Valley, May,
July and October.
334. Darpa hanria M. (W)
Byvans 22.1.0, Cate C.3i0.
Several at Godaveri in the Valley 5,000 ft., April and May. All
were drinking on wet stone.
335. Ctencptilum vasava vasava M. (W)
Byvans 24.1. Cat.G:16.1,
A single specimen at Katmandu, 4,500 ft., 22-4-35,
336. Spiala galba F.
Evans 28.2. Cat.D.4.2.
Common in the Terai in winter. A few in the Valley and up to
5,000 ft., June and October.
337. Aeromachus stigmata stigmata M.
Evans 43.4. Cat.G.6.4.
A single specimen Kakni, 7,000 ft., 15-8-35.
338. Aeromachus jhora jhora Dn. (W)
Evans 43.8. Cat.G.6.6.
Two specimens at Thankot above the Valley, 7,000 ft., 17-7-37.
339. Pedesta masuriensis DeN.
Evans 44.1. Cat.G.9.1.
Several in the Valley and surrounding hills up to 7,000 ft. April,:
to August; also brought in by collectors from Kodari, north Nepal,
22-5-37.
340. lambrix salsala salsala M.
Evans 46.2. Cat.I.1.1.
A few at Devighat below the Valley, 1,500 ft. in March and April.
341. Ancistroides nigrita diocles M. . EW)
Evans 55.1. Cat.I.5.1.
Bhimpedi, 1,000 ft., early October.
342. Udaspes folus Cr.
Evans 3/7... Cat. 7il:
Common in the Valley and surrounding hills, April to August.
296 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
343. Notocrypta feisthamelii alysos M.
Evans 538.5. Cat.I1.6-6.
Common in the Valley and surrounding hills usually in dense forest,
March to September.
344. Notocrypta curvifascia curvifascia Fd.
Evans 58.6. Cat.I.6.5.
Common in the Valley, April to August. Especially plentiful in
April.
345. Erionota torus Evans
Evans 60.1. Cat.J.14.1.
A single specimen at Khatmandu, 6-4-35.
346. Matapa aria M.
Evans 64.1. Cat. J.17.1.
A single specimen at Bhimpedi, 1,500 ft., 15-11-35.
347. Sovia grahami Evans.
Evans 83.4. Cat.G.8.1.
Two specimens brought by collectors from Kashiganj, north Nepal,
7-8-35, [
348. Thoressa aina DeN.
Evans 83.9. CaGGralt7.
One specimen from the interior of Nepal and one from Thankot
above the Valley 5,(C00 ft., 17-7-37,.
349, Thoressa gupta gupta DeN.
Evans 83.12. Cat.G.11.15.
A few in the Valley at 5,000 ft., in May.
350. Halpe kumara M. (W)
Evans 83.28 Cat. G. 12-5.
One specimen from the Valley 20-6-36. Several brought in from
north Nepal in May and June ; Kodari 15-5-37 and 22-5-37,
351. Taractrocera danna M.
Evans 88.1. Cat. L. 1-1.
Common in the Valley and up to 6,000 ft. on the surrounding hills;
flies along sunny roadsides.
352, Taractrocera maevius sagara M.
Evans 88.2 Catrall. A.2:
Several in the Valley, March, June and August,
353. Potanthus dara Koll. (E)
Evans 90.8. Cat. L. 5.13.
One specimen at Nawakot below the Valley 2,500 ft., 2-4-35,
NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES FROM NEPAL 297
354. Potanthus pseudomaesa clio Evans.
Evans 90.10. Cat... 5.0:
Two specimens from the Valley. Khatmandu, 4,500 ft., 3-10-35,
Godaveri. 5,000 ft., 8-10-36.-
355. Potanthus confucius dushta Fruh.
Evans 90.12. Cat. L. 5.16.
Two specimens from the Terai. Tribeni 3-2-36 ; Morang, east Terai,
28- 2-26.
356. Telicota ancilla bambusae M.
Evans 91.2. Cat. L. 7-9.
Raxaul, 1,000 ft., 7-3-38. Devighat, 1,500 ft., 25-10-35.
357. Ochlodes brahma M.
Evans 93.8. Cat. K. 3.11.
On hills surrounding the Valley, April and May. Some brought in
from the interior, May and June,
358. Baoris farri farri M.
Evans 97.1. Cat. M. 6.2.
A single specimen in the western Terai, 3-2-26.
359, Caltoris cahira austeni M. (W)
Evans 97.9. Cat. M. 7.5.
Two specimens from the Valley. Khatmandu, 4,500 ft., 16-10-37,
Godaveri, 5,000 ft., 20-10-36.
360. Caltoris tulsi tulsi DeN. (W) c
Evans 97.13. Cat. M. 7.12.
Khatmandu, 4,500 ft., 16-10-37, 27-10-37.
361. Polytremis eltola eltola Hew,
Evans 97.21. Cat. M. 5.11.1.
Common in the Valley, April to October, and on the surrounding
hills at 7,000 ft. in August.
362. Pelopidas sinensis Mab.
Evans 97.30. Cat. M. 4.1.
Common in the Valley and up to 7,000 ft. on the surrounding hills,
June to August, a few in April.
363. Pelopidas mathias mathias F.,
Evans 97.31. Cat. M. 4-5.
several in the Valley, September and October ; a few brought in
from Yarsa, north Nepal, 5-8-35; in the Terai at lower elevations
December and January. a
298 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
364. Parnara guttatus mangala M.
Evans 97.32. ‘Cat. M. 2.1.
Very common in the Valley and on the surrounding hills, July to
October; a few in March and May. A pair zz copula at Khatmandu,
26-9-37.
365. Borbo bevani M.
Evans 97.34. Cat. M. 3.3.
Common everywhere March to October; a pair zz copula at
Nagarkot, 6,000 ft., 9-9-35.
Since compiling this list I have seen a fine collection of Nepal
butterflies which has been presented to the British Museum by
Colonel D. G. Lowndes who was a member of Tilman’s expedition
to Nepal in 1950. This includes an interesting Parnasstus delbhius
and several Coleas which are quite different to any I obtained. In fact,
it was clear that my collectors did not venture high enough to get
such things.
HABITS OF THE COMMON MEMBRACID (‘TREE-HOPPER’)
—OTINOTUS ONERATUS WALK.
(HOMOPTERA: RHYNCHOTA)!
BY
BasAnTa KumMAR BEHURA, M.Sc. (Cal.), Ph.p. (Edin.), F.R.E.S.
Department of Zoology, Ravenshaw College, Cuttack.
SYNOPSIS
The habits of the membracid Otinotus oneratus Walk., are studied.
A list of host-plants in Calcutta and Orissa is given. It infests a
large variety of plants belonging to different families among which
are included a number of cultivated plants of economic’ import-
ance e.g. Mangifera indica, Tamarindus indica, Cajanus indicus.
Cinnamomum tamala, Citrus aurantium and Zizyphus jujuba. The
nymphs and adults of the membracid species are attended by the
common black ant Camponotus compressus Fabr., both on poisonous
and non-poisonous plants alike.
INTRODUCTION
Distant’s (1908, 1916) admirable works on the taxonomy and
distribution of Indian membracids are of great walue, but little is
known about their bionomics and host-plants.
Observations on the common membracid Otinoius oneratus Walk.,
were made by me during the months of October and November, 1945
as well as at other times during 1946-47 in a _ village called
Sudhakanthy, in the Balikuda sub-division of the district of Cuttack,
Orissa. This species also occurs in Calcutta and its habits were
studied by me in Calcutta too, in the garden of the University College
of Science, 35 Ballygunge Circular road during the period July, 1945
to September, 1946. Although Distant (1908, 1916) states a number
of discontinuous places showing its wide distribution throughout India,
O. oneratus has been recorded from Orissa from only two places
viz:—Rambha and Satpara in the Ganjam district.’
Funkhouser (1917) has given an admirable account of the ecology
of the New World membracids. Since accounts of the habits of
Indian membracids are greatly wanting and practically nothing is
known about the habits of any species of the genus Otinolus, I have
endeavoured to describe in some detail my field observations. The
village Sudhakanthy was selected by me for the study, as the various
host-plants belonging to different families occurred in plenty in
this locality. However, some difficulty was experienced in the identi-
fication of the host-plants in the absence of a suitable work on the
flora of this region. Most of the plants were kindly identified by
Mr. C. M. Bastia of the Department of Botany, RKavenshaw College,
1 The paper was presented to the Indian Science Congress, Bangalore, 1951
and an abstract appeared in the Proc. 38 Ind, Sc. Cong. (3). 213-214.
* Distant’s (1916) Janjam district is apparently a mis-print for Ganjam district,
300 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 59
Cuttack, to whom I am very grateful. I also record my sincere
thanks to Mr. D, Mukerji of the Department of Zoology, University
College of Science, Calcutta University, for his kind help during the
preparation of the manuscript.
MEASUREMENTS
In the species O. oneratus the males are usually smaller than the
females. Specimens collected on the host-plant Lawsonia alba L., in
Calcutta on 21-7-1945 measured as follows: Males 5 mm. to 5.8 mm.,
average 5.3 mm.; and females 5.6 mm. to 6.2 mm., average 6 mm,
04S) he a, ANS
Apart from a mere statement by Buckton (1903) that Oxyrachis
lignicola which was later placed as a synonym under O. oneratus by
Distant (1908), laid eggs on ‘the bark of a leguminous shrub’ obtained
from Raniseram, South India, practically nothing is known about
the host-plants of this species.
A plant should be indicated as a host-plant only when the pest
actually feeds and breeds on it. In this paper, the term ‘host-plant’
has been used in its broadest sense that mating, feeding and young
stages of these insects are available on the plants. Whether eggs
were laid on the plants cannot be definitely stated in the majority of
the cases as they might have escaped my attention. An examination
of the host-plants indicated that O. oneratus feeds on a large variety
of plants belonging to various families.
The following is the list of plants usually somewhat heavily
infested in the Sudhakanthy locality :
SCIENTIFIC NAME LOCAL POPULAR NAME
OF THE PLANT FAMILY CURRENT IN ORIYA
1. Mangiteraindica Linn... Anacardiaceae Amba (mango)
2. Anona reticulata Linn... Anonaceae —
3. (?) Daemia extensa Br.... Asclepiadaceae —
4, Flacourtia ramontcht :
14s IB .. Bixaceae a —
5. Zamarindus indica Linn. Caesalpiniaceae Kaiyan (Tamarind)
6. Cinnamomum tamala Fr.
Nees .. Lauraceae Teja-patra
7. Gossypium herbaceum
Pepa: ... Malvaceae Kapa (Cotton)
8. Michelia champaca Linn. Magnoliaceae Champa
9. Cajanus indicus Spreng. Papilionaceae Harada
10. rythrina indica Lamk. Papilionaceae Paladhua
ll. Citrus aurantium Linn... Rutaceae Silata kamala (Or-
ange)
12. Zizyphus jujuba Lamk... Rhamnaceae Barakoli
13. Zizyphus oenoplia Mill... Rhamnaceae Bhuin Barakoli,
Kantai koli
14, Datura fastuosa Linn. ... Solanaceae Kala dhutura
15. Tips of stilt roots of
Ficus bengalensis Linn. Urticaceae Bara (Banyan tree)
HABITS OF THE COMMON MEMBRACID (‘TREE-HOPPER’) 301
(Although O. oneratus is commonly found on the stilt roots of the
banyan tree, I doubt if it is a true host-plant of the membracid
species. I have not found eggs and nymphs of this species on this
tree.)
In Calcutta O. oneratus was observed on the following plants:
SCIENTIFIC NAME LOCAL POPULAR NAME
FAMILY
OF THE PLANT CURRENT IN BENGALI
1. Cajanus indicus Sp. ... Papilionaceae Arhar
2. Lawsonia alba Linn. ... Lythraceae —
3. Morus indica L. --. Moraceae + ut
4. Zyzybhus jujuba Lamk.... Rhamnaceae Kul
5. Acacia montlitormis
Griseb, ... Leguminosae —
HaBITS
O. oneratus like other membracids are sun-loving insects and are
often found on plants growing in the open fields. They live in
droves grouped at the axils of the branches and on the mid-ribs of
leaves on the adaxial side. Three or five form a group. Usually
they form such a dense group that the insects touch one another.
The crowd stays for hours at a place. In the majority of the cases,
the adults rest with their heads pointing toward the base of the
branch or point downward if they are on the trunk. While resting
on hanging stilt roots of Ficus bengalensis the head directly points
downward. This characteristic attitude can be explained as_ they
simulate the thorns of the host-plants by their three pronotal spines
with head pointing down. The nymphs lie attached to crevices of
the bark by flattening of bodies or rest close to the axil of a leaf or
crotch of a twig. In most cases the coloration of the nymphs as
well as that of adults is such that they are not easily seen in such
situations.
They are generally most active during the warm parts of the day ;
feeding, mating and flight taking place from to o’clock in the
morning to 4 o’clock in the afternoon. The species is decidedly
gregarious in habit. The insects remain in one spot for a long time
deeply planting their proboscis in plant tissues, drawing sap, and do
not move to tap fresh sources. While engaged in feeding they are
found generally attended by ants. I have never come across any
membracid being attacked or killed by other animals.
| Pairing occurs with the caudal extremities meeting’ and the heads
facing in opposite directions. The pair on being disturbed fall
to the ground, but they do not separate. The only movement per-
ceptible is when the female drags forward the male (in copula) behind
ifs
Eggs are commonly deposited under bark of young twigs. In
Calcutta and Cuttack, I noticed the eggs especially on the shoots of
302 JOURNAL, BOMBAY: NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Cajanus indicus. The eggs are deposited in small groups running
in two parallel lines cut in the twigs of trees and shrubs.
If disturbed the insect usually circles round the axis of the twig
or stem, but does not take to flight unless seriously disturbed. The
insect fails to notice the approach of any foreign object if the move-
ment of the latter be slow. It may even be touched with the finger
if one is cautious and the hand is moved slowly; the sharp quick
motion of an approaching object is readily detected by the insect which
immediately takes to flight through the air.
The usual method of progression is..walking on the host-plant.
The walking motion is deliberately slow. If gently poked it goes
round the stem with an awkward gait and flying is its last resort,
Although the term ‘tree hopper’ is applied to the family, this species
was never seen hopping about from stem to stem or leaf to leaf.- Of
the three methods of locomotion—flying; walking and jumping—the
last is certainly the least seen. In taking off it leaps through the air
and in the last lap of the jump the wings are spread out. The flight,
however, is seldom sustained for a long distance. The nymphs of
course are unable to fly, and in no case has a Ay atele been seen to
jump or take a leap. It crawls,
I! ans, ' ' at
Ac Tr: EO NUD AtN Can tp woe NGS
The remarks of Wheeler (1910) that ‘The relations of the ants
to the tree-hoppers (Membracidae, Cercopidae) are but little known,
as these insects are abundant only in warm countries’ (p. 350) un-
fortunately are still applicable. In some of the accounts from India
bearing on the problem, one misses the reference to the membracid or
that of the ant.
It may be recalled that Belt (1874) was the first scientist to record
the attendance of ants on a species of membracid larvae, though
Sharp (1899) doubted it. Green (1910) put forth his observations
in support of Belt. He stated that the larvae of various species of
Centrotus were assiduously attended by ants. However, that the
larvae and adults of membracids are attended by ants is now a well
established fact (Imms, 1948).
In all the host-plants without a single exception I find that the
common black ant Camponotus compressus Fabr., attends the nymphs
and adults of the membracid O. oneratus. The ants stroke the
membracids with their antennae, whereupon these ant ‘cattle’ give
off from the anal tube a liquid that issues in bubbles in considerable
quantity. The liquid is colourless and transparent. The anal tube
of the membracid is capable of great evagination specially in the
nymphs, in which it is long and cylindrical and this is usually raised
upward. This honey dew of the anal tube is eagerly licked by the
ants. The adults as well as the nymphs are ‘milked’ by the ants |
in the same way. It is worth pointing out that the adults do not
excrete the liquid in such quantity as the nymphs. In general, the
mutual relationship between O. oneratus and C. compressus exists in
the same way as that found between aphids and ants, The ants
Wd n
HABITS OF THE COMMON MEMBRACID (‘TREE-HOPPER’) 303
seek the membracid assiduously. In many cases the hiding places
of the membracid nymphs are detected by following the marching
column of the ants. The ants do not drive these ‘cattle’, as in the
case of certain aphids in ant-home perhaps because the membracids
find natural shelter under the crevices of bark or are distasteful to
carry in the mouth.
The advantage to the membracid evidently accrues from the
protection they get from the ants, which do not hesitate to bite
viciously the fingers of the collector who seeks to remove nymphs or
adults from the plant. As soon as the finger is brought near the
membracids the ants rush forth to bite so as to drive away the
intruder. : |
Ayyar (1935) in his admirable study of the life-history of C.
compressus stated that ‘Camponotus, which ordinarily infests a con-
siderable variety of plants, seems to avoid-a few poisonous plants,
even though these may be situated in the vicinity of its nest’. Among
such plants he includes Datura fastuosa and further states that even
when poisonous plants harbour sap-sucking Homoptera these ants
do not care to live in association with them, and the plants are com-
pletely free from ants.
My own observations are quite contrary to the above. I have
found large numbers of C. compressus attending colonies of O.
oneratus on poisonous plants like Datura fasivosa and Daemia
extensa. This undoubtedly shows that C. compressus follows
membracids even when they occur on poisonous plants.
Beconomic, IMPORTANCE
So far as feeding is concerned there is little evidence that
‘membracids directly cause any injury to the host-plants. The
quantity of sap consumed by the insects is negligible and the wounds
made by the proboscis of their beaks are neither large enough to
destroy tissue nor extensive enough to offer an opportunity for other
types of infection. Careful examination of trees in the field revealed
no indication of any possible injury from the feeding of membracids.
The oviposition in plants can be more destructive, but even this
appears to cause little injury to the host-plants though minor lacera-
tions of outer bark are noticeable.
The agricultural importance of the membracids lies in the injury
they cause, in an indirect manner, to a variety of cultivated crops,
trees and shrubs by their symbiotic association with the ant C. com-
pressus. The ants by coaxing the membracids to yield more drops
of sweet excretion make these insects draw sap heavily and thereby
indirectly cause the loss of sap.
Where the infestation of O. oneratus is very heavy, as for instance
on Tamarindus indica, especially when the tree is in fruit, the ants
crowd in plenty. Further, by the growth of Datura plants and such
other shrubs near about the mud houses, the membracids thrive and
encourage the ants to make their nests nearby and the ant population
by their sheer number becomes obnoxious.
304 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SCCIETY, Vol. 50
REFERENCES
Ayyar, P. N. K. (1935): The Biology and economic status of the common
black ant of South India—Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) compressus Latr, Bull.
Ent, Res. 26: 575-585.
Belt, T. (1874): A Naturalist in Nicaragua, London, Pp. 226-227.
— Buckton, G. B. (1903): A Monograph of the Membracidae, London,
Pp. 224-225.
Distant, W. L. (1908): The Fauna of British India. Rhynchota. 4: 40-41.
Distant, W. L. (1916): The Fauna of British India. Rhynchota. 6: 160.
_ Funkhouser, W. D. (1917): Biology of the Membracidae of the Cayuga Lake
Basin. Cornell Univ. Agric. Stat..Mem. 14. 1917: 177-445.
Green, E. E, (1900): Note on the attractive properties of certain larval
Hemiptera. Ent. Mag. 36: 185.
Imms, A. D, (1948): A Student’s Text Book of Entomology, London. 7th
Ed., p. 3753
Sharp, D.. (1899): Cambridge Natural History. Insects. Pt. II, p. 577.
Wheeler, W. M. (1910): Ants, their Structure, Development and Behaviour,
New York, p.. 350.
CRITICAL NOTES ON THE IDENTITY AND NOMENCLATURE
OF SOME BOMBAY PLANTS
BY
H. SANTAPAU, S. j.
(With two plates)
The subject of these notes has been under consideration for a
long time; the materials for this paper were collected nay, during
my long stay in Kew Herbarium and library.
During the last few years it has been my lot to hear some very
disparaging remarks on the question of name changes of Indian
plants; some authors have even begun to demand that a list of
Nomina Specifica Conservanda be adopted similar to that of Nomina
Generica Conservanda and thus settle the question once and for all.
I have discussed this point elsewhere, and so I shall not dwell on
the same point any further. Suffice it to say at this stage that the
changes suggested in the following paragraphs are necessitated by
the more accurate study of the identity of our Indian plants; it is
not merely a question of names, it is a question of the actual identity
of the plants that go under very well known names in most of our
Floras.
1. Terminalia tomentosa and T. crenulata.
In the district around Bombay, scattered through dense forests or
on more or less bare plateaus and slopes, there is a common tree that is
popularly known under the name of Ain. Cooke in his Flora gives
the following synonyms for the tree: ee
Terminalia tomentosa Wight & Arn.
T. glabra var. tomentosa Dalz. & Gibs.
T. crenulata W. & A.
T. coriacea W. & A.
Pentaptera tomentosa Roxb.
As it is plain from this list of synonyms, Cooke has mixed up at
least three plants, that Clarke in Fl. Brit. Ind. 2: 447-448 recognized
as three distinct varieties of the same species.
Gamble in his Flora of Madras Presidency, pp. 462-463, 1919,
has, following Wight and ‘Arnott, separated this compiex group into
three different species. The reasons for this step are stated by
Gamble in Kew Bull. 1920:51 thus: ‘While travelling on Forest
duty in various parts of South India I could not help being struck by
the inadequacy of the arguments by which the well-marked species
of Terminalia, T. crenulata, T. tomentosa and T. coriacea, admitted
by Wight and Arnott, were joined together into one species, 7.
tomentosa, in the ‘‘Flora of British India’. I have, therefore, gone
back to the arrangement of Wight and Arnott.’
G
306 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Val. 60
The following table, based on Gamble’s key in his Flora of
Madras, pp. 462-463, gives the specific differences of these three
plants:
cor1acea tomentosa crenulala
Leaves yellowish-brown villous | glabrous’ or
| underside. velvety nearly so
Leaves _... coriaceous coriaceous membranous /
chartaceous
obtuse/emarginate obtuse/emargin./ obtuse/acute
subacute
unequal cordate rounded/cordate narrowed
Twigs and y ellowish-brown villous glabrous
intloresc. velvety
FOnigles ee i dense lax
Glands ... sessile stalked stalked
at base of midrib near base of someway up
: . midrib midrib
Frutt .. yellowish-brown glabrous glabrous
veivety
Examining our Bombay plants in accordance with this key, it is
piain that only JT. crenulata is common in these parts of India.
Cooke’s description is based on mixed material of the three species ;
for this reason I give herewith the complete deseri iption and synonymy
of our plant.
Terminalia crenulata Roth, Nov. Pl. Sp. 380, 1821; Wight &
Aino. perodra 314.
Pentaptera crenulata Roxb., Hort. Beng. 34, 1814 & FI. Ind.
438, 1832.
T. tomentosa var. cvenulata Clarke in FBI. 2: 448, 1878.
T. tomentosa Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bombay 1: 479, 1903 ; Talbot,
For. Fl. 2: 18, t. 297, ambo pro parte:
An erect deciduous tree 2-25 m. high, smali when growing in
open rocky plateaus and slopes, very large in dense forest. Young
branches and inflorescence often badly attacked by insects and covered
with unsightly galls. Young parts more or less yellowish-brown
pubescent, older parts glabrous or nearly so. Leaves opposite or
‘ subopposite, fairly thick, 5-18 x 3-7 cms., ovate or elliptic-oblong,
often obovate, glabrous or nearly so, with 1-2 glands, (which occasion-
ally are absent); the glands are stalked and placed some way up
along the midrib, occasionally they are on the side nerves; leaf apex
rounded or obtuse, subacute or acute; base narrowed, rounded or
subcordate, sometimes distinctly unequal-sided; margins _ entire,
shallowly crenate or subserrate; nerves parallel, arcuate, quite clear;
petioles about 1 cm. long, glabrous when old. Flowers hermaphrodite,
in axillary or terminal, lax, glabrous or nearly glabrous panicles;
flowers strongly and sweetly honey-scented. Calyx glabrous outside,
broadly campanulate, teeth broadly triangular, hairy within; bracts
glabrous. or nearly so. Disc with long fulvous hairs. The whole
flower at first is greenish, then pale yellowish, finally turning brown.
IDENTITY AND NOMENCLATURE OF SOME BOMBAY PLANTS 307
Fruit up to 5 cms. or more long, up to 5 cms. diam. including the
5 broad wings; nerves on wings very numerous, faint, running
horizontally from the axis to the edges. The ripe fruits remain on
the parent tree for a long time, occasionally even when the flowers
of the next flowering season are on.
A very common tree in Bombay State; when in full foliage and
flower it is a good sight, and many inseets, especially bees, seem
to frequent it for honey. This is the only species of the complex
coriacea-tomentosa-crenaldta that is truly common in Bombay; I have
seen no specimens of the other two species.
2. The gentis Bridelia in Bombay State.
Under the popular name of Asana there is another complex
group of trees consisting of at least 2, probably 3 different species
of the genus Bridelia; Cooke in his Flora covers these several species
under the name of B. retusa.
The following key to the Bombay species of Bridelia has been
based on that of Gehrmann in his monograph in Engler, Bot. Jahrb.
41, Beibl. 95, pp. 26-28, 1908.
KEY TO THE BOMBAY SPECIES OF BRIDELIA
Leaves ovate or elliptic or oblong:
Female flowers pubescent inside or outside; climbers :
Flowers pubescent outside, glabrous inside ... scandens.
Flowers. glabrous outside, pubescent inside ... stipularis.
Female flowers glabrous; erect trees:
Flowers gathered in clusters on leafless branches. velusa,
Flowers in clusters in leaf axils:
Leaves rounded at the base, attenuated at the apex,
acute, glabrous when old. w. Squamosa,
Leaves ovate-elliptic, rounded at the apex, sometiine
= emarginate, tomentose at least beneath when old ... roxburghiana.
'_ Leaves. culheate, mostly abruptly and shortly acuminate ;
erect shrubs eal ME AAS A freee: ...- hamiltoniana,
nae Scandens (Koxb:) Willd.; Sp. Pl. 4: 979, 1805 pro-parte;
Gehrmann, loc. cit. 29; Jablonszki, Pfreich. 65: 55.
B. stipulavis Muell.-Arg. in DC., Prodr. 1§ (2): 499, 1866, pro
min. parte.
me Cluvita scandens Roxb,, Pl. Cor: 2-40, t. 173, °-1798:
B. stipularis Cooke, FI. Pres. Bombay 2: 573, pro parte.
As it is plain from the key and from the synonymy, the modern
trend is to consider B. scandens Willd. as distinct from B. stipularis
Blume; in this separation I have followed Gehrmann, Jablonszki and
Gamble; the latter in his Flora of Madras keeps the two plants
separate.
Gamble describes this plant thus: ‘A large climbing shrub with
thorny stems and branches, the flowering spikes often long and
distichous with small leaves.’ (p. 1281). Jablonszki loc. cit. men-
tions this plant for Bombay: ‘Concan (Stocks, Law, etc. . . .)’,
whilst the following species is not mentioned as occurring in our
7
308 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 50
parts of India. Examination of the specimens in Blatter Herbarium,
collected by Blatter himself, Hallberg and McCann, Sedgwick, Acland
and my own collection, shows that it is this species and not B.
stipularis that is common in Bombay. I have come to this conclusion
judging my materials by Gehrmann’s key; the same conclusion is
reached using Gamble’s more detailed key given on p. 1280 of his
Flora of Madras.
North Kanara, Dharwar, Sedgwick 1831! Anmod, Sedgwick
3379! Yellapur, Nana 5815! Arbail Ghat, Sedgwick 5822! Jog,
Hallberg & McCann 35041! Londa, Santapau 10882! 10883!
Deccan, Kolhapur, Acland 1094!
Bridelia stipularis (Linn.) Blume, Bijdr. 2: 597, 1825; Muell.-Arg. in
DC., Prodr. 15 (2): 499, pro parte; Gehrmann & Jablonszki Il.
cc.; Gamble, Fl. Madr. 1281; Cooke, loc. cit. pro parte.
B. scandens Willd., loc. cit. pro min. parte.
Cluytia stipularis Linn., Mant. 127, 1767.
‘A large climbing shrub, with fulvous-tomentose branches, often
thorny when young, the leaves on flowering shoots small but often
wanting’ (Gamble, p. 1281). Cooke’s description is based on mixed
material, which for the most part seems to belong to the preceding
species. In Blatter Herbarium there are several specimens labelled
‘B. stipularis’ but as stated above, they all belong to the preceding
species.
Bridelia vetusa (Linn.) Spreng., Syst. Veg. 3: 48, 1826; Gehrmann
30; Jablonszki 69; Gamble, 1279; Cooke, 572 pro parte.
B. spinosa Willd., Sp. Pl. 4 (2): 979, 1805; Graham 184.
Cluytia retusa Linn., Sp. Pl. 1042, -1753:
As stated in the key given above, this species is typified by the
clusters of flowers on long terminal or axillary paniculate spikes. It
is a rare plant in Bombay; the only specimens in Blatter Herbarium
are the following: W. of Dharwar Sedgwick 2852! Dapoli, Acland
1OO2,, i224
In Blatt. Herb. there are several sheets, some of them of my own
collection, that seem to be intermediate between this and the follow-
ing species; flowers or fruits are in clusters in ‘the leaf-axils, but
at the same time they are also in terminal leafless spikes on one and
the same specimen. Of this intermediate category are the following
numbers: Concan, Campoli, 28336! Salsette Island, Nana 1589 (2) !
1589 (3)! Santapau 975! 976! (see plate I, fig. 1).-
Bridelia squamosa (Lam.) Gehrmann, in Engler, Bot Jahrb. 4t,
Beibl. 95: 30, 1908 sensu lato; Jablonszki 7o.
Cluytia squamosa Lam., Encycl. 5 (2): 54, 1790.
B. retusa Cooke, Fl. Bombay Pres. 2: 572, pro parte, non Spreng.
This is the common and typical 4 sana of Bombay, with flowers
clustered in the axils of leaves, and the leaves being attenuated at
‘UIYas) vsou'pnhs pyapiag °Z “BIA ‘IdG psnjad vYaplag “| “B14
FOme Gemeennnnee cement A,
}
] a1vig ‘008 ‘98SIH ‘3eN Avquog ‘uno
) ‘TTe MA Duviuojjiupy
I] aLyv1d
ea
00g "9SIH ‘JN Avquog ‘'udnor
IDENTITY AND NOMENCLATURE OF SOME BOMBAY PLANTS 309
the apex and glabrous. Jabionszki describes this species thus:
‘Shrubs or small trees about 7 metres high; branchlets somewhat
thick, the younger ones greyish- or rufous-tomentose or puberulous.
Stipules large, ovate or triangular or narrowed, 5-9 min. long; leaf-
blade rigidly coriaceous, 7-14 cms. long, 2-5.5 cms. broad, lanceolate
or ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate at the apex, rounded at the
base, more or less shining above, dull or subglaucous beneath, some-
what hairy to more or less glabrous, densely papillose; nerves 14-20.
Flowers clustered, pubescent or nearly so outside, axillary. Drupe
globose, 8-11 mm. diam. The rest as in B. retusa.’
. For the occurrence of this tree in Bombay, Jablonszki cites the
following sheets: Lanavla, Meebold 4696, 4901; Matheran, Meebold
4902; Castle Rock, Meebold 9820; Khandala Meebold 8946. In
Khandala I have collected this plant on numerous occasions, but my
sheets are not mentioned here, as they are listed in my Flora of
Khandala. Other specimens from Blatter Herbarium are: Castle
Rock, Ahmed Khan 4177! Near Kolhapur, Acland 1092! 1107!
Salsette Island, Santapau 68.75! Purandhar, Kulp 8434! Mahablesh-
war, Santapau! Simhagadh Fort, Santapau! (see plate I, fig. 2).
Bridelia voxburghiana (Muell.-Arg.) Gehrmann, loc. cit. 30;
\ablonszkia 70, *f. 12;* Gamble, “1279
B. vetusa var. roxburghiana Muell.-Arg. in DC., Prodr. 15 (2):
Zope ieee. Mie Brits Ind. -5,.: 7268. |
‘Branches thick, glabrous, the younger ones rutous-puberulous.
Stipules caducous; leaf blade ovate, subcordate at base, rounded at
apex, 5-9 cms. long, 2.5-4.5 cms. broad, strongly coriaceous, pale
yellowish green above, dull and more or less softly rufous-villous
beneath, densely papillose. Clusters axillary; flowers puberulous
outside. Drupe globose, 7-8 mm. diam. The rest as in the preceding
species’ (i.e. in B. squamosa). (Jablonszki loc. cit.). ©
Gamble in his description (p. 1279) adds that the leaves are obtuse
or emarginate at the apex. Cooke does not mention this plant for
Bombay. On the other hand Sedgwick on a herbarium sheet of his
collection remarks that this plant is ‘v. common in forests’ about
Dharwar (see plate II, fig. 3).
Karwar, T. R. Bell 7806! Dharwar Dist., Sedgwick 2348! Devicop, —
Dharwar Dist., Sedgwick 5921! Ratnagiri, on the Ghats, Santapau
68.1 !
Bridelia hamiltoniana Wall., Cat. 7882, 1847 (nomen nudum); Muell.-
Een einnaed 34.777, ts05-00. & im DC. Prodr. 15. (2): 500,
1goO;— Hie 'Brit.. Ind. 5: 271; Gehrmann; 34; Jablonszki 62;
Cocker s202 573.
A shrubby plant with very typical rhomboid or diamond-shaped
leaves. To the localities mentioned by Cooke, add the following:
Trombay, Meebold 16511; Elephanta Island, Acland 1095! Khandala,
Santapau 1343! 4665! Mumbra, Santapau 8153! 12061! 12062!
Mulgaon, Salsette Island, Santapau 68.29! 68.57! Kaneri Caves,
Santapau 7055! (see plate II, fig. 4).
310 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HisT. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
3. Atylosia or Cantharospermum ?
In his Supplement to the Botany of Bihar and Orissa (1950)
Dr. H. Mooney states (p. 52): ‘Cantharospermum scarabacoides
(Linn.) Baill. . . . is the correct name for Alylosia scarahaeoides
Benth. . . .’ and mentions a number of species of the same genus
that have been shifted to Cantharospermum as the only correct name
for that group of plants.
The question of these two names has been very lucidly discussed
by Sprague in Kew Bull. 1927: 134-135, from whom I quote the
following paragraph:
‘The two competing names were published in the same work and
at the same date by Wight and Arnott (Prodr. Fl. Pen. Ind. Or. 25,
257: 1834). Cantharospermum being on p. 255 and Alylosia on p. 257.
Taubert apparently chose Cantharospermum because of this ‘‘priority
of place’. Merrill . . . remarked that ‘‘the generic name Cantivaro-
spermum W. & A. has only page preference over Atylosia W. & A.,
and the latter is by far the more commonly used one. The fact
that Atylosia was not included in the list of nomina conservanda of
the Vienna Botanical Congress is an excellent illustration of the
inconsistency of that list.’’ This appears to have been written under
a misapprehension. ‘‘Priority of place’’ is not recognised in the Inter-
national Rules. Under Art.46, the first author who united Alylosia
and Cantharospermum was at liberty to choose either of the names,
and his choice cannot be modified by subsequent authors. Bentham
. . appears to have been the first to unite the two genera, and he
adopted the name Atylosia. Hence Atylosia is the correct name under
the Rules (unless it can be proved that the two genera were united
“previously by an author who chose Cantharospermum), and it is
therefore unnecessary to place it on the list of nomina conservanda.’
After reading Sprague’s paragraph, during my stay in Kew I
did search for any possible reference to such an author who might
have fused the two names into Cantharospermum previous to Bentham,
but failed to discover such a reference. Even should such an author
be produced, this would be one of those clear cases which weuld call
for the incluson of Atylosia among the nomina conservanda in view
of the many specific epithets that would have to be altered in case
Cantharospermum was adopted in place of the commonly used
Atylosia. For these reasons in my Flora of Khandala I retained the
name Atylosia as the only correct one for the genus.
4, Acacia intsia and Acacia caesia ?
This group, Acacia intsia—Acacia caesia is one that has troubied
ine for a long time. ‘As a result of much field work I have come to
the conclusion that both names refer to one and the same plant at
least as far as my Khandala specimens are concerned; the expressions
used by Cooke and others on the subject have left me deeply puzzled.
Cooke in his Flora, p. 451, writes: ‘This plant (i.e. Acacia caesia)
is often confounded with Acacia intsia Willd., but to anyone who has
seen both plants growing, their separation as distinct species presents
no difficulty.’ Talbot, in For. Fl. 1: 494 adds: ‘Prain . . . separates
IDENTITY AND NOMENCLATURE OF SOME BOMBAY PLANTS © 811
them (i.e. A. Intsia from A. caesia) . . . and maintains the two as
distinct, stating that the crowded leaflets always hairy beneath makes
it very easy to recognise A. caesia even in a herbarium and that no
one dreams of confounding the two when they are seen growing. I
agree with this opinion.’
On the other hand, Baker in FI. Brit. Ind, 2: 297 unites the two
plants under A. intsia, making A. caesia but a variety of the same;
Bentham, in Trans. Linn. Sec. 5.: 30, and)Brand. is in. For. Fl,
189, unite the two species into one.
I have examined a number of specimens of apparently both
species, and have read carefully through Cooke’s and Talbot’s des-
criptions, and cannot find any constant and definite character by which
these two species should be separated. The main points for the
separation are the pubescence of the leaflets and the presence of glands
on the rachises of the pinnae, together with the size of the leaflets.
None of these characters seems to me to be constant; I find glands
on the pinnae (typical of intsia) on leaves which are densely pubescent
both on the rachises and leaflets (typical of caesia); pinnae over 12
in number (typical, according to Cooke, of caesia) together -with
glabrous leaves (typical of intsia); leaflets overlapping (caesic}
together with glabrous leaflets (typical of intsia).
I have seen both plants growing and cannot see the obvious
differences mentioned by Cooke, Talbot and Prain.
Supposing, then, that both names refer to one and the same
plant, the next question is what such a plant should be called. Craib
in Kew Bull. 1915: 408 writes: ‘The writer regards the material
examined by him, all of which has been referred to Acacia caesia and
A. intsia, as composed of at least six species. In the enumeration
and description of new species it will be noted that full synoriymy is
not given, the reason being that the species have been so mixed up
that short of examining the actual specimens included under either or
both species by successive authors, it has been found impossible to
decide which particular plant is referred to.” And again on the same
page: ‘ . the writer feels compelled to abolish the name M. inisia
altogether, at least so far as the Indian flora is cencerned.’
Of the six species mentioned by Craib, only two are found in
Bombay State, judging from the material kept at Kew, Dehra Dun
and elsewhere; the species are A. columnaris Craib and A. torta
Craib, the latter being by far the commoner of the two in Bombay,
and is the plant mentioned above for Khandala.
Acacia columnaris Craib, in Kew Bull. 1915: 410, 1915. Differs
from A. caesia Willd. in the larger number of pinnae and _ leaflets,
and in the columnar glands on the petioles.
Branchlets at first somewhat tomentose, sulcate, then glabrous,
with ashy bark, and thorns about 1-2 mm. long, straight or slightly
curved, somewhat densely arranged. Leaves about 8.5 cms. long
(the common petiole scarcely 3 cms. long excluded); common petioles
at first crisply puberulous, then glabrous, canaliculate above, provided
with a gland 2 mm. high near the base; rachis with 3-4 columnar
312 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. -50
glands in the upper part, with the same type of indumentum as the
petioles, on the lower side armed. with recurved prickles; pinnae 8
pairs, 5-6 cms. long, shortly petiolate; leaflets 10-17 pairs, oblong,
provided with an apiculum which is straight or slightly bent, base
truncate; the leaflets up to a-1 “cm. “lone and 3°55" mim. ibnoad,
chartaceous, finally glabrous, shining above, paler beneath, opaque,
sessile, nerves prominent beneath, clear above. Capitula about 8-9
mm. diam., arranged in a terminal, ferrugineo-tomentose panicle, the
common peduncle about 8 mm. long. Calyx tube sparsely adpressedly
ferrugineo-pubescent outside, 1.25 mm. long, lobes 0.75 mim. long,
deltoid, acute. Corolla 2.5 mm. long, the upper part of the back
slightly ferrugineo-pubescent. Stamens twice as long as the corolla.
Ovary pubescent, stalk of the ovary 1 mm. long, glabrous; style
glabrous. (Craib, loc. cit. p. 410, trans.)
N. Canara, Talbot 622 (Herb. Dehra Dun).
A. torta Craib, in Kew Bull. 1915: 470, 16915.
A. Caesia Wight & Arn., Prodr. 278, 1834, non Willd.
Mimosa torta Roxb... Fl, Ind. 2: 566, 41882.
Bombay Presidency. Gibson, Gethune, Dalzell (Herb. Kew.);
Concan, Stocks (Herb. Kew. and Mus. Brit.); Belgaum, Ritchie 1737
(Herb. Kew & Edinb.), 1737/3 (Herb. Kew.). |
Bibliogs aip hy
Cooke, Th. (1901-1908): The Flora of the Bombay Presidency. London.
Craib, W. G. (1915): Mimosa caesia and M. intsia. Kew Bull. 1915: 407-410.
Gamble, J. S. (1918-1936): The Flora of Madras Presidency. London.
Gehrmann, K. (1908): Vorarbeiten zu einen Monographie der Gattung Bridelia
mit besonderer Berucksichtigung der afrikanischen Arten. Engler, Bot. Jahrb. 41,
Beibl. 95: 1-42, ff. 1-3, plate one. |
Jablonszki, E. (1915): Euphorbiaceae. In Engler, Das Pflanzenreich 65: 1-98.
Santapau, H. (1951): Changes in Plant Names. In fourn. Sci. Industr. Res.
10B (2): 49-50.
Sprague, T. A. (1926): Atylosia or Cantharospermum. In Kew Bull. 1926:
134-135.
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON LITTLE KNOWN
ASSAM RIVERS
BY
Ws OE. D. COOPER
Part II
(Continued from p. 100 of this volume)
1935
Boats went off as before early in November and were lent to two
friends who had a week’s fishing in the Macrup and Upper Barak.
W & I had a very pleasant ride and walk over the hills and a won-
derful view of the plains, when we stopped for lunch at the top.
As the Macrup and the Upper Barak had been fished hard, loaded
up the boats and got away down the Macrup. On the way down
had-quite a battle with a big King Cobra, which, instead of getting
out of the way as snakes usually do, came straight for the boat with
its head well up. When unpleasantly close I dropped my rod and
gave him a charge of shot in the face which knocked him down, but
he came up again with hood out, and was only turned by the second
barrel, when he scrambled to the bank and was finished off with a
bullet. In spite of this stretch of the river having been well fished
I picked up ten fish on my light fly rod. W had gone ahead and
selected a camp site well below the mouth after driving off a large
python he found on the site; he had also landed a 24 lb. mahseer.
November 27th: Left a very pleasant camp and continued down
through new and absolutely wild country, following a herd of elephants
which were rather spoiling the water. W landed a 24 lb. mahseer
and I caught fish on every rod.
November 28th: Reached the mouth of the Irung midday, and
found an excellent camp site on a gentle rapid which soothed one to
sleep, catching odd fish on the way down. The Irung is a fiver
flowing in from Manipur about which I had often heard travellers’
tales. I do not think any European had fished it before beyond the
mouth. Came up to expectations; scenery magnificent on a_ scale
half way between the Macrup and the Barak. My diary for the next
three days reads :—
‘Woke up in our delightful camp, had two leaking boats out for
overhaul. They had already been travelling over stones and rapids’
for a month. Went off up the Irung; W went down the Barak.
Got into long cool gorges with magnificent scenery; not much doing
in the fish line before lunch; was broken by a big one spinning and
landed two smaller ones. Had a splendid afternoon with my little
fly rod between the gorges and camp, landing 7 good fish on a
Yellow Spider. Got back at dusk to find the camp really well fitted
314 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 36
up and W back after a hot and tiring day, with an 18 lb. mahseer.
He had been broken by two monsters in spite of having started with
an extra strong line. He had also lost another just as he was about
to beach it owing to the spoon catch breaking. Plenty of excitement
anyhow.
November 30th: Had a good morning overhauling tackle and
made rather a late start down the Barak to try and find some of the
monsters that broke W the day before. Was quite unsuccessful and
could not move a fish spinning at all. River very wide and difficult
to fish. ‘Also wasted a lot of time hauling my boat up shallow rapids.
W went up the Irung and came back with two good fish caught on
the troll in the gorges, also shot a barking deer. He could not
touch anything on a fly spoon where I did so well the day before.
December 1st: Made an early start 8.15 up the Irung and got
into some delightful country above the gorges at 10.30. River opens
out and I should like to explore further. Saw lots of fish. River
very clear and shallow, only managed to hook 4 spinning. -Weather
colder, nothing would move to a fly in the evening in the water where
I did so well 2 days ago. Got back to camp rather weary at dusk;
W arrived at the same time with his usual fine fish, of 36 Ib. This
time, also a junglefowl and duck. Spent the evening preparing tackle
for the big ones (?), down the Barak to-morrow as we must leave
our pleasant camp and move down to the Hattia Rocks, which we
hope to get through by the 3rd. The Irung is a fine river and worth
exploring higher up where I had not time to fish it properly.’
December 2nd: Down to the Big Gorge and the rocks known as
the Hattias where the river narrows down to a few yards and drops
suddenly, reaching about midday. We started the porterage after
iunch carrying tents and camp equipment for + mile over and under
rocks to a sandy bank where the river was quieter, which took till
dark.
Left the boats and most of the crew except personal servants above
the waterfall which was not nearly so bad as expected. Scenery
wonderful if somewhat awe inspiring with steep cliffs overhanging the
river, from which in the monsoon huge rocks roll down into the river
bed. My diary for the next two days reads :-—
‘An experience getting boats through the Boro Hattias, but no fish-
ing. Boatmen packed the mahl through in the early morning. W
at one end, I at the other. It took 4 hours to get 6 boats through,
which was accomplished without accident barring the loss of the
long rope. Were unable to move camp after a hard day for everyone.
Dropped down to see what the Chota Hattias were like. May have
to make another porterage. My boy Mongrew very sick with bad
fever. Have seen nothing to shoot; weather colder. A. Kooki
appeared in camp, said he had seen a tiger lower down.’
December 4th: Left camp in good time, glad to get out of the
impressive but rather depressing gorge. Water in Chota Hattias
much better than we expected, but like others before us we had_ to
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON ASSAM RIVERS 315
pay the price of visiting this stretch of the river. Brought our boats
without difficulty through some heavy water in which one had to shoot
a narrow opening in a ledge of rock, and left two boats to follow. 1
was fishing down the rocks, W having gone on with his troll out
when I heard yells from behind and returned to meet our tents and
other things floating down the river. The fool of a boatman, having
seen all boats shoot the ridge, had a brainwave and put a rope on
it which swung it across the current. Boat upset. Recovered a
good bit of stuff and wasted two hours, spoiling my fishing. Chief loss,
all our plates, knives and forks, cups, sparklet bulbs, spares for
petrol lamp, some of the ponemen? Ss cooking utensils and a bottle of
whisky. Met W at the mouth of the gorge wondering what had
happened. We must feed straight out of tins with one fork for the
rest of the trip for this unnecessary accident. Came down below
Bagh Chur and brought the boats on to Ledge Camp where I decided
to stay and dry the wet things as it was too late to make Tepi’.
Water looked perfect but fish were not taking and I could only fish
a short time; W had a 2 lb. carp only. The crew had lost most of
their dried fish.’
We spent most of next morning drying out things, camped below
the mouth of the Tepi’ on a very windy spot and made for Minadhur.
My diary records some rather unsuccessful fishing en route which did
not add much to our total of 60 fish weighing 264 Ib.
December 6th: Both had a good night on the somewhat bleak
spot. W left ahead and I followed, behind the camp. Both had a
day of thrills with no luck, partly due to homemade tackle and being
snagged. I did not touch anything in the morning, but W in front,
got into three Tigers, trace broke, hooks broke and the third snagged
him at the top of Kommandhur: he only landed three small ones. 1
hooked a big one after finding W snagged with another in the sub-
merged logs we know so well, but he tore the catch out of a homemade
spoon, which condemns that type of mount. In the jong reach
between Kommandhur and Minadhur I saw a big one chasing smali
fish, put a No. 7 spoon over him which he took at the third cast and
went upstream like a steam engine with plenty of line and everything
free. Unfortunately he ran into a submerged log with branches, and
though I had him on some time another rush broke the line, of which
I lost 20 to 30 yards. Found camp at Minadhur hardly pitched, every-
one very tired. We have given the men rather a roasting; should have
taken another day over it. No bath tonight. Spoons and forixss made
of bamboo very successful. Am feeling ten years younger for the
trip, which, though accidents have been common, has been full of
tense moments. Shot several pigeons for the crew.
1936
As H. E. the Governor was doing a tour in the hills and wanted
to fish the Macrup and Upper Barak he asked for the loan of my boats
and boatmen which were duly despatched through the Hattias in time
to meet him at the Macrup mouth. My eldest son was with me on
316 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
leave from Africa so arranged to take over the boats when H. E. had
done with them and come down through the Hattias with one of his
guests, a keen fisherman and an old friend of mine.
J and I did the journey to the Macrup much as on previous occasions
meeting the Government House party en route who told us they had
done well on the Macrup with their fly lods, landing about 100 fish,
but had nothing over ten pounds. We were met at the Macrup Bridge
by one of my boats and arrived at the Governor’s palatial camp too ft.
above the river where we found B over a camp fire, and had some
difficulty in selecting which of the various bamboo buildings we should
occupy. I did not fish as much as usual this trip as I had two guests
and my head man was laid up with bad malaria most of the time.
When fishing the Macrup, E. E. had fallen into a rapid from which he
was rescued by my boatmen, but lost his rod swept into the pool
below and from which Okhai had retrieved it after swimming and
diving for half an hour on a cold evening. He was duly rewarded
of course, but was of little use to me for the rest of the trip and I
had to spend more time than usual in camp control. My boy J had
not fished for mahseer before so spent most of my time down to the
mouth of the Irung, showing him where and how to fish. The follow-
ing extracts from my diary give an idea of the sort of fishing we had
and how we got through the Hattia rocks and Long Gorge :-—
December 3rd: ‘A good night and a good dinner. H. E.’s second
cook we had taken on; doing us well. B up the Irung, J and I up
the Barak, did not move anything till midday when a 20 to 30 Ib.
fish came right out of the water and took my spoon spinning a run,
went off like a motor car but unfortunately got my line round a snag
and I lost 20 yards of spinning line, a thrill however. I have never
seen a mahseer come right on top of the water like that. Had lunch
in a cool spot, trolled a bit, then tried a fly, also J, who is becoming
expert, soon had 2 mahseer of 4 lb. Fish taking well for an
hour and found B in camp with half a dozen, one of which he had
hooked in the tail. He had also been broken by a good one, Okhai
ill again and we leave for Hattias tomorrow.
December ath: J and I left our pleasant camp ahead, B following
behind the mahl boats, spun and trolled down to Hattias with no
result as in the previous year. Arrived 12.15 just ahead of mall boats
and selected a good camp site just above the big rocks. B turned
up with one small fish only. Fished up after lunch, lovely looking
water but very fast and no use for a fly; one other fish caught.
Climbed down to below the waterfall at 4 p.m. and, to my surprise
met the Manipur State Engineer with another expert and a working
party of Kookis, doing an Electric Scheme Survey. They had a
camp below the Chota Hattias and had marched here in 12 stages,
were expecting boats to take them down river and were practicaily
out of food with absolutely no drink. He promised to send his Kookis
to help us with the porterage, which he did next day, but could not
stop as they had a long trek over rocks to their camp. Okhai better
to-day, came down in our boat; saw lots of game tracks but no game.
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON ASSAM RIVERS 317
December sth: After a good night alongside a roaring torrent
that sounded like the sea, J and I went off with three boats, dumped
the mahl at the top of the waterfall and proceeded to get the boats
through. Found the engineers there again with 20 Kookis which
helped no end with the porterage. With their aid we had all the
boats through by midday, managed to do away with the long rope
business. Let the empty boats go with men standing by with long
bamboos to push them off the rocks; quite successful. Lunched and
came on ahead of the mahl boats as there were one or two places in
the Chota Hattias where we upset a boat the previous year, requiring
care. We were clear of the Hattias by 2 p.m.; no time to fish and
could have gone further but stopped opposite the engineers’ camp and
asked them to dinner just above Tiger Camp. We had got through
the Hattias in one day, a record. The engineers have a big camp
here with Kookis and boatmen sent up to take them back; 60 or 70
souls in a place I never saw a human being in before. We had a
cheery dinner party on our sandbank and put up a plum pudding. As
they had been out of liquor for days a little gin went to the expert’s
head quickly and he kept us cheerful. We gave them a small tent,
some stores and a bottle of grog to see them down the river and they
left early next morning. Okhai better; cook being doctored for a cut
hand.’
The good camping ground at the mouth of the Tepi’ being occu-
pied, dropped down to a rather cold and windy camp below, where
our troubles began. B was stung or bitten by something putting wood
on the camp fire; his hand and arm were badly swollen next day.
J, feeling a bit off colour, went up the Tepi’ with me and had quite a
good afternoon with our fly rods landing ro fish; best 6 Ib. J
collapsed on return to camp so put him to bed with aspirin and hot
toddy ; then his bed collapsed so gave him mine and wrapped him up
well. B and I dined in his tent, the only time I remember dining
anywhere but in front of the camp fire in the open, in all these trips.
We decided to move down to a sunnier camping ground I knew of
lower down, so went on and fixed the camp.
Both my guests rather crocks, but managed to shoot a junglefowl
each for dinner. Put J to bed and left B in camp much better, but
on my return found B’s bearer and the cook dewn with fever so
decided to send a light boat down to W to ask him to send the motor
boat up a day earlier than arranged. My diary of the next two days
reads as follows :—
December goth: ‘J’s throat still bad so he stayed in bed and |
sent off a light boat with 3 boatmen at 7.30 a.m. B’s hand better, so
We went upstream in the morning. I caught a small mahseer and B
landed 3 fish, being broken by two big ones and losing another. I
returned to camp for tea to doctor my patients; missed a wild dog
from a shaky boat on the way down. Visited by lots of Nagas and
distributed tea and chocolate to the children, having exchanged a
blanket for oranges in the morning. Found J pretty comfortable but
throat still bad; no temperature. Okhai and my bearer down below
318 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURA HIST. 2 SOC@EE TYG Vol. 150
the camp heard a tiger kill a pig, but left it alone. Big fish not taking
at all; B pulled his out of the rocks with a fly spoon. |
December toth: J much better, camp very comfortable. A
goosander flew up river after breakfast which I shot. We then went
ahead in one boat, shot pigeons and rolled a gharial over but it just
managed to struggle into the water and got away. Kommandhur
Ir a.m. J trolled down the two runs, the spots where W and I have
caught many good fish; so did I, but nothing took. B came down
later and was broken by a monster in the top run where snags are
bad. I hooked a fish spinning in the bottom run, but he was off im-
mediately. Had lunch in the shade, after which J went up to the
top run and landed a 26 lb. mahseer after breaking his rod. A good
effort which pleased everyone. As a beginner he had the best fish of
the trip. B landed a to lb. fish lower down and two smaller ones. He
has been unlucky in losing all his big fish. Arrived Minadhur 5.30
prem:
Motorboat arrived next morning and took aboard all the invalids,
I with them feeling perfectly fit but developed a bad attack of ague
and fever on the way down so was quite glad to get home. This was
the only time in many years camping in the cold weather that I had
any sickness. This I put down to our night in the Governor’s camp
which was in big tree jungle full of mosquitos, no doubt infected by
the numerous camp followers who had been there. My camps were
always on sandbanks as near the river as possible and free from
mosquitos. On this trip we landed 94 fish weighing 200 lb., having
lost most of the big ones hooked. B, I think, was using too light
hooks for big mahseer.
1937
W and I decided to repeat our very successful trip of 1933 and
fish the Upper Barak and Macrup. Boats went off on November 6,
and were at the bridge in 11 days. We joined them on the 18th, an
improvement in time all round. Found the river very low and the
fishing was not as good as usual. Camped on a very noisy rapid just
above the mouth and W came in with two good mahseer 19 and 20 Ib.
the first evening there. I had several smailer fish and broke my old
Hardy of some 30 years service in a 4 lb. mahseer which I landed
with the top floating in the water. Fixed up an old light bamboo
trolling rod with a fly spoon which worked well, and landed several
fish as they were not taking a fly at all freely. My diary of the 24th
records the following which was typical of the sort of days we had :—
‘Both went down, I first, and had an interesting day. Landed an
18 lb. mahseer on the troll and waited for W at the spot I fixed for
our next years camp. W went on and I fished down to the bottom
of the long reach where I shot the sambar in 1933. Left a pair of
shoes and stockings on a tree and found them a year afterwards indi-
cating a scarcity of human inhabitants. Ran several fish and got
a mixed lot on a fly spoon, one of each, masheer, ‘‘pakhi runga’’, carp,
and gugal. W caught me up at 4 p.m.; he had a 7 Jb. fish only and
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON ASSAM RIVERS 319
had struck some hot dull reaches down below. Have not fired a shot
at anything yet, a record for 3 or 4 days on these rivers.’
Our last camp at the Macrup Bridge with the 5,000 ft. Kalinugger
above us, though we did not realise it at the time, neither did we
imagine, that within five years this bridge and the paths leading to
it would be the route by which some 50,000 refugees would make the
last lap of their escape from Burma to safety. Our catch for the
week was 46 fish weighing 152 Ib. only. We managed to have fresh
fish for dinner every night.
1938
November 27th. I am quoting the log of my last trip in full as
we had reduced the time factor to a minimum and I now knew in
detail every stretch of the 150 miles of river covered in these journeys.
We had hoped to have explored the upper reaches of the Jrung, but
that has to be left to someone else. A friend who joined us in 1928
did it in 1940 and wrote, ‘We got some good fish. B lost a huge
one he had on for hours when his reel broke. The Irung Gorge,
about two days up, is far worse than the Hattias to get through, and
really dangerous. The sun only shines in it about an hour a day
as it is sheer on both sides with terrific cliffs, everything damp and
sinister with very heavy water. Above that one comes out into a
stretch of river where it flows across a plateau and on the banks are
regular stone ramps which the Nagas and Kokis fish from. The
fish were line shy but plentiful; they get line shy from seeing so
many of their friends on night lines.’
I was leaving India for good next year-so W and | decided on a
short trip up the Barak to the happy hunting grounds where we had
both caught our first mahseer; I, some 30 odd years before.
Left home 7 a.m. Joined W at Lakhipur Ghat 7.30 and had an
excellent run in the motor boat to Minadhur with a boat tied along-
side containing the cook and provisions. Had lunch at M. | Boat
Camp completely changed and reached Minadhur where our camp
had been sent. River high but clearing. Found camp pitched and
all well. Okhai had shot 6 junglefowl and some pigeons so, with
a Butchwa we acquired on the way up, we dined well. Saw two gharial
on the way up very close; they did not seem to mind the motor boat,
but I did not fire. Fish jumping at the top of the rapid, so got out
my spinning rod and landed a 12 lb. mahseer with two of 5 lb. before
tea, being broken by another just before dark.
November 28th: Very comfortable camp at Minadhur. Caught
another 7 lb. mahseer spinning before breakfast and were away for
Kommandhur about 9 a.m. both being towed by the motor boat,
which we sent back from the Naga village to tow mahl boats in relays.
Water very dirty at Kommandhur where we expected to catch fish.
The rapids were full of elephants and timber. I went off after lunch
with the mahi boats. Water heavy and did not reach our camping
ground till 4.30, so got down to it and fixed camp. W arrived with
the last two mahl boats at dusk and was surprised to find tents pitched,
320 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 50
fires and lamps going. He had shot several pigeons on the way up.
Water unfishable due to elephants, but we are above them tonight;
no rain and cooler. Camped where J, B and I did in 1937 well on
our way to Tepi’ in two days.
November 29th: In spite of a late camp were very comfortable.
W left ahead and I after the mahl boats. Another long trek and neither
of us could move a fish in the long reaches and shallow, fast rapids.
Found camp pitched on a small stony bank just below the Lal Pahar
(Red Hill) so should be at Tepi’ by midday tomorrow. Boys rather
done up; will be glad of a day or two in permanent camp. W @ shot
a junglefowl; otherwise no sport of any sort, but river much clearer.
No fish for dinner tonight. Left camp 9 a.m. and struggled up very
heavy water to Tepi’ Mukh, the Barak too big and dirty to be
fishable, but the Tepi’ perfect. Went up 3 hr. to the spot I camped
on 30 odd years ago, selected camp site and waited for mahi boats
which arrived 1.30. Ran a fish or two on fly spoon and caught a
small one. We had made the Tepi’ in 2} days paddling, against
7 days on my first trip—thanks to motor boat.
November 30th: Went up the Tepi’ 2 p.m. and had splendid
fishing in the first long reach. Finished up with an 11 lb. mahseer
which gave me good sport. Fish taking a small spoon better than
a fly; water not too clear. W had slogged up the Barak trying for
a big one, but only had two small fish on the troll and had shot a
monitor.
December 1st: Am sitting in front of a roaring camp fire after
a long day in the cold Tepi’ gorges and first rate fishing. W went
from our very comfortable camp to try for a big one again in the
Barak. I was up my old love the Tepi’ to find the waterfall was no
more, and got above where it used to be, and into some good fish
after $ hour spent hauling my boat up, higher than I had ever got
before. Fishing good from 12 o’clock till 4 p.m. with both fly and
spoon. I landed 18 fish mostly on Yellow Spider. Got back late
to find W there with an 18 lb. mahseer; my 18 weighed only 27 Ib.
December 2nd: W went off early up the Tepi’ to see if he could
get a big one trolling in the top gorges and do some casting. He
came back with a small carp and a junglefowl. I went up the Tepi’
a reach or two, but could not move a fish on either fly or fly spoon
so stopped at 12 o’clock, read a book and took it easy till 1.30 in a
shady spot of old memories. Had a good afternoon, was broken by
what must have been an 8 lb. mahseer on my trout rod after having
had it on for 10 minutes, and seeing it several times. Cast went at
top so may have been weak there as I cut off the lower end at lunch.
Put on a new cast and landed two good 4 lb. fish later as well as some
smaller ones. White ants rising about camp but fish would not take
any fly I had which is unusual. We have decided to do one more
day here. Have not opened a tin so far; I had 1o fish for the
afternoon.
December 3rd: Weather and camp _ perfect. W went up
the Barak still hoping for his 30 pounder; I went right
FORTY YEARS OF SPORT ON ASSAM RIVERS 321
Upipither epi again, "did “notifish till «12 o’clock as~- fish’ did
not take till the sun had been on the water. Started with
three good carp at midday in the top gorge. Had lunch and the best
afternoon with the fly rod I have ever had, landing 18 fish, 7 of them
over 4 lb. Was only snagged and broken once, mostly caught on
No. 1 fly spoon as, for some reason, they were taking this better than
the fly. Finished up with a 4 lb. mahseer almost in the dark; pro-
bably my last fish from the Tepi’, where I started my fishing career
in India 35 years ago. A sad thought as I have only pleasant
recollections of this beautiful little hill river, which in spite of orange
groves and cows has never let me down. W came in with pigeons but
no fish. The big river banks where he got his 18 pounder had fallen
in and made the river almost unfishable.
December 4th: With the sun breaking through the mist on the
hills, struck camp on the Tepi’ and said goodbye with a lump in my
throat and the usual chorus from gibbon monkeys bidding farewell.
W went down ahead and I a couple of reaches up to let the camp
get off. No fish taking in the morning; only one small carp. Was
down at the mouth 11.30 passing the camp en route. Started to troll
down with a dead bait, got into something big in the gorge below the
mouth which came down stream and snagged me at once; got off
with the loss of dead bait and tackle. Lunch at Putikhal. Immedia-
tely afterwards another fish snagged me in very dirty water and
deep, so had to cut the line and lost spoon and trace. Barak still
very full and impossible for anything except trolling. Reached
Ainadhur 4.30; W came in just after with two small fish caught on the
troll.
December 5th: Left camp at Aimadhur in front and dropped
down to Kommandhur, usually the best place for big fish in the river.
This year, however, owing to late floods the banks were falling in
and it was dirty and unfishable. Had lunch with W and dropped
down to our first camp at Minadhur where the rapid was clear and
I caught four good fish on the way up. Spotted a fish feeding, crossed
the river with my spinning rod and got him. Saw another real big
one feeding in the middle of the river, so when W arrived signalled
him to come down with his troll out and actually saw the fish, which
Was just opposite me, take the spoon and landed in front of our tents.
It weighed 24 Ib. W also got another, 6 lb. further down the river,
and some pigeons.
December 6th: Kept my last camp fire burning all night. In
all these years have never let one out, and blew my last whistle for
tea at 6.15 a.m. Saw a fish feeding whilst having tea so spun over
him in pyjamas and landed a 4 lb. mahseer. Fish were not feeding
after breakfast so left 10 a.m. and selected W’s Christmas camp site
suitable for ladies, near the old Island Camp which has gone. Had
a good run down in the motor boat with three fish tied in banana leaves
under the roof to keep cool. Everyone inspected the 24 lb. mahseer,
and I took the smaller one home to put in the frig. A pleasant and
successful trip to wind up some of the happiest days of my life in
329 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
beautiful country with good companions, both European and Indian
who I believe enjoyed it as much as we did, with plenty of hard work
pulling up rapids and usually plenty to eat, in the country where no
letters, telegrams or papers could reach one, and where money would
buy nothing, the few hill people we met infinitely preferring tea or
blankets. I salute the boatmen who kept one’s boat exactly the right
distance from which to put a fly or a spoon over a fish. I shall
remember them all over the fire on a winter’s night in England, especi-
ally W and his good wife, who, whatever little I may have taught
him about catching mahseer, taught me how to camp in comfort.
My trips with him were very different from those of earlier days when
I was younger, when we often slept on the ground with a tarpaulin
for covering, lived on turtles eggs and what we could shoot.
On the last trip I landed 63 fish weighing 135 lb.; W, 8 fish
weighing- 63 Ib.. ‘Also, with Okhai’s assistance, shot some
20 jungilefowl.
FISHES FROM THE HIGH RANGE OF TRAVANCORE
BY
E. G. Sizas, B.sc. (Hons.).
From the Laboratories of the Zoological Survey of India.
(Communicated by Dr. S. L. Hora)
(With two text figures)
INTRODUCTION
Travancore has not remained a terra incognita to the fluviatile
ichthyologist. A perusal of the literature shows that, since the publica-
tion of Day’s ‘Fishes of Malabar’ (1865) and ‘Fishes of India’ (1878-
1888), a considerable amount of work has been carried out, especially
during the past two decades. Situated at the extreme south of Penin-
sular India, Travancore has been noted for its richness in the number
and variety of freshwater fishes, so much so that with every fresh col-
lection new records, or species new to science, have been discovered.
The freshwater fish fauna is also noted for its high endemicity. A
marked Malayan element in its fauna, is yet another feature of consider-
able interest.
In recording 76 species as occurring in the freshwaters of Travan-
core, Hora and Law (1941) surmised that further research would bring
to light more species of freshwater fishes from this interesting zoogeo-
graphical region. Since then the addition of nearly a dozen freshwater
species have been reported from Travancore. Some of these are new
to science. Raj (1941), described a new species Barbus (Puntius)
ophicephalus, and a subspecies, B. (Puntius) micropogon periyarensis,
from Kallar, a tributary of the Pambayar river and from the Periyar
Lake respectively. Hora and Nair (1941) redescribed a rare gobioid
fish, Sicyopterus griseus (Day), from Southern Travancore and a new
species of Globe-fish of the monotypic genus Monotretus Bibron, viz.
Tetraodon (Monotretus) travancoricus, from the Pambayar river in
Northern Travancore. Chacko’s list of indigenous fishes of the Periyar
Lake (Chacko, 1948), includes the following species not previously
listed from Travancore: Barilius bendelisis Ham.; Silonopangasius
childreni (Sykes) (=Silundia sykesi Day); and Anguilla bengalensts
(Gray). In 1949, the writer extended the distribution of Barbus (Puntius)
dorsalis (Jerdon), to the fresh waters of Travancore. Recently Menon
(1950) reported the discovery of a remarkable blind Cat-fish, Horaglanis
krishnai from Kottayam. The present collections by the writer (Silas,
1951) from the hill ranges of Travancore show the extended distribu-
tion of two other species, viz. Nemachilus denisonit Day, in the
Peerméd Hills in Northern Travancore and Esomus barbatus (Jerdon),
in Southern Travancore.
This paper is a continuation of a previous contribution by the writer
(Silas, 1951), and deals with the fishes of the High Range of Travan-
8
324 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Val. 50
core. The above list of new records shows that six species have been
reported since 1941 (Hora and Law), as occurring in the hill-streams
and rivers draining the High Range. pa are :—
Barilius bendelisis Ham.
Barbus (Puntius) micropogon periyarensis Raj.
Barbus (Puntius) ophicephalus Raj.
Nemachilus denisonii Day.
Silonopangasius childreni (Sykes).
Anguilla bengalensis (Gray).
To add to these the occurrence of two other remarkable genera
described from here recently, viz. a homalopterid, Travancoria Hora
(1941), and a_ schizothoracin, Lepidopygopsis Raj (1941), show
how rich a fauna this part of Travancore possesses. In May and June
1950, while on a visit to the Peerméd hills, the writer. was able to
make fish collections from certain places from this part of the High
Range, and it is the object of this note to report on the material then
collected.
TOPOGRAPHY
The High Range proper includes some of the highest peaks in the
Western Ghats. In the south, especially towards the Peerméd section,
the land spreads out into considerable width, with the hills rising upto
about 5,000 feet. These ranges are topographically important because,
due to their abrupt rise and closeness to the sea-board, they help in
checking the South-West Monsoon clouds and give heavy rainfall to
the narrow strip of land to their west. These hills also enjoy a
maximum rainfall of about 200 inches. The efficient natural drainage
system draining the western face of the High Range consisting of
innumerable winding perennial streams and rivulets, harbour a very
interesting fauna.
DRAINAGE SYSTEMS
The High Range is drained by streams which ultimately empty
into four main rivers, viz, the Amaravati and the Vaigai on the east,
and the Periyar and the Pambayar on the west. Chinnar, a tributary
of the Amaravati river, takes its origin from the High Range proper
and joins the Amaravati in the plains. The Amaravati in turn be-
comes confluent with the Cauvery further east. The Suruli, a tributary
of the river Vaigai, and the Vaigai itself drains part of the eastern
face of the High Range. The Periyar, which drains a greater part
of the western face of these hills, ultimately empties into the sea near
Cochin. The Pambayar river flows into the Vembanad lake and is
not directly connected to the sea. As a result, it has been possible to
divide the drainage system into four main watersheds. They are the
Cauvery and the Vaigai watersheds on the east, and the Periyar and
the Pambayar on the west. Collections have been made from the
Periyar and the Pambayar watersheds. The nature of the watersheds,
and the localities from where collections have been made, are indicated
in the accompanying map.
FISHES FROM THE HIGH RANGE OF TRAVANCORE 325
Dees CG Ris nt OONee Oris .l.O:. CA LIT DES
To obviate repetition of describing the environment of each species
separately, the following brief description of the places of collection
is given below. The species are arranged under each locality in the
table at the end, and by referring to these descriptions the characteristics
of their respective habitats may be ascertained.
igs L
Map showing the watersheds of the High Range and the localities from where
fish collections have been made. (1) Manimala river, Mundakayam, (2) Vandi-
periyar river close to Arnakal Estate, Peerméd Hills. (3) Stream in Garadygody
Estate, Peerméd Hills. (4) Upper and Lower Pasupara streams, Peerméd Hills.
The black circles indicate localities from where previous collections have been
reported.
(VE amre stream atiMundakayam,. (Manimala
River): Typical large hill-stream at the base of the Peerméd Hills.
At the time of collection, due to the then prevailing drought, the level
of water had gone down considerably and consequently the flow in
the stream was also moderate. The bottom is mostly rocky, strewn
with stones and pebbles in some places, and muddy in others. <A
few large pools with generally sandy bottom are present along the
course of the stream.
MiP NVearnadstpyel riya "Rivet jc hose... to. Arnakal
Hesttat ¢,, Peermed H1ills= Large:riverm Due to-the then pre-
vailing drought, the flow of water in the river was greatly restricted.
In certain places, the water flows over a bed of rocks. The current
was not very fast, except in the region of small falls and cascades. A
few large and deep pools were present along the course of the river.
Aquatic vegetation was found to be practically absent at the time of
collection. But plenty of vegetation was present on either bank.
Mtns tieam: oat Grant dy oo dy" s tate, ~ Peermed
Hills: Small stream, portions of which were overgrown with plenty
of vegetation. Pebbly and shingly bottom intermixed with sand.
326 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 50
Small pools were present along the course of the stream. The current
was generally sluggish, except between pools where rapids are formed.
(Gv) Upper-Pasuparai,.s.t revam, 2 eer me dash ais:
Typ:cal large hill-stream, two miles beyond Pasuparai Estate, formed
TABLE
rs ‘S | a
8 : |
384, Ne | 1
Name of Species SN SS; LN 2 las alba
LS as |
sss 88 |
S vA |
Family CYPRINOIDEA | |
Sut-family Abramidinae | |
Barilius bakeri Day oe 6 4S—OR iN oe Noes) ee | Bie
Barilius gatensis (Cuv. and Val.) cf 14 47-97; — | x | x | x
Sub-family Rasborinae |
Danio aequipinnatus McClell 5a 19 48-96 | x | x | x | x
Rasbora daniconius (Ham.). wiles)! SOS) Pe ean) axa alae x
Sub-family Cy prininae | | | |
Barbus (Puntius) amphibius (Cuv. and | | |
Val.) - 1 Tie eames pesmi a) 1
Barbus (Puntius) curmuca (Ham.)- ais 5 DAH OSE | ce ee eee
Barbus (Puntius) tilamentosus (Cuv. and |
Val.) pee 7. 78-189 | x “ ao
Barbus (Tor) khudree malabaricus |
_ (Jerdon). sel. 22 N65 =2500 al cs cen ee
Barbus (Puntius) melanampyx Day os 40 29S 585 sce eal a
Barbus (Puntius) micropogon fert- |
yarensis Raj ied int | FB Nea: pls tie
Barbus (Puntius) ophicephalus Raj 1 A280 ali eee ee
Garra jerdont Dav. ore 1 TS i le ee
Garra mullya (Sykes) Lets saree 2149 ise oe Ie alex
Family HOMALOPTERI1DAE |
Bhavania austrilis (Jerdon). veel 2. eg 3 aS ie aml elie
Travancoria jonest Hora. < tee Fs OO ee eee ee ee
Family COBITIDAE |
Lepidocephalus thermalis (Cuv. and Val.) 29 51-71 | x x x x
Nemachilus dentsonit Day. : Lae 11 41-64 | —| x
Nemachilus guntheri Day. a, 3 70-76 | — | x | — | —
Nemachilus triangularis Day. we 4 $5289 se eee
Family HETEROPNEUSTIDAE | | | |
Heteropneustes fosstlis (Bloch). a pe 1825) ee ee
Family SILURIDAE | | ies
Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch). Size 76: i Sadle pei ee
Family BAGRIDAE | |
Mystus cavasius (Ham.) uo i 030) et ae
Glyptothorax madraspatanus Day ee 4 {111-66 | —-| x | - | x
Family Cy PEINOPONTIDAE | |
A plocheilus lineatus (Cuv. and Val.) ... 17 36-69) 1 soe Gel aeedipex
Family GOBIIDAE |
Glossogobius giuris Ham. ae 2 TV eaten) ee lone If)
Family OPHICEPHALIDAE .
Ophicephalus gachua Ham. fee 16 69-112 | x | x x | x
Family MASTACEMBELIDAE |
Mastacembelus armatus (Lacép). aie ) 9 (123-304! — | en ES SS
! |
of rapids and pools in succession. The stream flows along a wooded
valley. Conditions are almost similar to those observed in (ii) above.
FISHES FROM THE HIGH RANGE OF TRAVANCORE 327
(v) Lower Pasubp a rai Sits © avin, Pasuparal
Estate, Peerméd Hills: Fairly large sluggish stream with
plenty of outflow over a bottom of sand and stones. In certain places
the bottom is muddy. Plenty of shade is afforded by overhanging
branches of trees on either bank. A certain amount of aquatic vegetation
was present at the time of collection. The stream is fairly deep in cer--
tain places, but no deep pools were present where collection was
made.
In addition to the above mentioned localities, collections were also
made from smaller streams in their vicinities. The following table (p.
326) indicates the species obtained by the writer from the different locali-
ties. The total number of specimens of each species and their standard
lengths are also given. The localities from which the specimens were
obtained are for convenience, numbered as:—/{1) Stream at Munda-
kayam, Manimala River; (2) Vandiperiyar river close to Arnakal
Estate, Peerméd Hills; (3) Stream in Garadygody Estate, Peerméd
Hills and (4) Upper and Lower Pasuparai streams, Peerméd Hills. (See
table on p. 326).
In all 257 specimens pertaining to 27 species of 18 genera, falling
under 11 families were obtained. Except for the species collected at
Mundakayam, which is in the Pambayar Watershed, all other species
are from the Periyar Watershed.
In order to make the faunistic account more complete, species re-
corded by earlier workers and not present in the above list are given
below. In his list of fishes from Travancore, except for Barbus
(Puntius) denisonii Day, Pillay (1929) has not referred to species as
having been taken from any locality in the High Range. John (1936),
has specially mentioned Munnar, Devikulam and the Peerméd Hills
for the species Barbus (Puntius) denisonit Day and Nemachilus triangula-
ris Day. Hora and Law (1941) have recorded the two species Rasbora
rasbora (Ham.) and Mystus malabaricus (Jerdon), not included in the
above list, from Pambadampara in the High Range. Chacko’s
faunistic list of fishes from the Periyar Lake (Chacko, 1948), includes
the following species not in the present collection: Notopterus notop-
terus (Pallas); Chela boopis Day; Barilius bendelisis Ham.; Barous
(Puntius) melanostigma Day; Barbus (Puntius) sarana (Cuv. and Val.) ;
Catla cat!la (Ham.); Lepidopygopsis typus Raj; Nemachilus evizardi
Day; Silonopangasius childreni (Sykes); Mystus vittatus (Bloch) ;
Anguilla australis Rich.; Anguilla bengalensis Gray; Ophicephalus
striatus (Bloch); and Macrognathus aculeata (Bloch).
Thus at present about 44 species are known to occur in the High
Range of Travancore. Short notes on certain species of interest in the
present collection are given below. The loach Nemachilus denisonii is
recorded from Travancore for the first time.
Barbus (Puntius) micropogon periyarensis Raj.
1941 Barbus (Puntius) micropogon perivarensis, Raj, Rec. Ind. Mus.,
XLII, p. 379, fig. 3-4.
I specimen, Vandiperiyar river close to Arnakal Estate, Peerméd
Hills,
328 JOURNAL,- BOMBAY .NATURAL.HIST.° SOCIETY, Vol. 50
I have compared this interesting form with the type in the collection
of the Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum, and find that they
agree in ali essential features. In possessing 44 scales on the lateral
line and 39-21 predorsal scales, this subspecies is sufficiently distinct.
from Barbus (Puntius) micropogon (Cuv. & Val.), which has only 38
to 39 scales along the lateral line and 12 predorsal scales.
Barbus (Puntius) ophicephalus Raj.
1941 Barbus (Puntius) ophicephalus Raj. Rec. Ind. Mus., XLII],
pe e770, fies t1-2.
I specimen. Large stream close to Mundakayam, at the foot of
the’ Peermed Eiilis:
Raj (1941) described this new species from Kallar, a tributary of
the Pambayar river south of the Periyar Lake. Though this species
shows a certain amount of similarity to Barbus (Puntius) lithopidos
Day, it is distinguished from it in characters such as the lesser number
of dorsal rays (3/7 versus 4/9), the greater number of lateral line
scales 43-45 versus 37-39) and predorsal scales (15-17 versus 11-14).
The colouration of the species is also very characteristic. In spirit,
the lower half of the body is lighter than the upper half. A broad
dark band runs along the lateral line from behind the head to middle
of the base of the caudal fin.
Nemachilus guntheri Day.
1941 Nemachilus ginthernr. Hora & Law, Rec. Ind. Mus., XLII,
pis 1250,sbla x hes. 2226,
3 specimens. Stream in Pasuaparai Estate, Peerméd Hills.
Lateral view of Nemachilus giintheri Day (femaie specimens) showing colour
variations.
FISHES FROM THE HIGH ‘RANGE OF TRAVANCORE 329
In their account on the ‘Freshwater Fishes of Travancore’ Hora
and Law (1941), have redefined this species from two specimens obtained
from Pambadampara, High Range, in comparison with specimens from
other places. The colour pattern varies to a certain extent in the
specimens under report. In the fresh specimens, the ground colour
is pinkish, the sides being coarsely reticulated with olive brown mark-
ings. Considerable difference in the nature of the reticulation is seen
in the specimens under report. <A black band is present at the base
of the caudal fin. The caudal has from 4 to 6 V-shaped dark bands
on it. The paired fins and the anal have 2 to 3 lighter bands on them.
The ventral median surface in front of the pelvic bases is light yellow-
ish in colour without any markings. Faint brownish reticulations are
present on the ventral surface behind the pelvic bases.
Nemachilus denisonii Day.
1878, Nemachilus denisonit Day, Fish. India, p. 617, -Pl. CLIII,
His 5:
4 specimens. Wandiperiyar river close to Arnakal Estate, Peerméd
Hills.
7 specimens. Stream two miles beyond Pasuparai Estate, and
from the estate streams. Peerméd Hills.
Eleven specimens, measuring 41 to 64 mm. in length, are referred
to this species. N. denisonii was so far known from the Nilgiri and
Coorg Hills, the rivers at their bases, Mysore and the Deccan. Das
(1939), referred certain specimens from Hazaribagh District in Bihar
to this species. The present record from the Peerméd Hills extends
the distribution of this species from the north in the Nilgiri Hills,
across the Palghat Gap further south. A certain amount of variation
in the colour pattern is discernible in the specimens in relation to their
length. The sides of the body in the smaller specimens have g to 11
vertical dark bands which coalesce dorsally with those of the opposite
side. The ventral median surface is light yellowish without any mark-
ings. The lighter alternating bands on the body are narrower than
the dark bands. In older specimens the vertical dark bands on the
sides in front of the dorsal fin coalesce and become indistinct. ‘The
head is marbled with fine black dots. The dorsal possesses two dark
blotches at its base, corresponding to the dark bands beneath it.. The
dorsal fin is marked with two rows of fine black dots. The caudal
possesses 3 to 4 irregular dark bands. A dark bar is present at the
caudal base. All other fins are pale whitish in colour.
Travancoria jonesi Hora.
1941 Travancoria jonesi Hora, Rec. Ind. Mus., XLII, p. 230,
Pl. viii, figs. 5-6. ;
1 specimen. Stream two miles beyond Pasuparai Estate, Peerméd
Hills.
A single specimen of this remarkable homalopterid fish was obtain-
ed from the large stream close to Pasuparai Estate. This is the
second locality for this species in Travancore. The species was described
330 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
from specimens collected at Pambadampara, 50 miles north and later re-
corded from the Anamalai Hills (Puthutotam Estate, close to Valparai
town).
Bhavania australis (Jerdon).
1941 Bhavania australis Hora, Rec. Ind. Mus., XLIII, p. 225,
Pi vin, fies, 1-3"
I specimen. Stream in Pasuparai Estate, Peerméd Hills.
I specimen. Vandiperiyar river close to Arnakal Estate, Peerméd
Hills.
Hora {op. cit.), has given a complete diagnosis of this species and
discussed its affinities with other Homalopterid genera. B. australis
seems to be fairly common in the southern portions of the Western
Ghats. In the possession of greatly restricted gill-openings, B. australis
is distinguished from the Travancoria Jonesi Hora.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am deeply indebted to Dr. S. L. Hora, Director, Zoological
Survey of India, for the facilities he gave to me to work out the collec-
tion, and for his helpful suggestions and guidance. My thanks are
also due to Mr. M. S. Joseph, Assistant Superintendent, Pasuparai
Estate, who was of great assistance and help to me during my collec-
tion trips.
REFERENCES
Chacko, P. I. (1948): Development of Fisheries of the Periyar Lake. Journ.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 48 (1): 191-192.
Hora, S. L. (1941): Homalopterid Fishes of Peninsular India. Rec. Ind.
Mus., xiii: 221-232. -
Hora, S. L., and Law, N. C. (1941): Freshwater Fishes from Travancore.
Rec. Ind. Mus., xliii: 233-257.
Hora, S. L. and Nair, K. K. (1941): New Records of Freshwater Fishes
from Travancore. Rec. Ind. Mus., xliii: 387-393.
John, C. C. (1936): Freshwater Fishes and Fisheries of Travancore. Journ.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 38: 702-733.
Menon, A. G. K. (1950): On a Remarkable Blind Siluroid Fish of the family
Clariidae from Kerala, (Travancore, South India). Rec. Ind. Mus., x\lvii,
Pillay, R. S. N. (1929): A list of Fishes from Travancore. jJourn. Bombay
Nat. Hist. Soc., 88: 347-379.
Raj, S. B. (1941): On a New genus of Schizothoracine Fishes from Travancore,
South India. Rec. Ind. Mus., xliii: 209-214.
Raj, S. B. (1941): Two New Cyprinid Fishes from Travancore, South India,
with remarks on Barbus (Puntius) micropogon Cuv. and Val. Rec. Ind. Mus.,
xliii : 375-386
Silas, E. G. (1950): On a Collection of Fish from Travancore. Journ. Bombay
Nat. Hist. Soc., 48: 792-797.
Silas, E. G. (1951): On a Collection of Fish from the Anamalai and Neiliam-
pathi Hills, Western Ghats, with a note on its Zoogeographical significance. Journ.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 49 (4): 670-81.
THE BUTTERFLIES OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE
BY
A. E. G. BEST
From June 1948 until the beginning of March 1950 I devoted
practically every weekend to the collecting of butterflies on the island
of Salsette, and covered practically the whole of this area.!
I found the best places were the jungle paths round Tulsi Lake,
the trolley line between Vihar and Tulsi Lakes, the path from Tulsi
Lake to Kanheri Caves, the top of Trombay Hill and the thick jungle
at the bottom on the south-eastern side of Trombay Hill.
The higher hills round Tulsi Lake were all visited, and the walk
from Thana over the hills to Ghodbunder was undertaken more than
once. But these higher hills did not prove of much interest and very
few good butterflies were seen. On the other hand, the top of
Trombay Hill proved a very good collecting ground, particularly for
Charaxes polyxima imna, Charaxes fabius fabius, Evriboea athamas
athamas, Chilasa clytia clytia and Chilasa clytia dissimilis, all of
which were scarce elsewhere.
Other areas visited were the low hills behind the beach between
Malad and Silversands, the path from Borivili to Kanheri Caves,
Powai Lake area and Vihar Lake area.
The list given below is compiled from butterflies actually taken
and definitely identified, and in cases where I was in doubt as to
correct identification, especially in the Lycaenidae and Hesperidae
families, my specimens were identified by the authorities in the museum
at Bombay. The only one in my list not taken is Papilio polymnestor
polymnestor, but there can be no doubt over this as there is no other
possibile identification for such a conspicuous butterfly.
There are at least three other lycaenids in the area, but as I have
not been able to obtain specimens they have not been included in my
list. One of these is, I think, Amblvpodia centaurus.
PAPILIONIDAE
1. Polydorus aristolochiae
Very common at all seasons. Very variable in extent of white
patches on hind wings.
[My experience is that this insect is common in places only. |?
ed ees
1 For a map and topographical details etc. see The Birds of Bombay and
Salsette by Salim Ali and Humayun Abdulali. Jour. B.N.H.S., Vol. 39, pp. 84-87.
2 The notes within square brackets are by Mr. J. I. Alfrey, a keen student of
butterflies with long experience of the Bombay neighbourhood.—Eps.
332 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.” SOCIETY, V olvese
2. Polydorus hector :
Uncommon. A few seen at Malad in July and August, and one
at Trombay in August.
[Fairly common and of course is a great migrant. |
3. Papilio poiytes
Not a common butterfly in this area though I have seen it all over
Salsette, but never more than two or three in a day. One female,
form Stichius, was taken at Tulsi in August and was exceptionaliyv
large—116 mm. This was the only female seen.
[Common in places; this remark covers the 2 female forms also.
These 2 forms have bred on a small lime tree on my terrace garden. |
4. Papilio polymnestor |
One seen on the 6th November near Tulsi. A very difficult
butterfly to catch.
[I record having seen a fine female in the garden of ‘Silver End’,
Strand Road, obviously travelling from across the harbour. |
5, Papilio demoleus demoleus
Very common everywhere.
{Agree. This can be a terrific defoliator; I record one large lime
tree that was entirely stripped of foliage by the larvaé of this insect
at the Cooperage and as new leaf buds appeared, females again
oviposited on them and the tree eventually died. This insect is inter-
esting and I have noted migrations at different places, the last one
being at Jhansi where the insects frequented the Kitson oil lamps
on the railway station at night; also came into the railway carriages
where several were lacerated on coming into contact with the electric
fans. |
6. Chilasa clytia clytia
Very scarce—only four seen—three on top of Trombay Hili in
January and February, and one at Tulsi Lake in March.
7. Chilasa clytia dissimilis
Commoner than clytia clytia, but not plentiful. Taken on
Trombay Hill, Vihar Lake and Tulsi Lake.
8. Graphium agamemnon menides
Common all over the area July to October; scarce in other months.
9, Graphium teredon sarpedon
Very scarce. Only three seen at Tulsi in October-November, and
two at Kanheri.
10. Graphium nomius nomius
Took two good specimens at Tulsi in March; several seen on the
same day. Not seen elsewhere or at any other time.
THE BUTTERFLIES OF BOMBAY; AND SALSETTE 333
[l1. P. helenus |
I have seen them several times at Ghodbunder, but not taken any. |
PIERIDAE
]. Leptosia nina nina
Very common in all wooded areas.
2. Delias eucharis
Very common everywhere.
3. Appias libythea libythea
Only three seen—all males at Malad in July. No female seen.
4. Appias albina .
One male taken at Malad in July; no others seen.
5. Catopsilia crocale
Very common, especially ¢¢. Very variable in size and
markings.
6. Catopsilia pomona ae
Not so common as crocale, but quite plentiful.
7. Catopsilia pomona var. catilla
Not common. One female taken at Powai and others seen at
Tulsi. .
8. Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe
Fairly common everywhere.
9, Terias libythea
Common everywhere.
10. Terias venata venata
Rather scarce. A few taken at Powai Lake in August.
11. Terias laeta
Not so common as libythea, but plentiful.
12. Terias hecabe simulata
Very common.
13. Huphina nerissa phyrrne
Very common everywhere.
14. Ixias pyrene |
Males common everywhere; females scarcer but not rare.
15.. Ixias marianne
Males common everywhere; females scarce.
334. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAE HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 50
16. Hebomoia glaucippe australis
Fairly common—particularly round Tulsi Lake. Females scarcer
than males. Saw one in Marine Drive in February.
17. Colotis amata ainata
A few seen at Malad in July; not seen anywhere else.
18. Colotis etrida
Fairly common in July August and again December to March.
19. Valeria valeria hippia
Males very common but females scarce. Only a few seen in
August and October at Powai and Tulsi.
[2U. ©. calois modesta ?]
DANAIDAE
]. Danais limniace mutina
Very common everywhere.
2. Danais septentrionis
Only three seen and two taken—all at Tulsi Lake in October.
Specimens taken with brown stains on upper hind wing.
3, Danais aglaea aglaea
Not common on Salsette. ‘A few seen on Trombay and one taken
at Powai in August.
[I can most definitely confirm that I have taken this butterfly on
Salsette during the monsoon-——notably at Powai Lake in August and
also at Trombay. |
4. Danais plexippus
Very common everywhere.
5. Danais chrysippus
Very common everywhere. In July at Malad a number of very
small specimens were taken, all measuring between 52 and 56 mm.
6. Euploea core core
Very common.
7. Euploea coreta coreta
Only seen at Tulsi in October.
There was a great swarm of Euploeas at Tulsi Lake in October
1949 on thistles and other fiowers at the eastern edge of the lake. I
caught a few and noticed that one of them had the two bands on
the forewing, and later out of over roo caught I found there were 9
coreta. This was noted by Mr. Alfrey when I showed him my col-
lection, though possibly he may not remember.
THE BUTTERFLIES OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 335
SATYRIDAE
1. Mycalesis perseus
Common everywhere.
2. Mycalesis mineus polydecta
Fairly common.
Lethe nohtria nilgirensis
One taken at Tulsi—the only one seea.
o>)
4. Ypthima baldus
Very common.
5. Ypthima hubneri
Fairiy common.
6. Melanitis leda ismene
Very common.
ERYCINIDAE
Abisara echerius prunosa
Fairly common.
NYMPHALIDAE
1. Charaxes polyena imna
Not common but fairly plentiful on the top of Trombay Hill where
I have seen as many as twelve in one day. Very difficult to catch
and I have only taken two tattered males. Females very scarce.
Also saw one male at Tulsi.
2, Charaxes fabius fabius
Not common. Have taken two on Trombay Hill and one at
Ghodbunder. Not seen elsewhere.
3. Eulipis athamas
Not common. Several taken on Trombay Hill; also seen at
Tulsi.
4. Apatura camiba
One male taken at Tulsi; otherwise have not seen this anywhere.
5. Euthalia lubentine
One seen at Tulsi.
6. Euthalia garuda anagama
Not common, but have seen a few at Tulsi and at Kanheri. One
flew into the house in Bombay at 9 p.m. one night in October.
336 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
7. Euthalia nais forst
Not common but seen at Malad, Tuisi, Powai and Trombay.
8. Limenitis procris
Uncommon. Have seen six in all at Tulsi only: November,
December, March. 7
9, Pantoporia inara |
One seen at Tulsi but not identified positively—December.
10. Neptis columella |
Only two seen and taken, both at Tulsi in November.
ll. Neptis hylas varuna
Very common everywhere.
12. Precis hierta hierta
Very common everywhere.
13. Precis lemonias vaisya
Very common.
14, Precis iphita pluvialis
Very common.
15. Precis almana almana
Not so common as other Precis.
16. Precis orithiya
Scarce. Not more than 12 seen during 9 months’ collecting.
17. Vanessa cardui
Very common, especially at Malad in October.
18. Hy polimnas bolina
Males very scarce; only three seen, two at Tulsi and one in
Bombay City. Females very common.
19. Hypolimnas misippus
Females very scarce; only two taken in the whole period
(November), both at Tulsi Lake. Males plentiful October-December,
but scarce at other times.
20. Kallima philarctus horsfieldii
Very scarce. Took six at bottom of Trombay Hill in August
including. 1 pair in copula and saw another pair in copula. Seen
others at the same place early October, but not since. One also seen
at Tulsi in October and another in March; otherwise none.
21. Atella phalante
Very common everywhere. | bie | :
THE BUTTERFLIES: OF “BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 337
22. Ergolis merione taprobana
One seen at Malad, and one taken at Tulsi.
23. Telchinia violae
| Only four seen: two at Malad, one at Kanheri and one taken at
Trombay in August.
LYCAENIDAE
1. Jamides celeno celeno
Common all the year round.
2. Jamides bochus bochus
Males common in August in wooded country; females rarer. Seen
from August to February.
3. Castalius rosimon rosimon
Common all the year round in wooded country.
4. Castalius deleta decidia
Fairly common. Flies with rosimon, but is scarcer.
5. Zizera trochilus putli
Taken at Powai in August, Tulsi in September. Very common.
6. Zizera lysimon
A number seen at Kanheri in October and one or two at Tulsi;
otherwise not common. |
7. Spindasis vulcanus vulcanus
Not common. Two taken at Malad in july and a few seen at
Tulsi. One seen on Marine Drive.
8. Spindasis lohita lazularia
Only two seen on the same day and one perfect specimen taken
at Tulsi in March. —
9. Rapala schistacea .
One taken at Powai in August, the only one seen.
10. Rapala melampus
One taken at Trombay in October. No others seen.
11. Rapala varuna lazulina
Several seen at Kanheri in October and twe taken. Others seen
at Trombay in November.
12. Catachrysops strabo
Common everywhere.
338 JOURNAL, BOMBAY, NATURAL) HIST.< SOCKET Y, yViol: 50
13. Loxura atymnus atymnus
Rather scarce. I have only seen this at Vihar and Powai Lakes
in August, one pair in copula.
14. Curetis thetis
Females very common at Malad in July and August; also at Vihar
and Powai lakes. Males much scarcer; only two seen at Trombay in
October and another at Tulsi in November.
15, Rathinda amor
Very scarce. Took two at Tulsi in August.
16. Amblypodia alemon
Only one seen and taken on Trombay; no others seen anywhere.
I am fairly certain this is correct. It was identified by Mr. Gilbert
on or about the 12th March last year, and it seems to closely resemble
the description and also a specimen ‘in the Museum.
17. Amblypodia amantes amantes
Saw a fine male at Tulsi in July, the only male seen. Saw
hundreds on top of Trombay on 27th August. All appeared to be
migrating, and were flying about 10 ft. high. Took one female.
The same day I saw four fly across Marine Drive. All were flying
south-east, both at Trombay and Marine Drive. Apart from that
one day this butterfly is very scarce, and I have only taken 4 females,
all at Tulsi, in February.
(18. Horsfieldia anita anita
Only two seen and taken, both at the foot of Trombay in March.
19. Iraota timoleon timoleon
Only seen two at Tulsi in August of which one female was taken.
Another seen in November at the same place.
20. Virachola perse ghala
One taken at Tulsi in February in very tattered condition. The
only one seen.
21. Surendra biplagiata
Only one taken at Vihar Lake in August.
22. Syntarucus plinius
One taken at Kanheri in October.
23, Nacaduba viola
Several taken at Tulsi in November and December.
24. Lycaenopsis puspa
Several taken in Tulsi in August.
THE BUTTERFLIES OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE
Sy)
oy)
day
HESPERIDAE
1. Hasora alexis alexis
Fairly common at Powai in August; also seen at Malad in July.
2. Coladenia indrana indra
Common.
3. Badamia exclamationis
Very common. I observed a large number migrating in a southerly
_ direction on 27 August at Trombay, and again on the 2nd October at
Malad. I counted 130 in a period of 10 minutes at Trombay and 57
in 10 minutes at Malad, and in both cases the migration continued all
the morning. They were flying at a height of about 8 ft., though
some were higher.
4. Caprona ransonetti
Common at Powai in August. Not seen anywhere else.
5. Suestus gremius gremius
Only two seen, both at Powai in July.
6. Udaspes folus a
Common at Powai, Vihar and Trombay at all seasons.
7. Sarangesa desahara
One only at Powai in August.
8, Padrona dara roll
Two taken at Malad in July.
©
Baoris zelleri cinnara
One at Powai in August.
30. Baoris kumara kumara
Two at Trombay in October.
1]. Astycus pythias bambusae
Taken at Trombay and Tulsi in August.
12, Taractocera c, ceramus
Common at Trombay at all seasons. Not seen elsewhere.
13. Calaenorrhinus ambaresa
A few taken at Tulsi tn March.
THE GENUS VULPIA~GMEL, INe INDIA
BY
N. LY Bor
The genus Vulpia was created by Gmelin in Flora Badensis 1, 8
(1806) to accommodate the species hitherto known as Festuca myuros
Linn., on account of the structure of glumes and lemmas and the
character of the single stamen. While there is not complete agree-
ment about the status of Vulpia Gmel. —Hitchcock, for instance,
includes all the American species under Festuca—there seems to be
a considerable body of opinion which is prepared to accept Vulpia
Gmelin as a perfectly good genus. The species form a very clear-cut
group. They are all annuals with strict panicles of secund spikelets,
with very unequal glumes and membranous lemmas and finally there
is only a single stamen present in each floret. It is likely that the
species are cleistogamous.
The species Vulpia myuros (L.) Gmel. (Festuca myuros Linn.)
is well known in India where it is commonly found all along the
Himalaya. Its range extends to Europe and North Russia and it
penetrates to Australia. It is essentially an Old World grass, which
has in the last fifty years been introduced into other parts of the
world. It has established itself in America.
America possesses a round dozen of the species of Vulpia. They
are all annuals with secund spikelets and the single stamen though
it is reported that occasionally there are three stamens present in
each floret.
Among the American species there are two which have recently
come to light in the Indian flora. One of them V. megalura
(Nutt.) Rydb., has been confused in various collections with V.
myuros (L.) Gmel., and is very like it in appearance. It is reported
from Saharanpur and from Ootacamund, the last collection being as
recent as 1947. The other species V. octoflora (Walt.) Rydb., is.
quite distinctive and is not likely to be mistaken for either of the
other two. It is strange therefore that the only gathering is one
by Col. Wingate in the eighteen nineties, and the exact location is
unknown.
V. megalura was first collected in India in Saharanpur by
Col. Wingate in 1891, and it is quite possible that V. octoflora
was collected at the same time. J. F. Duthie, who was in charge
of the botanical garden at Saharanpur about that time, is known to
have introduced a number of exotics in order to test their fodder
value in India. The two grasses under discussion may very well be
two of those tried, and of the two it seems as if V. megalura has
become acclimatised in the colder climates. It is probably much more
common in India than is realised and it should be sought for.
/:
THE GENUS VULPIA GMEL. IN INDIA 34k
KEY TO THE SPECIES
Lower glume 2.5-3 mm. long; lemmas glabrous :—
Lemmas not at all hyaline; spikelets more than
5-flowered .»» V. octoflora.
Lemmas hyaline on the margins; spikelets less than
5-flowered wey Vi MYULOS:
Lower glume at most 1.5 mm. long’;
Lemmas furnished with long hairs on the margins
_V. megalura.
Vulpia octoflora (Walt.) Rydb.
Festuca octoflora Walt., Fl. Carol. 81 (1788).
ie ieneila\Niid: Sp. Pils bar) (1797):
‘An annual grass. Culms 5-40 cm. tall, slender, erect, sometimes
geniculate at the base, smooth and glabrous or more or less retrorsely
puberulent, particularly so below, mostly 3-jointed, striate, glabrous
at the nodes. Leaf-blades narrowly linear, involute or rarely flat,
soft, erect, or ascending, 2-10 cm. long, up to 2 cm. broad, tapering
to a blunt point, smooth and glabrous, or more often retrorsely
puberulent on both surfaces with short soft hairs, minutely scabrid
on the margins; sheaths glabrous or retrorsely pubescent with very
short soft hairs, scarious on the margins, somewhat loose, shorter
than the internodes; ligule 0.5 to 1 mm. long, scarious, rounded at
the top.
Inflorescence a strict panicle, erect, often reduced to a raceme of
spikelets, 3-12 cm. long, often secund; branches often solitary,
1-5 mm. long, erect, 3-angled, scabrid, striate, slightly expanded
below the spikelet. Spikelets ovate or oblong in shape, 5-9 (some-
times 13) mm. long, 5-13-flowered, with florets spreading at maturity.
Lower glume 2.5-3 mm. long, 0.5 mm. wide at the base, 1-nerved,
subulate-lanceolate, almost setaceous, scabrid on the keel; upper
glume 3-3.5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, lanceolate, 3-nerved, acuminate,
scabrid on the keel, glabrous. Lemmas 4-5 mm. long, 1-1.25 mm.
wide, firm, rounded on the back, lanceolate, from glabrous to very
scabrous, obscurely 5-nerved, attenuate into a scabrid awn 0.5 (up
to 7) mm. long; palea lanceolate-acute, as long as the lemma, scabrid
on the keel; joints of the rhachilla clavate, 0.5 mm. long, scabrid;
stamen 1; anther 0.2 mm. long, caught on top of the ovary; styles 2;
stigmas 2, plumose; grain 1.25 mm. long, terete; hilum linear, half
the length of the grain.
iimdHi avwiN.VWo india, Col; Gi. Wingate:
Vulpia myuros (Linn.) Gmel., Flor. Bad. 1, 8 (1805).
Festuca myuros Linn., Sp: Pl: ed: 1, 74 (1753).
An annual grass, tufted. Culms slender, up to'30 cm. tall, smooth,
terete, Acne otlen geniculate at the base, finally erect, leafy almost
to the panicle, glabrous at the nodes. Leaf-blades linear in shape,
flat or folded, up to 15 cm. long, 2-2.5 mm. wide, tapering gradually
to an acuminate point, flaccid to rather firm, puberulous on the upper
342 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
surface, otherwise glabrous, smooth; margins sometimes involute,
smooth; leaf-sheaths rather tight below, rather loose above, clasping
the stem, almost covering the internode, smooth and glabrous, striate,
the lower breaking up into fibres, all carrying leaves but the leaves
of the upper sheaths small, hyaline on the margins, the hyaline por-
tions being carried up into the ligule; ligule a hyaline, glabrous
membrane, 1.5 mm. long. :
Inflorescence a spike-like panicle, erect and stiff or nodding and
flexuous, often very narrow, mostly with secund spikelets, 3-25 cm.
long; base enclosed in the sheath of the topmost leaf; rachis filiform,
acutely triquetrous, sharply scabrid on the angles, pale or somewhat
suffused with purple, glabrous, branched; branches very short, similar
to the rhachis but more slender, carrying one or two spikelets, scabrid,
glabrous, fascicled, binate or solitary. Spikelets 8-12.5 mim. long,
excluding the awns, loosely 3-6-flowered, secund, seated on rather
stout triquetrous pedicels. Lower glume reduced to a minute scale
or subulate, 0.5-1.5 mm. long, nerveless or 1-nerved, smooth and
glabrous. Upper glume 2.5-4 mm. long, acicular, subulate in profile
setaceously acuminate, 1-nerved, hyaline on the margins, smooth and
glabrous; lemmas 4-6 mm. long, linear-acute in shape when flattened,
terete in the spikelet, tapering into a slender straight awn, glabrous
all over and on the callus, definitely and sharply scabrid on the upper _
dorsal surface, 5-nerved, slightly scabrid to almost smooth on the
dorsal surface below; awn 5-25 mm. long, straight or slightly curved,
scabrid; palea shorter, 2-keeled, scabrid on keels; rhachilla joints
relatively long, being of the order 1-1.5 mm. long, scabrid; stamen
1; anther o.4-1 mm. long; caryopsis 3-5 mm. long.
Quite common in the Himalaya from the Balipara Frontier Tract
to Kashmir. Also found in the Nilgiris, Madras.
Vulpia megalura (Nutt.) Rydb. in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, 36,
538 (1909).
Festuca megalura Nutt. in Jour. Acad. Phila. n.s. 1, 188 (1848).
An annual grass. Culms up to 60 cm. tall, slender to somewhat
robust, smooth and glabrous, leafy almost to the panicle, striatulate,
terete, glabrous on the nodes. Leaf-blades linear, long acuminate,
soft to rather stiff, flat or plicate, rolled or involute, up to 20 cm.
long, 1.5-3 mm. wide, puberulous on the upper surface with short,
soft, white hairs, glabrous on the lower surface, scabrid along the
nerves on the upper surface and also on the margins, smooth on the
lower surface; leaf-sheaths tight or loose, the upper somewhat
inflated and containing the inflorescence, markedly striate, smooth
and glabrous with hyaline margins which are continuous with the
ligule, often longer than the internodes; ligule a hyaline membrane,
0.5-1 mm. long.
Inflorescence a strict, narrow panicle, nodding or erect, with short
appressed branches, bearing few spikelets which are secund, 6-25
cm. long, at the most 2 cm. broad; rhachis triangular in cross
section, winged on the angles, scabrid on the wings, pale with greenish
THE GENUS VULPIA GMEL. IN INDIA 343°
wings, glabrous, branched; branches short, angled and scabrid on
the angles, inflated above just below the spikelet, fascicled, binate
or solitary. Spikelets about 15 mm. long, without the awns, 3-6-
flowered, secund. Lower glume 2-2.5 mm. long, subulate, acicuiar,
1-nerved, hyaline on the margins, smooth and glabrous or minutely
scabrid, nerve green. Upper glume 3.5-5.5 mm. long, acicular,
I- -nerved, subulate in outline, setaceously acuminate, smooth and
glabrous, or slightly scabrid on the dorsal surface towards the tip.
Lemma 6.5-7.5 mm. long, narrowly elliptic-acute, 5-nerved, the
central nerve passing out into a scabrid awn 10-20 mm. long or more,
coarsely scabrid on the dorsal surface especially towards the tip,
furnished with white hairs on the upper half of the margins of the
upper lemmas (hairs often missing from the lowest lemma): palea
shorter, 2-keeled, coarsely scabrid on the keels; stamen 1; anther 1
mm. long: mature Caryopsis not seen.
India. Saharanpur, March 1891, Col. G. Wingate; Pudumund,
Ootacamund, 14-9-1930, V. Narayanaswami (no. 4325 Madras
Herbarium); Ootacamund, 7,500’, 31-1-1947, M. B. Raizada, 21139,
‘a common grass’.
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA
RY
M. A. WynTER-BLYTH
Part I
(Vith a text map and two plates)
NARKANDA TO KULU BY THE BASHLEO Pass
My original intention had been to travel as far as Charang beyond
tthe Indian Kailas, return down the Sutlej to Rampur and then to
cross into Kulu over the Bashleo Pass. Circumstances, however, were
against me and I had to cut out the more ambitious part of this
Gushu Pish
peels LA WO
~ ashne
Le hate
CE Rampur rat 30)
oe LX \— Han sbeshon
ey, @ Hoglt Gad "3
2, age Sete fo fut
via Darunghate
Ca
programme and proceed direct from Darunghati to Larji, omitting the
journey into Kunawar.
When I set out from Narkanda early on the morning of April 27th
to cover the short stage to Bagi, spring had hardly touched these
northern slopes of Hatu. The snows had been both heavy and late
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 345
and much was still lying in the forest. Though the rhododendrons
(k. arboreum) were scarlet with blossom there were almost no other
flowers to be seen and the deciduous trees were only just beginning
to burst into leaf. Bird song was noticeably absent and the forest
was very silent.
Bagi bungalow, renowned in days gone by for its good fare, had
fallen on evil times, for it furnished me with two of the worst mezais
I have ever eaten. I was glad to leave it early the next day.
The road to Sungri, running along the southern side of a long
ridge, found spring much more advanced. Pale purple primulas (LP.
denticulata and petiolaris) were in full bloom beneath the forest trees,
whilst violets (V. patrinii and serpens) and gentians (G. argentea)
brightened the grassy roadside. The white drooping racemes of a
species of Prunus (P. padus) and the scarlet of rhododendrons gave
colour to the forest. Beyond Khadrala a dwarf purple iris (I. kumaon-
ensis?) was massed on the hill slopes.
Some three miles from Bagi I caught a glimpse of a small red taii-
tess object scuttling across the road, and down the side of a culvert.
On looking over I saw a pika, or mouse hare (Ochotona roylei),
staring up at me with the greatest interest (for they are the most in-
quisitive of creatures), an interesting find at this low altitude (9,200’)',
as they are dwellers among the rocks of the high mountains above the
tree line. Little is known of their winter habits and whether they
hibernate in their alpine home or migrate to lower regions with the
onset of winter is uncertain. This then was a scrap of evidence in
support of the latter view.
From here until I arrived at Bahli the following day the journey
was uneventful. The dak bungalow at Sungri was occupied by Lady
Parmar, the Medica! Director of Himachal Pradesh, who was under-
taking a most strenuous official tour of the hills, and I had to make
do with accommodation in a somewhat squalid subsidiary bungalow
further down the hill. I was indebted, however, to Lady Parmar for
an excellent dinner.
x x *
The chief object of my trip was to make a brief survey of game in
the higher regions of Himachal Pradesh. Although I had to omit
that part of my programme which would have taken me through the
Great Himalayan Range, this was not a tragedy as it gave me a
longer ‘time in the Upper Kulu Valley which is inhabited by a similar
fauna, only more richly. Eventually I covered a fair part of the
latter area and the line of the Dhaoladhar Range from Darunghati to
*
ah |i
This range is rich in game between the Sutle} and Hansbeshan,
but further north-west, though the species are the same, it is less
abundant. About the Upper Kulu Valley something will be stated
later.
' Here attention should be drawn to the fact that, while a stroil
through a rich jungle in the Peninsula or on the plains or in the foot-
hills of Northern India, is sure to reveal at least some of the larger
* In Kashmir they are commonly found at this elevation in summer.—Ebs.
346 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 50
game, and with luck much may be seen, this is far from the case in
the high hills. In the course of a long walk through forest or a pro-
tracted scramble among the high crags and meadows above the tree
line the sight of any animal whatsoever may be accounted as extremely
fortunate, though game birds may be in plenty. This is partly because
of the great difficulty of the terrain, partly because of the remarkable
wariness of hill animals—why they are so much more timid than
animals on the plains is difficult to understand as this hill country
affords them great protection—and partly because of the thickness
ef the forests, but it is also undoubtedly due to the fact that there
is much Jess big game on the hills than in the lower jungles. Perhaps
the difficulty of survival during the severe winters is the cause of this.
Among small game in that part of the Dhaoladhar visited by me
pheasants are abundant, especially the Kalij (Gennaeus hamiltoni),
known locally as the jungli murgha from its great likeness on tle
ground to the domestic bird. Both Koklas (Ceviornis macrolophus)
and Cheer (Catreus wallichii) are also found, and the monal (Lopho-
phorus impejanus) is common above 9,000! (lower, of course, in the
winter). The Black Patridge (Francolinus francolinus), as always,
is in plenty below 8,000’ where there is cultivation, and Chukor (Alec-
tovis graeca) are met with on the open hillsides, the slopes to the
north of the Nogl Gad below Darunghati in particular being renowned
for them. The Tragopan, or Western Horned Pheasant (Tragopan
melanocephala), a lovely bird, is certainly very rare, if indeed it can
be found at all for I could get no information about it until I arrived
at Manali, where Jija Rana, the king of the pheasants, is not so very
uncommon. Nor could I collect any information about that fine bird,
the Snowcock (Tetraogallus himalayensis), but, as it is to be found
above the Baspa Valley, it may well be present on the high slopes of
tfansbeshan.
Of the larger game the area holds seven species: Black Bear (Selen-
arctos thibetanus) is not rare in the thick forests above 8,000/ though
it descends much lower during the winter; Panther (Panthera pardus)
is scarce but may be found as high as eight or nine thousand feet;
kakkar or barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac), is not uncommon in jungle
te 6,000’; Goral (Nemorhaedus goral) is fairly abundant in steep and
rocky country to 7,500/; Thar (Hemitragus jemlahicus) inhabits for-
bidding crags below the snow line (those towards the upper end of the
Nogli Valley near Taklech harbouring some fine heads); Musk Deer
(Moschus moschiferus), which shares the name kastura with the Hima-
layan Whistling Thrush, is found in small numbers at high elevations,
ranging as far as, and possibly beyond, Narkanda, and the Serow
(Capricornus sumatraensis), locally called emmoo, a scarce animal
throughout the North-west Himalaya, is occasionally met with in the
thick cover of remote nalas above 7,000’. 7
Red Bear (Ursus arctos), Snow Leopard {Uncia uncia), Ibex (Capra
siberica) and Bharal (Sendois nahoor) do not appear to be found on
this side of the Sutlej any nearer than the mountains above the Baspa
Valley, and, to the west, between the Great Himalayan Range and
the Dhaoladhar. Beyond Sarahan, in the Sutlej Gorge, panthers are
common along the trade route, preying on the flocks of sheep and goats
that pass through in spring and autumn. As nian (Ovis ammon
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 347
hodgsoni), the great Tibetan sheep, is mentioned in the Himachal
Pradesh game licence, one assumes that this animal may occasionally be
found on the Tibet border. It is certainly found no nearer.
As for the future of the game of the high hills it is pleasant, in
these days when the game of India is fast vanishing from so many
parts of the sub-continent, to be able to state that it seems to be in
little danger from man. Indeed there is less licensed shooting thar
in years gone by, though this is not of necessity a good thing as such
shooting keeps some sort of check on predatory species. In fact 1
heard it reliably voiced in Manali that the numbers of game there had
decreased for this very reason.
It must not, however, be thought that I had discovered an un-
natural area where poaching is unknown. Far from it! On the
contrary I should say that the incidence of potential poachers is very
high indeed.
One of the advantages of a non-official conducting enquiries of
this nature is that he can hear much that is not for official ears. The
hillmen are not reticent and I certainly found this to be so. Almost
without exception they have an intense interest in sport and a very
sound knowledge of the habits of local game, so who can blame them
for supplementing their meagre food supplies with the occasionai
-pheasant or kakkar in a region where the isolation of the villages and
difficulty of the country make it impossible to enforce the game iaws.
with any measure of success? My rifle and shotgun always aroused
great interest and nearly always a request that we go out shooting
at the earliest possible moment, irrespective of whether I had a licence,
or whether what they wished me to shoot was in season or not. How-
ever, they themselves possess so few guns and so thick is the forest
that what they do shoot (or trap) can really cause little harm to the
general stock. These remarks, of course, refer in the main oniy to
small game. With the big game found at high altitudes the position
is different. Few of these can normally be shot without a rilie, ,a
weapon that the hillman naturally does not possess, and in addition they
are protected by the great difficulties of the country they inhabit. I
am certain that the poaching of these animals is, on the whole, neg-
ligible. Musk deer, nevertheless, the killing of which is entirely
prohibited, are frequently shot for the valuable musk pouch.
An interesting sidelight on the difficulties of shooting game 1 the
high hills was provided at Pulga in the Parbati Valley, an ideal head-
quarters for this kind of sport. A very ancient shikari showed me his.
testimonials dating from the earliest years of the century. He nao
taken out many people, almost all of whom had seen ibex, or bharal,
or red bear or tahr (except one irritated individual who wrote that he
had failed to see ‘any buck’), but how few had shot anything at ali.
* ‘% * *
At Bahli I spent the late afternoon in the company of the bear
guard and the local bania in the exhausting and unsuccessful pursuit
of kakkar. The bania, however, a keen shikari, on our return pro-
mised to get me a pheasant early next morning if I would lend him my
gun. This I did, and he duly turned up with three kalij, one of which I
presented to him for his trouble, threw in a couple of cartridges for
348 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY. Wol h50
Juck and set out through the forest for Taklech. But I had not gone
more than a mile when I was surprised to hear the sound of someone
galfoping after me on a pony. It was the bania. He had forgoiten
to collect three annas for firewood. |
The weather deteriorated soon after my arrival at Taklech. As
it is a pleasant sheltered place at a mere 5,000 ft. I decided to halt
there over the next day to give the storm time to work itself out.
The beat guard at Taklech was an even keener shikari than his
colleague at Bahli, and I allowed him to arrange a goral shoot for
the morrow.
That afternoon did much to persuade me that shooting in the hills
is an overrated sport!
It was already raining when we set out, and as the way at the
start led through fields of standing barley I became soaking wet from
the first. We then proceeded at great speed (it must be realised that
I had not yet got my hill legs) up a remarkably steep and slippery path
that crossed a number of nasty ledges, and awkward places where the
track had been obliterated by landslides. Having climbed several
thousand feet we plunged down a precipitous and treacherous hillside
on which I was in imminent danger of losing my foothold and dis-
appearing down into the Nogli Gad which appeared from this height
to be a mere silver thread, until, at last, we came to rest in a narrow
cleft on the face of a precipice overlooking a great sloping wall of
rock across which the animals were expected to pass, it was confidently
asserted, at any moment. It was still raining heavily, but, ever and
anon, by way of variety, this changed to sleet. It was thundering
loudly and incessantly, and some of the flashes were sufficiently close
to make me seriously alarmed that our gun barrels might serve as
lightning conductors. ‘here was a bitter wind blowing from tne snows
and I grew colder and colder. The beat guard and his assistant, whom
these vagaries of the weather appeared to leave unmoved, chattered
to me cheerfully. They seemed to have a variety of grievances. But
though an hour passed no goral appeared. At last, when I could
no longer prevent streams of icy cold water pouring down my neck, I
conveyed to them in my halting Hindi that I was returning to the
bungalow to avoid frostbite. They chose to take my gun and rifle
and proceed further in pursuit of the animals. te,
Jt was during my return that I hurt a toe of my left foot, an injury
that made walking a painful matter for some days and brought about
the change in my plans. Though I could walk uphill with a certain
measure of comfort, to go downhill was extremely painful, except in
my tennis shoes which eased the discomfort considerably. However,
a further calamity occurred the next morning. All that night rain fell
‘torrentially, with snow down to 8,oo0 ft., but dawn broke brilliantly fine
though bitterly cold, so cold that I told the servant to light ny fire.
As I lay in bed drinking tea I thought I smelt burning rubber. Then
{ was sure of it, and, peering round, I saw that the left foot of. my
tennis shoes which had been placed in front of the fire to dry, was
completely enveloped in flames.
This was serious, but, as the descent to the Nogli Gad is a short
one and the rest of the way to Darunghati is all steeply uphill, I felt’
I could just manage it. So bidding farewell to the fine hill dog which
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 349
aad firmly attached himself to me, I set off. The day remained ccol
and very fine, and in spite of my gloomy prognostications I made
short, though painful, work of the five thousand foot climb.
Notwithstanding the glorious views of the mountains, and Uans-
Neshan in particular, my halt at Darunghati was a miserable one.
Snow was lying round the bungalow, it was unpleasantly cold and all
the wood was so wet that it was impossible to make a satisfactory fire.
I retired early to my ‘sleeping bag’—a bedding roll, a rezai with
tapes attached so that it can be tied round the body, and one or two
blankets make an excellent substitute.
Just before leaving I shot a cock cheer pheasant for my evening
meal and the reverberating echoes revived sad memories, for this was
the triple echo at which Sheba, now, alas! no more, had barked with
such indignation four years ago.
The morning was fine and warm when I hobbled off down the hiil
towards Gaora, and the forest was coming to life. The grating note
of the nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) and the plaintive and un-
ceasing wail of the great Himalayan barbet (Megalaima virens) were
to be heard everywhere. Both are inhabitants of the treetops and
adept at keeping out of sight, the first a dark bird of the crow family
with much white in the tail, and the second a large and handsome
green barbet with a blue-black head. Common sounds too were the
wild song of the kastura (Myiophoneus caeruleus), a frequenter of forest
aalas and streams, whose dark plumage is transmuted to glistening
blue by the magic of the sunlight, and the mellow tri-syliabic note
of the Black-and-Yellow Grosbeak (Perissospiza icteroides), a restless
bird that lives among the middle branches of the conifers and repeatedly
moves from tree to tree. Once too I heard the call of the Indiat: Cuckoo
(Cuculus mucropterus), later on a very common sound, translated in
the books by the extraordinary phrase ‘kyphul pakka’! Lower down,
where the road leaves the forest, much in evidence was the clear loud
whistle of the Streaked Laughing-thrush (Trochalopteron lineatum) and
the explosive ‘Tseeee-tswe’ of the Brown Hill-Warbler (Suya criniger)
as he sat on the topmost twig of some bush, ever and anon flying up
“to perform curious little evolutions in the sheer exuberance of living.
Just before Mashnu I turned down the Gaora link and for the first
time entered country that was new to me. The road skirts the forest
and there were glorious views up the Sutlej Valley of the high mount-
ains freshly covered with snow.
Six miles out I met a young goatherd who made the surprising
request that I employ him as a cook, and at nine miles 1 had my first
quarrel with the Survey of India, the first of many. As a result of
some cartographer’s error I landed up at a rest house two and a half
miles short of Gaora and waited there for a good hour before | learnt
of my mistake. By that time the mules had by-passed me and reached
their rightful destination. The map has compromised over these iwo
bungalows by putting the symbo! R.H. half way between them.
When finally I reached Gaora (not marked on the map) I found the
rest house to be a bleak little building right above the Sutlej. It was,
however, warm, and at last I was able to have a much needed kath.
The road from Gaora to Rampur is easily graded so the nine mile
descent of 4,000 ft. was not too impossible to my poor foot. The spring
390 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol.-59
movement up the valley had begun and I met repeated herds of sheep
and goats carrying their little packs, ponies, donkeys and mules in
the charge of a heterogeny of different peoples and races—Tibetans,
Spiti wallahs, Kunawaris and others, a picturesque collection, especi-
ally the pony dealers from Spiti and Tibet. Several encampments of
these were to be seen by the wayside with their neat, rather flat, stream-
lined tents, each ornamented with a tuft of yaks’ tails, and a standard
bearing fluttering prayer flags placed nearby.
Rampur, situated where the valley narrows between bare and ugly
hillsides, is a squalid collection of tumbled-down houses dominated by
the palace which may perhaps best be described as an elegant building
in the hiil style. The chief market for the trade of the Hindustan-
Tibet road, Kampur is of interest as a meeting place of many races,
and is famed for its pony fair in the autumn.
The rest house, a large and comfortable one, is a mile further down:
the Sutle].
The path between Rampur and Banjar over the Bashleo Fass,.
although seldom used, is an excellent mule track and is kept in good
condition.
Having found out that the pass was open, we left Rampur early
on May 5th, crossed the Sutlej and climbed into the steep valley opposite
to the town. The going was hot and exhausting and we had 4,oo0 ft.
to climb up an unshaded hillside. My young Goan servant, bearing in
mind that before he made this trip he had seen no hills higher than the
Western Ghats nor experienced any cold more intense than the mild
Rajkot winter, had so far stood up to conditions well, but this day
he was in a state of some exhaustion by the time we reached the top.
So far butterflies had been very scarce, which was not surprising
in view of the bad weather, and I had seen no species of any interest
at all, until half way up this hillside at 5,500 ft. I saw the handsome red-
bodied swallowtail, Polydorus philoxenus, known as the Common
Windmill from the appearance of its extended wings, beating up and,
down the bushes with the characteristic slow flight of its genus. Pre-
viously I had known of only one record of this butterfly from the
Simla region—a strange fact, for it is common on the other side of the
Bashleo Pass and also to the east of Himachal Pradesh. Some iocal
disaster, which did not touch the species to the east and the west,
has. perhaps reduced the stock to vanishing point in the Simla
Hills, much as I have suggested elsewhere (Vol. 48. No. 2) may
account for the strange distribution of the Lepcha Bush-brown (Myca-
lesis lepcha) which is found on most of the hills of Madhya Pradesh,
Orissa and Southern India but not in the Nilgiris.
We crossed the hilltop at a little pass close to the village of Sohach,
where the map places the rest house, only to find that it was another
two miles further up the Kurpan Valley at Arsu.. As we were told
there was another bungalow at Nermand in the opposite direction,
the cartographer once again seems to have adopted the expedient of
making one symbol do the work of two by placing it half way between:
them. |
"
BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.
JOURN
Photos
Gushu Pishu (18,610’) (right centre) and Kokshane (18,940’)
(right) from near Darunghati.
Uf
wip
j WH
Yi,
; Author
JOURN.
BoMBAY NAT. HIstT. Soc.
Photos
Himalayan Griffon Vulture.
PLATE I]
a
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 301
Nermand is famous for its mela, at which in days gone by, so I am
told, a rope festival was celebrated. This was a kind of sacrifice to
ensure the fertility of the crops. A rope was secured between a pre-
cipice and the ground at its foot so that it stretched at a steep angle,
and a suitable person, a criminal or one who had seriously offended
against village custom, was chosen to ride down it on a forked piece of
wood the shape of a ‘Y’. The top ends of the Y were placed down-
wards over the rope and weighted to keep them in position, while
the victim clung onto the upright with his hands and to the two arms
of the ‘Y’ with his legs. If friction caused the rope to catch on fire
and he fell to the ground below and: was killed he and his apparel
were torn to pieces and planted in the fields. If, however, he survived,
this usually only happened to his clothes.
Arsu rest house is a little one-roomed shack, and I devoted the after-.
noon to washing my clothes in a neighbouring stream. There was a
good view of the Bashleo Pass from the verandah of the bungalow,
and very forbidding it looked. I began to wonder if it would be
possible to get the mules over it.
However, when I questioned Chenan Singh, my very efficient Sikh
muleteer, before setting off for Sirhan the next day, he had no qualms
and assured me that it would be an easy matter.
Beyond Arsu the road drops two thousand feet, gently at first, then
steeply, down to the Kurpan bridge at four miles. The way led
through scrub and cultivation, typical of the southern hill slopes at
this altitude—standing barley and a young growth of potatoes,
oaks (Quercus incana) badly stripped for firewood, wild apricot trees
(Prunus armenica), roses, Indigofera and bushes of Berberis, Rhamnus,
Spiraea, Cotoneaster and Crataegus. Beside the river-crossing an
alder tree was almost hidden under a mass of the yellow spikes of
Caesalpinia sepiaria, a scandent shrub whose limit according to
Collet’s ‘Flora Simlensis’ is only 4,o00 ft. Nevertheless, as I also
found it two days later beyond Batha flourishing at 6,500 ft. it is obvious
that its normal range is much higher than that.
I had heard much of the beauty of the Kulu women but it disappoint-
ed me to observe that, after leaving Rampur, the nearer I approached
that fortunate valley the more ill-favoured and surly became the in-
habitants. Round Arsu they belonged to a positively Simian type, and
truth compels me to observe that a large proportion of the population
seemed to have a mental development in keeping with their appearance.
Once over the Bashieo Pass, however, there was a sudden and pleasing
change for the better, both in appearance and manners.
Such local peculiarities of physiognomy are a noticeable feature of
the north-west Himalaya. I remember once halting at the village of
Deha in Balsan State where all the men are extremely tall and thin and
have remarkably small heads and a most decided resemblance one to
another, their features being quite unlike those of any others I had
met.in the Simla Hills or, indeed, anywhere else. Again, for example,
the difference in appeararice between the natives of Kulu and Manali,
and those of the neighbouring Parbati Valley is most striking.
Beyond the Kurpan the track climbs steeply from woods of Pinus
longifolia to enter the short valley leading up to the pass. A Golden
Eagle (Aquila chrysaéctos) glided past a few yards below me, giving
302 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
me the closest view I have ever had of this magnificent bird, and
further up, at 7,500 ft., I saw a six-bar Swordtail butterfly (Graphium
eurous cashmiriensis), a sign of the lateness of the season, for this
extremely local Papilio appears with great regularity at this altitude
in the Simla Hills about April 15th. }
After entering the little valley the path climbs gently through
pleasing scenery, mixed forest, cultivation and scrub, to give way to a
steep and unpleasant ascent that winds in and out among the huge
unshaded boulders of the terminal moraine of an ancient glacier that
once flowed down from the head of the valley. ;
There was, however, ample compensation for this tedious climb,
for on reaching the upper end of the moraine a scene of great beauty
suddenly revealed itself. A square half mile of flat green pasture, on
which grazed the tiny hill cattle, lies enclosed on three sides by huge
cliffs and steep forested hillsides to form a cirque, and at the head of the
pasture a stream tumbles down the crags to meander peacefully across
the meadow past a little wooden temple.
When I arrived the chowkidar was absent from the bungalow,
which is disappointingly placed to face away from the cirque, but an
elderly crone who was minding cattle came to my rescue by emitting
a series of eldritch shrieks in the direction of the village, three quarters
of a mile away, which brought the chowkidar hurrying in a very short
time.
The art of shouting from khudside to khudside has been highiy
developed in these parts, among whose simple folk it may almost be
said to take the place of the telephone. I know of no place where it
has been developed to a finer art than at Deha, the village mentioned
a few paragraphs back, for there the inhabitants carry on conversa-
tions with the next village down the narrow funnel-shaped valley, fuliv
two miles away. The replies float up from below, mere whispers of
sound. Curiously enough this form of communication does not seem
to be much in use in Kulu.
On opening one of my food boxes a scorpion was found (I think it
had made the journey from Taklech where we had found another one)
but otherwise the afternoon passed uneventfully and pleasantly among
these delightful surroundings. Nevertheless, the pass looked even
more forbidding from close quarters. It seemed to zig-zag up an
almost vertical precipice.
The weather was gloomy when we set out the next morning,
but, after a shower of rain, it cleared up to become brilliantly fine
once more. Chenan Singh proved to be correct and the ascent of the
pass was easy. Thirty-four cleverly engineered zig-zags take the
road up the precipitous head of the valley. Then, at a gentler angle,
it passes through a conifer belt onto meadow land and finally through
a strip of mountain oak (Quercus semecarpifolia) to the summit.
The Bashleo, though a low pass—it is 10,800 ft.—is almost
all that a pass should be, for it looks impressive from a distance, it
is steep, it passes over a col between two high mountains, it is suff-
ciently high to be interesting, the ascent from Sirhan is net long
enough to be tiring and there is a fine view back from the top,
though the view towards Kulu is disappointing as it looks towards.
the lower hills.
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 393
On the pasture I saw my first Alpine Choughs (Pyrrhocorax gracu-
lus) and a Snow Pigeon (Columba leuconota). Of the latter more will
be said presently for it is a very common bird above 10,000 ft. in Kulu.
The chough is very like a small jungle crow with a short yellow beak,
a character that readily distinguishes it from the other species found
in the hills, though less commonly, the Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhoco-
vax pyrrhocorax), whose bill is longer, curved and coral red. It is a
lively bird that is much given to mild aerobatics and possesses a variety
of calls that are both more shrill and musical than is usual with the
crow family. This bird, too, is abundant at Manali, over 8,o00 ft.
The southern face of the pass was free from snow except for one
or two deep drifts, and primulas (P. denticulata), the first heralds.
of spring, were just beginning to show their heads, but no other flowers
were yet to be seen and the grass was still brown from its winter
sleep. The northern side of the pass, however, was snowbound, and.
the mules had to descend with care. I travelled rapidly, for my feot
had recovered, and was soon at Batha.
Batha is prettily placed in the narrow valley on a small spur above
the poplar-fringed Tirthan River, with forest all around. I spent the
afternoon by the waterside watching the attractive bird lfe of a
Himalayan stream. They are a cheerful lot. There was a trio of
dippers (Cinclus pallasi), one cock and two hens, plunging now and
then into the most swiftly flowing parts of the torrent to emerge yards
away, shake their feathers and bob about on some rock. A pair of
Plumbeous Redstarts (Rhyacornis fuliginosus), the female a grey little
bird with' a broadly white-bordered tail, very different from the deep
slaty-blue, chestnut-tailed male, made brief hawking expeditions after
insects or longer journeys close above the water from one stone [to
another. The male showed great displeasure at another of the species.
which had strayed into his territory, and chased him away in a deter-
mined manner. There was also a pair of Grey Wagtails (Motacilla cine-
rea) about their lawful business by the water’s edge, and the high-pitched
alarm note and prominent pied plumage of a Spotted Forktail (Enicurus
maculatus) compelled attention to this striking bird. Once I saw a
Paradise Flycatcher (Tchitrea paradisi) trailing his silver ribbons
behind him, and a pair of Yellow-billed Blue Magpies (Urocissa flavi-
rostris) made short flights, one following the other, from tree to tree.
This beautiful bird is extremely common in Kulu, where the red-pilled
species (Urocissa erythrorhyncha), the common magpie of Simla, is
not to be found. A noticeable absentee, a bird that is so much a part
of Himalayan streams for most of the year, was the White-capped
Redstart. They had left for their nesting grounds further into the
hills.
Beside the rest house grew an apricot tree singled out for great
attention by the Hill Jezabel butterfly (Delias beiladonna) because it
was infested with Loranthus, the foodplant of the larva. The slow,
leisured flight and striking yellow and. black markings of the undersides
of its wings proclaim that this butterfly is protected by its unpleasant
taste. |
It is a curious, and perhaps significant, fact, and one to which I
have never seen attention drawn, that the majority of butterflies pro-
tected in this way feed in their larval stage on foodplants that are
354 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, \Wol.. 50
either poisonous or belong to a family containing poisonous plants.
For instance, in addition to Delias (the whole of which genus feeds
on Loranthus or Viscum), the danaids of which the entire family is
protected, feed on plants belonging to three genera A pocynaceae,
Asclepiadaceae and Urticaceae, of which the first two families contain
many poisonous plants and the third at least some—for example
hemp—and nettles certainly possess irritant properties.. The large
genus of the protected red-bodied swallowtails (Polydorus) feeds oun
the often poisonous Aristolochiaceae, and Pareba vesta on Buddleia of
the Loganiaceae, the family that contains Strychnos nux-vomica. In
some cases, of course, the foodplants belong, as far as is known, to
families which possess no species with toxic properties (such as Aporia,
the blackveined whites, feeding on species of Berberis), but these are
very much in the minority. Consequently I feel that there are grounds
for suspicion that protection may not always be a mere matter of
unpleasant taste, but that some butterflies may absorb the properties
of the plants they feed upon and be actually poisonous.
Here then, surely, is an interesting avenue of research for the
bio-chemist ?
The bania at Batha was most attentive, and, having sold me egg’s
at a price that was hardly anything above the market rate, presented
me with milk and two doves for my dinner. I wondered what was
afoot, but all he wanted was a certificate from me to say what a fine
fellow he was. This I willingly gave him and everybody was satisfied ;
indeed, he was so pleased that he courteously accompanied me for a
mile upon my way.
The twenty-two miles from Batha to Larji was very easy going,
a pleasant relief from the arduous up and down of my journey since
I had left Bahli. :
The valley for the first few miles below Batha is attractive, and
bird and butterfly life was in abundance, Polydorus philoxenus, in
particular, being common, but after that, as we descended, it progres-
sively became hotter and the scenery more barren and dull.
I remember little of these two stages except that I was thirsty
and warm when J arrived at the comfortable and finely situated bunga-
low at Banjar, and hot and very thirsty when I reached the fly-stricken
civil rest house at Laril.
A three mile walk up the Larji Gorge early on the morning of the
11th took me to Aut on the main Kulu road where I said goodbye to
Chenan Singh and his mules, both of which had given me the best
of service, and boarded a bus for Manali.
(To be continued)
SOME BIRDS SEEN ON THE GANDAK-KOSI WATERSHED
IN MARCH, 1951
BY
DESIREE PRoUD
(With a sketch map and a plate)
Ever since reading’ in the Journal of April 1948 (Vol. 47, pp. 432-443)
Mr. Smythies’s account of his journey along the Gandak-Kosi water-
shed, I have longed to visit the mountains he describes so well.
During our first year in Nepal it was, however, impossible as I could
not leave my 3 children alone in Kathmandu. This winter it seemed
more hopeful, the children being safely established in England at
school and with their grandmother. Incidentally, what words of praise
are sufficient for to-day’s grandmothers, who, in spite of rations,
queues and servantless homes still open their arms to (frequently)
spoilt and temperamental grandchildren from abroad? Unfortunately
the winter of 1950-1951 was full of unexpected political activity. The
tranquil backwater of Nepal became suddenly full of activity and
it was not till March that leave became at all possible. At Easter
we were given 8 days leave, during which I hoped we might reach
the sacred Jakes of Gosainkund and perhaps catch a glimpse ot those
thrilling birds, the great Parrotbill and the Beautiful Rosefinch. Thesé
hopes were all doomed to disappointment, but nevertheless the 8
days were the most delightful I have ever spent. As our trip was at
a different season to that of Mr. Smythies, with conditions as different
as possible, and consequently different birds, the following notes may
be of some interest. We left on March 20. The winter had been
an unusually dry one, with no rain for months, but the weather broke
on the day we left and rain threatened as we walked up the hil past
Sundarijal (5,000 ft.). The steep cultivated land beyond the reservoir
was yellow with flowering Berberis and Hypericum, and wild pear
was still in flower above the village. The forest starts at 6,500 ft.
and a pleasant easy walk along the Sheopuri ridge foliows. A tree
(Symplocos sumantia?) was in flower all along the ridge and very attrac-
tive, the numerous stamens giving a powder puff appearance to the
flowers, some yellow, some white. We had intended to have our first
camp near Pati Bhanjyang, but the ominous storm clouds decided us to
camp as soon as possible. Accordingly we stopped just short of the
crest of the ridge, and a lovely camp site it was. The coolies went
on to a little hamlet just over the ridge. We were in none too soon,
for the rain came down in torrents and continued most of the night.
Next morning we woke to a perfect day: Grey-winged Blackbirds
singing gloriously and the whole forest sparkling in the sunshine,
the dust of months swept away by the rain. A large magnolia (or
Michelia) tree near our camp was covered with huge waxy cream-
coloured flowers. These attracted numbers of birds, chiefly Striated
Green Bulbuls (Alcurus striatus). They are very local round here and
will be extremely common in one place for some weeks and_ then
10
356 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
disappear, not to be seen in that area again perhaps for years. They
have much sweeter notes than any other bulbul I know. The Collared
Ixulus (J. flavicollis) also very common, and of course numbers ot
Red-headed and Green-backed Tits. We left at 9 and the view from
the ridge (8,000 ft.) of the snow mountains was superb. The path
down to Pati Bhanjyang is very steep, and as one scrambles down
one looks straight across at the even steeper climb up the hills
opposite and bitterly regrets the loss of height to be painfuily made
up later in the day. Dark-grey Bushchats and a very pale stonechat
were seen here and not again. The leafless Berberis had very much
the appearance of hawthorn bushes in England. A bush (Edgeworthia
gardneri?) was common and in flower. It has a sweet distinctive
perfume. We call it the ‘buttered-egg’ plant. Pati. Bhanjyang is
5,900 ft. according to our altimeter, though 5,o00 ft. on the map.
The little town is dirty but very picturesque in a squalid way, and
is obviously a dearly loved halt for the coolies. As four tracks meet
here there is probably a cheap market. We foolishly went on without
seeing the coolies safely beyond its fleshpots and they were very late
in catching us up. Red-rumped Swallows and Himalayan Swiftlets
were hawking back and forth across the pass. Tfrom the town the
path at first traverses an attractive hill-side cultivated in terraces;
the barley here was fine and well grown. Indian corn had just been
planted and the first green spears were showing above ground. Wiid
cherry, plum and pear grew in the gullies and the yellow flowers of
Hypericum everywhere. I heard the Hill Warbler (Suwya), but did
not see one. The Streaked Laughing-thrush is also often heard here.
Soon the path starts to climb steeply, up and up through scrub,
mostly Gaultheria, now in bloom with stiff sprays of waxy white
flowers. Ageratum is a weed all over this hill. At 7,000 ft. we
reached a ridge where a large and very dirty Tamang village sprawls
for over a quarter mile along a very narrow ridge. This was the
only place where kites were seen. The forest (oak) which had covered
this ridge had been recently killed. The oaks, barked, lopped and dead
stand like stiff black skeletons, and the ground beneath them has
been made up into fresh fields with their leaves and branches buried
in them. No doubt very rich for one or two crops, but so steep is
the land that I doubt if it will hold for two monsoons and then the old
fields which must have been protected by the trees will surely be
swept down the precipitous slopes, and the ridge will be abandoned to
thin scrub and ageratum.
At the end of the village the track again climbs steeply through
piles of stones and boulders. At the top we came to another ridge,
but this time covered with oak and rhododendron forest. Here we
found the first Buddhist chorten and sat down for a rest and a chat
with some Sherpas down from the high hills. They told us the
snow was thigh deep at Thare Pati and no hope at all of reaching
the sacred lakes. As there was no sign of the coolies, we decided we
had better cdmp here and we found a lovely grassy meadow at
the highest point of this ridge (8,000 ft.). Bushes of Edgeworthia.
and Pieris formosa in flower all round the camp and we had a superb
view of snow mountains all along the east—Jugal Himal and on and
on as far as Gauri Shankar. Much more exciting to us were the
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
oh CHiyy Mya Suit z Ss
XR; Vimy gi’ [FS |
AY $y Mow §,837, = us bs = \y
- ‘ “ ay - = Sy
LZ ggitionn Stn, Me 6999 a 2 |
wt! 'C} re) A > Uy Q_ gp “ND &% VATU a\ (i Niny, = Tiys ey = N
SS Z OS SoukuNne ines = N
| \ INR Uy may pier “pg ey ls =r
| os HOOF (ute liunnciy, VE ly a = 2 \
\ Y WN JE\ @ = as
N \\ : aw a A Sv ean Pak GYANG _&
\. Ly =e = =
E ry, os 904 ,\\" THARE PATI | eTARKE S a X
ie = tay S
Hail 5,904 = 12,060 Ss xz
Ss 6 Se ae GYANG &
| RS \\v =:s8 = 2
Boyt =12 = S
BY ff)' ¥ = X s S
sw" tSumme Z S
YS : B %&
9% ; SPH eANG %, N
Sunt Z2\ 3 PON 2S
KHOLA sl = joaoor 2 &§
TAD! go S jeoteuauyane) 2
ee a SS ‘s JYANG, = =|
, ~ SNE It fp 2 8
AWAD WSuqaya ers = 2
“ = §
| Ly » MAMCHE DANDA o83il Fe = NN |
| t4,, tpg gy ppp nM HIUSIEHRUR ff Wy, i = Z \) |
i KHOLA % te Wn nace Nt A
| —— _ ie ANUYANG \ ,
| <—_ “—“" Z 12 5,900 =
iM —- CO, " =
if nN = 2 '™", &
i ay '3943 wi mie Rey i
| ee Vo * “2 000 It hey
| t LOM “as
f a! ) ap ggP TTR as = — Yo é
| at 2 ee Fay! 2 BE 34
\ Z
) \D O SUNDARUAL 4) ZY N
| We a “/) by %
\y \\ iS Y, %G,
| Wa . “ny
| iW - Py
Ly yah ot NEPAL.” . V/ALLEY ty, Wy
dt at Ba | Z%G
i o be Z %
| il -° , & 4%
i Me is Z %
c 2 2 z
| ’ ZZ
Se =u Ene
KATMANDU @ Ze
ROUGH SKETCH OF KOSI-GANDAK WATERSHED
Scale: linch = 4 miles
SOME BIRDS SEEN ON THE GANDAK-KOSI WATERSHED ook
snows of the Gosainkund Lekh to the north. We were able to dry
our tents etc. in the sun when the coolies finally arrived. We went
to bed as soon as the sun sank, and fell asleep to the ‘jug jugging’
of the Jungle Nightjar.
We awoke next day to mist and cloud. <A very green pipit was
singing away from the top of an oak; it would sing while perched,
but often soared a short distance into the air and then volplaned
down singing all the time—Anthus hodgsoni I presume, but certainly
not the race which winters in enormous numbers in the Nepal valley.
Large flocks of what at first I thought were finches or buntings were
ranging round the hill-sides. We saw these flocks, varying I should
judge from about 50 to goo birds, all the way from this camp up to
12,000 ft. My husband finally shot one which proved to be Laiscopus
nimalayanus, the Altai Hedge-sparrow. A_ pair of Chestnut-
bellied Rock-thrushes were calling to each other with curious deep
croaks—the male sat on top of a tree fanning his tail with each croak.
Black Bulbuls were abundant but they were not seen beyond this
point. Here the Verditer Flycatchers had already arrived, although
I had not yet seen one down in the valley. They were paired and
singing beautifully. They were not seen above 9,ovo0 ft. Everywhere
the whirring song of Phylloscopus pulcher was heard. The song is
exactly like that of the English wood-warbler which always sounds
to me like a watch spring being wound up and then allowed to run
down. This whirring sound was heard all day in every patch of
scrub or forest right up to 11,500 ft. I have also heard a gentle
little warble which I believe is uttered by this bird, although I am
not quite sure. If so, it would be an interesting parallel with the
wood-warbler which also has a second song.
We left camp at 9 o’clock and descended a thousand feet through
open scrub jungle where scattered rhododendrons blazed rosy and
crimson, and the young bronze leaves of Viburnum and Pieris ovalifolia
were opening everywhere—the latter a very beautiful tree with its
curious spiral bark. There were also fields with well grown barley
and wheat crops. We passed a little village on a pass known as
Gol Bhanjyang, 7,100 ft., (here the map and our altimeter were for
once in agreement) surrounded with hedges of Edgworthia, its curious
perfume filling the air. This was the last of the Tamang villages.
From here onwards Sherpas took their place with chamries (half yak)
instead of the little hill cattle. Sherpa villages were noticeably cleaner
than the Tamang ones. From Gol Bhanjyang tlie path goes up
a villainous steep hill, but the ccuntry was very beautiful and ringing
with bird song. We reached the top (8,400 ft.) and turning a corner,
entered an enchanted world—a rhododendron forest in full bloom. i
have seen many feasts of flowers—narcissus in the Alps, anemones
in Kashmir, bluebell woods in England, Strobilanthes in the Nilgiris—
but never anything so wonderful as this. Some of the trees must
have been over 4o ft. high and covered from top to bottom with
flowers of every shade from crimson through rosy to palest powder-
puff pink and, loveliest of all, pure white, so that some trees appeared
as) it wreathed in snow. The whole forest echoed with bird song—
Nepal Sunbirds, Hoary Barwings Red-headed Bulfinches, Stripe
throated Sivas, Stripe-throated and Collared Yuhinas, Red-headed and
398 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Green-backed I.s, Himalayan Nuthatches and tree creepers. The
exquisite jewel-like sunbirds flashing in and out of the flowers were
a wonderful si“t. I saw a male White-browed Rosefinch the only
high level ros« inch seen on the whole trip. Clumps of Mahonia, not
in flower grew in the forest and there was also a curious pink prickly
creeper in bloom. We lingered enchanted, and I was quite ready to
remain here for the entire 8 days, but my husband who hates a pro-
gramme to be upset, insisted on going on. Unwillingly I left this
paradise and descended to the last Bhanjyang known locally as
Chamrie Bhanjyang (8,000 ft.). Here we passed the coolies eating
their midday lunch which seemed to consist entirely of spring onions.
From here we climbed through tragically lopped oaks, many dead
standing like black scare-crows. (How long can a tree stand this
continual lopping?) At about 8,800 ft. we emerged from the lopped
forest on io a steep hill-side splashed with flowering rhododendrons,
and at this height there were no more crimson flowers, all were pale
pink or white. <A thick forest of unlopped oak covered the hill above
us. A local Sherpa said there was no water above this place for
some miles so we decided to camp. It was difficult to find a flat
enough place to pitch our camp, but we finally succeeded though our
beds were tilted to a somewhat uncomfortable angle. When the
sun set it was bitterly cold here at g,ooo ft. and we were glad of
our down sleeping bags.
We woke next morning to a perfect day. Grey-winged blackbirds
singing divinely; green pipits |Hodgson’s| here also singing away.
We heard the cheery notes of the Yellow-billed Magpies; though
similar in pattern to the Red-billed, they are much sweeter and quite
distinctive. We watched a flock of them following each other across
the hill-side. A buzzard flew down into a tall tree and sat contempla-
ting the world. Green-backed tits were common, but not seen above
this camp, and there were no more Red-headed tits, their place being
taken by the white headed Aégithaliscus ioschistos, so-named Rufous-
fronted Tit, which were common here and up to 11,500 ft. Siva sirigula
common here, but not seen any higher. I heard a woodpecker drumm-
ing away and presently found it working at a nest hole about 20 ft.
from the ground. I was very surprised to find it was Dryobates
macei which I have always looked upon as a low level bird in Nepal.
A Lammergeier sailed superbly overhead and a very pale kestrel poised
on quivering wings in front of the camp. We left at 9 and climbed
straight up the hill through a dense forest of oak (Quercus semecarpi-
folia). For the first time one could see what magnificent trees they
are when allowed to grow naturally without lopping. A few tree
rhododendrons, mostly white, glowed through the dark forest. At
10,000 ft. we came out of the oaks and above this there were no
more tree rhododendrons. We walked up an open grass lane about
20 yards cut through a dense forest of Rhododendron falconeri the
flowers all shades of very pale pink and cream spotted inside with
purple. Their flowering season must be a very short one, as on many
trees half the flowers had faded whilst others were still in bud. They
are therefore much less beautiful than R. arboreum, although the
dark drooping leaves with the thick rusty fluff underneath are very
attractive. The grass was covered with tiny blue gentians and a
Journ. BompBay Nat. Hist. Soc, PLATE I
Path running down to Pati Bhanjyang
showing terraced cultivation.
Repenrne
Photos
Sherpa hut at 11,000 feet.
a
SOME BIRDS SEEN ON THE GANDAK-KOSI WATERSHED 359
yellow hawkbit with stems so short that they appeared like golden
Stars on the grass. ‘At 10,500 ft. we reached the top of the climb
and the path wound round the side of the hill and then along a ridge.
R. falconeri was everywhere, but at this height in bud only ; there were
also thickets of R. barbatum with warm pink bark and long drooping
leaves of a very clear pale green both above and below. They were
all in flower even up to 11,500 ft., the dark red flowers rather dis-
appointing. The north slopes of the hills here were deep in snow and
the effect of the warm pink stems against the coldness of blue-white
snow shadows was startling and very beautiful indeed. Another
rhododendron, R. campanulatum, was common, but its tight buds
showed no signs of opening and I could not tell what colour they were
likely to be. Silver firs began to appear, and junipers. The ground
in damp places and the mossy banks were covered with a beautiful
primula, like a primrose in size and habit but pink or pale mauve in
colour (P. peticlaris?) Berberis grew in all the open places and
seemed to be of 2 kinds: one a bush, hawthorn-like in appearance
quite leafless, the withered crumpled red berries still hanging on the
bare usually white stems; the other grew only 18 inches high. The
stems were red and the bright red leaves were still adhering to the
branches. It covered large patches and in the distance gave a warm
glow to the otherwise rather cold grey landscape. I do not know if
they are different species or merely varieties of B. vulgaris. Both
plants have the usual 3 pronged spines. We heard the nutcracker
here and saw a number of crested tits, and these I am sure were
Lophophanes melanolophus, although I discovered on my return that
these are not supposed to be found east of Garhwal. The row of white
spots on the wing coverts was most distinct, and the bird was
iron grey below with no touch of rufous. The nape patch appeared
pure white. I am certain it was not L. ater, a bird I have seen in
the high hills round the Nepal valley, but not met with on this trip.
The path wound along the ridge rising gently and dipping through
exquisite valleys where deserted Sherpa huts stood on grassy margs
and little streams bubbled through mossy banks starred with primulas.
The ridge grew narrower and above 11,000 ft. there were no more
flowers. Juniper scrub gave a rather sad grey-green look to the
landscape. Soon the snow became so thick that it seemed cruel to
take the barefooted coolies any further, so we left them to pitch
camp near a little chorten where there were empty huts for them,
and we went on ourselves to Tharepati. The ridge here ise guns
believably narrow, the top being only about 15 ft. wide with great
precipices each side running down to the Malemchi Khola on the east
and to the Tadi Khola on the west. Across the Malemchi Khola we
could see a tiny path running sheer up the opposite mountain side.
This presumably was the path Mr. Smythies took on his way to the
Ganja La. The snow was quite unbroken by any human feet, but
covered with tracks of mousehares, gooral or thar and the curious
splayed footprints of musk deer. Tracks of monal were everwhere
and we kept running into little parties of these magnificent birds,
usually a cock and 2 or 3 hens. They were astonishingly tame.
The top: of the ridge is just over 12,000 ft. (it runs gently down and
widens out at Tharepati), In the bright sunshine the white world
360 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCT EE YAG ci 350
was infinitely beautiful, the great white-splashed cliffs of the Gosain-
kund Lekh so thrillingly near to us now. But alas for es sacred
lakes, the path was deep in snow and obviously impossible. I should
imagine late May or June would be the time to do it before the
leeches appear to spoil the pleasure. Returned to our camp, melted
snow for drinking, and so to bed.
We woke next day to a grey sky. Choughs were calling and 1
watched a pair of Black-faced Laughing-thrushes creeping through the
juniper scrub. Jungle Crows were all round the camp which evidently
intrigued them as at least a dozen were collected full of curiosity.
Every now and then they would all fly up suddenly and wheel back-
wards and forewards across the ridge, using the air currents and
obviously enjoying their skill and complete mastery of the air. They
_have a deep bell-like note almost like a.raven. While we had break-
fast it began to snow, tiny white flakes blotting out the landscape.
We had hoped to spend two days here, but no birdwatching could be
done in this weather and as there was no hope at all of reaching the
lakes we decided to move down to one of the more open margs. As
I was packing, my husband shouted ‘Hurry up here are flocks of your
parrotbills’, I rushed out and the junipers were full of birds—alas not
parrotbills, but White-winged Grosbeaks. We found them very com-
mon up to 12,000 ft. in the junipers. They have a very distinctive
double whistle, rather harsh but pleasing. During the morning we
moved down to an open marg where there were four huts for shelter
if needed, as our tent was certainly not snowproof. This was really
our loveliest camp at a height of 11,000 ft. and we remained here
three nights. The surrounding rhododendron and juniper forest
swarmed with birds. Fulvettas were very common, also crested tits
of three kinds, Yuhinas of three kinds, Variegated Laughing-thrushes
and Nepal Wrens. Some migrants had already arrived. Blue-fronted
Redstarts were common, already paired. I saw a female carrying
nesting matérial into the crevices between logs forming the wall of
a Sherpa hut. Although already nestbuilding at this height, these
birds were still common in the Nepal Valley on our return, and
remained so until first week of April. Red-flanked Bush-robins were
also common here and these had certainly vanished from the Valley
some time before. I saw an Orange-gorgetted Flycatcher uttering
a curious note, never heard in the Valley so presumably a breeding
call. Buntings were common, but I failed to! identify them. They
had a little rattling song which reminded me of the song of E. stewarti.
The Chestnut-naped Yuhina also had a delightful little song, uttered
in the evenings from the top of a bush. The turf hére was as springy
and kind to the feet as the turf of a Scottish moor. Apart from
the primulas there were no flowers yet, but the: promise of them
everywhere in tiny rosettes of leaves. ep MEE ates: plants dike
tiny houseleeks not half an inch across.
The silver firs have been terribly thinned by cutting and paeainer
and what is so sad to see is the terrible waste of timber. Magnificent
trees were lying with the wood rotting, only about a quarter of the tree
having been used. However, the silver firs seem to be regenerating
naturally, for although almost no full grown trees were seen, there were
whole forests of young trees growing well and'fooking very healthy.
*
SOME BIRDS SEEN ON THE GANDAK-KOSI WATERSHED 361
It is a much less happy case with the oaks at between 8,o00 and 10,000
{t. for they will surely be destroyed altogether if nothing is done to con-
trol their lopping for fodder. I have only been used to the Alpine forests
of the Western Himalayas and find the dense thickets of bamboo
(now leafless), the moss and lichen festooning all the trees a curious
background for fir and juniper and falling snow. We noticed that
there is never any moss or lichen on the pink stems of R. barbatum.
Is this because of the continuously peeling bark? The weather gol
steadily worse and on the last night we had to abandon our tent and
take refuge in a Sherpa hut. The coolies tell us that the Sherpas
bring their animals up here in June and stay till October. We had
meant to spend the last day collecting birds, especially buntings, but
the weather was too bad. It was with great reluctance that we left
this wonderful Alpine world. We did the return journey in two days
spending one night at the site of our second camp. We saw large
swarms of migrating phylloscopi where there had been none except P.
pulcher on the upward march. Many P. affinis, the only ones I could
recognise for certain. On the ridge above Pati Bhanjyvang we saw
large flocks of Common Rosefinches and Himalayan Greenfinches,
neither of which we had seen on the upward trip. I was much
struck by the cheerfulness of the coolies who were always merry and
full of jokes, even when conditions were very cold, which with their
thin clothes and lack of shoes must have been most unpleasant for
them. It was with the greatest regret that we returned to the Valley
on March 27, and the dullness of everyday life. We are most grate-
ful to H. H. the Maharajah for making our trip possible. Since
writing the above, Mile Ella Maillart has done the above journey,
and reached the sacred lakes on May 8. She said the snow was
still very deep north of the pass, although quite clear on the south
side. She thinks it unlikely that the journey could be done before
the end of April. She said that a mauve rhododendron (I. cam-
panulatum ?). was in flower at 11,500 ft. and above, but that otherwise
there were still very few flowers.
List or BiRDS SEEN ON THE GANDAK-Kost WATERSHED
Corvus macrorhynchos : Jungle Crow.
Common on ridge at 11,000-12,000 ft.
Urocissa flavirostris : Yellow-billed Blue Magpie. —
Seen below thick oak forest at 9,000 ft.
Nutcrackers and choughs were héard above 10,000 ft. but not seen.
Lophophanes melanolophus ?: Crested Black Tit.
“Very common indeed in the juniper and rhododendron forest
10,000-12,000 ft. I had a very good close view and there was no
rufous on the breast or abdomen. I see that Stuart Baker says it
is not found east of Garhwal and would be interested to know if this
is so. - It has a thin ‘zee zee’ note, also a double note ‘chee wee’
very: bell-like and ringing. I saw one pair carrying nesting material.
362 JOURNAL, BOMBAY (NATURAL AIST? SOCIETY, iV oly OG
Lophophanes rubidiventris: Rufous-bellied Crested Tit.
‘Also very common in the same area as last species. Note a cheerful
‘chee-er chee-er chee-er’, also single call note.. Like Mr. Smythies
I noticed a grey patch between the rufous on the breast.
Lophophanes dichrous: Brown Crested Tit.
Seen in the same area as the above, but much the scarcest of the
three. Very like a yuhina in appearance. I did not hear it utter any
note.
Aegithaliscus ioschistos: Rufous-fronted Tit.
Common in small parties from 9,000 ft. up to 12,000 ft.
Sitta himalayensis: White-tailed Nuthatch.
Common along ridge up to 9,500 ft.
Garrulax albogularis : White-throated Laughing-thrush.
A large party seen on the ridge near Chamrie Bhanjyang at
8,400 ft. |
Trochalopteron affine: Black-faced Laughing-thrush.
A pair, very silent, creeping about in the juniper scrub near our
camp at 11,500 ft.
Trochalopteron variegatum: Variegated Laughing-thrus'.
The common laughing-thrush at 11,ooo ft. They were always
in small parties, uttering low conversational notes all the time.
Trochalopteron lineatum ;: Streaked Laughing-thrush.
Heard round Pati Bhanjyang and on the ridge at 8,000 ft.
Fulvetta vinipecta: Hodgson’s Fulvetta.
Very common round the camp at 11,000 ft. and down to 9,500 ft.,
usually in large mixed flocks with tits and yuhinas. Has a high
pitched chirping note and also a sweet gentle little song.
Ixops nipalensis : The Hoary Bar-wing.
Common in the rhododendron forest 8,000-9,000 ft., one bird seen
at 11,000 ft. Some of its notes are very like those of the Streaked
Laughing-thrush.
Yuhina gularis : Stripe-throated Yuhina.
Common in large flocks all the way from Sheopuri 8,ooo0 ft. up
to 11,000 ft., usually in mixed flocks never away from the forest.
Has a very curious and characteristic call, a long drawn out ‘kweeeee’
very far-carrying.
Yuhina occipitalis ; Chestnut-naped Yuhina,
Very common round our camp at 11,000 ft. In the evening they.
would utter a gay little song while swinging on the top of a bush.
SOME BIRDS SEEN ON THE GANDAK-KOSI WATERSHED 363
They have also a deep churring note with which the flock keeps in
touch when feeding.
Ixulus flavicollis ; Yellow-collared Ixulus.
Common from 8,000-9,000 ft., a few seen up to 10,000 ft. Has
loud double chirp, also querulous ‘screech screech’ followed by
pleasant warble.
Leioptila capistrata: Black-headed Sibia.
Abundant 8,000-9,000 ft., but not higher.
Siva strigula : Stripe-throated Siva.
Very common all along the ridge at about 8,000 ft., not seen above
9,000 ft.
Liothrix lutea : Red-billed Liothrix.
A few seen on ridge at 8,oo00 ft.
Certhia familiaris: Nepal Tree-creeper.
Common from 8,ooo ft. up to 11,500 ft., constantly uttering a
cheerful little trill.
Troglodytes troglodytes: The Wren.
Common from to,ooo ft. up to 11,500 ft. We were constantly
disturbing them out of fallen tree trunks, piles of boulders, etc. They
would fly off uttering a little scolding note, then bob and scold on
some vantage point before dashing again into cover. No song heard.
Phoenicurus frontalis: Blue-fronted Redstart.
Common all the way up to 17,000 ft. At latter height they were
paired, and 1 pair was nestbuilding.
White-capped Redstarts and Plumbeous Redstarts were not seen.
The former were still common at Sundarijal at 5,000 ft. and evidently
had not begun their upward migration.
Ianthia cyanura : Red-flanked Bush-Robin.
Common in pairs up to 11,500 ft. in rhododendron forest. Both
sexes utter a deep ‘tok’ note. No song heard.
Turdus boulboul: Grey-winged Blackbird.
Common up to 9,000 ft. in forest. Very beautiful song in the
early mornings. ,
Oreocincla dauma: Mountain Thrush.
One seen at 8,500 ft. March 26.
Monticola erythrogastra: Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush.
A pair at 8,o0o0 ft. in oak forest. Not seen again.
364 .. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST? SOCIBIY; Volr_o0
Myiophoneus temminckii : Himalayan Whistling-thrush.
On all streams up to 11,500 ft. No song heard above 8,000 ft.,
but below that height in full song.
Laiscopus himalayanus: Altai Hedge-Sparrow.
Seen in very large flocks all the way from 8,o00-11,500 ft. They
have very sweet notes when on the wing. Until my husband shet
one I had imagined they were finches or buntings. Some of the
flocks must have contained quite 4oo birds. 3
Siphia strophiata ; Orange-gorgetted Flycatcher.
One seen at 11,400 ft., a male. It was uttering a triple note ‘Tin-
ti-ti’. The first syllable metallic and far-carrying the two others soit
and only audible a few yards so that at a distance it sounds like a
single ringing note; I have never heard this in the winter so suppose
it is a breeding call. F
Eumiyas thalassina:; Verditer Flycatcher.
Common in pairs up to 8,500 ft. and singing beautifully.
Phylloscopus pulcher : Orange-barred Willow Warbler.
Very common from 8,ooo ft. up to 11,500 ft. The whirring song
heard all day in every patch of forest. They are abundant on the
hill-tops round the Nepal Valley until mid-April when none are lett
even. at 9,000 ft.
Phylloscopus affinis : Tickell’s Willow Warbler.
Numbers seen on passage at 8,000-9,000 ft. March 25-26. None
seen before this date.
Large numbers of unidentified Phylloscopi were seen on migration.
P. proregulus, so common during the winter all over the Valley, was
not seen anywhere.
Seicercus xanthoschistos : Grey-heided Flycatcher- Warbler.
Abundant up to 8,500 ft.
Perissospiza carneipes : White-winged Grosbeak.
Very common in the juniper forest 10, 500-12,000 ft., always in
large flocks and very noisy.
Pyrrhula erythrocephalus: Red-headed Bullfinch.
~ Several seen at 8,000-9,o00 ft. in flowering rhododendrons.
Propasser thura: White-browed Rosefinch.
A single male seen in rhododendron forest at 8,400 ft.
Carpodacus erythrinus: Common Rosefinch.
A large flock met with on the return journey on the ridge north
of Pati Bhanjyang at 8,000 ft.
SOME BIRDS SEEN ON THE GANDAK-KOSI WATERSHED 369
Hypacanthis spinoides: Himalayan Greenfinch.
A flock seen above Pati Bhanjyang at 7,000 ft. on return journey.
Anthus hodgsoni: Tree-pipit. -
A very green tree-pipit singing and paired seen at 8,000-9,000 ft.
I should think it was on its breeding ground. It was very much
greener than the bird which winters in very large numbers in the
Nepal Valley. The latter are very late in leaving the Valley being
the last migrants to disappear. This year they were common in the
Valley itself tintil 12 April and on the surrounding hills at 7,000. ft.
upwards for 1o days after leaving the valley. Does this very green
bird breeding at 8,000-9,o00 ft. perhaps remain in its breeding haunts
all winter?
Aethopyga nipalensis: Nepal Sunbird.
Common in rhododendron forest 8,000-9,000 ft.
Cynnyris asiatica: Purple Sunbird. |
I saw a male in full breeding plumage at Pati Bhanjyang 5,900
ft. They are never seen in the Nepal Valley until July when the
males are either in eclipse dress or moult soon after arrival. I was
therefore interested to see this one at some 500 ft. above the jevel of
the Valley and probably breeding. Pati Bhanjyang though higher
than the Valley is the watershed for two streams the Likhu: Khola
and the Sindhu Khola which both run down within a few miles to
2,000 ft. To reach the Nepal Valley the birds would have to cross
hills of 6,000 ft. or more, and this I suppose deters them from breed-
ing in the Valley where I should have thought conditions were most
suitable.
Collocalia brevirostris: Himalayan Swiftlet.
Several seen hawking across Pati Bhanjyang and Gol Bhanjyang.
Dryobates macei: Fulvous-breasted Pied Woodpecker.
I was very surprised to see this bird at 9,000 ft. as I had always
thought of it as not found above 7,000 ft.
On our return journey a cuckoo was heard calling at 8,ooo0 ft.
with a note rather like the Common Hawk-cuckoo, but not so loud or
piercing. We were unable to see the bird —Small Hawk-cuckoo?
I also heard a call of 5 to 8 notes whistled, but on a level not in
ascending or descending scale.- I have heard this in many parts of
the Himalayas, but have never been able to discover the bird. In
Nepal it is heard from end of March to May and at no other time. It
is very vetriloquistic and sometimes sounds quite close, and a few
minutes later very far away. Can any reader enlighten me as to
the identity of this bird? I feel it must be a cuckoo of some sort.
Caprimulgus indicus: Indian Jungle Nightjar.
- Heard at 8,000-9,000 ft.
366 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.“SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Gypaétus barbatus: Lammergeier.-
Seen once only at 9,000 ft.
Glaucidium brodiei: The Collared Pigmy Owlet.
Heard on Sheopuri and on the hills beyond Pati Bhanjyang at
8,000 ft. .
A deep hooting ‘tu whoo’ was heard at 11,000 ft., but we did not
get a glimpse of the bird. [Strix aluco?—Ens. |
A Buzzard (sp?) was seen at 9,000 ft.
Falco tinnunculus: Kestrel.
A very pale kestrel was seen at 9,000 ft.
Circus macrourus: Pale Harrier.
A male seen quartering the hill-side above Pati Bhanjyang 6,000 It.
Lophophorus impejanus : Monal Pheasant.
Very common from 11,000 ft. up to 12,000 ft, Little parties of
a cock and 2 or 3 hens seen everywhere in the rhododendron scrub
in the snow. Less common below the snow line. They were very
tame and would allow a very close approach before flying away with
wild ringing cries. They were fond of percbing on rocks on the
edge of the precipices, caliing and then planing down the cliff face
to a perch far below.
NOTES ON FISHES OF THE GENUS GLYPTOTHORAX BLYTH
FROM PENINSULAR INDIA, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A
NEW SPECIES
BY
E. G, SILAS, M.A.
(From the Laboratories of the Zoological Survey of India).
(Communicated by Dr. S. L. Hora)
In determining the systematic position of Bagrus lonah Sykes
and other glyptosternoid iishes from Deccan, Hora (1938) recognised
five species of Glyptothorax as occurring in Peninsular India. In
addition to the three previously known species, viz., G. madraspatanus
(Day), G. lonah (Sykes) and G. annandalei Hora, he figured and
described a new species, G. trawavasae from the Kistna watershed
and a subspecies, G. conirostre var. poonaensis from the waterways
near Poona. After studying the type of Ginther’s G. dekkanensis
in comparison with G. lonah (Sykes), he found that both were con-
specific and stated:
‘The differences in proportions of the various parts noted by
Ginther, seem to fall within the range of individual variation,
especially as the two types are of very different sizes and are also
in different states of preservation.’
Hence G. dekkanensis Giinther was treated as a synonym of G.
lonah (Sykes). Speaking of G. annandalei, Hora observed:
‘I am of the opinion that G. annandalei Hora, with a much
longer and narrower caudal peduncle, probably represents a torrential
race of G. lonah (Sykes), but in the present state of our knowledge
it may be retained for the time being at least as a separate species.’
After examining a number of specimens of G. lonah and G.
annandalei, in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Indian
Museum, I think, that it is best to consider these two forms as two
distinct species. Moreover, G. annandalei can be easily distinguished
from G. lonah by its more slender caudal peduncle and its colouration.
Herre in 1941 described a new species of Glyptothorax, viz. G.
housei, from the Anamalai Hills in South India, and distinguished
his species from G. conirostre var. poonaensis Hora (which form it
resembles in its smooth skin) by the following remarks :
‘Glyptothorax housei is separated from the above species
(meaning G. conirostre poonaensis Hora), by the longer barbels,
especially the maxillary and nasal ones; the size and lesser height of
the dorsal and its greater distance from the adipose fin; the size and
position of the anal; the shorter head; and the greater development
of adhesive organs.’ |
In a recent contribution (Silas, 1951), remarks were made on two
specimens of Glyptothorax from the Anamalai Hills in South India.
The specimens were provisionally assigned to G. madraspatanus
(Day), but it was also noted that, ‘They differ considerably from
G. madraspatanus found in Travancore Hills. ... It is possible that
368 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOGIE IY) =a oy
they indicate an incipient stage in the formation of.a new species.’
Recently, however, after examining the South Indian representatives
of the genus, I am of the opinion, that the specimens described as
G. prox. madraspatanus and which differ considerably from G.
madraspatanus (Day), warrant a distinct specific status and as such
are christened here as G. anamalaiensis, sp. nov.
Thus at present seven species of Giyptothorax can be recognised
from Peninsular India, viz. G. lonah (Sykes), G. annandalei Hora,
G. conirostre var. poonaensis Hora, G. trawavasae Hora, G. madras-
tatanus (Day), G. housei Herre, and G. anamalaiensis, sp. nov.
Synoptic key for the identification of the above species is give below.
To facilitate reference in future, the diagnostic characters of G. house
Herre and G. anamalaiensis, sp. nov., are given in detail.
KEY TO THE SPECIES OF THE GENUS GLYPTOTHORAX BLYTH FROM _.-
PENINSULAR INDIA
I. Skin on head and body smooth.
A. Nasal barbel extends beyond eye;
maxillary barbels extend for some
distance beyond upper angle of gill
opening; dorsal origin much closer
to tip of snout than to commence-
ment of adipose fin; least depth
of caudal peduncle contained 24 .
times in its length. oe | GG. howse: Frere
B. Nasal barbel falls much short of
anterior margin of eyes; maxillary
barbels barely reach upper angle
of gill opening; dorsal origin al-
most midway between tip of snout
and origin of adipose fin; least
depth of caudal peduncle contained
2 times in its length. sous, .G, CONIMOSEVE, wate:
poonaensis Hora’
II. Skin on head and body minutely or coar-
sely tuberculated.
A. Pectoral spine almost as long as
head, or somewhat longer; dorsal
spine strong and serrated near
apex on both edges. G. madraspatanus
(Day)?
B. Pectoral spine not as long as_ head,
generally much_ shorter; dorsal
spine moderately developed and
smooth throughout. ven
* For a complete diagnosis of this species reference may be made to: Hora,
S. L., Rec. Ind. Mus., XL, p. 368 (1938).
2 Day, F... Fishes of India. ‘p. 498 (1877).
FISHES OF THE GENUS GLYPTOTHORAX BLYTH 369
1. Maxillary barbels extending beyond com-
mencement of pectorals.
(a) Skin minutely tuberculated; colour
pattern arranged longitudinally.
i. Caudal peduncle about 14 times
as long as deep. A light streak
along lateral line. Fins with
darker bases and lighter margins. G. lonah (Sykes)’.
ii. Caudal peducle 24 to 24 times as
lone; “as. deep:) ~ /Bhree? light
streaks along body, one dorsally
and two laterally. Fins with
lighter margins. 201 Ge annandale: Hora.
(b) Skin coarsely granulated; colour
pattern arranged transversely.
(Body greyish with two broad
white transverse bands; one below
dorsal, a second beneath adipose
and a third narrow white band at
base of caudal fin. A broad trans-
verse white band present at
bifurcation of caudal. All fins
tipped with white). sues. -anamalarensis,
. sp. nov.
2. Maxillary barbels barely reach base of
pectoral fin. ... G, trawavasae
Hora’.
Glyptothorax housei Herre.
1941, Glyptothorax housei Herre, Stanford Ichth. Bull., II, (4), pp. 177-178,
feel:
To facilitate reference in future, a synopsis of the species based
on Herre’s description is given below.
DiS Ae 2) TOs. Lior
Head 3.9 to 4.1 and depth of body 6.2 to 6.4 in standard length.
Skin on head and~body smooth. Head longer than broad; eyes
situated in middle of head. Maxillary barbels reach beyond com-
mencement of pectorals. Nasal barbels extend to middle or beyond
eye. Labial groove widely interrupted. Thoracic adhesive apparatus
well developed and longer than head. Pectoral spine strongly
serrated internally, and possessing a few serrations on the outer side.
Pelvics extend beyond anus, but are separated from anal fin by a
considerable distance. Least depth of the caudal peduncle is about
1d times in its length. Caudal fin deeply forked; its lower lobe the
larger. In life the colour is reddish, pinkish or flesh colour with
yellow or dusky mottling above, and flesh colour below. In spirit the
iehlogas S. lea kec. ind, Mas, Nice pi 3/1 (1938):
auilora, s. 1: Wees Ind, Musi.) XXV, p. 14° (1923).
peitond,: 34 le, Mec: wind, Mus: XE ap. 373) (1958).
370 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 50
general colour is blackish, with darker fin bases and lighter margins.
Under surface of body paler.
Habitat.—Puthutotam Estate, Anamalai Hills, South India.
Glyptothorax anamalaiensis, sp. nov.
1951, Glyptothorax prox. madraspatanus, Silas, Journ, Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.,
XLIX, (4) pp. 676-677, Pl. I. figs. 1-3.
1/0 Sot. 270/13 abe ie Nope aa,
Head contained 4 times and depth of body 64 times in standard
length. Skin on head and body coarsely. tuberculated. Nasal
barbels do not extend as far as eye. Maxillary barbels extend
beyond commencement of pectorals. Thoracic adhesive apparatus is
feebly developed and is about as long as broad. Least height of
caudal peduncle is contained about 24 to 3 times in its length. Origin
of .rayed dorsal closer to commencement of adipose fin, than to
tip of snout. Pectorals shorter,than head and separated from pelvics
by a considerable distance. Pelvics overlap anus, but fall much short
of anal fin. Pectoral spine pectinated internally. Caudal fin deeply
forked. The characteristic colouration of the species has been given
in the key on page 369.
Holotype.—wNo. IF. 629/2 and Co-type No. TF. 630/2, Pre-
served in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India.
Habitat.—Streams at the base of the Anamalai Hills, South
India.
Remarks.—lIn its coarsely tuberculated skin G. anamalaiensis
differs from .G. housei and G. conirostre var. poonaensis. The
smooth dorsal spine, the less extensive paired fins and the general
colour pattern easily distinguishes the new specie from G. madras-
patanus. From G. lonah and G. annandalei it can be easily separated
by the general form of the body, the coarsely tuberculated skin and
the colour pattern. The length of the -maxillary barbels which is
a diagnostic character, differentiates G. trawavasae and G. anama-
laiensis. |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am deeply indebted to Dr. S. L. Hora, Director, Zoological
Survey of India, for his helpful suggestions and guidance in the
preparation of this note.
RERERENCES
Day, F. (1877): The Fishes of India. p. 496. (London).
Herre, A. W. C. T. (1941): Glyptothorar housei, a new_ sisorid Catfish from
South India, Stanford Ichth. Bull., II, (4), p. 117%.
Hora S. L. (1923): On the composite genus Glyptosternum McClelland.
Rec. Ind. Mus., Xxy, p. 14.
— — — (1938): Notes on Fishes in the Indian Museum. xxxvili. On the
systematic position of Bagrus lonah Sykes with descriptions and remarks on
other Glyptosternoid fishes from Deccan. Rec. Ind. Mus., xl, p. 363-375.
Silas, E. G. (1951): On a collection of fish from the Anamalai and Nelliani-
pathy Hill ranges, Western Ghats, with notes on their BORE Oeap es significance.
Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 49: 670-681.
Sykes, W. H. (1841): On he Fishes. of Dukhun. Trans. Zool. Soc. London.
II, p. 371.
THE PROTECTION OF WORLD RESOURCES:
WILD LIFE AND THE SOIL
BY
Lt.-Cot. R. W. Burton, 1.4. (Retd.)
‘Muny are the paths along which man proceeds to destruction,
though his main object is his own survival.’ (1).
In the article on the formation and purposes of the International
Union for the Protection of Nature (2) there is given this definition :—
‘The ‘‘Protection of Nature’’ may be defined as the preservation
of the entire world’s biotic community, or man’s natural environment,
which includes the earth’s renewable natural resources of which it is
composed, and on which rests the toundation of human civilization.’
Members who have studied the definition and the article will have
realized that the Protection of World Resources is of vital moment
to all nations and should have the active interest of all mankind; for
it has to be increasingly realized that unless there is universal vision
in regard to this subject, the people will surely perish through gradual
impoverishment of the world’s resources, a process which is much aided
in India and other eastern countries by the uncontrolled increase of
human populations.
Tue LAKE SUCCESS CONFERENCE
Three of the meetings of the International Technical Conference
held at Lake Success 22-29 August 194g under the auspices of UNESCO
were devoted to problems of educating children and adults. In the
volume of Proceedings and Papers (583 pages bound in grey—the
‘Grey Book’) is published a number of valuable contributions on the
educational aspect of the question. Also on soil protection—ecological
research—use and abuse of insecticides—exotic species (both fauna
and flora)—vanishing game herds—vanishing wild lfe—and_ other
matters.
In his introduction to the ‘Grey Book’ the Secretary-General makes
this basic observation :—
‘Unless a population is aware of its moral obligation and the
material advantages that are to be had by respecting the living com-
munities which form its environment and from which all sustenance
is derived, no laws, however severe, can save these natural communt-
ties from disintegration and even destruction when some kind of
economic profit is at stake.’
That, for instance, is the reason why some of the States governments
have had to take over the management of private forests; and why
it has to be recognized that the holding of lands is, in a sense, a trust
for posterity. No individual or corporation, no matter what the title
may be, can be permitted either through ignorance or wilfully to use
the land in such a way as to render it liable to erosion.
ll
372 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
THE PEOPLE MUST BE INSTRUCTED
It is obvious that in a country educationally backward, as is India,
the responsibility for instructing the people in all that affects ihe
protection of world resources—the soil and minerals, the forests, waters
and wild life—and the ‘family planning’—lies with the government.
It can be also correctly asserted that the leaders of the people, the
educated classes, editors of newspapers and journalists, priests and
clerzymen of all denominations, missionaries and teachers in Sunday
schools, teachers in universities, colleges and schools have all of them
a responsibility and a part to play in this essential matter.
A necessary arrangement towards this end is that there shouid
be created a university degree for the ‘Protection of Nature’ in ali
its aspects. Through that method alone can the essential professors
and teachers be found, not only in India but in other countries also.
UNCHECKED EROSION SPELLS ULTIMATE EXTINCTION
All the people who have to do with land and things that grow
have to be aroused to the necessity of becoming erosion-minded and
wild-life minded. It should not be difficult to induce them to think
for themselves and realise through the simple use of their own intellect,
their own powers of reasoning and observation, how they can best
use for the sake of their very existence and well-being all that has been
created for thera and for posterity.
All this is obvious to those who will trouble to give it a moment’s ©
thought, for there is the spectacle before their eyes, wherever they
inay be, of the wastage of the earth, of the very soil which has been
slowly and laboriously formed through the many forces of Nature and
upon which the existence of all living things depends. A very little
reflection will convince the simplest intelligence that it is because of
plant life every living thing exists. Without the soil there could be
no plant life; without plant life there could be neither soil nor wild
life of any kind, nor any human beings. |
These are the foundations upon which educated persons can guide
the people to the betterment of their lives; to an attitude of mind and
a sympathetic outlook towards the world of nature from which follows
a humane and abiding interest in the processes of Nature, the habits
of animals, birds, plants, and all living things.
MAN 1S THE GREAT DESTROYER
Mankind is the enemy of Man. Man is the great destroyer. In
forest areas the systematic annual firing of wooded slopes and _hilis
has resulted in much loss of soil and harm to wild life, as also has
tie age-long destructive method of ‘shifting’ hillside cultivation in
many forest tracts. By reason of the consequent destruction of under-
growth and soil-binding grasses, erosion proceeds to such lamentable
extent that year by year agriculture becomes more and more heart-
breaking, wild life more and more scarce.
~ Rainfall which should soak into the soil rushes down hillslopes, and
in many places only the bare rock remains for the struggling vegetatior ;
springs dry up and streams become a mere trickle; birds and animals
PROTECTION OF WORLD RESOURCES: WILD LIFE -AND SOIL 373
disappear. Man removes the trees, the shrubs, the grass cover from
hilltops, ridges, and their steeper slopes ; he sees that through these pro-
cesses of firing and deforestation—than which there is no surer and
quicker way of turning a country into a desert—through these foolish and
unthinking processes, the very soil upon which life depeiids is rushed
in muddy torrents to the sea. Yet does he persist in such positively
insane doings merely for the purpose of some present and transitory
profit !
Here is a living instance. In the Madras District of Chittur is
excellent scenery, though in recent years it has been a victim of large-
scale vandalism, its forests having been ruthlessly exploited by indi-
viduals eager to make money quickly by the sale of tiniber and firewood.
(Madras Mail sub-leader, 12th September 1951.) ‘Vandalism’ it is
styled. National suicide it is.
DESICCATION AND DISAFFORESTATION
From early days disafforestation and desiccation of the land pro-
ceeds apace. We know from the interesting and informative article
by M.S. Randhawa (3) how the face of what is known as the ‘Brij’
country—the Bharatpur-Agra-Mathura area—-covered 2,000 years
avo with luxuriant evergreen tropical forests of Saraca indica and other
trees—has completely changed now. ‘The jungles which were the abode
of the elephant and rhinoceros have disappeared and in their place we
find sandy wastes. . . . The ponds and lakes which were filled with pink
and white lotuses and visited by ducks and wild geese, providing in-
spiration to the Hushana sculpture, have completely disappeared, and
in their place we see ravines, sand-dunes, and parched plains. ;
Biackbuck and chinkara (these in their turn fast dwindling) have
succeeded the former pachyderms. “3
It is probable, though there may have been some shifting of
climatic zones, that thoughtless destruction of trees and shrubs, over-
grazing, neglect to provide wind-breaks against thé high hot-sedson
winds which remove the topsoil in dense black clouds, have been the
main causes of the change which has taken place. The desert’s ‘fifth
column’ of camels and goats of the wandering tribes will have aided
the devastation.
Wuat Now to Do?
What could have been done in the past? What now to do?
What dyke-building is to the salt-sea, dune-fixing is to the sand-sea.
As a defence against encroachment tough, wiry grass is planted in
five-yard squares as a net-work to anchor the dunes, Trees such as
acacia and tamarisk are planted within the squares and tree-roots and
ae knit together as a lasting cover. Through such a method, which
kas been introduced with success into Tripolitania, there is yet time,
not only to restore areas already desert but to halt further extension
and make the desert useful to man.
It is refreshing to learn from a recent press report (Daily Post of
26 September 1951)-that the Government of India have under con-
sideration a 20-year scheme of defence against further encroachment
by the Rajputana desert on the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. This
374 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
scheme, estimated to cost 54 crores of rupees, envisages (1) fixation
of the sand at different places, e.g. the mouth of the Luni river which
empties into the Rann of Kutch, as well as on the seaboard of Kathia-
war and Kutch, and (2) afforestation of the region between the river
Luni and the Aravalis, the north-west slopes of these hills, and also
along the banks of the river Banas.
A WARNING FROM NEPAL
It is remarked by Dr. Dillon Ripley (4) that, apart from natural
climatic conditions, it will be interesting to observe in future what effect
the tremendous deforestation will have on the avifauna and mammalian
fauna of Nepal. The lowland forest in the Terai, he says (1947-40)
is now reduced to a continuous belt ranging from six to ten miles
wide along the northern limit of the Terai, and remarks that, ‘This
area will probably be somewhat preserved in future, although much
of the primary tree growth has already been lumbered, as it is the
main hunting ground of the ruling family.’ Since that was observed
there have been marked political changes in Nepal; so it is possible
the area will become curtailed, and with it the estimated fifty rhino-
ceros which are supposed to be in it.
Further north, he says, lumbering is proceeding in the interior
valleys at a rapid rate :—
‘. . . and only along the Karnali did we find any virgin timber
left. From 1,000 ft. up to over 7,000 ft. throughout the country, in-
tensive agriculture of a shifting nature is practised. The slopes are
normally so steep that in many places only one or two crops of potato
and cereals can be secured from the newly cleared land before the
monsoon run-off has carried away the top-soil. Thus vast areas be-
come mere barren slopes of rock, shale and gravel, and avalanches are
common. We found as a result that in many places mid-montane zone
birds either did not exist, or could occasionally be glimpsed scurrying
from bush to bush as if their lives depended on it, which possibly
they did. It seems inevitable that jungle-haunting birds at this ele-
vation will eventually become extinct over large areas.’
In about 1864 the Imperial Forest Department assumed guarding
and maintenance of the mountain and sub-montane forests from the
Indus to the Sarda River. The question may well be asked: Had that
wise provision not been made by the Government, what would be the
state of the rivers, canals and plains of the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh
at the present day? !
AND THE NILGIRIS
Devastated and eroded areas in the Nilgiris are easier to observe.
The traveller by train or bus between Coonoor and Ootacamund can-
not fail to see the steep slopes bare of any kind of vegetation, where
all the land-cover which supported a varied avian population has been
cleared away to make room for crops of potato and cereals. It is
obvious to the eye that monsoon rains—which are very heavy at times
—will speedily carry away all the soil and leave the bare rock, as has
occurred in other parts of these formerly beautiful hills.
PROTECTION .OF WORLD RESOURCES: WILD LIFE AND SOII. 375
WASTE AND ARID TRACTS
All over this sub-continent there are, in most of the Provinces and
States thousands of square miles of mostly unremunerative tracts where
only a few stunted trees and thorny shrubs sprout amidst stony land-
scapes; bunch or scrub grasses drain moisture from greater areas than
are covered by visible tufts of grass; only cactus thrives and poorly
pretects the soil, while wind and water erosion is rampant.
Mostly, this has come about through the centuries owing to indis-
criminate grazing of too many cattle, depredations of goats and the
destroying hand of man. Such desolate areas can be seen from railway
or motor through the length and breadth of the land.
How To RESTORE FORMER CONDITIONS?
It cannot be claimed that these tracts would ever yield large size
timber on a commercial scale; but were they, or large selected parts
of them, set aside for nature to have its unhindered way, within not
sO many years a coarse and thorny scrub cover would protect the soil.
Suitable grasses could be sown, and eventually these extensive areas
could provide all the useful products of the many species of acacia and
other hardy trees which would assert themselves.
Research scientists and the Forest Department could advise as to
selected grasses, trees and shrubs. Cutting of thatching and fodder
grasses would be allowed. The recently discovered method of manu-
facture of straw-boards to save timber utilization could flourish. Wild
life would greatly benefit and become a tangible asset; there would be
much fodder for improved breeds of cattle, and the climate would
improve.
VILLAGE AREAS
Probably it is hopeless to expect the village communities by them-
selves to re-establish the village fuel woodlands of former days. ‘The
shortage of fuel for the rapidly increasing population is such that
apart from everything that will burn being stripped from the face of
the land, even the roadside avenue trees are being despoiled, and
some of them cut down. I+ is imperative that something effective
should be done io satisfy the need for fuel.
Only through the necessary plots being taken over by a govern-
ment department and organized through inter-village co-operation
could the people be assisted to help themselves by proper planting out
and maintenance of their fuel, timber and grazing needs.
Much could be written on many kindred matters which vitally
affect the village people, but it must here suffice to invite perusal of
the publication ‘Better Villages’ (5) and in particular pages 86-89 of
the same. This is recommended to the attention of all who have at
heart the interests of the egal millions of this yaaa 7
+
THE Cuce BEFORE THE HORSE’
When a house is designed a first consideration is the question of the
foundations. Large-scale multi-purpose projects are in the making,
376 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
and others are on the planning board. Nature’s foundations for such
projects are the proper conservation of the cover, or provision of
cover, to all portions of the catchment areas. But what is actually
happening? Even as the huge masonry dams rise and hold the water
the eroded hills of the catchment area continue to send down the muddy
silt which will eventually render them futile. The Lower Bhavani Pro-
ject has been remarked upon in the public press as one of such; and Dr.
Dillon Ripley is reported in the Times of India, Bombay, 5th April 1949,
as remarking that the forest along the Kosi river had been cleared and
was still being cleared. The result would be, he said, that the soil
would not be held in its natural place, and would step down with the
river water, fill up the lake, and make the dam ‘quite useless’. And
this in respect to one of the biggest hydro-electric and filood-control
projects in the world! It is just common sense that prior to con-
struction of such projects, hillsides must be planted up and protected
by grass, shrubs and trees.
CONSERVATION OF WILD LIFE
Much has appeared in the public press during the past few years
regarding afforestation in general, the planting of trees, use of green
and compost manure, and so on. In all these high level talks and
utterances, and in letters from individuals, there has been no mention
of the great need for establishment of a belt of trees along the many
thousands of river and stream banks throughout the length and breadth
of this country. In many of the tracts where tree planting is advo-
cated, and along many of the highways and other roads, water
supply for the planted saplings is the real practical difficulty. Along
the river and stream banks that trouble is much less.
It requires small effort of imagination to visualise the great benefit
to the climate, to the riverain villages, to wild life in general which
would result from these plantations. Much erosion would be stayed,
the increase of birds would greatly benefit the farmer. The tamarind
would be given prominence and provide their basic food to the monkeys
so lessening depredations among the crops. The valuable mhowa
(Bassia latifolia) not being a gregarious tree, would be planted in
the open spaces of the countryside.
THe FARMERS AND THE RyYOTS
A minister has said that the government must come to grips with
the farmer and compel him to produce more. But before that can be
effected, it is necessary for the cultivators of even the smallest holdings
to halt avoidable erosion. Within the village areas throughout the
country banks of nullahs could be straightened, the earth and stones
banked and grassed to retain the soil; and, above all, those long
fingers of erosion which thrust into the fields could be dealt with by
such measures as present themselves at the site. Where the damage
is extensive, the labour could be provided through inter-village co-.
operation.
PROTECTION OF WORLD RESOURCES; WILD LIFE AND SOIL 377
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
When the present intensified tree-planting and soil preservation
campaigns reach out to the individual cultivators, and the farmers begin
to see their lands so much improved—as they will be through the
improved conservation methods and efforts of government—-the move-
ment will tend to develop very fast. An interest will arise, a public
opinion begin to form, and it will be quickly grasped that these sensible
methods mean increased agricultural prosperity to all.
In such directions can the Grow More Food and Afforestation cam-
paigns enormously benefit the land. Wild life will increase, the standard
of living will increase, and the country be gradually led to national
prosperity and political stability.
THE MEANING OF VANA MAHOTSAVA
Here are excerpts from a letter written by the Hon’ble Mr. K. M.
Munshi, Minister for Agriculture and Forests, to Mr. D. F. Karaka
which is pertinent to what has been said above.
It was originally published in The Current of 26th September
1951, and is now reproduced by kind permission of its editor.
‘.... Life on the globe depends upon Nature’s hydrological cycle.
There is a certain quantity of water on earth; part of it rises by
action of the sun to the sky and comes down in the form of rain.
Rain moistens the soil, floods the rivers, fills tanks and waters.
On this supply and on the supply of subsoil water depends all life.
_ Trees and plants, animals including men, are mostly constituted
of water. Life on this globe began on account of this cycle. Vegeta-
tion and trees were the first forms of life; they built up and enriched
the fertile crust on earth and led to the appearance of plants. They
prevent the force of rain and let it be absorbed in the fertile crust.
Forests played and still play a most important part in life. They
attract rain. They store water, about eighty per cent of every tree
being water. They shade the vegetation and plants and enable them
to grow. Their falling leaves form the manure which provides food.
Their fruits enrich the food supply; their shade protects animals and
men from the withering rays of the sun. Dying, aeons ago, they
have left us coal; at the cost of their lives, we secure the timber for
our houses, railways, ships, furniture and newsprint. Man is the
tenderest parasite—though free-moving—-of the tree.
Man and his surroundings form an integrated whole; he exists
as part of this soil and water and plants and trees of the country
in which he lives. With marching civilization, however, we have
destroyed forests and have upset nature's equilibrium. In our blind-
ness we think that earth will continue to give food even if we cut
down trees on which life depends. In fact, this imbalance leads to
erosion, the removal of the nutrient element in the fertile top-soil,
the greatest danger to human existence.
This imbalance is increasing at a terrific pace in India. As against
the average minimum requirement of forest of 33-1/3 per cent, we
have less than 18 per cent of it.. Even this area is being reduced
at a reckless pace. The banks of some of our great rivers, deprived
of trees, have been cut up into ravines. Our mountain sides, in
~t
8 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
Himalayas, Vindhyas and the Ghats, due to sheer neglect, are losing
their forests; the pegs having gone, the sides are eroded, and
the rivers either dry up or are flooded. The Rajasthan Desert, a
major menace of India’s life, is marching onward at the rate of 50
(fifty) sq. miles a year and eating up our fertile soil of the Ganga
Valley. For want of fuel, larger and larger quantity of cow-dung
is being used up for fire, taking away another essential manure for
our food crops. Some princes, zamindars and landlords have, during
the last three years, cut down countless trees to make easy money,
before their lands are taken away. Our officers have lost the regard
for trees which they had developed under careful British superiors.
As a people, we have forgotten our tradition—call it becoming: civi-
lised or barbarous as you like,—and do not see the loss of life in
the) loss vor ‘ai tree.
I knew nothing of all this when I took up office. I tried to study
our food problem, and to my horror, I discovered that India can’t
grow food unless we grow trees. As in a flash, the truth came
torme.
Trees mean water; water means bread; and bread is life.
We had neglected this truth and we are a dying race—like the
empire builders in Babylon and Egypt and Central Asia, who dis-
appeared because their land, deprived of trees, and eroded, became
deserts, incapable of sustaining life.
I was convinced that we cannot be saved unless we became tree-
minded. I read of the frantic attempts of U.S.A., Canada and U.K.
to make people tree-minded; for, they are awakened to the danger.
What should I do, I asked myself. ‘Vana Mahotsava’ is the remedy :
the answer came.
During the last two years, tree-mindedness has come to us,—to
a vast majority with enthusiasm; to a small section in a critical
spirit; to a microscopic minority in sneers; and all these are symp-
toms of negative enthusiasm.
Vana Premi Sangh, founded last year, has branches in miost
States. All except one University have taken up the movement with
great enthusiasm. States, cities, institutions have found an_ echo
of it in their heart. Last year we planted, as we know, 411 lakhs
of trees; this year, perhaps the same number or more. Hyderabad
State alone has planned to plant this year about 4o lakhs of trees to re-
claim eroded land. A school in the South planted over a lakh of trees
last year. The village of Settimadamangala, which got the All India
Jawahar Shield, this year planted 60,000 trees. 6,000 ladies, young
and old, in Hyderabad celebrated the festival with great enthusiasm.
I woud like to know another movement which, in, so short a time,
brought forth such collective enthusiasm.
The survivals of the last year even on a conservative estimate,
are one crore trees, which if planted forest-wise, would occupy 50,000
acres and cost_crores. But, why so few survivals, ask the scoffers.
Because the tree-mindedness is growing, not yet grown; and it can
only grow by Vana Mahotsava becoming a part of our national faith.
And may I know how many infants, out of those born, survive?
Vana Mahotsava has another side too. Forestry, the Cinderella
of the Ministries of Agriculture, is now a princess in her own right,
PROTECTION OF WORLD RESOURCES; WILD LIFE AND SOIL 379
The Central Forest Service has been vitalised and is being reorgan-
ised—now proud of its role in the building of the country. The
development of the Andamans forest is accelerated; the Dehra Dun
Forest College will soon be an international centre; the plywood
industry has received some impetus; we have decided to replenish our
-semal tree resources without which our match-industry will gradually
disappear. The U.P. Government has initiated a scheme of a pro-
tective girdle against the sinister march of the Desert; and an elabo-
rate scheme has been prepared by my Ministry for an effective affores-
tation scheme to arrest this monster.
If India becomes Vana Mahotsava-minded, she will live; not
9
otherwise.
REFERENCES
1. Ramsbottom, John: ‘Disappearance of Plant Specimens.’ Proceedings and
Papers, International Technical Conference for the Protection of Nature, pp. 530-537.
2. Burton R. W. (1951): ‘The International Union for the Protection of
Nature.’ Jour. B.N.H.S., 49 (4) April.
3. Randhawa, M. S. (1946): ‘Progressive Desiccation of Northern India in
Historical Times.’ Jour. B.N.H.S., 48 (4), December.
4, Dillon Ripley, S. (1950):, “Birds from Nepal’. Jour. B.N.H.S., 49 (3)
December.
5. Brayne, F. L. ‘Better Villages.’ 3rd. edition, Oxford.
REVIEWS ©
1. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BREEDING BIOLOGY OF
LARUS ARGENTATUS AND LARUS FUSCUS. By Knud Paludan.
pp. 142; 7 plates; tables. Size 92” x 52”. Copenhagen (Ejnar Munks-
gaard, 1951. Price 20 Danish Crowns (=Rs. 14/-)
The Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and the Lesser Black-backed
Gull (L. fuscus) are two very closely related species, their chief dif-
ference being that in the former the upper parts are pale blue gray
while in the latter they are slaty black. There are some minor dif-
ferences besides, but were it not that their breeding ranges in north-
western Europe largely overlap, and are not geographically distinct,
they would very well pass for races of the same species. Indeed, in
recent years there is a tendency to consider them both as belonging
to the same species, their breeding in the same area being explained
by their status as the terminal links of a circumpolar chain of races
which can freely interbreed with neighbouring races but the ends
having diverged so far that upon coming together again they no longer
do so. That they are not incapable of interbreeding, however, is proved
by the small number of mixed pairs observed on certain breeding
grounds. The chief deterrent to their interbreeding on a large scale
is apparently the difference in the respective times of their physiological
maturity. The Herring Gull usually starts to breed a fortnight or so
earlier than L. fuscus, which means that by the time the latter arrives
and establishes itself on the common breeding ground, nesting activity
in argentatus is already well advanced, and the opportunity for the
formation of mixed pairs no longer present.
Dr. Knud Paludan is the well-known Danish ornithologist whom
some readers may remember meeting in Bombay 3 years ago as a
member of the First! Danish Central Asian Scientific Expedition, on
their way to Afghanistan. From November 1942 to April 1947 Paludan,
while posted as surgeon on the Christians6 group of islands—lying
in the Baltic Sea about 12 miles from the coast of Denmark—took the
opportunity of carrying out these very thorough and painstaking investi-
gations on the two species of gull, both of which nest on the
island of Graesholm. The comprehensive character of the field work
may be gauged from the list of contents of the eight chapters that
form the book: The pre-egg stage; pair formation; calls and types
of display; behaviour in the pre-egg stage; egg laying; experiments
in removal and addition of eggs at different stages; incubation details ;
hatching pattern and numerous other particulars of the breeding biology
of both species.
‘The Fate of Eggs and Young’ in the two species is a revealing
chapter, and the book ends with a comparison of Population Statistics
of the Danish Larus argentatus argentatus with similar statistical
investigations on the American Herring Gull (L.a. smithsonianus)
revealing significant differences in the mortality rate among different
age groups. This works out at about 15% of the breeding population
REVIEWS 381
of sexually mature birds in Denmark, as against 29% in American breed-
ing populations. It is estimated that in order to counterbalance this
high mortality rate among the adult birds, three times as many chicks
must survive in the American populations as in the Danish.
Paludan has made an outstanding contribution to breeding biology
literature, and his investigations and technique suggest numerous
channels into which the efforts of field workers may be profitably direci-
ed. A refreshing feature (N.B. super patriots!) is that despite the fact
that this is the work of a Danish ornithologist, on Danish material, and
carried out on Danish soil, the book is nevertheless published in the
English language. It is thus brought within the orbit of a very much
wider international field of scientific workers than it could possibly
hope to enter otherwise, and enhances its usefulness many fold. There
is a summary in Danish at the end for the benefit of such in the country
as may not be conversant with English.
The international character of the English language is more patent
to-day than ever before, and more and more scientific workers in
every country are resorting to it so that their published work may
enjoy the widest possible diffusion. A book review is no place for
moralising, but it is difficult to resist a comparison between this practi-
cal international outlook, and chauvinism of some of our own highly
emotional countrymen whose zeal for a national language runs away
with them, even to the point of advocating discard of the well-esta-
blished international scientific nomenciature now in vogue the world
over (not excluding countries like the U.S.S.R.) in favour of often
still more abstruse -and laboured Sanskritised translations of Latin and
Greek names. There is no more effective method of hiding our light
under the proverbial bushel than this, and it will indeed be a sad day
for science in India if workers can be dragooned into adopting this
unwise and short-sighted dogma.
Seal
2. AUDUBON WATER BIRD GUIDE. By Richard H. Pough.
pp- XXvili+ 352. Size 74”x 44". 48 colour plates by Don Eckleberry ;
numerous line drawings by Earle L. Poole. New York (Doubleday &
Cor, Ines) 1951.) Price: Dollars: 3:5
This is one more in the series of excellent books on American bird
recognition that have dominated the field since Roger Tory Peterson’s
‘Field Guide to the Birds’ made its first appearance, rightly claiming
to be ‘A bird book on a new plan’.
The main title is somewhat misleading since the book is not res-
tricted to water birds only but contains a section each on the Birds of
Prey (Falconiformes), Grouse (Tetraonidae), Pheasants, Partridges and
Quails (Phasianidae), and Pigeon-like birds (Columbiformes). In all
258 American species are treated in colour, depicting the various plum-
ages of each—sexual, seasonal and by age—while 138 line drawings
illustrate many of the birds in flight. It is a fact that in the case of
some species, particularly of the birds of prey, good black and white
drawings of birds on the wing are far more helpful in identification
382 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol.- 50
than even a coloured picture of the bird at rest. Both the coloured
and black and white sketches are of a high standard of excellence.
The text is concise and furnishes just the information needed by the
average bird watcher. It is arranged under the following heads:
Field Characters (of adults of both sexes, in summer as well as winter,
and of immature birds); Habits (Haunts, food &c); Voice (Calls,
songs &c); Nest (Site, structure, eggs, incubation period, whether young
nidicolous or nidifugous); Range (Residential and migratory). "y
A comprehensive foreword gives a good general survey of the aims
and technique of modern field study of birds, and forms a useful intro-
duction for the beginner providing helpful hints and suggestions for
obtaining the most in pleasure and profit from his bird watching. |
Amateur bird students in India have good reason to envy their
American counterparts on the availability of such books as Audubon
Water Bird Guide. If the youth of India is to enjoy and utilise in
proper measure the wealth of bird life with which nature has endowed
this country, it is imperative to provide them with suitable illustrated
guide books, for which this one may well serve as a model. Lack
of elementary and attractive books is the greatest drawback from
which bird study suffers in India. If we aspire to produce ornithologists
who will one day be able to take their place alongside those of western
nations, this is how a beginning can be made—by the provision of simply
written, well illustrated books that will generate and sustain an interest
in birds, and in nature out-of-doors generally.
Sy Al:
3. TAITWANITA. Vol. I, nos. 2-4, March 1950. Published by
The Laboratory of Systematic Botany, Department of Botany, College
of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, China.
This is the second issue of this new journal, a newcomer in the
field of systematic botany, but one that will cause every botanist all
over the world to rejoice. To judge from the contents of the specimen
copy that has just come to our Society, the journal deals exclusively
with systematic botany in the wider acceptance of the word, that is
to say, it contains papers on ecology and geographical distribution
of plants in addition to purely taxonomic studies.
It is plain that the final aim of the editors is to bring out a complete
and modern flora of Taiwan. The twelve numbers published in the
present issue make very interesting reading for any botanist or student
of plant geography. Most of the papers have a key to the genera
and species of the families dealt with in the respective papers, and
occasionally a map to show the distribution of the more important
members of the family. The printing is in general clear and neat.
This reviewer has but two remarks to make on the negative side.
The first is that some of the scientific names are somewhat careless!v
printed, or alternatively that proof reading requires more attention.
The second remark is that the various authors seem, no doubt on
purpose, to have omitted all vernacular or local names of the plants
described or discussed in the papers.
REVIEWS Beg
i bE ae | ites Li iy
aaa! i oe
See eee ity 6 8! aN ,
On the whole, however, and in spite of these remarks, we consider
this a very fine journal, and the Bombay Natural History Society
extends to it and its editors a hearty welcome and wishes it long life
and success for the progress of botany in Taiwan.
fis, DANTAPAU,. s.7.
4. “BEAUTIPYING INDIA.’ By M: S. Ratidhawa.’ Rajkamal
Publications Limited, Delhi & Bombay, 1950. 28x 22 cms., pp. 224,
plates 23, mostly coloured, several text diagrams.
This is an interesting book both for the ordinary citizen and for the
professional gardener and botanist, that is only marred by the poor
standard of printing and of colour reproduction. The book ‘sums up
a lifetime interest in trees and gardens, art and science, aesthetics
and joy of life. . . . Guided by science and inspired by nature, Mr.
Randhawa writes as one actually talks to a friend. His appreciation
of the colours of nature is inspiring and he maintains a deep under-
standing of the character and personality of every tree that attracis
his eye. His book is a treasure house for lovers of nature and tree
lore, for persons interested in town planning and garden aesthetics,
for students of visual education and for all enthusiasts who seek. in-
formation on new plants from old.’
The author’s introductory remarks explain the aim of his work.
‘While we are making plans for increasing the agricultural and indus-
trial wealth of the country, we should not ignore the problem of making
the country beautiful. Whilst we are planning to banish poverty . .
with the aid of science and machine, we should also have plans for
banishing ugliness of the landscape by planned planting of beautiful
flowering trees. We are on the threshold of the Age of Plenty, and
let us enter the Promised Land with a lily in our hands.’
Ch. 2 contains a philosophical discussion into the meaning of
the term ‘Beauty’, and here the author does seem to get quite out
of his depth. ‘Ultimately it is in sex, the urge to propagate the species,
that beauty has its source and from sex it derives its power. All other
things are beautiful only in a derivative sense.’ It does look as if the
author has confused the two concepts ‘Sex Appeal’ and ‘Beauty’
rather hopelessly. The sight of a beautiful person may indeed excite
the sex instincts in the beholder, but where does sex come in, for
instance, in the contemplation of a beautiful sunset, or of a beautiful
flower? ‘No one has ever embraced the Venus of Milo in spite of its
beautiful form’, says the author, and in these words he gives the game
way ; we appreciate the beauty of such a statue, but this appreciation
is or may be entirely free from any connection with the sexual urge.
And coming down to the concrete subject of the book, surely the
author does not imply that ‘Beautifying India’ means making it more
sexually attractive. I for one consider Aristotle’s definition of beauty
(‘Symmetry, proportion, and an organic order of parts in a united
whole’) a far more satisfactory definition than that of W. Durant, or
even that of Mr. Randhawa himself; beauty may need a human soul
384 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL Hist. SOCIETY, Vol, 40
to appreciate it, but, in the common opinion of mankind, it dues not
need a human soul to express itself.
The chapter on ‘Forgotten Flower’ is a sincere lament for the
oblivion into which many of our most beautiful trees have been rele-
gated among us. There are indigenous trees in India that are second
to none in brightness and colour, but unfortunately in the recent past
we have, forgetting the real respect that our ancestors had for such
trees, allowed them to disappear from our towns and cities. If the
book under review had no other effect than to awaken India to a
realization of the many floral treasures of the country, Mr. Randhawa
might rest happy and content for the rest of his days.
In recent town or country planning we seem to be aiming at efticiency
and commercialism ; but efficiency does not imply ugliness ; our railway
stations, roads and streets can be neat and efficient and at the same
time be made more pleasant by the careful and selective planting ot
brightly coloured trees. In this connection the bovok provides detailed
schemes for the planting of such trees in villages, farms, highways
and streets, and these chapters deserve careful reading. If, however,
India is not going to spend time and money in planting new trees,
we should at least aim at preserving our forests and beauty spots;
in the matter of nature preservation and national parks, India lags
far behind some of the western countries and vilers great scope for
planners and legislators. i
An interesting section of the book deals with the various types
of gardens which have evolved in India or been imported by the succes-
sive conquerors that have ruled the country. Every successive con-
queror has brought. his own typical gardening art, and many such
gardens are still extant in a living condition, or records of their glories
have been left in the rich artistic treasure of the country. Special
mention should be made of the Japanese garden, an essentially Indian
type of garden, which in the words. of. Mrs. V. Stuart quoted by the
author, ‘forgotten in the land of its origin, still survives further east,
although so transformed and.tinged by the genius of another climate
and another people that the garden history ... . is often misunderstood
and overlooked.’ .
The remarks on annual flower shows read like a fiery condemnation
of the apathy that our city of Bombay has in recent years shown to
them. This is not the place to inquire into the cause for this state
of things, but it is correct to say that such a neglect may explain why
our city, which takes pride in calling itself the Urbs Prima in Indis
is also one of the drabbest and most colourless cities in India.
All through the book the author insists on the use of foreign trees
for gardens and city roads. In my opinion not enough emphasis has
been laid on the utilisation of the many indigenous plants that are
already available in the country. Our gardeners seem io be reluctant
to employ such plants for their gardens, perhaps on the mistaken
impression that a tree or shrub to be beautiful must at the same time
be an expensive one, and therefore must be of foreign importation.
The last part of the book deals with lists of plants, indigenous or
foreign, that can be cultivated to our advantage. The list of scientific
names needs careful revision by a competent botanist, as many of the
names are incorrect according to the present International Rules of
REVIEWS). 0 ).\v. 385
Botanical Nomenclature. In the Rules the term ‘Natural Order’ is
not recognized ; there are Orders. and Families, and the author obviously
means the latter when he speaks of Natural Orders. Not to tire
the lay reader with too much detail, I wish only to note that Wrightia
tinctoria, a very common wild tree in Bombay, has pure white flowers
with a spot of yellow in the centre, not red as the author states; the
‘name Gliricidia maculata is consistently misspelt; under sorae of the
plants the modern correct name is mentioned in brackets, but in most
cases such a name is omitted; Ixora parviflora is @ common shrub
found in most of our deciduous forests. It is definitely indigenous to
India, not a foreign importation. ‘
In the bibliography the name of the publisher is given in some
cases, and omitted in others; this may cause some annoyance to
the interested reader. One notable omission called my attention in the
list of references: Woodrow’s ‘Gardening in the Tropics’ is not
mentioned, although it is a popular book among Bombay gardeners,
as witness the many editions through which the book went in the
early quarter of this century.
The printing of the book is not what one would call aesthetic;
the paper is too thin and the lines on either side of the sheet do not
always coincide. The headings of the various paragrapns are a
valuable asset for the book, but their being printed along the inner
side of the page detracts a little of the beauty of the work. As for
the colour plates, I have felt a strong disappointment ; the colours are
dull. in. comparison with the actual colours of the plants represented
therein, and show a very poor standard of printing in comparison with the
jbooks of Blatter and Millard or of Cowen. The plates of Ganga Singh
-in particular. I found disappointing ; elsewhere I have seen his work
reproduced in lively, bright colours, very different from the dull and
pale colours of this. book. Plates by other authors included in Beauti-
fying India may be artistically very beautiful, but they. ‘scarcely give
an-idea of the tree represented in them.
The author deserves the thanks of patriotic Indians on a very timely
Boole: gardeners, botanists and legislators will find food for thought
in every one of its 224 pages. It is regrettable that the presentation
of the book is not of the quality of the text.
H. SANTAPAU, s.3.
The following books have been added to the Society’s library since
May 1951:—
1. BEES—THEIR VISION, CHEMICAL SENSES, AND LANGUAGE. By
Karl von Frisch (Cornell University Press, 1950).
2. NATURE THROUGH THE YEAR. By Frances Pitt (Macmillan & Co.
Ietde, 1950).
3. A MANUAL OF THE GEOLOGY OF INDIA AND BuRMA, Volume I,
Third edition, revised and largely rewritten. By Sir Edwin H. Pascoe
(Published by order of the Government of India, 1950). (Presented
by Government of India).
4. Lire In POND AND STREAM. By Richard Morse (Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 1950). |
$36 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 66
5. WiLp FLOWERS OF THE CAPE PENINSULA: By Mary Maythan
Kidd (Oxford University Press, 1950).
6. Hunter at Heart. By B. N. Gordon Graham (Herbert Jenkins
Ltd., 1950) (A Review copy).
7. THE CLIMATES OF THE CONTINENTS, Third edition. By W. G.
Kendrew (Oxford University Press, 1937).
8. Beautiryinc Inpia. By M. S. Randhawa (Rajkamal Publica-
tions, 1950) (A Review copy).
9. THE PLAIN NARRATIVE OF THE DOINGS AND DESTRUCTION OF THE
Most MurpgErous Rocugt Ever Known. By Col. A. Bloomfield {A
manuscript copy, presented by Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton).
10. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF SUNDER LaL Hora—
published in commemoration of the Silver Jubilee of Dr. S. L. Hora’s
first contribution to science. By Jubilee Committee, 1950.
The following books were presented to the Society's library by
Mr. & Mrs. Hamid Ali: —
1. THE Ducks, GEESE AND SWANS OF NorTH America. By F. HE,
KNortright (The American Wildlife Institute, 1943).
2. SNAKES OF MAHARASHTRA (in Marathi). By Lt.-Col. K. G.
Gharpurey, I.M.s. (Retd.) (Nuthan Marathi Vidyalaya, 1928).
3. SHIKAR EVENTS AND SOME USEFUL NOTES THEREON. By
Sahibzada Abdul Shakur Khan, of Tonk, 1935.
4. THE ZOOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE NUZHATUL-QULUB- OF
HAMDULLAH AL-MustTAvuFI AL-Qazwinl. Edited, translated and anno-
tated by Lt.-Col. J. Stephenson (The Royal Asiatic Society, 1928).
5. VivaARIuUM NATUR4 OR THE NATURALIST’S MISCELLANY OR
COLOURED FIGURES OF NATURAL OpsjectTs, Vol. I. By G. Shaw Nodder &
Cor, 1790)! |
6. S¥RE-E-PARIND (in Urdu). By Malk Kutub-ud-din (Punjab
Press, Sialkot, 1897).
7. THE NATURAL Hisrory OF QUADRUPEDS AND CETACEOUS ANIMALS,
Vol. I & II {from the works of the best authors, ancient and modern,
18rr |.
= Tue NATURALIST’s LisprAry. Ornithology—Humming Birds
Vol. I. By Sir William Jardine, Bart. (W. H. Lizars, & Stirling
& Kenney, 1833).
g. TABAYE KHAIWAN (IN URDU).
10. L’InsectE. Par J. Michelet (Librairie Machette et Cie, 1876).
11. ILLUSTRATIONS OF NaTuRAL History—Exotic Insects. By D.
Drury (3. White, 1770).
12. THE Birps or AMERICA. By John James Audubon (The
Macmillan Company, 1946).
13, JOURNALS OF THE BomBAy NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY:
Volume 47, Index Part II (Nos. 3 & 4)
Sy eed UN OAs
SAUI49; “NoMa:
The following books were presented to the Society’s library by
the late Mr. Braz Fernandes, Bombay.
1. SomME SoutH InpraAn InsEcts. By YT. Bainbrigge Fletcher
(Government of Madras, 1914).
REVIEWS 387
2. REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND ENTOMOLOGICAI.
MEETING aT PusA, 5th-12th February, 1917. Edited by T. Bainbrigge
Fletcher (Government of India, 1917).
3. THe NESTs anp Ecos or INpIAN Birps, Vols. I-III. By Allan
4). Hume (Second edition. Edited by E. W. Oates), (R. H. Porter,
1889-1890).
4. THE SNAKES oF SouTH AFRICA. By Fitzsimons.
5. [HE Potsonous ‘TERRESTRIAL SNAKES OF OUR BRITISH INDIAN
DoMINIons (including Ceylon) AND HOW TO RECOGNIZE THEM—With
‘symptoms of snake poisoning and treatment—Third Edition. By Major
F. Wall, 1.mM.s., C.M.z.S. (The Bombay Natural History Society, 1917).
6. THE STUDENT’S COMPANION IN THE STUDY OF THE NATURAL ORDERS
In Botany. By E. Blatter (1916).
7. ELEMENTS OF ENTOMOLOGy—an outline of the natural history and
classification of British Insects. By William S. Dallas (John van
Voorst, 1857).
8. THE Game Birps oF Inpia Parts I and II. By E. W. Oates
(Messrs. A. J. Combridge & Co. 1898-’99).
g. CAMBRIDGE BroLocicAL SERIES—The Natural History of some
‘Common Animals. By O. H. Latter (Cambridge University Press,
1904).
10. First Book or INnpian Botany. By Daniel Oliver, Lw.p.
{Macmillan & Cu. Ltd., 1897).
11. Insect INTRUDERS IN INDIAN Homes. By E. P. Stebbing
(Thacker, Spink & Co.). .
12. OUR COUNTRY’S BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS AND HOW TO KNOW
THEM—A Guide to the Lepidoptera of Great Britain. By W. J. Gordon
{Day & Son). ;
13. OuR CountTRy’s BIRDS AND HOW TO KNOW THEM—A Guide to
all the Birds of Great Britain. By W. J. Gordon (Day & Son).
14. CONCERNING ANIMALS AND OTHER MatTTers. By E. H. Aitken
{“EHA”’) (John Murray, 1914).
15. THE YOUNG COLLECTOR: BRITISH BUTTERFLIES, MOTHS AND
BEETLES. By W. F. Kirby (Swan, Sonnenschein & Co., 18go).
16. THe Young COLLECTOR: SEA-WEEDS, SHELLS AND FOSSILS.
By Peter Gray and B. B. Wocdward (Swan, Sonnenschien & Co. Ltd.
and The Macinillan Co., 1910). .
17. THE YOUNG COLLECTOR: BRITISH STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA AND
Spipers. By F. A. A. Skuse (Swan, Sonnenschien & Co. Ltd., 1910).
18. A TExt-Book or ZooLocy. By H. A. Nicholson (William
Blackwood & Sons, 1894).
19. How To KNOW THE INDIAN Wapers. By F. Finn (Thacker,
Spink & Co. Ltd., 1906).
20. ORNITHOLOGICAL AND OTHER QOpopiTigs. By F. Finn (john
ane, 1907).
21. THe Life OF THE GRASSHOPPER. By J. H. Fabre (Hodder and
Stoughton, 1918).
22. InpIAN BirRDs AND Kry TO Common BIRDS OF THE PLAINS OF
Inpia. By Douglas Dewar (John Lane Company, 1910).
23. NATURE SERIES: on the origin and metamorphoses of Insects.
By Sir John Lubbock (Macmillan & Co, 1883).
12
388 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL “HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
24. A History or CrustacEa—Recent Malacostraca. By The Rev.
Thomas R. R. Stebbing, m.a. (Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co.
Lid. 1893)
25. RECORDS o* THE NacpuR Museum: No. 1 The Snakes of
Nagpur. By E. A. D’Arbeau, F.z.s. (Government of Nagpur, 1916).
26. A CATALOGUE OF BIRDS OF SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE BOMBAY
PRESIDENCY. By Captain E. A. Butler, H. M.’s 83rd Regiment (Govern-
ment of Bombay, 1880).
27. THE COMMON SNAKES OF INDIA AND BuRMA AND How: To
REcoGNIZE THEM. By W. H. Cazaly. (The Pioneer Press, 1914).
28. A HANp-List oF GENERA AND SPECIES OF BIRDS OF THE INDIAN
Empire. By E. C. Stuart Baker (Reprinted from the Journal of the
Bombay Natural History Society together with a foreword and addenda
and corrigenda prepared by the author. The Bombay Natural History
SOciety, .1923)%
29. THe JOURNAL OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY, Vol.
II, Nos. 1-2 (Santa Barbara, California, 1921).
30. Our INsicT FRIENDS AND FokEs. By F. Martin Duncan (Methuen
& Comlide tron):
31. THE JOURNALS OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY:
Volumes :—
I; IV; Vill; XI, XIV; XV,.X Vi, GX VEL) VILLE XE XG a er OG
XXII, XXIII and XXV,
MISC EREANE OUS NOAES
1. ABNORMAL BEHAVIOUR OF A MALE RHESUS MONKEY
(MACACA MULATTA MULATTA ZIMMERMANN)
A family of the common Rhesus monkey consisting of an overlord,
about a dozen temajies, young ones, and an adult male attracts the
attention of many a passer-by in the Calcutta Maidan. The chief
centre of interest is the peculiar behaviour of the adult male who,
despite his age, is being tolerated by the overlord. Judging from his
size, the animal appears to be fully adult, differing from the overlord
only in his slender build; but his habits are entirely different. The
overlord, as usual, is much dreaded by the members of the family ;
and except for the occasional sexual acts and the protection against
intruders he takes no interest in the family life, generally confining
himself to seclusion. The male under report, on the other hand,
shows no sexual tendencies and mixes freely with the family. If a
female is found lacking in devotion to her baby, he at once snatches
it away from her, puts it under his breast in the usual way, and walks
away. Knowing the affection which will be accorded to it, the baby
eagerly accepts his embrace. Sometimes he forcibly takes away a
baby from its mother; at other times, tired of the naughty habits of
her charge, the mother herself hands it over to him. In this way
he is frequently found fondly playing with the babies, passionately
caressing and kissing them, and even trying to suckle them by putting
his teats in their mouths. In short, his habits are more or less like
those of a mother monkey.
Such feminine behaviour on the part of a male is evidently due
to some unbalance of the sex hormones, the estrogen and the androgen.
This is also attested by the fact that the skin of the anal and the
urinogenital regions has failed to develop the normal red colour.
ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA,
Inp1ian Museum, Calcutta, EH. KHATURIA
June 9, 1951.
2. TIGER EATING CARRION
=e
At the end of April 1932, I went one afternoon to fish in the
Paba River. When I arrived there I saw the Miri village cattle
stampeding and an old Miri came along at the end, and told me that
a tiger had caught a bull. I asked him to have a machan built, whilst
I returned to fetch my rifle.
On coming back, he informed me that an Abor who had been
downstream, on returning saw the tiger on the bull and managed to
drive the tiger away. The bull got up and struggled back to the
village, but died three days later.
390 3 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL SAIST SS OCHE LT YVO Vola,
The owner buried the carcass where it died, about thirty yards
from an old house, of which only the ‘chang’ was left.
The next morning the headman of the village came and told me
that the tiger had dug up the carcass and eaten a portion. As I had
never heard of a tiger doing this before, I went along-to have a look;
it had rained during the night and I found the pug marks of the tiger
quite distinct and part of the body exposed and partly eaten. I had
it covered up again.
At 7 p.m. I sat up on the ‘chang’ referred to. It was dark as a
storm was coming up. At 7.10 p.m. I thought I saw something and
flashed my torch light and there was the tiger by the spot where the
bull was buried. I shot it and found it in good condition of 8 ft. 9 in.
between pegs.
The tiger could have quite easily killed any other of the village
herd as they were all let loose during the three days, but none was
attacked.
MurkKonG SELEK P.O.,
ASSAM, F,M. NEEDHAM
uly 12) 1s ks
[On p. 587 of the Oriental Sporting Magazine for 1873 Col.
Douglas Hamilton writes—
‘The common idea that tigers will only eat animals killed by
themselves is a complete fallacy . .. . they always prefer putrid to
fresh meat. I have often killed a bison and left him untouched in
the forest; as long as he was fresh, the tigers, although they would
come and walk around him, would never touch him. The moment
the bison became putrid the tigers would gorge themselves and never
leave off eating, if undisturbed, until the whole was consumed.’
Since then the propensity of tigers for carrion has been frequently
recorded and is now well known. Some instances will be found in
editorial comments on a note entitled ‘Tiger preferring Carrion to
live Bait’ on p. 1025 of Vol. 31 of the Journal.—Ebs. |
3. ‘AN EXTRAORDINARY FIND IN A PANTHER’S
STOMACH’
I think there is only one possible explanation for the pointed
wooden stake found in the panther’s stomach, as described in Mis-
cellaneous Note No. 2. in your journal Vol 49 (4) p. 775.
Your sketch and description of the stake might well be that of a
similar stake I found sticking in the lower part of the chest of a bull
bison I shot years ago. My trackers recognized what had happened
without any hesitation. The bison, entering cultivation at the foot
of the hills, had jumped on to a pointed stake deliberately placed
inside an inviting gap in the hedge. Such stakes are, of course,
intended for deer and pig, not bison; and the stake must have snapped
under the bison’s weight.
The panther must have either killed an animal that had similarly
impaled itself previously; or had come on the impaled animal in situ,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 39
and made a meal of it. It must have been, too, a very hungry
panther, swallowing chunks of meat without thorough mastication.
Had a tiger killed the bull bison I have referred to above, or eaten
parts of it during the night after it was shot the same thing might
have occurred, the stake finding its way into the tiger’s stomach.
HONNAMETTI ESTATE,
ATTIKAN P.O.,
via Mysore (S. Inpra) RANDOEPH CC. MORRIS
yuly ay TORL,
47 “NABIES IN: TIGER -—A DISCUSSION
| Following on the two cases of rabies in tiger reported in recent
issues of the Journal [Volume 49 (3), 538-541] Mr. S. R. Daver, retired
Deputy Conservator of Forests, submitted to the editors a long article
attempting to explain the manner in which those animals may have
become infected. Mr. Daver puts forward the novel theory that a
diet of carrion as such, not necessarily rabies-infected, must be in some
way responsible for the spontaneous origin of rabies. He suggests that
village dogs and jackals which are the commonest mess-mates of
vultures at wayside animal carcasses, initially become infected by pecks
from vultures while jostling with them at the feast and in turn spread
rabies among the other animals with which they come in contact later.
To labour his point that carrion is the source of the rabies virus, Mr.
Daver quotes circumstantial (but not very convincing) evidence of a
dog which was rigidly guarded against any contact with other dogs
contracting rabies on being presumably bitten by a bandicoot from
a colony whose members, dying through some mysterious epidemic,
were found to be carrying ‘negri’ bodies in the brain. Bandicoots
according to him are chiefly carrion eaters.
Mr. Daver, anchoring his arguments on the vulture theory, does
not merely suggest but somewhat dogmatically asserts that the
appearance of rabies in tiger is due to the animal being pecked by a
vulture in the scuffle and confusion that may ensue upon his sudden
and unexpected return to his kill to find a horde of hungry vultures
busy on it, and on his active resentment of these proceedings. The
article is too long to publish in full but this is the more or less accurate
gist of it. Further points from the article will become clear from
Col. Burton’s quotations and his comments on some of them. It has
formed the basis for this general discussion of the whole subject of _
rabies, which it seems useful to record here.—Eps. |
CoL. R. W. Burton, 1.4. (Retd.):
‘The note contributed by Mr. S. R. Daver purports to explain
why rabies in tiger and panther is so rare, and also to trace out and
unearth the real culprit among the animals which spreads rabies by
contact. He observes that ‘‘one cannot presume that rabies organism
originates in dogs or in canine tribe and must look elsewhere for the
392 [OURNAL, BOMBAY NAVURAL HIST. CSOCT iN ial ery,
organism’’. He remarks that the contention of the author of the
article, ‘‘Rabies in Tiger—two proved instances,’’ is that dogs are the
originators of rabies.’
The above article did not attempt to discuss the origin of rabies.
Such little as was said was in connexion with the common know-
ledge that in the great majority of cases in India it is by dog-bite
that the rabies virus is conveyed to other animals. ‘There is
no kind of presumption in the article that dogs are the originators
of rabies. That dogs, with the jackal, are the most common con-
veyors of rabies in this country is well known to all of us—to all
people.
‘It is impossible’ writes Mr. Daver, ‘for a rabid tiger to die in
peace and unproclaimed to the human world.’ In reply to that it
can be said that many incidents, of various kinds, take place in both
near and remote forests which do not become known to outside com-
munities and the world in general.
As to tigers and panthers being found dead in forests and the
cause of death unknown, reference may be had to the article by ‘Robin
Hood’ (a forest officer) in Vol X. of the Journal; and there was an
instance told to the writer some thirty-three years ago by an ex-
perienced sportsman shooting in the North Kanara jungles. It should
not be dogmatically asserted that cases cannot occur and be unknown
to people in general.
Mr. DavER’s ARGUMENT
Concisely stated, Mr. Daver’s argument purports to show that
the rabies organism originates—spontaneously—in the dead bodies of
animals; that it is the vulture which is the primary keeper and con-
veyor of the organism of rabies; and that it is through the vulture
pecking animals which contest the carcase with the bird that the
rabies virus, which is always present in the bird’s saliva, is conveyed
to the dog and the jackal.
To explain why rabies in tiger and panther is so rare he suggests
that the virus is not directly communicated to the tiger or panther
for want of opportunity (meaning that the vulture does not often get
a peck at these animals). ‘Evidently’ he writes, ‘the rabid tigress of
Mr. T. R. Clark’s narrative was a victim of a wounded vulture’s
pecking.’ And the tigress being three. years old and inexperienced
got the pecking from the angry bird. ‘The reasons why the cases
of rabies in.‘tiger were never recorded in the past is ‘obvious | lhe
contact between vultures and dogs or jackals occurs almost daily,
when animals and birds congregate to feed on carrion.’
Mr. Daver also remarks that the virus of rabies is yet undiscovered,
so is evidently without the knowledge that the virus can be seen
under the electron microscope though not under the ordinary light
microscope.
RABIES CONVEYED BY THE VAMPIRE’ BAT
It’ is known to Pasteur Institute scientists that rabies in the
island of Trinidad is conveved to animals by the bite of the Vampire
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 393
Bat of that place. This might lend support to the vuiture theory
were it not well known to Pasteur scientists that the body temperature
of birds being considerably above that of animals it is very difficult
indeed for a bird to contract rabies, and under. experiment in this
connexion it is necessary to lower the temperature of the bird (a fowi,
for instance) by immersion in cold water. Mr. Daver gets round
this difficulty by assuming that the rabies virus is always in the
vulture’s saliva because it is a ‘carrier’ in the technical sense (as
apparently must be the Vampire Bat of Trinidad) and so able
to transmit the disease without being itself a sufferer. Citing a
particular case of rabies being conveyed to a dog by a bandicoot rat
he observes, ‘This particular case proves that rabies organism origi-
nates in dead bodies of animals.’ !
Finally, Mr. Daver suggests that, “A ‘‘Vulture Farm’’ may be
established near a Pasteur Institute, and these birds be fed on dead
and putrefying bodies: Live animals like dogs, jackals, bandicoot,
etc., can be used as ‘‘guinea-pigss’’—and the vultures may be induced
to peck the animals, after they had eaten putrid organs of the dead
bodies.” And he makes other suggestions as to what the Pasteur
Institutes might do.
RABIES RECORDS
The records maintained by the Pasteur Institute of Southern India,
Coonoor, for the years 1908 to 1948 inclusive, show that animals
which bit, seratched or licked the 263,736 patients treated included
dog, jackal, wolf, hyaena, fox, wild dog, man, monkey, cat, leopard,
wild cat, cow, tiger, buffalo, horse, mule, donkey, camel, sheep, goat,
pig, rabbit, guinea-pig, mongoose, rat, bear, deer, elephant, cheetah,
lion, bullock, calf, fowl, (12 treatments—no death), laboratory infec-
tion unknown.
Deaths from hydrophobia caused by dogs were 1,044; by jackal
86; by fox 10; by wild dog 3; by cat 1; by leopard 3; by sheep tr.
In 1948 deaths were caused only through dogs and jackals.
Deaths from hydrophobia in the Madras Presidency during
1913-1948 were 19,380: but the deaths from hydrophobia after
antirabic treatment were only 840. For information of the nervous
it is made known here that the percentage death rate after treatment
covering all those years was only 0.44.
Animals treated with antirabic vaccine during the period 1923-1948,
and some of which died during or after treatment were dog, cow,
calf, bullock, milch buffalo, goat, horse, pony, elephant, monkey, cat.
EXPERT INFORMATION
Mr. Daver’s ideas having been expressed the tollowing excerpts
are given, with permission, from the pamphlet, ‘Rabies and its
Prevention.” By Major H. W. Mulligan, M.p., p.Sc., D.T.M., I.M.S.
former Director of the Pasteur Institute of Southern India, Coonoor.
394 JOURNAL, BOMBAY “NADURAL VATS To SOCIETY 7 Volzma0
‘Rabies is an acute disease of vertebrate animals which may
affect all animals from amphibia to man. _ It is particularly prone
to affect mammals while birds and cold-blooded animals are re-
iatively resistant.’
‘It is a popular though erroneous belief that if a dog can drink
it cannot have rabies.’
‘The exact biological position of the causal organism of rabies.
has: notso: far been definitely determined: 2". <4 "ln “subjects:
suffering from rabies there is a special localization of the virus in
the nervous system and salivary glands.’
‘Rabies is almost invariably transmitted to man and_ other
animals through the saliva of rabid animals.’
‘So far as is known rabies virus cannot gain entry to the body
through intact skin, but if the saliva of a rabid animal comes intc
contact with skin the continuity of which is broken, infection is.
liable to occur.’
: . the virus of rabies when deposited on inanimate objects
does not retain its vitality and infectivity for long and it is readily
destroyed by light, heat and disinfectants.’
‘The saliva may be infective for as many as 6 days before
symptoms of the disease become apparent.’
‘It is well established that an animal infected with rabies will
usually succumb within 4 days of the onset of symptoms, and it
follows, therefore, that if an animal is alive and in perfect health
1o days after biting (6 days plus 4 days) the saliva cannot have
been infective at time of biting.’
‘Apart from contact with inlective saliva it is conceivable that
rabies might be transmitted in other ways as, for example, by
the consumption of the milk or the eating of the flesh of rabid
animals. Tie chances of infection occurring in this way are very
slight since it is known that the virus is present in only low con-
centration in milk and flesh.’
‘However introduced into the body, it is generally believed that
rabies virus travels along the nerve trunks to the brain.’
Having read through this typescript, also Mr. Daver’s note and
the article in the Society's Journal (Vol. 49, No. 3), Dr. S. R. Pandit
comments:
‘Without accepting Mr. Daver’s highly imaginative hypothesis
of the vulture as a natural carrier of the rabies virus, rabies in
the tiger can be explained by facts already known, viz., by convey-
ance of infection by the bite of a rabid animal, or by the virus
entering the tissues through the intact mucous membrane of the
mouth by feeding on its prey—a rabid animal; in its later stages
of infection, a rabid animal is an easier prey because of the rapidly
developing paralysis.’
Perhaps, in the light of personal experience or knowledge some
of our members may be able to add materially to this interesting”
discussion of a subject which has always attracted the interest of man-
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 390
Cot: J. R. DoGra, 1.M.s., DIRECTOR, HAFFKINE INSTITUTE, PAREL,
BOMBAY :
Rabies is an infection of the central nervous system caused by
a virus. The virus is often present in the saliva of rabid animais
and is consequently most commonly transmitted by a bite. Under
favourable circumstances the virus gets established in nerve tissue and
migrates to the brain. This may take days or months, hence the
uncertain and prolonged incubation period. The diameter of rabies
virus has been estimated to be 100 to 150 millimicrons {Galloway
et al (1)|. Attempts at its cultivation on artificial media have not
been successful.
Two instances of proved rabies in the tiger have been recorded
by Pandit (5). Both these cases showed negri bodies in the brain.
In the first instance, a Bengal tiger severely mauled 18 people but
made no attempt to eat any of the victims. In the second instance,
again a Bengal tiger traversed long distances, terrorized the inhabi-
tants, attacked 14 persons, 5 head of cattle and a dog. The author
suggests rabies as a.cause for man-eating propensities of tiger. He
further suggests that the unnatural and destructive behaviour dis-
played at times by other species such as an elephant may result from
rabies infection in such animals.
Man and all warm blooded animals are susceptible to rabies.
Epidemiologically there are two types, the natural disease of wild
animals living in densely forested regions which maintain the original
source of infection, and undoubtedly, were the starting points for
infection, and, the urban type which is maintained in domestic dogs.
The current world wide distribution of rabies is undoubtedly due to the
general popularity of dogs as pets.
Legislation against dogs can completely eradicate the disease as
has been found in the British Isles—Galloway (2). There have been
no reported cases of rabies in the Netherlands or Switzerland for years.
Australia and Hawaii are so far free from rabies due to quarantine
regulations which were in force prior to the development of large
urban centres having the usual complement of dogs.
The readers of this journal would be interested to know that
several wild animal vectors of rabies have been incriminated; the
fox in western Europe, the wolf in eastern Europe, the jackal in India,
Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan; small rodents in west Africa and
Yellow Mongoose (Cynictus penicillala) and wild cat (Felina cafra) and
pepper-and-salt meercat (Mvonax pulverulentus) in south Africa. In
North America, foxes, skunks, bob-cats, mountain lions, and a wide
variety of small wild animals are known vectors. Vampire bats in
Mexico, Central and South America are the principal vectors of this
disease. They infect cattle and have been known to cause consider-
able damage. The famous epidemic of 1925-29 in Trinidad was
traced to the vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus murino Wagner)
Pawan (6). These were shown to have migrated from South America.
The discovery of rabies among vampire bats marks a new era as
it has been shown that the vampire bat is capable of transmitting
rabies for several months as a symptomless carrier, Pawan, (7).
396 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURA ISLES SOGLE TY ol
Gravel (3) described positive rabies in mongoose and suggested
that sporadic cases of rabies where the dog bite or lick is not traced
may result from a mongoose bite, either directly or through the
mongoose infecting the domestic carnivora, and that ‘rabies smoulders
m forests and flares in villages and towns. ~Gravel (4) - further
advances the view that in a state of nature (in the wild carnivora)
there must be acute and chronic infections. ‘Biologically it is noi
in the best interest of a parasite to be lethal without exception. By
being so it would exhaust its nidus and become extinct.’
Mr. Daver in his article suggests tha the vulture may play such
a part in nature. It is theoretically possible that a vulture may carry
rabies virus from dead or moribund rabid animals and then on pecking
a healthy one may transmit the virus and thus spread rabies; but this
would appear to be a most uncommon mode of spread. In the case
of a tiger the infection may ceme as a result of combat with a rabid
tiger, dog, jackal, mongoose or a rodent.
Re Ea RMN, C IES
(1) Galloway, I. A. and Elford, W. J. (1936): The Size of virus of Rabies
(Fixed strain) by ultra filtration analysis, j/. [yg., 36; 532-35.
(2) Galloway, I. A. (1945): Rabies—A review of recent articles; Trop. Dis.
Bull., 42; 674-683.
(8) Gravel, S. D. S. (1932): Rabies in Mongoose, Ind. Med. Gaz.” 6b:
451.
(4) Gravel, S. D. S. (1950): Serological Technique, Ind. Med. Gaz., 85; 453.
(5) Pandit, S. R. (1950): Two instances of proved rabies in tiger, Ind. Med.
Gaz., 85; 441.
(6) Pawan, J. L. (1936): The transmission of paralytic rabies in Trinidad by
the Vampire Bat, Ann. Trop. Med. anl Pavasitol., 30; 101-130.
(7) Pawan, J. L. (* 1936): Rabies in. Vampire Bat of Trinidad, with special
references to clinical course and latency of infection, Ann. Trop. Med. and
Parasitol., 30; 401-422.
5. WILD ELEPHANT SEEKS ASSISTANCE
The following incident experienced by my mahout and myself, will
undoubtedly be of interest to your readers, — ~
In April last, coming down the bed of the Bargang river one
evening on my male elephant. we crossed a very recent track of a
single elephant with her smal! calf followed by a large tiger. The
tracks were so fresh (water was still discoloured in the footprints)
that we expected to hear of some domestic trouble very soon. We
had not long to wait, for all of a sudden there was tremendous loud
trumpeting, with intermittent screams coming from the forest and
about 200 yards in. We immediately made for that direction, but
as we got nearer to where the sound was coming from, we came
into terribly thick cane, with the usual 3 inch thorns, so we had to
cut our way through, foot by foot, which delayed us considerably.
All of a sudden a mother elephant appeared holding up her front
foot, which was bleeding, and placed her trunk on my elephant’s
trunk, as much as to say, ‘Do come and see what awful trouble I
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES noe
am in!’ She turned and led the way; we followed, and approxi-
mately 10 yards off, we came on to her calf which was about 3 ft. 6 in.
high, standing with its head completely scalped, and holding up its
front foot, which was turning round ‘on a piece of skin—its foot, al!
but severed. With its little trunk about a foot or so long, it kept
feeling its terrible head wounds.
We kept moving around slowly, trying to obtain a view of the
tiger for fully half an hour, but due to the necessity of continual
cutting, we never saw it, although we could see its footprints and
smell it.
Whilst we were hunting for the tiger she stood by her calf, never
leaving it after having led us to it. We also stayed alongside the
calf for full 5 minutes while she herself was holding up her bleeding
foot.
It was getting dark, and we had very reluctantly to leave that
sad scene and I with a lump in my throat. I have been asked
by people why I did not shoot the baby, and put it out of its
misery. To me, and to all people who have been associated with
elephants, it would have been sheer murder, and mother elephant
would never have forgiven me. The baby must have died shortly
afterwards.
*RAJBARI’,
Upper SHILLONG,
ASSAM, FRANK. NICHOLLS
September 6, 1951.
6. HABITS OF THE MONGOOSE”
As I shall shortly be leaving India after nearly forty-six unbroken
years in the country, I bought a copy of -your Rook of Indian Animals
to take to England with me.
One of the met things I turned to was the cluefeiten on mongooses,
as these have always been my favourite pets. I have kept more
than a dozen at different times. |
Regarding family life and care of the young: I wonder if it is
known that the young occasionally remain with the mother even
after she has had another litter, and actually help her to look after
them ard teach them to hunt. I-can give you one case.
I had a female mongoose named Tilly. When she was full grown,
she had a litter of two young ones in her kennel in the store room; but
she found me looking at them one day, and straightaway removed them
to’ a burrow: in: the church garden... She used to come in..every.
evening and beg at the table at dinner time, after eating her meal
raw meat or raw fish. When her youngsters were big enough to eat
solid food, she took to bringing them with her. I named them
Peter and Bessie. One evening, when Peter and Bessie were about
six months old, I was surprised to see six mongooses walk into the
house. There were Tilly, Peter and Bessie and three babies about
half the size of rats. One of the babies was completely paralysed
398 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL BIST. SOCIETY, Voli 50
from the waist down. It dragged itself along the ground by its fore-
legs with its hind legs trailing behind. When it came to the steps on
to the verandah, it could not hop-up to them as the other two young
ones did, and it started squealing. Either Peter or Bessie, not the
mother, promptly went to its help and lifted it up the steps! When
the adults were busy with their meal of fish, I quickly and quietly
picked up the cripple, took it into the bathroom, killed it, and washed
it down the flush. After the big ones had finished dinner, they
started to collect the youngsters. They searched all over the house
for the cripple; then they took the other two babies home to the
church garden, and two of them came back to look for the cripple.
They were running round the house and calling out all night. My
wife and I could get no sleep. They never brought those youngsters
to the house again; and soon Peter and Bessie stopped coming and
I-was left with only Tilly.
According to the Book the mongoose is a day hunter; but I
have had one who used to go out hunting nearly every night when
we retired to bed, and come home in the small hours. Occasionally,
when things had gone badly, he would come to my bed, nudge me
awake, and want me to get him something to eat, and frequently t
would oblige. One night, perhaps having tried to wake me and
failed, he went and woke up my wife!! It was a mistake he never
repeated. This fellow, as was natural, hunting so much at night,
used to sleep three parts of the day.
Both these stories, strange as they may seem, are absolutely true.
I think, myself, that the mongoose is perhaps the most intelligent
of all mammals, and also an animal in which one finds the greatest
diversity of character among individvals.
CATHEDRAL ComMPounn,
MEpDAK, DEcCAN, W. T. LLOYD-JONES
uly 22-2 5O5T,
7. CRAB-EATING CHITAL
In the Journal of December 15, 1937 (Vol. XV), I wrote a note
on the breeding of various rare birds in the Khulna Sunderbans. The
observations were made on a trip in April 1922 which I did with Mr.
L. R. Fawcus, C.1.E., 1.c.s., who was then Collector of Khulna.
The editors have asked me to put on record one little-known
observation which we made at the time. On this area of the coastline
in April there was practically no fresh water, and fishermen in the
area had to come forty miles to fill their waterskins at some tiny
brackish pool where the water welled through the sand. On this
foreshore there were considerable herds of chitai (Axis axis) and
numbers of wild pig. Every night at dusk, both chital and pig
used to come down and move about over the sands, apparently
to drink, where pools of water were left by the receding tide. Very
great numbers of crabs haunted the sandy mud, of a species unknown
to me. As I recorded later, Mr. Fawcus ‘staggered me by insisting”
that the chital stags we saw trotting about on the sands in the
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES oe9
twilight were picking up the little red crabs, which we could watch
all day like a dark shimmering line of coral in the distance for
ever disappearing down their holes as we approached. Later, one
of our policemen (both District Superintendents of Police in Khulna
were with us on this trip) showed me the crab remains he had cut from
a chital’s stomach’.
At the time I was busy with birds and did not realize that this
observation would go for years unrecorded. I now do so in the
hope that someone, with a greater knowledge of mammals than
mine, will be able to confirm it in this area.
CuHURCH FARMHOUSE,
GREAT DURNFORD,
SALISBURY, J. K. STANFORD
ENGLAND,
May 16, 1951.
oy. DHE MOST MURDEROUS WOGUE?
Members who know the Central Provinces may be curious as to
item no. 36a. included in the addenda to the Bibliography of Books on
Big Game Hunting and Shooting in India and the East published
in the August 1951 issue of the Society’s Journal.
A copy of the illustrated pamphlet, ‘The Doings and Destruction
of the Most Murderous Rogue’ by Colonel Arthur Bloomfield of the
Indian Army is in the Library of the Nagpur University and listed,
Class B 63 No. 748. The pamphlet was printed by H. B. Crisp,
High Street, Sarmundham (Norfolk?). The date is not given in the
transcribed copy of it—about 13,000 words—made by Mr. Joseph
Fernandez, botanist, of Nagpur and given to the writer of this note.
Its hand-written copy is now bound and added to the Society’s Library.
WILD ELEPHANTS IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCES
‘Historical records and names of places such as ‘‘Hathi-Doh’’ or
Elephant Pool indicate that in times past elephants were found in
many parts of the Central Provinces, but that is no longer so’.
(Dunbar Brander). So also remarks Bloomfield in his pamphlet
dealing with the period 1868 onwards: ‘There are in the Central
Provinces no wild elephants anywhere except the Matin and Uprora
Zemindaries of the Bilaspur District some 250 miles from these
(Balaghat) jungles. This elephant therefore, hard pressed for com-
panions, was said to pass most of his time with two wild buffaloes,
which sometimes, so the rumours were, he used to chastise in his
displeasure.’
~ It was in 1868 that Captain Bloomfield, when Deputy Com-
missioner of the Balaghat District, first came in contact with this
animal which up to that time had not been destructive. He relates
that the animal escaped between the years 1830-1840 from its master
at Ellichpur in western Berar and eventually found its way some
400 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL -HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 50
hundreds of miles to the east to the wild and hilly forests of the
Balaghat.
It was not until three years later that the elephant began to puil
down huts and kill the people. Between January 27 and February
17, 1871, he was in the Mandia District and _ oificially reported
to have kiiled 21 persons (6 men, & women and 7 children). The
pamphlet gives the official reports which relate that not only did the
brute tear the victims into pieces but devoured parts of the scattered
corpses. He no doubt commenced this series of attacks in a state of
must, for during the seven months of the hot weather and rainy
season following, nothing was either heard or seen of the animal.
With the approach of the cold weather, however, he again becaine
must and destructive to the houses, stores of grain, fields and persons
of the jungle people. That the reported devouring of portions of
his victims was widely credited is gathered from Bloomfield’s narra-
tive. ‘On the afternoon of the 2nd November (in camp) in walked
F. A. Naylor, the District Superintendent of Police, and said, ‘‘That
man-eating elephant that killed so many people in the Mandla District
in the yscramtne of the year, has appeared in this District and killed
and partly devoured a man near Behir’’. ‘‘All right’’ I said ‘‘We must
stop his fun, and start as soon as possible.’’? Then began the excit-
ing and dangerous hunt through dense and hilly forests which ended
on the afternoon of the 7th November beyond the village of Kaswara
when the brute fell to the rifles of Bloomfield and Naylor. The hunt
and the final scene, are graphically related. The weapons used were
12. bore breech-loading rifles taking 5 to 6 drams of powder and
spherical-faced solid lead conical bullets weighing 6} to the Ib. or
1077 “2s.
The animal was in perfect condition, his skin glossy black and
under it a thick coating of fat. The tusks were 41 inches long.
The pamphlet is not just a dull narrative, but contains much
interest concerning the country, the hills and forests, the jungle
tribes, their dwellings and way of life. Baigas they were, and it 1s
clear that without the brave and willing aid of these simple people
the two Europeans would not have been able to penetrate those
dificult forests and come up with the elephant. The Government
reward of Rs. 200 seems somewhat niggardly for the destruction
of such a beast as this. The money was distributed among the
Baigas.
During the days of the hunt the monster killed a number of people
and puted down houses. The villages and hamlets of Jagla, Limot},
Godari provided victims; and during the night of November 3/4
ten people were killed in the hamlets of Nandar, Markapahar, Mate,
Kesa, Dhatta and Daidi.
‘Thus ended the career of what Sir Samuel Baker of African
fame told me was the worst rogue elephant he had ever heard of.
I certainly think I can claim for him the proud position of being ‘The
Record Monster’’ whose atrocities have been, or will be seldom or
never equalled.’
BANGALORE, VS W. BURTON,
September 1, 1951. Lieut.-Col., 1.4. (Retd.).
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 401
Gav heat SS THE Best MEANS OF CONTROL AND
DESHPRUCTION OF FEYING POXES |PLEROPUS
GIGANTEUS (Brinn.) |
A friend of mine in Upper Assam writes as follows: ‘Some
friends of mine are greatly plagued by the fact that during the past
few years thousands of flying foxes have come into residence
in three huge trees alongside their bungalow. The trees are literaily
black with them and they make a shocking noise night and day
besides being too definitely repulsive to have any right on the premises.
‘They can’t cut the-trees down but are very anxious to get rid of
the pests. The only thing I can think of is to start several chulas
(braziers) going under the trees on a dead still day when there is no
wind and then keep on = sprinkling sulphur on the embers. Can
anybody suggest anything else to get rid of them? Apart from any
other considerations nobody in the vicinity can grow any fruit !
I should imagine that the above suggestion of burning sulphur
in braziers below the trees in which flying foxes roost would
only serve to move the pests away to ancther roosting place. What
is wanted is a method of destroying them, or at least of controlling
their numbers rigorously, and the high cost of cartridges these days
makes shooting a rather expensive means of controlling such numerous
creatures.
I note that the fruit-eating bats (Megachiroptera) are scheduled
as ‘vermin’ in the Bombay Wild Animals and Wild Birds Protection
Act, 1951. I think the collection and publication of advice on the
control and destruction of all vermin, especially wild dog's, wild pigs,
rodents, and flying foxes, would be useful.
Doyanc TEA ESTATE,
Oatinc P.O., : Hai» (Ga Hie
ASSAM.
Col. Burton who saw the above letter before publication, writes:
FrytncG Foxes. I can think of no ordinary method—shoot-
ing or the like—by which the flying fox can be controlled or destroyed.
The question is one affecting the whole of India, and should be
dealt with by scientists versed in biological control through use of
modern methods of use of insecticides and rodenticides.
It may be that some method can be found by which a captured
flying fox can be inoculated with some agent which will cause a fatal
disease to be passed on by the animal enlarged to its colony. The
method would entail the capture and return of one of ‘the species to
each colony.
It has to be borne in mind that the flying fox frequents orchards
of various kinds of fruits, and DDT used in lethal quantities muy
affect the pollination of fruit tree blossoms.
The several papers contributed by experts to the International
Technical Conference, Lake Success, August 22-29, 1949 and published
402 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, “Viol. 350
in the volume of Proceedings and Papers (the ‘etey hook” |
styled it) should be read and studied: ( eat O have
‘DDT and other Pest Control Chemicals’ by Dr. C. H. Curran
PP- 351-358.
‘DDT and the Balance of Nature’, by Joseph P. Linduska, pp.
362-371.
‘Indiscriminate.use of insecticides’, by Dr. H. S. Pruthio Plaat
Protection Adviser, Department of Scientific Research, New Delhi,
PP- 372-73 and several articles in French in the same publication.
Witv. Docs. The only way in which the wild dog can be
controlled or destroyed is by one or more of the several following
methods :—
(1) Shooting when found at kills, or in the forests.
(i) Trapping—not easy.
(iii) Destroying by means cyanide gas pumped into earths,
and breeding dens.
(iv) Poisoning of their kills with strychnine bihydrochloride
in liquid form, strength about 10 or 11 grs. to an ounce of water.
Method is to pour the poison into deep stabs and cuts and _ sprinkle
on lumps of semi-detached meat. |
(v) A poisoning method said to be very deadly is to inject a
goat intravenously in an ear-flap by means of a hypodermic syringe
with a fairly large needle-bore, care being taken that the bore of tiie
needle remains in the vein and the point does not pierce to the other
side on insertion. A 20 c. c. syringe is used and strength of the
strychnine emulsion 4o grs. to the half pint of water.
For this goat method it is necessary to find a pool of water. at
which the dogs are drinking, and sit over the pool to ensure that no
one removes the ‘easy meat’ for home consumption. The goat will
fall apparently dead, but there may be only extreme and exceedingly
painful rigor of the muscles, so a blow at the back of the head with
a suitable instrument after, say, half a minute, is humane.
Due care also necessary in case of the first described poisoning
method that the jungle people do not eat any of the meat.
The offering of money rewards for destruction of wild dogs gives
results.
Wivup. PiGs: Outside the» foresis., Eifecive ;coutona.
through removal of all unwanted cover such as cactus and thornbrakes,
and the organization of inter-village pig hunts on a sound basis.
Within the forests. The tiger and panther should be allowed to
do their own natural work of keeping down the pig (and monkey)
population. The Bombay Government has encouraged the formation
of inter-village pig hunts within the forests; and the Madhya Pradesh
Government also gives encouragement by providing arms and ammuni-
tion. The Madras Government does not encourage these methods.
Through use of large-mesh nets and beating out the jungles pig can
be killed. But, unless the control of the operations is really effective
all the edible creatures of the forests will be killed through such a
MES@CELEANEOUS NOTES 493
method. And there are other obvious objections, from the point of
view of protection of wild life.
RODENTS. Porcupines give trouble to certain crops—vege-
tables, mealies, etc. They are not easy to destroy. Miscellaneous
Note by Pitman at page 831, Vol. xxix may be seen. Use of
cvanide gas would be effective in burrows with few exits.
Rats, Bandicoots, etc. Cyanide gas methods in use in municipal
areas are suitable. But the contribution, ‘The rice rats of Lower
Sind and their control,’ by P. V. Wagle, m.ac. Vol. 32, pp. 330-33
should be read. In regard to rats damaging crops in South India, the
notes on that subject by P. N. Krishna Ayyar, B.a., should be read.
Perhaps the Sind method might have useful application to some of the
Madras rats. The control of all kinds of harmful rodents is for the
scientists to direct. -
BANGALORE, R, WwW. BURTON
October 8, 1951. ler =GObs ay Auetds):
10. SOME NOTES ON THE MALABAR GREY HORNBILL
[TOCKUS GRISEUS (Bath.)]
In the Journal, Vol. 43, page 102, I recorded a few notes on the
nesting habits of the Malabar Grey Hornbill (Tockus griseus) and have
subsequently had occasion to watch at different times two young birds
kept in captivity by my brother Shamoon.
They were obtained by Br. Navarro of St. Xavier’s College from
nests at Khandala, and I am detailing below notes on the adult females
taken from the nests along with the young.
The first female taken on 5th May 1943 had not finished her moult,
the primaries being shorter than the secondaries; the second mother
taken in 1950 had the first primary only about 2 inches long.
In both cases the innermost rectrices were new quills while the
outermost pair were bedraggled and frayed indicating that the mould
commenced on the inside, as is usual with most birds. The iris of one
bird was noted as reddish-brown.
An attempt was made to tame the second bird but she refused to
feed and was released in the garden where she clambered up to the
topmost branches of a tree and sat motionless for a long time. A
piece of raw cucumber tossed up, failed to arouse interest and one
piece fell on to the top of its beak. After 15 minutes the cucumber
was in the same position, the bird not having moved at all. After
some time she disappeared and was not seen again.
The first bird tamed by Shamoon was the larger of two of different
sizes taken from the nest on 5th May when they were a few days
old. The smaller bird (a female) died after about a month. The
first notes were made on 11th July when the bird was 70-75 days old.
The iris was noted as grey as against red brown (presumably for the
adult) in the Fauna. The beak was horny, the upper mandible slightly
darker, and the lower with a greenish tinge. On 6th August, the
iS
4.04, JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL FAST. GOCE? VY, Wales
upper had two thin black lines running along both sides of the culmen,
and the beak had developed a slight gap between the mandibles
towards the tip (as in the open-bill stork). Uptil now the bill had
straight cutting edges with no serrations.
The second naked squab taken in 1950 had the bill dirty bluish
grey with the front half yellowish. The feet were still covered with
flaky blue skin, the claws being horny and whitish below.
The young were voracious. They ate sliced cucumber, bananas
and bits of raw meat, having a special weakness for the last. The
bird was adept at catching smali articies thrown at him but had to
be ‘prepared’ otherwise was taken unawares. (Primrose, /.B.N./1.S.,
XxvH, p. 951 records a large pied hornbill catching a swallow as it
flew past.) The food was turned round and round in the beak and
swallowed whole by the bird tossing back his bill and head. Food once
swallowed was often brought up into the bill and sometimes rejected.
Large pieces were often seen and felt in the gullet, and if the piece
was too big to swallow the bird would get excited and open its wings
10 its efforts.
On the ground he squatted flat on his tarsus and did not normally
hold his tail folded over his back like the African Lophoceros (Moreau,
This, 1940, p. 644) nor was any attempt made at plastering with his
droppings which were indiscriminately voided. A nasal ‘tain-tain-tain’
was uttered all the time, apparently as a purr of satisfaction.
When sitting on one’s shoulder he medd!ed with the ear and nose
and often rapidly moved his beak against the cheek. He learned to
respond to the owner’s whistle which represented the call of the
Indian cuckoo.
In September it was noted that though his wings were fully
developed and he could fly well, he was reluctant to do so. His usual
method of progress was to flap his wings rapidly a few times and
then glide for some distance. When flying from one tree to another
he would start from the top, glide down to a height of about 5 feet
from the ground on the next and then immediately clamber to the
top—prepared to glide again. J am inclined to believe that this ts
a mode of progression which could be used also by the female in case
of necessity even with her primaries in moult. Not being caged,
the bird would often stray into neighbouring gardens though returning
home in the evenings. He was once found on a _ roadside tree
attempting to catch stones pelted at him by local urchins. It was
amusing to hear passers-by guessing his identity. The guesses
ranged from woodpecker and koel to penguin! This bird disappeared
one day in September.
The second youngster, when fully gorged would sit on his hocks
on the bare ground and throw back his head with the beak pointing
skywards. This position is presumably an adaptation for a vertical
nest hole.
c/o-Faiz & Co.,
75 ABpUL REHMAN STREET,
Bomsay, HUMAYUN ABDULALI
August 8, 1951.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 405
gt. A NESTING COLONY OF SMALL SWALLOW-PLOVERS
INV SEY SORE eS? APE
In the survey of birds of Mysore State conducted from November,
£939, to February, 1940, by Mr. Salim ‘Ali and reported in. thi,
journal (Vol. 43, Nos. 2, 3 and 4; Vol. 44, Nos. 1 and 2), the Smat
Swallow Plover, Glareola lactea Temminck, was not encountered.
However, Major E. G. Pythian-Adams contributed the information
ticle titeNspectesynis:) V erylocal 2) .-. 21) 23% and that: he took eggs
(c/2) on an island in the Cauvery river below Talakad (Mysore Dist.)
10-4-1937. The following record of a nesting colony discovered in
1951 should therefore be added to the above scanty report.
On May 24, 1951, my sons, Michael and Douglas, and I were
pursuing birds, butterflies and mosquito larvae respectively in the
vicinity of Sakieshpur, Hassan District, Mysore State (elevation
approximately 3,000 feet). One of our explorations took us to the
banks of the Hemavati river about half a mile downstream (south)
of the town. At this season of the vear there had not yet been much
rain and the water level was so low that it was possible to wade
across the river at numerous places without encountering channels
more than knee-deep. The river took a bend at this point and several
gravel bars, built up by previous strong currents, were now left ex-
posed. Some of these had no connection with land on either bank and
thus formed small island sanctuaries.
On one such island we discovered a colony of nesting birds, such
as we had not seen before. Careful written descriptions of them were
later provisionally referred to the small swallow plover by Mr.
Humayun ‘Abdulali at the Bombay Natural History Society, while
at a still later date when I visited the museum in Bombay I was able
at first glance to pick out a skin of this species from a trayful of mixed
bird specimens. Except for the fact that none of the Sakleshpur
swallow plovers was collected for confirmation, there is apparently no
reason to doubt the validity of the identification.
About 25 or 30 birds were present on this first occasion. They
flew overhead with the behavioral antics of colonial nesting birds
such as terns, doubling back and forth and continually diving at our
heads. Being somewhat deaf I shall not attempt to describe thei
notes other than to say that they were not harsh like terns but of
a more mellow plover-like timbre. Frequently one or several birds
would alight nearby and squat on the coarse sand as if on a nest,
spreading their wings as if sheltering young, or moving their bodies
from side to side as if adjusting eggs beneath them. They managed
almost invariably to do this in such a position as to face their observers
squarely. When these birds were approached they would scuttle
away, either dragging a wing or beating it on the sand as if it were
broken. If the observer stopped, the birds would again squat as
if on a nest. Upon being further pursued, they would again
adopt the broke wing tactic until the water’s edge was_ reached.
Then they would fly off to join the circling birds overhead.
At the centre of the island we found many depressions resembling
nests, some of these. not more than two feet apart. These showed
406 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIE7Y, Vol. 56
no evidence of being more than scooped-out hollows, that is, there did
not appear to be any deposition of specially gathered pebbles or other
materials in their centers. Only a few of the nests contained eggs,
but the structure of empty nests was the same as that of occupied
ones. Three nests containing eggs were found. The clutch was
two in each case. One egg, inadvertently broken, was within a few
days of hatching. No nests with young were seen, but as young
pratincoles are precocious this was not remarkable. A search was
made for partly-grown fledglings hiding under refuse and debris on
the island, but none was found. A few fully fledged birds were seen.
These were browner than the adults and their feathers had narrow
buffy edgings, giving them a scaled appearance similar to that of
some species of young terns.
- “On, June 3, 1 returned to the asland alone..> Phere had jbeemie
fairly heavy rain in the interim and the river had risen, causing a
decrease in the size of the island. Fewer adult birds were about, but
they still behaved like nesting individuals. One nest with two newly-
hatched chicks was found. These were fluffy and protectively mottled.
Despite its youth, one of them jumped out of my hand and attempted
to run away.
By June 12, the monsoon had caused a sharp rise in the river and
the island was completely inundated. Although I wandered along
the west bank for several furlongs, thinking that the remaining young
birds might have managed to find a sheltered stretch of shore, I
could not see a single swallow plover of any age. The nesting success
of the colony was therefore probably partially reduced by the onset
of the monsoon. But I suspect that our discovery of the colony may
have been late in its seasonal history, and that many young may have
been fledged before that time. Major Phythian-Adams’s April egg date
would support such a view. An effort will be made to test this
impression next year, provided similar islands reappear in_ the
Hemavati and swallow plovers return to Sakleshpur.
3, ST. Marks Roan,
BANGALORE, C. BROOKE WORTH
September 17, ‘1951:
12, OCCURRENCE OF THE PHEASANT-TPAILED JAGANA
{HYDROPHASIANUS CHIRURGUS (SCOPOLI)| IN MADRAS
Mr. J. M. Forrow of Simson & McConechy Ltd., Madras, has
sent us a sketch and description of a bird which is undoubtedly the
Pheasant-tailed Jacana in breeding plumage, which he observed on
the banks of the Adyar river near Madras on the 25th June 1951.
Whistler in the ‘Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats’
states that there is no information about the occurrence of this species
in the Madras Presidency. except for one skin in the Madras Museum
and two others obtained by Wardlaw-Ramsay (one undated, and one
1876) in the British Museum.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 407
Mr. Forrow saw this for the first time in 16 years residence in
Mr. Forrow saw this for the first time in 16 years residence in
114, APOLLO STREET, .
Fort, : EDITORS:
BomBay,
july 19; 1951-
iz. (MORNING AND EVENING BIRD! CALLS
The following observations on the succession of bird calls at dawn
and dusk were taken on May 7, August 2 and 3, 1951. They were
recorded in the Forest Office compound at Ranchi. This compound
is about 26 years old. Both large and small trees occur, some of
them being very old. Hedges, bushes, seasonal flowers, and open
spaces with grass are all intermixed. Sometimes rare birds are met
as winter visitors which are not found in any other compound in the
neighbourhood. My conclusions are not definite, but generally it may
be said that at the commencement of the breeding season in May,
the Black Drongo starts calling earliest; whereas when young birds
are about, the crows and mynas are the earliest risers. The end of
calling is even more indefinite in the evening, but it would appear
that the drongo, crow, and the mynas are the last to call before re-
tiring. Of course, in moonlight, the Koel keeps up its chatter inter-
mittently throughout the night; whilst the Spotted Owlet is also
generally vocal at all hours of the night.
May 7, 1951.
4.05 a.m. Soft calls of Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus).
4.07 ,, Second drongo joined in from the western side.
4.08 ,, The Koel (Eudynamis scolopaceus) followed.
4. OO. 5, The second Koel joined in.
ia Two drongos and Koels.
+ ” ee
a1) ‘Another drongo from a different quarter.
Y Tee . | 7 ° °
4.15 ,, Koels and drongos at a high pitch, from all directions.
ACO s., A dull.
“lay Koa Drongos and Koels.
4.41 , Koel, House Crow (Corvus splendens).
2 Koel, crow, Dhayal (Copsychus saularis) in low pitch.
2 Dhayal, Koel, Common Myna, (Sturnus tristis).
5 Second myna took part; Dhayal in full song; Koel. |
6 ,, Black-headed Oriole (Orviclus xanthornus) joined in.
8
BS Second Black-headed Oriole from a_ different quarter
joined in; Dhayal, 2 Night Herons (Nvycticorax
: nycticorax) passing the compound and calling.
Ag Cy ae Dhayval, myna, Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer).
a50° 9,, 2 second bulbul joined in; Myna, Crow, Koel.
est Aa Bulbul, myna, Koel, drongo, Dhaval, all at a high
pitch.
AES 2 =" 55 Spotted Owlet (Athene brama), Pied Myna (Sturnus
contra), Common Myna, bulbul.
408
Pins Geel tae
wi ortn tn
CONT Cin
fee
ot
iu ot nt Ut Ut Gt Ot Ot Ut a I ot tt Ot Gt Ut
on oni 1 OI tn Ui
or ot
gi
ONS
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL FEST. SOCIETY -3 oo
a
Tonk-tonk of Crimson-breasted Barbet (Megalaima
haemacephala); Drongo.
White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa); Pied Mynas, Com-
mon Mynas, Koel, barbet, Bava (Ploceus philippinus).
Barbet, Pied Myna, Myna.
Pied Myna, barbet, Koel, Dhayal.
Pied Mynas, White-eyes, Dhayal.
Crows, Yellow-cheeked Tits (Parus xanthogenys),
Dhayal, Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis), Night
Heron.
Another dove from the west.
Another dove from the east; Yellow-cheeked Tits,
barbets.
All doves together, myna, INoei, barbet.
Koel, bulbul, myna, tits.
Crow, drongo, dove.
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), crow, bulbul.
Sparrow, dove, and bulbul.
Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor), occasionally calling.
Bulbul, dove, Baya, myna.
Pariah Kite (Milvus migrans) gave a few screams.
Baya, dove, Koel, myna.
Two owlets chuckling together.
Bulbul, Pied Myna, Common Myna at high pitch.
Drongo started calling again. .
Two drongos together, two owlets, Baya.
Bulbul, Koel, Pied Myna, Common Myna.
Small. Minivets (Pericrocotus peregrinus) calling.
Dhayal.
Barbet, drongo, dove.
A full.
One Laggar Falcon (Falco jugger) taking short Aight
but not calling.
Dove, Koel, myna.
Doves, orioles, Dhayal.
Bulbul, Pied Myna, sparrow, Baya.
Koel, dove, Baya.
Dove tits.
Owlets, Marhatta Woodpeckers, (Dendrocoptis
mahraitensis),
Drongo, tits, myna.
Pied Myna, Common Myna, Noel, bulbul, dove, con-
tinuing’.
The morning was cloudy, and a light westerly breeze was blowing.
The ground was wet due to heavy rain the previous night. Sunrise,
about 5.33. a.m.; temperature: maximum, ros H.; mimmaum, 75 i:
Evening Observations; sunset at 6.23 p.m.
p.m.
5}5)
,’
Pied Myna, myna, dove, Koel.
Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
Drongo, tits. |
oe
Ny)
e6)
H O
LS)
DAADAAAAG
Soy RSvy 150) (oy Coy (G8) (9)
Orn Go
Oo
6.40
|
OM oruri ow U1 Ui on
nun Go
G6 \O CON
9
August 2,
or or cn Ut’ Ut Gt Gat Yt Ut
(@)
OV
Gi Un
ial
On
oi ui
—_
i
i)
@y Cos
,
git Ut
ee)
a
cr
i)
\O
ont
oe)
e)
gr Ur Ui
2
Oe
Ww
o>)
a.m.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
409
Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psitlacula krameri), making a
lot of noise on a mango tree.
Drongo, Koel, parakeets.
Myna; Dhayal singing softly.
Pied Mynas, several together.
A lull. |
Bulbul, drongo, myna.
Owlets, bulbul, drongo.
Drongo, bulbul, myna.
Barbet, Pied Myna, Common Myna, [oel.
Plaintive swee-swee of Dhayal; Koel, crow.
iA dull.
Owlets, House Swift (Apus affinis).
Second owlet joined in; drongo.
Pied Myna, Koel, drongo, crow.
Drongo, Koel, crow.
AN ‘hell!
Drongo, owlet, Koel.
Koels at high pitch.
Drongos, [oels.
Koel, myna.
Swee-ee and Chr-r of a Dhayai.
~Drongo, myna.
Drongo, koel.
Koel, drongo, continuing.
Perfect silence prevails after the day’s hard struggle
for food, nest building, etc. All fast asleep.
1954.
House Crow.
Myna.
Second crow and myna join in.
Pied Mynas join the Common Mynas.
Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, crows.
A lull.
Koels from different directions.
Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, owlet.
Second owlet joined in, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas_
Crows.
Bulbul, mynas.
Second bulbul came in.
Bulbul, mynas.
All silent.
Crow, Koel.
Another crow from the west.
Another crow from the east.
All crows together, Koels.
Tits, dove, Pied Myna.
Second dove, tit, bulbuls:
Another tit joined; doves, bulbuls
Four doves in chorus; Koel.
“
410
.40
42
ho
ath
.46
.50
ici Orv uri gnr Ui tn
Onn
6.34
JOURNAL, BOMBAY] NATURAL HHESTSSOCID LY,” Viola 50
SoH ialeiae
)
A halt:
Soft call of a Dhayal.
Doves, tits, bulbuls.
Doves, tits, and koels at high pitch.
Crows, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
Koels, crows, mynas.
Small party of White-eyes hunting amongst the foliage
of a Toon (Cedrela toona) tree, and uttering jingling
notes all the. time.
Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, bulbul, White-eye.
Two Night. Herons were going to their roosting
grounds and kwaak-ing all the time; Dhayal.
Koel, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
A drongo whistling from the north; doves.
Doves, crows, Koels.
Another drongo from the east, Pied Mynas, doves.
White-eyes, mynas, doves.
Small Minivets, doves.
‘A lull.
Doves, crow, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, bulbul.
Crows, mynas, doves.
Doves, mynas,. kite, and >a, Scavenger > Vulture
(Neophron percnopterus) flying about but not calling.
Two young Koels making a noise while being fed by
a Crow.
Young Koels, barbet, bulbul.
A dull.
Barbet, crows.
aks:
Mynas, bulbuls, tit.
Silence.
Parakeets.
Shahin Falcon (Falco peregrinus perigrinator) flying
low but not calling; Pied Mynas give alarm.
Parakeets, barbet, myna, bulbul, young Koel, Tickell’s
Flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchum).
Small Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) sitting on 4
branch but not calling.
Mynas, doves, barbet.
Sunrise approximately at 6.35 a.m. The morning was _ very
cloudy, and it was difficult to observe the exact instant at which the
sun rose,
motionless.
There was no wind, and the morning was very calm and
Evening; sunset approximately at 6.25 p.m.
6:26 pam:
6527
6.28
6.29
6.30
92)
Young Koels, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), Pied Mynas, young
Koels.
Pied Mynas, doves.
Koel, Common Myna, young Pied Mynas.
Mynas, crow.
(Se)
,
DAAAR NS
Go GO
wy WO COON vu
+ Go
Evening
cloudy
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES Aik
Young Koel; 4 crows together; Koel.
Young Koels, Koels, crows.
Pied Myna, Common Myna, [oel.
Mynas.
Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, crow.
Sommenile
Barbet, Pied Myna.
Second barbet took part; Pied Mynas.
Two drongos, crows.
White-eves, crows.
Drongo, barbet, crow, Pied Myna.
Owlet, drongo; Koel, two from different directions.
Another —owlet, Shahin Falcon, young Koelis.
A hull:
Young Koels, crows, Night Herons going to feed.
Complete silence.
Two Koels from north and south, owlet.
, still and hot. Sun not visible for the most part.
Sunset observed with difficulty.
AUG) ole alos:
-IO a.M.
mMmuanononunmmo om Un Un UT Ut ot on UI Un
e . e . ° e e e ° Oac
Myna.
Several mynas joined in.
Two Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, crow.
Several Pied Mynas, Common Mynas in chorus, crow.
Owlet, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas. .
Second owlet from a different quarter, mynas.
Pied Mynas.
Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, Crow.
Koel, Common Mynas, Pied Mynas.
Another Koel took part.
Two Koels together, Pied Mynas.
Third Koel from the north, crows.
Koel from the north, mynas.
Silence:
Crows, young Koels, Pied Mynas.
Crows, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
Crows, Koels, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
Two Night Herons called while passing the compound.
Two crows making noise while feeding young NKoels.
Koels, mynas.
Parakeet.
Bulbul.
Bulbul, Pied Mynas.
Bulbul, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, Crow, White-eyes.
Bulbul, crows, mynas.
412 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL ‘HIST. SOCGL2TY © Vil. 60
6.09 a.m. Dove.
6.107") ,,, Dove aynas:
Ooreny Young Koels, dove, mynas.
OFIG es. & Parakeet, dove.
6.15 ,,: Second dove joined in; crows.
Ga 7aee Flowerpeckers, dove, young LNoels.
(Sysiltey eae Barbet, doves.
Ga20 ae. Bulbuls, barbet.
6. Zier White-eyes, dove.
On2 37 exe Mynas, dove, crow.
6:2 rs Two Koels, crows, mynas.
6226) 42. Doves, Koels, crows, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
Grey aes Barbet, bulbul.
5:28 e, Koels, Pied Mvynas, Common Mynas. crows.
©: 20 655, Two Doves, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas.
@:3Oune rn Barbet, bulbul, voung Koels.
Che Hamer Young Koels, crows, mynas.
Raining heavily; time of sunrise not observed.
Evening; sunset approximately 6.25 p.m.
6.30 p.m. Mynas, barbet, young Pied Mynas.
O22 75a. Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, barbet, young Koel.
623325, Koel, barbet, Pied Mynas, mynas.
O.3Ha os, Mynas, young Pied Mynas.
6535 ke. Young Pied Mynas, young Koel.
6286795, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, dove.
e374 1h. Barbet. Mynas, Dove.
6.38 ,, Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, barbet.
6:30 5. Mynas, barbet.
OnA10r een Parakeet, House Swift, barbet, mynas.
Gs4i. ee Pied Mynas, Common Mynas, barbet, Koel from the
west.
Omega. Koel, young Mynas, Mynas.
OSA rare. A lull.
rasta Crow, voung Koels, Koeis.
O46ur.. Crows, young Koels, mynas.
O47. Two drongos, dove, crows, young mynas.
OSA Sian, Crows.
6.49 ,, Drongo from the west;. crows.
OPS Ome Silence.
S51) fa Drongo, crow, young myna, owlet.
6.52 ,, Fwo owlets together, mynas, crows.
6.54° 75, Six Night Herons going to their feeding grounds;
crows, drongo.
Gusttea ny, Silence.
The evening was clear and hot, but the sun was partly obscured,
thus making time of sunset difficult to observe.
Several birds visit this compound for breeding only, e.g. Baya and
Sparrow, and are not seen thereafter. Others like the Grey Shrike
and the oriole are more common in the cold weather, and the drongo
comes only occasionally, mostly in the evening after the breeding |
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 4153
season. Night Herons and Cattle Egrets do not live here, but only
pass through. The Shahin Falcon and the woodpecker are irregular
visitors.
JAMAL ARA
4.) STRAY BIRD NOUTESSF ROM lb E
l-hawe just returmed>from what 1s, l fear, my last trip in Tibet.
I visited Lhakhang Dzong which you will find on the Vibet-Bhutan
border where the Lhebrak river pierces the Himalava. The existence
of an opening in the Himalaya makes it possible for South Himalayan
birds to enter Tibet and I am sure that if it ever becomes possible for
any observer to stay in that area, the number of Himaiayan species
recorded with a Tibetan distribution will be increased.
The country for some 30-40 miles up the Lhobrak river in Tibet
has a mixed deciduous (mainly birch) and conifer forest and I found
the following birds as far up as to within 4 miles of Se (Tse).
Nutcracker. The Himalayan species henzispila.
Bullfnch (Pyrrhula erythrocephaila).
Himalayan Cole Tit (Lophophanes ater aemodius).
Green-backed Tit (Parus monticolus monticolus).
Himaiayan Goldcrest (Regulus regulus himalayensis).
Red-flanked Bush Robin (Janthia cyanura rufilata).
These were all numerous.
In the same area there were Snow Pigeons (Columba leuconota)
Blue-headed Redstarts (P. /vontalis) and Accentors (Prunella strophtaia).
Also the same laughing thrush which is common on the Tibet side of
the Nathu La (which I think is Trochalopteron affine affine), a pipit,
probably Richard’s, (Anthis richardi) and the Himalayan Jungle Crow
(Corvus m. intermedius). |
At the Pemaling Ishho (Lake) I saw a flock of over 30 Hodgson’s
Grandala, Rubythroats, a Laiscopus which I took to be collaris nipal-
ensis, Prunella atrogularis, Bluethroat, Chaimarrhornis leucocephala,
also Giildenstadt’s Redstart and the Eastern Indian Redstart, a chat
like the Indian Bush Chat but without an orange-red breast.
I may add that in the deciduous/conifer forest area I saw twice,
but never distinctly, a dark blue bird with whitish sides which |
thought might be Hodgson’ s Shortwing.
I find from my notes of past years that a bied I saw in a valiey off
the Brahmaputra near Samve and in other places, appears to be the
Daurian Redstart, and that there is a martin in many parts of Tibet
which is neither the Crag Martin nor the Sand Martin but has a much
shinier black on the wings and body and a conspicuously white rump.
It looks like a House Martin but I do not think Ludlow mentions this
in his Bhutan list.
c/o GRINDLAY’s BANK
6, CHurRcH LAng, | —
CALCUTTA, i. E. RICHARDSON
November Tea TOGO:
414 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 590
15. BREEDING OF THE GREEN PIT VIPER (TRIMERESURUS
GRAMINEUS)
As there appears to be very little information regarding the breed-
ing of this Pit Viper it might be of interest to record that a few days
back we acquired « live specimen from a snake charmer said to have
been obtained at Matheran. This gave birth to 7 live young and
also expelled one infertile egg on oth June, 1951.
The mother takes a mouse 3 or 4 times a week, but there is no
evidence to show that the young have eaten anything so far. The
mother with all her youngsters remain throughout on the plant that
is provided in the cage, and she too does not show any inclination to
attack her prey for feeding unless removed by force from the plant.
VICTORIA GARDENS, J. N. BAROOA
Bomsay, Assistant Superintendent (Zoological).
june 122, Tost.
[In the, Journal, Vol xxa, po. 1380; Mr- N= Be Kinneansrecords. a.
young born in our Museum on 30th June.—EDs. |
16. SURFACE-LOCOMOTION OF CERTAIN FROGS (RANA),
AND THE OCCURRENCE OF R. TAIPEHENSIS VAN DEN-
BURGH IN INDIA.
This note is an amendment and amplification of my comments on
surface-locomotion in certain species of Rana, particularly R. erythraea
Schleg., which appeared in 1947 in this journal, (Vol. 47, pp. 173-174).
When publishing the record of this uncommon habit as having been
observed in a colony of R. erythraea at Mymensingh, Bengal in July,
1944, I had followed Boulenger in using the name erythraea. Boulenger
(vide his remarks in Records of the Indian Museum, Vol. xx 1920,}
did not accept taipehensis as a species distinct from erythraea. How-
ever, having subsequently discussed these frogs with Dr. Malcolm
Smith (to whom I submitted specimens from Mymensingh for examina-
tion), I am convinced that there is ample justification for accepting
the smaller R. taipehensis as distinct—and to which species, as pointed
out by Dr. Malcolm Smith, my specimens from Mymensingh will have
tO be referred:
During the course of studying the specimens of R. taipehensis and
R. erythraea in the British Museum (Natural History), I happened te
notice some remarks by Major S. S. Flower on the label attached to a
specimen of R. erythraea which he had collected at Singapore in 1806.
Consequently, I referred to Major Flower’s paper in the P.Z.S., 1896,
pp. 856-914, wherein he remarks of the latter species :—‘This is a most
active, agile frog, both on land and in the water; it can hop over the
surface of a pond, much as Rana cyanophlictis does in India, and also
jump right out of the water.’
Whereas I am undoubtedly at fault for not being aware of Majer
Flower’s record wheh my note was published in this journal in 1947,
It 1s extremely interesting to know that both R. erythraea and R.
MISCEELANEOUS. NOTES 415
taipehensis can hop over the surface of the water. The other interest-
ing point is that this appears to be the first published record of R.
laipehensis in India, and represents the western limit of its known
distribution.
I would like to express my thanks to Dr. Malcolm A. Smith and
Mr. J. C. Battersby, both of the British Museum (Natural History),
for their kindly advice and assistance.
c/o MINISTRY OF SUPPLY, J. D. ROMEK,
TROPICAL TESTING ESTABLISHMENT, Vel BiOls, F.%.S-
PortT HARCOURT, NIGERIA,
WEsT AFRICA.
july t0, 1951.
It oie Sa CARGHES ON DHE KODINAR (KATHIAW AR)
COAST ea
In the last issue of the Journal (Vol. 49, pp. 614-623), Dr. C. V.
Kulkarni in his paper on the Hilsa Fisheries in the Narbada River,
has remarked that ‘Chaksi’ is the local name of Hilsa ilisha and the
name of H. toli is ‘Palwa’ on the Kodinar Coast. He also suggested
that the export figures of H,. ilisha given in my paper on the Marine
Fisheries of Kodinar (J. Bombay Nat, Hist. Soc., 48, pp. 47-61) relate
fOr Lol andsthose-ot i. tols to i. iisha.
I had the opportunity of corresponding with Dr. Kulkarni on this
matter and he very kindly sent me a note explaining his comments.
From his note and the paper referred to above, it has been found that
his comments are based on the following :
(1) His enquiries from the fish merchants exporting fish to
Bombay showed that the fish known as ‘Palwa’ in Madhwad is called
‘Bhing’ in Bombay, where the term is used for H. toli only.
(2) Palwa specimens obtained from Madhwad were identified
by him as H. toli. This was also personally verified by him.
| (3) Dr. Moses in his paper entitled ‘A Statistical Account of the
Fish Supply of Baroda City’ {Bull. Dep. Fish. Baroda, 3) has mention-
ed Palwa as the local name of H. toli in Baroda (not Kodinar).
(4) Inspection of parcels arriving in Bombay from Madhwad etc.
after the monsoons has shown that H. toli is more numerous than
H, ilisha, while in the statistics presented by me H. ilisha is shown
as more numerous.
Dr. Moses in his Check List of the Fishes of Baroda State (dnn.
Kep. Dep. Fish. Baroda, 1937-38), gives Palwa as the local name
of both A. ilisha and H. toli. In Dr. Kulkarni’s paper also mention
is made of the fact that the vernacular names are often interchanged.
In the ports of Kodinar fishermen from different parts of Guyerat
camp for fishing during the fishing seasons, and it is likely that the
vernacular names used by the fishermen also vary. My information
is based on personal enquiries made from fishermen and Customs staff
of the area. The fish called by them as Palwa was identified by me
as Hf. ilisha. Specimens of Palwa were sent to Dr. K. K. Nair who
was working «n Hilsa and he also identified them as I. ilisha. My
416 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 50
enquiries from the local Customs staff indicated that HH. ilisha is con-
sidered as Palwa in their_records. In view of this and the observa-
tions of Dr. Kulkarni, it would appear that, as in certain other
centres, there is some confusion in the use of the vernacular names
of these fishes in the Kodinar ports also. So, it may not be possible
to obtain the correct export data of these fishes from Kodinar by
merely interchanging the figures as suggested by Dr. Kulkarni.
ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, ee. Re eae
INDIAN Musrum, CALCUTTA,
August 30, 1951.
18. A NOTE ON THE EGGS AND THE FIRST STAGE LARVA
OF HIPPOLYSMATA VITTATA STIMPSON?
The brightly coloured shrimp, /ippolvsmata vittata Stimpson was
frequently seen among the fouling organisms of Pearl Oyster cages
at Krusadai. Most of those obtained in the months from July to
October were berried and in each individual specimen examined there
were between 400-500 eggs. Eggs showed four different stages of
development ; and more than one stage was noticed on one individual.
Stage I.—Perhaps the earliest stage in development; the eggs had
a rounded shape with a diameter of 0.391 mm.
Stage II.—Eggs had become ovoid and the longest diameter was
0.529 mm.
Stage IIT.—Slightly more advanced than the previous stage. Eggs,
though oval, were bigger (0.690 mm.). The bent body of the Shine O
could be distinctly seen within the egg membrane.
Stage IV.—The embryo in the process of straightening OU gait
measured about 0.690 mm., the ,length of the entire egg being
0.920 mm.
Fiirsite stave €nlaligved:
Some of the berried individuals were left in an aquarium for ob-
servation. The larvae hatched out in the course of the day and the
parent was observed to have undergone a moult.
Dies: 6 rathp ecm Om Flea gm ode
The length of the larvae varied between 1.9 and 2.0 mm, The
evesiare sessile and the carapace has a slender rostrum ves beyond
the antenullar peduncle. The abdomen has 5 segments with a pair
of spines at the posterior margin of segment 5. The triangular telson
has 14 spines on its margin.
Antennule: Peduncle is unsegmented; outer flagellum with a
short plumose seta and 4 aesthetes. Inner flagellum absent, a short
plumose seta arising in its place.
Antenna : Flagellum is small and carries a long plumose seta.
Scale with 4 segments and carries 10 setae on the inner margin and
tip; and 2 setae on the outer margin.
1 Published with the kind permission of the Director of Fisheries, Madras.
4
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 417
Maxilla 1. Palp is unsegmented; and has 2 inner and 3 terminal
setae.
Mazilla II. Endopod is unsegmented and has 6 inner marginal
setae and 3 at the tip. Scale has 5 plumose setae, all of them being
large.
Maxilliped Le Endopodite with 4 segments provided with 3, 2, 1
and 2 setae respectively. Exopodite has rt outer and 3 terminal setae.
Maxilliped Ge Endopodite 3 segmented, having 5 terminal setae.
Exopodite has 3 terminal and 3 pairs of lateral setae.
Maxilliped ITI, Endopodite is long and 3-jointed. Exopod, has- 3
terminal and 4 pairs of lateral setae.
Menon (1940) described the larvae of Hippolysmata sp. from Madras
plankton. Differences noticed in the characters of the larva recorded
by him and those of Hippolysmata vittata are as follows :—
fa) The pterygostomial spine and the 3 small teeth observed on
the lateral margin of the carapace of the larva of the species examined
by Menon were absent in the larva of H. wiltata.
(b) Endopodite of Maxilliped I has 4 segments cach armed with
3, 2, 1 and 2 setae respectively. The Madras species though also
possessing a four segmented endopodite has 3, 1, 2 and 3 setae.
(c) In Maxilliped II of the larva of the species described now,
exopodite has only 3 terminal and 3 pairs of lateral setae, while the
species described by Menon has 3 terminal and 4 pairs of lateral
setae.
(d) Exopodite. of Maxilliped HI of the Krusadai species has 4
pairs of lateral setae, while the species recorded from Madras has
6 pairs.
The larva of H. vittata differs from the description of the larva
of Hippolysmata by Gurney (1937) in the absence of the carapace
with supra orbital spines and denticulate margin.
I am grateful to Messrs. K. Chidambaram and M. Krishna Menon
for their valuable suggestions in the preparation of this note.
KRUSADAL BIOLOGICAL STATION G. K. KURIYAN
PAMBAN,
January, 1951.
REFERENCES
1. Gurney, R. (1937): Discovery reports. 14, 401. ; e,
2. Menon, M. Krishna (1940): Bul. Madras. Mus. (N.S.) Nat. Hist. 3.
[A detailed diagram of the larva of Hippolysmata vittata will be
found in the paper on the Decapod larvae of Madras Plankton (refer-
ence 2 above). The difference in the larvae as described in the note
and that by Menon apparently consists only in the number of setae
present in some of the appendages.—Ebs. |
19. BUTTERFLY MIGRATION IN THE NILGIRIS
Just before the onset of the north-east monsoon I have seen thousands
of butterflies passing over the bungalow, which is at an elevation of
5,800 ft. As soon as the day begins to get warm, about 9 a.m., 4
418 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.-SOCIETY, Vol. 50
few butterflies are seen coming up the valley in front of the bungalow.
Soon they are arriving in thouesneet all from the same direction, north
to south, and all seem to be the same species, a brown butterfly with
vivid blue spots all over the wings | probably Danais limniace mutina-——
Eps.| This flight takes about three hours to pass over; the same
thing is seen for three or four consecutive days. These butterflies
keep at a fairly high level, 8 to 10 feet above the ground.
Last year about 25th October or just before the south-east monsoon
was due, the butterflies came from a different direction, east to west:
the first time I have noticed them coming this way, and a different
butterfly too, mostly white with a black spot [Catopsilia pyranthe1—
Eps.| This flight kept much lower, skimming the tea bushes, rising
rapidly over any obstacle, falling again to the low level. It resembled
the previous flights in the huge quantities, starting as soon as the
day became warm, continuing for about three hours, and for about
three or four days. Standing in their pathway one seemed to be
in a snowstorm!! We have never seen such huge quantities of
butterflies at other times of the year. One wonders why they do not
come before the south-west monsoon, also, why they are not attacked
during flight by birds, and never do we find dead or exhausted butter-
flies in the garden. ;
On ‘ia different oceasions we have seen butterflies resting at
night, like a swarm of bees, hanging from the branches of trees in
huge clusters. Twice we have seen them on Erythrina, once on
Grevillia trees
CuRZON ESTATE, MARGARET VILLIERS BRISCOE
KoTAGIRI, NILGIRIS, .
S. Inpm, April 2) 7951
20. A SHORT NOTE ON THE EUGENIA LEAF CATERPILLAR
CAREA SU BELTS SWAG
(With a text figure)
Carea subtilis Wlk. belongs to the family Noctuidae .and members
of this family are popularly avo n as owlet-moths. The larval stages
are generally smooth-bodied, and a majority of them are leaf-feeders,
with the exception of a few borers. The species Carea subtilis WIk.
has a few interesting features in form, habits and life-history. The
following is a brief note on the observations made at Coimbatore
during the past two years.
Host Plant
The caterpillar occurs on the foliage of Eugenia jambolana, and
has been recorded from India, Ceylon, Andamans and Java. Its dis-
tribution in South India was first mentioned by Ramakrishna Iyer (1913)
along with a parasite Tumidicoxocides jambolana Gir. The only other
alternative host recorded is Ficus sp.
* Identification confirmed by the author from coloured illustrations accompany-
ing Williams’s ‘The migration of Butterflies in India’—J.B.N.H.S., XL, 439.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ALg
‘Ponwe= "VE o t hi.
The adult is stout-built and sluggish during day time. The antennae
are ciliated, the eyes black and conspicuous, and the wing's and abdomen
coloured brick red or brown, with a whitish patch. (Fig. 3). The
species has been described in detail by Hampson (1896) and by Moore
(1892).
Pc. omo mic 1 mipor.t anc €.
Eugenia is one of the fruit trees growing in nature and planied
often as an avenue tree. It has seldom been recognised that the
tree is subject to the infestation of not less than a dozen insects of
which Carea subtilis Wlk. is the most important, capable of defoliat-
ing the tree severely during certain years. In the orchard at Coim-
batore, it was found to occur in large numbers during March to May
in the past two years.
Stages of
Eugenia leaf caterpillar
° Carea subtilis Wlk.
t (a) A leaf showing eggs on it
(6) A full grown caterpillar
2 (a) Cocoon on a leaf
(6) Pupa
3 Moth
Pere histor y.
The moths copulate on the next day after emergence and the female
lays her eggs singly on the ventral surface of the leaf all along the
margin and just below the mid-rib portion on the dorsal side. An
individual is capable of laying about 105 eggs and a single leaf may
have from 20 to 30 eggs. The bulk of the egg laying is completed with-
in 2 days. The larvae hatch out in three or four days. The newly
hatched caterpillar is very active from the second day and even at this
14
420 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
stage of growth it shows the characteristic swelling of thoracic region
faintly with two black bands on the abdomen. It feeds on tender
as well as old leaves, becomes full grown in 20 to 24 days and constructs
thick cocoons of whitish silk and pupates inside. The pupal period
varies from 8 to 12 days. Thus the whole life-cycle from egg to adult
takes 31 to 4o days.
Egg.
The egg is oval, flattish, yellowish, translucent, without any cover-
ing and seen mostly on the edge of the leaf margin (Fig. ra).
Larva.
The newly hatched caterpillar is about 1.5 mm. long and found
scraping the green matter on leaf, near about the place of hatching.
The notable feature about this caterpillar is that it has a characteristic
prominent swelling on the thoracic region and presents a grotesque
appearance. The protuberance is spongy, smooth, shining and colour-
ed greenish above and smoky at sides. The three pairs of thoracic
legs are short and strong but completely hidden by the swelling above.
The five pairs of prolegs are longer and stouter and provided with
strong hooks to have a firm grip on the branches and leaves of the
host plant. The larva, young and old, have the queer habit of spurt-
ing out thick yellowish fluid when disturbed or handled. In nature,
it exhibits also a tendency to migrate from branch to branch either in
search of fresh food or of suitable site for pupation. Just before
-moulting, the caterpillar remains motionless on the leaf, having ceased
feeding. The actual process of moulting is effected by the head
shield being first pushed forward by the formation of fresh growth
below, and getting detached gradually. This is followed by the rupture
of the outer skin all along the body and the caterpillar emerges out of
the larval skin.
The full grown caterpillar measures more than an inch. The head
is small and inconspicuous, being overshadowed by the thoracic protu-
berance. Abdominal segments are soft, yellowish with a smoky brown
tint, on the dorsal region, the sides and over the last segments. The
ventral side is pale white in colour. There is a short anal horn on the
8th segment as is found in bombycid or sphingid larva [Fig. 1 (b)].
Papa C140. 10
There is a drastic contraction of the size, during pupation, the
bulbose swelling being reduced considerably. ‘Thorax is seen clearly
three segmented only at this stage with a clearly marked prothoracic
shield. The abdominal portion has a green patch on the dorsal side
with a whitish blotch on either side, while the lateral regions develop
a reddish tinge. Unlike many other noctuids, it pupates on the leaf
within a thick whitish silken cocoon inside either a partially or com-
pletely rolled up leaf.
Paugoya:
The cocoon is attached to the leaf (Fig. 2a) and often two or niore
of them are found in one and the same leaf. The pupa is oval,
reddish brown, measuring about 0.6” in length, [Fig. 2 (b)].
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 42]
Remedial measures.
The caterpillars which are easily distinguished, can be readily
collected off and destroyed in the small plants and trees. Being an
external feeder, stomach poisons may easily bring about the destruction
of caterpillars. In laboratory trials 5% dusts of DDT and BHC have
shown a high degree of mortality, and it is wel! worth a trial on
field scale.
Conclwes von:
Eugenia yields nutritious fruits, which is generally a delicacy of
the poorer classes. Now that the tree is being freely propagated in
the intensive drive for planting trees, especially those of economic
importance, a detailed study of the pests infesting this tree is well
worth the trouble.
Mapras AGRICULTURAL K. R. ANANTHANARAYANAN,
DEPARTMENT B.A. (Hons.).
S. VENUGOPAL,
B.SC. (Zool.), B.Sc. (Bot.).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hampson G. F. (1896): Fauna of British India Moths, Vol. II, page 422.
Moore F, (1882-1883): The Lepidoptera of Ceylon, Vol. II, page 117.
Ramakrishna Iyer, T. V. (1919): Report of the Proceedings of the Third
Entomological meeting, Vol. I, page 79.
21. A NOTE ON THE BLOOD-SUCKING SIMULIUM
OF CEYLON
The Simuliidae are a family as yet little known as far as the
Ceylon forms are concerned. As far back as 1912, Mr. E. Brunnetti
described a new species of blood-sucking fly from Peradeniya (altitude
1,500-1,600 ft.). He named the new species Simulium striatum which
is the first S¢muliuwm to be known from Ceylon. The only other re-
cord is by Mr. R. Senior-White who captured a single specimen of
Simulium grisescens hitherto known from a unique male from Kur-
seong, on a window at Suduganga in the Matale District in January
1920. Thus only two species of Simuliwm are recorded as found in
Ceylon.
During the beginning of June this year, when collecting insects
_ in a rather woody patch of jungle at Horton Plains (altitude 7,000 ft.)
in the Nuwara Eliya District, I was severely bitten on the forehead
and also on the back of my neck and ears by a few small black flies.
I recognized these little insects as belonging to the dipterous family
Simuliidae. I was fortunate to secure two specimens in the act of
biting me and sucking blood, and they are definitely determined by
me as Simulium which, I believe, to be a hitherto unrecorded, or
possibly a new species from Ceylon. The bite of these blood sucking
Simulium can be described as sharp and stinging, and within a couple
of hours resulted in the development of a hard lump or swelling which
persisted for a number of days. In fact the bite is definitely far more
painful than that of a mosquito, and resulted after a couple of days:
422 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
in the formation of irritable spots, which eventually went on to ulcera-
tion. A week later however, the swelling increased considerably on
the face and neck, forming an enlargement of the gland on the right
side of the neck. The affected areas gave me much pain and in-
convenience, and of course ultimately I was compelled to seek medical
aid and treatment for suspected toxic symptoms.
It is of interest to note that this particular blood-sucking Simulium
from Nuwara Eliya District is so similar both in its bite and superfi-
cial appearance to the well known ‘Potu’ fly (Simulium indicum) from
the north-west Himalayas that it is very closely allied to this form.
A technical description of the female of this species by Dr. Edward
Recher was published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal
Vol. lili, Part 2, pp. 199-200 (1884). There is an interesting note on
the ‘Potu’ fly as found in the Himalayas by Mr. E. C. Cotes in the
Indian Museum Notes Vol. ii, No. 5, pp. 39-41 (1894), which is follow-
ed up by yet another important note on the blood-sucking habit of
this fly by Mr. Lionel de Niceville in the Indian Museum Notes Vol.
iv, No. 2, pp. 54-55 (1896). From all that is known of the habits of
European and American species of this genus it is supposed that the
female lays her eggs in quick flowing hill streams, and the larval
and pupal stages are passed in the water. The two specimens captured
by me at Horton Plains {altitude 7,000 feet) Nuwara Eliya District
in June 1951, are both females with mouth parts developed for blood-
sucking. The male is believed to be a harmless insect with rudimen-
tary mouth parts.
ENTOMOLOGICAL LABORATORY, T. R. SANDRASAGARA,
NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF CEYLON, F.R.E.S.
CoLoMBO 7 July 25, 1951.
22, -MATING BEHAVIOUR OF -LEECHES
One April afternoon in the Anamallais I was laying on the ground
watching ants at. work. when my attention was drawn to gentle
tapping. noises coming from. some foliage nearby. I. looked up
and saw a leech tapping a leaf. There were answering taps some
distance away. Shortly afterwards a male leech came into view and
landed on the same leaf as the female and both tapped the leaf to-
gether and separately. I should say this lasted for a good two minutes.
The male then approached to within 1” to the female and the dance
started. They tapped the leaf and the heads curled round one way
and then the other way interrupted by both tapping, sometimes once
and sometimes twice, always together. This tapping and embracing
continued for another two minutes. The male organ then projected
and they coupled. Together they moved backward and forward
leaning over one way and then the other. I should say this went on
for 1} minutes. After completion, the male went off the way he came
and the female in the opposite direction.
KapaAmane Estate & P.O. 3 C.J. LESLIE
Hassan Dist., Mysore.
July 25,. 1951.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 423
| By way of comment on the above, Dr. C. Brooke Worth quotes from
Craig and Faust, ‘Clinical Parasitology’, Philadelphia, 1040, the
following:
P. 493. ‘Leeches are hermaphroditic. Each worm _ possesses
I to 10 or more pairs of small, hollow, spherical testes. A small
vas efferens, arising from each testis, enters one of the paired vasa
deferentia, which continue as paired seminal vesicles, each being
usually provided with a prostate gland, an ejaculatory duct and a
muscular penis. he two ejaculatory ducts enter a common bursa
copulatrix or genital atrium. The ovaries consist of a single pair
of coiled, filamentous sacs which are continuous with their ducts.
The two ducts unite to form a-common convoluted oviduct, which
is continued as a muscular uterus and opens through a short vaginal
tube in a mid-ventral line, one metamere behind the male genital
opening (usually stated to open on somite 9).’
P. 494. ‘In some leeches insemination is accomplished when one
leech implants onto the cuticula of another a horny pocket or sperma-
tophore, from which spermatozoa issue forth, migrate through the
tissues of the recipient and reach its ovary. In the group to which
the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) belongs, reciprocal copula-
tion takes place by the introduction of the penis of each into the
vagina of the other and the reciprocal deposition of a spermatophore.
Thus, in either type, fertilization takes place before the eggs are
layed.’
He agrees that Mr. Leslie’s observation is of interest, for the
witnessing of mating behaviour of leeches must be a rare, if not unique,
occurrence. One is tempted to guess that the leeches’ antics served as
recognition signals to bring them together for copulation.—EDs. |
23. DESCRIPTION AND DISCUSSION OF THE BITING OF
AN INDIAN LAND LEECH (ANNELIDA; HIRUDINEA)
In the literature at hand embracing medical parasitology there is
no detailed description of a land leech’s biting. Hence it may be of
interest to record experience arising out of curiosity about this matter.
Craig and Faust (1) give information that indicates Haemadipsu
zeylanica as the common land leech of Southern India. Leeches corres-
ponding in size (about 1 inch long) and somewhat in behaviour to
this species are common on coffee and cardamom plantations in the
western part of Mysore State, especially in the monsoon period during
the summer months. The present observations were made near Saklesh-
pur, Hassan District, in the Western Ghats during June-August, 195:.
A word should be said first about the method by which these teeches
reach a host. In Craig and Faust and in Manson-Bahr (2) is found
the statement that terrestrial leeches ‘actively spring’ upon their victims,
while Strong (3) recounts the opinion that H. seylunic may at times
. ‘drop’ onto hosts from overhanging vegetation. While neither of
these methods of attack has been observed in Mysore, the second can
be imagined as possible, but the first cannot be classified as otherwise
than fantastic. Leeches have light receptors but no visual organs,
424 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
for registering images, so that the presence of a potential host in
their vicinity could be realised by them only as a vague phenomenon.
Leaping, if it took place, would be random and ridiculous. Secondly
one wonders just how a leech would manage a leap, since its locomotor
organs consist solely of the anterior and posterior suckers, structures
that are hardly adapted for jumping.
Dropping onto a victim entails the necessity again for accurate
awareness of the position of a passing host. Perhaps the jostling
of vegetation would provide sufficient stimulus to spark the dropping
manoeuvre. But so far as Mysore observations are concerned, the
unfed leech is loth to detach itself from whatever substrate supports
it. Locomotion, even by the hungriest leech, is accomplished by a
succession of looping motions, resembling those of a measuring worm
(Lepidoptera; Geometridae). The hind part of the body is brought
forward when the anterior-sucker has found agreeable attachment;
the fore part is extended when the posterior sucker is similarly satis-
fied. Thus final lodgement on a host results from initial awareness
of the host’s presence and resultant crawling activity in the host’s
direction. The fact that coffee planters and other bucolic inhabitants
have a motto, ‘Walk first in line,’ is a testimonial not to leaping or
dropping of leeches, but to leeches’ awakened activity when the first
man passes, leading to infestation of individuals subsequently travers-
ing the disturbed path.
Land leeches may be encountered or collected when one walks
through damp ravines or similar moist situations. ‘They frequently
are detected first on one’s shoes. If it is desired not to permit them
to feed, one naturally tries to remove them and throw them away.
This is about as easy as trying to rid one’s fingers of a wad of
chewing gum that has begun to stick. The leech’s leathery or rubbery
integument seems almost insusceptible of injury, and even rough
treatment, from hand to hand, does not dissuade the worm from fasten-
ing itself by one sucker or both to each new grasping forefinger and
thumb.
The leech on a shoe, or on a stone or rotted leaf near its prospeciive
host, progresses by a series of looping motions. Each time the post-
erior sucker is brought forward to a new position, the anterior part
of the body is elevated and goes through a rapid vibratory groping
motion which could be likened to the sniffing of a dog determining
the direction of its quarry. Whether this is a search merely on a
tactile basis, or an actual olfactory experience, cannot be assessed.
When a leech is placed purposely on the back of one’s hand, in
order to observe it conveniently through a lens, it quickly avails itself
of the opportunity to feed without disturbance. The anterior sucker
is apparently some sort of testing or tasting mechanism, for the leech
is not always satisfied with the first spot encountered. However, one
cr two looping steps usually suffice to bring the animal into feeding
frame of mind.
Immediately when the leech finds a location suitable for feeding,
the human subject may feel a slight stinging or irritating sensation.
This lasts for half a minute or less; were the observer engaged in
other activities, the chances are that nothing at all would be noticed.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 425
But even the intent student feels nothing more after this short initial
period of minimal discomfort.
Close examination of the leech from now onward discloses that
its neck is the site of rhythmic contractions and expansions. These
movements consist of slight alternating dimplings of the cuticle in
two regions, one behind the other. A low-powered hand lens pro-
vides sufficient magnification for observing this phenomenon. The
frequency of contraction cycles is about two or three per second.
During the first five minutes there is little change in the general
situation. The leech appears to draw its posterior sucker slightly
forward, but this may in reality be illusion produced by its imper-
ceptibly broadened diameter as the first blood is ingested.
For the next fifteen minutes the events attendant upon beginnings
of obvious engorgement take place. Sucking motions of the neck
region continue without interruption. The body becomes distended
laterally and dorsovenrtally. A poo! of thin liquid—not mucus—
begins to appear around the leech. The nature of this liquid has not
been sttudied in Mysore. However, it appears in increasingly copious
amounts during the remainder of the feeding period, and the possibility
suggests itself that the transudation or excretion may be a means of
getting rid immediately of excess fluid from ingested blood, in order
to concentrate the solid elements of that tissue. This would increase
the efficiency of feeding and the subsequent possibilities for massive
‘egg production.
In the following twenty minutes maximum engorgement takes place.
Owing to the attachment of the posterior sucker in a fixed position,
the body of the leech is pushed forward over its head, leading to an
undershot position of the anterior sucker, and the bending of the
leech’s neck into S-shaped curve. The distortion becomes increasingly
marked as feeding progresses to its completion.
When engorgement becomes advanced, a series of irregular peri-
stalic contractions of the body begins, the waves of contraction moving
in general from before backwards, although being by no means uni-
form. This must serve to put the ingested blood through a churning
action, and also to distend the paired lateral pouches of the crop in
which food is stored, thereby possibly making room for the imbibing
of more nutriment.
Just before voluntary detachment, the leech exhibits maximal peri-
staltic activity, while the surrounding pool of ‘leech fluid’ becomes also
most voluminous. Detachment takes place during an exhibition of
peristalsis, as if the worm were still reluctant to let go, but in its
bloated and unwieldy condition were unbalanced by the violence of
its somatic activities.
Che site of attachment, viewed through a lens and through ‘leech
fluid’ at the instant of release, resembles a geometric three-cornered
star, aptly described as a triradiate wound (1). The cut edges are
wonderfully neat and symmetrical. Owing to prolonged sucking action
of the leech, the edges are now slightly edematous and therefore ele-
vated, with separation of apposite margins.
Blood immediately diffuses into the leech fluid. However, the present
- observer experienced only slight subsequent bleeding. After wounds
were wiped once or twice with a handkerchief, clotting took place and
426 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
an insulating crust was formed. This is not in accord with most
reports, in which the lesions are said to bleed ‘for sometime’ even
after voluntary detachment of the leeches (3). Ficths
Later reactions to leech bites in the present instance have consisted
of: (a) Visualisation of the triradiate lesion (under magnification) for
eight hours following the bite. Hemorrhagic infiltration of the sur-
rounding skin was evident within the edematous area corresponding
to diameter of the leech’s mouthparts (under 2 mm.). (b) Itching of
the bite site was noted for several days.
The engorged leech, on relinquishing its hold, encounters difficulties
in locomotion, since it is now so greatly distended. It shows no
hesitation in dropping to the ground, which must be a rather uncomfort-
able experience for a worm with a full stomach. Upon reaching such
environment, it continually falls over to right or left, since its pot belly
interferes with easy progress. The anterior end apparently still func-
tions as a sense receptor, apprising the organism of the state of local
conditions. Thus the leech succeeds at last in dragging itself to the
edge of a pebble, beneath which it secretes itself within a few moments.
No. 3, St. Marks Roan, i C. BROOKE WORTH
BANGALORE, MYSORE. .
REFERENCES
1. Craig, C. F., and Faust, E. C. (1940): Clinical Parasitology, Lea and
Febiger, Philadelphia.
2. Manson-Bahr, P. H. (1929): Manson’s Tropical Diseases, Ninth Edition.
William Wood and Co., New York.
3. Strong, R. P.° (1944): Stitt’s Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment of
Tropical Diseases. The Blakiston Company, Philadelphia.
24. A TERATOSIS OF MUSSAENDA HIRSUTISSIMA HUTCH
A striking teratosis of Mussaenda hirsutissima has been found in
the High Range of Travancore which seems worthy of record.
The species is common in the area and is very conspicuous on
account of its bright orange red flowers and the occurrence of a
greatly enlarged sepal on some of the flowers which is white in coiour
and roughly of same size as the leaves. The enlarged sepal is by
no means regularly formed. In a series of inflorescences of from
8-21 flowers, not more than 3 or 4 show this development in each
inflorescence.
In the abnormal plant, the frequency of the enlarged sepal is
similar to that in the normal type, but every corolla is replaced by
5 separate ‘petals’ of the same form and colour as the enlarged
sepal. The stamens are represented by short hairy subulate staminodes.
The ovary is 5-locular, instead of the normal bilocular, and the usual
single style with a bilobed stigma is replaced by 5 separate style-like
organs considerably shorter than the normal style, which do not
appear to have functional stigmas.
Two plants of this type have been found both within a few yards
of each other, but separated by a metalled road, in association with
a number of quite normal individuals. Although the species is very
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 427
common in the district, occurring in small societies, no cases of this
abnormality have yet been seen in any other site so far examined.
SCIENTIFIC DEPART. W. WILSON MAYNE
MUNNAR, TRAVANCORE
June 25, 1951.
25. FREREA INDICA DALZ.—A NEW RECORD IN BOMBAY
After the publication of my previous note on the occurrence of |
this plant in Purandhar in this journal (49: 801-802, 1951) I received
a letter from the Rt. Rev. R. D. Acland, m.a., formerly a vice-president
of our Society, in which he states: ‘My Cooke shows from a marginal
note that I had Frerea indica at Kate’s Point, Mahabaleshwar, in
October 1924. It may well be there still; do look for it. I did not
note the exact date but was there for the first three weeks of the
month; still in the clouds for the first day or two. I always regretted
never having got there in October again. . .’
Mahabaleshwar, then, must be counted among the few localities
in our State where this very rare plant has been observed in recent
years.
ST. XAVIER’s COLLEGE, Bey oA APA sae
ForT, BomBay 1.
July 30, 1951.
26. A BRANCHED SPECIMEN OF €COSTUS SPECIOSUS SMITH
Costus speciosus Smith is a very common plant all over the area
of the National Park at Borivli; the appearance of the plant, however,
is very typical, and the present is the first branching specimen that
has come to my notice. The stem is normally spirally curved, with
large leaves placed spirally on it; the usual size of the leaves may be
about 15—20x8—10 cms., and leaves cover the whole stem from
below.
On June 30, 1951, a plant was seen in a clump of normal specimens
showing remarkable structures. The lower part of the stem was leaf-
less up to about 75 cms. from the ground, and perfectly straight; at
about that height there were four small branches, each of about 15 cms.
in length. These small branches were covered with leaves of only
5—8 x 4—5 cms., all placed in the usual spiral fashion on each branch.
On careful examination it was noticed that the stem had been dam-
aged at the apex, and this may have induced this strange proliferation.
On the hills near Bombay there is another plant that is usually un-
branched, or very sparingly branched; it is Buchnera hispida Buch.
Ham., of the family Scrophulariaceae. On several occasions I have
observed the plant branching profusely from near the ground, but on
examination it has been found that the main stem had been damaged
by browsing animals. The case of Costus speciosus Smith described
in this note seems to be a similar one, and requires no further ex-
planation.
ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE, H. SANTAPAU, s.,J.
Fort, Bompay tr.
July 4, 1951.
428 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
27. A NOTE ON NEURACANTHAUS SPHAHROSTACH VS
DALZ.
(With two plates)
During many botanical excursions in the neighbourhood of Bombay,
the authors of this note have been frequently struck by the abundance
of this plant. If Dalzell and Clarke are correct in their statements
that this plant seldom sets seed, such an abundance is almost un-
inielligible. For this reason we have paid particular attention to the
habits of this plant with a view to elucidate an apparent contradiction.
Before describing the plant, it may be worth putting down its
synonymy and calling attention to an error in Cooke’s Flora concern-
ing the spelling of the specific name. Cooke writes: N. sphaerostachys ;
Dalzell always called the plant N. sphaerostachyus, and so did Clarke
in Hook. f., Flora of British India. Cooke’s spelling must be con-
sidered a simple printing error. The synonymy is as follows:
Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus Dalz. in Kew Journ. Bot. 2: 140,
1850; Dalz. & Gibs., Bombay Fl. 190; Clarke in FBI. 4: 4o1;
Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bombay 2: 387 (sphaerostachys per sphalm.).
Lepidagathis sphaerostachya Nees in DC., Prodr. 11: 254, 1847.
Neuracanthus lawii Wight, Icon. t. 1531, 1850.
Before giving our own observations on the plant, we may be
allowed to transcribe Dalzell’s description, translating it from the Latin
where necessary:
‘Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus; stems very many, erect, simple,
obtusely quadrangular, pubescent-scabrid from a perennial root; leaves
opposite, oblong, truncate at the base or subcordate, apex obtuse,
both sides of the leaf pubescent-scabrid, pale beneath, spikes in
opposite axils, sessile, capitate-congested, globose, densely silvery
tomentose, growing much after anthesis, bracts orbicular, suddenly acu-
minate, coloured, 5-7-nerved, reticulately veined, slightly longer than
the calyx; upper lip of the calyx oblong, 3-toothed, 3-nerved, the
lower lip deeply bifid, segments lanceolate, 1-nerved, all the segments
reticulately nerved; tube of corolla slender, cylindric, as long as the
calyx, limb entire, ventricosely rotate-cyathiform.—Neuracanthus sphae-
rostachyus, Dalz. in Hook. Plant. ined. with plate. |
‘Stems 14-2 ft. high, at times verrucose below. Leaves 4 inches
long, 2 inches broad, somewhat hard. Spikes single, turbinate, 6-
12 lines long. Bracts and calyces in flower 3 lines, in fruit 9-12 lines
long, enclosing the capsule, all sericeotomentose on both sides.
Corolla 6 lines long; tube white, limb blue; anthers, stigma, capsule
etc. entirely as in N. tetragonostachyus.—Grows in both Concans;
flowers Sept.
‘Although the limb of this singular plant is entire, it is very
evidently made up of five pieces, not exactly by the union of their
margins, but by the interjection, as it were, of triangular pieces, so
as to unite the opposite margins. Each of the five pieces is indicated
by parallel veins and lines of hairs on the back. Each piece has
three veins, there being six close together in the upper part of the
limb, and two lines of hairs indicating the two parts of an upper
lip; the same marks are visible on the lower side of the limb at
Piatr I
Author
rena
wi
ee
=
Pa
inflorescence
Dry
Ihe
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
Photo
Mature capsules
ra
oF
PLaTE LF
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
seeds
Dry
3
Seeds in water
4.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 423
greater distances from each other, indicating three divisions, the
middle one being furnished with a line of hairs both outside and inside.
The aestivation is decidedly plicate and not contorted.’
This is a common herbaceous to shrubby plant, found in more or
less open country, gregarious, and very conspicuous especially during
the dry pre-monsoon period; at such a time this is often the only
plant left standing on grassy slopes or plateaus especially after the
grasses have been removed by fire. At the best of times it is not an
elegant plant, but during the dry season it is a veritable eyesore and
a constant nuisance.
Dalzell and Cooke mention that the rootstock is perennial, but
seem to imply that the stems are annual; this accords with our obser-
vations only in a general way; on numerous occasions we have noticed
‘old stems giving out fresh leaves at the beginning of the monsoon
season, and this seems to show that the stems, at least occasionally,
are biennial or possibly perennial.
As a rule the stems are erect, simple and terete to subquadrangular,
15-75 cms. high; branching is very rare. Leaves are sessile or sub-
sessile, up to 10 x 6.5 cms., obtuse or subobtuse, glabrous to scabrid,
and generally rather stiff and rough to the touch; both surfaces are
covered with numerous raphides, which are plainly visible in dry
specimens; the leaf base is rounded to cordate, often distinctly un-
equal-sided ; main lateral nerves 8-10 pairs, conspicuous. The leaves
persist on the plant from about June till well into the hot season.
Flowers are generally axillary, occasionally axillary and terminal ;
at first in simple spikes, at length in dense heads formed of closely
packed spikes, the heads reaching 7.5 or more cms. in diameter.
Bracts at first green, then brown, at length black, often broader than
long, the lower ones practically glabrous, the rest densely hairy and
ciliate, all strongly nerved. For the bracteoles and calyx segments,
see Cooke. Calyx 2-lipped, the segments 3 and 2. Corolla limb cup-
or funnel-shaped, entire or nearly so, only slightly 2-lipped; the colour
of the corolla limb is generally deep purple-blue or deep purple, occa-
sionally white; the corolla tube is whitish; the diameter of the corolla
is about 20 mm.
Possibly one of the reasons why some authors have failed to find
fruits and in consequence have stated that the plant seldom sets
seed, is that the development from ovary to fruit is very slow in-
deed; flowers appear at the beginning of August, and generally it is
only towards the end of December or even later that the capsules
appear, but even then they are enveloped in such a dense array
of bracts and bracteoles as to be practically invisible; only careful
search can reveal their presence during winter and the early part of
the hot season. We have studied this point for several years, and
invariably have found 10 or more mature capsules in well-formed
heads ; photo no. 1 shows an inflorescence head collected on June 15th,
_ 1951, with 4 or more capsular valves after dehiscence. In the general
conflagration of our hills that takes place during the hot season, many
of the capsules, especially those placed on the outer parts of the floral
heads, are destroyed by burning, but even so, numerous capsules
escape destruction and come to normal dehiscence,
430 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Mature capsules (photograph no. 2) are light brown in colour,
glabrous and shining, oblong in shape, shortly and suddenly attenuated
at the apex and base, flattened parallel to the septum; average
dimensions about 12-14 x 4.5 x 2.3mm. Seeds 4, two in each loculus,
each seed supported on a hard, up-turned retinaculum; seeds about
4-4.2 mm. diam., 0.6-0.7 mm. thick, orbicular or nearly so, densely
covered with whitish or greyish-white long hairs, which are closely
appressed to the seeds; the dry seed appears to be deeply striated, but
the striations are due entirely to the arrangement of the hairs. When
the seed is placed in water, the hairs expand forming a sort of a
corona round the nearly glabrous, light-brown seed; the size of the
wet seed with its concomitant corona is up to 11 mm. diam, (see
photographs nos. 3 and 4).
As soon as the first rains of the monsoon fall, the capsules dehisce
somewhat explosively, and seeds are thrown some distance from the
parent plant; the capsule valves remain more or less attached to or
entangled in the floral head and are conspicuous {see photograph no. 1).
Germination seems to take place almost at once; the two cotyledons
are suborbicular in outline with 5-7 nerves from the base. Often the
seeds are unable to escape after dehiscence of the capsule on account
of the dense structures surrounding the capsule, and then they ger-
minate on the parent plant.
St. XAVIER’S COLLEGE, P. V. BOLE, M.sc.
BomBay, _ H. SANTAPAU, 87.
August 26, 1951.
EXPLANATION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS
Photo. 1: Dry floral head with remains of several capsules after dehiscence.
Photo. 2: Mature capsules before dehiscence; the top left-hand capsule is
shown side-ways, the others frontways.
Photo. 3: Dry seeds photographed on a scale to show size.
Photo. 4: Seeds placed in a dish of water, with the corona expanded round
the seeds.
28. THE FLOWERING OF STROBILANTHES
IN KHANDALA (IV)
In continuation of my previous notes on this intriguing subject,
here are some more data gathered during September 1951. In August
1950 I reported a fairly extensive flowering of this plant on Bhoma
Hill, in Khandala; the flowering had taken place in the second half
of the monsoon of 1949. Recently I examined the same spot and
found that a general flowering is now in progress on the higher parts
of Bhoma Hill. From the Saddle upwards to the top of the hill and
coming down by the opposite side, locally known as Barometer Hill,
down to about the same height as the Saddle practically every plant
is loaded with buds or flowers.
Out of curiosity I examined a number of the smaller plants in
flower; some of them measured only 15 cm. in height, and had up to
20 buds, i.e. not single flower buds, but whole ‘strobili’; the colour
of the bracts varied from pure creamy white through green to deep
pink, the latter being the commonest colour. On the same small plants
the number of leaves was only 2—4. Larger plants reaching up to 2 m,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 431
or more in height, the number of ‘strobili’ was too difficult to count,
but they were simply massed all along the plant.
In the spot mentioned in my previous communication, i.e. the
NW. side of the top plateau, where a general flowering had taken
place in 1949, at present I could see very dense growths of the same
plant ; some of the specimens were only 50 cms. high, but in the centre
of each clump plants reached 1.5 m. high; all these plants were in the
vegetative state only, without a single plant showing buds or flowers.
Careful examination of the district round Khandala revealed the
fact that only 6 plants in all were seen in apie scattered singly
throughout the district. On the other hand the plant is very abundant
practically on all the hills and slopes near Khandala down to pe ss
wadi along the G.I.P. Ry. line.
The imaginary line mentioned in my previous note dividing flower-
ing from non-flowering plants is also very clear this year, plants on
the W. side being sterile, those on the E. side of the same line being
loaded with flowers. For a beautiful sight I strongly recommend a
day’s trip to Khandala, the top of Bhoma is just a veritable riot of
colour.
ST. XAVIER’s COLLEGE, H. SANTAPAU, s.J.
ForT, BoOmBay 1.
September 16, 1951.
aj. PREPARATION OF A FLORA FOR MADHYA PRADESH
AND THE CENPRAL PARTS OF TEE INDIAN UNION
Since the issue of Hooker’s Flora for the whole of India, regional
floras have been prepared for most parts of India except for Madhya
Pradesh. Such floras are:
Cooke—Flora of Bombay (1901),
Haines—Flora of Bihar & Orissa (1921-1925) and
Gamble (Fisher)—Flora of Madras (1914-1935).
In the M.P. the only partial lists prepared have been H. H. Haines’s
‘List of Trees, Shrubs and Grasses for Southern Circle’, D. O. Witts’s
‘List of Trees, Shrub & Grasses of the Berar and Northern Circles’,
and Graham’s ‘List of Common weeds found in and around Nagpur’.
No herbarium has been formed in any institution in M.P. though
some small collections exist in the Nagpur University and the Bala-
ghat Forest School.
2. Therefore anyone undertaking botanical work in Madhya
Pradesh is very greatly handicapped in prosecuting his studies. For
my part I travel with the Bombay, Bihar and Madras floras and I
have to consult one after the other to track down some species. For
instance in Chanda and South Bastar many plants are described only
in the Madras flora; in east Madhya Pradesh, the plants are mostly
found in the Bihar flora, while in central and west Madhya Pradesh
the Bombay flora is more useful. The further disadvantage is that
these floras were prepared 15-50 years ago and in many ways are
getting out of date, or are out of print.
3. In addition the whole scientific attitude to systematic study
of living organisms is changing; and, in particular, in plants it is
realised that the old attempt to allot every specimen to a definite
432 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
species is impossible. We find every gradation and a more flexible
nomenclature is needed. It is, therefore, a suitable time to undertake
an entirely new flora for the central parts of the country.
4. The area of country to be covered by the flora would have
to be decided first. In this connexion we must look ahead to the
possible formation of linguistic provinces. The present territories
included in the Madhya Pradesh State vary in altitude, rainfall and
rocks, but the similarities are greater than the differences and the
present State (excluding certain outlying parts) is a_ satisfactory
botanical unit.
5. The organisation of the work would have to be discussed
by the parties concerned and the amount of detail to be given in the
Flora. Modern botanical studies pay as much attention to the
ecology of the species as to its identification. It appears desirable
to extend the scope of the flora beyond the usual. In that event the
first steps to be taken are to organise the formation of an herbarium
where all the specimens collected may be housed and final and
authoritative identification done; secondly, to obtain records of the
distribution of the plants within the area covered by the flora and
thirdly, to record information on the soils on which each plant is
found growing, altitude, time of flowering, fruiting and relative
abundance or scarcity. I would estimate this preliminary work
would take at least five years. In the past there were enthusiastic and
learned men like Haines, Gamble, Fisher, Kunjilal and Mooney
to do all this work themselves, but none such are available now.
However, each year a large number of graduates in botany pass
out from the colleges and a number are now working in the Forestry
Service and there may be an equal number in the Agricultural Depart-
ment. What we lack in knowledge may be made up in numbers. I
am sure that if the local botanists know that the preparation of the
flora is being undertaken they will also co-operate to make the initial
collections to form a basis for the final compilation.
6. There is the further question of the headquarters for such
an organisation. It would be best if it could be housed either in the
University or the Nagpur Museum. However, as funds would be
small it may be necessary in the first place to rely on voluntary
workers. Later, funds would have to be arranged by the Government
for the printing and publication.
7. Another important principle is that of language. All the
existing floras are in English and it would be very tedious and
awkward to translate any of these into the State language. A flora
printed in Hindi will, however, be an absolute necessity within 10-15
years, and it appears much better to prepare an entirely new and
up-to-date flora in Hindi than to adopt an old one written in English.
8. Accordingly, I am venturing to place these facts before the
various heads of departments in the Madhya Pradesh administra-
tion and the Vice-Chancellors of the Universities. I request the
heads of departments to forward the Memorandum to the Hon’ble
Minister in charge of the departments with their comments. I hope
the Madhya Pradesh Government would consider the scheme worth
investigation and would agree to summon a conference to be attended
by all the interested parties in the near future. _I have hopes that the
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 433
preparation of a Flora for Madhya Pradesh would be a worthy project
to include in the next five-year development plan for this State.
g. Though I visualise in the first place that the work would be
carried out mostly by voluntary workers, there is no doubt that a
special ‘State Botanical Survey’ should be set up. This would be
in the long run the most economical and efficient way to carry out
the work. This survey could be either a separate department like
the Geology and Mining Department or could be attached to one of
the existing departments such as the Agricultural or Forest Depart-
ment. |
JAGDALPUR, C. E. HEWETSON
BASTAR, Conservator of Forests
October 1, 1951.
30. SHOOTING OF PEAFOWL AND ANTELOPE (BLACK-
BUCK) PROHIBITED IN MADRAS STATE
From Madras Information 5 (7): 34, July 1951.
‘It is brought to the notice of Government that the Indian Black-
buck usually found in open rural areas in the districts of Chittoor,
Bellary, etc., and the peacock found in large numbers in the district
of Bellary and especially in the Sandur area are being ruthlessly de-
cimated in numbers of reckless shooting of premature males and
pregnant females. With a view to prevent this reckless shooting of
these vanishing species, the Government of Madras have under the
powers vested on them by Section 3 of the Wild Birds and Wild
Animals Protection Act, 1912 (Central Act VIII of r912), declared the
whole year to be a close time throughout the State for Peafowl (which
includes peacock and peahen) and antelope (blackbuck).’
R. W, BURTON
Lr. CoL., 1.a. (Retd.)
31. GLEANINGS
Without comment
‘Many a native tractor driver, leaving his machine in a field over-
night, returned to find a tiger sleeping in the driver’s seat’.
(From an account of the use of American tractors in India—Time
dated 2nd July 1951, p. 23.)
A Super Builder
A South African Weaver Bird (Ploceus ocularis) has been known
to build a nest with an entrance tube ‘upwards of 8 feet long’.
[Friedmann : ‘Breeding Habits of Weaver Birds’. Annual Report
of the Smithsonian Institution (1949) p. 295. |
Pantocrin from deer antlers
The following is from an article entitled ‘In the Altai Highlands’
in Soviet News No. 1 of March 1950, p. 32.:
‘Not far from the road lies a big maral-breeding state farm.
The marals—a big, handsome species of deer—live in natural condi-
434 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
tions, at full liberty. A high wall prevents them from leaving the
territory of the state farm, which comprises 7,500 hectares of forest
land.
Every spring the grown stags are separated from the herd
and rounded into a special enclosure, where, one by one, they are
driven into the antler-cutting pen. A few strokes of the surgical saw,
and the young antlers, still soft, have been removed. Next spring
they will grow again.
The medicinal qualities of panti, or antlers, have long been
known in Tibetan medicine. The true source of these qualities, how-
ever, was discovered only in recent times by Soviet research workers.
The secret lies in a substance known as pantocrin, remarkable
for its tonic qualities and its acceleration of the healing of wounds
and ulcers.
The Soviet pharmaceutical industry produces panttocrin from
antlers in sufficient quantity to allow its extensive application in medical
practice.’
[Maral is the Eastern Red Deer (Cervus elaphus maral).—Eps. |
Cobra fergning death
Wesley H. Dickinson in Herpetologica 1948, p. 147, has a tote
on an Egyptian Cobra Naja haje that appeared to be dead in a cage.
He writes:
‘I removed it and noted that the tail would hook around an object
when the body was lifted. I placed it in the sun thinking that it may
come to life . . . The snake’s mouth hung open and it lay on its
back with an unnatural stiffness. I handled and watched it for an
hour without detecting any breathing, but the trachea opened slightly
and irregularly. A slight evidence of life was seen from time to time
so I replaced the snake in its box and placed the wire cover over it.
After ten minutes absence I found the cover off and the snake
gone. After prolonged search the snake was found entering a hole
in a wall. The snake was acttve and agile.
While placing the snake in its box I felt it go limp and apparently
dead. Five minutes later it lifted the cover and started to escape,
but it saw me approaching and ‘froze’.
I then placed it upon its back on the cement walk. After a few
minutes it righted itself and started to crawl, but upon being touched,
again feigned death. This experiment was repeated several times.’
A giant teak tree of Mysore State
From the Editor’s Miscellany of the Indian Forester for June 1951:
‘Shri M. A. Muthanna, Chief Conservator of Forests, Mysore,
has written about a giant teak tree felled recently in the Kakankote
State forest, compt. X. The tree was 25 ft. in girth, at. 4} ft. from
the ground with a clean bole of 66 ft. It has yielded 659 cubic feet
of timber which at the current auction sales prices will yield a revenue
of Rs. 4,613 to the State. About 680 annual growth rings were
counted on the stump and it is just likely that some incomplete rings
were included in the counting.’
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 435
Albino lon
Lt.-Col. J. Stevenson-Hamilton in a letter published in the Field
dated toth March 1951 records a friend of his shooting an albino
lion. It was a female cub about 18 months old almost completely
white. With the same pride was a full-grown lioness which he was
unable to secure, but which he judged to be whiter than the three-
parts grown cub. He further states:
‘The body of the cub was dirty white, there were no body spots,
no ‘black on its ears, or above its eyes, and the tail tuft was light-
straw-coloured. Its eyes were pale bluish grey, and the eyelids and
lips were white, with a faint pink tinge.’
Decline of musk deer
T. H. Hawkins in a note on ‘Musk and the Musk Deer’ Nature,
Vol. 166, p. 262, draws attention to the speed with which musk deer
are being destroyed in China, Manchuria, Korea and other places.
He notes that in 1925 the quantity of musk exported from China and
Eastern Tibet was stated to amount to about 27,000 Chinese ounces
per annum, valued at £100,000. The number of animals killed
annually in China and Tibet at that time was estimated to be between
10,000 and 15,000.
Penetration of high velocity rifles. Vitality of elephants
John Taylor in ‘Big Game and Big Game Rifles’ refers to the
penetration power of the .375 magnum:
‘I have several times had three buffalo dead to one bullet—heart
shot. But the biggest bag of all was seven eland to one shot! (An
eland may weigh from 15 cwt. upwards)’
On page 38 of the sarne book, he says:
‘I, myself, personally knew two young sportsmen who between
them actually succeeded in placing forty-two shots into an elephant
without bringing him down. And even after that, he was able to kill
one and seriously injure the other before he himself collapsed.’
Hunza
Dr. Aggarwal, Superintendent of the Central Asian Museum at
Delhi informs us that the name ‘Hunza’ (in north Kashmir) is derived
from the Sanskrit ‘Hansa marg’ meaning the path of the geese.
The Vicious Octopus :
Woody Williams in ‘Friend Octopus’ says on page 212:
‘In 1947 Don Simpson, collector for the Steinhart Aquarium in
San Francisco was bitten on the back of the hand by an Octopus
apollyon, of one foot spread . . . two small punctures which bled pro-
fusely .. . a few minutes later Simpson experienced a tingling sensation,
and that night the hand swelled to obliterate the outline of his knuckles.
Four weeks elapsed before the swelling disappeared.’
(From Natural History, May, 1951)
15
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY
SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31st DECEMBER 1950.
President
H. E. Raja Manaray SINGH
Vice-Presidents
Maj.-Gen. Sir Sahib Singh Sokhey, I.M.s.
Mr OAV. Millard, ers7s-
Executive Committee
Mr. -J._ 1., Altrey se we
Sir Chintaman D. Deshmukh, Kis 50 1eEs. i626:
Mr. M. J. Hackney
Mr. R. E. Hawkins
Mires M. Had IecrScsn
Rey. Fr. Hi. Santapau, ‘S-1. 5. wie «st Appayipe
Dro pd. Sethe, JPiapy ate = | Sa
Me. ROP” Sauth |
Maj.-Gen. Sir Sahib Singh Sokhey, I.M.S.
sa oti abdual (Jt. Hon. Secretaries) ... |
Mr. M. J. Dickins (Hon. Treasurer)
|
|
|
5 aa
|
Advisory Committee
Lt:-Col. RoW... Burton, (-A.- (Retd2)s ... Bangalore
Dr, Ban Chopra, D-Sc: oe ee .. New Delhi
Mr. C. H. Donald, F.z.s ee ... London
Rev. Fr. Dr. J. B. En cores M.A., L.T., Ph.D., D.D. Coorg
Dr.S3-L Heras, B.SC: .i4. et ... Calcutta
Mr. C. M. Inglis, C.M.B.0.U., F.Z.S. ee ... Coonoor
Col. R. C. Morris, F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. ei ... Attikan
Dr: So HK: Mukerjee, D.SC. ee i, Caleutia
Lt.-Col. E. G. Ratan Adams, 0O.B.E., F.Z.S.,
(Retd.) sak ; ... Nilgiris
Dr, Baini Prashad, D.Sc. a an .. New Delhi
PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS, 1950 437
List of members of the Executive and Advisory Committees elected
for the year 1951.
Vice-Presidents
Maj.-Gen. Sir Sahib Singh Sokhey, 1I.M.s
WMirecW cS.) Millard, F.Z.s;
Executive Committee
Mr. J. I. Alfrey e
Mr. G. V. Bedekar, I.c.s. 1:
Sir Chintaman D. Deshmukh, KT: C.deBs,1-6;S%
Mr. M. J. Hackney
Mr. R. E. Hawkins mi ie ee
Rev. Fr. H. Santapau, s.J. ae as ia
Drs: B. Setnas Ph.p; ee ee ay ay
Mis Ran P: Smith. uf
Maj.-Gen. Sir Sahib Singh Sokhey, I.M.S. ‘'
Mr. Hume Abdulali
Mr. Seed ae (Jt. Hon. Secretaries) ...
Mr. M. J. Dickins (Hon. Treasurer)
Advisory Committee
LtCol. RW. Burton, 1.A.-(Retd.). ... ... Bangalore
Dr. B. N. Chopra, D.sc. ie on .. New Delhi
Mr2C. tHe: Donald, ¥.2.s: re ... London
Rev. Fr. Dr. J. B. Freeman, MeAnabelc, Ph.D., D.D. Coorg
Dire le dona. D.SC..5. a, ... Calcutta
Mr. C. M. Inglis, C.M.B.0.U., F.Z.S. ae ... Coonoor
Col. Re G.. Morris, .F.R.G.S.;.F.Z.S% ae ... Attitkan
Drs S._K:; Mukerjee, D.SC. er ... Calcutta
Lt.-Col. E. G. set a -Adams, OnB: Big FZeS 1A
(Retd.) ss .. Nilgiris
Dr. Baini Prashad, D.sc. ee af ... New Delhi
HONORARY SECRETARIES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR 10950
THE SOCIETy’sS JOURNAL
During the year parts 1, 2 and 3 of Vol. 49 were published to-
gether with Indexes to the end of volume 47.
The idea of publishing quarterly issues has not been abandoned.
It is still engaging the attention of the editors, and will be given effect
to as soon as feasible.
MAMMALS
Lt.-Col. E. G. Phythian-Adams contributed three more parts of
his interesting serial ‘Jungle Memories’ which are well illustrated
as usual.
Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton’s painstaking ‘Bibliography of Big Game
Hunting and Shooting in India and the East’ is most welcome since
A
438 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
‘many of the publications he has listed are already out of print and
Jong forgotten. y 9
In ‘A Novel Method of destroying Man-eaters and Cattle-lifters
without Fire-arms’ S. R. Daver describes a clever method practised by
Baigas of Mandla district in C.P. (Madhya Pradesh) for ridding them-
selves of these dangerous vermin. |
Mr. Daver preludes his article with a statement showing the special
rewards etc. advertised by the M.P. Government for destroying parti-
cular cattle-lifters and man-eaters, and attempts to show how much
more economical and effective it would have been for them not to have
withdrawn the regular prescribed rewards formerly in force.
Part II of ‘The Gir Forest and its Lions’ by M. A. Wynter-Blyth
and Kumar Shree Dharmakumarsinhji, describes the methods employed
and the results of their census which revealed that there were at
present between 243 and 251 lions in all living in the Junagadh Gir
as against 287 estimated in 1936.
C. A. Gibson-Hill in his ‘Note on the Rorquals (Balaenoptera spp.)’
analyses the published records. of the whales stranded on the coast of
India and Ceylon with the object of determining the species that occur
in this area. He gives a useful key of the external characters of the.
five known living species which should enable specific identification of
the whales met with in the neighbouring seas.
Ba Re Das
Of the 12 papers on birds that have been published, mention must
be made of the one on ‘The Lesser Florican: its courtship display,
behaviour and habits’ by K. S. Dharmakumarsinhji which contains
some careful observations on a hitherto unrecorded aspect of the nuptial
display. :
The versatile C. A. Gibson-Hill has a paper on the ‘Tropic Birds of
the Indian Ocean’. He tells of the Short-tailed, Long-tailed and Red-
tailed tropic birds, their feeding and breeding habits. The paper is
well illustrated.
Another paper on the birds of the ocean ‘Wilson’s Storm Petrels,
Shearwaters and other sea birds in the Gulf of Aden & Indian Ocean’—
is the carefully kept diary of W. W. A. Phillips during a voyage.
Lt.-Col. R. S. P. Bates has an excellently illustrated article on
‘The Lower Sind Valley and some further observations of Bird photo-
graphy’ in which he has many useful tips to the bird photographer. —
Horace G. Alexander contributes some field notes on the genus
Phylloscopus in Kashmir. |
Three important regional papers were published during the year:
(1) ‘Notes on the Birds of the Irrigated area of Minbu district, Burma’
by W. L. Roseveare, (2) ‘Birds of Nepal (1947-1949)’ by S. Dillon
Ripley and (3) ‘More Notes on the Birds of the Nepal Valley’ by B. E.
Smythies.
On the taxonomic side we have papers ‘On the Shrike Lanius
tephronotus (Vigors) with remarks on the erythronotus and _ tricolor
-groups of L. schach and their hybrids’ by Biswamoy Biswas. The
-results are based on a critical study by the author of 375 birds in
$$$
PROCEEDINGS .AND ACCOUNTS,- 1950 _.. i ° 439
various museums in the U.S., the British Museum and the Indian
Museum, Calcutta. ;
; Daniel Marien has notes on some Asiatic Sturnidae and Meropidae
_ while S. Dillon Ripley has one on Turdus mérula in South India which
attempts to clear up the tangle of the status of various races that
have been recorded thence in the published literature. |
REPTILES
In ‘Turtle-fishing in the sea around Krusadai Island’ G. K. Kuriyan
describes methods of capturing marine turtles. His note deals with
the respective economic importance of several species.
A second paper by M. N. Acharji entitled ‘Edible Chelonians and
their products’ which gives the three different forms of chelonians,
i.e. marine, freshwater and land, together with notes on their commer-
cial value.
Fisu & FISHERIES
No contribution was received during the year.
INVERTEBRATES
As usual, this section covered a wide field and published articles like :
“The fouling organisms of pearl oyster cages’ by George K. Kuriyan,
‘The Mysore Lac Insect’ by S. Mahdihassan and ‘Observations on the
bionomics and fishery of the Brown Mussel (Mytilus sp.)’ by S. Jones.
F. N. Betts has a paper ‘On a collection of butterflies from the
Balipara Frontier tract and Subansiri area (North Assam)’ while A. C.
Harman contributes a list of butterflies from Champaran—North
Bihar. ‘hese papers help to fill some glaring gaps in our knowledge
of the distribution of Indian butterflies. :
Other papers of note are ‘Observations on some larval and _ post-
‘larval stomatopods’ by Kk. H. Alikunhi and ‘Life history and biono-
mics of the Cat Flea—Ctenocephalides felis Bouche’ by K. R. Karandi-
‘kar and D. M. Munshi. | ,
Miss Theresa Clay has an important paper entitled ‘A Preliminary
survey of the distribution of the Mallophaga (feather-lice) on the. class
Aves’. A study of the Mallophaga infesting bird feathers has suggest-
ed their importance in determining the phylogenetic relationships of
various groups of birds which are their hosts, and holds much promise
of throwing light on obscure problems in this connection. The study
is in its infancy in India.
BOTANY
Rev. Fr. Santapau has two important contributions, ‘Notes on the
Scrophulariaceae of Bombay’ and ‘Notes on the Lentibulariaceae of
Bombay’.
J. ©. Culshaw has produced a useful working list of West Bengal
plants entitled ‘Some West Bengal Plants’.
N. L. Bor describes two new species of Ischaemum—IJ. bombaiense
Bor and I. santapaui Bor.
A New variety of Cucurbita maxima is recorded by C. Rajasekhara
Mudaliar,
440 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
MISCELLANEOUS
This section of the Journal which includes items of general interest
to naturalists and sportsmen has been well maintained, and we hope that
members will continue to contribute notes and observations and experi-
ences to it whenever they have an opportunity.
PUBL 1c ATO NaS
‘The Study of Indian Molluscs’ by the late James Hornell is in the
press and we hope to have it out during the course of the year. The
republication of the serial ‘Some Beautiful Indian Climbers and Shrubs’
by Bor and Raizada in book form is also in hand, and attempts are
being made to expedite publication. The Ministry of Natural Resources
and Scientific Research, Government of India has kindly agreed to
bear half the cost of the publication of M. A. Wynter-Blyth’s ‘Butter-
flles of the Indian Region’ and it is hoped to get this also moving
within a reasonable period.
EX P Eip I EbONs
On behalf of the Prince of Wales Museum, the Assistant Curator,
Mr. V. K. Chari, assisted by Mr. Gilbert Nogueira the senior assistant,
and the artist Mr. Ram P. Subedar. visited Krusadai Island for a
period of two weeks. Material for a dozen habitat groups for the
invertebrate gallery has been collected, and work on it at the museum
is progressing. Mr. Salim Ali visited Berar on a bird survey for about
three weeks in January and 300 specimens were collected. The results
will be published in due course.
Fitm SHOWS AND TALKS
On toth May 1950, films lent by the British Information Services
were shown to members and their friends.
On 19th December Mr. Salim Ali, the Society’s delegate to the
1toth International Ornithological Congress held at Uppsala in June
delivered a talk accompanied by cine-films of his birding excursions
in various parts of Sweden and his visits to places of ornithological
interest on the Continent.
NATURE EDUCATION
The Nature Education Scheme sponsored by the Government of
Bombay has been continued, and talks on ‘Animal Respiration’ and
‘Dispersal of fruits and seeds’ and ‘Insect Life’ were given in Marathi,
Gujarathi and English to over 1,500 children.
Teachers of Secondary and Primary Schools were acquainted with
the facilities available at the Natural History Section of the Prince
of Wales Museum for effectively teaching nature study to children
and with methods for creating a genuine interest among them.
Four more plant study-sheets were brought out for distribution among
schools. Field trips to study plants and animals were also arranged
in which a large number of teachers participated.
PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS, 1950 ‘441
WILp LIFE PRESERVATION
The Society has reason to be gratified with the passing of the
Bombay National Parks Act 1950 which provides for the appointment
of a nominee of the Society on the Advisory Committee. It is hoped
that the Society will be able to collaborate usefully with Government
both in the State and at the Centre.
REVENUE ACCOUNT
The total receipts during the year amounted to Rs. 46,231-3-6 as
compared with Rs. 48,794-12-4 during the year 1949. The decrease
of Rs. 2,563-8-10 is mainly due to fall in the revenue from calendars,
back journals and other publications. Out of the Bombay Government
grant of Rs. 4,000/- for 1949-50, Rs. 2,000/- was received in 1949 and
was included in the Society’s 1949 accounts. The balance of Rs.
2,000/- received during this year is shown in the present accounts.
The total number of members on our books on 31st December 1950
was 1,438, i.e., an increase of 5 members only over 1949. But the
number of members actually paying subscription in 1950 was 672
compared with 767 in 1949.
The sales of the Societv’s publications have dropped further, and
the total sales are considerably lower than those in previous years.
This is partly due to the Society not having brought out any new
publication during the year and partly to the two popular books, viz.
‘Book of Indian Birds’ (Fourth Edition) and ‘Book of Indian Animals’
(First Edition) having been on sale for nearly four years with the
result that the demand for them is almost satiated.
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT SHOWING THE DIFFERENT SOURCES OF
REVENUE RECEIVED IN 1949 AND 1950.
Revenue Revenue Increase Decrease
in in in in
1949 1950 1950 1950
| Rs. a.p. Rs. a.p.| |-Rs.-a.p.|. Rs. a. p.
Subscription .» | 21,442 11 7; 21,841 O 11 398 5 4 —-
Entrance Fee ety 1,920 0 0 1,725 0 0 —— 195 0 0
Publications St UO, a ocis Od 4,157 I4 4*
| 3,325 2 7t| 1,000 8 8 ——
Interest on Investments | 3,278 10 0 3,298 Y9 0 19 15 0 —
Sundries, Taxidermy,
Advertisement etc.... 1,670 14 6 1,883 8 8 21210 2 —
Grants: Govt. of India. 8,000 0 0 8,000 0 0 ——- | —
” Govt. of |
Bombay... 6,000 0 0 2,000 0 0 —— | 4,000 0 0
Potaloeacs. 48,794 12 4) 46,231 3 6) 1,631 7 2) 4,195 0 0
Net decrease in revenue in 1950 over 1949 Rs, 2,563-8-10.
*Books etc. tJournals,
— 442 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
STAFF
_ Phe post of the Curator has been vacant since 1-2-1950 for want
Of a suitably qualified and experienced man on the scale of pay
prescribed. : aH
~*~ The work of the entire staff has been satisfactory during the year
and the Committee wish to record their appreciation of the same.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
ce The Society’s grateful thanks are due to Mr. W. S. Millard who
.continues to guard its interests zealously in London.
APPENDIX TO THE HONORARY SECRETARIES’ REPORT
COVERING THE PERIOD JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1951
(READ By HuMayun ABDULALI, JT. Hon. SEcy.)
‘‘The Report, a copy of which has been handed over to you, covers
the year ended 31st December 1950 and I will present a short account
.of our subsequent activities.
The April issue of the Journal must have reached you and we hope
to be able to send you the August number before the end of this
month.
I am afraid that none of the other publications referred to in the
report have as yet been completed though slow progress is being made.
Subsequent to the Bombay National Parks Act 1950, the Bombay
Legislature has passed the Bombay Wild Animals and Wild Birds
Protection Act, 1951 with the drafting of which the Society was active-
ly associated. This also provides for the Society’s representation on
the Advisory Boards, and a Sub-Committee is now drafting regula-
tions and bye-laws for the working of the Act which it is hoped will
be functioning as from November. Though the lead has been set by
Bombay, the Central Government also is now alive to the fact that
wild life protection and national parks are matters which need im-
mediate action... In July an All-India Conference was called in Delhi
to discuss ways and means, and the Society was also invited to send
a répresentative. Though a report has not yet been published, it was
unanimously decided that the attention of the other States should be
drawn to these problems and it is hoped that pressure from the Centre
will induce others to follow Bombay’s lead. It is obvious that in
practice legislation in this direction is but the first step, and the law
will. require public support to make it effective. It is hoped that
members of the Society will do all they can to make this legislation
successful.
You are aware that a few years ago we offered an ann
ship of Rs. 600 to one or more students and others working on specific
outdoor problems of natural history. In the first year the scholarship
was divided between two undergraduates, one working on bats and
was divided on algae of hot-water springs. Unfortunately neither of
these gentlemen completed their work and the scheme was more or
less dropped on our part. The Committee has, however, decided to
ual scholar-
‘se
PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS, 1950 443
renew the offer and we hope that many applicants will come forward
and that it will be possible to make and retain contacts with young
people interested in this fascinating subject. While the amount which
we offer is not large, it is hoped that it will encourage those seriously
interested to pursue their hobbies which at a later-stage might lead
to more valuable and interesting work being done by them.
_ The main report indicates that the total number of members who
paid their subscriptions in 1950 was 672. The number for this year
is 660 which together with 217 life members means a valid member-
ship of 877 members.
For the Society to undertake further activities other than the
publication of the Journal it is essential that it should have greater
co-operation from members and it is hoped that all of you will try
and get all such friends of yours who have any interest in natural
history to join the Society.”
The election of the following 65 members since the last general
meeting was announced. ,
From 5th October 1950 to 31st December 1950
Maj.-Gen. H. Williams, New Delhi; Mr. J. P. L. Gwynn, t.c.s.,
Ellore, West Godavari District; Mr. D. K. Macfarlane, Nazira P.O.,
Assam ~ Ving Aas. Povey, Worl, , Bombay ;- Mr. "B.-F.' HB.
Tyabji, 1.c.s.. New Delhi; Sir Roger Thomas, c.1.£., 66, Clifton
Quarters, Karachi; The Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd., New Delhi; Rai
Bahadur Kuar Ambika Prasad Sinha, P.O. Chainipur, Dist. Palamah
(Bihar); Mr. N. A. B. Warner, Balijan North T.E., Chabua, Upper
Assam; The Deputy Conservator of Forests in Baluchistan, Quetta,
Pakistan; Mr. Zatar Futehally, Hornby Road, Bombay; Mr.:- Leslie
Yurner, North Lakhimpur P.O., Assam; Sir C. V. Raman, Hebbal
P.O., Bangalore; The Pisciculturist, Department of Game and Fisher-
ies, Jammu and Kashmir Government, Kashmir;
From 1st January 1951 to 12th September 1951
Col. William E, Marling, California, U.S.A.; Mr. E. A. I. Row-
land, Bharno Bari T.E., Dooars, West Bengal; Mr. C. P. B. Reid,
Victoria House, Calcuita 1; Capt. Stanislav Szafranski, M.SC., A.M.I.E.E.,
A-M.1., (Mech.) £., Lalbaug, Bombay; Mr. H. C. Grieve, 381, Hornby
Road, Bombay; Mr. C. S. Rao, Bhadrachalam, East Godavari Dist. ;
Mr. D. D. McIntyre, Teloijan T.E., Assam; Mr. J. H. Murphy, c/o
British Drug Houses (India), Bombay; Mr. H. P. von Friedlein, c/o
Messrs. Hind Cycles Ltd., Worli, Bombay; Mr. L. A. Craven, Charter-
ed Bank Buildings, Calcutta ; The Officer-in-Charge, Fisheries Research
Station, 6, A.P. Sen Road, Lucknow; The Horticulturist, Government
Miri’ Research Station, Saharanpur, U.P:; Mr. P. L. Kottyam, 76,
Old Custom House Road, Bombay; The Director General of Fisheries,
Department of Fisheries, Bangkok, Thailand; Maj. R. J. C. Kenny,
Ootacamund, Nilgiris; Mr. R. D. Campbell, Forbes Building, Bombay ;
Mr. M. Krishnan, Mylapore, Madras; Mr. C. S. Kooi, Middlestum,
The Neherlands; The Librarian, Bihar Secretariat Library, Patna;
Lt.-Col. W. Tippetts, Kuttiadi Estate & P.O., N. Malabar; The Con-
=
444 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
servator of Forests, North Western Circle, Alkapur, Baroda; Mr.
M. L. Banerji, Meerut College, Meerut ; The Principal, Nizam College,
Hyderabad—Dn.; The Deputy Director of Fisheries, Uttar Pra-
desh, Lucknow, U.P.; Mr. M. Burke, Dadar, Bombay; Thakur
Mahendranath Shah Deo of Jharia State, Jaria Garh P.O., District
Ranchi, Bihar; Lt.-Col. C. F. Hamilton, 1st Mahratta Light Infantry,
Ghorpadi, Poona; Lt.-Col. W. A. S. P. J. Lawrence, 51, The Mall,
Meerut Cantt.; Mr. F. W. Winterbotham, c/o The Ootacamund
Club, Ootacamund; Mr. Peter R. Ryhiner, Twann (Bern), Switzerland ;
The Librarian, University Library, University of Saugar, Sagar;
Durga Pado Malik, Kalna P.O. & T.O., Ambica Kalna Riyo ‘Stn.,
Burdwan District; Dr. B. G. Afzurpurkar, M.B.B.s., B.Hy., Matunga,
Bombay ; Raja Dinesh Pratap Singh of Kasmanda, Kamlapur P.O., Dis-
trict Sitapur, U.P.; Dr. G. V. Dravid, M.B.B.s., Hindu Colony, Dadar,
Bombay 14; Dr. C. Brooke Worth, M.p., Bangalore, S.I.; Rajkumar
Jaysinh of Vijaynagar, Vijaynagar, A.P. Rly., Sabarkantha District ;
Mr. P. Krishnapillai, Palali Government Training College, Vasavilan,
Ceylon ; The Director, Medical Research Institute, Ceylon, Colombo; Mr.
Russell B. Payne, Taunggyi, S.S.S. Burma; Mr. Patrick G. S. Hall,
Kumbazha Estate, Travancore; The Quarantine Entomologist, c/o
The Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Sewri,
Bombay; The Reference Librarian, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library,
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; The Superintendent,
Ceylon Zoological Gardens, Dehiwela, Ceylon; Mrs. Aruna Banerji,
Sunny View, Saharanpur; Mr. H. G. Hundley, Divisional Forest
Officer, U.C./Myittha Division, Mawlaik; Mr. D. J. Edwards, Chinna-
manur P.O., Madurai District, S.I.; The Principal, Cathedral Boys’
High School, Outram Road, Bombay; Mr. H. C. S. Bowdler, Dikom
T.E.,. Upper Assam; Mr. M. Yoshida, Apollo Street, Fort, Bombay.
=
< b b SCZ‘OL'I ** DIVMIOJ pallied TL € PPL zs‘t | ““plemioj pape
NT € 90F'S
9 ZL 169 ee “* «| aaug sdURTeg jsB[ Jod sy |
> selpioyIng uvIpay jo Yoo
b cl 80L'P
0 6 SSI “* 2804 OY} SAlInp SUOLIPPY
Pb £ OLSp ~ 190qg a0U¥|eg Ise] Jed SY
= : sqniys
is pue sloquilly) ueIpUy [NyIyneeq osul0g
>
ae /$uo1psI1jgnd 40% SaouDLpy
2) 2 1 b22'gp
= ros Le6'¢ ‘ve te oH qunovp farang jmuumopy 9 0 f8I “* 91NjFpUsdXGY Jao suo] JO SSOOXY - ppy
9 8 I$p'z jee see a =H “(payor eee ;
= JUSTI9}¥IS JOG SB) 3 amueyos ay Apa 8 0 6F0'8b 22215 SOU UIGE J°¥ it SOCISE Suu ae
‘ 0 0 OST see oo evo oo JIDIS 0) SuUvOoT .
S L §T 0p2'9 ot ve is ips s420199q apune { < JUnNOIIP snjgan¢y
£ OL 90I°2
= i = ez: rs = Bg ca Saz1J4aqIng
0 0 SET uo]lvIDaIdaq—ssa7 0 0 0006 : ae
5 © OL p22 Z ~ Jaayg eouvleg sey jad sv | uUDLpUT JO YOO , JO }S0I JADE 40J UOLSt204G
zZ, ‘ i
ES J aémpuang [OT RET | a * : Renee
C bv IL F20°I6
2 - rf : i £6P = (soBivy9 euoydejay, pur
= E33) fi caer aren pet De Sake XBL S218S ‘904 WIpny) sesuedxq
rm SBM OQC6I “98d ISTE uO snIvA joyIey) Dee Swecaetig erg Ac ike
a 0 9 Tr6'tS “Sasuagxy *'
al 0 eI 8r6'T oe SZ-0L6T
oO uvoyT jueUldofaAsaq 38114 %E ono'z 6 FI IZ6'6 fa. s[euinor Jo ‘938 ‘BuljUlIg 10g
SO 0 0 onofsz ““ OP6T UBO'TT UOIsIBAUOD YE QOO's2e **
Re 0 OT 2Ts'st a 89-996T , !S40)1paaD Aapunsy
a, uevoT surpuny “ —- € 000'9¢ *
0 0 O0F TT bas pegod
yuoulsAoidmy Aequiog Zp Qno'csT * 6 1 LPS &SIQq OIUVAINT PUD SUO1ZGLAISQNS aauvaApp
0 0 08Z‘0T “spuog iSnIy, WO ABeQuog 4p 000'FT “sy
S09 WS SJuamejzsanuy 0 0 Szz's8 oe Be ae S#aq Glysszaquiapy ajt7
ave Sa qd ¥ SU SLAUSSV ad V Sy d VW Sy SGILITIGVIT
CAB Tae PTT BT BR By To Se re ee Sa a RTS RE We rac a Te eR NET a ed Se RTO LaPeer aE EEE
0S6l ‘MHINWHIA ISIE LV SV LYAHS FINVIVGA
ALHIDOS AYOLSIH TVYNLVN AVAWOU
50
Vol.
JOURNAL, ‘BOMBAY NATURAL -HIST. SOCIETY,
- 446
‘S4O]BYN fy Pud SJuDIUNOIIP pasajz4vYyD
“OO B NOSODUAA AV ('PS) : } "TS6l ‘144P Ytog ‘AVAKOg
, My
‘ ‘ 4
‘SN 0} USAIS SUO!}EIe[dxs pue UOI}EUIIOJUL
INO JO 4SOq OY} 0} SUIPIONOY SITVHe S,AJBIOOS BY} JO 9}¥IS OY} JO MLA 491100 pay onl}. 8 sjuasesdes yOouS aouBleg yYons UOIUIdO Inc uy ‘saouL[eg yUeg pUe
‘SJUSTIISOAU] 9} 'PAYIIAA SAVY PU ‘SN 0} USAIS UOl}EWIOJU! 94} MoI} pus PoupeleM jJUNOOY joSHooY 9} WioIj yOaYS souvleg B9AOQe 943 peledoid sAvY 9A\
DES PPLOLGat [BIOL | IES’ PL tof | “ TejoL
1 A
eNEt AS? IT feei0632 a Se “ (OL-O1-ZbS. 7) ‘uopuo’y |
: “Dit e1pul jo yueg [VUOIJBN 94} UUM
Il IL 2S¢ 02 Be Aequog
1 PYI ‘eIpul jo YUeq [BUOHEN OU} WIM : ; |
6 OL F62 oe *- puey uO
¢ Saaunjng 42440 pun ysvy |
0 0 EPt'6l | |
0 0 0s | * eee eo eee °SON 98Z2—SIBpual|eg
0 uv 802 i ‘: “SON ¢egp--punoqu yy)
|pue punog II [OA e}puy josplig aules) i
09 0 092 | syeyD 99g SuoHeol[qnd [1BWg S ,A}38J90G
0 0 ss¢ {rig $39S 9NS—SPIeD Sod 91NjoIq Pilg é
| 0 0 OST‘E Lae ak seldoo 009'2[--sTeuinor DIO |
0 0 cPS‘I " Satdoo Tpo—eipuy UL Ysty sUlilodS |
| 190410 pues Jeosyey, 34} BUlJUZATINOIID |
| 0 0 9T2'9 |“ serdoo ¢¢g*[—s|eulluy ueIpuy jo Ho0g E |
0 0 68F's | th Se1doo PFT I—SPilq UvIpUT Jo You, |
| | : Al@Ja10aG *uUOF{ at)
| | AQ pegiziso. sv ‘(UolJelIeIdep Sse[. ‘3800 17) | |
spupy uo ‘97a ‘Syoog Jo 4Iuj75 |
pF ESOL ““ premio} JYySno1g ITE PZ zs't "" pIBMiO} jYSNoIg
d Vv Sy j@ ¥ Sy | S.LASSV ad v sy a Vv Sy SAILLIIIAVIT
SR a RR { e_ eee
(‘panurjuoD )—O0S6I ‘MHYIWFITA ISIE LP SP LAAHS AINV IVY
447
1950
COUNTS,
4
PROCEEDINGS AND AC
rr re A
€ @ SIS‘tl [B01 € 2 SIS‘It [BIOL
Cr'G 1ccolT { s* ob soe yunoooY 9InjIpued
-XW puUv aMIOIU] 0} psllajsuvl} S}gojg ‘*
0 €I LEE are eR) ‘suryoed —sesieyy Aipung **
0 0 68P'S Bo “ OS6T ‘Jaquiacaq IsTg WO HO0Ig ** FO 0 FIT'T oe * IoyINY 0} salipeAoy *
€ 2 920‘9 [es ay * JIveA 34} sulinp selves Aq |0 O OIP'8 haste ron OS6T ‘AlTenuer 4ST UO 903s OJ,
2 WOLiipy YUIp SpAlq uvipuy Jo yoog
OT 2t 02s‘2 [B01 Ol eT 02S 2 wr. [BIOL
O16 SFI th ae me “" JunooOY ain} OL 6 &P pom ee 039 ‘BUTyOVG—soesIVyO AIpuNs ie
-[puedxY puv swo0ou] 0} poliajsuei} ssoy ** FO € TET pag ay oy IOYINY 0} SOI[VAOY '
0 0 1802 0 0 0682 ae Sai Sth
0 0 008'T ene ceo eco setdoo punoquy | 0 0 000°Z | coo eee soidog punoquy,
0 0 182 eee coo see coo soidoa punog 4) 0 C65 | see cee ceo so1dog punog
OS6I ‘JequIac.aq ISTE UO 404s ** | : OS6y ‘Adenaee js—T WO YI0IS OL
0 ¢€ EE ise nee “* IBIA a4} SuLInp soles AW | III °10A vip] fo spAtg amvn9
: a | coe HER 9 € I€c'9P | “> [B90u;
0 6 86's ss ** (JON) S}JUSMIISOAUT Uo jsalajyuy °° |
0 0 005‘0O ee |
0 0 000‘z ey ae Aequiog Jo jusWIUIaAOy
' 0 0 6v0‘8 s 7 *- BIpul Jo JUeMIUIBAON)
0 24 Tr09 /S7UDLH Juawmusa20yH ** to g PET x JaaUS souR[ vg 0} pollojsuvi)
OMe OL | Serer ain} pusdxa JOAO OUIODUT Jo ssooxy *
1L8 92 s|euluUYy UeIpUl. jo yoo 0 0 000'6 or oe = an solgsoyng
OL 6 SFI III ‘1OA BIPUl JO Spit oly) uerpuy Jo Yoog Jo}soo y1¥d JoOjJ OTSsIAoOIg “
6 6 FIZ’ uo ssoT:, 7 0 0 SSI ce dIn}IUINg Uo UO!}eIDeI1deq *’
eel a ae: Aik 0 9 82 fp eee ene coo ooo s1qoqd ped ys
8 8 EKEQT S35 Op °O}0 SYIOM AWIOPIXY, 0 0 0Sz ao tes aes soe so0.q IDV
6 CT BIST a wa coe coe siepus[ea 0 0 OST ‘ | eco see eee eee aouvinsuy ro aS | €e
@ 2 Sng 200 (s}aeq9 ayeus) SUOT}BOITGng AJB19N0G | |
9 PILZ nae Sp1vd}sod 91njIg PIG |
0. 2b2ce ‘ “se "939 ‘elpul jo S9a], SUTIOMO[Y | (ainjyeN Jo W01}99}01g 3} Joy UOTUL)
6 6.96 me a Sparel | [VUOI}VUIIJUT VY} 0} dej dl ysioquiew
ee J uvIpay jo yooqpueH Jetndod S Jo[js}yM rf <0CG - dy} BUIOq *6-0-6¢Z ‘SH Burpntour)
g tI CS Spilg IEH Uelpuy ours css “" Gonenog uo sniding * 5577
L 7 Or see == ove °D}0 fusIy SUIVIOdS L OL 1¢9 coe eee eve aoc ave Areiqry ee
ayIO pur I9aSYyR 94} SULJUSATINOIID 0 2 Sz see see oe see asvisog *'
6 s ¢go'T POSNER AS Ope) mifeschal $ ST 26s | ieee se Buljulig pue Alouoljzeig *
uo Ss}GJOIg b IL 28g ies aoe oa sosleyd [vleuany °°’
:Suotgpotgnd ‘* F * ee pas ee ae oy yuay *
L te lars a “- sayeg [fejol— euinor ‘* 410 6 226 | “ pung wWapfaoig PRIS 0} UOIN!yHOD **
0 f ane oo ar coe “= sooq oouvnug ‘* 10 8S 8)1L'8T | (Q0UBMO[LY SSeuived SUIPNIOU!) SollEles OL
TL O TF8*I2 a3 sdopdmosans 4a qua LlaNnudxq
d ¥ Sy jd VW SY HWOONT qd v sy jad Vv Sy
7 = er
LL %
Ae 0$6l ‘MHYINWAIAG WIE CHUN AVHA FHL YOH LNQOIIV AHNLIAUNAIXA UNV ZWOINT 47
ALAIODOS AYOLSIH TVUNLVN AVEANO
50
Vol.
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.. SOCIETY,
448
*SLOJIDNE PUD STUvJUNOIIP Pasapz4DYD
“oD ® NOSNOYAA “A *V (’PS) ‘TS61 ‘1244P Ylog ‘AVANOG
6 8 838s ve [BIOL
9 FI LZ ay ie is wWnossy sinyIp
; -usdxq pae sulodu] 0} paslajsuei} yolg ¢
0 0 SSE ae “" QS6T ‘tequIsceq ySTEg UO YD0}g ** FE OL ET es * *OJo *SUlYOVg—sasieyy Aipuns “
6 8 2 se° se ** reaK ay} BSurinp sores AG]O O LFS ao: = OS6I *‘Atenuer }s[ UO 49039 OF
| SPLDISOd aaniitg prlg
9 0 936‘F Ero Lee 9 0 396'F "=aT GIO Ty
6 Sl Pee'T s: ar "“" -« qunoooy einypued
“XW pue atlooul 0} paliajsuel jyolg **
00 Cs so * OS6I ‘JequIa0aq] ISTE UO HYooIg ** F6 NT P09 Se a is Sesuedxq Aipung ‘
9 0 9I6‘F age ee “* 1vaK 84} Butinp soles Aq [0 8 Y9T0°S a a pe *0}8 ‘B3upUlIg JO jsog oF,
Rie Lan ds ner WS6l Dp ualDD asr7 VIZM
T 2 9g‘ to EAOM, T 2 9¢'2 [BIOL
| Lob OF 5 a ote junoooy e1nIIp
-Uadxq puev sMIOOU] 0} passjaysuel} Wolg *
9 €1 8s hig “" "O}8 *SULyovg—sasieyOg Aipang ‘
9 0 @rS'T a “ QS6T ‘49quIB9Eq IS[¢g UO YOoIS ** FO O 96 ’ on pe oS IOqINY 0} Soly[eVAoY *'
TI 2 ¥I8 vag ed “° IvaA 94} SuIND soles Ag!O O I9I'Z sre aa OS6I “AJenues IsT UO H90}9 OF,
) ‘249 ‘DIPuy Us YSLy Butqoggy
4970 PUD adasyDpYy ayy Fu1zuManwngst:)
9 € LOb'G [BIOL 9 § LoP‘6 “ [BI07,
1g 92 ss cide a jUNOD0Y 91nYUpued
“-Xq pue sul0su. 0} paliajsuevl}, ssoy ** 19 ¢ QIZ jsss “" "939 ‘Bulyovg—sasieyy Aipung *¢
0 0 sT2‘9 a “" OS6I ‘Jequisseq] STE UO YOoIg ** Fn O Gonz as Ree re JouINY 0} sari[eVAOY *!
£ OL pee'¢ 4 “* Iva 94} SUfInp soleg Aq]O 0 F0'6 me is OS6I ‘Arenuer ys] UO A901 OF,
UOlIZP] S| ‘Sjpusup uvtpuy fo yoog
CD IS: | d Vv Sy AWOONI d v sy d v Sy HUOLIGNHdxG
ssn
“47 (panainuos)—os6l ‘YPINWAIAC SIE CHUN YVAA FAL AOX LNQOIIVY AMNLIGNTdIXY UNF YFWOINT “4d
449
1950
PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS,
‘S40JIPNP puv siuDIUNOIIP Pasaqavy 7
“OO 9 NOSNOUAA ‘A *V (PS) ; °IS6I ‘1t44e yiog ‘AWANO
0 FL SETS | [BIOL 0 FI 9EIS [BOY
|
6 II 6ST ee (°0j8 f90UPADATOD ‘AIOUOIJEIG) SOSUDaxy [elouar ¢ 9 8 TE&P'2 a ase spuny S,4}J8100G Jo Jno paoueApPY—<osouULV[eg **
0 ¢ OL con eee cee cee eee 988}SOg os 9 ¢ Sis ooo eco coo So[VQ—S7a94S apris Wd e¢
0 0 08Z'¢ **(0G-ZI-IE 0} 0S-I-[) Josfuves1OQ Uo!vonpy 91njeN jo Arejes “ *
0 S g90'L ae ons Seo sJa0yUS APNIS WLI Jo 3sOD * 0 0 cég'z see nosis) “" OS-6PET 1B9A 94} JF J[BEY PUOIIg
§ OL 2 * J/q JOYS aouKl[eg 4SBl Jod sB AJOINOS 0} ONP--s0UuL|[vVg A S ApQuMog JO JuatkusdLO MO4sI QUDEL) OL
SINAWAVG dv sy SLdIIHOaY
OS6I ‘Aaguaza(y STE Papua ADI IY} AOJ JUNOIIP sSjuatidtvg puv s491a90Y
FNWAHIS NOILPINGT AHALVN
ALHIOOS AYOLSIH IWUYNALVN AVEANO
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY HELD IN THE
CONFERENCE HALL OF THE B.E.S. & T, UNDERTAKING,
ELECTRIC HOUSE, ORMISTON ROAD, BOMBAY, ON WEDNES-
DAY THE 12th SEPTEMBER 1951, AT 6 P.M. WITH REV. FR.
7 H. SANTAPAU, s.j.. IN THE CHAIR.
1. The Honorary Secretaries’ Report for the year ended 31st
December 1950 having been circulated was taken as read. The Jt.
Honorary Secretary then read the supplementary report on the activities
of the Society during the period January to August this year (see p.
442). ?
2. The balance sheet and statement of accounts presented by the ;
Honorary Treasurer were approved and adopted.
3. The Committee’s nominations to the Executive and Advisory
Committees, as previously circulated to members, were accepted.-
There was one addition to the Executive Committee—the nomination
of MricG. V. Bedekar, 1:c’s., who agreed to serve on it.
The formal business of the meeting concluded with an excellent
colour cine film show of Kashmir birds by Mr. Salim Ali made during
his recent study-cum-holiday tour of Kashmir. The film was greatly
appreciated by all present.
WANTED
One copy each of the following back numbers of the Journal of
the Bombay Natural History Society :—
Vol. 29, No. 1 Vol. 44, No. 2
‘Vol. 31, Nos. 1 and 4 Vol. 45, No. 2
Please quote lowest for all or any of these to E. P. GEE,
Doyang Tea Estate, Oating P.O. & T.O., Assam.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY V. M. PHILIP AT THE DIOCESAN PRI38
18 CHURCH ROAD, VEPERY, MADRAS—5-1-1952. C4808
BDITORS: SALIM ALI, S. B. SETNA AND H. SANTAPAU
114 APOLLO STREET, FORT, BOMBAY
NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS
Contributors of scientific articles are requested to assist the
editors by observing the following instructions :
1, Papers which have at the same time been offered for publica-
tion to other journals or periodicals, or have already been published
elsewhere, should not be submitted.
2. The MS should preferably be typed (double spacing) on
one side of a sheet only, and the sheets properly numbered.
All scientific names, to be printed in italics, should be under-
lined. Both in zoological and in botanical references only the initial
letter of the genus is capitalized. The specific and sub-specific names
always begin with a small letter even if they refer to a person or a
place, e.g. Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni or Streptopelia chinensis suratensis
or Dimeria blatteri.
4. Trinomials referring to subspecies should only be used where
identification has been authentically established by Comparison of
specimens actually collected. In all other cases, or where identification
is based merely on sight, binomials should be used.
5. Photographs for reproduction must be clear and show good
contrast. Prints must be of a size not smaller than 34 x 24 inches
(No. 2 Brownie) and on glossy glazed paper.
6. Text figures, line drawings and maps should be in Indian ink,
preferably on Bristol board.
7. References to literature should be placed at the end of the
paper, alphabetically arranged under author’s name with the abridged
titles of journals or periodicals underlined (italics), and titles of books
not underlined (roman type), thus ;
Roepke, W. (1949); The Genus Nyctemera Hubner. Trans. ent.
Soc. Lond., 100 (2); 47-70.
Prater, S. H. (1948); The Book of Indian Animals, Bombay.
Titles of papers should not be underlined.
8. Reference to literature in the text should be made by quoting
the author’s name and year of publication, thus: (Roepke, 1949). :
g- Synopsis: As recommended by the Royal Society Scientific In-
formation Conference (July 1948), the editors consider it desirable that
each scientific paper be accompanied by a synopsis appearing at the
beginning, immediately after the title. The synopsis should be factual.
It should convey briefly the content of the paper ; draw attention to
all new information and to the author’s main conclusions. It should
also indicate newly observed facts, the method and conclusions of an
experiment, and if possible the essential points of any new finding,
theory or technique. It should be concise and normally not exceed
200 Words.
When the synopsis is complete it should be carefully revised by
the author to clarify obscurities, and further compressed wherever
possible without detracting from its usefulness.
114 Apollo Street, Fort, EDITORS,
Bombay 1. Journal of the Bombay Natural
History Society.
THE SOCIETY’S PUBLICATIONS. |
Mammals. |
Book of Indian Animals, by S. H. Prater, with many coloured and black and
white plates. Mame wad KM. Rs. 16.
(Price to Members Rs, 13).
. Birds.
Game Birds of India, Vol. III. Pheasants, rst Edition. Rs. 32.
(Price to Members Rs. 24).
~
Book of Indian Birds, by Sdlim Ali, with many colour and black and white
plates, 4th edition, ‘revised and enlarged. Rs. 16.
(Price to Members Rs. 12-8).
Set of 12 Coloured Picture Postcards of Common Indian Birds. Rs. 2-4 net. —
Fish.
Circumventing the Mahseer and Other Sporting Fish in + [adia and
Burma. Rs. 15.
(Price to Members Rs, 12).
Snakes.
Identification of Poisonous Snakes—
Folding Chart. 7 — Re. 2-8.
Wisechianedas:
Wall Chart to distinguish a Wild Dog from a Domestic Dog or Jackal,
etc. Rs. 2-8. s
Back Numbers of the Journal.
Back numbers of the Society’s Journal. Rates on application.
Obtainable from:
The Honorary Secretary,
Bombay Natural History Society, _ a a AR
114 Apollo Street, Bombay I. ola
London Agents:
Messrs. Wheldon & Wesley Ltd.,
83/84 Berwick Street,
London, Wi ly one, af
TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP.
Life Members pay an entrance fee of Rs. 25 and a Life Membership ee of »
Rs. 500.
Ordinary Members pay an entrance fee of Rs. 25 and. an ecier| ee
tion of Rs. 30.
The subscription of members elected i in October, November and December ve
covers the period from the date of their election up till the end of the following
year. ~
Ww
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. 31-12-0 to the Society in
Bombay on the 1st January in each year. If this cannot be done, then the sum
of £2-8-o should be paid annually to the Society’s London Bankers—The -
are Bank of India, a eee Street, London, =e Cc.
» F
: > Ob. oF
3 THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
OMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
INDEX AND TITLE PAGE
VOL. 50
NOS. 3 & 4
Price Rs. 3-0-0
APR? 1954
LIBRARY AH
Ss
MADRAS
PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS
INSTRUCTIONS TO BINDER
= The contents of these two parts should be arranged in the
following order when they are being bound :—
Title page se
a eee
Contents of Nos. 3 & 4 of Vol. 50... |
List of contributors a: vores Toy follow frontis-
piece in this order.
List of plates ... ae
Index to illustrations
To go at the end of
Index to species one fe j the two numbers.
THE
~e eee
JOURNAL
OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SCOIETY
EDITED BY |
SALIM ALI, S. B. SETNA, ph.p,, and H. SANTAPAU, sy,
VOL. 50
Nos. 3 & 4
Containing 8 coloured plates, 70 black-and-white plates,
28 text figures and 11 maps.
Dates of Publication
Part 3. (Pages 451 to 690) ... April, 1952
Ser oan (oar 691 to 964) ... August, 1952
LONDON AGENTS
MESSRS. WHELDON & WESLEY LTD.,
83/84 Berwick Street,
LONDON, W. 1.
PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS
1954
{ a
— a us Leia
. pened
a Ae
7
i a i = wi A i
* ; oY” oa
es ! e
, 3 j E y - d By Me
» ‘ ‘ 7
¢ 1
- o—
i
Poet ‘
i + 7 hy,
3 a2 6 3 '#6 eek? hd
‘
as
:. e
@
or) 5
x
‘
i
:
ay
r (
by y NS Z
FE cee, ~
4 a * 4 ‘a 7
ot 5 = * . y 7
: ba = Oe “ - > - . Ty
d > ae Pars:
we lee +
+ FEPeI TS i } bs
2 e i + Pa ae . wh Seaee
ye
= ¥
\ j 2
_ ~ * nk -
: = : } Ss
° i » c 3
J % he ty ae 2 | pa a = ? * & *
& b
< ;
tS
: — 3 i ~~ ¥ it
; re i eS 4! &: “
tacks . ; _ ; bil ,
Lies
a es -
Dy"
eu" 9 «oa
e 4 . S ”
€ a
oie ofc MEA
, en ee
a
P ;
25k ade oa
CONDENES OPVOLU ME 36
No. 3
JUNGLE MeEmorigsS. PART XI—Opps AND ENDs. By
Lt.-Col. E. G. Phythian-Adams, 0.B.£., F.z.S., LA. (Retd.).
(With two plates)... betinie arate cictatetaciats : aShisek
RACES OF THE INDIAN Ae enninnee (Ratuta Dee By
Humayun Abdulali and J. Cyril Daniel. (Wzth a plate)
“A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA Hits. By S&S.
Dillon Ripley. Wea two maps, two coloured and two black-
and-white plates)... Seer Mie ew OO Rye eet Coe
NOTES ON THE GREY Meee (Mugil anh OF er niere
ISLAND, GULF OF Manaar. By K. Chidambaram and
Cee Kutivanen CUCL: GiCKi tL OUVE) x hese aes sds sce «cn ocs
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY.
PARA lee vac Santa pall, sos Oesce cok tee ase tasbivesistac rece Benidee soe
STUDY OF THE MARINE FAUNA OF THE KARWAR COAST AND
NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS. PART II: Mollusca—Ampbhi-
neura and Gastropoda.- By A. M. Patil, M.SC........ccs0cceees
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA. Part II.
By M. A. Wynter-Blyth. (With two sketch maps and two
plates)... rasa eniee er recente ieaiectease
(SOME JUNGLE a ASSOCIATIONS. By M. D. Tisch “With
a map)...
HISTORY OF Geyer AND INTRODUCTION OF
FisHes IN INDIA. By S. Jones and K.K. Sarojini.
(With a text map and eight figures)... ee
THE POISONOUS AND MEDICINAL pee oF INDIA. By L C.
Chopra and L. D. Kapoor .. Se Oe epee SS pene n ee
PHOTOGRAPHING THE ee ene Se) feet (Ce
tus leucogastery (Gmelin)]. By Wan Tho Loke. (With
LOL pe PLL OS Meane naman ae RN ceeie tole staat ra iG oie cites Ga diend «babiae «nee
ON THE TRAIL OF THE KOUPREY OR INDO-CHINESE FOREST
Ox (Bibos sauveli). By Dr. Boonsong Lekagul. (With
three plates and two text figures)... Mee Sar eiste vesomey-<
THE ASSAM EARTHQUAKE OF 1950, “By E. P. Gee, M.A.,
C.M.Z.S., F.R.GS. (With a map and two plates)... ...ccovrces
)
PAGE
451
469
475
SPS:
520
549
559
5/3
618
623
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
REVIEWS :—
3h
w oN
6.
Elunter at Eleart--“Cke WwW. eRe
Hydroponics. (J. A. A.)... ee tchery
The Birds of the Malay etna Singapore oF
Penang. (0. AD) gaieees. cor eae ene eee eee
Animals strange and rare. (Ele) sense eee
Proceedings of the Xth International Ornithologi-
cal Congress (Uppsala, June 1950). (S. A.}.......
Breeding Birds of Kashmir, (CW Los) ee eaenees
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—
1.
C
10.
11.
12,
Wild and Tame Dogs. By A. A. Dunbar Brander.
Chital [Axzs axts (Erxl. » A strange attraction.
By K. M. Kirkpatrick... scasee Fives Sanco ane iene
PAGE
636
639
639
641
642
644
647
647
Melanism in the Baie! git (Muntiacus ”
muntjac). By C. M. Inglis, F.z.s., C.M.B.O.U......
Sambar Deer in Mauritius. By J. Rene Main-
gard de Ville-es-Offrans...
Old Jungle Tales retold. By I os Col. i W. sae
ton, 1.4. (Retd.)... ae
Thrills in Sport. Be Col. V. i arene D.S.0., eA.
( ROtda ip xins | telsislekcestsloaages coisyeseveaneee ateenretante sediess
Hoghunting Reminiscences. By Lt.-Col. R. W.
Burton, 1.A. GRetd.)...
. Unusual behaviour of ae Visit cape cee
(Chaimarrornis leucocephalus caer By M. J.
Hackney si5icd ccoee ene ee eee oma een eee
Blackbacked Robin [Saxtcoloides f. fulicata
(Linn.)] attacking car. By E. B. Wikrama-
NAV AKC Acco tee vetoes asan’
Baya (pie Pay vty. Ee on ae
graph wires. By K. M. Kirkpatrick...
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) ee
Plumbeous Redstart (Rhyacornts f. fuliginosa).
By W. T. Loke. «Weihia plaice)... eey.vete eee
Notes on the Nepal Koklas Pheasant (Pucrasia
macrolopha nipalensis) and the Spiny Babbler
(Acanthoptila nipalensis). By Robert L. Flem-
ing, PH.D. (With a text map)... eee
An unrecorded feature of Spurfow! ten EN
By Humayun Abdulali.. ance ne
648
648
649
652
654
655
656
657
658
658
661
iB
15.
16.
likes
18,
1S.
20.
21.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
The Chukor Partridge [Alectoris graeca chukar
(Griffith and Pidgeon)] in Nevada, U.S.A. By
Glem Ce @Mristemsent ayeasecse schtick vedo ldvag acess,
The Whimbrel ee hed in Assam.
By Editors.. :
Blacknecked Grebe Pipes Merrie seeane in
Bhavnagar. By K. 8S. Dharmakumarsinhiji.......
Some bird notes from Jasdan, Saurashtra. By
VA yey, soa Val asl RAGIN UE sweaters calee ictus he's Ga Gann sce WaCure avait
More stray bird notes from Malabar. By K. K.
Neelakantan..
‘Further notes on the birds ae the e NEAAL Valley.
Wie WEG he ie OUGeas series con chs Soccer ces ees Sled ebostats
Oceanic and other birds seen on two recent trips
between Colombo and Adenin 1951. By C.E.
INGE IS meee ceapenrares me ie caaeeed cele oh ke ieee ramie ois
Birds attacking their reflections. By H. G.
72\ Wepre 0(GI(Si pa AR aA he Ree Ca ae Sager PI ee Re Pe
Scenting power of Birds. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Bur-
Opis yeic a (1 Syeh We la Mae oh cea ear eee arene pre ener area
’ Changes in Scientific Names of Indian Birds. By
et WUMO MeN pe Veer vitan setae Coss cele ie Pac cawatnes hes
The Orthography of English Names of Birds. By
Nice Mails OC a eee int Wa ohio 32 eines tate we Gest ve sees bun iuas
Bull Frog (Raza tigrina Daud.) preying upon the
Common Toad (Bufo melanostictus Schneid.) By
NV ONE ah ae apt haar nt eae ee OR Sn i
Notes on the Eoin es of the Red Cony Try-
pauchen vagina Bloch & Schneider. By E, G.
lace CW 2 @ LEAL 122 UPE) sain coe soho Piso Stals bncle Ss
Two further cases of obstruction of the mouth or
throat bySkish: By Co brooke: W orth:.2.:..ic0.4<.
Use of Fish Slime in structural engineering. By
Neu Cee Aa OMN ana nca<cacean< ee ak eras
Swarming of Butterflies. By a ae G. Beet Vee ee
A case of Heterophylly in Asteracantha longitolia
INCeSs by bs oe MERI Ubtiss) sak. ceeedd seccasisaiees ts.
An unusual case of Vivipary in Rkzzophora mucro-
nata Lamk. By V. R. Rajagopalan and A.
INGA aia ten MQIALLINCEDLATC) von n ec csusy res neais.csiyxesiigs
PAGE
679
679
681
682
683
684
684
vi CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50 .
32. Replacement of Inflorescence by Turions in~
Caldesia veniforme Makino. By M. Banerji.
(With a plate and three text figures)... .....00... +96
Notes andsNews.. critic, centenaecstd cacemeccnar enemy cane waate
Errata. The Hilsa Fishery of the Chilka Lake. [Publish-
ed in Vol. 50 (2)—December, 1951]
No. 4
EDITOR TAT av sauon en ee ee ee
DEEP-SEA OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION IN INDIAN
Waters. By Lieut.-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell, c.1.£.,
SC.D.,-F-R.S.” (W2ih 3 DIGS ae ne nen ee ee
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA, By S. K. Banerji, o.83E., p:scy
F.N.I., F.R.M.S., F.A.SC. (Wath five plates, one text tigure
GNGG: 2VADW) ext, 5: is eeeeckaeptis Sea
THE DESERT LOCUST AND ITS CONTROL. By Hem Singh
Pruthi, PH.D. s¢.p. (Cantab.), 2F.Ni., “FVA;S: | and sae
Bhatia, M.sc. (Hons.), F.u.S.1. (With one coloured and
two Olach-G10-WRLLE Plates im rncn.sc st osem facies earn ee en eee
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA. PART I. By N. Kesava
Panikkar. ((W2th ¢ighi Plates). 2tn ee eee eee
THE History oF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY.
Part I, MAmMALS, By Sir Norman Kinnear, c.8. (With
LEV CE PLALES Vac onset eae Soace smottnat es ee een eC eae
THe History oF Brirp-PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA. By
R. S. P. Bates and BE. H. N. Lowther. (W2ih séven
DUALES)) Siiscw idles Hie deceit east ee 1e yen Sees ce ee eno ee eee eee
PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS WITH THE HIGHSPEED FLASH. By
WT. Woke.) (CW 1ih 120e Plas) wee eects oe. enensie eee
THr GENUS Poa LINN. IN INDIA, PARTI. By N. L. Bor.
(Wile three plates GNAUNtTECCIBLCRL TLOUT ES) geen eee aer
THE FLIGHT OF EAGLES. By C. H. Donald. (With three
DIGLESI Renee she ann oe aetee ieee:
A HISTORY..OF (SHIKAR. IN INDIA, By Glicut-Colzsnh Ww.
Burtonja.As (Retd.). With fovert plates) ie ear e ween ee
NOTES ON THE GENUS Sa@licornta LINN. (CHENOPODIACEAB).
By. Charles McCann} F.L.sy (W2th two plates)... 018... .8
Mosguiro WorK IN INDIA. By Sir Gordon Covell, m.p.,
DLP. He! 5sccbess ceyseee eee e
PAGE
685
688
690
691
705
718
766
779
785
787
839
845
870
874
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
FUNCTIONAL DIVERGENCE, STRUCTURAL CONVERGENCE AND
PRE-ADAPTATION EXHIBITED BY THE FISHES OF THE
CYPRINOID FamiLy PsiLoRHYNCHIDAR Hora. By Sunder
Lal Hora, D.sc., F.R.S.E., C.M.ZS., Ml. BIOL.) (EF :Z. Sle;
F.A.S., F.N.I. (With two nts figures)... |
BUTTERFLY COLLECTING IN INDIA. By M. ne Wynter-Blyth,
HR Hise (VIL COLON Ue DIdle is. sei.s so veecuh dea tteida tes cee .ax%
NEw FINDS OF [INDIAN Cotes suena By H. le Chakra-
vatty, D.Sc. a F.LS. (With five sae and a text
figure)... Me cleeete eset thn evaicsumirs teins Nerubie been vecy ee tates gee
VANISHING AND eros ae SPECIES OF ieee By
©. Dillon Ripley. (Wz2th two coloured DLGLES) eect \cccene ee
THE History oF HERPETOLOGY IN INDIA. By Malcolm
PGSM Mah R.O.S yu RaCyP., (LONGOM) c. 0c elses vteaceacs cee
OBITUARIES :—
W.S. Millard. (Plate). By Norman B. Kinnear.......
OER NS Woweher: «(Plate): 2. By IRS. PlB..s..6. iss.20. 0s
REVIEWS :—
1;-: My India..(R..W. B.)... Bassinet
2. The Pheasants of the World. . in i Svcidds siedweterss
3. Pharmacognosy of Ayurvedic Drugs of Travan-
core-Cochin: .(o3, 5.J/.)..2
4. Head and Thorax of Geppinain eae (S. M. Le
5. The Butterfdy Fauna of Ceylon. (M.J.H.)...
6. The Story of Animal Life. (D.E.R.)...
Additions of Books to the Bombay Natural Hiceery isocietn's S
ABD Teta panes esice voce oe aes vere at Negm setae ck sane dels daewltidelehs Gevlewerads
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—
- Some Tiger incidents. By H. R. D. Robey.........
2. Post-script on ‘ Rabies in Tiger’. By C. Brooke
Worth .. ode Baeshu. eee oo ns
3. A coe tee ve een Vee jubatus
Erxleben) in Chitoor District, Madras State. By
K) Me Kirk patricks... the ee ie.
4. The ‘ Dipping’ habit of ae an Peo a ne
rly) ploy. tltiinaay tia ND Wali. e5.cs<.sss0ceseeces
5, An Hlephant’s Stride. By Randolph C. Morris,...
vii
PAGR
880
885
894
902
907
910
SHS
JES
917
920
921
921
923
gZ5
dad
J20
gol
932
933
viii
11.
12.
Lor
14.
JUS
16.
ie
18;
19:
20.
74
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
Measurements of an Indian Bison Head an
gaurus) By H.G. Hundley... son SS Duce ace
The record spread of Gaur Reel (Bibos peur)
By B. Subbiah Pillay. (Wztha photo)...
Cattle Diseases and Wild Life. By Randolph
Cy Morris 4s)
A ‘Red’ Porcupine. By siecle ean
The Diary and Sporting Journal of W. P. ORsase:
1821-1841. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton, 1a.
(Retd.)... sielsd cin «ue veammone eldlcesens aeeer ee ee eee
Strange Eonagioel ofa House Cron (Coipes spies
dens). By Dinsha J. Panday... i
The Mating Habits of the ries iron (erates
splendens) and Pied Myna (Sturnus contra) By
(Mrs.) Jamal Ara.. Be Eh a ent nb oh
Possible association GELREER the ton Yellow.
naped Woodpecker (Picus flavinucha) and the
Large Racket-tailed Drongo Shah. cS para-
diseus). Lt.-Col. R. S. P. Bates, 1.4..
A Canary’s curious reaction to Cee By
Editors... Walsh deobivobies thot te bs omeenet as Memeo eves
Koels Bidag hints scolopaceus) satis the poisonous
fruit of the Yellow Oleander. By M. Krishnan.
Does the adult Cuckoo ever assist in feeding its
offspring? “By iCols-DinG: dzowndes 5. .2*-.0e.
Occurrence of the Cinereous Vulture (degypzus
monachus Linnaeus) in Kaira District, Gujarat.
By Herschel C. Aldrich, M.D.. 5
Reappearance of the Little Indian ‘Red Theat
dove (Streplopelta tranguebarica tranquebarica
Hermann) in Ceylon. By W. W. A. Phillips......
Occurrence of the Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta
Linn.) in Assam. By (Mrs.) D. Sendall............
The Whitetailed Lapwing (Chettusza leucura) near
Bombay: —By Httmayun Abdulalic. 3... 2:2..--.2-.
Occurrence of the Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydro-
phasianus chirurgus Scop.) in Nellore District,
Madras. By K. M. Kirkpatrick...
29, Birds attacking their reflections. 3 y (ls) Mar-
DAvet NIVELS Jesse en series. erica
PAGE
933
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
947
348
26.
od.
28.
29.
30.
3,
a2.
oe
GONTENTS OF VOLUME 50
Bird Migration in India. By Editors...
Large stone in Stomach of Giotedile, ie K. ‘Ss.
Bisa tim ata STA leek aise oe ack she< foe Ne ote as 4 oes dee de s
Localization of the striped variety of the Rough-
tailed Earthsnake— Uvopeltis macrolepis (Peters)
to Mahableshwar. By VaK.iChari.>........0..<.
Aposematic Butterflies protected by the poisonous
qualities of their larval food-plants. By D.C.
Sevastopulo, F.R.E.S.. Me eta eet Meat, yas
Notes on the ee of ay ee By
T. Norman.. OR ne Mgt acer Coeer ine eer Ey ree Sere
Mature ee a the Pales townsendi Baranoff
(Diptera : Tachinidae). By R. N. Mathur, m.sc.,
PH.D., F.E.S.1. (With @ plate)... Wave tease hae
Probable odour trails in Termites ese By
H.S. Vishnoi.. Bet Pe minarets amore radetees
On the occurrence Bee ee Freebies Medusa in
the Krishnarajasagar on the Cauvery. By D.R.
Krishnamurthy, B.Sc..
Notes on the Genus s Ladvisi ey ‘By Charles
McCann, F.L.S. . AE oh Wi ee ee PUE UMS: tos Be Fe
Longevity of Succulents in Herbaria. = C.
McCann...
Wild Life Bein, ‘By a4 Col R W. Batok.
Tie Arey (ES CUCO) e rdaee utes ariontne «cbr valv tastey. eet eet soot theese
INO TEGAN DREN EWiST 2c ost kel Poo alee Fae aueclow oe Doe ee ee tcseers
9350
OS
I9¢
953
JSS
ALPHABETICAL - LTSTHOR AGONDREBY BOR
VOLUME 50
ABDULALI, HuMayun, An un-
recorded feature of Spurfowl
(Galloperdix)
= Speer ene tererere, The
Nos. 3 and 4
PAGE
661
‘Dipping’ Habit of the Tapir
(Zapirus indicus Cuv.)
ee , The
Whitetailed Lapwing (Chet-
tusia leucura) near Bombay.
———— a and
DANIEL, J. Cyrit., Races of
the Indian Giant Squirrel
(Ratufaindica). (With a plate)
ALDRICH, HERSCHEL C., M.D.,
Occurrence of the Cinereous
Vulture (Aegypius monachus
Linnaeus) in Kaira District,
Gujarat te oe a
ALEXANDER, H.G., Birds at-
tacking their reflections
Antony, A. C., Use of Fish
Slime in Structural Engineer-
ing as ee eae ee
ARA, (Mrs.) JAMAL, The mating
habits of the House Crow
(Corvus splendens) and Pied
Myna (Sturnus conira)
BANERJI, M., Replacement of
Inflorescence by Turions in
Caldesia reniforme Makino.
(With a plate and three text
figures es ee sae
BANERJI, S. K., 0.B,E., D.Se.,
HNids, HoROM.S. 5 F.AsSe... he
Climate of India. (With five
plates, one text figure and a
graph) 36 eae
Bates: Lt--Coly Rats .Bs TAs,
Possible association between
the Large Yellownaped Wood-
pecker (Picus flavinucha) and
932
947
469
945
674
682
940
685
718
PAGE
the Large Racket-tailed
Drongo (Dissemurus paradi-
SUS), eee nea ss. 941
| ‘BATES, “Lt.-Col, RLS. Pc eae.
and Lowrsrr, E.H.N., The
History of Bird-photography
in India, (With seven plates). 779 i
Best, A.E.G., Swarming of
Butterflies = a Toe OSS
Baatia, D.R., M.Sc. (Hons.),
F.E.S.1., Seé PRUTHI, HEM
SINGH, PH.D., Sc.D. (Cantab.),
F,N.I., F.A.S, aes 900
BIRCH, “Col. V7 Ke, DLStO., ee
(Retd.), Thrillsin Sport ... 652
Bor, N. L., The Genus oa
Linn. in India. Part I. (With
3 plates and 13 text figures). 787
BRANDER, A. A. DUNBAR, Wild
and Tame Dogs ba wo O47
Burton, Lt.-Col. R. W., 1.A. :
(Retd.), Old Jungle Tales
retold es one .. 649
Siete Sec , Hog-
hunting Reminiscences wese One
—__—__———_-—, Scent-
ing power of Birds oy O75
pees ee eee
History of Shikar in India.
(With four plates)... besa OSS
Burton, Lt.-Col. R. W., 1.a.
(Retd.), The Diary and Sport-
ing Journal of W. P. Okeden,
1821-1841 ‘i es co 930
——_—————-_———,, Wild
Life Preservation pa ‘oa | SEY)
CHAKRAVARTY, 0b. Li, 0 D.Sc;
(Eciz.), F.L.S., New finds of
Indian Cucurbitaceae. (With
five plates and a text figure), 894
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS si
CHAR, V. K., Bull Frong
(Rana tigrina Daud.) prey-
ing upon the Common ‘Toad
(Bufo mealnostictus Schneid.)
————,, Localization of
the Striped Variety of the
Roughtailed Earthsnake—
Cropeltis macrolepis (Peters)
—to Mahableshwar
CHIDAMBARAM, K., and KuRrRI-
YAN, G. K., Notes on the Grey
Mullets (M/ugil spp.) of Kru-
s2dai Island, Gulf of Manaar.
(Witha text figure)
CHopra,I.C., and Kapoor L.
D., The Poisonous & Medici-
nal Plants of India es
CHRISTENSEN, GLEN C., The
Chukor Partridge { Alectoris
graeca chukar (Griffith &
Pidgeon)] in Nevada, U.S.A.
CoLAM, HAROLD, A ‘ Red’ Por-
cupine
COVELL, SIR GORDON, M.D.,
D.p.H., Mosquito work in
Indian <a. cee wea of
DANIEL, J. CYRIL, see ABDUL-
ALI, HUMAYUN :
DHARMAKUMARSINHJI, K. S.,
Blacknecked Grebe (Podiceps
nigricollis Brehm) in Bhav-
nagar aon
———_—-_——., Large
stone in stomach of Cro-
codile ae Ae eae
DONALD, C. H., The Flight of
Eagles. (With 3 plates)
Dutt, B.S. M., A case of Hete-
rophylly in Asteracantha
longifolia Nees ae
Epitors, The Whimbrel (Va-
menius phaeopus) in Assam ...
————, A Canary’s curious
reaction to Yellow
—, Bird Migration in
India ake
FLEMING, ROBERT L., PH.D.,
Notes on the Nepal Koklas
PAGE
679: |
950
515
610
662
937
874
664
950
839 |
PAGE
Phesant (Pucrasia macrolo-
pha nipalensis) and the Spiny
Babbler (Acanthoptila nipa-
tensis. (Withatextmup)... 658
Grew. “Py MAy -C.MiZ.Si,
F.R.G.S. The Assam Earth-
quake of 1950. (With a
map and two plates) eee O29
HacKnety, M. J., Unusual be-
haviour of the Whitecapped
Redstart (Chaimarrornis leu-
cocephalus Vigors.) ... (ee ONS
Hora, SUNDER LAL, D.S¢.,,
F.R.S.E., C.M.Z.S., M-I,BIOL.,
F.Z.S.1., F.A.S., F.N.I., Func-
tional divergence, structural
convergence and pre-adapta-
tion exhibited by the Fishes
of the Cyprinoid Family Psi-
lorhynchidae Hora. (With
two text figures) es wae LOOU
HUNDLEY, H. G., Measure-
ments of an Indian Bison
Head ( Bibos gaurus) jee = 2933
INGLIS, C. M., F.z.S., C.M-B.O U.,
Melanism in the Barking
Deer (Muntiacus muntjac) ... 648
JONES, S., and SAROJINI, K. K.,
History of transplantation
and introduction of Fishes in
India. (With a text map and
eight figures) ... ae i 00d
Kapoor, L.D., see CHopra, I.C.
KINNEAR, SIR NORMAN, C.B.,
The History of Indian Mam-
malogy and Ornithology.
Part I. Mammals. (With 3
plates) ... ae a in, 206
KIRKPATRICK, K. M., Baya
(Ploceus philippinus Linn.)
nests on telegraph wires... 657
——_——_—__——_—-——,, Chital
[avis axis. (Erxijj2 A
Strange attraction... ia? O47
ee ,A re-
cord of the Cheetah (Aet-
nouyx jubatus Erxleben) in
Chitoor District, Madras
Statens |e. ais ss Lo 93]
xii LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
KIRKPATRICK, K. M., Occur-
rence of the Pheasant-tail-
ed Jacana (Aydrophasianus
chirurgus Scop.) in Nellore
District, Madras
KRISHNAMURTHY, D.R., B,SC.,
On the occurrence of the
Freshwater Medusa in the
Krishnarajasagar on the Cau-
very
KRISHNAN, M., iceels Pri .
mis scolopaceus) eating the
poisonous fruit of the Yellow
Oleander
KURIVAN, G. K.,
BARAM, K.
LEKAGUL, Dr. Boonsonc, On
the trial of the Kouprey or
Indo-Chinese Forest Ox
(Bibos sauvelt). (With three
plates and two text figures).
ListeR, M. D., Some Jungle
Bird Associations. (With a
map) :
LoKE, WAN TH0, Pnetaeren
ing the Whitebellied Sea-
eagle [Halzaetus leucogaster
see CHIDAM-
(Gmelin)]. (With four
plates) : ses sae
——— ——-, Common
Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
parasitising Plumbeous Red-
start (Rhyacornis f. fuligt-
nosa). (With a plate)
——, The Or-
thography of English names
of Birds
——
= , Photo-
graphing Birds with High-
speed Flash. (With five
plates) eee
LOWNDES, Col. D. G. Rinses the
adult Cuckoo ever assist in
feeding its Offspring ?
LowTHER, E.H.N., see BATES,
Rese:
MaTHuR, R. N., M.Sc., PH.D.,
F.E.S.1., Mature Larva of
Pales townsendi Baranoff
(Diptera : Tachinidae). (Wzth
@ plate)
PAGE
947
955
623
573
618
658
678
785
945
953
McCann, CHARLES, F.L.S.,
Notes on the Genus Salicornia
Linn. (Chenopodiaceae).
(With two ptates)
———. Notes
on the Genus Ludwigia Linn.
eee,
, Longe-
vity of Succulents in Herba-
ria. 500 eae Son aes
Morris, RANDOLPH C., An Ele-
phant’s Stride
; ——, Cattle
Diseases and Wild Life
NATARAJAN, A. T., see Raga-
GOPALAN, V.R,
NEELAKANTAN, K, K., More
Stray Bird notes from Mala-
bar
——_. -___.
Norma\N, T., Notes on the Lepi-
doptera of Assam — J.
Norris, C. E., Oceanic and
other Birds seen on two recent
trips between Colombo and
Aden in 195127; ae 505
PanpDaY, DinsHa J., Strange
behaviour of a House Crow
(Corvus splendens)
PANIKKAR, N. KzSava, Fish-
eries Research in India. Part I,
(With eight plates) Fe
PaTIL, A. M., o.sc., Study of
the Marine Fauna of the Kar-
war Coast and neighbouring
islands. PartII : Mollusca —
Amphineura and Gastropoda.
PILLAY, B. SuBBraH, The re-
cord spread of Gaur horns
(Bibos gaurus). (With a
photo)
PHILLIPS, W. W. A. eaaeoene
ance of the Little Indian Red
Turtle-dove:( Stveptopelia tran-
guebarica tranguebarica Her-
mann) in Ceylon
PHYTHIAN-ADAMS, Lt.-Col. E.
G., O.B.E., F.Z.S,, 1.4.(Retd.),
fence Memories, Part XI—
Odds and Ends. (With two
plates) eee oes see
PAGER
870
956
958
933
936
664
952
671
939
741
549
935
946
451
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
ProuD, DESIREE, Further notes
on the Birds of the Bae
Valley Sor
PRUTHI, HEM Srey PH.D.,Sc.D.
(Cantab.), F.N.I., F.A.S., and
Buatia, D. R., M.Sc. (Hons.),
F.ES.1., Tne Desert Locust
and its control. (With one
coloured and two black-and-
white plates) .
Rie Corry, R, and Nae
RAJAN, A. T., An unusual
case of Vivipary in hiz0-
phora mucronata Lamk, ( With
a plate) ..
RIPLEY, 5. pero We colleation
of Birds from the Naga Hills.
(With two maps, two coloured
and two black-and-white plates)
— -——, Changes in
Scientific Names of Indian
Birds
Vanish ing
and extinct Bird Species of
India.
plates) Sc tte said
RIVERS, (MRs.) MARGARET,
Birds agate their reflec-
tions
RoBeEyY, H.R. Di voane: iBiger
Incidents see
===,
(With two coloured
PAGE
667
734
684
475
676
902
948
927
SANTAPAU, H., S.J, Contelbu-
tions to the Bibliography of
Indian Botany. Part I
SAROJINI, K. K., see JONES, S.
SENDALL, (MRs.) D., Occur-
rence of the Avocet (Recurvi-
vostra avosetta wae in
Assam ... 2
SEVASTOPULO, D, ce F.R.ES.,
Aposematic Butterflies protec-
520
947
ted by the poisonous qualities
of their larval food-plants,
SEWELL, Lt.-Cor. R. B. SEy-
MOUR,,.C.I.Es,0SC.D.,. F:R.S:,
Deep-sea oceanographic ex-
ploration in Indian Waters
(With three plates)
SHIVRAJKUMAR, Y. 8S, Some
Bird Notes from Jasdan, Sau-
rashtra
SILas, E. G., Notes on tie Bio-
nomics of the Red Goby, /7y-
pauchen vagina Bloch &
Schneider. (With a_ text
figure) an
SMitH, Matcoum A.,, M.R.C.S.,
L.R.C.P, (London), The His-
tory of Herpetology ia India.
VILLE-ES-OFFRANS, J. RENE
MAINGARD DE, Sambar Deer
in Mauritius
VISHNOI, H.S., Probable Rachie
trails in Termites (Isoptera).
WIKRAMANAYAKE, E. B., Black-
backed Robin [Saxicoloides
f. fulicata, (Linn mee Sea
car Ba
WoRTH, C, Baaoee Two fa
ther cases of obstruction of the
mouth or throat by Fish
Postscript
on ‘ Rabies in ‘Tiger’
WYNTER-BLYTH,M.A.,F.R.E.S.,
. A Naturalist in the North-
west Himalaya. Part II.
( With two sketch maps and two
plates)
—_ —__——- ——,, Butterfly col-
lecting in India. (With a
coloured plate) +
xiil
PAGE
Foo
664
679
907
648
955
656
681
929
559
885
LIST OF) PEAILES
VOLUME 50
Nos. 3 and 4
Jungle Memories.
Plate I, The author in his study ww. = 454
Plate If, Down the Benne road
Mukerti Peak
Races of the Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica)
Plate I. Races of the Indian Giant Squirrel ( Ratufa indica) ‘an eee
A Collection of Birds from the Naga Hills.
Plate I. View on Mt. Japvo (7,7(0 ft.) showing the shrubby
undergrowth where we found Puoepyga, Spelacorns, | 488
and Zesia as well as Garrulax austent
Summit of Mt. Japvo (9,890 ft.)
Plate II. Upper Phozami village from the lower slopes of Mt.)
Zephu. Note crossbow, stil! used for bird hunting. ... |
Mt. Zephu (8,400 ft.) in Santam Naga country. ee 489
mountain isa northward extension of ridge of Mt. Mol
Lan on Burma border, and lies perhaps six miles west
of the estimated border itself. eae ic
PlateIV. (Coloured): Spelacornis chocolatinus nagaensis Ripley. 492
Plate IIl. (Coloured): Agithaliscus concinnus manipurensis Hume. Sade 509
Siv strigula cinereigenaé, subsp. nov.
A Naturalist in the North-west Himalaya,
Plate I. The Hamta Pass and Chhatoru, 18,344 ft. _
View to the Rohtang Pass from Khanpari Tibba i 560
Plate I]. The Hamta Nala ah ae
Ibex country—Hainta Nala u : 561
Photographing the Whitebellied Sea-eagle [Hadliaeius leucogaster
(Gmelin)}.
Plate I. The photographing tower, 130 ft. high soe OLS
Plate II. Whitebellied Sea-eagle at nest (Note proportions of bird
and nest) eee \ 619
Plate III. Bird arriving at nest roe O20
Plate 1V. Suspicion west Ook
On the trial of the Kouprey or Indo-Chinese Forest Ox ( Bibos sauvelt).
PlateI. <A. Banteng ¢, B. Kouprey g, C. Gaur J sre, O25
Plate II. Kouprey 2, Gaur 9, Banteng 9 ss0 = (025
PlateIII. Cross-section of a bull gaur horn, reduced 3. Front- )
back ee |
Cross-section of a bull kouprey horn, reduced 4. Front.
back ot oe
Cross-Section of a buil-banteng horn, reduced 34. RrOne
back wae
LIST OF PLATES KV
The Assam Earthquake of 1950. PAGE
Plate I. Aerial view of the damage done to a portion of the Abor )
Hills, between the rivers Subansiri and Simen
The damaged valley of the river Simen north of TEE ATE + 632
Even in the dry weather (March 1951) the river was |
running liquid mud. fae)
Plate 1I. A portion of the Abor Hills north of Dibrugarh, show- }
ing landslides caused by the earthquake ies |
The Valley of the Timai, a very small stream in the:
Mishmi Hills near Parasuram Kunda. Formerly thickly f 633
forested, it was a desert of stones and driftwood eal
photographed in March 1951 oo]
Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) parasitising Plumbeous Redstart
(Rhyacornis f. tuliginosa).
Plate I. Cuckoo and Plumbeous Redstart oo. 658
An unustial case of Vivipary in Rhizophora mucronata Lamk.
Plate I. Fig.1. Rhizophora mucronata Lamk: longitudinal SEC-
tion of a normal viviparous fruit. x 2
Fig. 2. /dem: transverse of the normal viviparous rat
as seenin figure l. x 2 oor
Fig. 3. /dem: longitudinal section of an unusual vivipa-
rous fruit with the two hypocotyls. Note two
Separate cotyledons on each plumule, covered by the
endosperm. x 2 vee \ $84
Fig.4. Jdem: transverse section of the unusual vivi-.
: parous fruit as seen in figure 3. x 2 ”
Fig. 5. J/dem: longitudinal section of an unusual vivi-
parous fruit with three hypocotyls ed one broken in!
transit). x 2 ans
Fig. 6, Jdem: transverse section of an unusual viviparoud
fruit as seen in figure 5. x 2 -
‘Replacement of Inflorescence by Turions in Caldesia voi ivi Makino.
Plate: 1, Showing normal flowers and turions on the inflorescence
‘axis pee a: oo _ 686
2. -Showing turions, some of which-have sorbated
Frontispiece.
Blacknaped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis maculatus Vieill.), Singapore
Island. ‘The first colour photograph to be reproduce | 691
in the Journal
Deep-sea Oceanographic Exploration in Indian Waters.
Plate I. R.L.M.S. ‘INVESTIGATOR I’,
The name ‘ Investigator’ carved on the facade of ef 708
Oceanographic Institute at Monaco
Pjate Il. R.IM.S.‘ INVESTIGATOR II’
H.E.M.S. ‘MABAHISS’ arriving back’;at Alexandtia, 7 709
May 25, 1934
Plate II. Chart of the Arabian Sea. (Reproduced with PeTmiesion
from Zhe Geological Magazine, 1937 a “4
The Climate of India.
Plate I. Mean pressure and prevailing wind—January sie a 20
Plate II, Mean pressure and prevailing wind—July ‘ae Hek
Plate III], The Southwest Monsoon—Normal dates of onset ive, 120
Plate IV. Normal dates of withdrawal seas fade
xvi LIST OF PLATES
; PAGE
Plate V. Distribution of the frequency of heavy falls of 3’ and above \ras/
in 24 hours 729
The Desert Locust and its control.
Coloured Plate: Fig. ]. Adult Solitary Phase—Female
Ege-laying
Egg-cluster (magnified)
Egg (magnified)
Hopper—Gregarious phase
Hopper—Solitary phase
Grown up Hopper—Gregarious phase
Grown up Hopper—Solitary phase
3 Adult—Gregarious phase
Plate I. The adult emerging atter the final shedding of the ae
A hopper-infested field of ‘bajri’ being dusted by Reni
operated dusting machine
Piate II. Tree totally defoliated by a swarm
‘Piper Cub’ in spraying action
Fisheries Research in India.
Plate I. Principal Groups of Freshwater Fishes of India
After data in Marketing Report of Fish in India
Plate II. Principal Groups of Marine Fishes of India excluding
estuarine fishes. Data from Central Marine Fisheries
Station
Plate III. Sardinella longiceps. ‘The Oil Sardine of Malabar
. Rastrelliger kanagurta. ‘The Indian Mackerel
Plate 1V. Other common Sardines from the Malabar Coast
4. Kowala coval; 2. Anchoviella commersonii;
3. Dussumieria hasseliit; 4. Sardinella timbriata ...
Plate V. Sardine fishing in Malabar. Operation of the Mathi- }
Chala Vala (gill net) handled by two boats. The net is i
735
CON DAR wD!
736
e e . e . ° e s ° * e ° ° °
Cy e e ° o e ° e e e e e e . e
e e e . e e e e e e e ° e e e
—-- — ee” Ss —— Sota wy ER Rahs noses OO
“I
Go
N
760
7€1
seen encircling a shoal of sardines. (Sketch by Shri R. } 762
» -2V.. Nair);
Plate VI. Sardine fishing by the Wathi-Kolli Vala which is a Poeee
alized Seine net exclusively used for the oil sardines.
(Sketch by Shri R. V. Nair)
Plate VII. 1. Outrigger canoes are extensively used in mackerel y
fishing. Photograph shows a canoe with mackerel in
Karwar Bay a|
2. Fresh mackerel gibbed, salted and kept for Aang [ 764
Note the uniformity in size ae
3. Mackerel fishing village on N. Kanara coast. Note the |
outrigger canoe, nets, fishermen, huts and curing yards/
Plate VIII. 1. The Rampani nets, which are very large shore seines, )
are extensively employed in mackerel fishing in the |
Kanara coasts. The photograph shows one arm of
the net being drawn ashore.
2. The mackerel encircled in the net are kept impound- |
c
|
763
ed near the shore until the arrival of launches from ¢- 765
Bombay. Photograph shows the boats and impound-
ing net with their floats.
3. Impounded mackerel are hauled ashore in batches as
required. At the back may be seen a launch loading
mackerel with ice for being transported to Bombay. J
LIST OF PLATES xvii
PAGE
The History of Indian Mammalogy and Ornithology.
Plate I, Samuel Richard Ticke!l. Died 1865. ee
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon. 1811-1875 ¥ \ tae
Plate II, Brian Houghton Hodgson. 1800-1894 -
Edward Blyth. 1810-1873 ~ ‘ \ a
Plate Ill. Alan Octavian Hume. 1825-1912 sae)
William Thomas Blanford. 1833-1905 she j 776
The History of Bird-photography in India.
Plate I. Little Bittern (Jrobrychus minuta)
is
Plate II. The Indian River Tern (Sterna aurantia) oo ae
781
Bet.
Plate IlI. Scully’s Wood Owl (Strix aluco biddulpht) Oa
Sl
Plate IV. Brown-winged or Bridled Tern (Sterna anaethetus) inflight. 781
Plate V. The Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) A her
Plate VI. Alert and with measured tread, the Ibisbill estes the ) Bet.
nest 782/
Settling down to brood 783
Bet.
Plate VII Crested Swift on nest with egg 18
/
Photographing Birds with the Highspeed Flash.
Plate I. Male Bluechat leaving nest rs
Plate II, Hoopoe (Upupa epops) leaving nest with faeces packet of 78, ;
young. Vale of Kashmir 5,000 ft. iss 787
Plate III. Common Swallow (Mirundo rustica) approaching Bt ees
Vale of Kashmir, 5,000’. gt 784
Plate IV. Paradise Flycatcher (Yehitrea p. leucogaster). Male | a
approaching nest with food. Anchar Lake 5,000’. ve ae
Plate V. Kashmir Sooty Flycatcher (Hemichelidon s. gulmergi).)\
The male is about to feed female incubating newly- | Bet.
hatched young. Note food making a lump in the chin. | ew
Astanmarg 11,000 ft. ved
The Genus Poa Linn. in India.
Plate I. foa nephelophila Bor cost: O20
Plate Il. Foa annua Linn. wee 02d
Plate Ill. Poa wardiana Bor ie poe
The Flight of Eagles.
Plate I. SomeBirds of Prey. Diagrammatic impressions of over-
head flight. mee cet
Plate Il. Some Birds of Prey. Diagrammatic impressions of over-
\ 841
head flight.
Plate ILI. A Steppe Eagle.
Golden Eagle (2 years old) taken from nest 10 miles 842
from Kotgarh, Simla Hills.
A History of Shikar in India.
Plate I. Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus) w. = 46
Plate II. Great One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) ... 847
Plate III. Sambaror Rusa Deer (Rusa unicolor) see | O02
"4
oui LIST OF PLATES
PAGE
PlateIV. The Madras Hunt in Guindy Park, 1866 (From a paint-
ing by J. J. Fonseca)
Notes on the Genus Salicornia Linn. (Chenopodiaceae).
a. 853
Plate I. Salicornia brachiata Roxb. 1, Entire plant; 2. flowering
nodes; 3. pistil; 4. embryo; 5. anther; 6. poten} 870
grain; 7. seed. al eae cot
Plate II. Salicornia australis Soland. 1. Portion of plant; 7
2. flowering nodes; 3 and 4. anthers; 5. pistil; |
6. pollen grain; 7. seed: 8. floral lobe with 3 sta- 871
mens; 9. floral lobes round ovary. woe |
Butterfly collecting in India.
Coloured Plate: 1. The Banded Apollo, Parnassius OES, 7}
race nova, male.
2. The Glorious Begum, Prothoe calydonia beli-
sama, male UP UN.
3. The Blue Peacock, DY arcturus avius,
7 alee + 888
4, The Tawny Mime, ‘Chilasa agestor GEE
male.
5; ‘The Painted Courtesan, Huripus consimilis, form
nova, female UP UN. |
6. The State Nawab, Zridboea dolon centralis, male. 3
New finds of Indian Cucurbitaceae. See oe
Plate I. TZvichosanthes tomentosa Chakr. it 4eceEriS94
Plate II. Zvichosanthes listert Chakr.. : sec OOD
Plate ILI. Neoluffa stkkimensis Chakr. oe 90
Plate IV. Cucumis muriculatus Chakr. -. a 897
Plate V. (A) Schizopepon wardi Chakr.
(B) Cucumis hystrix Chakr. =) a0
vacenine and Extinct Bird Species of India.
Coloured Plate I. Jerdon’s Courser, Rhinoptilus bitorquatus Blyth
Pinkheaded Duck, “Rhodonessa “carvophalacea 902
; (Latham), male.
Coloured PlateII. The Mountain Quail, CE giSe superciliosa (Gray)
male, 2] 904
Obituaries
Plate. Walter S. Millard
Ernest H. N. Lowther 3 910
Mature Larva of Pales townsendi Baranoff (Diptera: Tachinidae).
Plate. Pales townsendi Baranoff
A, lateral view of mature larva; BS, lateral view of cephalo-)
pharyngeal sclerites; C, dorsal view of same ; D, cuticular |
spines; #, anterior spiracle; /, posterior view of larva,
showing posterior spiracles. a, anus; a5, anterior spiracle 954
ih 6, infra-hypostomal bridge; 76s, labial sclerites ; o #, oral
hooks ; pap, respiratory papillae ; p/ s, pharyngeal sclerites;
|
aty, atrium ; d¢, dorsal cornu; #s, hypostomal sclerites;
|
é s, posterior spiracles; vu c¢., ventral cornu. }
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME 50
Nos. 3 & 4
PAGE | PAGE
Acanthoptila nipalensis Map ... els a 721
Map ... oe eae 659 Plate III, mice bs 726
Ai githaliscus ¢concinnus Plate IV. en a 727
mani purensis Plate V. sees Betaize/729
Plate III. (Coloured)... 509 Graph - a 799
Anchoviella commersonit Cuciluecanorin
Plate IV. Fig. 2 ee 761 Plate ore e: 658
Aquila chrysaetus Cucumis hystrix
Plate Ill. Mies ai 842 Plate V. (B)«.. ee 900
pane IC mists —-—— muriculatus
Plate III. ts ans 842
, : Plate IV See oes 897
Balitora brucet : .
Fig. 2, a,b &c ~ 989 Cyprinus carpio (var. specu-
Bibos gaurus laris)
Photo ... es je 885 Fig. 4 ve anh, 600
——~ sauveli Dussumieria hassebtit
Plate I. re i 624 Plate IV. Fig. 3 aes 761
Plate II. a x 625 ; Eagles, The Flight of
Fig. 1 Ve: ete, 8625 Plate I. Fis oe 840
Map om Ae = 696 Plate Terre ire 2 eke g sen 841
Plate III. a .. - 627 | Earthquake of 1950, The |
Bird Associations, Some ~~~ Assam
Jungle Map ys ees cae er O00
Map. te. a. 573) cu ~ Plate: vas tees 6632
Birds from the Nee! Ens AL Plate II. ie ose 633
Collection of - |. Blephas maximus
Map ... a Coa 476 Plate I Baer re 846
Plate I. ae .. --488 | &rtboea dolon centralis, 3
Plate II. es ca 489 Coloured Plate. Fig. 6 ... 888
Blanford, William Thomas Etroplus suratensts
Plate ITI. ase see 776 Fig. I, ee as 597
Pluechat, Male Euripus consimilis, form
Plate I. 23 5D. 786 nova, 2
Biyth, Edward Coloured Plate. Fig.5 ... 888
Plate II. des oe 771 | Fishes in India, History of
Caldesia renitorme Transplantation and Intro-
Piate. Fig. 1 & 2 duction of
Figs. 3, 4, 5 ee ce Map .. hy 4.505
Carassius auratus Fisheries Research in eieeia
Fig, 6. A,B, € ae 604 Plate I, ohe Bed 752
Chilasa agestor govindra, 3 Plate II. a ae 753
Coloured Plate. Fig. 4 ... 888 Plate V. on use 762
Climate of India, The Plate VI. wet an 763
Plate I. at ms 720 Plate VII. sf ts 764
Plate IIL. ae coe eel Plate VIII. a5 a 765
XX
PAGE
Gambusia at fints
Fig. 5 g& 2 603
Haliaetus leucogaster
Plate I. 618
Plate IT. 619
Plate III. 620
Plate IV. 621
Hemichelidon s. gulinergi
Plate V. Bet. 786/787
Himalaya, A Naturalist in the
North-west
Plate I. 569
Plate II. 561
Sketch Map 1 563
Sketch Map 2 569
Hirundo rustica
Plate (ii. Bet. 786/787
Hodgson, Brian Houghton
Plate II. V7
Hume, Allan Octavian
Plate HI. 776
Ibisbill
Plate VI. Bet. 782/783
lxobrychus minuta
Plate I, Ae 780
Jerdon, ‘Thomas Caverhill
Plate I. 770
Jungle Memories
Plate I. 454
Plate II. 455
Kowala coval
Plate 1V. Fig. 1 761
Melothria ritchiet
Hig.” -.$. aS 898
Mugil seheli
Text fig. ; 515
Neoluffa sikkimensis
Plate III. Ask os 896
Oceanographic Exploration in
Indian Waters, Deep-sea
Plate I. 708
Plate ITI. aN 709
Plate III. aah 714
Obhrysia superciliosa, &
Coloured Plate II. 904
Oriolus chinensis maculatus
Frontispiece (Coloured). 691
Osphronemus govamy
Fig. 2 598
Pales townsendi |
Plate 954 |
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS
Papilio arcturus arius, &
Coloured Plate. Fig.3 .
Parnassius stoliczkanus, race
noua, JS
Coloured Plate. Fig. 1
Platalea leucorodia
Piate V.
Poa aitchisonit
Big, 2
— annua
Plate II.
— himalayana
Fig. 7
—— infirma
Fig. 2
— khasiana
Fig. 9
—— nemoralis
Fig. 10
-— nepalensis
Fig.' 3
— nephelophila
Plate I.
— polycolea
Fig. 11
— sikkimensis
Fig. 5
— setulosa
Fig. 13 aa ost
— stapfiana
Fig. 6
— sltewartiana
Fig. 8
—— supina
Fig. 4
— tibeticola
Fig. ]
—— wardiana
Plate Il.
Prothoe calydonia belisama, By
Coloured Plate. Fig. 2...
Psilorhynchus balitora
Fig. 1,b,e&h
—_—-_——— homaloptera
Pigs lic, £1
Sucatio
Fig. l.a,d&g
Fig. 2. d
Pucrasia macrolopha ebay ee
Map ac iis
PaGE
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS xxi
Rastrelliger kanagurta
Plate III.
Ratufaindica ?
Plate (3)
bengalensis
Plate (6)
Plate (8)
—— —— dealbata
Plate (1)
— —__
Plate (2)
_ Plate (4)
—— —— —- maxima
Plate (7)
—— ——— superans
Plate (5)
Rhinoceros unicornts
Plate II.
Rhinoptilus bitorquatus
Coloured Plate I.
Rhizophora mucronata
Plate Sas ear
Rhodonessa caryophyllacea, 3%
Coloured Plate I.
Rusa unicolor
Plate III.
Salicornia australis
Plate II.
—-——. brachiata
Plate I.
Sardinella fimbriata
Plate IV. Fig. 4
-—— longiceps
Plate III.
centralis
elphinstonet
indica
PAGE
760
472
472
472
472
472
472
472
472
847
902
684
902
852
871 |
870
761
760
PAGE
Schisiocerca gregaria
Coloured Plate a 735
Plate I. ee — 736
Plate LI. ae ar 131
Schizopepon wardit
Plate V, (A) ost a 990
Shikar in India, A History of
Plate IV. se ei 853
Siva strigula cinereigenae
Plate Ill, (Coloured) a 509
Spelacornis chocolatinus nag aensts
Plate 1V (Coloured) _... 492
Sterna anaethetus
Plate IV. se 781
aurantia
Plated. Bet. 780/781
Stria aluco biddul phi
Plate III. Bet. 780/781
Swift, Crested
Plate VII.
7 chitrea p. leucogaster
Bet. 782/783
Plate IV, Bet. 786/787
Tickell, Samuel Richard
Plate I. ae bois 770
Tilapia mossambtica
Bigs / a des 606
Tinca tinca
Fig, 3 a ve 599
Trichogaster pectoralts
Fig. 8 ts Bee 697
Trichosanthes listeri
Plate IL wei is Sga
- tomentosa
Plate I ays sas 894
Trypauchen vagina
Text fle. (a), (b) & (c). 680
Upupa epops
Plate II Bet. 786/787
. . | | ‘A ee
= yl pene al ag mapa) frie ane ha 055
7 : : 7 Pa, Be a st aul ay!
f . ian eat tia we i, i g ie ie ae A
i ou) ea oer 7
Aoyil SeN
; ates eine ai
cay 2 > ? ag
| | MLgiE Ne pave UURIE Yea
|
|
i
= #00 ele Sa ae , “i IEG ee cat
. : LO eg Mau 12 3
; vy ‘ ; ma P » VAF eAs 9@
is 7 . : ; ; ¥ : * 4 ni : oy _ — 4) \ Vals iB) . ka
3 7 : cas 4 sity > | 5 mf : my
= A rg n
} . : w , -_ “ Grad. :
; : : at a . \ = ' nae
> : ois i ieee on Deny
a7 3 : i io) we
ey i : oS aes ra a4?
a .) oe | '
i | te 0 onqutth val s,
ou | as nee), ssalt t bent Ad, ,
ey Wier) Gs aye pv te rae Th rs = hy
- abe ul Vie Poe thape os a
ENS HS | gan eee ea
| a s ah Sa : aoe selon BOWE :
a Stiga sh Pu\ian. 4. aye . i 7 be ’ SE otek!
‘ 4 : ‘ ; a a
v * ri /
> : . 7 yy : te
a ba! a 2 t 7 i
E ‘ ‘5 -
iT ‘
» j
/ a
‘ i AWS i = 2
i ‘. ar: .
7 <i iG i A aon
‘2. 7 ,
> . ta Val a
t 724
NES
a 7 ‘@ f iy —s f ip " iv a
- i 7 ’ te ‘ : lu _ i‘
‘ : : aa aa © 4 ODP: Pe a
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Abies pindrow 559
Abroma augusta 612
_Abroscopus schisticeps 669
577, 578, 958
575, 577, 578
Acacia ws. aes
mAcacia arabica ... ae
_Acanthochitona 549
_Acanthopneuste peel 586
Acanthopterygii ee 709
Acanthoptila nipalJensis... 658, 659, 668
Becipiternisus ... 0... «. 592, 841
=— nisosimilis 478
| Acer sp. 559
f Aceros Madalanae fconcret 482
Acinonyx jubatus 866, 867
— rex 641
| Aconitum eeropayinacl 614
‘Acoruscalamus ... 613
| Acridotheres Anaiteaee 587
tristis 587
_Acrocephalus dumetorum 586
|Acrossochilus hexagonolepis ... 606
| Actinodura egertoni khasiana 499
| -—— nipalensis ... soe 068
—— -——— —- modem 475, 499
Aedes albopictus 875
Aegithaliscus concinnens 58]
| manipurensis ... 508
Aegithina nigrolutea 582
——--— tiphia 582
Aegypius monachus 945
Aeolis 557
Aerides x 959
“Aesculus indicus 559
Aethiopsar fuscus 587
Aethopyga dabryi 511
i dabryi oll
-—— -— gouldiae gouldiae 51
—-—— —-—— isolata 510, 51d
———-— ignicauda ignicauda 510
jo —--— ipalensis ... : 669
_- ——koelzi ... 510
io Saturata_.,, mee oo = «988
Aethopyga saturata assamensis
-—— Ssiparaja labecula
Atropavo
Agathia
Ailurus fulgens
Albizzia procera ...
- Sp. : aoe
-stipulata ... Sas ses
Albula
Alcedo atthis
Alcippe
-Alcippe eerancicep: parnie i-
cauda
——- ——-——— castaneiceps ...
cinereiceps manipurensls
dubia mandellii
nepalensis re
nipalensis commoda
——--— fusca
vinipectus austeni
perstriata .
Alcurus striatus a ate
Alectoris graeca
— ——— chukar
Alsima reniforme
Allium govanianum
Alnus sp.
Alticola roylei sis
Amaurornis phoenicurus
Amblypodia amantes
Amherstia nobilis
Ammania ...
Ammi visnaga ee nes
Amphipnous aoe bs ate
Amphipoda
Anabas
Anacanthini
Anas querquedula
Anastomus oscitans
Anchoviella spp.
Ancilla
Ancilla ampla
Androsace sarmentosa
613, 952
662, 663
PAGE
510
510
917, 920
951
766
579
579
555
590
905, 506
502
502
503
503
582
503
e003
502, 503
502
exe §=— 083
662
685
562
559
560
993
886
911
597
615
759
709
759
709
949
478
760
553
553
5/0
Xxiv INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE PAGE
Anemone obtusiloba ... 561, 562, 570 | Astur badius _... ae 592, 841 —
Anguilla... a 586 ne ... foo |. AtheMe blewitti ... tie ice GOR
Anomura ee “ae cae ua 09 -brama ... Ane “3 aeegees |
Anopheles Ba Ae re soe) 5078 || AIS seis ee oa Bei 647, 865, 931
Anopheles culcifacies ... a .. 874 | Azadirachta indica ms a os 08S
-~-— fluviatilis au i 874,878 | Babax ies : a ae ame 75 7/
———- minimus = ae ... 874 | Babylonia snheta a ae ts eoe
——-—- philippinensis Sic .. o/f2 | agarius ... va so ee. ey eee
stephensi _... Ps 2 6/4 |) -Baltia butleri® *... aa ve a2 7 OU
—-subpictus ... ean wo. 979..|. eBalitora brucei t.. bes was > B08
Anthus hedgsoni “i ae .. 588 | Bambusicola fytchii ndpitusont AE Peat i's,
—_——-- — hedeeoni bis 23. 460, | seam Te ae oe me .»- 462
a — yunnanensis w- . 490.1] ‘Bandicota «.. a Sas Si weoce Mee
——-~— richardi rufulus = a 588 | pearbus. ee ie ee ee
—--——. roseatus ae are co, OOO. | zbarpUsS Hexavonoleste “30 he 3) os
Antilope cervicapra aa ae: ae SOUS - (Lissochilus) hexagonolepis 607, 609
ACAPEAESE 101) cena ade on: 769 | —— = (Tor) khudree ... nae .3 i Om
Apatura chevana sa Be .. 888 | ———-(——) mussullah ais a O08
Aplocheilus blochii «+ tee sas0 OUS2 1,5 - nigrofasciatus ... aA as OUg
_—— —lineatus ... se .. 603 | —-——- (Tor) putitora ... At econ) OO
a ak pera Se ie xe US =. Sarana " s.. ae = wee! OST
Aplysia + ie fae PDO -titteya ... a sa aoe Ole
Appias libythea libythés a sis-- 1083 =)tor ws ae ase « 633
Aquila heliaca «2... ae ... 841 |. Bariliusbola ... we wae, nant) once ete
- imperialis We sid oad! | eBelone 2 ae oe Se ao fro
- pipalensis Mae ee 592,842 | Berberis ... ae 490 ix .. ooG
——-— rapax .., ae aes ... 842 | Berberis aristata he he «ae Ole
Arachnothera magna ... as .. 588 | Beta we a 4 Ls we OR
—_— _—— — magna .. cat Dll) Betta pugnaxiee.. f oe .. 604.
Arborophila rufogularis iutoriedia .. 480 | Betula alnoides ... 05 see -- 349
——_——---— torqueola ey en Sp. ae ae be -. OGM
——_——---—- ——-———- interstincta ... 480 utilis soe see . Sag
Oh A ee -— torquecla 480, 659 | Bibos banteng piantcns Ss .. * OGg
Architectonica ... aes ae v.55] | | === Saurus ** ee ... 865, 933, 935
Ardeola grayi... ney > 2503 | (Blythipicus pyrhotise.... 65 nl oe
Argya caudata «-« — hs eT ISRO -—— ————— pyrrhotis .» 4éame
malcolmi ... Bs ae .- 9382 | Bombax> ... “ oe ase 511, 574 |
Argynnis ...00 + is ve ... §87 | Bombax aeaniceen nanan ey
Argyreia ... : 2a ae ... $96 | Borassus flabelliformis aun as Oe
Arisaema A aerate i ron 570 Bos frontalis 500 es nae eae 618 |
Arisaema speciosum ... a8 ss. , O12, | #=—= Saurus vee nee .. 63%)
Arius — 4. ae a .. 757 | Boselaphus ee oearmelns a 865, 931 |
Armandia lidder dalei 3 ee ... 886 | Brachypternus bengaiensis ... ge |
Armina (Pleurophyliidia) on w» 558 | Brassica Sp. 050 ae we ... Ob
Artamus fuscus ... tet fe c.. O85 | pitbalustoubalis.... Mes ee 634, 865 |
Artemisia absinthium ... ae ... 613 | Bubo bubo bengalensis ms .. Some
SET areal es Be 617 | Bubuleus ibis: 4 oe oe 478, 593 |
—- vulgaris hee ve .. 613 | Budorcas taxicolor & Ma 634, 805 >
Artocarpus integrifolia i" .. 575 | Bufo melanostictus we se OF
Asteracantha longifolia ave 684) Bulla eee “ies ae wee .. Soe
Asteroidea ds tise a ... 709 | Bullia me 5a Mee ie | ae
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Bursa granularis 556
-Bursatella (Notarchus) 557
Cacomantis merulinus ... 590
Calandrella brachydactyla 588
Caldesia parnassifolia ... ro G8
reniforme 685, 686
Callichrous 450
Calliostoma ‘ 550
Caltha palustris ... ase bo HoZ
Calyptraea (Crucibulum) antiee
rium 555
Camellia thea 379
Cancellaria 553
Cancroidea 709
Canis pallipes 768
Cannabis sativa ... vil 613
Capra falconeri eee nainensis 865
— falconeri 865
_——- — jerdoni 865
hircus blythii aarti SOS
siberica 563, 855
Capricornis Pemetiacre 563, 634, 865
Caprimulgus asiaticus ... ieee OGL
indicus 591, 670
——_———- ——. macroourus : 591
—--ambiguus... 482
Caranx spp. 757
Carassius auratus 604
carassius 599
Cardamine macrophylla 570
Carduelis spinoides heinrichi 512
-—— —-—-— monguilloti 512
-- —---——— spinoides soe [ioTe
Catabrosa thomsoni 818, 819
Careya arborea 649
Cassia 958
Cassa renigera ... a 911
Casuarina equesetifolia wes 2), O09
Catla catla 596, 754
Catopsilia crocale 683
——--—— florella 887
——-—. pomona 886
— -pyranthe 857
Catreus eis 918
Catreus wallichii 659
Cavolina es 597
Cedrelatoona ... see BA de cd 0G
Cedrus deodara ... 559
Centropus sinersis 590
Cephalandra indica se v. O42
Cephalopoda es ei Foiw oo 709
Cerchneis tinnunculus ...
Ceriornis
Cerithidea
Cerithidea aeorathiies))
Cerithium ‘
Certhia discolor ...
--———- manipurensis
.Cervus duvauceli
- hanglu ‘
—-— kashmiriensis .,.
———. leschenaulti
- rusa oe
- unicolor niger ...
- wallichii
Ceryle rudis
Cethosia
Cettia duvelvacen: mieeendea wai
—— -- —————-— flavolivacea
—— ————— jntricata
— —- —— weberi
montana fortipes
Chaerophyllum villosum
Chaetoceras
Chaimarrornis ledeocemiala
——— leucocephalus ...
Chalcophaps indica indica
Chanos chanos ... ate
Chaptia aenea
Charadrius dubius
-— ——— curonicus =
Charaxes ...
Charronia Aenea
Chelidorhynx hypoxanthum
Chettusia leucura
Chibia hottentotta
Chilades laius laius
Chilasa agestor
Chirocentrus dorab
——«1 =
Chloropsis At
Chloropsis hardwickii ... Ree
—— —-—— hardwickii
ee —— jerdoni
Chondropteryegii
Choriotis nigriceps
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum Groractonuni
Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus
Chrysomma sinensis
Chrysophlegma flavinucha
Cimicifuga foetida
Cinchona
XXV
PAGE
591
919
554, 556
556
554
668
509
767
563
865
767
648
767
766, 767
590
951
506
506
506
506
506
559
sly
583
655
481
593
586
665
480
890
562
085
947
586
683
888, 890
737
905
982
487
582
709
905
612
612
589
582
589
613
Bll
XXVi
PAGE
Cinculus pallasii 489, 583
Cinnamomum camphora 613
Cinnyris asiatica 588
—— zeylonica 588
Cirrhina cirrhosa 754
— mrigala 596, 754
Cirripedia 709
Cirrochroa aoris aoris ... 952
Cissa chinensis 581
Cisticola juncidis 586
Clamator coromandus 990
———— jacobinus 590
Clarius 755
Clypeaster Brendale: aie 715
Clypidina notata 550
Cnidaria 709
Cocos nucifera 575
Colchicum autumnale .... 614
-———— luteum oe e614
Colpodium 795
Columba livia 592
————— leuconota 570
——_—— ————— leuconota 659
———— pulchricollis 481
————-—- punicea 48]
Commiphora mukul 958
Conus 553
Copsychus eeetatié 584
Coptis coinensia 615
—-—- teeta 614
Coracias bengalensis 590
Coracina fimbriata melaschista 407
Coragyps atratus i 930
Corvus splendens .. 081, 939, 940
macrorhynchos... 581
Corydalis cachemiriana 570
—-— diphylla 560
— govaniana 562
Coscinodiscus 516, 517
Cotoneaster ass 559
Coturnix coromandelica 592
Crataegus 559
Creseis 557
Crocopus phosnibontene 592
Crossoptilon 918
Crotellaria ies 579
Crypsirhina formosae AVS eASiE at ESS
Cryptomerias x 579
Cuculus canorus .. 589, 658, 945
—_——— ——-— bakeri 658
———— micropterus 590
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Cuculus optatus 590
— poliocephalus 568, 590
—-~ sparveroides sparveroides 481
Cucumis hystrix ... 896, 891
— muriculatus 896, 901
— prophetarunm ... 896, 897 —
Culex fatigans 874
ant 875
Culicicapa ceylonensis 584
Be as — calcane S€a agaa ts O08
Cuon dukhunensis 768, 866
Curcuma longa 613
Curetis 891
Cutia nipalensis . 582
—— nipalensis 498
Cyanosylviasuecica ... 983
Cybium 757
Cyclea peltata 920
Cymatium aor aie a 556
Cymbopogon nardus 613
Cynoglossus semifaciatus 757
Cyornis hyperythra 668
tickelliae 584
Cypraea 556
Cypraea moneta sis- 556
Cyprinus carpio “0 599, 607
— ——--—. (var. communis)... 599
—_— ———— (var. nudus) 600
——_> += ar. speculanis)<-- 508
Cypsilurus spp. 757
Cypsiurus batassiensis 991
Dalbergia latifolia ww. 649
Danais ees oc. |) SGBe
Danais aspasia aes 589, 890
—-— chrysippus aes 888, 889
——— tytia 888
Deilephila nerii 951
Delias 881, 95]
Delichon nipsledeie 587
Delphinium 612, 613
Dendrobium ee 95g
Dendrocitta formosae ... 581.
— —-——. vagabunda 581, 942
Dendrocopos 484
Dendrodoris? 557
Derris 612
Derris elliptica 612
Derris sp. ee 613
Dicaeum agile ... £88
——_—. —— agile 510
; —_—_—_—_——— deignani ceo OO
510
|
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Dicaeum concolor olivaceum ... 509
——— chrysorrheum intensum 509
———— erythrorhynchum 588
———_-.— finschii one 510
———ignipectum ... e 669
———-— ignipectus oe necads 509
———— modestum modestum 610
———— remotum 510
Dicerorhinus sumatrensis 860
Dicrurus aeneus aeneus 512
—+-—— coerulescens ... 585
———— leucophaeus ... 2s #550985
———-— macrocercus ... .. 012, 585, 664
———— --———- -— cathoecus 512
——_—_—— paradiseus 513
Diodora 550
Dioscorea sf, + 614
Dipterocarpus grandiflorus 618
— -— macrocarpus 633
Dissemurus paradiseus 941
Doris 557
Dorosoma 757
Dremomys av5 ee 476
Dryobates cathpharius 589
--— darjellensis 589
——--— macei 589
——---—— mahrattensis 589
--—— Nanus semicoronatus 589
Dryonastes caerulatus ... 581
-—— ruficollis 581
Duboisia myoporides _... 617
Ducula badia griseicapilla 480
Dussumieria 757
Dussumieria acuta 760
—- ~ haseltii 519
Echinodorus ranunculoides 685
Echinoidea 709
Eglisia eae aol
Eeretta garzetta yaa § "yr 09
Elachura haplonota 492,514
Elanus coeruleus oe ga OO
Elephas maximus indicus 864
Eleutheronema 755
Elodea canadensis 687
Emarginula 550
Emberiza pusilla oe
| ——-—— spodocephala sordias 512
—— stewarti 587
Enicurus maculatus 583
— -— RE 490
Engraulis Poe 8 ere 757
Ephedra
Epitonium
Equus kiang
onager indicus
Eragrostis
Erebia shallada
Hremopoa
Eriboea ... tes
Eriboea arja
— -—- dolon
Erithacus calliope paitone
——_———- chrysaeus chrysaeus
—- cyanurus rufilata
———— indicus indicus
Etroplus
Etroplus Macular us
suratensis
Eucalyptus globulus
Euchelus ° ae
Eudynamis scolopaceus
Eugina
Eulima
Eumyias ERAlecsine
Eunaticina
Euphorbia ves
Euphorbia antiquorum
-—— khandalensis
——-——- ligularia
a neriifolia
—— sp.
Euploea
Eupodotis Sawatdei
Euripus consimilis
—~—_—— halitherses
cinnamoneus
Eurystomus orientalis
Euthalia
Euthynnus
Eutropiichthys ,..
Excoecaria agallocha
Fagopyrum esculentum...
Fagopyrum tartaricum
Falco jugger ais eee i
——- peregrinus peregrinator
——- severus
——- subbuteo ? i
——- tinnunculus interstinctus
Fasciolaria
Felis caracal
—— rubiginosa
Ficus
XXVii
PAGE
614
Sou
866
865
787
560
787
890
952
888, 890
489
489
489
489
Za
597
597, 609
613
550
590, 943
952, 553
556
584
5o0
958
612
958
958
958
613
951
905
890
891
891
590
893
yy)
755
612
612
612
591
670
670
568, 591
478
Sol
866
768
956, 576
XXViii
Ficus bengalensis
-——- religiosa
Fragaria vesca
Fragillaria ie
Francolinus pondicerianus
Franklinia gracilis
Fritillaria roylei ...
Fusinus
Gagea lutea
Galloperdix
Galloperdix lunulata
spadicea
Gallus gallus murghi
— — lafayetti ...
-~——— sonnerati
Gambusia affinis
Gampsorhynchus rufulus vanaiie
Garulax
Garrulax Bineealans
——-—— austen: austeni
——-— caerulatus caerulatus
—_—~- -— ——_ -— kaurensis
—_—-—— ——-— livingstoni
—_———-— —-—— subcaerulatus
———-— cineraceous cineraceous
ee re ee
——-— erythrocephalum godwini ...
——--— galbanus ... cae 470,
—— -— gularis delesserti
gularis
——— -— Jeucolophus hardwickii
—-— patkaicus
nO niliger
———-— pectoralis
_—_ dropeoiats
———-— ruficollis :
———-— rufogularis assamensis
———-— sannio albo-superciliaris
Garrulus glandarius azureitinctus
———-- —-—-—-— interstinctus
-—-— persaturatus
er ee ee
Gastropoda
Gazeila bennetti...
- gazella bennetti
——— picticaudata
——-— Sugutturosa typica
Gecinulus grantia
Gennaeus leucomelanus
———-— melanotus
Gentiana argentea
— lutea
Geokichla citrina...
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
575
575
560
SVE
593
cies heeieis
tae OO
551
ie OU
661, 995
aT OOe
661, 662
ie 1 O50
€38
638
603
499
668
581
498
497
497
497
497
495
498
477, 496
496
496
496
496
581 |
AOTAS BA
tags
495, 497
496
497
513
513
513
709
865
768
868
865
1589
659, 670
592
560
614
584
PAGE
Gerbera lanuginosa 564
Glaucidium brodiei ay 591
——— — brodiei 482
———~ -—— cuculoides ... 514, 591
——- ——-—— --— austerum 482
- -—— radiatum 591
Gliricidia maculata 911
Glycyrrhiza glabra A 617
Gracupica burmanica 587
--— nigricollis 587
Grammatoptila striata ... 981
Graphium doson eleius 6837 |
-——~ nomius nomius 683
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi 604
Gynostemma burmanica 900
Gypaetus barbatus 5927 |
Gyps himalayensis oD Be
——~ indicus # 591]
Gypsophila ceratioides ... 560, 564 |
Haematospiza sipahi 587
Halcyon smyrnensis 599
Haliaetus leucoryphus ... 502
Haliastur indus 592 |
Haliotes varia 550 |
Haltica cyanea 95 7)
Harpa 553 |
Harpactes erythfocepHaive SOT
2S --——~=—— erythroce-
phalus 482 |
Harpodon nehereus 756 |
Helarctos malayanus 866
Heliophorus androcles ... 560 |
bakeri 560 |
— oda 560, 889
Hemerocallis fulva 561 |
Hemichelidon ferruginea 584
— ——— Sibirica ... 584 |
Hemichromis bimaculatus 605 |
Hemidesmus indicus 614 |
Hemifusus 551
Hemifusus Piesede eepiatie 487, 585
Hemirhamphus , 7o8
Hemitragus hylocrius ... 865
-—— jemlahicus 563, 865
Herecleum sf. 617
Herpestes griseus 648
Hervia 557, 908 |
Heterophasia aie 503, 5057 |
- pulchella 503
-——_- ——_ — --———. coeruleotincta 504
Si ee pulenella 504
Heteropnestes
Heteroxenicus cruralis
Hierococcyx fugax nisicolor ...
wee
sparverioides
—_—_—-—. varius
Hilsa
Hilsa ilisha
Hippolais rama...
———— scita
Hipponyx i
Hirundapus canaeoutes
Hirundo daurica
_——-—— rustica
bd
——-—— striolata reer eats
Holarrhena antidysenterica
Holigarna es
Holigarna sp...
Holothuroidea
Homochlamys fortipes
Eoreites brunnifrons ...
Hydnocarpus sp.
Hydrilla
Hydrilla venticillata
-Hydrophasianus chirurgus
Hyelaphus porcinus
Hyena striata
Hypacanthis spinoides
Hyphessobrycon fammeus
Hypolimnas misippus
Hypothymis azurea
Hystrix leucura
—-— malabarica
_——-— malabaricus
-Ianthocincla rufogularis
Ianthia cyanura
Ichthyophaga ichtliy aétlis
Impatiens sp.
Indicator xanthonotus fulvus
Indigofera
Indigofera dosua
Inula racemosa
—-— royleana
Ipecacuanha
Tris milesii ?
—- nepalensis ?
—- Sp.
Isopoda
Ithaginis
Ixos flavala
—— macclellandi
Ixulus flavicollis
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
614,
.. 886, 888,
562,
799
583
658
590
590
757
595
586
586
555
591
588
588
485
615
612
612
709
586
586
614 |
6386
687
917
865
866
669
605
8389
585
937
937
937
581
583
592
bog
483
559
579
617
614
617
570
561
617
709
905
583
583
582 |
Iynx torquilla
Janthina
Juglans regia
Jussiaea
Kallima fe
Kallima inachus
Ketupa zeylonensis
Kitta chinensis chinensis
- erythrorhyncha
Kowala coval
~__—- - thoracata ae ods
Labeo calbasu ,
fimbriatus te aa
rohita 596,
Lactarius
Lactarius lactarius
Lalage melaschista
Lamellibranchiata
Lamium album ..
Lanius collurioides
— — cristatus
——— excubitor
——— nigriceps
schach caniceps
——- ———— erythronotus
———- ——-— tephronotus
——- vittatus
Larus argentatus
fuscus
Larvivora brunnea
Lates calcarifer ses
Latimeria chalumnae .. Sie
? Laureaceae ee vee
Lavandula officinalis
Lebistes reticulatus
Leiegnathus spp.
Leioptila capistrata
Leiothrix argentauris aioe
_—— ————— vernayi
-—_—-—— lutea
Leptoneurae
Lepus nigricollis
Lethe
Lethrinus
Leucocirea albicollis
— aureola...
Limenitis procris
Limnaetops nipalensis ...
Limnocnida indica pre Sie
Liphyra brassolis
Litsaea polyantha
XXix
PAGE
989
955
559, 614
... 956, 957, 958
886
886
591
513
513
760
feet POT
596, 754
. 754
605, 607, 754
757
757
585
709
959
585
585
585
585
666, 667
585
585
585
646
646
583
755
641
576
617
604, 608
757
982
498
.. 498
582, 668
#62 9495
649, 932
888
757
585
585
893
592
955, 956
892
953
REX
PAGE
Littorina 554
Lobivanellus ingieue 593
Locusta migratoria 734
Lonchura punctulata subundulata 512
——-—-— striata acuticauda ... 512
Lophophorus 5a0 918
Lophophorus impejanus 659
Lophura es a we SQ18
Lophura ieieumelena lathagni 479
ee moffiti 479
Loranthus spp. a 951
Ludwigia e .. 956, 957,958
Ludwigia parviflora ae fF, Obi
Luffa .. 894, 895, 896
Luffa amara (?) 896
Lupinus ws 612
Macaca radiata ... 637
Machlolophus xanthogenys OE
Macropodus opercularis 605
Macropygia unchall 592
-—— ———- tusalia 481
Macrura ... See aie oa 709
Madreporaria 709
Malacocincla sepiaria Bebe i2.- 1982
Mangifera indica aes 542, 575
Marmota caudata 767
Martes foina - 662
Mastacembalus 755
Mazus rugosus wh 56]
Meandrusa payeni “dc “C6 886
Medicago ae oy: ee 612
Megalaima asiatica Qin ek Maken seo
————— ——— asiatica 483
——— —— franklinii ; 589
——— _— — franklinii 483
————-— haemacephala ... See hey)
——-——_—— lineatus 589
-— virens 589
——_—__-—_—- —-——. magnifica 483
~-——. zeylanicus ee fy > 9089
Melanitisleda .... sas ase 234019007
Melanochlora sultanea 581
ai ——~-— sultanea 508
Melia aes 577
Melogale pomonate ane ose 768
Melothria angulata 899, 900
———--—. assamica : 897
——-—— — var. scabra 898
ee heterophylla 899
~—-—-—— heterophyllae 899
——- ritchiei ds Aas -. 898
INDEX OF SPECIES
PaGE
Melothria zeylanicae 898, 899
Melothriae maderaspatanae 897
Melursus ursinus 866
Mentha piperita An 617
Merops orientalis jae Hs 590
-— superciliosus ... aon 590
Mesia argentauris 582
Microcerotermes heimi ... 955
Microcichla scouleri : 583
Micropternus brachyurus phaioceps... 484
Micropus affinis 591
Microscelis flavala flavala 489
= — madagascariensis
nigrescens .. — 489
————— meclellandi eeocieitanal ...) 489m
———-—-—. psaroides 583 —
Minla ignotincta ... 582 |
Minolia es S39 550
Mirafra assamica microptera ... 588
——-— erythroptera 588 |
Mitra ee 552
Mixornis gularis ... 582 |
Mollienisia sphenops 605
Molpastes cafer 583 ©
— -— leucogenys 583 |
Momordica 897 |
Monticola Ancnismnenene etiees s. «= OBA
——-——— rufiventris .. 490, 568, 584 |
————— solitaria 584 |
Moringa pterygosperma 615 |
Moschiola meminna -. _ SOaum
Moschus moschiferus 563, 634, 659, 865 |
Motacilla alba alboides... «.. ... - 485 |
—_——-—— —~ dukhunensis 588
———---— cinerea 588
———--— ——-— caspica 948 |
ie hal — citreola 485, 588 |
——-—-—— flava beema ... 588 |
——— + —-— thunbergi 588 |
——-—-— leucopsis ves . 588]
Mrigal ; 608, 609 )
Mucuna sp. ee » 6927
Mugil corsula 598, 755.
——- seheli 515, 516, 518, 519
——- spp. ; oie 519)
——- troschelii 515, 516, 517, 518, 519
——- waigiensis 915, 516, 517, 518; 519)
Muntiacus muntjac oe ra 648, 865
Murex 552)
Murex tribulus aoe nee oe 1
Mus at os eee Tes 774, 775
INDEX OF SPECIES
PAGE
Muscadivora ACNEA ~~ oe ed re A Ue
Muscicapa amabilis ... 5 10)/
—— hyperythra Aepenytara wea O07
—_—-—— parva albicilla We O04
————. sapphira... oat a Ou
-—_____. solitaris leucops ... Son UE
—_—_—_-———- strophiata strophiata seameetis) UV
—___——_ thalassina thalassina ie COOL
——_——— westermanni Mes oe Ole
— ——- —_— iornimentis 507
Muscicapula melanoleuca as ene) KOBE
Muscisylvia leucura ate OR Oi Rae
Mycalesis ee ae Sie meteleks,
Myiomela leucura lewcura es fre 490
Mylothris ede at a aur cool
Myophonus caeruleus”... ... Seg, Oe
Myosotis sylvatica «ws ws, te «570
Mystus.... see, hess i isis)
Naemorheditis goral sie St; ee 7/518)
Nassa at bss oS ah Bay OOO
Navicula ... sp = teeter ae a OS) US
Memorhacdtis ... .. + = 1634
-Nemorhaedts goral Bet) Secs 563, 865
-- CLISCHS em wen ss geese SOD
- - s hodgsoni-, © .:: Ree clo,
Neofelis nebulosa ne Soe eas tet BOO
- Neoluffa we iestt 3 Ger Oud, OLD
Neoluffa sikkimensis... seat, fe OOD, SOL
- Néophron percnopterus ar oo OO
| Nepeta sp. re Mes see ec) OLY
' Nephelium litchi ” ia et cei) | OFS
| Neptis Bish ee Sy see es 888
MWereis dumerilii ---" 000°" 0 928
- Nerita SRE Len Ouse ame scney 8). DOL
| Neritina ROU iota AN. oss. Mosse © OOL
- Nesokia i Rte Peciee a7 46 (05
Netta rufina ... ete a; 2 003
_ Neuracanthus sphcroctaciw us Sen DAO)
Nicotiana oe Bate re Pine G10
' Niltava grandis ee bee 584, 668
| —— - macgrigoriae '...907, 585, 669
—-——— sundara aes sc 584, 668
Nitzschia a2 ast Le 516, 517
_Notopterus chitala ie ie et 155
——— notopterus ... aes sae, OL I9
Numenius phaeopus ... is “ae SOUS
——————— variegatus “es O03
Nyctiornis athertoni athertoni ton 482
Ocypodoidea ae ie se 09
Gnopopelia Pe ngUsbaricn ae ae 2092
Oliva
eee oS oe seo | COS
Onchidium
Ophicephalus ... ae 260082; O883°/50
Ophicephalus gachua ...
—————— marulius
——————. spp.
————_—-— striatus ...
Ophichthys
Ophiomusa lymani
Ophiopogon intermedius
Ophiura irrorata
Ophiuroidea as
Ophrysia superciliosa ...
Orcella fluminalis
Ocimum sp. bh
Oreocincla mollissima...
Oriolus oriolus kundoo —
———- traillii
traillii
———- xanthornus
Orthotomus ctcullatus Soronetie
—- sutorius
————— - ———- luteus
—————- ———- patia
Oryzias melastigma
Oscillotaria eae
Osphronemus goramy ..
Otocompsa emeria
jocosus
Otus bakkamoena
——- scops sunia
Ovis ammon
- odasonie
- poli eee
—
ee
— argali
—— hodgsoni dab
—— vignei punjabiensis
vignei aaa
Oxyrrhyncha
Oxystoma
Pachyneurae
Palaemon
Palaemon carcinus
Pales townsendi
Pangasius
Panolia eldi eldi
—-—--—--thamin ... a
Panthalops hodgsoni ... aoe
Pantoporia
Panthera leo persica
pardus
——-—tigris ...
KXxXi
PAGE
558
605
598, 682
598
682
681
716
561
716
709
904
773
613
584
587
587
583
587, 666
506
aso
506
«. 906
~ 598, 607
Cee
603, 605
517
~ 488
583
591
482
653
. 865
865
. 766
766
365
865
709
709
795
755
755
935, 954
755
865
865
866
888
866
647, 886
866
Sxxii
PAGE |
Paphia 555
Papilio oe 893 |
Papilio arcturus ... 886
- buddha 886
= = crino 886
——_—-- demoleus demoleus 683
——-- krishna 886
. - paris 886
- polyctor 886
- - polytes romulus eee 683, 889
Paradoxornis flavirostris guttaticollis 495 |
—- poliotis poliotis... 495
-ruficeps bakeri 495
Paranassius 893
Parnassius acco ... 891
— charltonius 891
—__—_—_—_—_— delphius 891
-—— ephaphus 891
—_—— simo 891
——— stoliczkanus 891
—_—__.—_ —_- —_—_-- spitiensis 891
Parochetus communis 561
Parthenos sylvia virens 836
Parus major 981
- modestus odes 508
——- monticolus .. 505, 508, 581
- xanthogenys spilonotus 508
Passer domesticus : 587
——— flaveolus 587
——— montanus 512, 587
——— —-—-—--hepaticus... eee Oe
——— rutilans lisarum 512
Pastor roseus 740
Patanga succincta ie see pet FOL
Patella 550
Patella nimbus 550
—-— reynaudi 550
——— variabilis 550
Pavo cristatus 992
Peganum harmala 613, 614
Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis ... 682
Pellona eee 757
Pellorneum alpientre Hearne 491
- —- ruficeps 498, 513, 514, 582
—- —- chamelum 491]
Pericallia ricini 94]
Pericrocotus Pecirecris 486, 585
———-—— ethologus 487
oe a oe ANNAMENSIS.<: | eOO
———_—___-- ——-———- cryptus 486, 487
es —_—- —- laetus... 486, 487
INDEX OF SPECIES |
Picumnus
505 |
Pack
Pericrocotus ethologus mariae 486, 487
--- flammeus $13, 585
+ ——-- ——-—-— elegans 486
—-————-- peregrinus one 585
——_————--- roseus rosets 487
——-- solaris solaris 487
Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis 478
Phizosolenia ae 516
Phoenicurus ochrurus ... 945
——-- frontalis frontalis 490
——-—-—-- hodgsoni ... 489 |
——-- ochrurus ... 583
Phoenix sylvestris 575
Phyllanthus urinaria 614
Phylloscopus humii 586
a inornatus inornatus 505
——— -~—_—- ———— mandellii 505
—_—_~———-—_ maculipennis 586
— ———_ —- —_ -— maculipen-
nis cee 5053
—_ —_ peceeeaee 586
———_— — — chloronotus 505
a newtoni 505
—— ———— pulcher pulcher 905
————--—— reguloides assamensis... 505
Physostomi aie 709
Phytometra orichalcea 953
Picea morinda 559
Picoides 484
Picoides atratus ... : 485
- canicapillus canicapillus 485
———- cathpharius pyrrhothorax 484
-—— -— darjellensis darjellensis 484
—-—_ ——_——— fumidus 484 —
—~—--— hyperythrus pare 484
——-— macei ie eat 485 _
——-— —--—— macei 484, 485 —
Picrasm2 ... : 612 |
Picrorhiza kurrooa 614 |
Picumnus ianominatas malayoran » 48a
Picus canus .. 589 |
—- chlorolophus 589, 670
——- flavinucha 941
‘—-— vittatus 589 |
Pieris callidice 89] |
—-— chloridice ... 891
—-— deota ace 891
—-— krueperi 891 |
Pila a 5955
Pinus excelsa 660
INDEX OF SPECIES
xls: PAGE
‘Pinus longifolia ... 508
Pitta brachyura 588
ta—-nipalensis ... 669
sPianazis ... a 554
-Platypoecilus Paeula ate ean 605
‘Plectognathi. 709
Pleurosigma 516, 517
‘Ploceus atrigula .. F 587
- obilippints 587, 657, 669
‘Pnoepyga albiventer albiv enter 492
——-——- albiventris 583
——-—— pusilla pusilla 492
Poa ... 787, 788, 789, 790, 791, 793, 795, 796,
797, 799, 820
Poa aitchisonii 793, 796, 803, 810, 814,
816, 835
—-_- alpigena 791, 804, 811, 813
—-- alpina 792, 793, 795, 796, 798,
800, 802, 805, 808
—-- amoena 805, 816
—-- augustifolia 793, 796, 804, 813
788, 789, 790, 791, 798, 800, 803:
815, 819, 821, 823, 824, 826, 836
spp. exilis ... ies 818
—-- —-—-— var. nepalensis 789, 819, 820, 821
var. sikkimensis 789, 824
—-- annua
ee ee
—-- araratica 790, 791, 792, 783, 804, 814
—— asperifolia ... .. 793, 804, 809
——— bactriana 793, 796, 802, 805, 807
793, 796, 800, 801, 802, 805,
808
. 798, 805, 808
—— bulbosa
—— burmanica ...
-—— calliopsis .. 795, 797, 805, 812
—— compressa 790, 791, 792, 800, 802, 804,
* 811, 816
—-— eleanorae .. 805, 808, 813
— exilis : 818
—— falconeri 799, 804, 809
—— gamblei e . 796, 805, 810 |
—— gammieana aoe 793, 805, 809, 810 |
—— glabriflora ... 794, 796, 802, 805, 807
—— himalayana 792, 794, 803, 814, 828, 830,
831, 832 |
——hirtiglumis ... 792, 796, 798, 805, 808
——infirma 789, 794, 798, 799, 800, 803, 815
816, 819, 824
——— jaunsarensis .. 792, 804, 813
-=~—khasiana 792, 793, 803, 811, 814, 815,
Be 830, 831
s— koelzii 790, 795, 805, 819
3
i RT AD
xXxill
PAGE
Poa lahulensis 792, 796, 804, 810
——litwinowiana 790, 795, 804, 813, 815
—-~ ludens 799, 805, 808
——nemoralis 788, 791, 792, 793, 794, 795,
800, 803, 811, 832, 833
—— —— Ua MAtA iis tes 08
—— nepalensis 789, 793, 798, 803, 810, 811,
819, 820
—— nephelophila 793, 798, 803, 821
—-— nephilophila 798, 811
—— nitide-spiculata 804, 809
—— pagophila 792, 796, 799, 804, 809, 810,
835
—-— palustris 793, 795, 798, 799, 804, 800, 812
—— persica 787
—-— phariana 805, 812
—— polycolea 792, 799, 803, 808, 809, 810,
834, 836
—— poophagorum 796, 805, 816
—— pratensis 790, 791, 793, 795, 796, 800,
802, 804, 813
—-— remotiflora 818
—— rhadina ate 805, 813
—— royleana a asa HOeS
——setulosa ... 795, 803, 813, 837
——-— sikkimensis 789, 803, 815, 821, 824
—— sinaica 793, 802, 895, 897
—— stapfiana 799, 803, 810 826, 827
— —_——. var. micranthera 827
— —-—— var. microtheca 799
—— Sterilis... 790, 791, 793, 795, 796, 797,
800, 804, 811, 814, 815, 834
— —— araratica ae oo. 780
—— stewartiana 792, 794, 803, 811, 829
—~ supina 789, 798, 800, 803, 815,
819, 822, 823, 824
—-~ tibetica . 790, 793, 796, 800, 803,
805, 810, 816
—- tibdeticola fener soS
—- tremula as 799, 826
—- —-— var. micranthera . W oee
—- trivialis 791, 792, 793, 804, 811, 812
—~ ——— f. glabra 2409 SLY
—- wardiana 796, 797, 803, 815, 832
Podiceps cristatus cristatus 664
Podophyllum 614
Poephagus grunniens 866
Pogostemon heyneanus OES
Polydorus hector see taz 889
Polygonatum cirrifolium 561
Broly SONUM SPs 4 150th oiypco ase ot pare DOO
INDEX OF SPECIES
XXXIV
PAGE |
Polynemus ARS ny ee 755
Polyommatus jee See 891
Polyommatus eros ats tee riyate tote
Polyplectron bicalcaratum ... 479, 480
Pomatorhinus erythrogenys ... 491, 582 |
—- — . mcclel- |
landi 491
ed ochraceiceps austeni... 491
———_——— ruficollis bakeri 491
Populus ciliata... a eet 559
Porifera 709
Prangos pabilatia 617
Primula denticulata 560, 562
-— involucrata 570
——--— macrophylla 570
——--— rosea 570
Prinia atrogularis eiesiene tee 506
——- gracilis e 586
——- hodgsoni rufula ... 506
——- inornata 586
——- rufescens Pareecene 506 |
——-socialis ... aes 586 |
——- sylvatica ... ae ose 586
Prothoe calydonia 2 OG
— franckii regalis... Pig SBN)
Protozoa ... es are oe sore 708)
Prunella ive Miata 584
Psarisomus dalhousiae ary 588
— —— dalhousiae 485
Pseudogyps bengalensis ok
Pseudois nahoor 563, 865
Psilorhynchus 880, 883, 884
Psilorhynchus balitora ... 880, 883, 884
—————-——- homaloptera. ... 880, 883
———— sucatio 880, 881, 882, 833, 884
Psittacula alexandri fasciata .. 481
——-—— cyanocephala ok 590
———_-— eupatria oes 590
himalayana finschi 48]
-—— krameri 590
Ptorocarpus indicus... boi esone coll
Pterophyilum scalare 604
Pteruthius erythropterus 582
———— erythrop-
terus 499
: validirostris... 499
—— — melanotis melanotis eo «499
—— rufiventer rufiventer 499
Pucrasia 919
Pucrasia macrolophA 919
eo ine Hethelae ME OK) |
PAGE
Pucrasia macrolopha biddulphi ... 919
— --——nipalensis 658, 659
Puerulus sewelli A .- die
Pycnonotus aurigaster ai: Ole
— —-—— cafer 514
———— -— —-— stanfordi 488°
————--— flavescens flavescens - 488 |
-— flaviventris flaviventris ... 488)
——-—-— jocosus 4a; 514
——-— ——-— monticola ». 488
— luteolus 583 |
-——- striatus arctus 488
Pyrene Dog) |
Pyrrhocorax erate 570
Quercus kes 612 |
Quercus dilatata 559 |
—-- semecarpifolia 559
Ramphalcyon capensis
Rana tigrina 679
Ranunculus and 562
Ranunculus hirtellus ... a 560, 561 |
Rapana . Sogmt
Rasbora heniconius 605, 857 |
-- heteromorpha ... 33 «. ~ GORE
Rastrelliger ; 764
756,
|
Rastrelliger kanagurta 7A4 ;
Rattus 5 ie a we -. «6° 7
Ratufa FE 472 |
Ratufa gigantea 768
- indica me ; - 473
—_——- bengalensis 471, 472, 473 |
———-- centralis 470, 471, 472, 473 |
—— dealbata 470, 473 |
—_———- elphinstonei 470, 473 |
= indica... 469, 470, 471, 473
——- maxima .. 471, 472, 473 |
- superans... 471 —
Rauwolfia serpentina 614, 615 |
Recurvirostra avosetta G47
Rhamnus 559 |
Rheum sp. ne . GLa
Rhinoceros sondaicus 634, 864 |
—— sumatrensis 634, 865 |
———-— wnicornis 864 —
Rhinoptilus bitorquatus 905 —
Rhipidura albicollis ... aes 669
—_ -—_ —----—— _albicollis 508
-—— hypoxantha 508
Rhizophora mucronata ~ oi ... Goa
Rhododendron campanulata .. osome
———-———- campunulatum . 568)
|
INDEX OF SPECIES | XEXV
PAGE PAGE
Rhododendron sf. Eee 614 | Schima wallichii - - 612
Rhodonessa caryophyllacea ... 903 | Schistocerca gregaria ... tenet not
Rhodophilaferrea. ... «. 583 | Schizopepon wardii _ ,... 900, 901
Rhopodytes tristis .. 590, 670 | Schizopeponi macrantho .. _...900
SS - -—-- satiens 482 | —— —— macrathus 901
Se er LFISTIS «: 482 | Scomber microlepidotus. _. _764
Rhus ae 612 Scutus Nee Sis —-§50
Rhyacornis falieingen As t 583 Scyllarus orientalis... 75
—_—___ — ————-- fuliginosa 658 | Seicercus affinis 504
Rita . 755 | ————- burkii burkii 504
Reatollaria a 1 555, 716 | ——-——- castaniceps oe O04
Rostellaria columbaria ey 716 | ———- —-——— eacianiees 504, 505
——-- delicatula 715 | ————- ———— nagaensis 505
Rotala e ee 957 | ————- poliogenys 505
Rousettus feccrenanlti 767 | ——-——- xanthoschistos ai 4) 586
Rucervus duvaucelii 634, 865 | ——-—-—-- — tephrodiras. 504
Rumex 612 | _——__——_- - — xanthochistos. 504
Rusa unicolor 634, 865 | Selenarctos thibetanus 562
Sagartia ee .. 554 | Semnopithecus dussumieri 767
Salicornia .. 870, 871, 872 | Senecio sp. F is 617
Salicornia brachiata 870, 871, 872, 873 | Serilophus iunatus Pebronyetce 485
— australis 870, 871, 872, 873 | Serranus 757
- Salmo fario 601 | Setipinna 755
frontinalis 601 | Shorea robusta =n S46
gairdnerii 601 | Silonia ered Ist
levenensis a. O01 | sSinapis sp; 611
trutta fario .. 601 | Siphia hodgsonii 507
Salpa (Thalia) democratica 712 parva 584
Salvia lanata 564 | Sitta castanea 581
moorcroftiana 564 | —— europaea koelzi 509
Sp. 617 | —— ar 509
Santalum album .. 613 | —— frontalis As 581
Sarcogyps calvus ONL. Sa frontalis ves 509
Sardinella ise 757 | —— himalayensis = 667
Sardinella fimbriata . 757, 760, 763 | —— australis _... 508
——- - gibbosa .. 760 | — -— himalayensis 509
————-- longiceps 757,760 | Siva 501
———-—- sirm 760 | Siva patent opens iu 668
Sasia ochracea soi «, O89 | ——cyanuroptera Prariiootera 501
——~ querulivox 484 | Siva ignotincta ignotincta 500
—- ——-——- reichenowi ... 484 | —— strigula cinereigenae 500
- Sauromatum guttatum re 561, 959 | —— - simlaensis 500
Saussurea lappa 613,614) | —— strigula 500
Saxicola caprata .. §=6d583 | — — yunnanensis © 500
——_——- ferrea ; 490 | Skimmia laureola 617
———--- torquata ave oes 583 | Sorghum helepense 611
——-- —— prezewalskii 490 —- vulgare 611
-- ———— stejnegeri .« 490 | Spelaeornis ; 493
Be colides fulicata aa 584 | Spelaeornis bideienlaris “433, 494
—-— fulicata fulicata ... 656 —- caudatus A 493, 494
Scaphopoda | sass aw cis 709 | —nemn= chocolatinus +s 492, 493, 494
REXVI
a3 PAGE
Spelaeornis chocolatinus choco-
latinus .. 492, 493, 494
te tee Kinneari 494
wees er nagaensis . 492,
493, 494
—— —__ . —_—_— - oatesi 494
—_—-- reptatus 494
—__--—— - formosus 493, 494
——__ ——- haplonotus 493, 494
————-—- longicaudatus 493, 494
——- troglodytoides 493
‘Sphenocercus apicaudus 592
- sphenurus 670
Sphenurus sphenurus caneannee 480
Spilornis cheela 592
Spiraea canescens 559
———— ~ sorbifolia Se}5)
Spizactus ‘ 843
Spizixos canifrons 488
Sguilla investigatoris 714, 715
Stachyridopsis ruficeps 582
——_——- rufifrons 582
Stachyris ~ & 505, 506
Stachyris chrysaea ahivenee ae 494
—- nigriceps 582
———— ———— coltarti 494
—— ruficeps ruficeps 494
Stenobracon deesae 921
Stephania cepharantha 615
————- sasakii 615
Sterna aurantia : ah)
Stichopus S00 ee ane Spoil AY
Stolephorus 757
Stomatopeda 790
Streptopelia chinensis 592
-—— — -—— edwardi 481
———— ——__— —suratensis .. 481
—_—_—oOoOo edwardii 481
—_-——— -— tigrina re Mitel
———_-—— decaocta ; 592
——~~— orientalis agricola 481
——-—— senegalensis 592
——- tranquebarica Lay epee oh 946 |
Strix ocellata 591
Stromateus Set 757
Strombus ass oa ECS)
Strophanthus Pombe oe eeb iy,
Strychnos sf. dee aA re ww 614
Sturnia malabarica .... an Be¥/
Sturnus contra Bg)
INDEX OF SPECIES
Sturnus vulgaris 4% ti
-- colednatecee
Sturnopastor contra -
Surniculus lugubris
Suya atrogularis
—— criniger
Syrmaticus 30h eee
Syrmaticus humiae hnmiae
Taenioides rubicundus
Tamarindus indicus
? Tamarisk gallica 578
Tamiops Ey A 476
Tanichthys nibenenes 604
Tapirus indicus ... 865, 932
Tatera indica 766
Tchitrea paradisi 585, 666
Tectona grandis 574
Teinopalpus imperialis 886
‘Telescopium 50 556
Temenuchus pagodarum 587
Tephrodornis gularis 585
—- -— -———- pelvica 487
- - pondiceriana 585 —
Tephrosia E12
Tephrosia candida Hi} 579
Se 614
Terebralia 556
Terias laeta cat 887
——— venata 887
Tetraceros quadricornis 865
Tetrogallus himalayensis 570
Thais .. oom
Thalassiothrix 516, 517
Thenus fod 757
Thevetia. : 944
Thevetia neTmIFone -- 945
Thlaspe alpestre 570 |
Thrissocles spp. .. 7 76G
Thymus serpyllum 560, 564
Tilapia 6(6
Tilapia sraegannirs 606
Tilia europea 559
Timailia pileata 582
-- bengalensis 495
Tinca tinca cae 599, 607
Tockus birostris ome 666
Tragia sp. aS sas 612
Tragopan blythi sing 18 ‘ 477
-— —-- blythi sae). | oa
—-—— satyra ~aa. O88
Trichiurus es see
PAGE
- | «664
é 664
“ao eee
_ 890
vv---— 588
ver -- 980
918
tee 0) BB
«s 679
ee: ..575, 5/6, 577
ve ee 087
PAGE
Trichodesma amplexicaule auctt 548
indicum 548
Trichodesmium ose 516, 518
Trichodesmium erythraeum 517, 519
Trichogaster leeri 605
pectoralis ee 606
Trichosanthes listeri 895, S01
-— palmata ae 945
- tomentosa ...894, 895, 901
Trigonella foenumgraecum 613
Trillium govanianum 560, 561
Tringa glareola ... 593
——— ochropus 593
Trochalopteron ea rurocephalum 581
——-—— phoeniceum 581
Trochus 550
Troglodytes te a TY)
Troides ... eee cae -. 886
Trypauchen ie OF G
Trypauchen vagina 679, 680
Tupaia belangeri 768
Turbo 551
Turboides ferricolor 581, 674
Turdus atrogularis - «=: O84
——-— boulboul 984
——-— dissimilis 490
——- merula 584
——~- - albocinctus 584
- obscurus 491
ruficollis 584
Turnix suscitator 593
- tanki blanfordi 480
Turritella 554
Turritella acutangula 554
Ulva sp. 557
Umbonium ae a ave 550
Uncia uncia ee Rae 563, 866
Upupa epops ie 590
Urocissa erythorhyncha 581
— flavirostris 581
Uroloncha malabarica ae 587
INDEX OF SPECIES
Uroloncha punctulata
--— Striata
Uropeltis macrolepis
Ursus arctos
— isabellinus
——- torquatus
Urtica
Utricularia sp.
Valeria oes sas
Valeria valeria hippie ee
- ——— philomela
Valeriana wallichii
Vanessa egea
Verbascum thapsus
Veronica serpyllifolia
Viburnum foetens
Viola biflora BG0
Votex negundo
Vivia innominatus
Wallagonia
Wallagonia attu :
Xiphophorus hellerii ...
Ypthima vee
Yuhina ... oon :
Yuhina pastanitene conjuncta
—- flavicollis baileyi
- ——-— flavicollis
- harterti :
Yuhina flavicollis rouxi
— gularis 38
—- ——— gularis
— nigrimenta nigrimenta
~ zantholeuca zantholeuca
Zanthoxylum alatum
Zoothera dauma dauma
——-—— dixoni
——--—— marginata
Zosterops palpebrosa
— gira
palpebrosa
——=
Sse eS
PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS—1954. C8978
XXXVii
PAGE
889,
587
587
950
563
886
886
612
686
890
889
890
560
560
614
570
560
570
613
589
755
754
605
881
501
501
501
501
501
501
582
501
501
502
613
490
490
584
388
511
S11
uy
IM ALI, S. B. SETNA, H. SAN
"hte
7 *«
3
James Hornell, F.LS., F
AN attractive booklet of 96 pages
(93 in. x 63 in.) with 2 coloured
plates and 70 line drawings in the
78
~The Bombay Natural History Society
rin
at
*
114 Apollo Street, Bombay 4 car . ,
7 . r % j ; ; E
. ;
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50, No. 3
JUNGLE Mermorrgs, Part XI. By Lt.-Col. E. G. Phythian-Adams,
O.B.E., F.Z.S., 1.A. (Retd.) (With two plates)
RACES OF THE INDIAN GIANT SQUIRREL (fatufa indica). By Humayun
Abdulali and J. Cyril Daniel. (With a plate}
A CoLLEcTION oF BIRDS FROM THE Naca HILLs. By S. Dillon Ripley.
(With 2 maps, 2 coloured and 2 black-and-white plates)
NOTES ON THE GREY MULLETS (V/ugil spp.) OF KRUSADAI ISLAND, GULF
OF MANAAR. By K. Chidambaram and G.K. Kuriyan. (With a text
figure) dak waa awe ois as ae
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN Botany. PartI. By
H. Santapau, $.J., F.L.S.
STUDY OF THE MARINE FAUNA OF THE KARWAR COASr AND NBIGH-
BOURING ISLANDS. Part II. By A. M. Patil, M.Sc.
A NATURALISTIN THE NortTH-WEST Himatrava. Part II. By M. A. Wynter-
Blyth. (With two sketch maps and two plates) ... aes
Some JUNGLE BirD AssoctaTions. By M. D. Lister. (Wzth a map)
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION AND INTRODUCTION OF FISHES IN INDIA.
By’S. Jones and K. K. Sarojini. (With a text map and eight figures).
THE POISONOUS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS OF INDIA. By I. C. Chopra
and L, D. Kapoor.
PHOTOGRAPHING THE WHITEBELLIED SEBA-EAGLE [ Haliaetus leucogaster
(Gmelin)]. By Wan Tho Loke. (With four plates)
On THE TRAIL OF THE KOUPREY OR INDO-CHINESE FOREST Ox (JSibos
sauveli). By Dr. Boonsong Lekagul. (With three plates and two text
figures) aes Bile ig ae a ater ite
THE ASSAM EARTHQUAKE OF 1950. By E. P. Gee, M.A., C.M.Z.S., F.R.G.S.
(With a map and two plates) att ane
REVIEWS :—
1. Hunter at Heart. By B. N. Gordon Graham (R.W.B.)
2. Hydroponics, By J. Sholto Douglas (J.A.A )
3. The Birds of the Malay Peninsula, Akay & Penang. By
A. G. Glenister. (S.A.) sia ae
Animals Strange and Rare. By Richard Bets. (H.A.)
5. Proceedings of the Xth International Ornithological Congress,
Uppsala 1950. (S.A.)
6. Breeding Birds of Kashmir. By R. S. P. Bates & E. H. N.
Lowther. (W.T.L.) 56 re
ADDITIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S LIBRARY
PAGE
451
469
594
610
618
623
629
il CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50, No. 3
PAGE
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
1. Wild and tame dogs. By A. A. Dunbar Brander (p. 647). 2. Chital
| Axis axis (Erxl.) |]: A strange attraction. By K. M. Kirkpatrick (p. 647).
3. Melanism in the Barking Deer (Muntiacus muntjac). By C. M. Inglis
(p.648). 4. Sambar Deerin Mauritius. By J. Rene Maingard de Ville-es-Offrans
(p. 648). 5. Old Jungle Tales retold. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton (p. 649).
6. Thrills in Sport. By Col. V. K. Birch (p. 652), 7. Hoghunting
Reminiscences. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton (p. 654). 8. Unusual behaviour ~
of the Whitecapped Redstart (Chaimarrornis leucocephalus Vigors). By
M. J. Hackney (p. 655). 9. Blackbacked Robin [Saricoloides f. fulicata
(Linn.)] attacking car. By E. B. Wikramanayake (p. 656), 10. Baya
\Ploceus philippinus Linn.) nests on telegraph wires. By K.M. Kirkpatrick
(p. 657). 11. Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) parasitising Plumbeous.
Redstart (Ahyacornis f. fuliginosa). (With a plate). By W.T. Loke.
(p. 658). 12. Notes on the Nepal Koklas Pheasant (Pucrasia macrolopha
mipalensts) and the Spiny Babbler (Acanthoptila mipalensis). (With a text
map). By Robert L. Fleming (p. 658). 13. An unrecorded feature of the
Spurfowl (Galloperdix). By Humayun Abdulali (p. 661). 14. The
Chukor Partridge (Alectoris graeca chukav) in Nevada, U.S.A. By Glen
C. Christensen (p. 662). 15. The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) in
Assam. By Editors (p. 663). 16. Blacknecked Grebe (Podiceps nigrico'lts
Brehm) in Bhavnagar. By K.S. Dharmakwu narsinhji (p. 664). 17. Some
bird notes from Jasdan, Saurashtra. By Y.S. Shivrajkumar (p. 664).
18. More stray bird notes fron Malabar. By K.K. Neelakantan (p. 664).
19. Further notes on the birds of the Nepal Valley. By Desirée Proud
(p. 667). 20. Oceanic and other birds seen on two recent trips between
Colombo and Aden in 1951. By C. E. Norris (p. 671). 21. Birds attacking
their reflections. By H. G. Alexander (p, 674). 22. Scenting power of
Birds. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton (p. 675). 23. Changes in scientific names
of Indian Birds. By S. Dillon Ripley (p. 676). 24. The Orthography of
English names of Birds. By W. ‘I’. Loke (p. 678). 25. Bull Frog (Rana
tigrina Daud.) preying upon the Common Toad (Bufo melanostictus
Schneid). By V. K. Chari (p. 679). 26. Notes on the Bionomics of the
Red Goby, 7ryfauchen vagina Bloch and Schneider. (With a text figure).
By E.G. Silas (p. 679). 27. Two further cases of obstruction of the mouth
or throat by fish. By C. Brooke Worth (p. 681). 28. Use of fish slime in
structural engineering. By A. €. Antony (p. 682). 29. Swarming of
Butterflies. By A. E. G. Best (p. 683). 30. A case of heterophylly in
Asteracantha longifulia Nees. By B.S. M. Dutt (p. 684). 31. Anunusual
case of vivipary in Ahizophora mucronata Lamk. (With a plate). By
V. R. Rajagopalan and A. T. Natarajan (p. 684). 32. Replacement of
inflorescence by turious in Caldesia reniforme Makino. (With a plate and
3 text figures). By M. Banerji (p. 685).
Notes AND NEwS_... oe ae ane mits ) ans
ERRATA e008 eee eee oe eco. eee ee0
688:
690
ae :|
JOURNAL
OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
1952 Vox. 50 No. 3
JUNGLE MEMORIES
BY
- Lr.-Cor. E. G. PHYTHIAN-ADAMS, 0.B.E-, F.Z.S., 1.4. (Retd.)
Part X1---Opps anp ENps
(With two plates)
(Concluded from p. 223 of this volume)
Two Days in THE MupuMALAI FOREST
Mudumalai, in the Nilgiris-Wynaad, has for the last 27 years been
my favourite centre for big game shikar, and from my diaries I could
extract sufficient material for a small book. But with conditions so
greatly changed now in many parts of India from what they were in
the past, I think that my readers will prefer an account of what things
-are like today (1951), even though the outings are for a few hours
only and not serious shikar. | |
It is the 21st April and my first jungle trip this year. A Brain-
fever bird is calling, but it is early in the season and he can manage
only the first half of his monotonous notes. As we came through
the forest yesterday from Kargude, I noticed that fire had swept right
through the Wild Life Sanctuary. The question is whether it was
held up by the big Mudumalai swamp which forms a natural fire-line,
or whether it has continued on to Narati and Benne. On this will
depend our chance of seeing game. It is therefore with some relief
that after passing the causeway I find that the whole area has been
burnt, and that visibility is from 100 to 200 yards. There has been no
rain for some days, but the debris in the roadside drains shows that
heavy storms have occurred recently. Everything looks fresh and
green. The young grass is sprouting, and the trees are putting out
their new foliage in many shades of green and russet brown, the
monotony being broken here and there by a gorgeous yellow laburnum,
or what looks like it, in full bloom. Though it is the hot weather
452 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
there is quite a nip in the air, and with the windscreen up I am glad
of my muffler. My driver evidently thinks the same, as he has
donned a pull-over. As we turn a corner near the second milestone we
see a jungle-sheep (kakar) standing by the side of the road 150 yards
ahead. The glasses show it to be a female, and though the game
rules permit them to be shot, I prefer not to fire. Probably she has
a fawn in the lantana thicket close by which, though scorched by fire,
still affords good shelter.
_ We continue on our way, and as we approach the 5th mile I
wonder how the elephant encampment has fared. All has gone up in
smoke and only a few charred uprights remain to show where. the
numerous huts stood.. The high arched bridge over the stream appears
derelict and proves to be so, but a low wooden structure has been
built alongside which we cross. Half a mile further on, while I am
looking out to the left watching a pair of honey buzzards mewing
round the top of a tall tree and no doubt selecting a site to nest, my
driver suddenly stops the car and whispers ‘Bison’. I look to the
right, and there on the open slope above us and not 60 yards away
stands a grand bull still munching the young grass which he was
plucking when the noise of the car disturbed him. His jet black
colour shows him to be a mature animal, but the horn spread is no
larger than what I already have, and the points are sharp and unbroken.
He shakes his head and advances a few paces towards us. I cannot
help thinking that if he does decide to be nasty, the downhill impetus
of that mass of bone and muscle will knock the car flying. However,
my experience is that 99 times out of roo bison are mild tempered
beasts, and this one proves no exception, for after a good stare he
swings round and trots off. We resume our way and are soon passing
the big swamp which runs down from Narati hill. Usually there is a
herd of chital to be seen here but today it is blank, so we turn to the
right a little way up the forest road and park the car. I send George
off with Ankan to work the ground across the stream. Veeran is left
to mind the car, while I start uphill with Vasu and Masty.
The road, rising by easy gradients, runs along the hill-side, and
judging by the number of fallen trees has not been used by trafic-
since early last year. The first part passes under high arching bamboos
whose dew soaked leaves thickly cover the ground. Springing up
through them are numbers of a pale mauve and white crocus, and I
am admiring a large cluster of these, when a jungle-sheep dashes
across the road and down to the swamp on our right. Vasu, whose
eyes are exceptionally keen, points out what looks to me like the
stump of a half hidden dead tree below us and says it is the buck,
but before I can verify it the animal bolts. Continuing our way,
soon after I spot a small herd of chital high up on the open hill-side
above us. They have seen us too and disappear round the corner of
the hill, but the only buck with them has half grown horns in velvet,
so we leave them alone. Two shots from the direction of the car now
show that George is in action. I hope he has got something, preferably
a pig for the men, who are so fond of pork. On again up the winding
track, moving very slowly all the time, for 2 miles an hour is the
utmost for still-hunting. We see fresh marks where a pig has been
rooting, and I carefully stalk a re-entrant where I shot a big one last
JUNGLE MEMORIES 453
year, but there is nothing there today. We should by now have seen
more game, but probably they have not yet returned after the recent
fire. Malabar squirrels, however, make their presence known by their
sharp chattering cry every few hundred yards. Lovely ceatures, with
their bright cinnamon and orange coats—quite rightly they are on
the protected list. There is a certain amount of bird hfe even in this
heavy tree forest. On the edge of the swamp below us a Malabar
Whistling Thrush is giving a fine rendering of his ‘Idle Schoolboy’
theme—an unusually fine performer. The monotonous call of green
barbets also breaks the silence, and occasionally the heavy flight of
a-golden-backed woodpecker, but the chief sound is the continual
chatter of many pairs of Southern grackles, obviously nesting.
We pass the fire-line, looking down on the road crossing the
swamp far below us, and are now approaching an exceptionally favour-
able spot where only last year I shot both jungle-sheep and pig,
and even saw a small herd of elephants with a fine tusker, but today
our luck seems to be out. However, it is time for a halt, so I take
up position on the slope covering a glade below and wait hopefully.
Above us is a huge tree whose crown must be in full flower judging
by the sickly sweet scent and the hum of hundreds of bees overhead.
After some time a doe jungle-sheep appears, so I wait a little longer
in case she is in company with a buck, but apparently she is alone.
I decide to give it up, so we stroll back slowly to the car, again seeing
our friend of this morning who is far too wideawake now to give
another chance. Shortly after George turns up also empty handed.
He had an easy chance at a fine chital buck which he estimated at 36”
(and in my experience his estimates are generally on the conservative
side), but the cartridge missed fire. The buck bolted, and his two
shots which I heard missed.
We start back, seeing nothing till we reach the causeway near the
Hut. Here some 20 grey langurs are sitting out in the swamp, all
with their backs to us and quite 100 yards from any tree. They are
widely spaced, and I cannot make out what they are doing, but Ankan
tells me that they are feeding on a small white berry to which they
are very partial, and which ripens at this season. They are too intent
on their business to pay any attention to the car. It certainly is extra-
ordinary to see so many on the ground at once and right out-in the
open. And so ends a very pleasant morning. True, we have got
nothing, but personally I am quite satisfied with my outing, though
I am afraid my companion is less so.
Two days later I decide to prospect up the Doddakatte path, a
favourite route of mine. Last evening I had sent George to clear
away any fallen trees etc. so we hope to cover the first three miles
by car, though generally the track is only jeepable. Again we leave
at dawn, and a few minutes run brings us to the stream which is
likely to prove our biggest obstacle. The bridge was burnt many
years ago and has not yet been replaced, but George has laid a corduroy
of logs and branches across the water, and with some wheel spinning
the old ‘A’ model Ford (an ideal car for shooting) crosses and climbs
up through the heavy sand on the opposite bank. The forest road we
are following forms the boundary of the Wild Life Sanctuary which
lies on our right, and almost at once we see a herd of some 25 chital
454 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
with several good bucks, but all in velvet. The sun has not yet risen
and their coats look unusually dark in the dawn light. After a good
look at us they swing round and make off. All this area has been
burnt, so visibility 1s good—usually one is shut in by walls of. tall
grass for the first two miles. For me the road is full of memories of
panther, bison, deer, and wild dogs over the many years I have been
using’ it. |
_ As we top the rise we run out of the big tree forest. Here the
jungle is lighter and the grass never more than two feet high. It is
a favourite locality for chital, but today we see nothing, and shortly
after we reach the Honurhatti cross roads where the car is parked
under a tree in which I have often had a machan. George turns off
to the right here, along the north boundary of the Sanctuary, making
for the salt licks near the Mysore frontier 3 miles away. I continue
along the path towards Doddakatte which soon sweeps round in a
mile long curve with clear visibility to the end, as the low tree jungle
has been cut back some way on each side. We have not proceeded
far when I notice the tracks and droppings of a big tiger which had
gone overnight in the same direction. It was just here many years
ago I found the bleached bones and skull of a man who, according
to Masty, had been killed and eaten by a tiger. As evidence he
produced a silver-ring which he said he had found in the animal’s
dropping. However, nothing remains today of that tragedy, and
shortly after we see some chital feeding about 500 yards ahead, so slip
down to the edge of the jungle on our left for a closer approach.
This presents little difficulty, and we are soon within too yards of the
deer. The thick growth of saplings somewhat obstructs our view,
but after watching for some time I satisfy myself that no really good
buck is present, so we move on.
The road now forks, the branch on the right going downhill .to
the Doddakatte maidans, while that on the left runs uphill round the
side of Karadibetta inal I take the latter and almost at once spot
some chital coming down it about 400 yards away. There is a good
buck with them—his antlers have a wide spread and incurving tips,
and I can see that the latter are white. I estimate him at 35” and
decide to have a cioser look, so again we slip into the jungle on our
left and work towards them. But the wind is tricky, and as we
approach I feel a puff on the back of my neck. The inevitable happens,
and with a rush the deer bolt across the road to our right and disappear
downhill. <A fleeting glance at the buck’s head shows that I was not
mistaken as to its size, but they are now alarmed and it is not worth
while to follow them. We mount steadily and as we top the rise .
Vasu spots some sambar feeding uphill on our right. The stag is in
hard horn but the head is small, so we proceed slowly only to run
almost at once into another herd of chital who bolt on getting our
wind. ‘These are all bucks, some 20 in number and most of them are in
velvet. There must be a master buck somewhere about who has
driven them from the herd.
The wind is so fitful that I decide to halt for 15 minutes to give
it a chance to steady. We sit with our backs to the hill, with an
uninterrupted view over miles of forest to the Nilgiri hills standing
stark and clear after last night’s rain—a wonderful panorama. Around
[ a1V1g
CGE
= 3
oo a
ee
ot
ahs
is
we
‘Apnjs sty ul Joyyne sy],
‘OOS “LSIFT “LVN AVAWOg
Journ. BomBay Nat. HIsT. Soc. PLATE II
Down the Benne road.
Photos Author
Mukerti Peak.
JUNGLE MIEMORIES 455
us are numbers of pre-historic graves, so far undisturbed. Presumably
they have some connection with the big fortified hill of Gopalswamibsita
not far away on our left which was occupied in the first and second
centuries, but has not yet been excavated. I am wondering what
manner of people these were and how they managed about their shikar,
when my reflections are cut short by the roar of a buck downhill on
our right and not far away. Evidently this is the master buck; he
should be worth looking at. The wind seems to have steadied so we
go after it and almost at once run into a herd of bison. But the wind
has swung. round again and betrays us, and off they go like a cavalry
charge, unfortunately taking with them a big lot of chital who make
for the top of the hill. In hopes that this lot did not contain the master
buck we work on still downhill. Everywhere are fresh droppings and
tracks of bison and chital, in fact the game path across one nullah
looks like a regular farmyard road, but the deer have gone.
Time is passing and I have arranged to be back at the car by
IO a.m. so we circle back to the road above us. We have not gone
far when I see something black moving through the grass about 80
yards away. Only the top of the back is visible and at first I think
it is a pig, but the glasses show it to be a sloth bear, the first I have |
seen in this forest in so many years, though their tracks are not un-
common. I do not want it, and a minute later am glad I did not fire,
as a small cub now appears some yards behind following its mother.
We leave them in peace and move up to the road. Just beyond the
spot where we halted some more chital are viewed uphill on our left.
They have seen us and bolt round the corner of the hill, but the wind
is, for a wonder, in our favour, so they are not seriously alarmed.
Some large rocks overhanging the valley afford cover and soon I am
within easy range, but the best head does not exceed 32” so I let
them go.
I have no regrets for a blank day, as my chief object is to view
the forest life, and to discover how far the chital have recovered from
the war years, when all this area was handed over to a Jungle Warfare
training school. That game has now returned in good numbers is
obvious, and when I meet George I find that his impressions coincide
with mine. He had come across great numbers of chital as well as
bison, but pig, of which I hoped he would bag one for the men, were
conspicuous by their absence. Curious this, as we used to see them
almost every day.
Two blank days running ! Hardly worth recording, some may think.
But this is an account of memories of the jungle, and not mere a record
of slaughter, so I hope the majority of my readers will not be dis-
appointed that I brought no record head to bag. With me, at any rate,
the pleasure derived from the hunt and the enjoyment of the sights and
sounds of the jungle far outweigh other considerations.
Sow seh ii *GeA. Mee
I suppose I cannot have been more than 15 when I started to use
agun. It was during the summer holidays and my parents were away
for the day. So good an opportunity was not to be missed. Aided
456 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
and abetted by my younger brother, I unearthed my father’s gun (he
had not used it within my memory), found some cartridges and went
out into a nearby field of turnips, where I had the luck to bag: a
rabbit with my first shot. Of course everything came out when the
family returned, but I had broken the ice, and from then on was
allowed to use the gun in my own right. It was an old hammer gun by
Reilly and served me well for many years. The cartridges were black
powder ones, and being of an inquisitive turn of mind, I decided to
experiment with cordite. It was easy for me to retain a few .303 blanks
from the next Cadet Corps field day, and with the contents I reloaded
a 12 bore case. Luckily for me the cap was too small to ignite the
charge properly and the explosion only propelled the shot a few yards.
That was the large type of cordite known as 20 S.C.—if it had been
the ordinary kind the gun would most certainly have burst. |
How well I remember my first pheasant, a hedgerow one, which
fell hard hit into a huge clump of brambles, and how I dived head-
first into them to secure my prize before it could escape. Three more
pheasants were pointed out one evening by our coachman. They were
busy eating a turnip in the corner of a field and I managed to get
within easy range. I waited till all their heads were in line (not very
sporting, I am afraid, but I was only a boy), and then click, click,
I had forgotten to load!
That was over 50 years ago, and how many thousand cartridges
I have fired since then I could not even guess. Most of my heavy
shooting has been done since retirement, and I see from my game
register that in the year 1938-39 I and my driver between us got rid
of over 4,000. ‘That certainly was an exceptional season, but over
2,000 was quite common. And over all those years what grand sport
I have had. Pheasants, partridges, hares and rabbits in England,
both when I was a boy and during various periods of leave. What
fun it was shooting the rabbits as they bolted when the corn was cut,
in ever increasing numbers as the area diminished. Ferreting too,
but that could be a slow game when the ferret lay up and had to be
dug out. Woodpigeons also, shot from a hide of corn stooks, as
they came flighting in. I certainly have no complaints about the
sport I have enjoyed in England, but Scotland has given me even.
better.
Is there a finer sporting bird in the world than the red grouse?
Whether he is rising from the heather in front, or coming as fast as
he can fly over the butts, there is none in my experience to equal him.
Most of my grouse shooting has been walking over dogs, and I prefer
it that way on account of the varied bag—the odd snipe or golden
plover, a hare or a rabbit, and once I remember a roebuck unexpectedly
put up out of long heather. The shooting too is more or less con-
tinuous and all guns get their fair share. Driven grouse are fine sport,
but the shooting is compressed into comparatively short periods of
time, and tends to become rather mechanical. Nor do the guns always
get an equal chance, for in practically every drive there are some butts
over which no birds pass. In Scotland I had blackgame also, including
of course the inevitable greyhen shot by mistake for a grouse before
the season opened, some woodcock, and even a couple of capercaillie,
JUNGLE MEMORIES 457
which were not half such bad eating as some people suppose. I re-
member drives too on the tops to thin out the blue hares—rather a
bloody business, but necessary. There was not much sport about it.
But it is India which has given me most of my sport and so many
varieties of game at the numerous stations where I have served.
Chikor at Dalhousie—there were pheasants too but I never got one.
Black partridges in the rukh at Mian Mir, and at an excellent ground
some 20 miles downstream from Lahore, which I remember we reached
by fitton-ghari. Houbara at Karachi, grey partridges (some of which I
saw perch in high milkweed fences), blue-rocks flighting in to Kianmari
over the parade ground, and sandgrouse coming to water at dawn,
when the fun was fast and furious and one’s gun got almost too hot
to hold. Really first class duck shooting too, and on my second visit
see-see in Las Bela. Kamptee, where I joined my Indian regiment in
1905, was a poor station for small game, but our seven weeks march
through the Berars made up for it, giving a fresh variety in the shape
of painted sandgrouse—I found a low scrub covered hill simply alive
with them one evening. Then four years at Poona afforded good
mixed shooting—snipe round the Khadakwasla lake, duck, teal and
sandgrouse down the line, and really fine bags of quail not far out.
I was the lucky possessor of a 3$ h.p. Triumph motorcycle, one of the
first seen there, which enabled me to reach grounds further afield than
other sportsmen, and what was more important, in less time. My next
station was Rangoon, a poor place from both the military and the
shikar point of view, though I did get some quite good snipe shooting °
in the vicinity. After that came the leisurely voyage up the river to
Bhamo, when our steamers tied up every afternoon, and we were able
to get ashore for a couple of hours’ shooting before dark. I remember
one evening some birds with long necks passing overhead which I
thought were teal. I shot one and found it was a grey imperial eco
the only one I have bagged.
At Bhamo we had good snipe shooting just below the fort. I
remember that the Fantails used to arrive first towards the end of
August. There were a few woodcock, and not far downstream geese,
duck, and teal. I was commanding our Mounted Infantry detachment
so was able to take out a number of mounted orderlies as beaters,
which saved a lot of time. Lesser orange-breasted green pigeons were
numerous at certain seasons, and it was while shooting them as they
came to a fruit tree standing out of the floods that McR. and I had a
narrow squeak. My steel shikar boat was carried by the current
under the trailing branches of a tree, and as we bent down to avoid
them it filled with water and sank under us. We seized hold of
branches and luckily I kept my foot under the thwart, but things
looked pretty grim as we were separated from the shore by a mile
or so of flooded jungle. Fortunately we found there was a little dry
ground at the foot of the tree, so were able to empty the boat and
float downstream in pursuit of the paddles etc., all of which we re-
covered, including the cheroot case which I still use! In fact the
only thing we lost was McR.’s signet ring which was rather loose on
his finger. Our guns were in the bottom of the boat and were none
the worse after a thorough cleaning, but of course the cartridges were
all ruined. It was a lucky escape.
458 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Vol. 50
There was excellent shooting to be had on the Shweli river along
the Chinese border, but my best recollections are of the junglefowl
shoots near the rifle range with the recruits as beaters. Rides cut
through the jungle made the birds rise, affording very pretty sport.
After Bhamo came a short tour of duty in Ceylon, but I was far too
busy there to find time for shooting. Then St Thomas’ Mount, where
I shot my first florican and had grand sport with snipe driven out of
betel gardens and from the bush covered slopes of Vandalur hill.
Active service in Mesopotamia gave me occasional chances of sport.
I remember black partridges at Tanooma and later round my post at
Khan Nuktah beyond Baghdad. Also a flock of pintailed sandgrouse
in a lucerne field near Basra, which I circled before firing, and then,
having got them nicely packed bagged 14 to two barrels. A horrid
deed, but they were badly needed for the Mess! At Hyderabad
(Deccan) I had quite good quail shooting, as well as duck and teal, and
a new variety in the shape of painted partridge. Then Burma again
with red junglefowl, silver pheasants, Chinese francolin and Burmese
peafowl, mostly up the ghat from Meiktila to Kalaw and beyond.
In 1924 I retired and settled in the Nilgiris, where still more varieties
were added to my list: grey junglefowl, spurfowl (both common and
painted), peafowl and Nilgiri pigeons. And in Mysore the great Indian
bustard, green imperial pigeons, bar-headed geese and demoiselle
cranes. Shooting in the Nilgiris certainly has an attraction of its
own, not so much on account of the bags, which are generally small,
but because of the delightful surroundings and the wonderful freshness
of the air, especially when there is a sharp frost. There is something
about it that not even the Himalayas can equal. I am of course refer-
ring to the plateau. In the low country one gets even better shooting
and a greater variety of game, sometimes too much so when there is
an unexpected tiger or panther in a beat, but I think that most sports-
men will agree that the former is to be preferred.
Snipe have always been to me the most attractive of all game birds
—they have a fascination of their own. Over so many years it is.
difficult to remember individual incidents, but a few stand out. My |
first was shot near Gurdaspur in October 1904, on our march down
from Dalhousie to Mian Mir. Some of us had gone to try a tank
for duck, and I as the youngest and least experienced was dropped
first. Unfortunately I was not’ warned as to who would fire the first
shot. After giving the others what seemed ample time to reach their
positions, I moved forward to the edge of the reeds fringing the water.
and on the way put up a snipe. Up went my gun and I had bagged
my first snipe, but of course my shot had put every duck on the wing,
and I heard all about it afterwards. Another incident took place at
Bhamo in 1914. Three of us were working the ground below the
fort, and three snipe rose out of range. After going some way they
circled back and came over us from the left in line ahead and so high
that it seemed doubtful whether they were within shot. However, the
first of us decided to have a try and the others followed suit. Each
gun had time to fire one barrel only, and each scored. The first bird
had scarcely reached the ground when the last started to fall. Three
snipe to three guns with three shots. So completely satisfactory !
JUNGLE MEMORIES 459
A very minor incident no doubt, but remembered when others of greater
importance are only a vague memory.
I have had pleasant days after snipe elsewhere, but the backwaters
round Cannanore have given me my best sport, and for many years
after retirement I used to go down for two or three 10-day visits every
ear. For anyone who could hold straight and was not afraid of
really hard work, it was not difficult to bag 25 couple, sometimes with
a few golden plover added. On more than one occasion I have done
so and been back at the hotel in time for lunch. Usually I restricted
myself to 50 birds, but there was one day when the century was passed.
Two drawbacks to shooting in Malabar are the number of people work-
‘ing in the fields and even up palm trees, and the hordes'of small boys
following to pick up fired cases, which at times combine to put one
off rather badly. A third is the deep tenacious mud which makes
very heavy going. I have never met anything like it elsewhere, and
was interested to find that Col. Welsh, writing 150 years ago, found
it equally trying. How they recharged their muzzle-loaders in it, I
cannot imagine. |
But, apart from the sport, the scenery alone makes a day’s outing
a very real pleasure. The start at dawn in the dug-out propelled by
sturdy Moplahs; the row of an hour or more up the silent stream,
with flocks of egrets flighting overhead, and in the distance the Coorg
hills flushed with the rising sun, until a ground is reached where
conditions of tide and cover are favourable. Then, after shooting it,
the return to the boat and a further row to another ground, till about
noon one lands for a welcome break and tiffin in the shade of the
palms. One of the inevitable small boys is sent up a tree for some
tender coconuts, and another to fetch a bunch of those delicious Malabar
plantains, while the boatmen, having secured the usual advance, go
off to an adjacent tea-shop. Then more shooting till about 3 p.m. when
it is time to start back. The tide is now with us, so the boatmen
can take it more easily. We meet a number of boats sailing upstream
with the help of the sea breeze, and others are overtaken heavily laden
with tiles, firewood or coconuts, their cheery crews always ready to
crack a joke or ask how we have done. And so back to the hotel,
where the bag is checked and distributed, while we slake a thirst which
seems unquenchable. Wonderful days! The memory of them will
never fade.
Of woodcock my best memory is of a true right and left, i.e. both
birds rising together, in a wood on my aunt’s estate, ‘Trinafour’ in
Perthshire. Those Scotch birds are very different from ’cock in the
Nilgiris, where they are beaten out of sholas, and generally give very
easy shots in the open. Not but what I have found them quite easy to
miss on occasions!
Of geese I remember best a gaggle of about 60 (bar-headed) on
a small tank near Gundlupet in December 1930. We had only just
reached the place when a couple of scouts came over, which I let pass.
Ten minutes later the gaggle arrived, performing the usual amazing
aerial acrobatics as they descended to the water. When all had
settled, I sent a man round to move them within shot, and then
4 barrels from the bund accounted for eight. Another wounded bird
got away to an adjacent tank, but left the water before I came within
460 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
shot and got into some dense lantana, from which we were unable to
recover it. We also had six off the Gundlupet tank in March 1946,
but as a rule one ~vas lucky to bag even a single bird throughout
the season. i
With duck and teal I have had excellent sport in many places,
but my chief recollections are of the tanks in Mysore. Soon after I
retired in 1924, I started reconnoitring round Gundlupet, and the two
years I lived in Mysore enabled me to visit nearly every tank in the
district and a number beyond, and so I learnt how to work them
according to the height of the water. Then I started organising
regular fortnightly parties, and grand sport we used to have. From
1924 onwards my game register is complete, and very interesting
reading it makes. The years 1938-40 gave us our biggest bags, five
shoots contributing 1414 head, with 187 on the best day, while those
in the spring of r94o totalled 1481. Soon after that I was recalled to
service, and my opportunities for shooting were few and far between.
I did, however, manage to organise one shoot on sth April 1942 for the
benefit of the Divisional Commander. Four of us from Bangalore and
two from the Nilgiris were to meet at Seringapatam at 7 a.m., but
at the last minute the General phoned that neither he nor the other
two officers could come, so there were only three of us at the rendezvous,
‘nstead of six. I had planned to shoot the tanks along the Bannur
road, the first of which requires at least five guns, so was doubtful
how we shou!d manage.
to keep the birds on the move, we picked up 91 there, ‘and the bag’
steadily
What the General said when he heard what he had missed, .is better
left to the imagination! I see that we shot the same tanks again in
March 1946 and got 197 head only to eight guns—we ought to have
done better—but the 27th March 1948 on the same round gave 206
to six guns, our best day
Gnal check one bird was found to be short, as it had been eaten by
one of our dogs! Incidentally the next day also was a good one, for
though the total was only 114, it included no Jess than 69 duck, an
unusually large proportion. 320 in two days—-good enough!
Are duck and teal decreasing in numbers? With 27 years ex-
perience of the Mysore tanks, I can say most positively that there is
not the least sign of it. May the day be far distant when sportsmen
‘n South India are limited in their bags of migratory birds to 2 geese
and 4 ducks a day, as is the present rule in the UsS.As!
At individual tanks my best personal bag was 52 duck and teal
(mostly garganey) actually picked up for exactly too cartridges, which
makes it easy to remember. That was at Hadinadu near Nanjangud.
I ran out of No. 7 shot cartridges which I always preferred, and had
to use No. 9 which I generally kept for snipe. I found that the
smaller shot was perfectly effective on birds coming in or crossing. That
was a good day, as I was shooting above my average. I remember:
4 somewhat similar one with green pigeons near Gundlupet. It did
not seem to matter what the angle was, they were killed dead. It
is because such days are with me few and far between that I remember
them.. I have had some very bad days too, which I have not forgotten,
but over those I shall draw a veil !
However, with the help of our two drivers
mounted till finally it reached 202, our best day, til. then..
ever. My game register records that at the
JUNGLE MEMORIES ~ AGL
What constitutes a good shot? Judging by correspondence in the
press, opinions seem to vary between 30% and 75% kills to cartridges.
The former appears to me absurdly low. I am wnly a very moderate
shot, and yet, as the records in my game register show, I have aver-
aged over 50% during 22 seasons.’ On the other hand, 75% would
surely indicate a star performer, assuming that there was no picking
of shots, and that shooting was not confined to a limited variety of
game. I should say that anyone who can kill two birds with three
cartridges throughout the season is definitely a good shot. I can do
that at snipe under nermal conditions only when I am shooting really
well, and find that with duck and teal one is lucky to pick up on an
average one bird to three cartridges, as so many are lost. Of course
a single day’s shoot is no criterion as so many factors are involved—
good or bad light, easy or hard going, and perhaps most important of
all the condition of master’s liver, on which so largely depends the
co-ordination of eye, brain, and hand. For instance, in long dry stubble
at Cannanore where the snipe were lying like logs, I once had 17 aces,
i.e. consecutive kills to as many cartridges. On another dull and
drizzly day when the birds were as wild as hawks I have started off
with ro consecutive misses. So the only fair way is to take the
season’s average. |
As regards size of shot, I am a firm believer in the saying ‘it is
the pattern that kills’, and so have a preference for Nos. 7 and g.
Neither of these being available nowadays, I use principaiiy No. 8 and
find thet with it I can kill even a driven peacock or a goose stone
dead, provided of course it is hit in the head and neck, and it is not
much use hitting such large birds anywhere else. To pull down a
really high duck, nothing can beat an Alphamax with No. 2, and BB
is none too big usually for geese and cranes; but taking it by and
large No. 8 shot in the right barrel and No. 6 in the left is, in my
experience, the best combination for general purposes.
Before closing this section, a few words on organising a duck
shoot may be helpful. It is by no means a simple task. Your party
(which should not as a rule exceed five guns) will generally include one
really good shot, several average ones, and at least one who is not so
good, and you have to arrange matters so that while all get their fair
share of shooting, the bag does not suffer, a most important considera-
tion. It is not too easy even when all the guns are personal friends,
and infinitely more difficult when others are included. However hard
you try there will inevitably be some grumbles, but these can be re-
duced appreciably if you make it clear at the start that all birds shot
go into the common bag to be shared out equally at the end of the
diy. This is only reasonable, for it may happen that one gun gets more
than his fair share of the shooting, while an equally good performer
gets too little. It also avoids any dispute as to the owner of a parti-_
cular bird at the pick-up, always a likely source of friction if each gun
keeps his own bag. I have always insisted on an equal share-out,
and cannot see how any true sportsman can possibly object to it.
ed
* For those interested in statistics, the following are the actual figures: 1926-36,
9775 head for 19042 cartridges ; and 1940-51, 5082 for 9633. For the years 1937-39
I kept no record of cartridges fired by myself alone. . a
462 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Another important point is that of discipline, by which I mean that
once a man has been asked to run a shoot, the other members of the
party must subordinate their own wishes to what the leader considers
best, either as regards positions or as to the order in which the various
tanks are to be taken. The leader should of course invite opinions,
but the decision as to what is to be done must rest with him alone,
and the others should be prepared to carry out his instructions with-
outsdemiur F
To organise a successful shoot requires most careful attention to
detuil and really good bandobast, not only as regards the actual
shooting but all the preliminary arrangements—the previous reconnais-
sance to locate the birds, booking of accommodation, co-ordination of
transport, boats, food, drinks etc. As I said above, it is far from
being an easy task.
tesco
Fishing stories are, perhaps deservedly, treated with some suspi-
cion, so I will not bore my readers with accounts of huge bags and
record fish, which indeed I have never achieved.
I have often regretted that I let so many years ‘pass in India before
I took up fishing. A brother officer persuaded me to try it at Bhamo
during the monsoon of 1913 when there was nothing else to do and
time hung heavy on our hands. We had quite good sport with white
carp, seetul, and murrel in the tank which formed the fort moat, the
best fish, so far as I remember, being a 10-lb. carp taken by one of our
Indian officers, but that was exceptional. Having broken the ice,
we later tried streams further afield and caught small mahseer and
catfish. Nothing much perhaps, but quite good fun. There were
porpoises at the confluence of the Taiping river with the Irrawaddy
just above Bhamo and I should have liked to try for them, but the
Burmese boatmen were averse on superstitious grounds. I have
pleasant memories too of Barilius bola (Indian trout) on the Kalaw
ghat in Upper Burma, and of. Bamin near Cannanore. On one
occasion while spinning for the latter close to the railway bridge at
Palayangadi, a 25-lb. ray jumped into the boat and caused some ex-
citement with its threshing tail before it could be despatched. It was
only later that I discovered the poison lay in the spike at the base of
the tail and not in the tail itself. I learnt also that this particular,
species is viviparous, for it produced a number of young in the course
of the engagement. The rivers of South Kanara and Malabar too
gave good fun with small mahseer—nothing over 4 lb., but quite
enough for a light trout rod. 3
My best sport however has been in the Nilgiris. While I was
Brigade Major at Wellington in 1916, I found that my General was
a keen fly-fisherman, and that was my introduction to the Rainbow
trout. Grand sport they have given me since then, and certainly no
one would believe it if I totalled my fish diaries. The best period of
all was when the Mukerti lake was being formed. That river had
always been our best, where fish of a pound were common and general-
ly pink fleshed. As the water rose and the worms were drowned
out, the trout got far more than their normal supply of food and
JUNGLE MEMORIES AG}
put on weight at an amazing rate. I see from my register that in
14 days fishing in 1936 I took 83 fish there weighing 1164 lb., and
in 1938 a total of 88 weighing 128 lb. 5 oz., the best being 3 lb. 1 oz.
I mention these figures to show how fine the sport was. Others more
expert than myself did even better.
Since the lake filled the fishing has steadily declined, as was only
to be expected, in spite of restocking and in spite of every effort to
improve the food supply. The rivers on the other hand have of recent
years become overstocked owing to lack of anglers, with the result
that where one could average half-pounders in 1916, one is lucky now
to take a single fish of that weight (fairly weighed and not simply
estimated) and the average has dropped to about 4 oz. Everything
of course depends on food supply, which is definitely insufficient. Be-
fore trout were introduced there were no indigenous fish in the streams >
of the plateau except a small minnow, and so the balance of Nature
has been upset, and so far appears to be beyond re-adjustment. Not
but what quite good sport may still be enjoyed, and in my opinion
further deterioration is most unlikely.
But, apart from fishing by normal methods, one of my best me-
mories 1s of some very large murrel shot with a .303 in the pools
below the bund of the Khadakwasla lake near Poona in 1910. As is
well known these fish have to come to the surface to breathe, and it
is then easy to shoot them, provided one aims a few inches low to
allow for refraction, and has a man ready to retrieve, for my experience
is that they invariably sink. And at Bhamo when the annual floods
covered the brigade parade ground, shoals of fresh-water mullet
appeared, swimming on the surface with their eyes protruding above
water. We tried‘every normal method of circumventing them with-
out success, so adopted a plan referred to in Thomas’s Rod in India,
and went after them in a boat with our 12-bores. We used No. 8
shot with satisfactory results, and found that not all fish sank when
hit—presumably it depended on whether the bladder was pierced. I see
from my register that in five ‘shoots’ we bagged 44. Nothing is
mentioned about weight, but to the best of my recollection there were
few if any exceeding half a pound. They proved excellent for the
table, and I remember in Mess one night my colonel asking me
where I had got the fish we had just eaten. When I told him, he was
rather annoyed at what he evidently considered ill-timed levity.
Perhaps some of my readers will agree with him!
*
Son t KAR TS
These’ memories would be incomplete without some mention of at
least some of the many shikaris I have employed, without whose
willing help and co-operation my sport in the jungle would have been
very much poorer. A few in my early days no doubt took advantage
of my inexperience; such are to be found in every large military
station. But the great majority were keen and hardworking, and
definitely laid themselves out to do their utmost to ensure success.
Stout hearted too, when it came to the push. In fact in all these
years, I can remember one only whose nerve gave way—that was
when a bear charged in Chanda, as already related.
464 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Tol. 50
Out of so many some stand out clearer than the rest. Anthoo itt
Chanda, one of the finest shikaris in the Central Provinces; Pinnaya
at i<arachi who helped me to get my first houbara, and who accompanied
me on two trips to Las Bela—to this day I remember how he used to
curse when his camel stumbled; Diwaji at Poona—I still have the
cunning game stick he made for me over 4o years ago. It was intended
to hold 20 birds only, but on the first day I used it we managed to
make it hold double that number of quail. Then there was Raya
Gowda in North Kanara, Ko Po and the thugyi’s son on the Kalaw
ghat, and the many shikaris I have employed in the Nilgiris during
the past’27 years.
Of these, ‘Old’ Anthony stands out head and shoulders above the
rest. Whether it was a tiger or a woodcock he was equally keen,
and he would do what none of the present generation are willing to,
that is to go out on his own to mark down birds; and when he did
report a dozen snipe, one could be sure of finding them. In spite
of having suffered a severe mauling by a tiger he was completely
fearless, as indeed I have found all the Nilgiris shikaris to be. Arokia-
samy was almost equally good, and was with me at the death of
several tigers. Both have now passed on.
At Mudumalai, Kempe was similarly outstanding. He knew every
inch of the jungles and his knowledge of wild life was unequalled.
Many happy days did I spend with him, and have always lamented
his untimely death, reputedly by poison. His two younger brothers
are still with us, but though good are not in the same class.
When first I visited Anaikatti, Mullah was still alive, but getting
too old for active work. He had a great name and had provided
tigers for more than one Governor. Jaora was with me for many
years and proved first class, but he too has passed on, as also his son
Chick Banta, and now only his grandson Mooka remains to carry
on the family tradition. Of those still alive I rank Bomma best for
big and Kunmada for small game. The way the latter will circum-
vent a peacock spotted by chance half a mile away and arrange a beat
so as to put it over the guns, has to be seen to be believed. All the
Anaikatti men are splendid trackers, that goes without saying.
At Cannanore Mohideen Kutti of Palayangadi was first class for
snipe. Well do I remember his exhortation to a bird streaking for
the horizon ‘All right. Sit down’. It was about the only English he
knew. Another Moplah at Kakod was even better. I am sorry to
say I have forgotten his name. His son Musai Kutti now takes sports-
men out, but though good is not to be compared with the old man,
who always used to go out in advance and mark the birds down.
All these will, I am afraid, be mere names to most of my readers,
but I feel it only right to record them. Without exception they have
proved ‘Good companions’ in every sense.
I have always been at pains to be ‘on friendly terms with my shi-
karis. To put it at its lowest, it pays hands down. And it is so easy
to learn enough of the local vernacular to find out what is going on,
or to crack an occasional joke. A vocabulary of 300 words is ample
for all practical purposes and is not difficult to acquire. In some
places it is absolutely essential, for instance in Burma, where the aver-
age mokso will take little interest unless the sportsman can speak to
JUNGLE MEMORIES 465
him in his own language. It is also sound policy to engage the best
man available, and not to accept a cheaper substitute. This applies
particularly to a sportsman visiting an area for the first time. Game
animals in India are few and far between and take some finding.
That is where local knowledge comes in. Besides there may be some
special rules regarding closed areas, and unless you have a reliable
man with you, you may encroach on forbidden ground. Definitely it
does not pay to go out alone, for even though you think you know
the jungle, you may get lost, or a twisted ankle may land you in a
very awkward predicament,
SHIKAR FOR THE SSR Woue hs
The importance of encouraging officers to take up shikar cannot
be over-emphasised. Recently I was asked by the Madras Regimental
Centre to write a short article on the subject, and in hopes that it may
be of interest to others, I reproduce it here.
All peacetime training of the Armed Forces is with one ultimate
objective only, viz. war. But how often is this essential fact over-
looked, and how often are officers satisfied with a minimum of field
work? An officer certainly requires a sound theoretical knowledge of
his job, but equally important are those qualities which will enable
him to put his knowledge into effect, and to fit him in every way to be a
leader of fighting men. Such are physical fitness and endurance, self-
reliance and perseverance, a spirit of enterprise and coolness in the
face of danger, a mind trained to deal promptly with any kind of
emergency, €.g. when to open or withhold fire, a knowledge of bando-
bast in every sense of that most useful word, and above all an eye
for country and skill to move quietly through the jungle and unseen
over open ground,
How is an officer to acquire these when actual training in the
field with troops is, for various reasons, so limited? The answer lies
in shikar, which is not only a very pleasant form of recreation, but
also practical training for war, since the constant pursuit of big game,
which involves much hard work and occasional hazards, will inevitably
enable an officer to acquire all the qualifications which I have listed
above. There is no need to elaborate them as they are only too ob-
vious. Can there be any doubt that an officer possessing them is of
far greater value to his country than one whose amusements seldom
take him outside cantonments? Why then do so few officers nowadays
take up shikar as compared with 50 years ago, when nine out of ten
subalterns possessed a gun or a rifle, and many of them had a pony
as well? The chief reasons are, I think, lack of experience and con-
siderations of expense.
As regards the former, it is true that compared with older days,
there are now very few senior officers who can pass on to their juniors
the knowledge which they themselves have acquired. But the spoken
word is, in any case, apt to leave little impression. It is the written
word which remains in the memory, and of shikar books there are
enough to fill a small library. Some up-to-date ones should be in
every Officers’ Mess. And these Jungle Memories of mine are written
more especially to help the novice by analysis of the mistakes which
I have myself made. There should therefore be no difficulty in acquir-
466 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Yol. 30
ing a good theoretical knowledge of the subject, after which only
personal experience is needed to put theory into practice. |
The question of expense is admittedly more difficult, as the cost
of weapons nowadays is prohibitive for those with shallow purses.
The obvious solution is for Officers’ Messes to purchase a couple of
shot guns and a rifle, to be hired out to officers wishing to use them.
The guns should be 12-bores as cartridges are more easily ava'lable,
and should not cost more than Rs. 800 each. As regards the rifle,
I strongly recommend the .423 or .404 Mauser which should be
available for about Rs. 650. Either of these weapons will deal with
anything, from a blackbuck to an elephant. I do not recommend
smaller bores as they have so little stopping power in the event of
trouble with a dangerous animal, nor are the old black powder Ex-
presses desirable, as it is almost impossible to get cartridges for therm
nowadays.
So much for weapons. Then there is the question of shooting
expenses, and these will depend very largely on individual tastes.
It is of course a matter of experience, but it is surprising how cheap
a trip can be if one is prepared to rough it and not waste money on
non-essentials. Sport of some sort with either gun or rifle is to be
found within reasonable distance of almost every military station, and
motor buses and a pushbike will get one anywhere, with a few coolies
to carry the kit. In fact there is no reason whatever why costs should
exceed the expense of living in one’s station, provided that no long
rail journey is involved.
To the young officer anxious to make a start with shikar my
advice is first to read and memorise a really good book on the subject,
next to ascertain from local officials what facilities there are for sport
within reasonable distance, then after obtaining any necessary licence
to take a few days leave and try it out. You are bound to make
mistakes at first, but don’t get downhearted if things go wrong—the
most valuable experience of all is gained that way. Be enterprising,
and find out things for yourself, and if you work hard your efforts
are bound to be crowned with success sooner or later. Shikar consists
of bitter disappointments and pleasant surprises. There is a good bit
of luck about it, but the chief thing to remember is that success in
shikar, as in business and war, will not be achieved without most
careful attention to detail.
Finally, since shikar is sport, what exactly do we mean by the
latter? Col. Stockley in his book ‘Shikar’ has given as good a defini-
tion as any. ‘Sport lies in pitting one’s own natural faculties, brain
and endurance against those of the game. To shoot animals from a
car may be amusing, but it is not sport; it 1s merely the outcome of
laziness’.. And the Royal Commission on field sports recently convened
in England has defined sportsmanship as ‘giving the quarry a fair
chance’. That element of sport makes the sole difference between
shikar and war. In shikar one exercises some forbearance, but it
would be suicide to do so in war.
CONSERVATION
Before bringing these Memories to a close, it may be worth while to
look back and consider the changes in sporting ethics during the past
Se
JUNGLE MEMORIES . 467
50 years, and their resultant effect on wild life. When I landed in
India the standard of sportsmanship was very high indeed, and approxi-
mated very nearly to what the Greek writer Arrian wrote 1800 years
ago regarding the people of Britain, who he said ‘hunt for the beauty
of the sport, and consider the killing of the prey to be of minor lin-
portance’. Gone, it seemed for ever, were the days of the butchers
of the 70’s and 80’s of last century, whose bloody exploits are so un-
blushingly detailed in certain old shikar books. The game laws too
had been tightened up and were rigidly enforced. In fact it seemed
reasonable to assume, without undue complacency, that the future of
wild life in India was secure for many years to come.
Then came the two world wars and their aftermath—the dis-
appearance of many who could have passed on the traditions they had
inherited, and a general disrespect for law and order. The increasing
use of motor cars too, enabled an ever increasing number to indulge
in a new form of shikar, and to slaughter animals with a minimum
of exertion or risk, subordinating all ideas of sportsmanship to the
desire to kill. With India’s attainment of independence, matters
went from bad to worse. There was undoubtedly a widespread belief
(which persists even today) that the game laws in force till then were
introduced by alien rulers to serve their own ends, and might now
be safely disregarded. Their real purpose, to conserve wild life,
was, and still is, completely ignored. Gun clubs were formed in many
places, ostensibly for crop protection, but mostly for the high profit
to be derived from the sale of meat. With few exceptions everyone
possessing a firearm uses it for the indiscriminate destruction of game,
regardless of sex or season. Persons without the least experience of
shikar fire with buckshot at all kinds of animals, of which many in
consequence escape to die a lingering death. If a dangerous animal
is not killed on the spot no attempt is made to follow it up, with the
result that it becomes a source of danger to some unfortunate villager.!
The game laws are not adequately enforced, since forest subordinates
are in many cases afraid to report poachers lest their families suffer
reprisals, or else the social status of the offender ensures his immunity.
These things are matters of common knowledge, and it is no exaggera-
tion to say that if the slaughter taking place all over the country
continues at the present rate, game animals in India will soon become
practically extinct in all but the most inaccessible areas.
They are having much the same trouble in the U.S.A., and the
solution there is a nation-wide conservation pledge: ‘I give my pledge
as an American citizen to save and faithfully to defend from waste the
natural resources of my country; its soil and minerals, its forests,
waters and wild life’. This pledge, with a badge, and the slogan ‘The
Game Law Violator is a Thief’, is given the widest possible publicity
through the press and in other ways. It is being taken by millions of
adults, and by school children also, and there is no doubt that it is
bringing home to all classes the importance of conservation. If that
* The latest Kenya Game Laws make jt obligatory to report the wounding
of any dangerous animal. Failure to do so is an offence for which imprisonment
(with or without a fine) is mandatory.
2
4E8 : JOURNAL, BOMBAY: NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
can be done in the great emoeray of the West, why should it not.
succeed in India also?
_ Unfortunately. it is only too obvious that in this country to date,
in spite of much propaganda, the real object. of .conservation is very
far from being understood.. Otherwise we should not~see a so-called
‘Wild Life Park’, (liberally placarded with notice boards prohibiting
all shooting), being used as a regular shooting reserve for State guests
and other favoured individuals, or read an article in the press protest-
ing against permission being given to destroy dangerous cow elephants.
As if they were in any danger of extinction! Or the equally ridiculous
idea of making. the renewal of an arms licence dependent on the
amount of vermin (not specified) which the holder has shot during the
previous twelve months,
oy W ild life is a very real national asset, and no one can object to all
reasonable steps being taken for its preservation. But before formulat-
ing proposals or taking action which merely brings ridicule on con-
servation, it would be well if those responsible first consulted experts
ona subject of which they themselves apparently have not the slightest
knowledge. |
~#
(3 @OWNUG 1701S tT OW
No excuse is needed for shooting—it is a primitive instinct innate in
man, whatever anti-blood-sport cranks may say. But as one gets older,
the desire to kill becomes less pronounced, at least that is my own ex-
perience. -I have often regretted that I was not able to take up animal
photography, but my attempts in that line with:an ordinary Kodak
soon convinced me that successful results can be obtained only by the
use of expensive apparatus.. As that was beyond my means I had to
give up the idea.
In this series I have melee" in no flights of fancy, but have given
a true and unvarnished account of my experiences in the jungle, in the |
hope that the mistakes I have made and the knowledge which I have,
at times so painfully, acquired may be of use to others.- Except in.a
few specific cases I have refrained from giving the measurements of
trophies, because it has always seemed to me undesirable to introduce
the idea of competition into shikar. After all what does it matter
whether one’s best head is half. an inch larger or smaller than some
one else’s, provided it is a really good trophy 2 And of course in the-
case of tigers and panthers so much depends on the length of the tail.
Nor have. I the least desire to pose as a great shikari. There must
be other members of our Society with far more experience of. big
game.than myself, and I trust that some of them will be encouraged
to follow my example, and give our Journal. the benefit of their own
memories of the jungle. or
Shikar. is. the salt of life, and if I have managed to convey to my
readers a tithe of the fepoines I have myself found in the jungle, I
shail have accomplished my object.
(Concluded) . okay
RACES OF THE INDIAN GIANT SQUIRREL
(RATUFA INDICA)
BY
HuMAYUN ABDULALI AND J, CYRIL DANIEL
(With a plate)
In October 1950 H.A. was at Bhimashankar, Poona District, (19°5’
N. x 73°30’E) about 25 miles north-north-east of Khandala, and
‘was struck by the large amount of the white in the tail of the several
giant squirrels observed by him there. Upon returning to Bombay he
examined specimens in the Society’s collections, and from the literature
available it appeared that there was something unusual about the
squirrels seen. On the 16th April the place was revisited with Salim Ali
and two specimens collected. The base of the tail blended in coloration
with the rump and hind legs, and there was actually more brown at the
base than had been apparent on first sight. H.A. and J.C.D., however
scrutinized all the specimens in the Society’s collection with the help of
the literature available, and the foliowing results appeat to be wont
~ BCuchile
_ Six races have so far been described in India as follows:
I. R. 2. indica: Bisleben 1776
Type locality: ‘Bombay Presidency ”
Racial characters: Body colour eecale throughout, with under-
parts yellowish and forehead clay coloured. Tail same colouras body
with pale tip. |
Blanford (1897) portrays a hazel specimen with about a third of the
_ tail white.
Wroughton (1910) states that the animals from the north of Poona
are hazel in colour while those from the south of Poona are bay.
The two specimens from Bhimashankar are hazel and both Humayun
Abdulali and Salim. Ali, who had a look at several specimens in the
‘field, are sure that all the animals seen at Bhimashankar were of this
colour. Eleven specimens examined from Khandala were bay with slight
variations in colour while one (B.N.H.S. Col. No. 6294; collector Br.
Novarro, September 11, 1951) almost matches the Bhimashankar hazel.
Fourteen specimens from Khandala have the pale tip-to the tail
ranging from 30% to 52.5%. of the whole length of the tail (average
432%). The two from Bhimashankar have 50°25 and 50:4% of the tail
white respectively.
Twelve specimens from the southern part of the Bombay Presidency,
.Samasgi, Devikop and Kadra on the Kanara border, are bay and agree
with the eleven from Khandala referred to above. ‘One specimen from
Devikop (BONES: Col. Neo. M.c51, November 22,1911) is» slightly
lighter in coloration.
Eleven specimens from the south have much less white in the tail
ranging from 15:75 to 33°3% (average 24°65%).
~ One shot and examined by Humayun Abdulali at Mahableshwar
(October 1951) appeared to be identical with skins from Kanara.
470 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
With reference to the amount of white in the tail, it might be
explained that in ail the specimens the reddish-brown of the rump
eradually diffuses into white towards the tip, and it is not possible to
determine where exactly the white starts. The measurements were
taken from intermediary positions and to this extent are somewhat
arbitrary, though consistent.
Among the skins from Khandala one has a black patch at the base
end of the tail (5.N.H.S. Col. No. 6286) and” three are bidek on
the upper foreleg (Nos. 6286, 6287 and 6296).
Of the specimens from south Bombay, two females (M. 1328, Septem-
ber 1940, and M. 46, March 14, 1912) anda male (M, 56, March 1912)
from Karwer Head and Samasgi, Kanara border, have distinct black
patches where the foreleg meets the shoulder, there being more black on
the upper arm than on the shoulder. Specimens with no black patches
have, however, been obtained from the same camp. A juvenile from
Samasgi(1278, March 15,1912)is bay all over. The black on the forearm
is therefore not a constant character though it shows a tendency towards
centralts.
From the above it appears that the specimens from Khandaia and
Bhimashankar can be separated from those from southern Bombay
State (as far north as Mahableshwar) by the larger amount of white in
the tail. The two former are also separable zuter se by their coloration—
hazel at Bhimashankar, bay at Khandala. Sykes, in the original des-
cription of e/phinstone? (P.Z.S., 1831, p. 103-‘Western Ghats”) stated
that half the tail was reddish chestnut and the other half a fine reddish-
white. Wroughton also suggested that if the forms from north and
south Bombay should be found to be different, Sykes’s name el/phinstonet
would stand. This name would thus be applicable to the Bhimashankar
form, while should the Khandala type prove to be sufficiently constant
it would require another name.
A draft copy of this paper was sent to the British Museum for
comments and Mr. R. W. Hayman suggested the possibility of a
seasonal change being responsible for the differences in colour. . Of
indica we have 8 skins collected at Khandala in September and May
which show no difference in colour. The hazel skin from Khandala
was obtained in September as compared with April for Bhimashankar.
Specimens of the other races in the B.N.H.S. collection are also spread
out over different months of the year. Thereis nothing to indicate any
seasonal change in coloration.
2, &. 2. dealéaia Blanford* 1897.
Type. locality: Surat Dangs.
Habitat: Moist deciduous forest.
The body colour is cream buff with the tail paler. Ear tufts brown.
Wroughion in 1910, opined that this extraordinary race was extinct,
but recently several specimens were obtained from Songadh and
* In the ‘Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian Mammals (1758 to 1946) ’ by
J. R. Ellerman and T.C.S.-Morrison-Scott London (1951) it is suggested that
dealbata is possibly based on albinistic individuals of Ratufa indica. “In view of
the fresh specimens recently cbtained at different places in the Surat Dangs area
there can be no doubt that it is a good race.
RACES. OF THE INDIAN, GIANT SQUIRREL 471
Mheskatri in the Dangs by Salim Ali (1948) who reports it to be not
uncommon though patchily distributed. The specimens from Mheskatri
are tinged with grey at the base of the tail and are brownish on the rump.
3. Le. &. supevans Ryley 1913.
Type locality: Wotekalli, South Coorg (West of Brahmagiris).
Habitat: Evergreen forest.
This is described on its appreciably larger size, the colour being
identical with that of the bay zzdzca from Kanara.
Messrs. C. J. Leslie and A. F. Hutton of Kadamane Estate, Hassan
District, Mysore, have recently sent us three specimens which measure:
Head and Body: 500, 470 and 420 mm. (340 to 380 mm.)
Ret ere a 500, 520 and 510 mm. (370 to 446 mm.)
Length of skull 79,279 and. 75 mim. *—1( 468: (0 *:74-mm.)
The figures in parenthesis indicate the measurements quoted by
Ryley for zzdica. It would appear that on measurements these Sspeci-
mens are supevans, extending the known distribution of the race appre-
cilably northwards.
4. R. 2. bengalensis Blanford 1897.
This is an unfortunate name. The type locality is not known and
the specimens collected by the Society’s Mammal Survey at Huwinakadu
Estate, Kutta in South Coorg have been identified as of this race. In
size it is equal to suferans and identical with it in colour except that the
tail is black with a pale rufous tip.
This race was only known definitely from the jungles on the eastern
side of the Brahmagiris in Coorg. We have recently received two
specimens (tails 390 mm. and broken) from Wynaad, Nilgiris, from
Mr. A. F. Hutton which agree with this form in colour. Another
from the confluence of the Segur and Mavinhalli rivers, north Nilgiri
Wynaad 2,500 ft. (tail 490 mm.) and a third from Lovedale, Ootacamund,
7,300 ft. (tail 380 mm.)—both obtained by Capt. K. Boswell-—are similar
except that these have black patches on the upper forelegs, The
presence or absence of this character seems to be of no significance in
indica and it is possibly the same in dezgalensis.
A fourth specimen from Kotagiri (C. Primrose, Rookery Estate,
Kotagiri, Nilgiris) is marked maxima but has a white tip to the tail
(480 mm.) rendering this identification inadmissible. The black of the
upper arm extends to the shoulders as in ccuztralzs. The fur is also
exceptionally long. A note by C. McCann on the index card reads
‘this seems to be intermediate between true maxima and bengalensts.’
Specimens obtained by the Mammal Survey at Kotagiri are said to be
eentvalis (J. B. N. H. S., XXVI1, p. 1033). Mr. R. W. Hayman of the
British Museum, who has kindly re-examined them in London states that
‘they are centvalis in coiour, but the measurements appear to overlap
those of dengalensis’. *
* Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) state that central7s occurs in the Nilgiri
Hills apparently at localities different from where 7. 7. maxima is found,
472 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, ‘Vol. 50
Another obtained by A. F. Hutton in the Annamallais, 20 miles
north-west of Valparai on the Cochin border is near dengalensis (tail
480 mm.) but shows a tendency towards maxima and/or centralzs, a thin
black line extending from the rump half way towards the shoulder
together with prominent black patches on the forearm.
The presence of black on the upper forearm in several of the Nilgiris”
skins does suggest ceztrva/zs, but though slightly smaller in size they
appear to be nearer to bengalensts. Measurements have been restricted
to the tail as head and body measurements in flat skins are difficult. A
few of the skins examined are chrome-tanned and the hair appears to
have a much higher gloss than in the other skins.
5. R. 2. maxima Schreber 1788.
Type Jocality: Malabar.
This form is bay coloured with the upper-arm, shoulder, rump and
tail black and with a median black dorsal line in most cases. The
tail is completely black with no pale tip, but with a thin line of
rufous running along the length of the lower surface. The only
adult in the Society’s collection from Tenmalai, Travancore, is also
distinguishable from the other races by its white forefeet (as against
rufous of varying shades), the relative paleness of the hind-feet as
compared to the body, and by the head being concolorous with the bay
on other parts of the body (not grizzled or darker as in the other races.).
~ The Mammal Survey (/.B.V.4.S., XXXI, p. 595) recorded this race
from the High Wavy Mountains and Goremeain Estate, Annamaad and
Ottacoolie Estate in the Nelliampathi Hills (Palghat District), It was
also obtained in the Palnis.
Mr. Hutton who has been of considerable assistance in obtaining
specimens from South India has provided 3 more skins, two (including a
juvenile) from the High Wavy Mountains and one from ‘6500 feet up in
a small shola in the Grass Hills half-way between the Annamallais and
the High Range.’ These skins have all the characteristics of maxima
including the additional distinguishing features mentioned above.
It is not quite clear from the material available where maxima
meets Jdengalensts. A skin from the Annamallais on the Cochin border
has been referred to as dexgalensis while another from the Grass Hills
further south is typical maxima. ‘The dividing line would lie some-
where in between, and it would be interesting to attempt to associate
this with some physical boundary. Mr. Hutton states that he has not
seen maxima below 3000 ft.
The two forms mentioned by Hutton in his paper on ‘ The Mammals
of the High Wavy Mountains’ (/.2.NV.4.S., 48, p. 691) appear to be
covered by the known variations in maxzma.
McCann (/.B.N.A.S., XXXI, p. 595) notes that ‘the cry of this race
is much sweeter than that of the ordinary Aatufa’, presumably referring
to animals from Khandala with which area he was familiar.
6. R. 2. centralis Ryley 1913.
Type locality: Bori, Hoshangabad District, C.P.
Habitat: Moist and dry deciduous jungle.
‘This was originally separated from dengalensts on its sinaller size and
‘(vI1pur vjngoy) jeiuinbs juris) ueipuy oyi jo saory
329 3avgd «9
PRAVES VYSOH > $1] 49KaD v“ PE (3X7,
DADDUPAPAL-- = DUI OUY ne Doe (Lax
suibouyuag b-3 “sr9uryobueg Us * @O@
sabomyragbma-- suodadng — + « (@
Avmaeyn--- D2}pur a es Ca)
DAD PULyy---- ry $8 OAC)
Adqurysruiug = -sguoysuiydya — ww (2)
sbuva yang" VAVq]vap varpuy vfnzoy (1) O
Aqnryzer 01
Wv Ludw9V Zz)
aqvVdVuUaACAH
"20G ‘ISI ‘LVN AVaWwog ‘Nunof
“RACES: OF .THE INDIAN. GIANT SQUIRREL 473
the distinction of having black patches on the shoulders and occasion-
ally on the rump. 19 specimens measure:
Head and Bode -- J00-— 380 mm ; average 340 mm. |
Tail Taser SOUT O exceptional) to 450 inm.; average 405 mm. »
This form extends. through the Central Province (Madhya Pradesh)
northwards into Orissa and Bihar and then south along the Eastern
Ghats as far as South Arcot and Chaimarajnagar in Mysore State (hardly
30 miles from the locality of dezgalensis in Coorg). ‘The Survey aiso.
records it from Coimbatore and Kotagiri (see supra). There is an
appreciable amount of variation in the amount of black in this form,
being at times restricted to the upper arm to the extent found in zzdica.
It also shows variation in the depth of coloration. Four skins,
Balapalli Range, South Cuddappah (2); Lamarsinghi, Vizagapatam
District; and Dhain, Hoshangabad District are bay, similar to zzdtca
from Kanara. Others, including skins from Dhain and Lamarsinghi, are
darker, and though the evidence is unsatisfactory there is a suggestion
of lightness in colour towards the south.
17 out of the 22 skins examined have black tails with small pale
tips. Five (2 Chaibassa, Orissa; 1 Lamarsinghi, Vizagapatam District ;
1 Antagarh, Bastar District ; 1 juvenile Bori, Hoshangabad District)
have reddish brown in the tail between the black base and the pale tip.
This may perhaps be associated with the tendency to darkness towards
the north.
One specimen from Chota Dongar (Bastar State) has an all black
tail. While no sign of injury is now visible, the tail is shorter than the
body—which is against the general rule for the species—and it must
be assumed that the pale tip was accidentally brcken off at some stage.
As this species is localized with little or no chance of overlap
between different populations it is possible that some of the differences
mentioned above are constant.
SUMMARY
(i) An examination of freshly collected material and scrutiny of data
shows that #. zvdica from Khandala and Bhimashankar differ from
those in south Bombay State in the amount of white in the tail.
Specimens from Bhimashankar are hazel as compared with bay in the
south and at Khandala, and may therefore be attributed to the form
designated e/phinstonez by Sykes. The form from Khandala seems inter-
mediate, but may merit separation from that occurring at Bhimashankar.
(ii) R. a. dealbata is not extinct and still occurs in the Dangs.
(iii) Several races meet in Mysore and the Nilgiris and their
distributional limits are not very clear.
(iv) A. z. centralis: Populations from the north-eastern part of its
range are distinctly darker than those from the southern, though both
types have been collected in the type locality which unfortunately seems
to be an intermediate area. Some individuals from the northern range
also have rufous in the tail.
(v) maxima differs from the other races in its white forefeet and the
forehead being concolorous with the rufous on other parts of its body,
474 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
REFERENCES
Blandford, W. T.(1897) : The Large Indian Squirrel, Jour. Bom. Nat. Hist.
Soc. X; 298.
Ellerman, J. R, (1940) : The Families and Genera of Living Rodents, Vol. 1,
p. 383.
Ellerman, J. R. and Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. (1951): Checklist of Palaearctic
and Indian Mammals 1758 to 1946—British Museum (Natural History).
Robinson and Kloss (1918) : Nominal list of Oriental Sciuridae. Records of the
Indian Museum. XV, (IV), 171.
Ryley, Kathleen, V. (1913) : Scientific results from the Mammal Survey, Jour.
Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. XX\I, (3) ; 434.
Wroughton, R. C. (1910): Some notes on the Giant Squirrels of India, Burma
and Ceylon, Jour. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. X\X ; 880.
ee =
ae —EeE EE
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS
BY
S. DILLON RIPLEY
(With two maps, two coloured and two black-and-white plates)
During the summer of 1950 my wife and I arrived in India hope-
fully looking forward to a project which we had cherished for some
time in common with Mr. Salim Ali, namely to visit the eastern Naga
Hills, and perhaps to attempt to climb Mt. Saramati (12,553 ft., a.s.1.)
which lies almost directly east of Kohima, the Deputy Commissioner’s
headquarters, on the India-Burma border. Saramati has never been
climbed by a naturalist, or so far as I know by any non-Naga
(although a Karen in the Burma Cartographic Survey is alleged to
have climbed it in 1935), and it is the highest summit in southern
Asia south of the Himalayas, excluding the Islands.
The Naga Hills have had no intensive visits by naturalists.
Major H. H. Godwin-Austen visited the Hills during 1872-73 and
reported the novelties discovered by him in the Proceedings of the
Zoological Society, 1874, Pt. 1., pp. 43-48, with several fine coloured
plates of some of the distinctive forms such as Garrulax galbanus
and Actinodura nipalensis waldeni. The comprehensive paper by
Hume on the birds of Manipur (1888) includes many notes of the
occurrence of birds in the Naga Hills, usually furnished by Godwin-
Austen, or from the collections made by two other surveyors associated
with him, Messrs. Ogle and Chennell. However, there has been no
general paper of any kind. In the case of mammals there have been
isolated notes from time to time, mostly from the pen of J. H. Hutton
and J. P. Mills, both distinguished former Deputy Commissioners.
Unfortunately Mr. Sdlim Ali was unable to come with us in the
end, and in the meantime the great Assam earthquake had necessarily
diverted the facilities of Government, so that it was found to be
impossible to lend us the escort of Assam Rifles which by Government
Regulation we would need to visit the unadministered territory of the
extreme eastern Hills. We arrived at Kohima in October, however,
to find that the Deputy Commissioner, Mr. S. J. Duncan was
extremely conscious of our disappointment and graciously made every
effort to afford us ‘second best’, and make our visit as profitable as
possible in the short time that we stayed in the Hills.
After a brief stay in Manipur from October 17-25, we returned
to Kohima and were allowed by Mr. Duncan to arrange for a trek
up Mt. Japvo, the highest peak of the Barail Range (9,890 ft.) which
lies about 5 miles southwest of Kohima in an air line. The Barail
Range is a massive feature thrusting in a north-easterly direction,
composed of slate and shale with heavily wooded peaks lying both
in north Cachar and the western Naga Hills. We were able to leave for
Japvo on November 2 and to stay there until the 13th. We made
our camp at 7,7oo ft. under a thick canopy of original tropical ever-
green rain forest, climbing up to the ridge at 8,500 ft. and the peak
476 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURALS EIST SC Citi ye aicolmeyt
beyond each day, or plunging down into the lower slopes. Birds
abounded but were difficult to see and collect due to the great height
of the trees, and the density of the undergrowth wherever trees had
fallen; and small clearings occurred... Most. of the small birds were
in vast hunting parties at all stages in the forest, from the tree tops,
through the understoreys of lower trees, higher bushes, and finally
the lowest level of strobilanthes, ferns, nettles, and rotting brush
resting on the ground. Serow, barking deer, sambar, wild dogs,
tiger and possibly goral were all noted in one way or another. The
only smaller mammals seen were two species of Tree Squirrel be-
longing to the genera Dremomys and Tamiops.
Returning to Kohima my wife had unexpectedly to leave suddenly
for the United States, but meanwhile permission had been granted
by the Assam Government for us to visit the extreme eastern Hills,
as far east as we could go and still remain within the administered
area. This would allow us to go right up to the Burma border in
one small area where the Tizu River, a tributary of the Chindwin,
flows through a gap in the main north-south axis of the Naga-Patkoi
Range just south of Saramati. Not far from the trail which lies
along the course of this river is a small mountain, Zephu, (8,408 ft.,
a.s.l.) which I felt would afford us an opportunity to sample the
montane fauna of these eastern Hills. |
Consequently I made preparations to go on east, accompanied
this time by Mr. Horace Alexander and Professor D. C. Mahanta otf
Gauhati University. We started this part of our trip on November
18th in a heavy downpour of rain in two wartime Dodge weapons
carriers or 18 cwt. four-wheel drive trucks. The first 54 miles of
the trail east from Kohima to the eastern Angami village of Phek |
is motorable (Phakekedzumi is an alternate spelling of this village.
on the quarter-inch Survey of India Maps, Sheet No. 83 K), although
‘motorable’ seems a charitable word especially if the weather is un-
seasonable (N.B. November and December are technically known as
the ‘dry’ months in the Naga Hills). Farther east there is a trail
which was probably jeepable during war-time, but has now become
impassable for vehicles due to the demise of all the steel cable sus-
pension bridges and the substitution for them of the locally-made
rattan cane pedestrian suspension bridges. We continued along
this trail to Meluri, Primi (called Akhegwo on some maps), and
Phozami. (called Yisi on some maps), the latter some 93 miles by
trail from Kohima and 15 miles from the Burma border.
At this point Professor Mahanta and I (Mr. Alexander’s holiday
had. come to an end and he returned to Delhi), left the trail and struck
south some g miles or more to Zephu where we made camp 2oo ft.
below the summit and remained only four days until December rst.
This point is about eight and a half miles from the nearest point on
the Burma border. It was cold on Zephu, the temperature hovering
in the low forties (F.) during much of the day, with several degrees
of frost at night. The Nagas disliked the cold and remained in the
nearby Sangtam Naga village of Zephu (7,000 ft.) as much as they
could. Zephu, like Japvo, was all untouched tropical evergreen
forest, with the addition of more types of hill bamboo than we had
seen on the Barail peak. ‘Only above 7,000 ft. is there likely to- be
unspoiled ‘evergreen -forest ‘to-day in the Naga Hills, so great is the
“ e"*93NOI INO BUIMOYS S]]IF{ eSen{ oy3 Jo dep
= 0O£.b6
De ..........—0.._. _.._.__._ x pres 2 ( rears o rs a = = ae se ee 2 — or ‘ — -
2 joydw] OL
SONG O
OD|W ey
00428SiNid
v O686
> » OAdOL LW
> pwambiyep---t
ae q
(©)
‘ S0b8 DWDSAUd ey
ke
nyda7 IW +770 © ydaz :
a Ys es Res
: ee fo dowig o
‘ an
IWDZOYde. eo, int 19 OL
ee y¢ oI
IwWldsd
Sv.Scf
i
~4
J}
4
My
00§ ‘HSI ‘7UN Avquiog ‘“uanoe
COLE C MONG OM BURDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 477
extent of the shifting cultivation. The effect is almost of ‘islands,’
as the patches of unspoiled jungle are often quite isolated from
each other. |
We reached Phek again December 5th, Kohima December rith,
and I left the Naga Hillis December 12th. We thus had a total of
48 days in the Naga Hills during: which we managed to collect 743
specimens representing 196 species and subspecies. In addition we
saw, but did not collect, at least five species (I have not listed an
owl and several hawks whose identification would be problematical),
making a total of 201 species identified in the field.
‘With the exception of our two visits to heavy undisturbed ever-
green forest on the summits of Japvo and Zephu, our collecting was
mainly confined to what is now the predominant biotope in the Naga
Hills from the lower altitudes of 2;000 ft. up to 7,000 ft. This is
cut-over scrub mostly of a deciduous type which may be firewood
lots for the Naga villages, sometimes second growth from old agri-
cultural clearings, sometimes patches of scrub jungle near villages
kept by the Nagas for toilet areas. In these somewhat unpromising
surroundings there is often a wealth of- bird life due to the fact I
suppose that birds may be moving from one jungle area to another,
or that particular shrubs or trees may be in flower. Much of the thick
tangle of light jungle is of course very suitable for babblers, and
they were always in evidence. Larger species like hornbills, pheasants,
eagles, and the large owls were much less in evidence, however, and
there is no doubt that the destruction of the forests here is having
a decisive effect on the numbers of different species. Some species
will decrease sharply, others increase, and a survey of the fauna in
this area in another few years should prove illuminating.
Attempting to assess the fauna as a whole I was interested to
note that out of 125 species which could be divided into more pre-
dominantly western or eastern-derived forms, 54 species of these
Hills. were of the same species as those farther to the west in the
Himalayas proper, while 28 were of Burmese or Indo-Chinese origin.
The other 43 were either endemic species or subspecies. whose origin
either from the west or east was uncertain. Thus 65 per cent of the
endemisms studied by me seem to derive from the western, the
Himalayas fauna, and only 35 per cent from the Indo-Chinese fauna,
a smaller proportion than I had expected before I visited these border
Hills.
There are only two good endemic species in this area apparently,
both shared with Manipur, Tragopan biythi and Garrulax galbanus-
Of the endemic subspecies 27 seem to be confined to this immediate
area or shared with Manipur (17), the Patkoi Hills (7), or Cachar (14).
Many of these endemisms run south as far as the Chin Hills (Mt.
Victoria) (9). I am certainly sorry we did not get a chance to
collect on the higher slopes of Saramati which we could see plainly
from Meluri east along the trail. The upper 3,000-4,o00 ft. appear
to be grassland, and there should possibly be a wren, Troglodytes,
a Babax, possibly a Nutcracker, and probably a Yellow-billed Blue
Magpie on: the upper slopes. But this problem will remain for
another attempt. I certainly. wish much luck and God- Speedin to the
ornithologist who visits that challenging mountain.
478 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL FIST USOCIET Vi Vale 30
Some of the novelties collected by us have already been described
by me in Postilla, a publication of the Yale Peabody Museum (no. 6,
1951). My grateful thanks are due to the authorities of the British
Museum, the United States National Museum, the American Museum
of Natural History, the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard,
and the Chicago Natural History Museum who have lent me speci-
mens in their care, or allowed me to work in their Bird Rooms. I
am grateful for some financial aid received from a Fulbright award of
the U.S. Government. For help in the field I am most grateful also
to Mr. and Mrs. Duncan of Kohima, to many Naga friends, to Horace
Alexander, and finally to my wife Mary, who was a constant aid and
source of inspiration.
LIST OF THE SPECIES
PHALACR ©OCGO RWC Dee
Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis (Shaw): Large Cormorant.
A flock of 31 was counted on an evening flight up the Tizu River
near our camp between Meluri and Phek, December 4th. The Assam
Rifles and the Phek Nagas consider these birds to be ‘ducks’ and
shoot them for food from time to time.
ARDEIDAE
Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) seemed to be the only common
egret in the areas we visited. Flocks of egrets, presumably this
species, were seen flying south over Kohima in mid-November evidently
on migration.
CArGoN hLDA
Anastomus oscitans (Boddaert): Open-bill Stork.
A single bird was secured out of a flock which landed near the Deputy
Commissioner’s office building in Kohima evidently lost as there
was heavy cloud all over the ridge. The date was in the first week
of November. Presumably the birds were on migration as the rest
of the flock flew.south after the clouds lifted.
ACCP Tt 2 pA
Accipiter nisus nisosimilis (Tickell): Sparrow Hawk.
A male was shot November 17th out of a pine tree behind the
Circuit House in Kohima. It seemed to be a migrating bird.
Very few hawks were seen, and those that occasionally were
glimpsed through the trees could not be readily identified.
FALCONIDAE
Falco tinnunculus interstinctus McClelland: Indian Kestrel.
A male collected at Kohima, October 26th, was the only specimen
we secured of this species which was very common in open areas all
up and down the Naga Hills.
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 479
PHASIANIDAE
Lophura leucomelana lathami (Gray): Assam Kaleej, or Horsfield’s
Kalee}].
Common from 2,000 to 5,000 ft. in the Naga Hiils. Males with
varying amounts of white on the rump sometimes were brought in to
the Kohima market. Some males closely approached moffiti, (see
Delacour’s discussion, 1951), as did some females, in possessing a
nearly black rump and very dark plumage. A possible range for
moffiti may be in the Sylhet area west of the Naga Hills, if the speci-
mens obtained by us represent a trend in the direction of the all-biack
form. <A bird dealer in Calcutta informed me that the shipment of
Kaleej pheasants sent to London in the spring of 1950 which included
a male moffiti, came from north-eastern East Pakistan not far from
where the Barail Range of Cachar debouches into the plains of Sylhet.
Tragopan blythi blythi (Jerdon): Blyth’s Tragopan.
Blyth’s Tragopan is not uncommon on the slopes of Mount Japvo
about 8,400 ft. in moss forest. Our Naga helpers assured us that
the birds are very fond of certain ferns and showed us many stripped
fronds of a rather coarse branching bracken-like species growing in
the under-storey. The species from our experience is very local,
confined to thick forest, and partially migratory, moving up and
down the slopes presumably in search of favorite foods. With
the great destruction of forests in the Naga Hills due to shifting
cultivation practices, it would seem likely that the range of this species
will be fragmented into isolated ‘colonies, if this has not happened
already. We could not obtain any information about the species in
the eastern hills, where it apparently does not now occur.
A male from near Khonoma on the northern flank of the Japvo
complex has a wing measurement of 263 mm. and a culmen of 25.5,
considerably longer than that given by Delacour (op. cit. 1951, p. 68).
Presumably his measurement is of the bill from the nostril, rather
than the culmen as stated.
No specimens of Mrs. Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae
humiae) were secured although we heard something of them. Local
information indicated that they are quite as spottily distributed as
the tragopan, and now found only in isolated patches of scrub oak
forest from 4,000 to 6,000 ft. In the southern Naga Hills they are
confined to the Manipur side of the Kohima-Imphal Valley south
of Karong, and to a few places in the hills south of Jessami, a village
nearly 30 miles as the crow flies east and slightly south of Kohima.
Bambusicola fytchii hopkinsoni Godwin-Austen: Bamboo-Partridge.
A foothill species found in open scrub and pasture land up to
5,000 ft. Birds were moulting in October.
The guttural rolling call of Peacock Pheasants (Polypleclron
bicalcaratum) was heard along the banks of the Tizu river at about
1,000 ft, altitude east of Meluri, but no specimens were collected. In
connection with this species, I have re-examined the two fans of
Peacock Pheasant feathers collected by me in the Mishmi Hills in
1947, and mentioned in Delacour (op. cit., 1951, p. 289). I have
also borrowed a pair of Gray Peacock Pheasants from the British
480 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Museum collected in the Fort Hertz area of extreme north Burma by
Ronald Kaulbach in 1938. These specimens show a cline toward
the very dark coloration of the tail feathers shown in my Mishmi
fans, but can still be placed with typical bicalcaratum. I had hoped
that these specimens collected from the hills south-east of the Mishmis
in the upper central drainage area of the Irrawady, might belong to
this same saturated population, but they only point toward it.
Arborophila torqueola interstincta Ripiey: Hill- Partridge.
The Hil!-Partridge was only found by us on the upper slopes of
Mount Zephu at over 8,000 ft. On comparison in the United States
I found that these Side agreed with those from the upper Chindwin
River area of Burma in being more richly and darkly coloured and
more heavily barred than torqueola of the Sikkim Himalayas.
The birds were silent during our stay on the mountain in late
November and early December, only occasional low calls being heard.
They were unsuspicious, however, and easier to stalk than in my
previous experience, scratching busily among the leaves in sree
of light bamboo under the oak over-storey.
Arborophila rufogularis intermedia (Blyth) : Arrakan Hill-
Partridge.
A single male was collected on Mount Zephu in identical biotope
with torqueola. Soft parts: iris brown; ocular skin pinkish-red;
bill black; legs anterioriy light brownish-pink, posteriorly yellowish-
brown.
TURNICIDAE th abe ON ge
Turnix tanki blanfordi Blyth: Burmese Button-Quail.
A female with a wing measurement of 101 mm.:was taken at
‘Kohima. Iris pale yellow; bill, upper mandible brown, lower and
gape dull yellow; feet dull yellow. Weight 63 gr.
CHARAD R11 DAE
- Charadrius dubius curonicus Gmelin: Eurasian Little Ringed Plover.
A female, evidently in passage, was taken at Kohima, October
j5tho -AV.eight.30 sr:
COLUM BID AR
Sphenurus. sphenurus sphenurus (Vigors) : pee Green
Pigeon. Sai Tie oak
Relatively common from 3,750-7,700 ft., in. substage, ‘cut-over
scrub and high up in original forest. Soft parts: iris pinkish, inner
blue ring; bill basally blue, distally gray; feet cherry red. :
Ducula badia griseicapilla Walden: Grayheaded Imperial Bow
A pair were taken at Phek in a patch of jungle on top or a near
“by hill at 6,000 ft. Iris gray; bill basally coral, distally: brownish-
horn; feet coral. :
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS\ FROM THE NAGA HILLS 481)
Columba pulchricollis Hodgson: Ashy Wood-Pigeon.
A female, one of a pair in a bamboo clump, was shot as it rose
from the ground with a clap of wings, on Mount Zephu at 7,000 ft.,
December 1st. Iris gray; bill basally purplish, distally dull pea
green; feet splotched dull red on white. Wing 198.5 mm.
I saw a flock of Columba punicea near Phek in cut-over scrub
but was unable to secure a specimen. :
Streptopelia orientalis agricola (Tickell): Burmese Rufous Dove.
Uncommon in the Naga Hillis, perhaps due to the proclivities of
the Nagas. Birds were in breeding condition in late October.
Streptopelia chinensis suratensis e edwardi: Spotted Dove.
Baker (1925, p. 243) notes that birds from Cachar and Manipur
are intermediate between suratensis and tigrina. I would prefer to
align the specimens collected by us somewhere between. suratensis
and edwardi of North Lakhimpur (see Ali and Ripley, 1948, p. 13).
In the reduction of the terminal spots on the back they are as Baker
writes (loc. cit.) approaching tigrina, but the tone of the upper
plumage is dark approaching edwardi. In size, males have wing
measurements from 143-146 mm., and weighed from 120-125 gr.
Males and females were in. breeding condition in mid-October, and
a male with slightly enlarged gonads was taken November. 22nd.
Macropygia unchall tusalia (Hodgson): Bartailed Cuckoo-Dove.
We collected two females of the Cuckoo-Dove in occasional patches
of evergreen forest standing in the ravines leading down to the Tizu
River on the trail between Phek and Meluri. The altitude ranged
from 2,500 to 3,000 ft. te
Chalcophaps indica indica (Linnaeus) : Emerald Dove.
A juvenile female was collected on Mt. Zephu November 28th at
mi5eo ft. Weight 98 or.
PST TACT DAE
Psittacula. himalayana finschi (Hume): Burmese Slatyheaded
Parakeet. |
Two adult females were taken out of fig trees in open deciduous
forest along the Phek-Meluri road between 2,500 and 3,500 ft.
Wing .147.5, 150 mm.. Weight .r12, 115 gr.
Psittacula alexandri fasciata Miiller: Redbreasted Parakeet.
A pair were taken at 2,000 ft. out of fig trees feeding in a flock
as with the preceding species. Wing o 171, 9 155 mm.
GUct. bib AL
Cuculus sparveroides sparveroides Vigors: Large Hawk-Cuckoo.
A female from Kohima has a wing measurement of 225 mm.
432 JUURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Rhopodytes tristis tristis (Lesson): Large Greenbilled Malkoha.
Two males from the Naga Hills have wing measurements of 164.5,
167, tail’ 381, -culmen’ 31,°°32" mm: “Wereht? 135" sr? these ™ bade
approach saliens Mayr, although not as much so as the virtual inter-
mediates from the north in the Mishmi Hills.
STRECT PAL
Otus scops sunia (Hodgson): Indian Scops Owl.
A rather rufescent male with a wing measurement of 146 mm.
was taken at Kohima. Weight 79 gr.
Glaucidium cuculoides austerum Ripley: Eastern Himalayan Barred
Owlet.
Two females taken in the eastern part of the Naga Hills prove
to belong to this large dark race. Their wing measurements of 161
and 162 mm. are, however, larger than any given by me in my
review of the species (1948). In tone, these birds are strongly
rufescent. The bill measurement is 15 mm. (2). They thus extend
the range of austerum south from Margherita along the Patkoi Range
to the east Naga Hills.
Glaucidium brodiei brodiei (Burton): Collared Pygmy Owlet.
A male was taken at Phek. Weight 53 gr.
CAPRIMULGIDAE
Caprimulgus macrurus ambiguus Hartert: Jungle Nightjar.
A pair taken at Mao by Nagas for food and sold to us, are very
dark in tone and large, wing co 209.5, Q@ 204.5 mm., and therefore
presumably belong to this race.
TROGONIDAE
Harpactes erythrocephalus erythrocephalus (Gould): Redheaded
Trogon. a
A male from Phek has a wing of 142 mm. and weighed 110 gr. —
We saw trogons from 4,000-5,000 ft. in the east Naga Hills in thick
low secondary oak scrub, as well as in high forest.
MEROPIDAE
Nyctiornis athertoni athertoni (Jardine & Selby): Bluebearded
Bee-eater. —
A female taken along the Phek-Meluri road measures: wing 136,
tail 129 mm.
BUCEROTIDAE
Aceros undulatus ticehursti (Deignan): Northern Waved Hornbill. |
A male with the casque indicating that it was a young bird was |
shot at Phek in the patch of evergreen on top of a nearby hill at
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS » 483
6,000 ft. Several immensely tall trees stood out over the surrounding
ones and served as perches for a group of a dozen of these hornbills
who performed a morning and evening flight to and from the roost.
Their majestic procession was punctuated with the sound of their
wings, a rhythmic beat sounding like the puffing pant of a steam
engine headed up a long, hard grade. On the slopes of Japvo we
also saw and heard these birds without obtaining a specimen. From
time to time they would dive abruptly to lose altitude, and the sound
on these occasions was very much like the ‘whooosh’ of a jet plane.
Soft parts: irs dull orange, inner ring white; ocular skin dark
pinkish-yellow; bill basally reddish-horn, distally whitish-ivory ; guiar
skin orange-yellow with a median transverse band, blackish in colour ;
feet black, pads dirty yellowish-white.
GePrro NT DAE
Megalaima virens magnifica Baker: Assam Hill Barbet.
A male and two females from Phek have wing measurements of,
Oo 142.5, 9 146, 148 mm. At our Japvo camp the Nagas claimed that
this was the bird which occasionally punctuated the night with a wild
and awful series of shrieks, moving rapidly from perch to perch
among the high trees overhead. It would seem more likely to have
been an owl, but my searches failed to produce the bird.
Megalaima franklinii frankE:nii (Blyth): Goldenthroated Barbet.
A male from Japvo weighed 77 gr.
Megalaima asiatica asiatica (Latham): Bluethroated Barbet.
Binds from Phek weighed, o'-o0;' 9'"87, 88 er:
[NDECAT ORIEDAE
Indicator xanthonotus fulvus Ripley: Eastern Goldenbacked
Honeyguide.
A single specimen, the type of this subspecies, was taken near
Pfutsero. It agrees with a single specimen from Burma collected by
Smythies and reported on in my original description (1951). These
birds seem to be found only near wild bees’ hives on cliffs, and perch
quietly in the tallest trees, so that they are very difficult to observe.
The Angami name is ‘Mephi Tsu Kelie Para’. Weight: oo 29 gr.
Wing go.
Pv Gi Di AE
Picumnus innominatus malayorum Hartert: Speckled Picuiet.
We found the Speckled Piculet in the scrub oaks and light
secondary growth along the trail in the eastern hills from 3,500-4,000 ft.
Wing, of 54, 56.5, 9 59 mm. Soft parts: iris brown, ocular skin
purplish-blue, bill black base of lower mandible gray, feet bluish-gray.
Weight: of (2) 11 gr., Q 12 gr.
2
484 % JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
Sasia ochracea reichenowi Hesse: Burmese Rufous Piculet.
A pair were taken at Phek in a thick bamboo clump near the
village at 4,800 ft. These belong to the Burmese race of which
querulivox is a synonym. Weight: (2) 10 gr.
Micropternus brachyurus phaioceps (Blyth): Northern Rufous
Woodpecker.
Found in deciduous secondary scrub forest at altitudes from 1,500-
4,000 it. Weight: of 105, 2" O2met |
Picoides darjellensis fumidus (Ripley)': Southern Assam _ Pied
Woodpecker.
This is a dark saturated population of the Pied Woodpecker
found along the Himalayas in the eastern ranges, and in north Burma.
We found these birds only in heavy evergreen forest at 7,000-8,000 ft.
My three specimens are somewhat smaller than darjellensis from east
Nepal and Sikkim, although Burmese birds are equally small. But
the dark smoky underparts and darker, more richly-coloured vent patch
and nuchal collar, separate this form from its relative to the north
and east.
Measurements (mm.) :
Wing Tail Culmen
oO (type) 126.5 83-5 32
TES 123, 126 76 (2) 31,32
Weisht: GCC 71,79 X61; (6352
Picoides cathpharius pyrrhothorax (Hume): Redbreasted Pied
Woodpecker. .
A single male with a wing measurement of g5.5 mm. is my only
record of this rare form. It was taken by a Naga at 4,700 ft. in
scrub jungle near Phesama, a village 6 miles south of Kohima.
Picoides hyperythrus hyperythrus (Vigors): Rufousbellied Wood-
‘pecker.
The two females from Mt. Zephu weighed 37, 41 gr. These birds
were taken from 7,000-7,500 ft. in thick evergreen. They have a
characteristic rattling call, reminiscent of the genus as a whole. In
these specimens the lores seem somewhat more spotted and the tips
of the third outermost rectrices more stained with orange-brown.
(tobacco juice color), than in comparable specimens from the Himalayas.
There is no size difference, nor are other more striking characters
discernible.
Picoides macei macei (Vieillot): Fulvousbreasted Pied Woodpecker.
Specimens were taken at Chakabama 13 miles east of Kohima at
3,000 ft. Males weighed from 43-48 gr., and females from 38-44 gr.
The birds were in light deciduous scrub near cultivation. In fact
ee ee
1 Delacour (Auk, 68, 1951, p. 50), points out that Picoides Lacépéde should
replace Dendrocopos Koch.
—
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 485
from suitable altitudes of 1,500-3,000 ft., this bird in Manipur and
the Naga Hills can be a bird ot cultivated areas in hedgerows and
occasional high trees about houses. Hume (1888) refers to this
species and says that his Manipur birds are more streaked below than
typical macei, and this statement is referred to by Ticehurst (1939)
as a reason for combining the species macei and atratus. I cannot
agree that mace from Manipur are significantly larger or more streaked,
and with the present very uncertain evidence about the occurrence of
the two forms in east Manipur, I am inclined to keep macei and
atratus as separate species.
Picoides canicapillus canicapillus (Blyth): Burmese Pigmy Wood-
pecker.
A pair was collected in scrub oaks at 3,o00 ft. in the eastern hills.
They seem to be pure canicapillus. The female has spotted central
rectrices, the male unspotted. Wing co g1, 9 94 mm. Weight, (2)
24 gr. Soft parts: iris o& white, Q gray; bill o dark grayish-horn,
@ grayish-horn; feet o blackish-green, Q blackish gray-green.
Blythipicus pyrrhotis pyrrhotis (Hodgson): Banded Bay Wood-
pecker.
A female from Phesama weighed 140 gr. and had a wing measure-
ment of 142-5 mm. |
EURYLAIMIDAE
Psarisomus dalhousiae dalhousiae (Jameson): Longtailed Broadbill.
This seems to be a fairly common bird around Kohima and little
boys offered us several for sale at fanciful prices that had been trapped
with bird lime. A female shot near Phek weighed 67 gr.
Serilophus lunatus rubropygius (Hodgson): Hodgson’s Broadbill.
Two females taken at Phek in thick scrub weighed 33, 35 gr.
HIRUNDINIDAE
Hirando striolata substriolata Hume: Striated Swallow.
A female from east of Kohima taken while dipping over a stream
at about 2,000 ft. seems to belong to this race, vide Mayr (1941). It
has a wing of 120, tail 83 mm. and lacks a thigh patch. Weight
22 OT.
MOTTA CILILIDAE
Motacilla alba alboides Hodgson: Hodgson’s Pied Wagtail.
The commonest of the many migrant wagtails skittering about
the main roads running through the Naga Hills. Two males
weighed 23, 25 er.
The Yellow-headed Wagtail (citreola) was also observed in marshy
places but collected only in Manipur.
Asthus hodgsoni hodgsoni Richmond: Hodgson’s Tree-pipit.
A single bird was taken at 7,500 ft. on Mt. Zephu in an open
scrub area near Zephu village. Weight 20 gr.
436 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY) -Vol/-50
Anthus hodgsoni yunnanensis Uchida and Kuroda: Northern Tree-
pipit.
Taken from 4,700-7,000 ft.; three specimens weighed from 21-22 gr.
CAMPEPHAGIDAE
Pericrocotus flammmeus elegans (McClelland): Scarlet Minivet.
The races of this species have been monographed by Deignan
(1946). I hope that authors will agree with my suggestion (1948)
that the type locality of this form should be re-restricted-to Shillong
in the Khasia Hills. Specimens of this variable form collected by us
in the Naga Hills agree with Deignan’s diagnosis in size (wing oo
97-99, @ 98.5 mm.), but show a variation from narrowly to broadly
margined with red on the outer web of the central rectrices, and in
the case of the single female obtained, a small spot of colour has
appeared on the outer web of the third primary. Males weighed from
28-30 gr. and the female 29 gr. The birds were in small flocks in open
deciduous forest from 2,000-4,700 ft.
Pericrocotus brevirostris (Vigors): Shortbilled Minivet.
Shortbilled Minivets were collected at different altitudes from
2,500-4,500 ft. in open deciduous forest, and along the edges of ever-
green patches. Two pairs having wing measurements of, o& 87.5,
88, 9 88.5, 89.5 mm. These birds all lack a coloured margin along the
outer edges of the inner secondaries and have reduced black areas or
yellow tips on the second innermost pair of tail feathers, agreeing
with Mayr’s admirable diagnosis of these sibling species (1940).
Males and females vary from 16 to 17.5 gr.
Pericrocotus ethologus mariae n. subsp.
Type.—No. 12,685, Yale Peabody Museum, @ adult, Phek, eastern
Naga Hills, ‘Assam, December 6, 1950; S. Dillon Ripley, collector.
Compared to laetus Mayr, the adult female is deeper and more pure
gray on the upper parts lacking the olive-green wash, the rump and
upper tail coverts somewhat richer, more orange-yellow. Below
there is a rich, strong orange-yellow wash particularly on the lower
throat, but on the upper throat as well, breast, and abdomen. The
adult male is, if anything, slightly deeper red than in laetus. This
a smaller form also.
Compared to ethologus, this race is altogether smaller and far
more richly coloured in the female, the back gray rather than greenish.
Compared to cryptus Mayr, these females have a richer orange-yellow
suffusion below, reaching the cheeks in one specimen. In addition
they have a broader band of orange rather than yellow on the fore-
head. The maie of mariaze aiso is more richly scarlet, less orange-red
than males of cryptus. Compared to annamensis these females are
less golden below, more orange-yellow. Above they are paler, both
in the gray tone of the back and in the orange-yellow of the rump.
In fact in tone of colour, mariae seems almost exactly intermediate
between cryptus of east Burma and Siam, and annamensis of Indo-
A_-COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 487
= 2 as
mon ”
. = ae, = 6 : ; : 4 :
China. This is particularly interesting in view of the decided separa-
tion between mariae and the two eastern subspecies.
Measurements (mm.): Wing ‘Tail Red ontail Wing-tail ratio
cf 88 100 28.5 113%
(spot present)
AS aes 85, 86.5 99.5, 104 A AO 2
Much to my surprise the three specimens of Pericroctus ethologus
collected by my wife and myself in the Naga Hills and the hills of
northern Manipur adjacent to the Naga Hills (Kangpokpi), when
compared with laetus proved to be far more richly coloured than that
form whose distribution as given by Mayr (loc. cit.) is ‘Sikkim,
Bengal, Cachar, and Assam’. It gives me great pleasure to name
this new form for my wife.
Range: Naga Hills in Assam and northern Manipur.
Pericrocotus solaris solaris Blyth: Graythroated Minivet.
A pair were taken in the eastern Naga Hills at 6,000 and 8,200 fé.,
in evergreen forest. Both specimens weighed 15 gr.
Pericrocotus roseus roseus (Vieillot): Roseate Minivet.
A wanderer at this season, found by us at 3,500 ft. in the lower
hills. Weight 16 gr.
Hemipus picatus capitalis (McClelland): Brownbacked Shrike.
Found from 2,000-5,000 ft., in light scrub or open deciduous
forest in small flocks in the tops of small trees. Their tit-like insis-
tant ‘chip’ calls immediately attract attention. Males and females
weigh from 8.5-9.5 gr.
Tephrodornis gularis pelvica (Hodgson): Wood-shrike.
A female taken in open deciduous scrub at 3,500 ft. on the Meluri
road weighed 46 gr.
Coracina fimbriata imelaschista (Hodgson): Dark Gray Cuckoo-
shrike.
A male taken at 2,500 ft. among a flock of minivets in a large
open tree near the Tizu River weighed 41 gr.
AEGILTH INT DAE
Chloropsis hardwickii hardwickii Jardine & Selby: Orangebellied
Chloropsis.
A common bird from 4,o00 to over 8,000 ft. primarily in light
fig and other open trees of secondary scrub or remaining deciduous
forest. A prominent member of the hunting party associations.
Some males were in subadult dress, November and December.
Weights ranged from—o'o 32-40, 99 25-34 gr.
eS
} Mayr (loc. cit.) gives a wing-tail ratio for cryptus of 104,4-114%,.
488 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
PYCNONOTIDAE
Spizixos canifrons Blyth: Finchbilled Bulbul.
The Finchbilled Bulbul is not uncommon but shy, and although
we saw it numerous times from Kohima at 4,700 ft. up mto the
higher hills, one or more of the birds always seemed to be just dashing
over onto the other side of some thick bushes in the open scrub
pastures where it mostly lives, and we could never quite collect a
specimen. I did, however, shoot one out of a tall tree in thick ever-
green on the slopes of Mt. Zephu at 6,800 ft. Weight 44 gr. Wing
102.5 mm.
Pycnonotus flaviventris flaviventris (Tickell): Blackcrested Yellow
Bulbul. |
A bird of open scrub and secondary growth from 3,500-5,000 ft.
I was much surprised one day when sitting on the summit of Mt.
Zephu to see a group of these birds working through an open scar
in the jungle where evidently lightning or a small forest fire had burned
off some of the original heavy evergreen forest. As I watched the
flock moved on up and over the crest of the mountain, flying high
over the jungle. Two males weighed 30, 34 gr.
Pycnonotus jocosus monticola (McClelland): Redwhiskered Bulbul.
The races of this species (Otocompsa emeria of the Fauna)
have recently been revised by Deignan (1948). The darker form of
Sikkim, Bhutan, and Assam, and farther east must now be known
as monticola. Two females of this common bird of open scrub
country near villages, were collected at 3,500 and 3,750 ft. They '
weighed 34, 36 gr. ;
Pycnonotus cafer stanfordi Deignan: Burmese Redvented Bulbul.
The common Redvented Bulbul of the Naga Hills about Kohima
appears to belong to the northern Burmese race as defined by Deignan
(1949) in a revision of this species. Presumably stanfordi ranges
from the Naga Hills north along the Patkoi Range and south through
Manipur to the Chin Hills. A male from Kohima weighed 47 gr.
Pycnonotus striatus arctus Ripley: Eastern Striated Green Bulbul.
Striated Green Bulbuls from the Naga Hills are dark with
the blackish edgings to the feathers of the crest and shading on the
tail and breast which prompted me to describe arctus from the Mishmi
Hills. They are similar in size to Nepal birds, however. Four
males and a female measure—wing © 105-111, Q 105 mm.; culmen
GO T1e=16.5,. 9 18 mim.
We found these birds in evergreen or on the edges of evergreen
forest from 5,200-8,200 feet. Weight: co 52-58. 9 53 gr.
Pycnonotus flavescens flavescens Blyth: Blyth’s Bulbul.
Males and females were collected from 3,750-4,o00 ft. We found
this bulbul in small groups in thick bushes in pasture or cut-over
scrub near villages. When alarmed they have a harsh churring note
like a laughing thrush. But they also possess a sweet pycnonotine
Journ. BombBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE I
View on Mt. Japvo (7,700 ft.) showing the shrubby undergrowth where
we found Punoepyga, Spelaeornis, and Tesia as well as Garrulax austent.
| Photos
Summit of Mt. Japvo (9,860 ft.).
Author
JouRN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE El
Note
Upper Phozami village from the lower slopes of Mt. Zephu.
crossbow, still used for bird hunting.
%
Author
Photos
Mt. Zephu (8,400 ft.) in Sangtam Naga country. This mountain is a north-
ard extension of ridge of Mt. Mol Lan on Burma border, and lies perhaps
six miles west of the estimated border itself.
Ww
A ‘COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE-NAGA HILLS 485
song of two bold notes followed by a short trilling run. They are
alert and somewhat shy and will not tolerate too close an approach.
Microscelis flayala flavala (Hodgson): Browneared Bulbul.
The Browneared Bulbul was fairly common around cultivated
areas as was the preceding species, from 2,500-4,700 ft. Weight:
Oo 29-38, G 29 gr.
Microscelis madagascariensis nigrescens (Baker): Assam _ Black
Bulbul.
A common noisy species, found from low-lying areas up to
8,000 ft. or more, wandering erratically in flocks throughout the
winter months. We found considerable variation in weight in these
birds, in apparent adults from 53-64 gr.
Microscelis meclellandi meclellandi §(Horsfield): | Rufousbellied
Bulbul.
Found in light deciduous forest from 3,000-8,200 ft., sometimes
associated in mixed hunting parties. Weight 42-48 gr.
CIYNCLIDAE
Cinculus pallasti, the Brown Dipper, was seen along the Tizu
River at 2,500 ft., but not collected.
MUSCICAPIDAE
Subfamily TuRDINAE
Erithacus calliope calliope (Pallas): Rubythroat.
A male of this migrant was taken at Phek. Weight 23 gr.
Erithacus chrysaeus chrysaeus (Hodgson): Golden Bush-robin.
On Mt. Japvo at 9,250 ft., November 7, a loud wren-like ‘chick’
noise in low ferns and strobilanthes near the ground in evergreen
forest, prompted me to stalk and collect a single specimen of the
Bush-robin, the only one we found, and possibly a migrant from the
hills north of the Brahmaputra. It appeared to be a young male,
bur is. im female plumage. Weight 14 gr.
Erithacus indicus indicus (Vieillot): Whitebrowed Bush-robin.
A single bird was taken in a thicket at 8,200 ft. on Mt. Japvo.
Weight 14.5 gr.
Erithacus cyanurus rufilatus (Hodgson): Redflanked Bush-robin.
Common on Mts. Zephu and Japvo in the evergreen under-story.
Five females weighed from 12-14 gr., a single adult male 14 gr.,
and a subadult ma'e just beginning to assume some of the blue adult
plumage, 15.5 gr.
Phoenicurus hodgsoni (Horsfield & Moore): Hodgson’s Redstart.
A female was taken along the Meluri trail in scrub pasture.
Weight 18.5 gr.
490 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Phoenicurus frontalis frontalis Vigors: Bluefronted Redstart.
Wintering birds were collected from 4,800-9,890 ft. in open pasture
and scrub land. Weight: o 15, Q (317 er.
Myiomela leucura leucura (Hodgson): Whitetailed Blue Robin.
A female was taken in thick scrub jungle at Phek, 4,900 ft.
Weight 26 er.
Enicurus maculatus guitatus Gould: Eastern Spotted Forktail.
The Spotted was the only forktail encountered by us. A male was
shot on the Meluri trail at 2,500 ft. in a damp spot in heavy evergreen
jungle. .It had a loud harsh alarm note ‘tseek,’ rather like a
Whistling Thrush. Weight 39 gr.
Saxicola torquata przewalskii (Pleske) : Turkestan Bush-chat.
Not uncommon in patches of pasture land up to nearly 5,000 ft.
Weight 14.5-16 gr.
Saxicola torquata stejnegeri (Parrot): Japanese Bush-chat.
In similar localities to the above. Slightly paler and with a
stouter bill. Weight co subadult 14.5 gr.
Saxicola ferrea Gray: Dark Gray Bush-chat.
Common in pasture land from 4,900-6,000 ft. Three males
weighed 15.5-16 gr., a female 15 er. :
Monticola rufiventris (Jardine & Selby): Rufousbellied Rock-
thrush.
This rock-thrush was the only one we found in the Naga Hills.
It seemed to prefer clearing edges from 4,000 to 7,o00 ft. A pair were
active in very high pines at Meluri in the evening, flying from tree
to tree making a harsh rasping indrawn rattle ‘ahhhrrr,’ interspersed
occasionally with a high shrill ‘tick,’ the two sounds spaced far apart,
unrelated. The birds perched facing along the big branches rather
than crosswise, and carried their tails high and cocked. Weight:
co 56, 59; 12 48, 56 gt.
Zoothera dixoni (Seebohm): Longtailed Plainbacked Mountain
Thrush. |
Three of these shy thrushes were collected by us above 7,700 ft.,
in evergreen forest on Japvo and Zephu. They fly up from a trail
quite silently to a perch in a tree and sit very still hoping to be un-
observed. The colour of the feet of this species varied from ‘flesh’
to “dull yellow’. Wing: of 139, 148.5, OQ 935 amma.) W ciohie ie,
98, 103, 9 97 gr. One male had enlarged gonads in mid-November.
Zoothera dauma dauma (Latham): Smallbilled Mountain Thrush.
A bird of the year, a male, taken on Mt. Zephu at 8,200 ft.
weighed 130 gr.
Turdus dissimilis Blyth: Blackbreasted Thrush.
A male in subadult plumage from Phek weighed 75 gr,
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 49}
Turdus obscurus Gmelin: Dark Thrush.
Nine males and eight females of this common migrant were taken
by us from 2,500 ft. up. Males weighed from 65 to 80, and females
from 59 to 75 gr.
Subfamily TIMALIMNAE
Pellorneum ruficeps chamelum Deignan: Cachar Spotted Babbler.
A trio of this subspecies described by Deignan (1947) from Cachar
prove that this form extends west-east from the Garo Hills to the
eastern Naga Hills east of Kohima. These birds from Phek and the
trail farther east were shot in thick scrub jungle at 4,800 ft. and
differ slightly in the colour of the bill; co ‘upper mandible black,
lower basally yellow, distally gray, Q upper mandible basally black,
distally grayish-horn, lower basally yellow, distally gray. They
weighed: Gf 31, 9 26.5-28 er.
Pellorneum albiventre nagaensis (Godwin-Austen): Naga Brown
Babbler.
Two males from Phek and Meluri were taken in very heavy cut-
over scrub, wood-lot areas near villages. They measure—wing 58.5,
Bo; tail59, 57 mm.; wine-tail index 96, 100:59%. . Weight 21, 22 er:
Pomatorhinus ruficollis bakeri Harington: Baker’s Rufousnecked
Scimitar Babbler.
Adults and one subadult (late October) were taken from 4,700-
6,000 ft. These scimitar babblers like to work through heaps of
fallen vegetation, thickets in scrub pasture and brush piles, calling
occasionally, a harsh rattling grating call that sounds rather like
Pomatorhinus erythrogenys, the Rustycheeked Scimitar Babbler.
Sometimes they make a grating mewing sound, rather lke what one
fancies a small bird would utter caught in the talons of a hawk.
Two adult males weighed 31, 32, an adult female 29, and a subadult
female 27 gr.
Pomatorhinus erythrogenys mcclellandi Godwin-Austen: McClelland’s
Scimitar Babbler.
‘A noisy babbler found by us in thick scrub under 5,000 ft. Males
weighed 57, 58, and females 47, 54 gr. Soft parts: iris yellowish-
cream, creamy white; bill upper mandible blackish or dark brown
basally, distally grayish-brown, lower grayish or whitish brown, base »
of lower mandible yellow; feet brown to grayish brown; ocular skin
dark purplish-blue.
Pomatorhinus ochraceiceps austeni Hume: Hume’s Scimitar Babbler.
A single female taken on the trail to Yisi at 2,000 ft. on a steep
slope in mixed deciduous-evergreen forest is our only specimen of
this little-known form. Soft parts: iris dull pinkish-cream; hill
orange coral; feet dull greenish brown. Weight 34 gr.
492 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Pnoepyga albiventer albiventer (Hodgson): Scalybreasted Wren
Babbler. 3
In the solid ground cover of ferns. strobilanthes and nettles that
grew waist-high on Mt. Japvo under the evergreen forest canopy at
7,000 to 9,000 ft., Wren Babblers and Wren Warblers were numerous.
The Scalybreasted Wren Babbler was apparently fairly common
although its quiet skulking habits made it difficult indeed to see. It
has a single alarm note, an explosive ‘chick,’ uttered sometimes
within a foot or two of the quiet stalker. Three males weighed from
21-23, a presumed female (fulvous below and sexed as a male ?),
22 it,
Pnoepyga pusilla pusilla Hodgson: Brown Wren Babbler.
The Brown Wren Babbler seems to occur from 3,500 ft. up in
the Naga Hills. We took it at all altitudes in similar biotope to the
preceding species. Except for the difference in size, the two species
seem identical in habits and requirements, although presumably they
replace each other to some extent altitudinally, albiventer living higher
up but with a wide margin of overlap. The only call I heard, the
alarm note ‘chick,’ seemed similar to the other species.
Weight :2@0 tm,.51 2; Oda tor
Spelaeornis chocolatinus nagaensis Ripley: Naga Wren Babbler.
These delicate little Wren Babblers were very common on the slopes
of Mt. Japvo above 7,000 ft., feeding evidently among one of 'the
low strobilanthes which was in flower and had attracted many insects.
The only call I could with certainty ascribe to this species was a low
chuckling warning note. However, I heard several times a very
loud explosive, melodic whistle ‘wheeeuw,’ and once in the gloaming
saw a tiny wren-like figure scuttling over the moss-covered rocks where
the call had just come from. From the fact that it seemed to have
a tail I presumed that it was this Wren Babbler. As I pointed out
in my original description (1951) there seems to be sexual dimorphism
in this form, females being much more rufescent on the underparts
than males, in this character perhaps resembling chocolatinus
chocolatinus. The two specimens of the latter which I have seen in
the British Museum are very rufescent. As both specimens are un-
sexed, they may perhaps both be females?
Weight: ou COR ig OF jek ere
Measurements: wing 48-52.5, tail 41-44, culmen 12.5-14 mm.
When I reviewed this genus (1950), I unfortunately overlooked
an important note by Ticehurst (1939) on the identity of Elachura
haplonota. This species was listed by Delacour (1947) in his revision
of the babblers as a member of the genus, Spelaeornis, as he too had
apparently missed Ticehurst’s note. Ticehurst (loc. cit.), having
SORES the unique specimen of haplonota from North Cachar with
a specimen of Spelaeornis chocolatinus from the ‘Naga Hills’ in the
British Museum collected by Godwin-Austen, declared that the two
represented the same species, the type of haplonota differing only by
being fulvous-white on the throat, and less rufescent on the breast
and sides of the body.
se
Speleornis chocolatinus nagaensis Ripley.
re ee
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA. HILLS 493
Thus the difficult situation with respect to listing ‘the species of
this obscure genus becomes more pronounced. In my original review
of Spelaeornis (loc. cit.), I listed the following species: (2) formosus,
from the hills north of the Brahmapttra, and Fukien; (b) haplonotus,
known from a single specimen from north Cachar; (c) troglodytoides,
a well-marked species with several subspecies from north-eastern
Bhutan, north and east into Kansu and Shensi, west China; (d}
caudatus, known from the hills north of the Brahmaputra; (e) badei-
gularis, known from a single specimen from the Mishmi Hills; (f)
longicaudatus, from the Khasia Hills south of the Brahmaputra east
to north Cachar and south to Kedimai, Manipur, a locality from
which a single specimen exists which I have examined, and (g)
chocolatinus, a species with several subspecies ranging from Manipur
south to the Chin Hills and north-east into the Shan States, Yunnan,
and, somewhat isolated, one population in north. Tonkin. To this
last species I have now added the subspecies nagaensis from the Naga
Hills north of Manipur, which differs from typical chocolatinus by
being much more olivaceous-brown, less rufous above, and with
distinctly grayish-brown rather than rufous-brown lores, cheeks and
sides of the head. The underparts also are far less rufous.
The situation is now complicated by the fact that haplonotus ‘is
shown to be a synonym of chocolatinus. This eliminates one of the
species from my list, and further demonstrates that the two species,
longicaudatus and chocolatinus, have overlapping ranges in north
Cachar, and the western side of the northern Manipur Hills. This
extends the range of chocolatinus west for 40 miles in an airline into
the range of longicaudatus.
In addition the specimen of chocolatinus in the British Museum
from the ‘Naga Hills’ poses another problem. This specimen was
unfortunately not seen by me during my visit to London, but it seems
inconceivable that two forms as close in size and general pattern as
chocolatinus and nagaensis can coexist in the Naga Hills. I prefer
to think that the political boundaries of the area in the 1870’s when
the collection of Godwin-Austen was made account for the slip, as
there is no more detailed locality on the label than: ‘Naga Hills—
Date-winter. Cat. No. 482.’
Sir Norman Kinnear has said that the records of collections from
which this may have come, those made by Ogle and Chennell in the_
winter of 1875-76, are untraceable. I presume, therefore, until further
evidence is forthcoming that the ‘Naga Hills’ referred to on the
label of this specimen of chocolatinus are on the Manipur side where
there are many Naga tribes, and that chocolatinus chocolatinus occurs
in what is now known politically as Manipur, and west into north
Cachar (Hangrum, type locality of haplonotus, a village some 17 miles
east of Haflong), while chocolatinus nagaensis occurs in the Naga
Hills proper in the Kohima area, from the Barail Range (Mt. Japvo)
on the west, east to Pfutsero at least.
More recently. M. Delacour (1951) in a discussion of the birds of
Indo-China, has referred to my revision of Spelaeornis and cast doubt
on the question of the distinctness of the species enumerated by me. |
He would prefer to list them all as subspecies of each other, presum-
ing that they replace each other geographically, and are otherwise
494 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL, GISTCSOCIET Y, 4 Vol-yse
closely related.: Unfortunately he overlooked the fact that I had
examined the specimens concerned and had found that in one case
two of. the forms were sympatric. Until more is known of the
distribution of these elusive and perplexing birds, I would still prefer,
therefore, to take the less conservative view and list the following
closely related species illustrated on the map. (I exclude species
(a) formosus, and (b) troglodytoides, which are distinct enough not
to enter into the discussion.)
90° 95° 100° 105°
: —
The species of my lst then are (c) caudatus (range farther east
unknown), (d) badeigularis (range, except in one area of the Mishmi
Hills, unknown), (e) longicaudatus (partially sympatric with the next),
(f) chocolatinus with five subspecies, the ranges of which are still not
worked out; (1) chocolatinus, (2) nagaensis, (3) oatesi, (4) reptalus,
(5) Rinneari.
Stachyris ruficeps ruficeps (Blyth): Redheaded Babbler.
A few specimens of this rather shy little babbler were collected
from 4,900-7,700 ft. in heavy evergreen forest or cut-over scrub, but
always the birds were in dense undergrowth. Soft parts: iris red;
bill upper mandible blackish or brownish-horn, lower basally purple,
distally gray, or, pearly horn to pinkish horn; feet variously brownish.
green, brownish yellow, greenish brown or yellowish gray! In fact
there seemed to be just such variation in the colour of the feet.
Wicioiie CG 10-2, -O “ois om
Stachyris chrysaea chrysaea Blyth: Goldenheaded Babbler.
Three males taken from 4,000-7,000 ft. are our only record of
this species. Weight 8.5-10 gr.
Stachyris nigriceps coltarti Harington: Blackthroated Babbler.
Three males of this species were taken in thick scrub jungle from
4,800-4,900 ft. Weight 16-17 gr.
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 495
Timalia piieata bengalensis Godwin-Austen : Redcapped Babbler.
A male and female from 2,500 and 4,500 [t. taken in open pasture
EcrubmWeIohed: Go I7, OF 15 oT.
Paradoxornis poliotis poliotis (Blyth): Blyth’s Suthora,
A series of these tiny buzzing creatures was taken on Mt. Zephu
at over 8,o00 ft. A few others were taken near Phek at over
6,000 ft. They were as always difficult to see and collect, streaming
through the low bamboos under the heavy evergreen overstory, in
large flocks, continually in motion. Weight 5-6.5 gr.
Paradoxornis ruficeps bakeri (Hartert): Baker’s Parrot-bill.
A relatively common bird along the trail east of Phek from 2,500
to just under 4,oo0 ft. These rather slow-moving and unsuspicious
parrot-bills frequented the pastures and edges of bamboo scrub,
feeding on ripening weed seeds, some cultivated millet, and insects.
Their call is very characteristic, a squirrel-like chitter interrupted
with a series of rather slowly pronounced double notes, ‘tee-ur’.
‘Soft parts: iris brown, reddish-brown; ocular skin blue; bill upper
mandible dark brownish or blackish horn, lower mandible and tomia
grayish horn; feet bluish-gray. Weight: oo 35-38, 2 33, 35 (9 ?)
4o gr.
Measurements: wing o'o' 86-90.5, 2 84.5 (2), (9?) go mm.
These birds seem slightly smaller than the measurements given by
Baker (1922); but in colour they are mostly similar, although it is
worth noting that there is very considerable variation in the shade
of colour of the red of the head and the olive-brown of the upper-
parts.
Paradoxornis flavirostris guttaticollis David: Austen’s Parrot-bill.
A single female was shot at 3,500 ft. along the trail near Primi
in a millet field. It was one of a flock of four birds associated with
Garrulax ruficolliis. The birds wefe at least partly feeding on the
ripe millet. They made soft ‘tee-ur’ calls. Iris brown, bill yellow,
feet bluish-gray. Weight 26.5 gr. Wing 80 mm.
Garrulax pectoralis uropygialis Bonaparte: Blackgorgetted Laugh-
ing-thrush. f
This is a variable population as Salim Ali and I had pointed out in
the Mishmi Hills paper (1948). Specimens irrespective of sex have black
ear coverts, or black with occasional streaks of white, or nearly all
white ear coverts. There is variation also in the amount of rufous
shading on the upper- or underparts. Wing: oto 130, 134; 9 Q
i30-150.mm. Weight 9} (2) 135 gr.
We met these laughing-thrushes in small flocks near the out-
skirts of villages in deciduous second growth, occasionally turning
over the heavy fall of oak and other leaves on the ground. When
disturbed they would fly off in low dipping flights and work away
from the hunter skilfully putting trees between themselves and him.
4.96 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISY7. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
They had harsh churring conversational calls back and forth within
the flock.
Garrulax leucolophus patkaicus Reichenow : Whiteheaded Laughing-
thrush.
The Whiteheaded Laughing-thrush was an easily noted bird from
2,500 to nearly 5,000 ft. Males and females weighed from 104-130
gr. They frequented deciduous scrub, usualiy near villages. Moult-
ing specimens were taken into late November. This name antedates
hardwicki ‘Ticehurst.
Garrulax galbanus Godwin-Austen: Austen’s Laughing-thrush.
This striking looking laughing-thrush with a black face and chin
and yellow underparts, was taken by us along the Meluri trail at
3,000 ft. as well as in Manipur. It provides the first record for the
species in the Naga Hills. The birds were in tall grass and cut-over
scrub. Soft parts: iris pinkish brown, reddish brown; ocular skin
blué; bill black; feet blackish gray. Weight: (6° 56, 575° 9 55 en.
Garrulax gularis gularis (McClelland): McCleliand’s Laughing-
thrush.
I came on a small flock of this most inconspicuous species, busily
scratching in the leaves in a most impenetrable tangle of under-
growth near the trail beyond Meluri at 3,000 ft. They made occas:onal
low harsh typical laughing-thrush churring noises, indistinguishable
to me from those of others of the genus. I was able to obtain one
male before the flock characteristically vanished. Soft parts: iris
reddish brown; bill black; feet yellowish orange. Weight: 92 gr.
The resemblance between this form and delesserti is most striking.
Proportions, size, and colour pattern are all similar. The south
Indian bird has had all the yellow and olive tones washed right out
of the plumage as if in life it were simply badly faded and foxed.
&
Garrulax cineraceous cineraceous (Godwin-Austen): Ashy Laughing-
thrush. |
The Ashy Laughing-thrush was found near villages in_ thick
scrub from 4,200 ft. up to 5,000 ft. It is a shy skulker like all
the others although once I came on a party on a village path busily
turning over heaps of buffalo dung evidently looking for insects.
Soft parts: iris varied from creamy yellow to pinkish cream; bill,
upper mandible brownish horn, lower, yellowish or whitish horn;
feet pale brownish flesh. Weight: 47-51 gr.
Garrulax ruiogularis assamensis (Hartert): Rufouschinned Laugh-
ing-thrush.
This laughing-thrush was taken in exactly the same biotope as
the preceding species, but to us seemed less common. We obtained
only a pair, at 4,300 and 4,900 ft. near villages in thick cut-over
scrub. Wing: of 94.5,. 9.92. mm.. The. female lacks a complete
AY COLLECTION OF) BIRDS FROM THE NAGA -HILLS 497
black cap and is more rufescent below, and so is presumably sub-adult.
Weight: o 67, Q 64 gr. This subspecies is a somewhat more
saturated torm than the typical one, but seems not to be smaller as
described by Hartert (1909).
Garrulax caerulatus livingstoni n. subsp.
Type.—No. 12,961, Yale Peabody Museum, o adult, Mt. Japvo,
Naga Hills, Assam, November 6, 1950; S. Dillon Ripley, collector.
This specimen has been kindly compared with the type and one other
specimen of subcaerulatus from the Khasia Hills in the British Museum
Collection by Mr. J. D. Macdonald, who has written me about the
matter. Compared to that form it lacks the whitish ear coverts,
tipped with black, the paler upperparts, and the broad white tipping
of the three outermost pairs of tail feathers.
Compared to caerulatus, this form has the forehead more distinctly
blackish, the feathers of the crown rufous-brown, darker than in the
nominate form and more broadly edged with black, and the upper
parts richer, more saturated with rufous. Mr. Macdonald concludes
of this form (in litt.), ‘I would say that it is quite clearly distinct from
both races, but probably more closely allied to the nominate race’.
As specimens of subcaerulaius were lacking in this country, and I
could not match my bird with caerulatus, I am most grateful to Mr.
Macdonald for confirming my feeling that this specimen could hardly
represent subcaerulatus as described (Baker, 1922, p.142.) Compared
with kaurensis this form has the ear coverts white tipped with blackish-
rufous.
Two birds were collected on Mt. Japvo at 7,700 ft. but unfortu-
nately one was too badly damaged to be saved and the species was not
seen again. Soft parts: iris brown; ocular skin dark blue; bill black;
feet pale bluish-white. Weight 98 gr. Wing 118; tail 125, culmen 24.
Range: known only from Mt. Japvo, Naga Hills.
This subspecies is named for my late friend and father-in-law,
the noted sportsman, Gerald M. Livingston.
Soft parts: iris brown; ocular skin dark blue; bill black; feet pale
bluish-white. Weight: 98 gr.
Garrulax ruficollis (Jardine & Selby): Rufousnecked Laughing-
thrush.
This is a lower altitude species than the Ashy or the Rufous-
chinned, but may be seen in the same habitat from 2,500 ft. up to
nearly 5,000 ft. on occasion. We found them once in a millet field
when the seed was ripe, otherwise in hedgerows and scrub pasture
working through the thickets with constant churring calls among the
flock. They also utter a three-noted mellow whistle the first note of
which is reedy, as if the reed were broken. Weight: 60-67 gr.
Garrulax sannio albo-superciliaris Godwin-Austen: Whitebrowed
Laughing-thrush.
Another species of pasture and cut-over scrub land, frequenting
thick bushes between 3,500 and 5,000 ft. Two males weighed 68,
a female 56 gr. Deignan (in litt.) distinguishes several forms of this
species, of which this one has a continuous white supercilium and
brown ear coverts.
495 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL “HIST. SOCIETY, Vor 56
Garrulax austeni austeni (Godwin-Austen) : Cachar Laughing-thrush.
We found this dark brown inconspicuous laughing-thrush only in
the evergreen forest on Japvo from 7,700 to 8,850 ft. It frequented
dense tangles of brush where large “forest trees had fallen, or
the thicker undergrowth under the main canopy. A male taken in
thick brush with a small flock of the species was calling on November
1ith, in a very reminiscent way- to that of the Spotted Babbler
(Pellorneum ruficeps), a liquid three-note whistle, ‘to meet you’ as
that call has been rendered, but much louder. The flock also called
back and forth with loud harsh calls like a wounded tree-pie. At
other times when working in the underbrush they would make a
soft ‘tick’ like wren. Four males have wings from go-100, a
female 90 mm. Soft parts: iris brown—once, pale whitish-brown,
once clay brown; bill black; ~feet brown. Weieht: oic 63-7408
59 gr.
Garrulax erythrocephalum godwini (Harington): Redheaded
Laughing-thrush.
The commonest laughing-thrush of high evergreen forest, found
by us from 5,250-9,200 ft. Travelling in flocks they exchange a
constant series of low twitters and chuckles as they hop and flirt
through the low bushes, on the ground, or, occasionally among the
gnarled and twisted trunks of stunted oaks and rhododendrons. One
male had enlarged gonads in early November, although no females
showed similar signs. One female had small intestinal worms. A
female was in heavy wing moult November 12th.
Soft parts: iris dark grayish brown, dark brownish gray (59 9);
bill blackish brown; feet fleshy brown.
Wing: oo 97-102:55710 9 °93-106.5) mm Welt ote] mas
O2RoT.
Garrulax phoeniceum bakeri (Hartert): Crimsonwinged Laughing-
thrush.
A subadult male was taken below Kohima October 15th, which
could not have been long out of the nest. It weighed 45 gr. An
adult male taken farther to the east at 6,o00 ft. weighed 45 gr.
Leiothrix argentauris vernayi (Mayr & Greenway): Silvereared
Mesia.
Synonym: Leiothrix argentauris gertrudis Ripley (1948).
Examination of the series collected in the Naga Hills over to the
Chindwin River of Burma, and on to the Shan States, northern
Thailand, and southern Yunnan shows that they should all be combined
under the name vernayi. My Naga specimens link vernayi and
gertrudis in measurements (wing oo 71.5-76 mm.), and I can find no
colour differences in the areas enumerated above which seem constant.
These birds were found in mixed deciduous and evergreen jungle
from 3,900-4,800 ft. Weight: ofc" 24.5-26, 9 9 22-24.5 er.
Cutia nipalensis nipalensis Hodgson: Nepal Cutia.
A male from the evergreen forest on Mt. Zephu belongs to this
form. Wing 98 mm. Weight 56 gr.
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 499
Pteruthius rufiventer rufiventer Blyth: Rufousbellied Shrike-
Babbler.
A silent species found by us in small flocks in the mid-level of
trees in evergreen forest on Mts. Japvo and Zephu from 7,700-8,200
ft. One of the birds struck me as looking hike Hodgson’s Broadbill
when I first saw it, both in its superficial appearance, and in its rather
lethargic behavior.
Weight: oo 46-48, 92 41.5, 44 gr. Soft parts: iris bluish
gray; bill upper mandible black, lower pearl gray; feet brown to
brownish-whitish.
‘Pteruthius erythropterus erythropterus (Vigors): Redwinged Shrike-
Babbler.
Fairly Common in evergreen forest from 4,800-6,800 ft. Recently
Koelz (1951) has described a new race validirostris from Kohima
differing from erythropterus of the Himalayas and the Chin Hills, ‘in
having a darker gray on back and smaller white tips to the primaries
in the males; in having a clearer gray on crown and very distinct
postocular stripe in females; and in having a much stouter bill in
either sex’. My series of three males and two females do not bear
this out. A female from Nepal in our collection has, if anything,
a stouter bill than the Naga females. The tendency to a postocular
stripe in females seems to be a variable feature appearing or dis-
appearing throughout the range. Again, the bill of the males and
the colouration of the back and the size of the terminal white tips
is variable, and disappears as a character in a large comparative
series. There is no difference in size in the range of the nominate
form. It is difficult for me, therefore, to credit this proposed form.
eight +6 Or 36;, 38, .2'9; 37, 38 Sr.
Pteruthius melanotis melanotis Hodgson: Chestnutthroated Shrike-
Babbler.
Two males and a female were shot between 6,000 and 7,700 ft.
in evergreen forest, well up in the trees, moving in mixed flocks of
Habblers and warblers: (Weight: colo’ 11:5, 14.5, Q@ 14 er.
Gampsorhynchus rufulus rufulus Blyth: Whiteheaded Shrike-Babbler.
In contrast to Stanford (1941), I have always seen these birds with
scimitar-babblers, both in bamboos, and low near the ground in thick
shrubbery. Soft parts: iris yellow; bill dark horn; feet brownish-
white. Weight: of 37 gr.
Actinodura egertoni khasiana Godwin-Austen: Shillong Bar-wing
Babbler.
Three males and a female of this subspecies were taken in thick
‘shrubbery both in evergreen forest and also in scrub jungle on the
edges of pasture and village wood-cuttings from 3,750-7,700 ft.
Weight: oo 38 (3), 2 34-5 gr.
Actinodura nipalensis waldeni Godwin-Austen: Walden’s Bar-wing
Babbler.
_ The commonest babbier in the evergreen forest on Mt. Japvo (type
locality of the subspecies). We found this bird both there and on
4
500 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HiST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Mt:.. Zephu from 7,700 feet up, high in the trees and low in thick
scrub and masses of fallen branches and forest debris. There is
considerable colour variation in a big series. Wing: oo 89.5-97,
2 2 86-99 mm. Some birds, both male and female are in semi-breeding
condition (testes slightly enlarged or ovaries slightly granular) in
November. Weight: oo (10) 39-56, 9 @ (8) 41-53 gr.
Siva ignotincta ignotincta (Hodgson): Redtailed Minla.
' A bird of evergreen jungle found in the tree tops in mixed parties
with other small babblers and warblers, from 5,250-7,700 ft. Males.
weighed 15-16.5, one femaie 16 gr.
Siva strigula yunnanensis Rothschild : Stripethroated Siva.
This brightly coloured siva was one of the birds of the evergreen
on Mt. Zephu from 7,700 ft. up, working in flocks through the tops
of the oaks and rhododendrons. Soft parts: iris reddish brown or
brown; bill upper mandible black, lower gray; feet gray.
i Three specimens measure; wing: Gi 71, 9 766) (2) em. Weise
of 21, 99 17, 21 gr.
This form apparently occurs from the Mishmi Hills south thresane
the Patkoi and the east Naga Hills in extreme eastern Assam, and
is found farther south to Mt. Victoria.
I was surprised, on comparing my specimens, to discover that the
series collected on Mt. Japvo in the Barrail Range of the western
Naga Hills belong to an undescribed form which I hereby describe as:
Siva strigula cinereigenae n. subsp.
Type.—No. 12,119, Yale Peabody Museum, o ad., Mt. Japvo,
western Naga Hills, Assam, November 4th, 1950; S. Dillon Ripley,.
collz
_ From yunnanensis Rothschild (both series are in fresh plumage),
this subspecies differs in having a whitish eye-ring and a whitish
superciliary. The sides of the cheeks are gray, mottled with whitish
and dusky, not olive-yellow, or even orange-tinted as in yunnanensis.
Below, this form tends to be less bright, less brightly orange-yellow
on the chin, less brightly yellow on the chest the sides of which are
grayish, and on the abdomen. There is no significant difference .in
the tone of the upper parts, and the amount of chestnut on the
tail is similar.
From strigula Hodgson of the Himalayas this subspecies differs in
a somewhat darker, more brownish-orange tint to the crown and more
olive-brownish upper parts, and in having a greater area of chestnut
on the tail. The eye-ring, superciliary and cheeks are grayish rather
than suffused with olive-yellowish as in strigula. Below, the chim
patch is less bright but the tone of the underparts otherwise tends
to be purer orange- yellow, less tinged with olive. The western
(eile es simlaensis is of course a much paler bird.
In worn specimens of this subspecies, the feathers of the backs
Jose their warm brownish tone and become very gray progressively,
starting from the nape.
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 501.
Measurements (mm.) ;
Ving Tail Culmen
Eteon 66.5-71-5 64-73 12-13
Meee 63-5-67-5 44-69 12-13
Weeht:) 6 ot 18:5-21, 9 2 17-1955 28:
Range: Barrail Range in western Naga Hills, and presumably
Cachar.
Siva cyanuroptera cyanuroptera Hodgson: Bluewinged Siva.
A bird of evergreen or thick second growth mixed deciduous and
evergreen from 4,700-6,o00 ft. I often heard the species making a
very cChick-like ‘cheep’. Males weighed from 16.5-18, a female
ESe5) Ole
Yuhina castaniceps conjuncta (Mayr) : Chestnutheaded Staphidia.
The little staphidia was found by us in the eastern Naga Hills.
only and proves to belong to the subspecies described. by Mayr (1941)
from the Myitkyina District of Burma, an extension into India
of this-torm. These little crested birds flock through the deciduous.
trees from 2,000-4,000 ft. chittering and chattering and busying them-
selves in the undergrowth so exactly like the yuhinas, that at any
distance in behavior and calls they would be indistinguishable. I
feel that they belong to this group (in which they were first described
by Horsfield and Moore) rather than in Siva where they were placed
by Delacour (1946). The bill of this species is identical with Yuhina,
and the only external difference I can find is in the tail which is.
slightly rounded.
Wines. 6 e092 58-00) min, = Weight:, oo! 11.5-12.5 ter.
Yuhina flavicollis rouxi (Oustalet): Chestnutnaped Ixulus.
Specimens collected from 4,700-6,500 ft. prove to belong to
the subspecies rouxi, named from west China, of which harlerti
(Harington) is a synonym. It is a somewhat more richly coloured
form than typical flavicollis, particularly in the colour of the chestnut
nape, the back and a slightly richer yellow wash on the underparts.
From baileyi it differs by a darker crown and somewhat more suffused.
underparts, particularly in the rich olive-brown wash on the lower
flanks and thighs. The differences certainly do not appear as strik-
ing as outlined in the ‘Fauna’ (loc. cit., p. 322-23).
Wietcht: OG 15-5-19,. 2. 16 st.
Yuhina gularis gularis Hodgson: Stripethroated Yuhina.
Small flocks of this pretty rich brown crested yuhina with a
noticeably buffy-mauve breast moved about restlessly in the tops of
the oaks, maples, birches, and rhododendrons on Mt. Japvo. They
have a reiterated rather mournful tinkling call. Soft parts: iris clay
brown; bill, upper mandible dark brown, lower, basally brownish-
yellow, distally dark brown; feet yellow, brownish-yellow, brownish-
fest. Weight: of Go! .20.5-24; 2 19 gr.
Yuhina nigrimenta nigrimenta Blyth: Blackchinned Yuhina.
_ The little Blackchinned Yuhina was common in small flocks along
the trail from 2,500-3,000 ft. east of Phek, the only area we came
502 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 59
across it. It is busy and noisy in the light scrub and deciduous second
growth along the trail, sometimes in the tall grass which grows under
the trees. Soft parts: iris brown; bill upper mandible black, lower
and gape pink, tip of lower mandible brown; feet pale brown.
Weight: o 6 9,162 9 Boren.
Yuhina zantholeuca zantholeuca (Blyth): Whitebellied Erpornis.
‘A single female taken at Phek weighing 12 gr. was our only
record of this species.
Alcippe castaneiceps castaneiceps (Hodgson): Chestnutheaded.
Babbler.
A series of 15 specimens of the Chestnutheaded Babbler seem
entirely indistinguishable from typical castaneiceps, with the distinc-
tion that birds from eastern Nepal eastward tend to be very slightly
richer coloured in fresh plumage as I pointed out (1950). There is
every sort of variation in this species, and post-mortem changes are
great. Wear also is important, and the recent description of garoensis
Koelz (1951) from birds taken in February, sounds like worn birds.
The race brunneicauda (Sharpe), described from a single old skin from
Shiliong, and given a range; ‘Khasia Hills, Cachar Hills and pro-
bably Manipur’, by Baker (loc. cit., jp. 239), must presumably be
the form we found so common.on Mt. Japvo which is the same
Barrail Range as the North Cachar Hills. These birds are typical
castaneiceps, showing a characteristic variation in the colour of the
crown, back, underparts, edge of wing, and size of malar stripe.
Soft parts: iris reddish brown; bill, upper mandible dark brown,
lower grayish-brown; feet yellowish-brown brownish-yellow. Weight:
Ono’ TO=11,' 9) 9. 8-17 son.
Alcippe vinipectus austeni (O.-Grant): Godwin-Austen’s Fulvetta.
A pair collected among the gnarled branches of rhododendrons
at 9,000 ft. on Mt. Japvo were the only specimens seen by us. Hume
(1888) records Godwin-Austen as having obtained the species at the
same altitude on the same-mountain in the winter of 1872-73. These
two birds measure: wing of 58, 9 56; tail ot 56, 9 57; culmen
Oo 10.5,;9 10 mm. Soft parts: iris clay colour; bill, upper mandible
dark brown, lower light brown; feet brownish-white. Weight: co
[2e5 a LT (2c.
Mayr (1941, p. 79) described perstriata from the North Burma
ranges between the upper Chindwin and Irrawady Rivers without
mentioning austeni. It is perhaps worthwhile here to record that
perstriata differs from austeni in the darker, more blackish streaking
on the throat, which in austeni is rufous-brown. The ear coverts of
perstriata also are more blackish. In perstriata the white superciliary
begins at the lores. In austeni this starts over the eye, and anterior
to that there is merely an indication of a stripe in a rather grayish
suffusion to the upper blackish part of the lores. The black edging
above the white superciliary seems somewhat more extended back to
the nape than in austeni. The rest of the plumage is similar in
colour tone and the two forms are in fact rather close. I itemize the
ACOLEECTION OF BIRDS PROM THE NAGA ILLS DUS
differences between them, as these are perhaps the only freshly-
collected skins of Alcippe vinipectus austeni at present in collections.
Alcippe cinereiceps manipurensis (O.-Grant): Manipur Fulvetta.
As the original specimens of this species in the British Museum:
are so totally foxed as to be quite useless for any colour comparison
it might perhaps be worth while to describe the three specimens of
this form obtained by us on Japvo and Zephu. Above, these birds
are between hair brown and broccoli brown on the crown shading to
a slightly paler tone on the back. The rump and outer edges of the
secondaries are tawny olive. There are seal brown superciliary
stripes prolonged back to the beginning of the nape. Beiow, the
birds are drab or ecru-drab with tawny olive flanks and thighs with
distinct mummy brown or mars brown streaks on the throat and upper
breast. The outer edges of the primaries are silvery-gray.
NMeASsutements:) Wine “OlG" 55-5) 50). 2: 51-53 tailbotc’ 52.5, 53:55
OPA 5 eculmen: CG. sO, 16'5.. OF 10 mm. Weieht:. cic 10
(2), 9-5 gr.
Soft parts: iris oto yellowish-brown,. pale pinkish-brown, @
brown; bill oo black, Q dark brown; feet o'o brown or grayish-
brown, legs dark brown, @ brownish-flesh.
These birds were taken from 8,000-8,200 ft. in thick evergreen
forest, high in the trees. One which I shot was making a tit-like
‘cheep’ call.
Alcippe dubia mandellii Godwin-Austen: Assam Tit-babbler.
We ran across small parties of these prettily-patterned Tit-babbiers.
from 4,700-6.000 ft. often associated with Stachyris species, in thick
bushes and heaps of brush. Males and females weighed from 16.5-
HO; 26
Alcippe nipalensis commoda Ripley: Nepal Babbler.
Males and females of this form were taken from 3,500-4,800 ft.
in pasture land and areas of cut-over scrub. Males and females have
wing measurements from 57-61 mm. Weight: 13-16 gr.
I was disappointed not to run into the slightly larger quaker-
babbler, the type locality for a race of which, fusca, is the Naga Hills.
Heterophasia gracilis (McClelland): Gray Sibia.
This delicately coloured bird was a prominent feature of the Naga
Hills from 4,500-7,500 ft. in open deciduous forest, in isolated trees
near habitations, and in thick jungle of evergreen type, feeding with
bulbuls or associating with mixed hunting parties. The eastern
Angami name is ‘Titi’, perhaps with reference to its chattering call.
Soft parts: iris red, reddish-brown, to brown; bill black; legs:
dark brown to black, pads yellow.
Rviewht: coi 9 34-42 or. Wing: to o& 9 84-05 mm. I prefer
to maintain gracilis as a distinct species.
Heterophasia pulchelia (Godwin-Austen): Beautiful Sibia.
These freshly collected specimens of pulchella from the type locality
of the species, the Naga Hills, prompted me to examine the
504 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Yol.. 50
race coeruleotincta Rothschild (1921). From rereading the original
description I can only presume that very old foxed specimens of:
pulchella were used for comparative material, which possibly was
the case. In fresh plumage, nominate pulchella is bright “blue-grey’-
on the head and back to quote the original description of coeruleotinctu,
‘the primaries being edged with brighter blue, and in the central
rectrices being olivaceous amber-brown’ etc. The description of the
Yunnan form in fact reads like the description of pulchella. There
is no real difference in size, 10 males and females having wings of
88-104 mm., in contrast to four males and females in the type series
having wings of 93-104 mm. Weight: co @Q 35-47 gr. From the
above it would seem useful to synonymize the name coeruleoctincta.
This species was found only in the tree tops in evergreen forest
from 7,700-8,600 ft.
Subfamily SyLVMNAkE
Seicercus affinis (Hodgson): Allied Flycatcher-warbler.
A male from Mt. Japvo taken at 7,700 ft. with a flock of other
warblers and babblers, has a wing measurement of 58 mm. __ Soft
parts: iris brown; bill, upper mandible dark brown, lower yellow;
feet yellow. Weight: 8 gr.
Seicercus burkii burkii (Burton): Blackbrowed Flycatcher-warbler.
During our stay in the Naga Hills we found only three specimens
of this form’ from 4,700 and. 7,700 ft. an. heavy forest. 1.4 Veioht:
Gi P1728) 2:
Seicercus xanthoschistos tephrodiras Sick: Mt. Victoria Grayheaded
Flycatcher-warbler.
This is a darker more richly coloured form than typical xanthos-
chistos. This gray-headed and gray-backed little yellow warbler was
a common feature along the trail east of Phek from 3,500-4,goo ft.
in the deciduous trees which overhung the path. They were quite
silent, but flitted busily in the trees at medium heights overhead.
Weight: 65-7. 21>. Wine: 6 of 951-54 mint
-Seicercus castaniceps subsp.: Chestnutheaded Flycatcher-warbler.
‘A single male taken on November oth on Japvo at 7,700 ft. is
our only record of this species. Unfortunately it was later. mislaid,
probably in the packing of our material. It was in medium height
trees with a flock of hunting warblers and babblers. The call
was quite distinctive, a very loud wren-like ‘tsick’ which immediately
attracted my attention to it. Soft parts: iris brown; bill upper
mandible dark brown, lower yellowish-brown, feet light brown, pads
yellow. Weight: 6 gr.
_. Recently Koelz (1951) has described a race nagaensis from one
specimen taken at Kohima not differing in size but in colour as follows:
‘chestnut on crown much deeper, so much so that the lateral stripes
on crown are not very prominent; the white spot on the nape is very
much reduced; the gray above extends almost to the middle of the
back; the white on the abdomen is much more extensive.’ As true
castaniceps is found all over the area south to Manipur and the Chin
a
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 505
Hills, and as colour variation is likely to exist when only one speci-
men is considered, I am inclined to doubt the validity of this form,
which, as proposed is confined to a range of a sort of ‘island’ in a
sea of typical castaniceps.
Seicercus poliogenys Blyth: Graycheeked Flycatcher-warbler.
A male of this little flycatcher-warbler weighed 7, two females
6 gr.
Phylloscopus pulcher pulcher Blyth: Orangebarred Willow-warbler.
We came upon this willow-warbler occasionally in heavy forest
from 4,700-8,600 ft., always in evergreen, sometimes immensely high
on the tops of the biggest trees. It seemed not to be a part of
the large mixed hunting parties, but usually just in willow-warbler
groups. Males and females weighed 5-7 gr. Soft parts: iris brown;
bill blackish or dark brown, base of lower mandible yellowish-brown
or yellowish-horn; feet brown, dark greenish-brown, yellowish-brown,
pads yellow.
Phylloscopus inornatus inornatus (Blyth): Crowned Willow-warbler.
Taken by us from 2,500-4,700 ft. in open deciduous scrub, usually
rather high in the trees. Males and females weighed from 5-7 gr.
Phylloscopus inornatus mandellii (Brooks): West China Crowned
Willow-warbler.
This rather darker willow-warbler is indistinguishable from the
former in the field and seemed to occur in the same areas, but more
commonly. Eight specimens were taken to the five of imornatus,
from 2,500-6,000 ft. Weight: 4.5-6 gr.
Phylloscopus proregulus newtoni Gaéike: Pallas’s Himalayan
Willow-warbler.
As I pointed out (1950) this name is available for the darker
eastern population of this willow-warbler, as chloronotus must be
confined to Nepal. A common species from 3,500-7,000 ft. in
mixed deciduous and evergreen association, sometimes in small trees
beside the trail, at other times high up in denser growth. Found
in mixed flocks with Chloropsis, Heterophasia gracilis, Picumnus, and
Parus monticolus. Weight: 11 oo’ 9 2 4-6 ar.
Phylloscopus maculipennis maculipennis Blyth: Grayfaced Willow-
warbler. .
A bird of thick forest from 6,o00 ft. up. We found these birds
high up in the trees with mixed babbler-warbler hunting flocks.
Weight: 4.5-6 gr.
Phylloscopus reguloides assamensis Hartert: Crowned Willow-
warbler.
A bird of forest, found in mixed parties from 4,700-7,700 ft. I
recall it making typical ‘cheep’ notes in a flock of Alcippe and
Stachyris in light scrub and low second growth pasture land near a
village.
506 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vai. 56
Orthotomus sutorius luteus Ripley : Mishmi Tailor-bird.
The tailor-bird taken by us from the Naga Hills and northern
Manipur is darker, more rufous on the forehead and forecrown thar
topotypical patia from Nepal, and matches luteus from the Mishmi
Hills. It is also more richly washed with buff below than in patia.
A female from near Yisi at 3,500 ft. weighed 7.5 gr., a Manipur
female 8.5 gr.
Orthotomus cucullatus coronatus Blyth: Yellowbellied Tailor-bird.
A single sex undetermined specimen is indistinguishable from
Sikkim birds. Soft parts: iris brown; bill upper mandible black,.
lower basally orange, distally horn; feet brownish flesh. Weight :
O2er.
Prinia hodgsoni rufula Godwin-Austen: Himalayan Gray-breasted
Wren-warbler.
In the tall weeds and grass from 2,900-4,500 ft. we came across
these active little wren-warblers in small flocks. It was less com-
mon than the following species. Weight: o&Q 5-7 gr.
Prinia rufescens rufescens Blyth: Assam Wren-warbler.
A very common bird along the trail east of Phek from 2,500-.
5,000 ft. in patches of light grass under clumps of deciduous trees.
Often found in mixed hunting parties with Alcippe, Stachyris, and
other babblers. We heard it often make rather harsh grating or
churring trills. Eight males and females weighed from 6.5-7 gr..
Wing: &%hO QD 42-46 mm.
Prinia atrogularis khasiana (Godwin-Austen): Austen’s Hill-warbler.
A young male, subadult and very rufous above, was taken near
Kohima in mid-October, and an adult female at Phek. The birds
have a rather grating series of low call notes. We found them in
long grass on the edge of cultivated patches on the steep hillsides.
Weisht <0 11-5, syouns oi 70. en.
Cettia montana fortipes (Hodgson): Strong-footed Bush-warbler.
In tall grass along the trail beyond Phek we ran into these shy
skulking bush-warblers, behaving in a very wren-like way in the tall
grass, usually almost impossible to see. They called simply a single
alarm note, ‘tsick’. Soft parts: iris brown; bill dark brown, base
of lower mandible pinkish-horn; feet pale brownish-flesh, or yellowish-
brown. Weight: +G' «10, -O1O 773560588 ee
Cettia flavolivacea alexanderi (Ripley) : Naga Hills Aberrant Warbler.
Two specimens of this dark olive-buff subspecies were collected
along the trail beyond Phek in tall grass. We heard definitely only
a ‘tsick’ call from this form, but several times we heard a short
grating song which Alexander found very reminiscent of what he
had been told was flavolivacea in west China. This is a much darker
bird than typical flavolivacea of the Himalayas, more richly coloured
than weberi of Mt. Victoria and darker, more buffy (especially below}
than intricata. Weight: 99 6, 7 ger.
‘4 COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 507°
Subfamily MUSCICAPINAE
Muscicapa_ strophiata strophiata (Hodgson): Orangegorgetted:
Flycatcher. ;
The commonest flycatcher in the Hills, taken from 3,500 ft. up,
but particularly numerous in the evergreen on Japvo at 7,700 ft..
Males weighed from 11-14, females 11-12.5 gr.
Muscicapa parva albicilla Pallas: Eastern Redbreasted Flycatcher.
A male from Kohima weighed 9 gr.
Muscicapa amabilis Deignan: Rustybreasted Blue Flycatcher.
This is a new name (1947) for Siphia hodgsonii Verreaux, listed’
inthe Fauna (Vol. If, p.:216, and Vol. VII, p: 132). A single bird
in brown plumage, possibly a subadult male was taken on Japvo at
7,000 tt.-on the edge of the evergreen. - Weight: .o gr-.
Muscicapa hyperythra hyperythra Blyth: Rufousbreasted Blue
Flycatcher.
_ Two females taken on Japvo in the understorey in heavy evergreen
forest were noted from the harsh and snapping noise they made as.
they flew to a perch. Wing 56, 58 mm. Weight: 7.5, 9 gr.
One bird is very rufescent below with a pronounced tawny-buff
streak from the lores to the eye-ring. So richly coloured is this
specimen that I had difficulty identifying it. The other presumed
‘female’ weighing 9 gr. is possibly a subadult male as I can just
detect the faintest tinge of gray-blue to the forehead area.
Muscicapa sapphira (Tickell) : Sapphireheaded Flycatcher.
A single male in the brown-headed stage of plumage was taken:
in evergreen forest on Japvo at 8,550 ft. It weighed 8 gr.
Muscicapa westermanni indochinensis Ripley: Eastern Little Pied.
Flycatcher. -
I have recently revised this species (1952), hence the name for
the darker, more rufous-rumped eastern population of this widely
distributed species. A male taken at Phek weighed Io gr.
Muscicapa thalassina thalassina Swainson: Verditer Flycatcher.
Found by us at 7,000 ft. on Japvo perching on the edge of the
forest in old dead trees near cultivation, and hawking for insects.
Kvicioht >. oO 17:5 sr:
Muscicapa solitaris leucops (Sharpe): Whitegorgetted Flycatcher.
A female from Phek is our only specimen of this shy flycatcher.
Weicht: 11, or.
Niltava macgrigoriae (Burton): Small Niltava.
Not uncommon in thick scrub near streams from 2,500-4,500 ft..
Weight: ho 9/9 11-13 gr.
508° JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. ‘SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Culicicapa ceylonensis calochrysea Oberholser: Grayheaded Fly-
catcher.
A male from Kohima weighed 8 gr.
(Rhipidura hypoxantha Blyth: Yellowbellied Fantail Flycatcher.
Not uncommon on forest edges or in heavy deciduous patches
along the trail east of Phek. The distinctive ‘cheep’ of this busy
little fellow always gave him away. Three males weighed 5 gr. each.
Rhipidura albicollis albicollis (Vieillot): Whitethroated Fantail Fly-
catcher.
Found by us in heavy evergreen forest from 4,100-7,700 ft.
Weight: ool 9 9-12 gr.
PARIDAE
‘Parus monticolus Vigors: Greenbacked Tit.
From 4,300-6,000 ft. this seemed to be the common tit of the
‘scrub pasture land, light deciduous forest, and occasionally on the
fringes of heavier jungle. I would characterize the song of this
‘species as a series of three notes, rather musical, ‘pling pling pling,’
followed by a double note ‘tee-eurp’. Weight: oo Q 12-16 gr.
Parus xanthogenys spilonotus Blyth: Blackspotted Yellow Tit.
A male taken at 6,000 ft. in evergreen forest at Phek is our only
record for this form. Weight: 18 gr. Wing 77 mm.
Parus modestus modestus (Burton): Yellowbrowed Tit.
A bird of evergreen’ forest from 7,700 ft. up: |) Six maleswand
females weighed 7-7.5 gr.
Aegithaliscus concinnus manipurensis Hume: Hume’s Redheaded
Dit:
A species found by us usually in the pines (P. longifolia) from
4,700-6,000 ft. It is reproduced herewith (Plate III) to show the dis-
tinctive pattern and dark colour. Weight: oto 5.5-7, :'9 5-5 er.
Melanochlora sultanea sultanea (Hodgson): Sultan Tit.
A male taken at 2,500 ft. in deciduous forest near the Tizu River
weighed 41 gr.
Sit PD AE
‘Sitta himalayensis australis Koelz: Naga Hills Whitetailed Nuthatch.
Koelz (1951) describes this new race from the Naga Hills as
being; ‘underside clear chestnut, deeper posteriorly and fading to
white on the centre of throat and chin, quite unlike the nominate race
where a paler chestnut is restricted to the vent and flanks, and where
the. abdomen and breast are rather pale rufous. In S. h. australis
the postocular stripe stops short on the neck, and is not produced
to the shoulders as in the nominate race. Bill stouter in this new
race.’
Jour., Bompay Nat. Hist. Soc.
ee ae
is em Sn
a RN eT RN AT AAT A AOR ay
HERE LODO LORE Den
aerrerocrwonyeytasly re = eae
githaliscus concinnus manpurensis Hume
Siva strigula cineretgen@, subsp. nov.
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 509
A male and two females shot by me from 6,000-8,200 ft. east
of Kohima when compared with nominate himalayensis from the U.P.
‘Himalayas are certainly not noticeably different on the underparts
‘as Koelz maintains, nor is the bill stouter in series. However, the
postocular stripe does stop short on the neck, and is not prolonged
onto the shoulder as Dr. Koelz rightly points out. This is a bird of
evergreen forest. Soft parts: iris brown; bill black, base of lower
mandible gray; feet (co) dark greenish-brown, or, yellowish-brown,
(9) dark brown. Weight: Oo 15, 15.5, 2 14 gr. A smallish
male (wing 71) of typical himalayensis from Kumaon in the collection,
taken in January has a weight of only 11 gr.
Sitta europaea nagaensis Godwin-Austen: Austen’s Nuthatch.
Two females were taken at Phek and Mt. Zephu at 4,800 ft. in
heavy mixed deciduous and evergreen forest. This form is appa-
rently altitudinally separated from its neighbouring forms as Deignan
(1945) pointed out in the case of north Siam subspecies, where a
dark-coloured population lived at lower altitudes, and a paler-colored
population at higher. In this case nagaensis is the higher form, and
the new race koelzi Vaurie (1950), which we did not come across,
must inhabit the lowlands. These birds weighed 13.5, 16.5 gr.
Sitta frontalis frontalis Swainson: Velvetfronted Nuthatch.
Four females with wing measurements from 68.5-74 mm. incline
me to agree with Vaurie (loc. cit., pp. 11-13) that all Indian birds
must be listed in this single subspecies. These birds were taker.
from 3,000-4,000 ft. in light deciduous growth and weighed 11-
14.5 o4-
CHRP DAE
Certhia discolor manipurensis Hume: Hume’s Tree-creeper.
A pair, from 4,200 and 7,000 ft., the latter on Japvo, the former
near Meluri, seem to belong to this slightly darker population. They
measure: wing of 69,:9 67 mm. Weight: co 11, 9-10 gr.
DICAEIDAE
Dicaeum ignipectus ignipectus Blyth: Firebreasted Flowerpecker.
The only common flowerpecker, found from 2,500-8,200 ft. in
evergreen as well as light deciduous scrub. Ten males weighed
from 4-8, one female 6 gr.
Dicaeum concolor olivaceum Walden: Plaincoloured Flowerpecker.
The second most common species, found from 2,500-3,500 ft. in
deciduous jungle and cut-over scrub. Wing: of 43.5-46, Q 42.5-44
mm. Weight: oo Qi 4-6 gr. These birds give an impression
of having a slightly stouter, bigger bill on the average than birds
from Nepal or the Khasia site
Dicaeumchrysorrheum intensum Baker: Yellowvented Flowerpecker.
A single male from Kohima weighed 9 gr. Wing 59 mm.
510 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 59
Dicaeum agile deignani n. subsp. : Thickbilled Flowerpecker.
Type.—No. 12,960, Yale Peabody Museum, © ad., Kohima,
Assam, October 15th, 1950; S. Dillon Ripley coll. :
Deignan (1945, pp. 550-1) correctly points out that the Thick-
billed Flowerpecker of Assam is brighter and greener above, and
creamier below than typical modestum (Hume) of Tenasserim,
Peninsular Thailand, and Malaya (apparently remotum and_finschii
are synonyms).
Compared to typical agile of the Himalayas it is more richly gray-
green above, and distinctly grayish-creamy rather than grayish-white
on the underparts.
Measurements: wing 56.5, tail 29, culmen 9. Weight: 8 gr.
Range: Assam and northern Burma. I have not seen specimens
from the Shan States and am not sure where in southern Burma this.
form meets modestum.
This is a bird of open scrub and pasture land.
The subspecies is named in honor of my friend Herbert Deignan.
NECTARINIIDAE
Aethopyga nipalensis koelzi Ripley: Koelz’s Yellowbacked Sunbird.
Found from 4,900-8,200 ft. wherever plants were in flower, usually
in deciduous or evergreen forest, but sometimes in open pasture land.
Wing: , oot 53-55-53. culmen 22-23 mm.” Weight.) otc 2 Cris.
Aethopyga sSaturata assamensis (Horsfield): Blackbreasted Sunbird.
This is a more richly coloured population than topotypical Nepal
birds, and so it seems wise to revive Horsfield’s name (1839). I
suspect that these birds are smaller also; wing: oto 51, 53; 9
A4-48: culmen: oo" 20, 215,092 © 18-18.5 mma Veit sieoeen]
5-6 gr. The specimens were taken from 3,000 to nearly 5,000 ft. in
deciduous forest or open pasture land.
Aethopyga siparajia labecula (Horsfield): Assam Scarletbacked Sun-
bird. |
This is a darker and more richly cotoured form than seheriae.
It does not differ in size. We found them in the hills from 3,750-
5,000 ft. in open deciduous forest and scrub jungle. Weight: oo
6-9, Q 6 gr.
Aethopyga ignicauda ignicauda (Hodgson): Firetailed Yellow-
backed Sunbird.
Two males in eclipse were taken in open pasture at 5,000 ft. at
cd
Phek, and in evergreen forest at 8,200 ft. on Zephu. They weighed:
745 cand (O}) ite
Aethopyga gouldiae isolata Baker: Baker’s Yellowbacked Sunbird.
Having looked at Baker’s type of isolata in the British Museum,.
I am inclined to agree with Stresemann (1940) that this subspecies
was not worth recognizing. It is slightly smaller than typical
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 511
gouldiae, and my specimens from the Naga Hills agree with this
diagnosis. However, I would like to retain the name for another more
interesting biological reason. Baker in the ‘Fauna’ (1926) discusses
the species dabryi and notes that he has taken specimens in Cachar
which, from their reddish breasts, he presumes to be this species.
These specimens are now deposited in the Sophia Museum. Among
the birds taken by us in the Naga Hills is one subadult male moulting
into adult plumage which has a great splash of reddish feathers
coming in and overlaying the yellow of the breast. It is not symme-
trical, being more heavy on one side than the other. From this
evidence coupled with that of Baker in Cachar, I should say that
there was a polymorphic population here representing a transitional
condition between typical gouldiae and typical dabryi. It may be
characterized by slightly smaller size, by a tendency to a paler yellow
band on the rump than typical gouldiae, and, in the case of g. dabryi,
by smaller size. The dabry: phenotype I think would be otherwise
indistinguishable. Evidently this is a question of gene imbalance in
an intermediate population. The rarity of dabryi phenotypes
indicates that the gouldiae type has some slight advantage. It
would be interesting to determine what percentage of the dabryi types
may occur in the wild state. I have no data from existing collections
beyond my own in which one out of four males showed the presence
of this character.
We found this sunbird from 4,000-5,0o00 ft. at Phek and the trail
to the east. They were in deciduous scrub jungle feeding on flower-
ing vines and trees. Wing: oo 51.5-53; culmen: 15-16.5 mm.
Weight: coo 6+7 er:
Baker’s isolata was originally described from Manipur, and the
range included the Surma Valley in Cachar, the Lushai Hills and
part of the Chin Hills. Baker (1925) noted that red-breasted males
came from above 6,o0o0 ft. on Mt. Victoria, but none turned up
apparently in the Heinrich collection reported on by Stresemann (loc.
cit.). I would list the range of this polymorphic population as:
eastern Cachar, Naga Hills south to Manipur, Lushai and Chin Hills.
Arachnothera magna magna (Hodgson): Streaked Spider Hunter.
Found occasionally in Bombax trees in flower in the eastern hills
from 2,500-6,o0o0 ft. Their loud chatter is unmistakable. Weight:
ee 31) 33,19 25-5 gt-
Z.0.55 ER O.E 1 DrAE
‘Zosterops palpebrosa palpebrosa (Temminck) : Indian W hite-eye.
Six males and females have wing measurements from 51-53 mm.,
thus fitting in with palpebrosa and not cacharensis Baker, which was
described as ‘smaller’ and with a distinct yellow streak down the
abdomen. One specimen, taken by us in Manipur, is not ‘smaller,’
but is richly coloured with a distinct yellow streak down the abdomen.
One Naga skin has an indication of a yellow streak also. Otherwise
these birds are indistinguishable. Males and females weighed 7-10 gr.
512 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
FEF RIN GILULIDAE
Carduelis spinoides heinrichi Stresemann: Mt. Victoria Greenfinch.
This subspecies is far darker in colouration than typical spinoides
of the Himalayas, but paler than monguilloti Delacour of Indo-China.
We found the greenfinch in some tall eucalyptus planted near the
Government Resthouse at Mao, just over the border into Manipur
from the Naga Hills, and also on Mt. Zephu in dead trees in clearings
at Zephu willage at.7,500 ft. Wing: ol 75, oo. Subadult y2sqemg 5.
OQ 9-.70-72.5 mm. (Weight: of 16,7 oo subadulig asta rca.
(3) 15 gr.
Emberiza pusilla Pallas: Little Bunting.
A female from Mt. Zephu at 4,800 ft. weighed 13.5 gr.
‘O
+
Emberiza spodocephala sordida Blyth: Blackheaded Bunting.
A male taken in tall grass along the Dzulu River east of Kohima
at 2,670 ft. represents this richly-coloured form. Soft parts: iris
brown; bill, upper mandible black, tomia and lower mandible whitish-
horn, tip dark horn; feet pale brownish-flesh. Weight: 18 gr. Only
call- uttered, ““tsick.”
PLOC ET DAE
Passer rutilans lisarum Stresemann: Mt. Victoria Cinnamon Sparrow.
A male from Japvo with a wing of 69.5 mm. belongs to this
small, richly-coloured subspecies. Soft parts: iris brown; bill black,
base of lower mandible yellowish-brown; feet brown, Weight:
19-5. SF. | | ,
It is worth noting that a male Passer montanus taken by us in
Manipur appears to belong to the saturate, liver-coloured form, named
hepaticus by me from the Mishmi Hills.
Lonchura striata acuticauda (Hodgson): Hodgson’s Munia.
A single male taken at Phek in the rice fields belongs to this
subspecies. Weight: 12 gr.
Lonchura punctulata subundulata (Godwin-Austen): Burmese Spotted-
Munia.
Adults and immature birds were collected round Kohima. Weight:
[2-13 21.
DICRURIDAE
Dicrurus macrocercus was not collected by us in the Naga
Hills although it was seen once or twice at low altitudes in the fields.
However, a female shot in Manipur, proves by its measurements to
belong to the Burmese form cathoecus Swinhoe, a westward extension
for the subspecies.
Dicrurus aeneus aeneus Vieillot : Bowes Drongo.
A pair was taken in light deciduous forest east of Phek. Weight:
Of 25.5, Q 21.5 gr. | .
A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE NAGA HILLS 51%
Dicrurus paradiseus was seen but not collected in similar biotope.
ORIOLIDAE
Oriolus traillii traillii (Vigors) : Maroon Oriole.
Shot in thick secondary growth near the trail east of Phek, I was. _
attracted to this brilliant oriole by the harsh woodpecker-like squawk
that it uttered monotonously. Soft parts: iris, Qo creamy pinkish-
yellow, yellowish-brown, Q brown; bill, o pearl gray; 9 gray; feet,
o gray or bluish-gray, @ slaty-gray. Weighitewoimo7,074) O- 68ier-
e CoRVIDAE
Kitta chinensis chinensis (Boddaert): Green Magpie.
A male shot below Kohima at 3,500 ft. weighed 130 gr.
Crypsirhina formosae himalayensis (Blyth): Himalayan Tree-pie.
The only abundant tree-pie in the Naga Hills. I saw the Red-
billed Blue Magpie (Kitta erythrorhyncha) east of Phek, but failed to
secure a specimen. This Tree-pie was shot from 3,500-5,700 ft.
Wing woo 9 O 134-147 mm. Weight: oo (2) 108, 9/9 97-
LO7 21.
Garrulus glandarius interstinctus Hartert: Sikkim or East
Himalayan fay.
Comparing this jay throughout its range west and east in the
Himalayas, it seems just possible to separate it into two races. There
is no difference in size, and the colour of the upperparts is truly vari-
able when series are laid out together. Some birds from the U.P.
Himalayas are just as dark as are some from, for example, the Naga
Hills. It does seem to me that the brown patch on the innermost
tertial is slightly darker in the eastern part of the range, and that
the banding on the outer webs of the secondaries is more widely
spaced in these eastern birds. I cannot recognize persaturatus.
Hartert from the Kasia Hills, nor the recent azuwreitinctus Koelz (1951)
whose range is given as: ‘Southeastern Assam, and probably also
northeastern Assam.’
A pair from beyond Phek were shot in deciduous cut-over forest
at 4,500 and 4,goo ft. A group of small birds were mobbing one of
these jays. Weight: :9 130 gr. Wing: o 173, 9 164 mm.
Pr aee R AvisUCR & © rT E.p
Ali, SAlim, and Ripley, S. Dillon (1948): The Birds of the Mishmi Hills. Jour
Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., 48 (1).
Baker, E. C. Stuart (1922-30): The Fauna of British India, Birds (2d ed.)..
8 vols. London.
— — — (1925): New Races of Sun-birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl., KLYI; 13.
Deignan, H. G. (1945): The Birds of Northern Thailand. U.S, Nat. Mus.,
Bull. 186; 315-317.
— — — (1946): The Races of the Scarlet Minivet [Pericrocotus flammeus
(Forster)]. Auk. 68; 511.
— — — (1947): A Review of the Races of the Spotted Babbling Thrush,
Pellorneum ruficeps Swainson, Smith. Misc. Coll., 107; 6-7.
514 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Deignan, H. G. (1947): Some untenable names in the Old World Flycatchers.
Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington. 60; 166.
— — — (1948): The Races of the Red-whiskered Bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus
(Linnaeus). Jour. Wash. Acad. Sci. 38; 281.
— — — (1949): Races of Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus) and P. aurigaster
(Vieillot) in the Indo-chinese subregion. Jour. Wash. Acad. Sci. 39; 277-278.
Delacour, Jean (1947): Les Timaliines. L’Oiseau et la Revue Francajse d’Orni-
ihologie, KWI; 24.
— — — (1951): Commentaires, Modifications et Additions a la liste des
‘Oiseaux de 1’Indochine Frangaise. L’Oiseau et la Revue Francaise d’Ornithologie,
XXI; 86. ;
— — — (1951): The Pheasants of the World. London; 181-133.
Hartert, Ernst (1909): Die Vogel der palaéarktischen Fauna. Heft W; 635.
Horsfield, Thomas (1839): List of Mammalia and Birds collected in Assam
-by John McClelland, Esq., etc. Proc. Zool. Soc.; 167.
' Hume, Allen O. (1888): The Birds of Manipur, Assam, Sylhet, and Cachaf.
Stray Feathers. KI; 57-59.
Koelz, Walter N. (1951): New Birds from India. Jour. Zool.. Soc. India.
3, (1); 28-30.
Mayr, Ernst (1940): Pericrocotus brevirostris and its Double. Ibis, 82; 717.
— — — (1941): The Vernay-Cutting Expedition to northern Burma. Ibis,
83; 367-371.
Ripley, S. Dillon (1948): Notes on Indian Birds. II. The species Glaucidium
cuculoides. Zoologica, 33; 200.
— — — (1950): Birds from Nepal, 1947-1949. Jour. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.,
49; 401.
— — — (19€0): A note about the Wren-babbler, Spelaeornis. Auk, 67; 390-
391.
— — — (1951): Notes on Indian Birds. IV. Some recently collected birds
from Assam. Postilla, No. 6; 1-7.
— — — (1952): A note on the species Muscicapa westermanni. Proc. Biol.
Soc, Washington, (in press).
~ Rothschild, Lord (1921): On a collection of birds from west-central and north-
western Yunnan. Novit. Zool., KXKXWIII; 38.
Stanford, J. K. (1941): The Vernay-Cutting Expedition to northern Burma.
DAS, 83. 68:
Stresemann, Erwin (1940): Die Vogel des Mount Victoria. Mitt. Zool. Mus.
Berlin, 24; 174.
Ticehurst, C. B. (1939): On the birds of northern Burma. Ibis, 841; 5.
— — — (1939): On the Identity of Elachura haplonota. Ibis, 81; 348-349.
Vaurie, Charles (1950): Notes on some Asiatic Nuthatches and Creepers. Amer.
Mus. Novit., No. 1472; 5-8.
NOTES ON THE GREY MULLETS (MUGI/L SPP.) OF
KRUSADAI ISLAND, GULF OF MANAAR *
BY
K. CHIDAMBARAM & G. K. KURIYAN
(Marine Biological Station, Krusadai Island, Pamban)
(With a text figure)
Grey Mullets (Mugi/ spp.) constitute an important group of fishes
hugging the shores of Krusadai and nearby islands in the Gulf of
Manaar. The mullet fishery extends throughout the year. The fish is
caught in comparatively shallow water at flood tide, with cast and drag
nets. The following three species have been found to predominate in the
commercial catches:
1. Mugil troscheliz (Blkr.)
2. M. waigiensis (Quoy & Gaim.), and
3. M. sehelt (Forsk.)
Mugil seheli Forsk.
These species are being studied in detail in view of their impor-
tance for cultivation in marine, brackish water and fresh water-
farms. In this note are embodied certain details of their bionomics.
Food of Mullets: The diet of mullets in Krusadai area, as
revealed by systematic analyses of 101 specimens of each of the three
species, is presented in the following Table I. ,
The food consists mainly of planktonic organisms. Diatoms formed
on an average 65 to 75% of the total volume of the gut contents. The
_* Read before the 37th Session of the Indian Science Congress and published
with the kind permission of the Director of Fisheries, Madras,
5
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
516
SBS TL SNOJUSWLTY
Wy UNLMSAPCYILAT
:Ja}Jeul [esle pue
‘
- DLYISZILNT
2) v1UNOSOZLY T
*$72I9S2POULI30)
‘LLAYIOLSSBIDY J,
A[WIPUL : SUIOIVIG
WUeNLWMSApOY IL
-Jayew [vole pue
: SWISZPOULISOD)
AW SMLYISZILAT
‘OUGISOANI T
‘XY J02SSD] 0Y [
ATUIeUL : SWO}IG
: “UNLUMSIPOYIVAT
, ie : Bo [e SNOJUsWIBUUTY
| : 1a}]eW [esle pue
ead : DINILAAT
2Q SwIsipouLIsoy
isUlo 6.72 OC 7 Le
‘pues pue sjjous UvIIIUIUIBIOT | SMIOM o}OvYyoA[Og
I
1
aes 7 >... SUIIOW
as ajavyosjog pur
atl | spodaedod 2% spoo
DUBS PUL ST[AYS UBIOJIUIMIEIO,, |-BI]SQ ‘sUBLOEISHID
SUID 6-2 O} G-LT
EE IAN ANS
swsuaeslvm "fy °2Z
21JAYISOAL “J “TY
— ———
‘OLY ISZJUNT
| ‘VULGLSOANI] T
pues pue s{[ays uvId] SULIOM 939vYOA[Og ‘LILY J0USSDIDY T
-IULWIPIOJ SHOU seu s[od | put. ¢podedoz) ATUIVUL > SUO}LIG Sta ¢.7¢ 0} CT
ee eccee uo} xueldoyAyg
SW9}I SNOSULISOSIFY me ee uo} Ug Dee ote Satoeds Jo omen
JO asUel 3ZIG
] HIV
GREY MULLETS OF KRUSADATI ISLAND: 517
usual outward appearance’ of the: stomach was slightly greenish. In’
several instances.the «stomach and intestines’ were: virtually. gorged=with
diatoms.. A large percentage of thé:JZ: wazgiensts examined showed ‘a:
comparative abundance of the alga: Trichodesmium erythraeum in the
stomach. The presence of formaniferan shells and sand is suggestive of:
the eassinle: and occasional browsing habit of mullets at the substratum,
“Food of fry OL Metter at The stomach ‘contents of the fry
show that they are surface and mid-water feeders. The analysis of the
pat, contents is given. below i in Table il. Pee
aoe ore ei
Ri
Name | Phytoplankton _ Zooplankton.
specimens
examined |.
“No:-of :
— ve. a —
Fry of MZ, troschelti 50 Diatoms: ©
pe mainly
ZT halasstothrix,
Nitzschia, ' | Copepods
Pleurosigma, i
Chaetoceras &
Fragillaria
Algae:
Oscillotaria
Fry of W. waigiensis 50 | Diatoms: -| Crustaceans:
mainly Copepods &
Pleurosigma & Leuctter ;
Coscinodiscus ; and larva!
algal filaments Polychaetes
and algal spores ;
The fry of JZ. ¢troschelli take to phytoplanktonic diet with great
avidity, while those of JZ. wazgiensts feed mainly on copepods. The
fry of the latter species showed in many cases a selective feeding, as the
stomach was frequently noticed to be full of copepods only.
Breeding Seasons: Examinations of gonads in the laboratory
revealed that the mullets have a prolonged breeding period from May
of one year to February of the succeeding year. Mullet fry are avail-
able for collection in the inshore areas of Krusadai Island almost
throughout the year.
Characters of Fry: A provisional key for the field identifica-
tion of eight species of mullets¢n the Madras waters as classified by
Chidambaram and Venkataraman is given by Job and Chacko (1947)
in their paper on ‘ Rearing oi saltwater fish in fresh waters of Madras’.
The fry of mujlets also present certain difficulties in their identification.
In view of the fact that the field identification of the fry of mullets
ra
518 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
would be of benefit to the pisciculturist, and as the cultivation of
mullets in marine and fresh water farms is gaining importance in the
country, the need for a key for identification of fry is keenly felt. The
distinguishing characters of the fry of M. troschelzi and M. waigiensis
are detailed ‘below :
Fry of 1. tvoscheliz. Dorsal side grey and ventral side silvery ;
dorsal and caudal fins spotted; a dark blotch at the upper
edge of the pectoral fin.
Fry of 47. waigiensis. Exceedingly shiny and silvery all over,
except dark margins of the dorsal fins. The pelvic and pecto-
rals tinged yellow. Grey coiour first appears on the dorsal
side of the head when about 2 cms. in length, and slowly
extends to the dorsal side of the body.
Discussion: Devanesen (1942) is of opinion that the fishery of
M. waigiensis in the Krusadai area depends to a certain extent on the
abundant occurrence of the blue green algae 77ichodesmium spp. in the
plankton. Chacko and Venkataraman (1944) made notes on the food of
twelve species of mullets in ‘our country’. But unfortunately the in-
formation regarding the regions from where those specimens of mullet
were collected is not given and that restricts the scope of comparison of
their data with what is presented in this paper. But ona closer examina-
tion of the data furnished by them on the stomach contents of the twelve
species, it is noticed that they were collected in the estuaries and back-
waters or in the seas close to the mouths of rivers, as evident from the
presence of organisms which are characteristic of brackish and fresh
waters. Jacob and Krishnamurthy (1948) have given a few more
organisms as forming the diet of 47. troschelit and M. watgienszs than
those recorded by Chacko and Venkataraman (1944). Chacko (1949),
presenting the food and feeding habits of the fishes of the Gulf of
Manaar has recorded the gut contents of JZ. troscheltz, M. waigiensts and
M. seheli. In addition to the previous records of the stomach contents
of the three species of /ugil, the following organisms have been
observed in the course of this study.
1. WM. troschelli — Trichodesmium sp. & copepods.
2. M. waigiensis — (No new records)
3. M. sehelt — Foraminiferan shells.
Chacko (1949) suggests that J/. sehel¢ is a plankton feeder, but it
has been observed by us that this species resorts to occasional bottom
feeding also, like the other two. The sand and bottom scum are found
in the stomach contents of JZ. ¢roschelzz in the Krusadai area, but appar-
ently not in Ennore region. The phytoplanktonic organisms of brackish
water origin as recorded by the other investigators are not found includ-
ed in the stomach contents of the three species under examination at
Krusadai. Our observations, in general, on the feeding habits of
mullets confirm those of the previous workers regarding their plank-
tonic diet and their occasional feeding at the bottom. Regarding the
food of mullet fry, Jacob and Krishnamurthi (1948) state that the fry of
mullets of Ennore share all the adult characters in their type of food and
manner of feeding. The analyses presented above for the Krusadai area
show a conspicuous absence of forminiferan shells and sand grains.
GREY MULLETS OF KRUSADAI ISLAND 519
There is hence every reason to believe that only full-grown mullets.
resort to occasional browsing at the substratum.
According to Jacob and Krishnamurthy (1948) ‘the mullets of
Madras coast breed soon after the commencement of the monsoon’
and they have observed the gonads to be ripe from October to.
May. This indicates that the stimuli for breeding may be certain.
factors including perhaps those caused by the monsoon. The factors.
may possibly be physical, like temperature, wind and current ;.
chemical, like salinity and oxygen content; and physiological, like
availability of food (diatoms mainly). This aspect is under further
investigation and the findings will be presented separately.
Summary: Grey mullets constitute an important group of fishes.
hugging the shores of Krusadai and nearby islands in the Gulf of
Manaar. The three important species constituting the fishery are:
(1) M. troschelit (Blkr.), (2) MZ. watgiensts (Quoy and Gaim.) and
(3) M. sehelt (Forsk). The food of the adult and fry of the first two.
species are presented and discussed. ‘The characters for identifying in.
the field the fry of WZ, troschelit and M. waigiensis are given in view of
their importance for pisciculturists, since the cultivation of mullets in:
marine and fresh water farms is gaining more importance in this country
than ever before.
REFERENCES
1. Chacko, P. I. (1949): Food and feeding habits of the fishes of the Gulf of
Manaar. Pro. Ind. Acad. S¢i., 29; 83.
2. Chacko, P. I. & Venkataraman, R.S. (1944): On the food of Mullets.
Curr. Sct, March 1944, 14; 79.
3. Chidambaram, K. & Kuriyan, G. K. (1949): Fluctuation of Zyrichodes-.
mium erythraeum in the Krusadai Plankton with its relation to hydrographical
condition and fisheries. (Mss.)
4. Devanesan, D. W. (1942): Plankton studies in the Fisheries branch of the-
Department of Industries and Commerce, Madras. Curr. Sct., 11,3 143.
5. Devanesen, D. W. & Chacko P. I. 1944: On the Bionomics of Rainbow.
Sardine, Dussumieria haseltitz. Proc. Nat. Inst. Sct. India, 10; 143.
6. Devanesen, D. W. & Chidambaram, K. (1948): The common food
fishes of Madras Presidency— Madras Govt. Pubin. 1948, p. 30.
7. Jacob, P. K. & Krishnamurthy, B. (1948): Breeding and feeding habits.
of Mullets (/ugi/) in Ennore Creek. Jouvn.Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. 47 (4) ; 063-668...
8. Job, T. J. & Chacko, P. I. (1947): Rearing of salt water fish in fresh.
waters of Madras— Jud. Ecologist, 2.
9. John, C.C. (1948): Progress reports of the fisheries development schemes,
Cert. Res. Inst. Div. Mar. Biol. and Fisheries— May 1948, No. 1—'Trivandrum.
‘CONTRIBUTIONS. TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY. OF
INDIAN BOTANY
BY 3
‘A. SANTAPAU, Se
Parr I
The present paper is intended as a complement to Blatter’s ‘A
Bibliography of the Botany of British India and’ Ceylon’ published in
this Journal (20: Ixxix -clxxvi, 1909). Such bibliographical lists are
of great help to students, ene unfortunately ney, are > all too rare in
India.
Pritzel- with | hig Thestiterus Literaturae Botanica (1831) set the
fashion in this line ;-he has been followed by a- distinguished’ succession
of authors in many countries, especially i in the U.S:A. «Indian literature
on the subject is very méagre; in addition to the” ‘papet ‘by Shaw and
Bose cited below and a few minor ones, we can show nothing to compare
with the numerous contributions from foreign countries.- Fhe directors
of UNESCO have realised or position,. and how seriously we are
hampered in our work by this want of literature, and this is why they
have’ :recently..undertaken. the . erm oe of an. purer Oker “series of
bulletins, of. great promise, | bs
~The following list has been ‘somewhat! _diffe?ently: planned from
that of Blatter ;-:the division of the: country into floristic regions may
be a. logical one,» but makes reference rather .difficult .and~ often. con-
fusing. All my references to general or local floras have been alpha-
betically ‘arranged in Part, 1; Part II lists a number of monographs or
papers. dealing. with. families, ‘genera or even. individual species, the
families being” arranged in’ alphabetical ‘order, and within. the familv
references’ follow thé alphabetical order of their authors’ ‘names.
My. scope has been: restricted to the Phanerogams, . and in consequence
ferns}; mosses, . etcy are. left out; further, vas., a. rule only. papers of
taxonomic: or systematic. interest: are given- here,’ other. papers: on. ana-
tomy, morphology, cytology,. etc. are, only mentioned in so far as they
may;, be.-considered to be of interest for. the’ study :of. taxonomy.
In general, works listed by Blatter in his Bibliography have been
omitted here; where the title of the work or paper is incorrectly or in-
completely given by Blatter, it is here corrected to the best of my
information. Many of the references in Part II are to books which at
first sight may appear to have nothing to do with India; as a rule,
however, only monographs dealing with families represented in India
are inserted here. Among the foreign books or papers in my list, it
will be at once clear that many deal with the flora of Malaya or of the
Dutch East Indies ; such papers have been carefully studied and found
of great help in the study of our Indian flora; in this respect the
various contributions from the Buitenzorg botanic garden that have
appeared either in the Bulletin du Jardin Botanique, Buitenzorg, or in
Blumea deserve careful study and attention.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 521
Materials for the present paper have been collected in the course
of a number of years; but it was mainly during my long stay in Kew
that most of the references were seen and checked. At first it was
my intention to publish a comprehensive list of the papers on which
my Flora of Khandala had been based, and to append such a list as
a bibliography to my book. Gradually, however, my plan expanded
so as to include books or papers dealing with plants not only of
Khandala but also of other parts of India. Ceylon, Burma and
Pakistan have been left out of my list, first because politically they
no longer form part of India, and secondly because with the omission
of these countries our Indian flora, and consequently its bibliography,
have become a much more homogeneous and compact unit.
Most of the references here given have been personally checked by
the author in Kew or elsewhere; a good number of the papers given
in this list can be seen in St. Xavier’ s College, Bombay, either in the
original, or in photographic copies or in fairly lengthy MS. abstracts.
The author does not claim to have exhausted the subject; the
references here given have been of great help to him and it is hoped
that they may also be of help to other Indian botanists in their systematic
work on Indian plants.
In conclusion, it is the author’s pleasant duty to express his sincere
gratitude to Mr. H. S. Marshall, the librarian, Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew, for the great kindness with which he has. often come to the
author’s help in his search for references dealing with Indian plants.
ABBREVIATIONS
In order to save space, the titles of the more common journals
have been shortened from the usual internationally accepted forms to
but a few letters. The following are the more commonly used abbre-
viations. of this type:
ARBG Annals of the. Ros al Botanic’ Gardens Calcutta.
Buitenz. _ Bulletin du Jardin Botanique. Buitenzorg, Java.
JB Journal of Botany, British and. Foreign. London.
JBNHS Journal of the Bombay Natural eae | | Society.
: _ Bombay.
eS © Journal of! Indian Botany or Journal of: the Indian
Botanical : Society. :
sjLS Journal of the Linnean eee Botany. London.
FEES) + . Transactions of. the Linnean Society, London.’
RBSI ~~ Records of the Botanical Survey of India. Calcutta.
Pfreich. —_~‘Engler’s Das Pflanzenreich.
Pian." * | Engler and Prantl Ss Die, Natiirlichen EE ceaterailicee
‘Part | I: General
Ahern, G. P. & H. K. Newton
1928. A Bibliography on Woods of the World, -exelsive ‘of ake
temperate region of North America and with emphasis on
tropical woods. Sct. Contrib. Trop. Plant: Res. Found.
NOSIS spp. 772-1 EO. .eelosy me: wi 7
522 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vou. 50
Alston, A. H. G.
1929. Names published in Moon’s Catalogue. Ann. Roy. Bot.
» Gard) Perad."11': 9263-205.
1928. The Kandy Flora.
See also under Trimen H.
Anderson, B.
1862. Catalogue of Plants Indigenous in the Neighbourhood of
Calcutta with directions for the Examination and Pre-
servations of Plants. Calcutta; pp. 22.
Anderson, Gr,
1888. Forest Trees in the Coffee Lands of South Mysore.
Bangalore.
Anderson, Th.
1865. Catalogue of plants cultivated in the Royal Botanic Gardens,,.
Calcutta, from April 1861 to September 1864. Calcutta.
Arjun, 3S,
1878. Catalogue of the Bombay Drugs including a list of the
medicinal plants of Bombay used in the fresh state.
Bombay.
Arnott, G. A. Walker,
1836. Pugillus Plantarum Indiae Orientalis. Nov. Act. Phys.-Med..
Caes. Leop.-Carol. Nat. Cur. 18 (1): 321-356d.
Atkinson, E. C.
1881. Memoirs on the economic products. of N.W. Provinces,.
India. Allahabad.
Bales. N.,
1940. An outline of Pharmacopoeial drugs of vegetable origin..
Calcutta.’ Ppsi1-74, Wit: o1-6)
1942. Useful plants of Mayurbhanj State in Orissa. RBSI. 6 (10):
i-xii, I-IIQ, i-xXx.
Balfour, E.
1870. The Timber-trees, Timber and Fancy Woods of India and
of E. and S. Asia. Madras, ed. 3.
Barnes, E.
1938. Supplement to the Flowering Plants of Madras City and
its immediate neighbourhood. Governt. Mus. Bull.,.
Madras, (N-S.) (Nat. Hist: Sect.) c4 (aie spp: (46s tt.a7.
(See below under Mayuranathan, P. V.)
1944. Flowering Plants of the Billigirangan Hills. JBNHS a4:
436-459.
Beddome, R. H.
1863. The Trees of the Madras Presidency. Madras.
1866. A List of the Exogenous Plants found in the Anamallay
Mountains, in Southern India, with Descriptions of the
New Species. TLS 25: 209-225, tt. 21-27.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 523
1868. Icones Plantarum Indiae Orientalis: or Plates and Descrip--
tions of new and rare plants from Southern India and
Ceylon. Madras, 1868-1874.
1869. The Flora Sylvatica for Southern India: containing quarto:
plates of all the principal timber trees in Southern India
and Ceylon, accompanied by a Botanical Manual, with
descriptions of every known tree and shrub, and analysis.
of every genus not figured in the plates. Madras, 1869-
1874. (‘Forester’s Manual of Botany for Southern India’
is ON pages i-cCxxxIx, tt. 1-29. From the original covers
of the separate parts, the dates of publication are the
following: Tt. 1-36, 1869; 37-72, 1870; 73-168, 1871 5.
169-288, 1872; 289-325, 1873; 328-330, 1874).
Benthall, A. P.
1946. The Trees of Calcutta and its Neighbourhood . . . with 274.
illustrations . . . Calcutta. Pp. i-cil, 1-513.
Birdwood, G. C. M.
1862. Catalogue of the Economic Products of the Presidency of
Bombay; being a catalogue of the Government Central
Museum. Division I. Raw Produce (Vegetable) . .
Bombay.
1865. Catalogue of the Vegetable Productions of the Presidency
of Bombay; including a list of the drugs sold in the
bazaars of Western India. . . . Second edition.
Bombay. Pp. 45-458.
Birdwood, H. M.
1886. A Catalogue of the Flora of Matheran. JBNHS. 1: 203--
214.
1887. A Catalogue of the Flora of Mahableshwar and Matheran..
JBNHS 2: 107-132 (See also under Cooke, 1887).
1896. A Catalogue of the Flora of Matheran and Mahableshwar.
JBNHS 10: 394-439 (See also Cooke, 1896).
Biscoe, W. F. |
1910. A List of Trees & Shrubs of Indore State. Bombay; pp. 108..
Biswas, K.
1926. Flora of the Salt Lakes, Calcutta. Journ. Dept. Sci. Cal-
cutta Univ. vol. 8.
1935. The Vegetation on Tundi and neighbouring areas of the
Hazaribagh Dist., Bihar, India. Trans. Min. & Geol.
Inst. India, vol. 30.
~« 1937. Two New Flowering Plants. JIB 16: 57-61, ff. 1-6.
“ 1940. Plants of the Lloyd Botanic Garden, Darjeeling. RBSI. 5
(5): i-lv, 369-478, map.
1941. The Flora of the Aka Hills. Ind. For. Rec. 3 (1): 1-62.
1943. Systematic and Taxonomic Studies on the Flora of India
and Burma. Proc. Ind. Sci. Congr. 30 (2): 101-152.
Biswas, K. & C. C. Calder
1936. Hand book of the Common Water and Marsh Plants of
India and Burma. (Health Bull. No. 24, Malaria Bureau:
Bull. 11)
524 - JOURNAL, BOMBAY (NATURAL HIST "SOCHETY,. Volk 50 >
Blatter, E.
1905. The Fauna and Flora of our Metallic Money. JBNHS
10: 334-339:
1905. The Mangrove of ‘the Bombay Presidency and its Biology.
Ibid. 16: 644-656.
1908. , On ithe -Plora of Cutchs, Sibi 1s: a 56-747, 1908; 19: 157-
. 176, 1909.
rgo9... The Blora-of Panchagni.. Ibid. {219% @74-342-
tg11. A Bibliography of the Botany of British India and Ceylon.
Ibid. 20: Ixxix-clxxvi.
1921.. Species Novae Indiae Orientalis. Decas I.. JIB 2: 44-
54) ff. I-5-
1926. Revision of the Flora of Bombay Presidency. (See below
under Blatter, E. & C. McCann.)
1927. Beautiful Flowers of Kashmir. London; vols. 2; 1927-28.
1930. New Species of Indian Plants. Journ. & Proc. Asiat. Soc.
Beng. (N.S.) 26: 339-366.
‘Blatter; E, & Prof: F. Hallberg
1918. The Flora of the Indian. Desert (Jodhpur and Jaisal mer).
JBNHS 26: 218-246, It. 1-12, 19183 525-551, It. 13-255
Sri-Srey.” It.) 26-317 oro. 968-087, tise 2d: 40-47 ;
270-279," 1 t.,,329345 21920; 506-512, Tt. .25-37, 192i.
Blatter, E. & C. McCann 2
1926. Revision’ of the Flora of Bombay Presidency. JBNHS
318 sav-cey, 1920, .“s2 Im all-27- paris were published
between 1926 and 1935; parts 1-2, 12-14 & 20 by Blatter
alone, the ‘rest im collaboration with McCann; parts 15-
26 are profusely | illustrated with EES. and text est
The work is not completed.
1928... Some New. Species of Plants from the Western Ghats.
yreGl |: Ibid. 32: 733-736, with a- plate. .
Blatter, E., C. McCann & T. S. Sabnis 3 fates
1G27. The Flora of the Indus Delta. j7B 67: map); 31-477 ai.
; 78,' 115-132, 1927; 7: 22+43,' 70-96, “168-175, 1928; 8:
19-77, 1920. Illustrated with 50 hess and 140_-line
drawings.
Blatter, E> & W...S..Millard eee ae aoe
1929. Some Beautiful Indian Trees. JBNEHS 33: 624-635, 1929 -
| This serial was ‘profusely illustrated “vith coloured plates,
~. .« photos and -text figures ; up to..thé time of Blatter’s
wee 7 ew Geath ain 19345 14 parts had been Paneer See next
item. :
_1937.-.Some Beautiful. Indian Trees. Tandon: Pp. eX. ToL1O= Col
rae plates 2; black and white plates 60, ce fig Wea 60. This
-is.a reproduction with but few changes of the: serial above.
‘Boissier, E. , a
1867. Flora Orientalis sive. _Enumeratio. ‘Pisce ‘in oriente a
+. +, Graecia et Aegypto. ad Indiae fines. hucusque observat-
arum. Basle. 1867-1884. :
Le ©
ry ere : ee
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY: OF INDIAN BOTANY 525
Bor N: °L.
1942. The Relict Vegetation of the Shillong Plateau, Assam. Ind.
How, INeon (IN.5')\ Sali b5 22195.
Bor, N. L. & M. B. Raizada
1939. Some Beautiful Indian Climbers and Shrubs. JBNHS a1:
Pot, ol COl ss) pl. 2, i. 1-HO, FOa@s,4,.....1n, all, this serial
consists of 28 parts, each with one or more coloured
and several uncoloured plates and numerous text figures.
Reference is made in Part II to the various families dealt
with in this serial.
Boérgesen, F.
1929. Notes on the Vegetation at Dwarka on the West Coast of
India, with Reference to Raunkiaer’s ‘Life-Forms’ and
Statistical Methods. jIB. 8: 1-18, tt. 1-3.
Bourdillon, T. F. /
1893. Report on the Forests of Travancore. Trivandrum.
1899. Descriptions of some new or rare trees from Travancore.
IBNAS .t2: 349-353,. tt-1-6, 1899.
eGanG |
1916. Decas Specierum Novarum. Fedde, Repert. 14: 323-326.
Brandis, D. Aavegs ett]
1906. - Indian Trees. An account of trees, shrubs, woody climbers,
bamboos and palms indigenous or-commonly cultivated
‘in the British Indian Empire. . London 1906; third: im-
eos TOLLS ue rh
Beiquel: ie
_ 1914. _Decades Plantarum. Novarum vel minus cognitarum. Ann.
: Cons. Jard. Bot.’ Genéve Ls 326- 403.
Bruhl, P.
c 1908. Plant Immigrants. Journ. © Proc. Asai Soc.. Bengii(N-S_)
Es a eateries? 65 6. ee — Dae
Bek P. & -G. King
1896. A ace of New and Nae atele ‘Plants. “ARBG ey ate
Mek 170, ‘tt. 102-200. 3 | Foo 8s,
Burkill, F.' H. py se :
1910. Notes from a Journey to Nepal. RBSI- ‘as map, 59-140.
1916. A Note on the’ Terai’ Forests between the Gandak and the
Bae cit ', Tista, : Journ. © Proc. Astat. Soc. Beng. 12.2 267-272.
1924. The Botany of the Abor Expedition, -oRBSTI. IO: I-420,
tt. I-10, 1924-1925. eae
71935: ARGS Dictionary of. the Economic ses of | the Malay
i Peninsula. . London.
Er cworth, A. Ree he eb et hE betes
I9ltr Some Madras Trees.. mae PED. eh-220.
CE MESSI J. (& J. Decaisne)
1 Oqae ‘Plantae *Rarieres; quas..in India. orientali . Ae ater
~ Jacquemont.. In Voyage dans l’Inde BY V,. Jacquemont,
on qr183, °18445- atlas pl. 1-180.
526 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCGIEE YA Vet. Ha
Cameron, J.
1880. Catalogue of Plants in the Botanical Garden, Bangalore,
and its vicinity. Bangalore,
1894. Forest Trees of Mysore and Coorg. Bangalore, 3rd edit.
Candolle, A. P., A., & C. de
1824. Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. Paris,
1824-1873.
Candolle, A., & C. de
1878. Monographiae Phanerogamarum Prodromi nunc Continuatio:
nunc Revisio, auctoribus Alphonso et Casimiro de
Candolle. Paris. Vols. 9, 1878-1896; separate mono-
graphs are listed under their authors in the second part.
Champion, H. G.
1936. A Preliminary Survey of the Forest Types of India and
Burma. Ind. For: Rec. (N.S.) 1 (1): Map, 1x, 1-286, vit,
map; plates 1-38.
Champion, H. G. & W. J. Lambert
1921. Notes on a Visit to the Pindari Glacier, Kumaon. Ind.
POM OARS. tl =2,10
Chatterjee, D.
1946. New Records of Plants from India and Burma. Kew Buli.
1946: 49-50; 1949: 563-564.
1947. Influence of East Mediterranean Region Flora on that of
India. Sc GS Cult. 13 240-11;
1948. New Plants from India and Burma. Kew Bull. 1948: 57-
655, 3737074: &)
1949. Validating Botanical Names by Reference to pre-1753 litera-
ture. —foirn> Aon, Arb. 30: 71-74.
Chatterjee, D. & S. K. Mukerjee
1940. Some new Plants from India and Burma. JIB 19: 77-89,
ff. 1-7, 1 unnumbered.
Chibber, H. M.
1916. A List of Natural Orders and Genera of Bombay Plants.
with derivations of their names. JBNHS 24: 244-290,,
431-467, 783-814, 1916.
Chopra, R. N., R. L. Badhwar, & S. L. Nayar
1941. Insecticidal and Piscidial Plants of India. JBNHS 42:
854-902.
Cleghorn, H.
1856. General Index of the Plants described and figured in Dr.
Wight’s work entitled ‘Icones Plantarum Indiae Orien-
talis’. Madras, pp. i-ii, 1-78.
1861. The Forests and Gardens of South India. London.
Colthurst, I.
1927. Familiar Flowering Trees in India. With Sixty-one illus-
trations from photographs in colour and _half-tone-
Second edition. Calcutta, 1927. Pp. (14), 1-148, (6).
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 527
Cooke, Th.
1887. Note on the Flora of Mahableshwar and Matheran. J/BNHS.
2: 133-140. (This note is complementary to Birdwood,
1887, above).
1896. Supplementary note on the Flora of Matheran and Maha-
bleshwar. Ibid. 10: 440-448. (See Birdwood, 1896).
1g01. The Flora of the Presidency of Bombay. ‘London. 1gor-
1908.
Coventry, A. M.
1go1. A Catalogue of the Trees and Shrubs of the Punjab.
Coventry, B. O.
1923. Wild Flowers of Kashmir. London. Series I: pp. i-xxiii,
I-102, XXV-xxxil, col. tt. frontispice & I-L, 1923; Series
Il: pp. 1-xvil, 1-100, xix-xxvi, col. tt. frontispiece & I-L.
Cowan, J. M.
1928. Flora of the Chakaria Sundarbans. RBSI. 11: 197-225.
Cowan, A Wi, BAL, & ji. MM.
The Trees of Northern Bengal including Shrubs, Woody
Climbers, Bamboos, Palms and Tree Ferns.
Cowen, D. V. ;
1950. Flowering trees and shrubs of India. Bombay; pp. i-xvi,
1-137, col. tt. 1-59 (unnumbered), uncol. figs. 1-39.
Dastur, J. F.
1951. Useful Plants of India & Pakistan. Bombay, Pp. i-vi, 1-
260, text figs. 1-66.
Don, G.
1831. A General History of the dichlamydeous plants comprising
complete descriptions of the different orders; together
with the characters of the genera and species, and an
enumeration of the cultivated varieties, their places of
growth, time of flowering, mode of culture and uses in
medicine and domestic economy ; the scientific names ac-
centuated, their etymologies explained, and the classes
and orders illustrated by engravings, and preceded by
introductions to the Linnean and natural systems, and a
glossary of terms used, the whole arranged according to
the natural system. London; 4 vols, 1831-1838. This
book also goes under the name of ‘A General System
of Gardening and Botany’. (See Kew Bull, 1925: 311-
315).
Diruce, G. C.
1914. Notes on Nomenclature. Suppl. Bot. Exch. Club. Rep. 1913
3 °<A05-A 26.
1916. Nomenclatorial notes: chiefly African and Australian.
Ibid. 1916, Suppl. 2: 601-653.
Dunn, S. T.
1916. Notes on the Flora of Madras. Kew Bull. 1916: 58-65.
528 REESE EL BOMBAY NATURAL .HIST.. SOCIETY,. Val. 50
Duthie, J. F.c& J. B: Puller
1882. Field and Garden Crops of the North-Western Prencss
of Oudh, with illustrations. Roorkee; 1882-1893.
Dymock, W. ;
1887. Marathi Names of Plants. With a Glossary, JBNHS 2:
175-198, 228-242, 1887.5 3: 30-43, 1888.
Dymock, W. & N. K. Gadgil ©
1883. A Glossary of the vernacular names of the principal plants
and drugs (indigenous and imported) found in Bombay
and on the Western Coast of India. Bombay, Pp, 1-104.
Elliot, W. “ :
1859. Flora Andhrica; a vernacular and botanical list of plants.
commonly met with in the Telegu districts of Northern
Circars. Madras.
Engler, A.
1880. Botanische Jahrbitcher fiir Systematik Pflanzengeschichte
und Pflanzengeographie. Leipzig; vol. 1, 1880...
tg00. Das Pflanzenreich, Regni Vegetabilis Conspectus. Leipzig,
1feyere eereee
an series of monographs on many of the families of
Flowering Plants; in Part II those volumes dealing with
families represented in India are mentioned under the
name of the respective authors.
Engler, A. & K. Prantl
1924. Die natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien. Leipzig, second edit. In
Part II under the name of their respective authors several
sections of this book are mentioned.
Fischer, (©. E26.
1932. The Koenig Collection in the Lund Herbarium. Kew Bull.
1932: 49-76.
1932. New or Little Known Plants from South India.
Kew Bull. 19327 245-247. 1933 = 1920-357, alla) 17a atOoAr
165-172; 389-394; 1935: 92-97; 157-160; 1936: 274-
278; 1938: 32-37; 123-127; 1939: 247-251; 659-662;
1940: 44-46; 300-302.
See also under Gamble, Flora of Madras and Notes.
Flemming, J.
1810. A Catalogue of Indian Medicinal Plants and Drugs with
their names in the Hindustani and Sanskrit Languages.
Astat. Res. Ur: 153-106.
Pluckiger, F..A. & D. Hanbury
1874. Pharmacographia; a history of the principal drugs of
vegetable origin met with in Great Britain and British
India. London,
Fyson, Po.
1914. Madras Flowers. Madras, 1914-1921. (Issued as separate
bulletins of the Presidency College Bulletin; plates 100,
text independently numbered for each plate.) 254)
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 529
1915. The Flora of the Nilgiri and Pulney Hill-tops (above
6,500 feet) being the Wild and Commoner Introduced’
Flowering Plants round the hill-stations of Ootacamund,
- Kotagiri and’ Kodaikanal . ... Madras, 1915-1920.
1932. The Flora of the South Indian Hill Stations. Madras.
Gaver Ay I. |
- 1911.. Catalogue of non-herbaceous phanerogams cultivated in the
Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta. RBSI. 5: 1-274, 19113.
2175-367, IQI2.
Gamble, J. S. - :
1915. Flora of the Presidency of Madras. London, 1915-1936,
in 11 parts; parts 1-7 by Gamble, parts 8-11 by C. E. C.
Fischer. .
1916. Notes. on-the Flora of Madras. Kew Bull, (1916: 57-65,.
1916, by 8.1. Dunn) (1018. 222-228); 1920 = 49-57; 1921;
Bl2-adiou . 1924) 1235-230, (19252 -) 257-285.) 1921. 257—
266);,- 1935; {543-150 by C. E.. ©. Fischer)...
Gammie, G. A.
1893. Botanical Exploration of Sikkim-Tibet frontier. Kew Buill..
1893: 297-315.
1894. Report of a Botanical Tour in Sikkim. JBNHS 9: 197-216.
1902. A Note on Plants used for Food during Famines and Sea-
sons of Scarcity in the Bombay Presidency. RBSI 2:
171-196.
1903. The Trees and Shrubs of the Lanavla and Karla Groves.
JBNHS 15: 279-203.
Gell\, 4 .
1863. A Hand-book for use in the jungles of Western India;
being a catalogue of native names of trees and plants,
with reference to their scientific descriptions. Bombay,
pp: “I-11.
Golland, W.
tg00o. Some Results of Acclimatisation work at the Saharanpur
Botanical Gardens. Dept. Land. Rec. & Agric., U.P.,
Bull.. 21. Allahabad; Pp. i-v, 1-51.
Govindu, H. C.
~ 1949. Additions to the Flowering Plants of Bangalore. Journ.
Mysore, Unis (13) t0% 1-8.
1951. Study of Weeds on our Farm Lands. Mysore Agric. Journ.
26: 54-56.
Govindu, H.-C. & B.A. -Razi
1949. Some aspects of the Flora of Sreerangapatna, South India.
LEB 320 2220-227.
Govindu, H. C. & C. S. Venkatesh
1946. Enumeration of flowering plants round about Bangalore.
Journ, Mysore Univ. (B) 7~(3): 21-38.
‘530 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
‘Gracias, C.
1899. Os Legumes e os Cereaes de Goa e Damao. Suas pro-
priedades, usos economicos e therapeuticos e analyse
chimica . . . Bombay; Pp. 23.
1912. Flora Sagrada de India ou Mythologia das plantas indianas.
Com sua classificagao, nomenclatura, descriptiao
Margao; Pp. 166.
1927. Catalogo Descritivo dos Produtos Uteis da Flora de Goa
e do Distrito de Damao .. . Goa; Pp. 06.
(Graham, R. J. D.
rgt1. List of Wild Plants found on the Nagpur and Telinkeri
farms. Nagpur; Pp. 96.
1913. List of Grasses and Sedges found on the Nagpur and Telin-
keri Farms including a few common species from other
parts of the Province. Nagpur; Pp. 68,
‘Green, ab de
1699. _ Neglected Generic Types. — Pittonia ‘a= 45-43:
Deals with the generic names Lippia and Phyla, among
others.
Gupta, B. L.
1919. New Indian Species of Forest Importance. Pt. IV. Ind.
For. 445 : (388-392;, al919 5 +4835 1247-258, po225 5 Ormeyie=
287,/1924. Parts I-lIl)are not imi St. Xay. (Collshibrary,
and have not been seen; the last part of the series is
by Parkinson and Raizada, see under Parkinson.
1928. Forest Flora of the Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur
Forest Divisions, United Provinces (being a revised and
enlarged edition of the Forest Flora of the-Siwalik and
Jaunsar Forest Divisions, U.P. by Upendtnath Kanjilal
.) Third edition. Calcutta; Pp. i-xvill, 1-558.
Taainesa ld aka,
toro. A Forest Flora of Chota Nagpur, including Gangpur and
the Santal-Parganahs .. . Calcutta.
1921. The Botany of Bihar and Orissa . . . London, 1921-1925.
For a Supplement to this book, see below under Mooney.
Heino, Rov,
1907. List of Plants of the Chittagong Colléctorate and Hill
Tracts:
Hochreutiner, b»- PoG.
1904. Catalogus Bogoriensis Novus Plantarum Phanerogamarum
quae in Horto Botanico Bogoriensi coluntur herbaceis ex-
ceptis. Buitenz. 19: 1-48.
1925. Plantae Hochreuterianae. Etude systématique et biologique
des collections faites par l’auteur au cours de son voyage
aux Indes Neerlandaises et autour de monde pendant
les années 1903 a 1905. Candollea 2: 317-513.
'Hohenacker, R. F.
1849. Verkaufliche Sammlungen getrockneter Pflanzen. Metz, pl.
Indiae “orteritalis:, “Sect. 1%, PE =te Merriteris, Ganarar
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 531
Mahrattarum australiori et Malayalim. Flora 32: 556-
560.
Hooker, Sir J. D.
1904. ‘A sketch of the Flora of British India. London; Pp. 1-55.
Howard, A. L.
1934. A Manual of the Timbers of the World, their Characteristics
and Uses. Rev. ed. to which is appended an index of
vernacular names. London; Pp. i-xxiii, 1-672; illustr.
Hutchinson, J.
1926. The Families of Flowering Plants. London, 1926 & 1934.
Hylander, NN. .
1945. Nomenklatorische und Systematische Studien itiber nordische
Gefasspflanzen. Upsala, Univers. Arsskr. 1945, No.. 7.
Isaacs, M,
1927. The Commoner Flowering Plants of Western India. Bombay ;
Pp. i-lli, 1-344, 1-xxxix.
Iyvar,7S.-N: C8 VY. Reddy
1942. Some common fodder-yielding Trees in the Madras Pre-
sidency. Ind. For, 68: 435-438, 536-545, 1942.
Jackson, B. D.
1881. Guide to the literature of botany; being a classified selection
of botanical works, including nearly 6,000 titles not
given in Pritzel’s ‘Thesaurus’. London, i-xl, 1-626.
1882. Vegetable Technology; a Contribution towards a_biblio-
graphy of economic botany, with a comprehensive sub-
ject index: . Londow,-i-xi1, 1-355- :
Jain, S. K. & R. C, Bharadwaja
1951. On a botanical trip to the Parbatti Valley. Ind. For. 75:
302-315, 3 photos, 1949. Note: the number of this
journal is the one corresponding to August 1949, but rhe
date of publication is May 1951.
Kanjial, Po C€.
- 1933. A Forest Flora for Pilibhit, Oudh, Gorakhpur and Bundel-
kand.
Kanjilal, U.
1go1. Forest Flora of the School Circle, N.W.P. Calcutta.
Kanjilal, U. N. and others
1934. Flora of Assam. Shillong, 1934-1940. See in Part II under
Bor, 1940, under Gramineae.
Kapadia, G. A.
1950. Plant Life in Maha Gujerat. Journ. Gujerat Res, Soc.
Ir & 12: 191-225, plates 1-11.
Kashyap, S.
1924. Notes on some foreign plants which have recently establish-
ed themselves about Lahore. JIB 3: 68-71.
6
532 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Khan, K. B. A., B. G. L. Swamy & M. J. Thirumalachar
1942. Some common flowering Plants of Nandi Hills. Journ.
Univ, Mysore (B) 3: 73-88.
Kirtikar,, K. R.
1892. The Poisonous Plants of Bombay. JBNHS 7: 61-76, tt.
A-B, 1892... In all 20 parts were serially published with
24 coloured plates, the last part being 15: 56-69, t. V,
1903:
Kirtikar, K. R. & B. D. Basu
1918. Indian Medicinal Plants . . . Allahabad; 2 vols; i-lxxii, 1-
760; 761-1419, i-li. Second edition: ‘Edited, revised,
enlarged and mostly rewritten by E. Blatter, J. F.. Caius,
& K. S. Mhaskar. Allahabad; 4 vols, pp. i-cxviii, 1-
2791; tt. 1-1033. (The plates are the same as in the
ist. .edit.). The preface. 1s «dated 1933"
Kuntze, O.
1891. Revisio Generum Plantarum Vascularium omnium atque
cellularium multarum secundum Leges Nomenclaturae
Internationales, cum Enumeratione Plantarum Exoticarum
in itinere mundi collectarum. Leipzig, 1891-1808.
1GEZ, So:
1867. Plantae nonnullae novae Indiae Orientalis. JB 5: 240-241.
1870. On some imperfectly known Indian Plants. Journ. Asiat.
7 Soc. Beng. (Pt. Il) 39: 61-91, 1870; 4o: 45-78, 1871.
1874. Description of a few Indian Plants. Ibid. 43: 181-189.
Dacaitasnk, 6G.
1916. List of Sikkim Plants. JLS. 43: 457-492.
Lowis, L.
1878. Familiar Indian Flowers, with coloured plates. London.
30 plates; date of preface 1878.
Macadam, Miss
1890. A list of Trees and Plants of Mount Abu. Jodhpur. -
Mann, H. H. soe
1916. Fodder Crops of Western India. Dept. Agric. Bombay
Bull. (No.-77 Of AO1G; pp. 1-152.
Marten, J.
1909. Plants gathered in and about Mussoorie durin 1908.
SNES: 1S: 475- 501.
Mine Pa.
1929. The Flowering Plants of Madras City and its immediate
neighbourhood. Governt. Mus, Madras, Bull. (N.S.)
(Nat. Hist. Sect.) 2: 1-345, tt. I-X XXVIII. ;
McCann, C. =
1947. Trees of India. A Popular Handbook . . , illustrated with ©
78 coloured plates and 17 black and Tis illustrations.
_ Bombay.
Sil
j
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 583
Melville, R.
_, 1936. A-List of True and False Mahoganies. Kew Bull. 1936:
193-210.
Merrill, E. D.
1917. An Interpretation of Rumphius’s ‘Herbarium Amboinense’.
Manila; Bur, Sci. Public. 9g: 1-595, maps 2.
1921. A review of the new species of plants proposed by N. L.
Burmann in his Flora Indica. Philipp.. Journ, Sci. 19:
. 329-388. |
1923. An Enumeration of Philippine Flowering Plants. Manila;
vols. 3; 1923-1926. :
1927. An Enumeration of Hainan Plants. Lingnan Sct, Journ.
5: 1-186.
1934. An Enumeration of Plants collected in Sumatra by W. N.
and C. M. Bangham. Contrib. Arn. Arb. 8: 1-178, tt. 1-
I4. |
1935. A Commentary on Loureiro’s ‘Flora Cochinchinensis’. Trans.
Amer. Phil. Soc. Philadelphia (N.S.) 24 (2): 1- 445.
1941. A Note on the dates of publication of Wight’s ‘Icones
Plantarum Indiae Orientalis.’ Journ. Arn. Arb. 22:
222-224,
1946. Plant Life of the Pacific World.
1948. An Overlooked Flora Indica. Journ. Arn, Arb. 29: 186-
LO2e) be I
Merrill, E. D. & E. H. Walker
1938. A Bibliography of Eastern Asiatic Botany. Massachussetts,
Pp. i-xlii, 1-719,
1947. <A Botanical Bibliography of the Islands of the Pacific. By
EK. D. Merrill. . A Subject index to Elmer D. Merrill’s
‘A Botanical Bibliography of the Islands of the Pacific’.
By E. H. Walker.” Coninb. U.S, Nation. Herb. 30 (1):
I-v, ee
Metcalfe, C2 R
fesa. = bie; otructire mad Botanical Identity of some Scented
Woods from the East. Kew Bull, 1933: 3-15, tt. I-IV.
~-1935. The Structure of some Sandalwoods and their Substitutes
and of some other little known scented woods. Kew
Bi m1O35 : 165-195, tt. VI-LX.
Misra, R. .
1944. The Vegetation of the Raiehat ravines: /1Bi..°23 113-121.
1946. A Botanical Chart of the Benares Hindu University
Grounds. Journ. Benares Hind. Univ. 9 (2-3): 49-72.
Mpldénke, A5C) ING |
1932. A Discussion on Tautonyms. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club. 59:
139-156,
1934. A Supplementary List of Tautonyms and miscellaneous
htt ‘nomenclatural notes. Torreya 34: 5-10. ©
; 1935. Additional notes on Tautonyms. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club.
62: 2272230. oo
534 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Moon, A.
1824. A Catalogue of the Indigenous and Exotic Plants growing
in Ceylon. Colombo. (See above under Alston).
Mooney, H.
1950. Supplement to the Botany of Bihar and Orissa. Ranchi;
Pp. i-ili, 1-294.
Mueller, F. von.
1884. Select extratropical plants readily eligible for industrial cul.
ture and naturalisation . . . (5th edit., Detroit, Mich.)
Mukerjee, os. K.
1935. Notes on a collection of Plants from Mahendragiri. JIB
: I4: 305-311.
Nairne, “A. JK;
1894. The Flowering Plants of Western India. London.
Oliver, Mrs. A. K.
1905. The Hill Station of Matheran . . . With illustrations and
Map. Bombay, i-viii (i), 1-227.
Osmaston, A. E.
1927. A Forest Flora for Kumaon. Allahabad.
Pampanini, R.
1930. La Flora del Caracorum. Spediz, ital. de Filippi .
(1913-1914). Ser. II, 10: 1-285, pl. 1-7, f. 1-32. Bologna.
Parker, R. N.
1918. A Forest Flora for the Punjab with Hazara and Delhi.
Lahore.
1931. Name changes in important Indian trees. Ind. For. 57:
85-490
1938. Collet’s Flora Simlensis. Ind. For. 64: 3-7. This paper
gives a number of additions to Collet’s Flora.
Parkinson, C. E.
1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands. Simla; (1), i-v,
I-V, i-xill, (1), 1-325, tt. frontisp., & 1-6.
Parkinson, C. E. & M. B. Raizada.
1930. New Indian Species of Forest importance. Ind. For. 56:
426-440.
Pearson, R. S. & H. P. Brown
1932. Commercial Timbers of India, their distribution, supplies,
anatomical structure, physical and mechanical properties
and uses. 2 vols.
PillancSoace
1941. Flora of Annamalainagar. Journ. Annamalai Univ. 11 (1):
9-24; this is the first part; subsequent parts have not
been seen,
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 535
Prain, D.
1890. The non-indigenous species of the Andaman Flora. Journ.
Astat. Soc. Beng. 59: 235-261.
1890. A List of Diamond Island Plants. Ibid. 59: 271-294.
1891. The Vegetation of the Coco Group. Ibid. 60: 283-406.
1893. Botany of the Laccadives, being Natural History Notes from
H.M.I.M. Survey Steamer ‘Investigator’. JBNHS 7:
268-296, 1892; 460-486, 1893; 8: 57-86, 1893; 488,
1894.
1893. On the Flora of Narcondam and Barren Islands. Journ,
Asiat. Soc. Beng. 62: 39-86, two maps.
1903. Flora of the Sundribuns. RBSI 2: map, 231-370.
1903. Bengal Plants. <A List of the Phanerogams, Ferns and
Fern-allies indigenous to or commonly cultivated in the
Lower Provinces and Chittagong, with definitions of the
natural orders and genera, and keys to the genera and
Species: ./ Calcutta, > Pp.. 1/1319. 1)
1905. The Vegetation of the Districts of Hughli-Howrah and the
24-Pergunnahs. RBSI 3: map, 143-339.
Prantl, K. & A. Engler
1924. Die natirliche Pflanzenfamilien . . . (see under Engler).
Pritzel, G. A. 3
1847. Thesaurus literaturae botanicae, omnium gentium inde a
rerum botanicarum initiis ad nostra usque tempora, quin-
decim millia operum recensus. i-vili, 1-547, 1847-1851;
ed, 205-570), 11872.
1855. Iconum botanicarum index locupletissimus. An alphabetical
register of upwards of eighty-six thousand representations
of phanerogamic plants and ferns compiled from botanical
and horticultural publications of the XVIIIth and XIXth
centuries for scientific and practical use. 1-xxxil,
I-1184.
Raizada, M. B.
1931. Contributions to ‘Duthie’s Flora of the Upper -Gangetic
Plain’ from the neighbourhood of Dehra Dun. JIB to:
155-158.
1935. Recently introduced or otherwise imperfectly known plants
from the Upper Gangetic Plain. Ibid. 14: 339-348.
1941. New or little-known plants from Kumaon. Ind. For. 67:
15-23.
1941. On the Flora of Chittagong. Ibid. 67: 245-254.
1949. Some interesting plants from Orissa. JBNHS 48: 667-
680.
Ramaswami, M. S.
1914. A botanical tour in the Tinnevelly Hills. RBSJ. 6: map
TO5-171, tt. 1-2.
Rao, M. R. i
1914. Flowering plants of Travancore. Trivandrum,
536 _ JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Razi, B. A. wt
1946. A List of Mysore Plants. Journ. Mysore Univ. (B) 7 (4):
39-81.
1950. A Bibliographical Negi of Systematic Botany i in Mysore,
Ibid. 10: 59-66.
1950. An index to collections of Flowering Plants of Mysore as
represented in Herbaria—I. Ibid. 11 (1): 1-20.
1950. An index to collections of Flowering Plants of Mysore as
represented in Herbaria—II. Ibid. 21-55, map.
Razi, B. A., B. G. L, Swami & J. M. Thirumalachar
1949. Additions to the Common Flowering Plants of Nandi Hills.
Tbtd.. 30 (5)e 78-34.
Rehder, A. .
tg11. The Bradley Bibliography. A guide’to the Literature of
the Woody Plants of the World published before the be-
ginning of the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, Mass.
Vols. 5, published ror1-1918, as Publ. Arnold Arb. No. 3.
Sabnis,, a 7 S:
1940. A Contribution to the Flora of the Punjab Plains and the
Associated Hill regions. JBNHS 42: 124-149.
Sabnis, IT. S., E. Blatter &/C. WvicCann e
1927. The Flora of the Indus Delta. (See above under Blatter.)
Sampson, H. C.
1936. Cultivated crop plants of the British Empire and the
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan . . . Kew Bull., Addit, Ser, 12:
I-viill, 1-251. ; be
Santapau, H. or
1945. New Plant Records for Bombay Presidency. JBNHS 45:
45-448.
1946. Nee Piet Records for the Presidency of Bombay II. Ibid.
AG. 1377-3815 plate:
1948. New Plant Names from India. Kew Bull. 1948: 276.
1949. Novitates Bombaienses. Kew Bull. 1948: 485-492, 1949.
1950. Iter Kathiawarense, Being Notes on a botanical tour in
Nawanagar State, Oct.-Nov. 1945. Journ. Gujarat Res.
Soc. 11-12: 226-237, Tt. 1-4.
1951. A Contribution to the Flora. of Simhagadh Hill, Poona
District. The Poona Agric. Coll. Mag. 41: 270-284.
Saxton, W. T. : ;
1922. Additional Plants of Northern Gujarat. RBSI_9: 251-262.
Saxton, W. T. & L. J. Sedgwick |
1918. Plants of Northern Gujarat. RBSI 6: 207-323, i-xiii.
Sayeed-ud-Din, M.
1936. Some of the Common Flowering Plants of the Pyderaues
State, their distribution and economic importance. Mono-
cotyledons—Part I. _ Journ. Roy, Asiat. Soc. Beng. 2:
S994. exit to aiealee ME an
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 537
1938. A Further Contribution to some of the Common Flowering
Plants of the Hyderabad State; their distribution and
economic importance. Dicotyledons. JBNHS 4o:.
IQI-212,
1938. Catalogue of Plants Cultivated in the Botanic Garden
Osmania University, Hyderabad, Dn. Collections 1935-
1937.. Hyderabad, Pp. 1-20, pl. 2, map.
1941. Additions to our knowledge of the’ Flowering Plants of
H.E.H. -the Nizam’s Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan.
JBNHS 42: 903-924, plate 1.
Sedgwick, L. J.
1921. New Bombay Species. JIB 2: 123-131, tt. 3 (not numbered).
Shaw, I. ie. & RD. Bose
1930. List of Publications on the Botany of Indian Crops. Imp.
Inst, Agric. Res. a ie Bull. No. 202 Pp, 1-256.
y
Shortt: 1.
1877, List of Wild Plants and Vegetables used as food by the
people in famine times. Madras.
Smith, W. W.
1911. Some additions to the Flora of the Eastern Himalayas.
RBS 4: *261-272.
1913. The Alpine and Sub-alpine Vegetation of South-East
Sikkim. Ibid. 4: 323-431, i-x.
Smith, W. W. & G. H. Cave
1911. The Vegetation of the Zemu and Llonakh Valleys of
Sikkim. Ibid. 4: map, 141-260, pl. 2.
Smith, W. W., S. C. Bannerji & M, S. Ramaswami
1913. Two decades of new Indo-Burmese Species. Ibid. 6: 29-
40.
Sprague, T. A.
1928. The Correct Spelling of Certain Generic Names. Kew Bull.
1928; tI ER-115 3285-290 3 337-365.
Srivastava, G. D.
1938. Flora of Allahabad. Part I. Allahabad Univ. Stud. 14
(Sci.): 87-133.
Stewart, J. L. & D. Brandis
1874. Forest Flora of N.W. and Central India: with a volume of
illustrations, drawn by W. Fitch. London.
Stapf, O.
- 1929. Index Londinensis to illustrations of flowering Plants,
Ferns and Fern-allies, being’ an amended and enlarged
edition continued up to the end of the year 1920 of
_ Pritzel’s. alphabetical register’... .- London; vols, 6;
_ 1929-1931. eit he
538 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY. Vol. 50
Steudel, E. (G:
1821. Nomenclator botanicus. Stuttgart, 2 vols. 1821, 1824.
2nd. edit. 2 vols, 1840, 1841. ;
1854. Synopsis plantarum Glumacearum. Stuttgart, 2 vols., 1854-
1855, 1855.
Symonds, W. P. |
1901. Vernacular Names of Plants in the Presidency proper,
Bombay. Bombay; Pp. 1-2, 1-78; there is no date on
the title-page, but the preface is dated 1901.
Tadulingam, C.
1915. Some Weeds of the Central Farm, Coimbatore. Coimbatore ;
Pp. 12. This is a reprint of four papers published in the
Journal Madras Agric. Stud. Union.
Talbot, W. A.
1897. New Species of Western Peninsular Plants from North
Kanara and Mysore. JBNHS 11: 234-238, T. I-X.
1898. Species of Western Peninsular Trees, Shrubs, etc. from
North ‘Kanara, Bombay. JBNHS 8: 690-693, tt. 11-14.
1902. ‘The Trees, Shrubs and Woody Climbers of the Bombay
Presidency. Bombay. ed. 2.
1906. The Distribution of the Forest Flora of the Bombay Presi-
dency and Sind. Ind. For. 1906: 8-23, 56-63, 126-141.
1909. Forest Flora of the Bombay Presidency and Sind. Poona;
2 vols., 19009, 1911.
Thakar, J. Indraji
1910. Botany. A Complete and Comprehensive Account of the
Flora of Barda Mountain (Kathiawad). Bombay.
1926. Plants of Cutch and their Utility. Bombay.
Trimen, H.
1893. A Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon containing descriptions
of all the species of flowering plants indigenous to the
island, and notes on their history, distribution, and uses
. . . With an atlas of plates. London. Vols. 1-5 by
Trimen; Vol. 6, Supplement, by A. H. G. Alston, 19309.
Voigt, J. C.
1845. Hortus suburbanus calcuttensis. A Catalogue of the plants
which have been cultivated in the Hon. East India Com-
pany’s Botanical Garden, Calcutta, and in the Serampore
Botanical Garden, generally known as Dr. Carey’s Gar-
den, from the beginning of both establishments (1786
and 1800) to the end of August 1841; drawn according
to the Jussieuan arrangement, and mostly in conformity
with the second edition (1836) of Lindley’s Natural System
of Botany .. . Calcutta.
Watson, J. F.
1866. Index to the Native and Scientific Names of Indian and
other Eastern Economic Plants and Products. London.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 5389
1872. A List of Indian Products with details relative to certain
operations connected with the Industrial Survey of India.
London.
Wight, R.
1838. Icones Plantarum Indiae Orientalis . . . Madras. The
dates of publication of this very important work are the
following: Icones Nos.
1-100 1838. 931-1046 1845.
101-24l 1839. 1047-1162 1846.
242-416 1840. 1163-1403 1848.
417-631 1840-43. 1404-1501 1849,
632-736 1843. 1502-1621 1850.
737-815 1844, 1622-1762 1851.
816-930 1844-45. 1763-1920 1852.
1921-2101 1853.
Wood, J. J.
1902. Plants of Chutia Nagpur, including Jaspur and Sirguja.
RBST 2 (1).
Woodrow, G. M. ;
' 1895. Notes on a Journey from Poona to Nagotna. RBSI 1:
89-97.
1897. The Flora of Western India. JBNHS 11: 118-130, 265-
27/735 15897. 5 420-440,, 6357651; 1808; \12'2162-176,) 1808 ;
354-373, 515-526, 1899; 13: 427-442, Igor.
1910. Gardening in the Tropics, being a sixth edition of ‘Garden-
ing in India’. . . Paisley.
Wyckoff, E.
1913. Bibliography relating to the flora of Asia, embracing bota-
nical section T of the Lloyd library. Bibl. Contr. Lloyd
Libr, 439-468.
Anonymous.
1910. Decades Kewenses . . . Decas LVI. Kew Bull. 1910: 73-
79. The series of Decades Kewenses from 1910 to 1940
contains large number of Indian plants described for the
first time by Gamble, Fischer, Dunn, Craib, etc. An
important series. -
1913. Names of the Field and Market Garden Crops and of the
Principal Fruit and Timber Trees of the United Provinces
Oh NetavandwOudh. | Dept, Wand shee iG Apnc. U.P.,
Bull. No. 30, Agric. series. Pp. 1-95.
1925. Additions to the Index Kewensis: V. Kew Bull, 1925:
. 311-315. On p. 312: ‘Nomina nuda published in Wallich’s
Catalogue and Roxburgh’s Hortus Bengalensis and
validated by description in G. Don’s General System.’
1945. A Handbook of Empire Timbers. (Rev. Edit.) Dept. Sct.
| Indust. Res, (Forest Products Res.) London.
1948. The Wealth of India. A Dictionary of Indian Raw Materials
and Industrial Products. Delhi; Vol. 1: A-B, 1948; vol.
2: C, 1950. Important articles of this Dictionary are
mentioned in Part II. |
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
1949. Bibliography of Scientific Publications of South East Asia
(India, Burma, Ceylon). Delhi; Unesco; No. 1 January-
June 1949.
Part II: References by Families
540
ACANTHACEAE
Anderson, T.
-On the identification of ane Acanthaceae of the Linnean
Herbarium, in the possession of the Linnean Society of
1863.
JLS
Londont*}/US 97:5 111-118.
An Enumeration of the Indian Species of Acanthaceae
1867.
Q: 425-526.
Bole; PV. .&.1 {Santapau
1951. A note on Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus Dalz. JBNHS
Ou 420-430 gets ear
Bor, N: Le. & M82 Raizada
1941. Acanthaceae. /JBNHS 42:
coloured plates 5, text figs
685-697, Col. plate 8A, un-
: T=:
Bremekamp, C. E. B.
1944. Materials for a Monograph of the Strobilanthinae (Acanth-
aceae). Nederl.. Akad. Wet., Verh. (Sect. 11) 41 (1):
- 1-306, Tt. 1-6.
1948. Notes on the Acanthaceae of Java. Ibid. 45 (2):
Bremekamp, C. E. B. & N. E. Nannenga-Bremekamp
1949. A Preliminary Survey of the Ruelliinae (Acanthaceae) of
the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. Ibid. 45 (1):
I-39.
Periodical flowering of Strobilanthes spp., and of Aech-
1-78.
Duthie, J. F.
1890. i
manthera tomentosa, Nees. JBNHS 5: 417-418
Lindau, G.
1893. Ubersicht tiber die bisher bekannten Arten der Gattung
fhunbergia L.f. Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 17, Beibl. 41: 31-42.
McCann, C.
1943. The Flowering of Strobilanthes callosus Nees. JBNHS 44:
: Comes
Nees von Esenbeck, C. G.
1832. Acanthaceae Indiae Orientalis. In Wallich, Pl. Asiat. Rar.
2% YO-117.
1837. Characters of New Species of Indian Acanthaceae. Hook.
; Comp. Bot. Mag. 2: 310-313.
illustratio monographica. Vvratislavae
1841. Lepidagathidis .
ad Viadrum.
Radlkofer, L. 7
1883. Uber den systematischen Werth der Pollenbeschaffenheit |
bei den Acanthaceen. Sitz. Bay. Akad. Wiss. 13 (2): |
: |
Rr 4 4 250314.)
Santapau; H. Ae a4
1944. The eae of Strobilanthes. _JBNHS 44: 605-606.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 3AL
1952. The Acanthaceae of Bombay. Bot. Mem. Univ. Bombay
INOt\ 2% | 2
Steenis, C. G..G. J. van
1942. Gregarious Flowering of Stigbildbithes (Acanthaceae) i
Malaysia. ARBG 150th Anniv, Vol., pp. g1-97.
AEGINETIACBAE.
Livéta, E. J.
1927. Aeginetiaceae A New Natural Family of Flowering Plants.
Ann, Bot. Gard. Peradeniya 10 (2): 145-159.
AGAVEACEAE
Berger, A. : .
1915. Die Agaven. Beitrage zu einer Monographie. Pp. i-vi,
. 1-288, ff. 1-79.
Drummond, J. R. & D. Prain
1906. Notes on Agave and Furcraea in India. Agric. Ledg. 1906
(7) 77-271. He
ALANGIACEAE
Bice beiwenr, 5:
1935- The Genus Alangium in the Netherlands Indies. Blumea
I: 241-294.
1939. A Revision of the Genus Alangium. Butterie. (ser. 3) 26:
| 139-235.
Wangerin, Ww.
19gog. Alangiaceae. Pigeich. Are t-25, tt. 1-6:
AMARANTHACEAE
Merrill, B.D. ex
1936. On the Application of the binomial Amaranthus viridis
= Linnaeus. Amer. Journ. Bot. 23: 609-612, f. I.
Sandwith, N. Y. | |
1946. Gomphrena celosioides Mart., a weed spreading in the Old
~. - World Tropics. Kew Bull. 1944: -29-30.
Schinz, H. 7 ) :
1903. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Amaranthaceen. Bull. Herb.
Boiss. (Set. 2) 321-0: |
1934. Amaranthaceae. Pfam. (ed. 2) 16c: 7-85, ff. 1-46.
AMARYLLIDACEAE
Baker, J. G. is
1881. A Synopsis of the known species of Crinum. Gard. Chron.
Ese 703, 750) Tool 2102039, -72, 080, 305- “399, 495-496,
588-589, 760, 784-785, 1881.
1888. A Handbook of -the Amaryllideae, including the. Alstroe-
merieae and Agaveae. London; i-xii, 1-216.
Bose Cle rbottniannt. Ue ite TAN ges is steel) x
"* 14930. -Amaryllidaceae. -Pfam..(ed. 2) 15a: 391-430, ff. 163-187.
542 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
| AMPELIDACEAE
Clarke, °C. -B:
1881. A Revision of the Indian Species of Leea. JB 19: 100-106,
| 135-142, 163-167. 2
Gagnepain, F.
1910. Essai d’une classification des Leea asiatiques. Bull. Soc.
Bot, France 57: 331-336.
1910. Essai de classification du genre Tetrastigma. Not, Syst.
I: 306-326.
1911. Un genre méconnu: Classification des Cissus et Cayratia.
Ibid. 1: 339-362.
1911. Révision des Ampelidacées asiatiques et malaises. Bull.
Soc. Hist. Nat. Autun 24: 1-41.
King, G.
1896. Notes on the Indian Species of Vitis Linn. Journ, Asiat.
Soc. Beng. 65 (Pt. 2): 108-114.
Pianchon, ‘J.35;
1887. Ampelideae. In DC., Mon. Phan. 5: 305-648.
Viala, P.
1901. Ampélographie. Traité général de viticulture. Vols. 7:
IQOI-1g09.
ANACARDIACEAE
Engler, A.
1881. Uber die morphologischen Verhaltnisse und die geographische
Verbreitung der Gattung Rhus, wie der mit ihr verwand-
ten, leben und ausgestorbenen Anacardiaceae. Engl. Bot.
Jahrb. 1: 365-426, pl. 4.
1883. Anacardiaceae. .In DC., Mon. Phan. 4: 171-500, Tt. 4-
150.0
Mukerjee, S.
1950. Wild Mangoes in India. Sci. & Cult. 15: 469-471.
Mukerjee, vo. 2K:
1948. The Varieties of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) and their
classification. Bull. Bot. Soc. Beng. 2: to1-133.
Woodrow, M.
1904. The Mango; its culture and varieties. Paisley; Pp. 32,
ff. 2, plates) 3:
ANCISTROCLADACEAE
Gilo, EF.
1925. Ancistrocladaceae. Pfam. (ed. 2), vol. 21.
ANONACEAE
Blatter, E.
- 1930. Anonaceae. JBNHS 34: 291-294.
Chatterjee, D. » :
1941. A Revision of the Indian and Burmese Species of Sageraea
/ ..> - (Anonaceae). Proce. Linn. Soc., London 154: 263-260.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 543
King, G.
1893. The Anonaceae of British India. ARBG 4: i-xi, 1-160,
i-iv; Tt. 1-220.
Safford, W. E.
1912. Desmos, the proper generic name for the so-called Unonas
of the Old World. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club. 39: 501-
508.
APOCYNACEAE
Bor, N. L. & M. B. Raizada
1945. Apocynaceae. JBNHS 45: 263-279, col. plate No. 22, ff.
1-7, uncoloured plates 3; 451-461, col. plate No. 23,
ff. 1-6, uncoloured plates 4, 1945.
Chatterjee, D.
1947. The Genus Chonemorpha G. Don. (Apocynaceae). Kew
Bulla, ©1@47.3, 47252).
Haines, H. H.
1919. Indian Species of Carissa. Ind. For. 45: 375-388, Tt.
1-7, 1919; 47: 377-379, 1921.
Markgraf, F.
1935. Die Gliederung der asiatischen Tabernaemontanoiden.
Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 12: 540-552.
Merrill, E. D.
1922. The generic name Parsonsia and the status of Parsonsia
helicandra Hooker & Arnott. Brittonia 1 (4): 233-237.
Pichon, M.
1947. Classification des Apocynées. II. Genre ‘Rauwolfia’. Bull.
Soc. Bot. France 94: 31-39. a
APONOGETONACEAE
Camus, A.
1923. Le genre Aponogeton L.f. Bull. Soc. Bot. France 70:
670-676.
Krause, K. & A. Engler. :
1906. Aponogetonaceae. Pfreich. 24: 1-24, ff. 1-9.
ARACEAE
Barnes, E.
1934. Some observations on the genus Arisaema on the Nilgiri
Hills, South India. JBNHS 37: 630-639, tt. I-II.
Blatter, E. & C. McCann
1931.. Araceae. JBNHS 35: 13-31, plates 1-7.
Engler, A.
1879. Araceae. In DC., Mon. Phan. 2: 1-681.
1905. Araceae. Pfreich. 21: 1-330, ff. 1-88, 1905; 37: 1-3, f.
Iga, 1908; 48: 1-130, ff. 1-44, 1911; 64: 1-78, ff. 1-34,
1915573: 1-284, ff. 1-64; 74: - 1-71, .1920.
044 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAI. HIST,.SOCIETY, VPol..60....
Engler, A. & K. Krause 1 a
2. 3908. Araceae. Pfreich. 372 4-139, ff. 1-56, 19083. 55+ 1-134,
1-77, 1912; 713 1-139, f.29, aged. 7! |
Krause, K. seine se
~ 1908. Araceae. Pfreich. 37: 140-155,-ff. 1-3, 1968; 60: 1-143,
; it? 1-4e 6or3. iG - :
McCann, C.
1930. Notes on some of the wild species of Aroids. JBNHS 34:
518-521, ff. -1-2, tt. I-III.
1942. Occurrence of Synantherias sylvatica Schott in the Bombay
- Presidency, and notes on some other Araceae of interest.
JBNHS 42: 796-799, tt. i-4.
McCann, C. & E. Blatter
1939. The» Kruit set EMG O gS tortuosa Blatter & McCann.
JBNGS) 36; «760.
Petch,or.
1929. Notes on Cryptocorine. Ann, Roy. Bot. Gard. Peradeniya
II: 11-26, pl. ii-v. :
ARALIACEAE
Lammermayr, L. |
1930. Die Gattung Hedera L. Pflanzenar. 2: 64-69, maps 65-68.
Seemann, R. ) Pas
1864. Revision of the natural order Hederaceae. JB 2: 289-309,
gf, 1864303: 173-198, 1865555)-5 236-260, 1867 ; 6: 52-
58, 129-142, 161-165, pl. 79-80, 1868.
ARISTOLOCHIACGEAE
Bor, N. L. & M. B. Raizada . ers
_ 1939. -Aristolochiaceae. JBNHS 41: 203-220, col. plate no. 2,
| text figs, 1-12, uncoloured plates 3. Staak
Schmidt, O. C. AE fet ge a .
1935. Aristolochiaceae, Pfam. (ed. 2) 16b: 204-242, ff. 103-123.
ASCLEPIADACEAE
Blatter, E. & C. McCann re Sea
1931. A New Ceropegia from the Western Ghats. JBNHS: 34:
936, plate.
1931. Another New Garonne from the “Western Ghats. Ibid.
35° 409: Sor age Wee
1933; Asclepiadaceae. Ibid. 36: g24-c3% Tt, 1-2.
Brown, R.
1811. 7 On the Asclepiadeae, a Natural Order of Plants separated
from the Apocyneae of Jussieu. Mem, Wern, Soc. 1:
12-58.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY_OF INDIAN BOTANY 545
Gravely, F. H. & P. V. Mayuranathan :
1931. The Indian Species of Genus Caralluma (Fam. Asclepiada-
a ceae). Governt. Mus. Madras Bull. (N.S.) (Nat. Hist.
sect.) 4° (1)? ‘pp. :28) tt.4.
McCann, C.
1939. Additions to the description of Frerea indica Dalz. (Ascle-
piadaceae) and some observations on the species. JBNHS
41: 143-145, plates 3.
1943. Light-windows in certain flowers. Ibid. 44: 182-184.
1944. The Genus Brachystelma R. Br.: an addition to the Flora
of the Bombay Presidency. Ibid. 44: 494-495, plate.
1945. New Species of Ceropegia and the synonymy of the Indian
Species. Ibid, 45: 209-211.
Watt, G.
1900. Madar (Calotropis gigantea R. Br.) Kew Bull. 1900: 8-12,
. plate 1.
White, A. & B. A. Sloane
1933. The Stapelieae. An Introduction to the Study of this tribe
of the Asclepiadaceae. Pasadena, California, 1933; second
edit, 1937.
AVICENNIACEAE
Bakhuizen van den Brink, R. C.
1921. Revisio Generis Avicenniae. Buitenz. (ser. 3) 3: 199-226,
. Tt. 14-22.
Biswas, K.
1934. A Comparative Study of Indian Species of Avicennia. Notes
Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 18: 159-166, pl. 243-246.
Moldenke, H. N.
1942. An alphabetic list of invalid and incorrect scientific names
proposed in the Verbenaceae and Avicenniaceae.
New York.
1942. The known geographic distribution of the members of the
Verbenaceae and Avicenniaceae. New York. —
-1943. The known geographic distribution . . . Supplement 1.
“3 New York.
1944. Supplement 2. Bot. Gaz. 106: 158-164. :
1945. Supplement 3. Castanea 10: 35-46. | |
1945. Supplement 4. Amer. Journ. Bot. 32: 609-612, ff. 1-2.
. 1947. A list showing the location of the principal collections of
Verbenaceae, Avicenniaceae, Stilbaceae, Symphoremaceae,
: and Eriocaulaceae, Supplement 1. New York. .
1947. An alphabetic list of invalid and incorrect’ scientific names
proposed in the Verbenaceae, Avicenniaceae, Stilbaceae,
and Symphoremaceae, including variations in spelling
and accredition. Supplement 1. New York. er
1947. The known geographic distribution of the Verbenaceae,
Avicenniaceae, Stilbaceae and Symphoremaceae. Supple-
ment 7. Phytologia 2: 382-387, 1947; Supplement 11:
Ibid. 3: 130-141. a3
546 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 50
1949. The known geographic distribution of the members of the
Verbenaceae, Avicenniaceae, Stilbaceae, Symphoremaceae,
and Eriocaulaceae. Supplement 1. Phytologia 3: 283-
296, 1949. Supplement 3: Ibid. 3: 304-307, 1950.
BALANOPHORACEAE
Blatter, E.
1929. A New Species of Balanophora from Mahableshwar, Bombay
Presidency. JBNHS 33: 309-310, plate.
Griffith, W.
1846. On the Indian Species of Balanophora and on a new genus
of the Family Balanophoraceae. TLS 20: 93-108, Tt.
3-8.
Harms, H.
1935. Balanophoraceae. Pfam. (ed. 2) 16b : 296-339, ff. 154-170.
Hart, Mrs. W. E.
1886. Note on a supposed root-parasite found at Mahableshwar
in October 1885. JBNHS 1: 75-77, one plate.
Heinricher, E.
1907. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Gattung Balanophora. Sit. Akad.
Wiss. Wien 116 (1): 439 Seq:, 1907.
Macdonald, D. * 7
1886. Memorandum .. .. on the species of Balanophora found
and described by Mrs. W. E. Hart. JBNHS 1: 78-79.
BALSAMINACEAE
Arnott, G. A. Walker
1836. New Species of Indian Balsamineae. Hook, Comp. Bot.
Mag. 1: 320-325, t. 18.
Blatter, E.
1933. Balsaminaceae. JBNHS 36: 307-315, tt. 1-2.
Hooker, J. D.
1904. An Epitome of the British Indian Species of Impatiens.
RBSI 4% 1-10, 19043) 11-35, 19055..37-55, 1-lll, "1900:
1904. On the species of Impatiens in the Wallichian herbariuin
of the Linnean Society. JLS 37: 22-32.
1910. Indian Species of Impatiens. Generis Impatiens species
indicae novae et minus rite cognitae a cl. A. Meebold
detectae. Kew Bull. 1910: 291-300.
i911. Indian Species of Impatiens. On some Western Peninsular
Indian Balsamineae collected by Mr. A. Meebold. Kew
Bull, 1911: 353-356.
Sedgwick, L. J.
1919. A New Indian Impatiens. RBSI 6: 351.
BARRINGTONIACEAE
Miers, J. |
1875. On the Barringtoniaceae. TLS. 1: 47-118, Tt. 10-18.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN BOTANY 54?
BEGONIACEAE
Blatter, E. & C. McCann
1931. A new Indian Species of Begonia. JIB 10: 27-28, plate.
Clarke; ©. B.
1880. On Indian Begonias. JLS 18: 114-122, tt. I-III.
Irmscher, E.
1925. Begoniaceae. Pfam. (ed. 2) vol. 21.
oR BE RTD A.C EAE
Ahrendt, W. A.
1941. A Survey of the Genus Berberis L. in Asia. Suppl. to JB,
1941-1942.
schneider, C. K:
1905. Die Gattung Berberis (Euberberis). Bull, Herb. Boiss.
(ser. 2)%5.7-.33 seq.
BIGNONIACEAE
Bor, N. Ls -& MB Raizada
1940. Bignoniaceae. JBNHS 41: 453-460, col. plate no. 3, text
figs. 1-5, uncoloured plates 3; 681-690, col. plate no. 4,
text figs. 1-5, uncoloured plates 4.
Bureau, E.
1861. Rémarques sur la classification des Bignoniacées et obser-
vations sur les genres Radermachera et Stereospermum.
Adansonia 2: 182-197, tt. 2-4.
1864. Monographie des Bignoniacées, ou Histoire générale et
particuliére des plantes qui composent cet ordre naturel.
Paris, Pp. t-2u5y (icsi:
Chatterjee, D.
1948. A Review of Bignoniaceae of India and Burma. Bull.
BO’ S0C.. beng. 2% 62-70:
Seemann, B.
1862. Revision of the natural order Bignoniaceae. Ann. Mag.
Nat Hast. (2)-40: 20-33. See also in J/B51: $5 seq.
Sprague, IT. A.
1919. Dolichandrone and Markhamia. Kew Bull. 1919: 302-314.
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van
1927. Malayan Bignoniaceae, their taxonomy, origin and geogra-
phical distribution. Rec. Trav. Bot. Neerl. 24: 787-1049,
illustr.
1928. The Bignoniaceae of the Netherlands Indies. Buitenz. (ser. 3)
10% 173-200.
Bel ALGoR ACE
Gagnepain, F.
1908. Bixacées et Pittosporacées asiatiques. Bull. Bot. Soc.
France 55: 544-548.
548 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Pilger, R.
1925.. Bixaceaes~ Pfam. (ed>2)evol- 21%
BOMBACACEAE
Bakhuizen van der Brink, R. C.
1924. Revisio Bombacacearum. Buitenz. (ser. 3) 6: 161-232,
tt. 26-38.
Chatterjee, D. & M. B. Raizada
1950. Correct name of Indian Silk-cotton tree. Ind. For. 76: 154-
uss) |
BORAGINACEAE
Brand, A.
1915. Neue Gattungen und Arten der Cynoglosseae. Fedde, Rep.
Ld gO
1921. Borraginaceae. Pfreich, 78: 1-183, ff. 1-22.
Hutchinson, J.
1918. Cordia Myxa and Allied Species. Kew Bull. 1918: 217-222.
Johnston, I. M.
1951. Studies in the Boraginaceae. XX. Representatives of three
sub-families in Eastern Asia. Journ, Arnold. Arb. 32 (1):
1-26. |
Sedgwick, L. J.
totg. On Trichodesma indicum R. Br. and Trichodesma amplexi-
caule auctt.. RBS 6: 347-250:
| 13° ROME LeleAsC B yA
Harms, H.
1930. © Bromeliaceae. - Pfam. (ed. 2) 15a: 65-159, ff. 31-54:
Mez, °C:
1896. Bromeliaceae. In DC., Mon. Phan. 9: 1-990.
BURMANNIACEAE
Jonker, -F-.-P. ;
1938. A Monograph of the Burmanniaceae. Meded. Herb. Utrech
Nos 512 pp. 1-270, 4. 1-20. 7
BURSERACEAE
Engler, A.
1883. Burseraceae. In DC., Mon. Phan. 4: 1-100, alls, lady
1931. Burseraceae. Pfam. (ed. 2) 19a: 405-456, ff. 191-220.
(To be continued)
ae _
STUDY OF THE MARINE FAUNA OF THE KARWAR COAST
| AND NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS
EY
A. M?. PATTIE, MSc.
(Depariment of Zoology, Karnatak College, Dharwar)
Part Il: MOLLUSCA—AMPHINEURA AND GASTROPODA
(Continued trom p. 139 of this volume)
INTRODUCTION
The present paper is the second of a series of papers devoted to the
systematic study of the marine fauna of the Karwar Coast and neigh-
bouring islands. The Karwar Coast is especially rich in the molluscan
fauna and hence it was thought desirable to deal with only Amphineura
and Gastropoda in the present paper. The remaining groups of Mollusca
will be dealt in a subsequent paper.
SYSTEMATICS:
MOLLUSCA
Mollusca are the most abundant of all the animals found in the
littoral regions of Karwar. A large variety of them have been collected
from all the different localities, either in the living condition or as
empty shells. ‘The oysters and clams are by far the commonest of the
molluscs of Karwar and they form a major part of the food of the
coastal population.
Representatives from all the major classes of the phylum have been
recorded except members of the group Solenogastres.
PLACOPHORA:
Chitons have not been observed in appreciable numbers. The only
genus recorded is Acanthochitona found on the rocks between tide marks
in Kamat’s bay, Binge bay and Kurmugad island. These animals are
recognised by the presence of bundles of spicules along the edge of the
mantle, arranged in tufts.
GASTROPODA :
4 Gastropods are very well represented all along the coast and the live
animals recorded are as numerous as the empty shells collected. The
following are the families recorded:
Patellidae:
Limpets are quite abundant in Karwar and are found living between
tide marks on rocky coasts. They live so near the high tide mark, that
during low tide they are left stranded high and dry. Though edible,
550 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
.they are not used as food along this coast. However, some people in
Anjadiv island have been seen collecting them for food. The following
three species are the most common in Karwar: Fatella variabdilzs
(Sowerby), P. veynaudz (Deshayes) and P. ximbus (Reeve).
Haliotidae:
The Ear-shells are flat, oval and limpet-like, with a row of holes on
the outer posterior margin of the shell, the anterior ones being closed.
A low indistinct spire is recognised at the anterior end. Orly a few dry
shells of Halzotes varza (Linnaeus) have been collected.
Fissurellidae:
As these animals live below or at the low tide mark, the majority of
them are seen only as shells washed ashore.
Clypidina notata (Linnaeus) is the most common Fissurellid of
Karwar and is found in large numbers along with the true limpets,
but generally at a lower level. Its shell is conical and violet in colour
with deep ribs and narrow white grooves radiating from the apex. The
shell has no hole or slit and may be mistaken for that of Patella. Its
fissurellid characters are revealed only by ne study of the internal
anatomy.
Diodora has a smaller, but more elongated atria he shell with a
slit at the apex. They live below the low tide level and only dry shells
washed ashore have been collected.
Emargitnula has a thinner and more flat shell with a slit at the
posterior margin. They too are known only by the dry shells that have
been washed ashore.
Scutws is again known only by the dry shells washed ashore and is
similar to Amarginula, but is thinner, narrower, longer and has no slit.
Its front margin is slightly concave.
Trochidae:
The Trochidae found in Karwar are quite small in size and are
found on rocks between tide marks. Five representatives of this family
are known.
Trochus is the most common and has a bigger shell with red and
brown markings. Both empty shells and live animals have been
collected.
Calltostoma has a shell similar to Trochus in shape, but is delicate
and shows a sharply pointed apex. Only empty shells have been
collected.
Euchelus has a shel] smaller than 7vochus and its whorls are bulged.
Both live animals and empty shells are known.
Umbonium is small, half an inch or less in diameter, and has a shell
with a very low cone. The shell! is polished and brightly coloured.
They are found in large numbers in the extensive sandy areas, which
are submerged during high tide.
Minolta has a slightly larger shell with a higher spire and bigger
aperture than Umbonium. The surface of the shell is sculptured or
decorated with spiral ridges. These animals are found living on rocks.
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST & NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 551
Turbinidae:
Turbo is the only genus represented from this family. The shell
has a high spire and swoilen whorls arranged Jike a tapering turban.
[ts operculum is heavy, calcareous and is shaped like a plano-convex
lens. The animals are collected from the rocks and many a time the
opercula are seen washed ashore in good numbers.
Neritidae:
Neviia are found in large numbers on the rocks. They have a heavy
swollen shell with a low spire and no umbilicus. A very closely allied
form with a similar, but smaller and thinner shell, is Mevr?tz7a, which is
found in the estuary, while /Verzta is exclusively marine. Verztina is
found in large numbeis on the mud-banks of the river Kalinadi. A
series of transitional forms, ranging from the very highly saline to the
very pure freshwater regions are represented by this genus.
Architectonidae:
Architectonica has a shell with a wide low cone and an open umbili-
cus, the margin of which gives the impression of a spiral staircase,
hence the name ‘staircase shell’, Only a few empty shells have been
collected.
Epitoniidae:
The animals of this family have more or less elongated shells with
distinct whorls, and they possess a horny operculum. Animals belonging
to the following two genera have been collected in Kamat’s Bay.
Epitontum has a shell whose whorls are swollen and encircled by
transpiral ribs. Only one live animal was collected on a rock.
fglisia has a shell with the base of the body whorl flattened
and has spiral lines and radial sculpture on it. Only a few empty shells
have been collected. .
Fasciolariidae:
These animals possess spindle-shaped shells with an elongated
anterior canal. The operculum is horny. Two genera are known
in Karwar.
Fasciolaria is more or less like the sacred chank, but the anterior
canal and the spire are comparatively longer. They live in slightiy deep
waters and can be collected by dredging.
Fusinus has typically a fusiform or spindle-shaped shell with a very
long spire and a long beak, and the whorls are gracefully rounded. The
shell is sculptured with longitudinal and transverse striations. These
animals were also collected in large numbers by dredging.
V olemidae:
Hemitusus is the knobbed chank, the knobs being very conspicuous.
They have along anterior canal with a comparatively short spire. The
shells are very massive and grow to a large size. A few large
specimens are usually found in the nets brought to the shore. ae
502 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Mitridae:
Mitra has a_ beautiful elongated spindle-shaped shell without
an operculum. ‘The surface of the shell is ornamented with coloured
spiral lines and spots. A few dry shells have been collected on
the beaches.
Buccinidae:
The animals included in this family, commonly known as Whelks,
have an oval shell with more or less an oval aperture. The foot
is large with a horny operculum. :
Babylonia spirata (Linnaeus) has a smooth shell with brown patches
on a pale background. The grooves separating the whorls are broad
and deep, giving the spire an appearance of a tower with successively
decreasing stories. ‘These animals are found in sandy and muddy
areas below the low tide mark. They are usually collected by dredging
or are brought to the shore in the fishermen’s nets.
Engina is quite small with the shell having tuberculated “ribs and a
very small operculum. ‘The tubercles are brownish in colour on a pale
background. ‘These animals are littoral in habitat.
Nassidae:
The animals belonging to this family possess shells with short
anterior canals and horny opercula. They have a large and broad foot
and a long siphon. ‘Two genera are represented in Karwar.
Nassa has a shell with a large aperture and in the majority of
species, the shells have transpiral grooves or lines. They have been
collected in Kamat’s and Binge bays.
Bullia have thinner shells with taller and more slender spires. They
live burrowing in the sand near the low tide level. ‘They have always
been found in large numbers in Kamat’s Bay. With the receding
waves they are often left exposed, when it is common to see them >
rapidly burrowing into the sand with their large leaf-like foot. When
handled, these animals squirt a quantity of water through an aperture
in front of the foot and then only can the foot be contracted and with-
drawn into the shell. It is interesting to note that, though thousands
of these animals are found in live condition all round the year upon this
shore, only a few empty shells have been seen cast ashore. The
presence of some predacious animal which feeds upon these snails has
been suspected.
Muricidae:
The shells of these animals are solidly built and in many species
the varices are ornamented with tubercles or spines. The spire of the
shell is usually shortened and the body-whorl is large. Their foot is’
large and the operculum is horny. Three genera, with several species
in each, are well represented in Karwar.
Murex is recognised by its long anterior canal and distinct varices.
One species, JZ. ¢vibu/us (Linnaeus), which bears long slender :spines, is
occasionally brought ashore in the nets entangled by its spines. Another
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST G&G NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 553
species is collected-in the muddy areas, which has a thick shell with a
moderately long anterior canal and the varices bearing tubercles.
Rapana has a large and thick shell with a spiral line of small
tubercles, a large umbilicus and a low spire. It is common on tie rocks
between tide marks.
Thats shells are thick and generally their longer diameter Seat
the height of the spire. The whorls are characterised by lines and
tubercles. There are several species of Zats in Karwar. They are
littoral, gregarious and found under or between rocks and stones,
Egeg-capsules of Zhazs have been found attached in clusters to rocks
and many atime to molluscan shells which are washed ashore. Each
capsule is about half an inch in length and is shaped like a straw-
coloured vase with purple edges.
Girnicel lari daer
Cancellaria has a moderate-sized shell with rather small ribs and no
operculum, Only one live animal was collected on a rock in Kamat’s
Bay.
Pyrenidae:
Pyrene have short spindle-shaped solid shells about an inch in length
and may be mistaken for the shells of Axgzua (Buccinidae). The Pyrene
shell has a longer spire, narrower aperture and is more spindle-shaped.
It is usually found living along with Angina.
Olividae: ate ;
The Olives are found actively burrowing into the sand, probably in
search of bivalves on which they feed, and a number of them have been
collected in Kamat’s Bay. The shel] is cylindrical in shape, like an olive
fruit, with a low spire and a natrow mouth opening. The foot is large
with no operculum. The surface of the shell is highly polished and
beautifully coloured like marble. There is no periostracum over the
shell, because it 1s normally covered by the expanded foot and mantle,
which are responsible for maintaining the polish. Two genera-are
represented in Karwar.
Oliva has a bigger and heavier shell with a variety of coloured
markings.
Ancilla has a ‘comparatively slender shell with uniform colouring, and
in one species, 4. ampla (Gmelin), the shell has a dark brown apex,
Harpidae:
Harpa has an inflated shell with a short spire, beautifully coloured —
and presenting a number of longitudinal ribs appearing like the strings
of a harp; hence the name. A single dry shell was collected on Karwar
beach.
Bonidae-
Conus, as the name ialiee has a cone-shaped shell with a very
short ‘spire, almost flat, forming the base of the cone. They havea
long and narrow aperture and a claw-shaped operculum. They are
554 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
brilliantly coloured and have been collected from Baitkal Cove and
Kamat’s Bay.
Littorinidae:
Littorina is found all along the coast in Karwar, living in groups
of hundreds on rocks and other habitats. Their shells are small,
whelk-shaped, but the aperture is rounded at the anterior margin. ‘The
foot is divided longitudinally into two halves, each moving alternately
forward. ‘The shells are protectively coloured like their background.
They are found in large numbers living on rocks below and above the
high tide level, and they are also found living in the estuarine regions.
The peculiarity about these animals is that they are able to live a long
time out of water. This semi-terrestrial habit has developed to such an
extent in some species, that they may be found living so high on the
rocks that they get only the spray of water at high tide.
Planaxidae:
Planaxis is usually found in large numbers along with Lz/torina, and
they are almost similar to each other in appearance, but on closer
observations the differences can easily be recognised between the two.
Planaxis shell has a shorter spire, wider aperture and no umbilicus.
There is a distinct spiral ridge extending inwards from the inner side
of the posterior canal, and the columella lip.is broad.
Cerithiidae:
- The shells have an elongated spire having many whorls marked
with tubercles. The aperture of the shell is strongly channelled and the
operculum is horny.
Cerithtum is quite common in the backwaters along with Cerithidea
(Potamididae), but they are few in number. It not only has the same
habitat but aiso closely resembles Cerzthidea in size and sculpture.
Cerithium differs from it in being slightly more slender and having
an additional ridge on the two lowest whorls.
Vermetidae:
Vermeleus has been collected in Kamat’s Bay and Binge Bay. The
whorls of the shell are not fused and it appears like a worm-tube, The
shells are always attached to rocks. Their foot is reduced to a vestige,
supporting only the horny operculum. Specimens of Vermeteus at
Karwar, however, have their tubes coiled in one plane, unlike those des-
cribed by Gravely (Madras). |
Turritellidae;
Turritella shells are long, heavy and gradually tapering towards the
apex with transpirally ribbed whorls. The foot is broad, truncated and
provided with a horny operculum.
Turritella acutangula (Linnaeus) isthe most common species found
living at moderate depths in muddy sands. Both animals and empty
shells have been collected in large numbers on the beaches. The largest
specimen collected is about six inches in length. Sea-anemones (Sagartia)
are sonietimes found attached to empty shells buried in the sand.
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST & NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 555
Strombidae:
All Strombidae shells have a well-developed shell, The outer
margin of the aperture has a tendency to growinto wing-like or finger-
like expansions. ‘Their foot is narrow, arched and adapted for leaping
movements, and they bear a sharp claw-like operculum.
Stvombus has a shell with the outer lip shaped like a wing. The
rapid jerky movements of the clawed foot is dangerous to those who
handle it carelessly. These animals live in shallow waters in muddy sands.
Rostellaria has a large shell with a long tapering spire which is
finely polished. The outer lip expands into a wing and its anterior end
is produced into a long and narrow beak. They are supposed to
be found in abundance at depths between 10 to 30 fathoms. Only a
few empty shells have been collected.
Hipponycidae:
Hipponyx has a bowl-shaped shell with three distinct ribs radiating
from the apex. Several white shells have been collected from the shores
of Anjidiv Island, Kamat’s Bay and Karwar Bay. It is said that these
animals live on the rocks of the West coast of Anjidiv island, which was
not investigated.
Calyptraeidae:
Calyptraea (Crucibulum) extinctoritum (Lamarck) is the common
species of Karwar of which, many shells have been collected from
several localities. The shell is thin and conical with a spiral apex, on the
inside of which, can be seen a small curved ribbon-shaped plate. Living
specimens attached to bivalve shells (Paphza) have been collected in the
dredge in Karwar Bay.
Naticidae:
Naticidae are active sand-burrowing gastropods with a large foot
whose outer parts are folded over the head, thus forming an efficient
plough to burrow into the sand. Three genera are represented in Karwar.
Natica have thick shells with the body whorls bulged to such
an extent that some forms look like P7/a (Ampullariidae). The columella
lip is more or less thickened. ‘These animals are very Common and are
found in large numbers in the mud-flats of the estuary and backwaters.
Their egg-masses are very peculiar and have been observed in large
numbers. Thousands of minute eggs mixed with sand and sticky
secretion, arranged to forin soft spiral ribbons and standing out as little
truncated cones, are common objects seen on muddy flats in Karwar.
Eunaticina have shells witha high spire anda straight columellar lip.
Only a few dry shells have been collected on the shores.
Albula has a heavier shell with the body whorl oblique and less
inflated. The umbilicus is completely closed by callus, A few worn-
out shells have been collected.
Janthinidae:
Janthina is pelagic, living in the open sea. Their empty shells are
often seen cast upon the beaches. ‘T'he shell is thin and violet tinted,
with no columella and umbilicus.
556) JOURNAL; BOMBAY “(NATURAL RUSE SOCIETY, Vol 20
Cypraecidae:
Cowries have massive oval shells with an arched top and a flat base.
The spire is not visible and the aperture is a toothed slit in the middle of
the flat base. The foot is large without an operculum. The mantle,
when expanded, can cover the shell and thus retain its polish. Several
species of Cypraeca are known in Karwar, of which C. moneta (Linnaeus)
is quite common living on rocks between the tide marks. Their shells
have a central elevation with yellowish colouration.
Cymatidae:
Cymatium is the only genus known in Karwar. The shell is thick
with a well-developed spire and has uniform spiral grooves. The
anterior canal is slightly elongated and the operculum is horny. A
single specimen has been collected in Baitkal Cove,
Ficidae:
Ficus is represented in Karwar only by two or three empty shells
collected on the shores. The shell is long, pear-shaped with a low spire
and a large body whorl. The operculum is absent.
Bursidae:
Bursa granularis (Roding) is a common form found in the shallow
waters of Baitkal Cove, Kamat’s Bay and Karwar Bay. ‘They live as
scavengers feeding on the debris of muddy bottoms. The shell has a
stout varix continuous along the whole length of either side. The remain-
ing space of the shell surface is decorated with spiral lines of tubercles.
Potamididae:
The shells have elongated spires with numerous whorls either
tuberculated or spirally ridged. ‘The aperture of the shell has a short
anterior canal and the operculum is horny. The following three genera
are represented in the backwaters of Karwar: Cerithidea, Telescopium
and Jerebralia.
Cerithidea (Potamides) is probably the most abundant gastropod,
found on the mud-banks of estuarine regions and back-waters. Their
shells are small with each whorl ornamented by three transpiral ribs
bearing tubercles. They have been observed in very large numbers in
Chendie Creek and Kalinadi estuary. Among the specimens collected
there-are several species belonging to this genus.
Telescopbium is easily recognised by its large shell (about four inches
in Jength) and smooth whorls with faint ridges. A number of them
have been collected-on the mud-banks of the river Kalinadi.
Terebralta has also a large shell with broad spiral ridges and brane
piral ribs, which are more or less distinct at least towards the apex.
Only a few slightly worn-out shells have been collected from Mavin
Halla area.
Eulimidae:
_ A Single ‘dry shell of Audzma has been collected in the Kamat’s Bay.
The shell is small, very slender with a tall spire and the whorls are not
inflated. The surface of the shell is smooth and glossy.
MARINE FAUNA OF KARWAR COAST G&G NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS 557
Birllidae:
This Pate i$ represented only by the empty shells of bine which
are usually washed ashore. It is a swollen oval shell, purplish- brown
in colour. There is no spire and the aperture is broad in front and
narrow behind.
7
eee oiding-idaee
These are small pelagic molluscs with two forms represented in
Karwar. A few empty shells of Cavolina were found washed ashore in
Kamat’s Bay. The shells are thin, small, broad and pocket-shaped.
The other form has a tubular shell, resembling Cresets in many. respects.
It has been observed in the plankton very often. ‘Their foot is divided
into two lateral fins. Many a time these tiny shells are also washed
ashore. \
Aplysiidae: i;
These animals are soft-bodied and fame with a large foot. “They
possess a thin transparent shell covered by the mantle. Two represen-
tatives are found in abundance in Karwar. - bi Ls
Aplysia are dirty green in colour with brown spots and-~ grey
blotches all over the body. In Karwar, they have been collected in
enormous numbers in Baitkal Cove, only during the months of December
and January. They are found in muddy areas among the green sea-
weeds (Ulva sp.). Eggs of Aplysia are laid in long strings made of a jelly-
like substance, and are found in masses of coils among the green sea-
weeds, in the same area and during the same season.
Buy aia (Notarchus Hornell) is smaller than Aplysia and the
body -is:beset with small branched filaments. The shell is extremely
small and internal. The lateral flaps of the foot are fused over the back
posteriorly and not open like that of Aflysza. On the sides of the body
are found some eye-like bright green spots with a brown ring. These
animals have been collected in large numbers from the same locality
as Aplysia and during the same season. They have also been collected
in Mavin Halla area.
Dorididae:
A single specimen of Dorzs has been collected in Baitkal Cove. It
is greenish-yellow in colour with dark tubercles all over the body. The
gills are external and form a circlet round the anus.
Another nudibranch, which is probably included in this family, has
been collected from the rocks in Kamat’s Bay. It is a soft-bodied
pink coloured animal living attached to rocks between tide marks
(Dendrodorts ?).
Aeolididae:
A single specimen of Acolzs has been collected in Karwar, which was
about an inch in length. It is a cream coloured, elongated, soft-bodied
nudibranch with numerous cerata covering up the lateral aspect of the
body,
ffervia, another nudibranch belonging to this family, is found on
the rocks among sea-anemones and hydroids in Kamat’s Bay. It is a
558 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 50
beautiful pale pink-coloured animal about the same size as Aeol7zs and
bears bright orange-coloured cerata, which are arranged in a series of
tufts on either side of the body.
Aprimitiwidac:
Armina (Pleurophyllidia Meckel) was collected in large numbers
on the Karwar beach only once (December 1945, at dusk on a full
moon day). They were stranded on the shore by the action of the
waves, where they remained motionless for a while and then burrowed
into the sand. They have a soft flat body, oval in shape, and pale
brown in colour with numerous white spots on the dorsal side. The,
foot is long and bears rows of branchiae on either side.
Onchidiidae:
Onchidium, which is the Sole representative of this family, is quite
common in Karwar. It is aslug-like gastropod with a leathery skin
bearing warts on the back. In addition to the eyes at the tip of the
tentacles, many eyes are present on the warts. These animals are
found in mud and on stones in the brackish water areas near the mouth
of the river Kalinadi. A number of specimens have been collected.
REFERENCES
1. Cook, A. H. (1895) ; The Cambridge Natural History, Vol. III, Mollusca,
2, Gravely, F.H. (1941) ; Shells and other animal remains found on the
Madras Beach, Aull. Madras Government Mus., Vol. V, No. 2.
3. Hornell, James (1949) ; The Study of Indian Molluscs, Jour. Bomb. Nat.
Hist. Soc., 48 (2 and 3).
4. Lankester, E. R. (1906); ‘Treatise on Zoology, Part V, Mollusca, by
P, Pelseneer.
5. Patil, A. M. (1951) ; Study ofthe marine fauna of the Karwar coast and
Neighbouring Islands, Part I, Jour. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., 50 ; 128-139,
(To be continued.)
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA
BY
M. A. WYNTER-BLYTH
PARE 1]
(With two sketch maps and 1wo plates)
(Continued from p. 354 of this volume)
I
MANALI
The valley of the Beas narrows at Manali, hemmed in by steep
forested slopes. To the north it widens out into a boulder-strewn waste
that extends to the foot of the great wall of mountains, ten miles away,
which separates Kulu from the desolate high plateau of Lahoul. Down
the valley, above where it bends to the east, are the big hills beyond
Jagatsukh, and up the Manalsu Nala, which joins the main valley
at Old Manali village, are views of the snow-covered peaks that are the
source of the river Ravi.
The Kulu Valley, as Himalayan valleys go, is prosperous and much
of its floor and lower slopes is closely terraced for the cultivation of rice
and barley, and there are many orchards, for it is famous for its fruit
especially those that are native to more northern climes. Other northern
trees too do well, for the European oak, the linden (Zz/ia europea) and
the Spanish chestnut flourish near Manali village.
Along the riverside grow tali alders (A/xus sp.) and the occasional
poplar (Populus ciliata), while the lower slopes of the hills are covered
with plantations of deodar (Cedrus deodara),and in the more open places
with the scrubby growth that is usual at this altitude in the north-west
Himalaya — — Sfzraea sorbitolia, Shiraea canescens, Berberts, Crataegus,
Indigofera, Rhamnus, Cotoneaster, roses and the holly-leaved oak
(Quercus dilatata). Above the deodar plantations the forest is mostly of
spruce (Picea morinda) with a-scattering of horse chestnut (Aesculus
indicus) and walnut trees (Jug/ans regia) and a thick undergrowth
of ferns and mixed herbage of balsams (/mpatzens sp.), dead nettle
(Lamium album) and wild carrot (Chaerophyllum villosum), whose root
is a favourite food of the black bear. Around 9,000 ft. itis common
to find areas where planes (Acer sp.) grow to the exclusion of most other
trees, and the vivid green of their young leaves makes a pleasing
contrast to the sombre hues of the conifers. Above the spruce the
dark-leaved Narkanda pine (Abies pindrow) becomes the predominant
tree, to give place at 10,000 ft.to the mountain oak (Quercus semecarpt-
folia), where an abrupt transition to an alpine type of vegetation takes
place. From 11,000 ft. forests of birch (Betula utilis) and shrubberies of
rhododendrons (Rhododendron campanulata) stretch to the treeline
at 12,000 ft.
ae * | * *
560 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
I had gone to Manali with great hopes of catching, if not any butter-
flies that were new to my collection, at least many that would be
valuable additions to it. In this I was sorely disappointed for in
spite of a’profuse and varied vegetation I saw no more than 42 species
in all, and apart from catching fine series of Heliophorus oda, Heliobhorus
bakeri, Heliobhorus androcles and Erebia shallad2z, and one or two be-
draggled comma butterflies (Vazessa egea), I collected no species that the
most fertile imagination couid describe as anything but very common.
However, my series of H. oda and A. bakeri were of interest.
Although I do not possess the wet season forms of these butterflies in
which the difference between them is greater, that between the spring
forms is small; dakerz lacks discal lines and an orange-flushed area on
the under forewing; characters which are present in oda. This, in
conjunction with the facts that I found the two insects flying
together and that some of them displayed characters intermediate be-
tween the two, leads me to suspect that oda and bakeri may merely
be forms of the one butterfly and not distinct species.
I was, however, more than compensated for my disappointment in
Manali’s butterfly life by the richness of the flora, which, though I am
no botanist, I found to be of absorbing interest, especially that of the
alpine region.
There was an easy route to the high altitudes up Khanpari Tibba,
the mountain that rises abruptly just behind Manali. My first ascent
was.made. in early May and took me no further than a steep little
meadow at 9,000 ft. where spring had hardly : begun and few flowers.
were yet to be seen except a scattering of white.gy psophila (Gypsophila
cerastiotdes) and strawberry blossoms (fvagaria vesca), purple thyme
(Thymus serpyllum), golden Ranunculus hirtellus and the inevitable-little
blue gentian (Genizana argentea). A week later I penetrated higher
onto the extensive meadowland marked on the map as Gumhana. Thach
(thach being the vernacular for a grazing ground) behind, the. rocky
steeps that mark the end of the first and hardest part of the ascent, to
find that it was still under snow. At its lower edges among the trees
Primula denticulata was in flower and among a fine display of the white
racemes of valerian (Valeriana wallichit) were early growths of: the
strange .7/rillium govanianum, the three-leaved lily with a curiously
spider-like yellow and purple flower, a close relation of the rare English
herb paris.
My next ascent was at the end of May when ote snow “lee receded
from the lower parts of the meadow up to nearly 11,000 ft., but even yet
flowers were scanty. Primula denticulata was now in full bloom, as
was Trillium govanianum, a small purple fumitory (Corydalis diphylla)
and the bright golden stars of Gagea lutea (the Star of Bethlehem).
‘There were, too, some early anemones and a. small, sweet- scented,
-leafless, flowering tree (Vzburnum foetens). Where the snow had just
melted, everywhere were visible the collapsed tunnels of Royle’s vole
(Alticola roylet). 'To judge from their abundance, the winters of these
little animals are far from idle for they criss-crossed and wound about
the surface of the ground much like the galleries constructed by certain
species of white ant, but on a much larger scale. This vole scoops out
a narrow channel along the surface of the earth and employs the earth
so released for lining the upper part of the tunnel which is bored
through the snow. Inside these, one imagines, the winter is spent
JouRN. BomBay Nat. HIst. Soc. PLATE I
Sa
Photos Author
View to the Rohtang Pass from Khanpari Tibba.
II
soyny
‘eTeN eUIeY—AIjUNOD xoq]
“RTEN
$O104d
ALVId
2)
O
5
‘LSIH “LVN AVaWog ‘Nunof
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 561 |
scuttling to and fro feeding on the roots, seeds and grasses come across
during the excavations.
I trudged through the snow to the top of the ridge leading to. the
final slopes of Khanpari Tibba, where I sat down and ate my lunch.
The view was superb for I was encircled by snowy peaks. To the
north it almost seemed as if I looked down onto the Rohtang Pass,
(13,050 ft.), ten and a half miles away, where the track of early travellers
to Lahoul could be marked in the snow as a thin black line winding
across the long gentle ascent of its summit. ‘To the east was the great.
mass of ice-capped Dev Tibba (19,687 ft.) and, close beside it, the
magnificent precipices and ice-falls of his greater, though nameless,,
brother. Again to the left was the pillar-shaped peak behind Chhatoru:
and the approaches of the Hamta Pass, and a little nearer-the vast,
chimney of Indar Kila standing like a huge obelisk on the mountainside.
After lunch I began to return at a run down the steep snow slope
that I had socarefully ascended. I soon learnt that this was a mistake
for the snow was harder and more slippery than I had realised and
before I could prevent it I was embarked on an involuntary glissade
travelling at ever-increasing speed. Almost from the first I. knew that
I should inevitably collide with the trunk of a birch tree some 59 yards
down the slope, and I remember turning over in my mind in an entirely
detached way what would happen to me if I broke an arm or leg in this
remote spot. The next I knew was that I had left the ground where
the incline suddenly grew steeper and was flying, first through the air,
and then through a rhododendron bush, which, I suppose, slowed me
down somewhat, to glance violently off the birch tree and come to rest
six feet lower Gown up to my waist in snow. I picked myself up with
care and was surprised to find myself intact except for a few minor
bruises and scratches. Thereafter I proceeded with great caution.
My final ascent was made on June 9th, the season when the cherries
are ripe in the Manali orchards and the forest is lovely with the lilac
of irises (/. mepalensis?). Beyond the old village the rare tiger-lily
(Hemerocallis fulva), a favourite garden plant, blooms among the rocks,
and the lily of the valley (Ophzopogon intermedius) and the little
dark blue and white A/azus rugosus flowers on the shady banks. Among.
the long grass can be found the curious climbing lily, Poly gonatum
cirritolium, with the tendril-like leaf tips and drooping white flowers,
and in the hedgerows the brilliant blue vetch, Pavochetus communis.
But in case it should be thought that all the flowers at Manali are
things of beauty it must be mentioned that this is also the season of
the inflorescence of that most unpleasing of plants, Sauvomatum gutta-
tum of the Araceae. Imagine a leafless growth with an erect, narrow
column, or spadix, prolonged into a long, tapering, dark-purple
appendage, surrounded at its lower end by a sheath, or spathe, of a
sickly yellow hue, heavily blotched and spotted with purple, whose
upper part is open, bent back and spreading. Imagine, too, that this
loathsome object fouls the air for yards around with a most disgusting
odour, and then the reader will have a fair impression of the plant.
Two hours saw me at the foot of the meadowland where a pleasing
sight met my eyes, for it had become a garden wherein flowered a
profusion of white and blue anemones (A. ob/ustloba), golden Ranun-
culus hirtellus, Trillium govanianum, and nodding heads of purple-
chequered fritillaries (f77tillaria roylez).
562 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 0
On entering the meadow I startled a monal into flight, loudly
shrilling his ringing alarm whistle, to be followed a moment later, as is.
their custom, by his drably-coloured mate. This bird is common at
this season around J0,000 ft. and to have seen him in flight from above
with the sun shining onto his plumage is to have witnessed one of the
most lovely sights in nature. His head and crest of spatulate feathers,
are of brilliant metallic green, and around his eyes is a bare patch of
bright blue flesh. His nape is of flame-tinted bronze which shades:
into the silky green of his upper back. His lower back and wing coverts
are of silky purple, and his tail bright cinnamon, the only drably-
coloured parts of him being his dusty white rump and dusky black
breast and legs, a contrast that has caused the following legend about
him to grow up among the hill folk.
In the beginning Jija Rana, the bird god, created the monal king of
the pheasants, giving him the plumage he deemed worthy of this
position. But that bird, being displeased with his drably-coloured
breast and legs, complained to the god and asked him to improve on his
handiwork. However, Jija, being extremely annoyed at such criticism,
angrily drove him off, speeding him on his way with a handful of ashes
picked from the fire, which fell on the lower part of his back so that
from that day to this the monal has had a dusty white rump. Jija
Rana then set about the creation of an even more beautiful bird to take
the place of the monal as the pheasant king, and so came into being
the glorious, scarlet, white-spotted, black- breasted tragopan, who ever
since has been called Jija Rana in honour of his maker.
I walked across the meadows to where the final steep pull-up to
Khanpari Tibba begins among shrubberies of mauve rhododendrons
CR. campanulatum), as yet hardly in flower, for the season is late on
these northern slopes. Marsh marigolds (Caliha palustris) were growing
in profusion among the rocks and there were the bright yellow spikes
of a fumitory (Corydalis govaniana). At 12,000 ft. I passed through
the shrubberies and onto grassland above the treeline. Here on a
meadow favoured by the sun the bright blue, golden, cream-coloured
and white forms of Anemone obtusiloba were massed among the deep
purple of dwarf irises (/7zs mdleszi ?), white garlic (diium govanianumy),
yellow Ranunculus and lilac Primula denticulata to form such a carpet
of flowers as I had never seen before.
On my return I was caught in the most violent hailstorm that it has
been my lot to experience, and had I not been able to shelter under a
large rock I should have been ina sorry plight for the hailstones were
of the size of marbles. It wrought great havoc inthis natural garden,
‘beating down and destroying the flowers, except the nodding heads of
the fritillaries which seemed especially constructed to withstand such an
onslaught.
Lower down in the forest [ sawa pine marten (Charronia flavigula),
which, it so happened, was except tor monkeys, the largest wild animal
ILsaw in Kulu. His markings were unusual and striking, for his head
appeared to be black down to the line of his eyes, as were his bushy
tail, legs and hindquarters, whilst his back was brownish-grey. There
is also another marten to be found here, the stone marten (artes
foina), but he is seldom seen, being very nocturnal in his habits. Of
the other wild animals that I might have seen, black bears (Selenarctos
thibetanus) are undoubtedly common, especially on this Khanpari Tibba
7 7 - .
i ’ - ‘ % oul
at e = *.
7 _ a : >
, eA
: _ 7 7 -
; i@ “ae =
_ -
7 >
— _
'
: ;
6
(ie
7
;
=
‘
®
(
: ’
: *
—
1 dey yoqoys
060007
Sojius 7 z ie !
00g 7)
v
ad hae, 178 qaeq ad y
ImTP MY
ry
Ooo}
Wd70d. Soa EN
Oo?
o000)]
Oooo}
Q0007
9008
2008
000)
O70] Uy,
hy i. @
90091 TYigzi / — 25
vf Uu
x ‘ER SS £- x = ae “ EN A Ouran ss
2 88 gs ees & g g38 § 8 sak 8 :
= =
< Se
"20 “}SIT ‘jJeN Aeqmog ‘‘uimor
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 563
where I came across many of their scratchings, but they are abroad
little in the daytime and arg adept at keeping out of sight. At this
season brown héar (Ursus arctos) are up at the high altitudes, but I saw
the tracks of one that had crossed over the Hamta Pass. The snow
leopard (Uncia uncia), too, had moved to the heights, but one had been
shot close to Manali village as late as April, after having killed a pony
and mauled a bull terrier dog, and another was seen in Laboul, a march
or so beyond the Rohtang Pass in' early June. Ibex (Capra siberica)
do not seem to be rare as there were several reports of them whilst I
‘was.in the valley, and bharal (Pseudozs nahoor) to judge-from the number
of their horns that decorate the local temples, are io be found not
uncommonly. Theantlers of barasingha (Cervus hanglu) are also a
popular decoration but these must be imported. (Rannoo, who is
usually a reliable informant and is the generally accepted authority on
wild life in Manali, asserts that they come from western Kangra, but no
textbook allows that they can be found nearer than Kashmir). Of the
rest, musk deer ((/oschus moschiferus) are not very rarey and are perse-
cuted for their musk pouch, tahr (flemilvagus jemlahicus) are present
on the craggy hillsides, goral (Vemorhaedus goral) in the same type of
country at lower altitudes, and serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), here
called yamu, which are scarce, can sometimes be found in remote and
thickly wooded nalas. Iam told, too, that there are leopards, and that
wolves occasionally come over from Lahoul in the winter...
II i
Pa i DAR BATIOV ALLEY
Edward Peck’s plan w2* to walk from Kulu to Nark.. ja over the
Pin Parbati and Bhabekt sses. I agreed to aceomp. i: him as
far as Pulga where he} ‘i¢2cd to hire coolies to take hf over the
mountains to Wangtu. ; fi ee
Our drive down *’ ‘early on the morning @)“2ane Ist
coincided with the ann -x of flocks from Kangra, an;’ progress
was much delayed by ti. many thousands of sheep and goats on
their way up to their sur--er pastures in Lahoul.. Alth«, t times
it seemed as ii we | Sidi / at reach otr destination it was an interest-
ing spectacle Mas =, the animals carr+ed little ee iOF i. is .. ccessary
for the Wy" ster <ake all‘their prov '-ions in ¥2 desolate regions
where they will wens the summer, and ever. ner y was accompanied by
one or two big dogs, whose function is quite different from that
of sheepdogs in most countries, for they are kept solely as a protection
against wild animals. The herdsmen are picturesque in their grey,
cather tall cloth hats, and large grey coats, or kirtles, secured round
the waist by yards of twisted cloth so~ that thé lower part of the coat,
which ends well above the bare knees, projects outwards a little ali
around and gives the wearers a vaguely Grecian appearance. Their
journey to Lahoul is slow, for they halt on the side pastures on their way
up the valley.
- The twenty-three miles took us two and a half hours and on arrival
we found Rannoo waiting for us at the bridge with the transport and the
pony man.
The start, at 9-45 a.m., was exasperating, for after three quarters of
an hour we had covered a mere quarter mile and ascended but two
8
564 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
hundred feet. This was mostly the fault of the pony man for he
had tried to lead us up a boulder-strewn slope by a path that existed
only in his imagination, but in addition there had been difficulties with
two of the ponies. The ropes securing the burden of one had twice.
broken, and the other, in a fit of irritation, had cast his down the hillside.
The third animal, a minute mule, whom, in spite of his sex, we nick-
named Jenny under the mistaken notion that such an animal is called a
jennet, had given no trouble. This was reserved for the fourth day when
I was on my own.
After this Rannoo took the ponywallah in hand and our progress
along the very winding path up the mountainside was more rapid, but
we did not reach the Borsu Pass, if this tedious way over the long
shoulder dividing the Parbati from the Beas can be honoured by such a
title, until half past four. The weather had by that time deterio-
rated and several thunderstorms were converging overhead. As
we crossed the pass, the storm broke, conditions being made much
worse by the fact that we were now on the windward side of the hill.
The next three hours were among the most uncomfortable I
can remember. The road, to use an euphemism for the narrow ledge
scratched out of the hillside, endlessly traversed across crags or grassy
slopes that must have been set at the steepest angle at which the growth
of grass is possible. Every now and then when it had crossed a spur
projecting into the valley, it would zig-zag down its tree-covered
northern side for a little before continuing its traverse. The track was.
in a deplorable condition and in one place where it was blocked by
fallen trees it was necessary to unload the baggage and lead the
animals some way down the hill by a very slippery detour, and in
another a landslide had left a yard-wide gap where the only foothold
was a ledge six inches wide. A slip would have precipitated a pony on
a journey that would have ended only in the Parbati, five thousand feet
below. I shut my eyes and turned the other way while Rannoo literally
heaved the animals across.
There were pretty flowers to be seen beside the path, banks of thyme
(Thymus serpyllum) and gypsophila (G. cerastdoides), and massed grey-
blue and purple salvias (S. moorcrottiana and S. lanata), and a white
gerbera (G. /anuginosa) was growing in the interstices of the rocks, but
I was far too wet and miserable to pay these anything more than the
most perfunctory attention, so that it was with the greatest relief that
at last, just as dusk was falling, we descended to the first village
we came across to pitch camp close to a temple under the shelter of some
deodars.
That the village should be called Pini was ironical for the only water
we could obtain was a muddy fluid from a small pond, but otherwise
Rannoo soon had its inhabitants organised and the tents were up and a
meai cooked in a very short time.
Here perhaps Rannoo Shikari should be introduced for he is
a character worthy.of it. Heis a man of most commanding presence
and forceful character, and, as he is most capable and knows all there is.
to be known about the Kulu Hills and their game, those who employ
him are fortunate, even though, as is often the case, they may hold him
inconsiderable awe. It must be added that he seldom misses with either
shotgun or rifle, is a competent cook and is quite tireless. This paragon is
a realist and takes a poor view of his fellow creatures, especially low in
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 565:
his opinion being the dwellers on the plains of India, to whom he
refers as ‘Hindustani log’ and the ‘bazari log’ or those who live in
towns. As he also condemns most hillmen as ‘ badmash log’ it will
be obvicus that the persons who come up to the high standards
necessary for his approval are few indeed.
The tents proved to be waterproof and, Iulled to sleep by the sound
of raindrops falling on the canvas, we passed a good night. I, however,
was rudely awakened by the collapse of my tent at 6.00 a.m. and on
disentangling myself from its folds had my first daylight view of our
camping site. Under better conditions it would have been idyllic, for
facing us across the valley was a magnificent view of the array of crags
and peaks surrounding Shat Nala, gloomy and sombre under the
lowering storm clouds and wreathed with banks of mist. Just below us
were the roofs of the little village and fields of ripe barley, now beaten
down by the rain, while close above us in the cedar grove stood the
temple, a wooden building with a peaked slate roof and overhanging
eaves. As is customary its entrance was decorated with the horns of
wild animals and, a novel feature, with carvings representing elephants,
camels and what appeared to be dancing girls.
The rain eased off sufficiently for us to breakfast in comfort but
came on again heavily when we resumed our march, so that we were
very soon just as wet as we had been the evening before. At last,
after again traversing bare hillsides and cliffs, we descended to the
river, whose milky waters were in furious spate, crossed it by the Jari
bridge and climbed to the forest bungalow where we rested and brewed
for ourselves some tea.
As soon as we continued on our way to Mannikaran, nine miles off,
the rain began to slacken and presently stopped altogether, allowing us
at last a view of the beauties of the Parbati Valley, for it is very lovely.
It is a narrow V-shaped valley with the sides rising -steeply for
some six or seven thousand feet those to the north, as usual, being
rather bare above their lower slopes, with magnificent precipices, but
those to the south are finely wooded, as is the bed of the valley where
the road runs through piantations of deodar and Pinus /ongttolia. Up
the valley, and to its two sides, are views of snow peaks, those above
Mannikaran being topped with strange pillar-like projections of rock, a
common phenomenon in the north-west Himalaya. Opposite to Jari
opens the forbidding Malana Gorge, the only winter entrance to the
strange Malana Valley. }
Nevertheless Mannikaran, and that part of the valley that contains
it, has no pretensions to beauty, for it is a squalid collection of dilapi-
dated houses set among bare, unattractive hillsides where the river
bends to the east. It is, notwithstanding, a remarkable place, for, as
the pillar of steam hanging in the dank and humid air declared even
before the town itself came into view, it is the home ofa veritable
congeries of hot springs, and as such is a place of some importance
for pilgrimages, both for spiritual and bodily welfare. As well as the
principal bathing place near the little temple close to the river, there
are numerous springs by the waterside and others in the village itself,
the water gushing out of the ground and running along the village
streets, so that it may literally be said that Mannikaran is a place with
hot (but no cold) water laid on. The truth of this statement we learnt
later when we discovered that among this plentitude of hot water the
_
566 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
only drinking water was that obtained from the river, a completely
opaque fluid the colour of dirty milk, and, in fact, a thick emulsion of
glacier-powdered rock! However, the greatest use is made of the hof
water, for as well as supplying the villagers with ever-ready hot baths
it is also freely employed for cooking. The priest, who exercises a
monopoly over the latter, because the temple precincts contain the best
and hottest spring, has, he told us, a reguiar schedule—half an hour for
rice, one hour for dhal, andso on. All the time we could see dishes of
hot food being fetched away from the temple.
As a rest house is marked here on the map we had hoped to spend
the night in relative comfort and to be able to dry our drenched clothes
and damp bedding. But we were disappointed because the rest house
had been turned into a school, and so we had to fall back on the local
‘hotel’ kept by the village shopkeeper. This is an unprepossessing
building, very like a row of poor stables with a verandah in front. We
had already peered into the two end rooms which lay open, and not
much approved of what we had seen, when the shopkeeper arrived
bearing a large bunch of keys, and led us carefully round to the back,
unlocked several doors and with a grand flourish ushered us into the
best suite, the two open rooms we had already inspected. It was a fine
piece of showmanship, but unnecessary as there was nowhere else to
stay and we were too tired to search for a camping ground. ;
If the building had been unprepossessing outside, it was more so
- inside, being in a state of considerable disrepair and very dirty.
A great circular red patch where the plaster had fallen off the wall
gave us both an uneasy feeling that this room had been the scene of
some sinister Mannikarian crime of violence, and Edward Peck (pos-
sibly because he has travelled much in Turkey) also viewed the two
string charpoys with some degree of suspicion—a suspicion that I tried
to allay by telling him that I had seldom been bitten by bed bugs in
India. Although, as it turned out, I proved to be right, he was not
further reassured when we retired for the night by the sight of a large
scorpion climbing up the wall.
Almost as soon as we had left Mannikaran the valley resumed its
pleasant appearance, and by mid-day we had climbed to the rest house
at Pulga. Here bad news awaited Edward Peck for we learnt that the
Pin Parbati Pass would not be open to coolies for another six weeks, so
there was nothing to be done except to return to Manali. Pulga, how-
ever, was well worth the trip for its own sake, for it is a place of great
beauty. The rest house looks across the valley up Tos Nala, by way
of which is a difficult route to Spiti, framed on the one side by the high
mountains above Malana and on the other by the magnificent peak of
Dharingdhar (19,000 ft.). Further up the valley, and partly behind
Dharingdhar, lies another peak of almost identical shape and size,
whilst behind and to the right of the bungalow above the forested
slopes were the icefalls and glaciers of Baskihag shining with new fallen
snow.
Life in this valley is hard and it must be a difficult task for its
natives to wrest a livelihood from their scanty fields. Perhaps this
poverty may partly account for the fact that at least 70% of the adult
population of the valley above Mannikaran suffer from goitre, any
person above the age of twenty-five who does not show signs of it
being a rarity indeed. It is acommon enough infirmity throughout the
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 567
north-west Himalaya, but nowhere have I seen more sufferers from it
than as in this neighbourhood.
We spent that night on the rest house verandah, as we had been
politely but firmly told by the chowkidar that we could not be allowed
to enter the bungalow without a pass. Nevertheless we greatly pre-
ferred this sleeping place to that of the previous night, although a
bitter breeze was blowing from the snows.
The next day we returned to Mannikaran where Edward Peck
suddenly decided to return to Manali by way of Malana and the
Rashol and Chandarkani: Passes. As the thought of carrying my
bedding and belongings up 6,0U0 ft. of extremely steep hillside did not
appeal to me (for no toolies could be obtained) I decided not to accom-
pany him and Rannoo, but to continue down the valley with the
transport.
_ Malana, because it is so isolated and cut off from the outer world,
has earned for itself a considerable reputation. The inhabitants speak
a language of their own, a diaiect of the Tibetan group that is unintelli-
gible to the natives of the adjoining valleys, and have managed to
maintain a marked degree of independence (which is carefully fostered
by Jamloo, who lives on Dev -Tibba, through his earthly representative,
the headman of Malana). If local reports are to be trusted the Mala-
nese have persistently refused to pay taxes and are very hostile to
strangers.
Peck and Rannoo camped that night at Rashol and the following
day passed through Malana and over the Chandarkani Pass down to
Nagar, a remarkably long march. Their journey was uneventfui and
they were unmolested by the Malanese. Indeed the only living thing
they saw in the village was an ancient woman who fled into the forest
on their approach, <
I, however, had a trying afternoon now that Rannoo was no longer
with us to control the ponies. The black pony, having friskily kicked
to pieces the wooden gutter carrying the water supply to Kasol rest
house, indulged herself in barging matches with Jenny, who himself
became more lively the further we went, breaking every now and then
into a brisk trot to the great detriment of his load. All the while the
brown pony lagged behind having to be driven every inch of the way
by the pony wallah.
At 6:00 along day come to an end at last and we pitched camp
underneath some alders beside the river in Shat Nala. The pony-
wallah made himself useful (indeed! it was time) and insisted on
brewing my tea and boiling the eggs. The same method served for
both (in fact it would have saved time if they had been done simul-
taneously in the same degchi) for they were placed in cold water and
when that came to the boil they were ready. Strangely enough, and a
useful fact to remember, the results were remarkably successful.
I set off at 6:00 on the morrow in order to reach Bhuntar by 9°00
when the Kulu bus was reputed to pass through the village, but no
matter how fast I travelled I found myself unable to exceed three miles
an hour, even though every now and then I broke into a rapid amble.
I regretfully put down this fact to advancing age. Having zeached
Bhuntar and found no bus, I continued toward Kulu in the hope that
the bus would overtake me—which it did, but not before I was one
hundred yards from my destination. Now the strange thing was that
568 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 59
I had covered the six miles from Bhuntar to Kulu in exactly 1§ hours
although I had decreased my pace considerably. Would it be unworth,
to suspect that the milestones on the Parbati road were so placed to the
considerable profit of the contractor who built it ?
III
THE HAMTA PASS
The route from Kulu to Spiti crosses the Pir Panjal Range by the
Hamta Pass, which, though relatively low (14,025 ft.), possesses a
rugged grandeur that can be surpassedin few parts of the Himalayas.
The pass is 21 miles from Manali, but three days are needed for the
return journey.
Tkree of us set out from Manali on the morning of June 18th with
five coolies and the redoubtable Rannoo. Our wayran along the short»=
cut over Rahan Dhar, the forested ridge that separates the valley of the
Beas from the Hamta Nala. ‘The coolies were heavily laden and found
the going hard, but, as luck would have it, Rannoo met two friends on
the mountainside whom he forthwith impressed into our service. This
entailed a wait while they returned to the village to collect food for the
journey, and when at last they reappeared, to our surprise they were
accompanied by a large he-goat. It turned out, however, that this was
not an auxiliary to our transport, but that they were going toteave him
with a friend herding goats along the route.
The day was hot and sunny as we steadily climbed among the
pine trees. Jn many places the undergrowth was a lilac mist of
flowering irises and the air was often fragrant with the sweet scent of
syringa. Every now and then the pleasing song of a rock thrush
(Monticola rutiventris) could be heard from lower down the valley and
occasionally, too, we were startled by the hurried, chattering call of the
small cuckoo (Cucalus poliocephalus) from a nearby tree. Above us three
hobbies (Falco subbuteo ?) stooped and wheeled and screamed in their in-
credibly rapid and swift-like flight as they mobbed an eagle.
But it was mid-day before we had passed over the ridge, for coolies,
even when they are cheerful and willing as these were, are a slow means
of transport. Our way then layup the Hamta Nala, at first high above
the river, across steep slopes and the lower crags of the stupendous
precipices that wall the valley on its western side and continue almost
unbroken to beyond Chhika. From the other side of the nala this track
looks most dangerous, but it is by no means as bad asit looks, and is in
fact of no difficulty to the reasonably sure of foot and steady of nerve.
On a small pasture where our path descended close to the river we
met two shepherds herding their flocks, who told us that they had seen
two black bears early that morning and wished us to camp there
to shoot them. However, time would not allow of this, and so we
pressed on.
Again we climbed high above the river, to descend once more to the
river bank opposite to the entry of Jobri Nala from the east, across a
- meadow that was a golden lake of marsh marigolds, into a small grove
of mountain oaks. Here was supposed to be the bridge that would take
us across the river, for further progress up its western bank was
impossible as the cliffs dropped sheer to its waters. As the whole
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 563
advantage of taking the short-cut across Rahan Dhar depended on the
existence of this bridge I had made careful enquiries before setting out,
not only of its presence but also of its nature, for the hillmen, who can
balance with the agility of cats, frequently span a river with two slender
ROW Tans Ma ° dtamta Pass
‘ Nu NG. Nez
(A/S SY 3 154 S.
Me g
oh y \
Ki fo ,
5?
°@
"
' N
y
\' DAS?
\ DR i)
a ws Zi
% ,
1 NYY fos
Manale { NY “fait
@ y ee
| : x
ane é
Am Ky!
\\ (S
G
Qa.
mus aR =GLACIER i 2 3 & MILES
Sketch Map 2
tree trunks set a foot or two apart, over which they pass with complete
unconcern, no matter how high they are above the water, nor how tur-
‘bulent is the torrent beneath. Rannoc, however, had assured me that
there was a very good bridge. Atleast, as he qualified it on second
thoughts, one over which goats could pass.
But the bridge, swept away by the first spate of the melting snow
waters, was no longer there! Rannoo, never to be nonplussed,
announced that he would build a bridge—the coolies carried an axe—but
this proved to be unnecessary, for just then we made a discovery that
realised my worst apprehensions. A tree had falien across the stream,
half spanning it, to collect a flotsam of brushwood at its nearer end, over
which it was possible to scramble to the middle of the river where
precarious access to the slippery trunk could be gained.
Rannoo, performing marvels of agility, successfully piloted each of
us to the other bank, shaken but unscathed. Once over we proceeded up
the main Spiti track where the going was good, to arrive at 6-30 at the
camping ground of Chhika—a few flat boulder-strewn acres in a huge
amphitheatre. Vast crags hemmed us in to the north and west, and
above us the river descended through a gorge, between the sides
of which could be seen the gigantic pillar of Indar Kila, a great finger of
rock two hundred feet in height, standing in isolation on the snowy
mountain side, whilst on the steep hill slopes to the east were
shrubberies of mauve-flowering rhododendrons and scanty birch forest.
The vegetation round about was rank and lush, mainly of a coarse
grass and a tall, many jointed dock (Polygonum sp.) among which, in
570 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
those parts that had not been grazed by the flocks pastured there, was
an abundance of the curious three-leaved Arisaema intermedium with
the striped spathe that is so like the spread hood of a cobra, and many
other flowers—by the water yellow marsh marigolds, light blue Carda-
mine macrophylla and wood forget-me-nots (JZyosolzs sylvatica), whilst
here and there were bright yellow violas (Viola biflora), dwarf purple
iris (/ris mizleszz ?), a long-stemmed deep blue primula (Primula involu-
cvata), and on the grassy banks the little blue Veronica serpyllifolia,
white Zhlaspe alpestre, and pale purple Androsace sarmentosa.
A bitter wind was blowing, and when darkness fell we huddled over
the camp fire and sought the protection of our tents as soon as we had
eaten. |
We awoke soon after dawn to the chak! chak ! of a flock of alpine
choughs (Pyrrhocorax graculus) as they wheeled about in the air above
us or grubbed for worms on the slopes nearby. At half past seven we
set out for the pass, telling Rannoo we should return before half past
four. Rannoo, who is the embodiment of tact, regarded us with doubt
but refrained from comment and himself set off with my rifle to search
for ibex on the crags, for he said that those to the north and west of us
were known to harbour three fine heads.
Two miles’-scramble up the road, which had now degenerated into
a wickedly rough track, took us through the gorge and past two large
snow bridges spanning the river, to a place where the valley widened
and turned sharply to the east, revealing a view that was grand, but
forbidding in the extreme. High crags fell sharply from the snow:
capped peaks that now walled in the right-hand side of the valley and
poured down screes on which grew the last of the rhododendrons,
whilst to the left its sides sloped more gently to the snowfields of Indar
Kila. Straight ahead the pointed finger of rock surmounting the peak
(19,834 ft.) beyond Chhatoru was just visible, but as yet the approach
to the pass could not be seen, being concealed by a bend in the valley
a little way ahead.
Amongst the boulders and on the grassy slopes from which the
snow had recently melted were a multitude of flowers. That finest of
anemones, Anemone obtusiloba, grew everywhere, flowering in its brilliant
blue, white, gold, and cream-coloured forms, Equally abundant were
the marsh marigolds, becoming ever smaller with the higher altitude,
and the bright rink, yellow-centred, Primula rosea. Here and there was.
a dark blue spike of Corydalis cachemitriana, and once we had the good
fortune to find the large and lovely Primula macrophylla, which has
blossoms of the deepest purple, growing solitary upon a rock.
Snow pigeons (Columba leuconota) were common, flying in flocks
like the blue rock, or perching singly and in pairs on the tops of Loulders
as they are fond of doing. Because they are shy birds and fly
extremely fast I was not surprised when I failed to shoot any for the
pot. We had also hoped to see that fine bird, the snowcock (Zetvogallus
himalayensts), a giant grey, black, white and chestnut game bird, but
luck once more was against us and none was about.
Aiter climbing for another two miles the valley bent slightly to the
left to disclose a clear view of the immediate approaches to the pass,
the pass itself not being visible until the climber is almost upon it,
because it is placed behind the shoulder on the northern side of the
col at the head of the valley. The snowfields began close ahead of us
A NATURALIST IN THE NORTH-WEST HIMALAYA 57f
and sloped gently until at two and a half miles the ascent became steep,
a climb that I foresaw might be difficult. The.huge bulk of Chhatoru
(18,344 ft.) stood as a background to the pass and towered over it.
One hour’s steady ploughing through the snow brought us to the
lower slopes of the steep final ascent and as we rested and ate our
lunch we congratulated ourselves that another half hour would see us on
the top. We were wrong. There were nearly two hours of stiff
climbing ahead of us.
When first we saw this slope from a distance we had observed a
sinuous black line winding down it past the rock on which we were now
sitting, and had assumed it to be the median moraine of a glacier.
But here we could see that this was not the case, for it turned out to be
a line of mud and stones thrust up through the snow by the Hamta
stream. What is the cause of this phenomenon I do not know, never
having seen nor heard of it before.
Just before the head of the valley, on its southern slope, hangs a
small glacier, the tongue of a larger glacier that covers the mountain
higher up. In days gone by this glacier pushed its terminal moraine
right across the valley to its farther side, and it was between this and
its northern crags that our way seemed to lie. So far there were no
tracks for us to follow and it appeared that we were the first to cross
the pass this year, but shortly after leaving our luncheon place we found
that another being had made the journey recently, for there in front of
us stretched a line of tracks leading down from the pass. Although
the footprints were man-like it was obvious from their size and the
distance between.each of them that they had been made by someone of
more than humandimensions. In short, it was clear that they were the
tracks of an Abominable Snowman, that superhuman giant of evil re-
pute that inhabits the high regions of the Himalayas.
We soon discovered that the Snowman knew exactly the right route
over the pass, for as long as we followed him we avoided difficultics,
but once we deviated from his trail we found ourselves in trouble. This
was when we struck out on our own course to climb behind the moraine at
its nearer end, to find that to gain its crest we had to make a precarious
traverse across a steep slope of hard and slippery snow. As we kicked
steps I eyed the black rocks at its foot with apprehension, remembering
my involuntary glissade on Khanpari Tibba some days before. The
Snowman, however, had made a direct assault on the middle of the
moraine which, on our return, we found to be a much more practicable
route. Having struggled to the top of the moraine and made our
way along it, another steep ascent lay before us, up wnich the going
was exhausting as there was a layer of soft new snow into which we
sank at every step.
Here I must record my self-satisfaction on finding that the altitude
was affecting me much less than my two companions, who seemed very
tired, and, who, truth compels me to relate, were suffering from high
altitude irritability. So,my encouraging words falling on deaf ears, I
went on ahead, and having covered the final hundred yards of nearly
level snowfield, stood at last upon the pass. The time was 2-30 p.m.
The Hamta Pass crosses into the Chhatoru Nala some three miles
below where the latter ends at the foot of the icefalls and tremendous
precipices of the huge nameless peak (20, 410 ft.) which can be seen direct-
ly to the right of the pass, over the snow slopes of the col on which we
572 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
stood. Straight in front, on the other side of the glacier-filled
‘Chhatoru Nala, towered Chhatoru, down whose sides avalanches thun-
dered almost without cessation, for the day had been warm and sunny.
To the left of this mountain the precipitous wall of the nala swept
down from a bewildering array of sharp peaks until its lower reaches
were concealed from sight by the rocky ridge close to our left. The
view back to Kulu was obscured by the snow slope around which we had
come, but by retracing our steps for a short way we could look down
the Hamta Nala and over the crags above Chhika to the high dome of
Shikar Beh (20,340 ft.), twenty miles away.
After basking in the sunshine for an hour—strangely enough the
pass itself was warm, although in the valley we had been chilled to the
marrow by a bitter wind—we returned, running down the snow slopes
and glissading gently down the face of the moraine, for the sun had
now softened the surface of the snow. The sun, too, had removed the
obscuring traces of the previous night’s frost from the footprints of the
Abominable Snowman, revealing in one particular instance a clear
imprint of long claws that could only have been made bya bear. So,
after all, as I suppose is always the case, our Abominable Snowman
turned out to be abrown bear. Thetruth of the matter is that these bears
place their hind feet onto their front footmarks, and the action of the
wind, the frost and the sun soon obscures the marks so that it cannot be
seen that one paw has been placed upon another, with the result that
the final effect is very like the track of some gigantic man.
The placing of the hind foot onto the front footmark is done with the
utmost regularity, and not ina single instance did the tracks of this bear
look like anything other than those of a biped!
Sped on our way by a snowstorm, we arrived in camp at 6-00 p.m.
to find that Rannoo had returned empty-handed. He had seen ibex, but
no shootable heads.
The following morning we returned toe Manali by the main route
through Parini, avoiding the short-cut and the perilous bridge. Rannoo
left us at Jobri to ascend the nala to shoot me a monal—for scientific
purposes let me hasten to add, though it served for another purpose as
well!
NV. B.—My small collection of plants from Kulu was very kindly identified by
Rev. Fr. Santapau of St. Xavier’s College, Bombay, & Mr. M. B. Raizada of the
Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun.
lat 6.570 8 ON 9°
OO) ..
PROC 0)
N
“eee
BSR
Pee
Baur
\/
AN
Y\
We
VY
LY
| Pe, |
ss
fAAWC
4
s
1 ee TW
, ‘
ill
cL
ly
}
SNonai2ao Ls10OW IWIIdouLBeSe|fe
N3SYINIAS-IWIS WwIdoMl—7 712 |
N33Yv9NTAT 13M IWdIdOUL
\/
os
\
0.4%,
s
\)
‘4
ae
P
Sf
Z,
(NOIdWVHD “9 'H Yatav)
S3SadAL LSSIYOS
AQ NOILNGglYytsidg
-—-p = a,
g 7 @
a,
E '
A AE ori ihe
webad
® 1130
i
On] | :
Oi \ | lie
905 “SIH ‘JeN Avquog ‘uanor
Se
Ys tl
G
SOME JUNGLE BIRD ASSOCIATIONS
BY
M. D. LISTER
(With a map)
This paper contains a short comparative account of the birds found
by the writer in such of the major forest types in India and Burma as
he happened to visit during the years 1942-1945.
During the last 6-7 decades much work has been done in the study
of forest classification throughout the world. The most comprehensive
survey of the types occurring in India and Burma is that published by
Mr. H. G. Champion (1936) who puts forward a tentative classification of
the main forest types based on four temperature zones, tropical, sub-
tropical, temperate and alpine, each subdivided according to the avail-
able amount of moisture as reflected by the relative importance of ever-
green, deciduous and thorny trees. Important edaphic variations as
well as certain primary and secondary seral types are also listed.
A given square mile of country in any of the major forest types
may contain several distinct sub-types as well as edaphic or seral
variants and an ideal comparative study of the avifauna would cover
concurrently large areas of each main type, including examples of all the
major components, for long periods at all seasons of the year. Sucha
survey would be a very big undertaking requiring the co-operation of
many observers, but until it is possible to organise such a survey
preliminary information can be collected from smaller surveys of
more limited areas. In the present case no properly controlled survey
was possible, and the present. records were derived from various
incomplete samples of varying duration, made at different seasons
under very varying conditions. The comparisons, therefore, are by
no means complete, but they may perhaps have some value as a pointer
for later work.
Certain minor habitat types within the major ones, e.g. tanks, have
not been treated separately in this paper, as it was well-nigh impossible
to separate them satisfactorily in the circumstances under which the
surveys were made, and this accounts for the presence in the lists of
such unexpected species as terns, which may perhaps have been seen
at an isolated tank surrounded by a considerable area of jungle. Soaring
and high flying birds have been included as these obtain much of their
food directly or indirectly from the jungle.
The classification of forests here adopted is that contained in
Mr. Champion’s paper. The writer was not aware of that paper until
after he had left India and he has been unable to establish beyond doubt
to which sub-type the various areas of jungle under survey belonged.
* Coampion, H. G. (1936). ‘A Preliminary Survey of the Forest Types of
India and Burma’. Jud. For. Reds. (New Series), Sylviculture, Vol. 1, No. 1,
“I
4
B. Zropical Semt-evergreen Forest:
C. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest:
| One oe vopical Thorn Forest: |
JOURNAL, BOMBAY, NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
SUMMARY OF SURVEYS MADE
I. Moist. TROPICAL ForRESTS
A. Tropiual Wet Evergreen Forest: 1, Myitkyina (a) forest
(0) scrub.
2. Jessore (a) forest
3. Dhubalia (a) forest
4. Ramgarh (a) forest
See Bl yese (a) forest
(6) scrub.
II. Dry TROPICAL FORESTS
D. Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest: 6. Monywa (a) forest
(6) serub
7. Ambala (a) forest
lg Delhi (a) forest
(6) scrub
\9. Okhla (6) scrub
III. MONTANE SUB-TROPICAL FORESTS
F. Sudb-tvopical Wet Fiild Forest: 10. Darjeeling (a) forest
I. Morst TROPICAL FORESTS
A. Tyvopical Wet Evergreen Forest
Myitkyina, North: Burma: Position:.25% 30’ Nis¢97° 25k
Altitude: approx:-4/0%-A;S- 65.7 Per tody.02 sire:
24-27 March, 1945; almost continuous observation. Locality:
although the forest in much of the surrounding country is of this
type, the only subtypes visited here were a small citrus orchard
and an area of scrub. The latter was, I think, clearly a seral form
of vegetation as it lay to a great extent on the bedof a fairly
recently dried-up meander of the Irrawaddy. The vegetation
may -also have been influenced by the felling of the larger
trees to provide a clear air approach to the landing ground.
which Jay between the bed of the meander and the main
river.
(2) Tree Forest: Some 5-6 acres of overgrown citrus orchard |
on the right bank of the Irrawaddy. Some trees cut down to make room
for huts and tents. Some rough thin bushes round the edges witha few
teak (Zectona grandis) and (?) Bombax trees.
(6) Scrub: A large area of dense scrub, in places consisting of
fairly large bushes with a sprinkling of trees of medium size, including a
few bamboos and (?) Bombax ; in other places the vegetation consisted
of considerable areas of a leafless woody scrub of medium height,
SOME JUNGLE BIRD ASSOCIATIONS 575
almost like some sort of crop (not identified). The whole area was
intersected by several paths and grassy rides. One long visit of several
hours on foot. Major battles had recently been fought in this area and
- signs of this were still very obvious.
B. -Lvopical Sent-evergreen Forest
2. Jessore, Lower Bengal: Position: 23° 11’N x 89° 10’E. Inland
portion of delta area. Altitude: 20’ A.S.L. Period of
survey: 14 April, 1943—9 Sept., 1944 (with three breaks of a
fortnight.each and one in Sept., 1943 of amenth). Locality:
this probably lies in Champion’s C4 category (Chittagong
Tropical Evergreen Forest). ‘There were considerable areas
of mature forest, though some patches, judging by the absence
of large trees, were only of a secondary nature and in many
places the forest was very broken. ‘The greater part of the
district is devoted to rice growing, with some jute, and the
vegetation was always very luxuriant.
(a) Tree Forest: The whole of this area of several square
miles consists of extensive stretches of paddy and jute fields round a
‘small, well-wooded Indian town, set in a matrix of patchily dense jungle.
Dominant trees in many of the jungle patches were mango (Mangifera
indica), bainboos (? species), with coconut palms (Cocos nucifera), date
palms (Phoenix sylvestris), but many other trees were also well repre-
sented, including red silk cotton (Sombax malabaricum), banyan
(Ficus bengalensis), jackfruit (Artocarpus integrifolia), and litchi
(Nebhelium tttcht). ‘Vhe undergrowth varied from very dense to only
a few scattered babool (Acacia arabica) bushes at the edge. Some
patches of this mixed jungle, I think, probably represented the
climatic climax, but more often, judging from the absence of really
mature trees, they were only of a secondary seral nature, representing
a small residue of the original jungle (the larger figs, mangoes &c)
mixed with younger regeneration growth after considerable human
interierence.
The roads were nearly all bordered with trees and in some places
bushes and patches of jungle. Here the dominant trees were, in most
places, peepal (zeus veligtosa), in one place I think tamarind (7amarin-
dus indicus), With a smaller proportion of babool, banyan, mango and_
coconut and palmyra palms (Sorassus flabelliformis). Small groves of
palms were scattered all over the paddy fields, usually with no under-
growth and the paddy growing beneath them.
The whole of the urban area ts liberally sprinkled with tanks, but it
was not practicable to treat these as a separate habitat; their avifauna, if
indeed they really have a distinct one, is usualiy submerged in that of
the major habitat in which they are situated.
3. Dhubalia, Lower Bengal: Position: 23° 30'N x 88° 27’ E. Lower
Gangetic Plains Altitude: about 45’ AS.L. Period of
survey: ll Sept.,—1l Dec. 1944 (except 10-31 Oct.).
Locality lies 60-70 miles W.N.W. of Jessore and much nearer
to the Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest region. I think it is rather
drier than Jessore, though temperature and rainfall data (q.V.)
576 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
were not available for the whole year, and the vegetation
rather less luxuriant, with the forest more patchy and broken.
(a2) Tree Forest: The whole countryside is broken up by rough,
untidy ‘hedges’ and small patches of mixed jungle consisting of large
straggling bushes growing in a dense tangle, with trees of various kinds.
Some of the ‘hedges’ were swollen into considerable belts of bushes.
Undergrowth varied from place to place. Dominant trees difficult to
determine, but tamarind (7amarindus indicus), Mango and various
palms, including palmyras, probably predominated. My bungalow stood
under the dense canopy of a large mango grove (145-2 acres) with only
a little undergrowth at the extreme edges. I think that none of the
jungle seen here represented the climatic climax, and that it consisted
of a secondary seral type interspersed in a few places with the sub-type
called by Champion ‘Gangetic Saline Scrub’.
I have already dealt more fully with the birds seen at Jessore and
Dhubalia in‘ Some Bird Associations of Bengal’ (J. Bomb. N. A. S.
Vol. 49 (4), April, 1951).
C. Tvropical Moist Deciduous Forests
4. Ramgarh, Bihar: Position: 23° 38’N x 85° 34’E. Altitude:
approx. 2,000’ A.S.L. Periodof survey: 25 May—3 June,
1942 ; almost continuous observation. Locality: The jungle
here was richer, higher, denser and more varied than at Digri,
and I suspect that it represented the climatic climax, but I was
not qualified to identify any of the trees with certainty.
(a) Tree Forest: A large camp carved out of rather light,
deciduous woodland with bushes ( ? Laureaceae) and many trees of vary-
ing size (including some Ficus and a very few palms), The whole ter-
rain was rough and irregular with many nullahs. The value of the
survey here was greatly limited owing to my unfamiliarity with the
species seen, as I had only just arrived in India.
5. Digri, S. W. Bengal: Position: approx. 22° 47’N x 87° 23’E,
Altitude: about 200’ A:S.U: Period oi sunyweyos
March—8 April, 1943. Locality: this was in an area of Sal
(Shorea robusta) forest (probably Champion’s ‘ Wet Sal’), with
small patches of larger mixed trees.
(2) Tree Forest: Some 50 acres of light woodland with many
bamboos (? species) some 20-30’ high, and a good sprinkling of larger
deciduous trees of various kinds (including some large Ficus). A fair
number of thatched busti huts under the trees, and some Mess kitchens.
whose refuse was a great attraction to the ubiquitous Pariah Kites.
Also considerable patches of sal, 25-30’ high, which were under only
occasiona! observation from near the edge and so not worth treating
separately.
(6) Scrub: About 1 square mile of fairly level, rough, broken
ground, about 40% of which was covered with low, thorny scrub; bushes
nowhere more than 2-3’ high. Sparse, patchy grass and weeds in the
SOME JUNGLE BIRD ASSOCIATIONS 577
open grotind between the scrub. Daily observation, usually from an.
open truck or motor cycle, but sometimes on foot.
II. Dry TROPICAL FORESTS
D. Tyropual Dry Deciduous Forest
6. Monywa, Lower Chindwin, Burma: Position: 22°00’Nx95°
05’. Altitude: approx. 300’ A.S.L. Period of survey:
3-6 March, 1945 and 30 March-2 April, 1945. Fairly continuous
observation. Locality: lies near northern end of the dry
zone of Burma and not far tothe south of the Tropical Moist
Deciduous Forest region. None of the area I visited appeared
to have any climatic climax forest.
(2) Tree Forest: An extensive area composed of a mixture of
more or less derelict compounds about the edge of the town, all well-
wooded, mostly with light-leaved trees of the Acacza type (though other
species were quite well represented); of roadside trees of various.
kinds, and clumps and whole areas of bushes and scrub. Also a stretch
of road out to the aerodrome some 2-3 miles long, bordered on each side
by a continuous line of trees, predominantly neem (Meza), and here
and there a tamarind (Zamarindus indicus), an occasional babool
(Acacia arabica) and a few other species; there was also a light thorn
hedge bordering much of the road. Frequent visits, usually in an open.
truck.
(6) Scrub: About 10 acres of rough grass, with a patchy growth.
of low scrub and a sprinkling of larger thorn bushes (not identified),
Daily visits on foot.
E. Tyvopical Thorn Forest
7. Ambala, Punjab: Position: 30° 25’N x 76°50’E. Altitude:
about 900’ A'S.L. Period of survey: 7 July-5 Aug.,,
1942. Several visits. Locality: lies very near the Tropi-
cal Dry Deciduous Forest region.
(a) Tree Forest: A small plain about 4 mile x $ mile, covered
with babool trees, a few of which were in flower. Ground covered.
with grass on which cattle, goats, etc., were grazed. No undergrowth.
A few other species of trees growing round the edges.
8. New Delhi: Position: 28° 45’N x 77° 20’E. Altitude:
718’ AS.L. Period of survey: 15 August—29 December
1942. Frequent observation. Locality lies near the junction
of this type with the Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest region
and area (1) below is probably more representative of that
kind.
(a) Tree Forest: (1) Rough deciduous woodland with mixed
trees and a few palms. Many Acacia arabica. Fairly dense low under--
growth.
578 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST; SOCKET ¥, Vol. 50
(2) Part of the golf course, including: (i) a patch of light deciduous
woodland with a fair amount of undergrowth, in places low and thin, in
others tall and dense and including a fair number of climbers.
(ii) Another patch of open deciduous wocdland with no undergrowth
except rough grass and weeds and a few small bushes at the edge
(5 acres), and a patch of some 5 acres of much denser light deciduous
woodland (chiefly Acacia arabica) with a good deal of undergrowth, and
about 10 acres of rough grassland with isolated trees and bushes
varying from semi-scrub, a foot or so high, to thorn and bramble
bushes 12-15’ high. Part of this area was subject to disturbance from .
September onwards when a large tented camp was erected on it.
(iii) The goif course proper, consisting of fairly rough grass bordered
by a thick growth of deciduous trees and dense patches of bushes in
which stood small scattered ruins. It was not practicable to treat the
grass as an entirely separate habitat from the surrounding jungle.
(3) A large patch of. fairly dense deciduous woodland (almost
entirelyean Acacia known locally as Kabul Babool, whose species I
never discovered), standing 15-20’ high, with a scattering of other trees.
The canopy was so dense in most places that nothing would grow
under it except a little sparse, weak grass, though most of the branches
were high enough for a man to be able to walk upright under them. A
certain amount of interlacing rough cpen ground running through the
wood, with rough grass and a few bushes, and many tiny interlacing
ponds only a yard or two across with here and there a larger one.
Most of these ponds were empty though damp and covered with moss
and herbage; no doubt during the rainy season this area becomes a bog.
(6) Scrub: A patch some 300 x 400 yds. of thorn bushes of
the drooping or ‘ weeping’ kind (? a kind of Acacia), of average height.
8-10 ft. and quite impenetrable except along cart tracks. Here and
there an Acacia arabica and a fair sprinkling of a low-growing tama-
risk (? Z. gallica) in the more open parts. Probably Champion’s ‘ Dry
Deciduous Scrub Forest’. Observation was confined to the limits
of vision from the cart tracks.
9. Okhla, near Delhi: Position: some 7-8 miles S.E. of New
Delhi. Altitude: about 700’ A.S.L. Period of survey:
a single visit of several hours devoted to observation on lst
November 1942. Locality: as for New Delhi.
(6) Scrub; adense belt of scrub and bushes (not identified),
50-100 yards wide along the top of the river bank. In- most places
impenetrable. Some tamarisk and a few tamarind trees.
Ill. MONTANE STEREOS FORESTS
EF. Sub-tropical Wet Hill Forest
10. Darjeeling, North Bengal: Position: 27° 03/N x 88° 18’ E,
Altitude of areas surveyed: - 100-6500 -AS
though preponderance of observation was 3,000-6,000’.
Periods of survey: I paid7 visits to 3 tea gardens near
Darjeeling, lasting 2-4 weeks each in the months of January,
SOME JUNGLE BIRD ASSOCIATIONS 579
February, March, April, May, June and October, and almost
the whole of this tine was spent in bird watching. Locality:
although Darjeeling itself lies in the Montane Temperate
Forest Region, the tea gardens on which most of my obser-
vation was done lay well below it and should, I think, be
included in this category under Champion’s ‘ Upper Bengal
Sub-tropical Hill Forest’ type.
(2) Tree Forest: All these three tea estates were basically
similar in that they consisted of patches of tea bushes [Camellia thea
(Link)] of varying extent, set in a matrix of mixed jungle on the steep
hillsides. They differed in the proportions of tea to jungle, total
acreage, aspect, in the use of shade trees and leguminous plants inter-
planted among the tea, in the intensiveness of the forestry methods
practised, and such minor points as the turfing or walling of the
terraces on which the tea was planted. The hillsides were frequently
broken with small jungle-clad ravines with small streams.
The jungle was for the most part a widely varied mixture of deci-
duous trees and it was difficult to say just what species predominated.
Utis (Betula alnoides) and toon (Cedrela toona) were usually well
represented, and here and there were small patches of bamboos
(? species). In some places were Cryplomerias growing in groves or
clumps or as isolated trees. Undergrowth varied from barely any to a
dense covering of bushes and brambles, with here and there a tree fern.
Luxuriant herbage sprang up during the rainy season.
I have included the tea in this type as the tea plantations and the
jungle were so intermixed as to be almost inseparable as distinct
habitats with any degree of accuracy, and most of the birds to be found
in the one could also be seen, at any rate at times, in the other. The
chief shade trees interplanted among the tea were Sau or Black Siris
(Albizzia si7pulata) and Koroi or White Siris (4. procera), The prin-
cipal leguminosae interplanted were Indigofera (J. dosua), Boga
Medeloa (Tephrosia candida) and in some places Crofellaria.
I have not thought it worth while to give comparative lists for these
three gardens, and a single composite list for the Darjeeling area has
therefore been included in the main comparative Table.
CLIMATE
Myitkyina :
memp. °F... Jeane NecmaA my Nes See sy Ata Sug OF HNE-- Dy. Year,
Mean max. ... [Avie (Ste Oe 89 2. 8887 87" G0" ~ 86.780 “75 aes
Mean min. ... SOmesA Ol = 6/8 73. 798 00-1623 FAGr i741, OL. 2 52
Rainfall ee 04 09 O99 2:0 60 1551 19°2 164 9:7 68 1:2 Ord 74:0”
Months with less than 2” of rain—5.
Jessore : April 1943 to’September 1944.
Temp. op oe et CO CQSH lO = «= 8K CBD COSTs—‘é*Os—(Gsi8G «8
Mean max... 73 79 84 92 98 91 89 88 —- —- —- —-
Mean min. ... —- —- —- 71 77 —- 77 7 78 73 #460 = 56 =
53 §7 64 73 79 78 79 78 == —-—- —- —- —
Meainfall .. —- —- — 52 2°93 ——- 162 136 4:9 64 00 0:0 —_
5°8 11 3°95 45 30 46 135133 —- —- -—-—- —-~ 77:0”
Months with less than 2” of rain: 3.
9
580 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURALT HIST “SOCRERY, Vol. 30
*
Dhubalia : September—November 1944 only. No other records available.
Temp. eo U: sak aM, AG GM ede give aA Bir oe Corn:
Mean max. «. —- -—- —- —- —- —- — — 9 88
Mean min. ... Lee ee a ES ee Ome
Rainfall Sat ee Ged
Monywa: Nearest available station—Mardalay (250 ft. A.S.L.)
‘Temp. ye
Mean max. ... 84 90. 98° 102% 101 994. = 93.5 392) (90, 92
Mean'iminmiz.. ~59"" 6014 G9. BST 28298) 79-7 9s 782 76 ee 5
Rainfall 2.00) Ol an0t2e a IG SeO 8 S25 (cos era Ores 7 ees
Months with less than 2” of rain: 6. Mean annual humidity 64.
Ambala : No information available to me.
Delhi:
Temp. oF, ;
Mean max. ... 7a Newt < 7h. 8811.99 104 105 95 §-394 =94 "92
Mean min. ... 48 52 62); 72: A 7S8V 284.081 5 e806 74268
Rainfall Pt AO M0259) 7077. O:4e i Oe7) SS:4 2.85 26 Oedea ate
Months with less than 2” of rain: 8. Mean annual humidity 51.
Ramgarh : no information available to me.
Digrt: do. do. do.
Darjeeling (at 6,912 ft) :
Temp. “A De
Mean max. ... 50:53. G1? 67.. 68° 2669) 2120 Bi70eF SOs 6
Mean niin. ... 35.1687 4d 50+ 5345-58- + 5On- 59a eZ a fol
Rainfall—no record. t
60
43
D,
—
74
0-4
54
37
Year,
78
30
Only fragmentary records are available to me from the three tea gardens at which
I stayed.
COMPARATIVE TABLE
showing the occurrence of species
in Tree and Scrub Jungle in the
various places surveyed.
The foliowing symbols have been used :
* = definite, beyond any doubt.
+ = probable, but not definite, identification.
© = possible identification.
A = reported by someone else, but not actually seen by me.
The scientific names are in the main those given in the 2nd edition
of Zhe Fauna of Lritish India Birds. 'Tke columns should be read in
conjunction with the Summary of Surveys Made on pp. 574-580,
Species
Jungle Crow
(Corvus macrorhynchos)
House Crow
(Corvus splendens)
Red-billed Blue Magpie
« (UOrocissa erythrorhyncha)
Yellow-billed Blue Magpie
(Urocissa flavirostris)
Green Magpie
(Cissa chinensis)
Tree Pie
(Dendrocitta vagabunda)
Himalayan Tree Pie
(Dendrocitta formosae)
Indian Grey Tit (o/e 1)
(Parus major)
Green-backed Tit
(Parus monticolius)
Yellow-cheeked Tit
(Machlolophus xanthogenys )
Red-headed Tit
( Aegithaliscus concinnens)
Sultan Tit
(Melanochlora sultanea)
Cinnamon-bellied Nuthatch
(Sitta castanea)
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
(Sztta frontalis)
Rufous-necked Laughing Thrush
(Dryonastes ruficollis)
Grey-sided Laughing Thrush
(Dryonastes caerulatus)
Black-gorgetted Laughing Thrush
(Garrulax pectoralis) —
Necklaced Laughing Thrush
(Garrulax moniliger)
White-throated Laughing Thrush
(Garrulax albogularis)
Rufous-chinned Laughing Thrush
(Lanthocincla rufogularis)
Red-headed Laughing Thrush
(Trochalopteron erythrocephalumy)
Crimson-winged Laughing Thrush
(Zrochalopleron phoeniceuin)
Striated Laughing Thrush
(Grammatoptila striata)
Jungle Babbler
( Zurdoides terricolor)
SOME JUNGLE BIRD ASSOCIATIONS 581
I Ill
A | B | C | F
& 5 /ale 3.
yD w |G fan) 2
= [S|alim Q
a|6 a
* *
* *
*
*
*
*
Tt
*
Tt
*
*
*
*
t
af
T
*
t
*
t
582 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
I ei
_
—
ee
hy
Species
Myitkyina
Darjeeling
| &
S
| &
Common Babbier
(Argya caudata)
Large Grey Babbler asi
(Argya malcolmi)
Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler
(Pomatorhinus erythrogenys)
Red-capped Babbler wet *
(Timalia pileata)
Yellow-eyed Babbler sy t
(Chrysomma sinensis)
Spotted Babbler a8 T
( Pellorneum ruficeps)
Abbott’s Babbler
(Malacocincla sepiarta abbott)
Black-throated Babbler
(Stachyris nigriceps)
Red-headed Babbler
(Stachyridopsis ruficeps)
Hume’s Babbler PP hf
(Stachyrido psis rutifrons)
Yellow-breasted Babbler
(Mixornis gularts)
White-eyed Quaker Babbler
(Alcippe nepalensis)
Black-headed Sibia
(Leioptila capistrata)
Stripe-throated Yuhina
(Yuhina gularis)
Yellow: naped Ixulus aes
(Lxulus flavicollis)
Red-billed Leiothrix
(Leiothrix lutea)
Nepal Cutia ae
(Cutia nipalensis)
Red-winged S hrike- Babbler clete
(Pteruthius erythropterus )
Common Iora
(Aegithina tiphia)
Marshall’s [ora me
( Aegithina nigrolutea)
Orange-bellied Chloropsis aos
( Chloropsis hardwickit)
Jerdon’s Chloropsis _ ine
(Choloropsts jerdont)
Silver-eared Mesia ats
(Mesia argentaurts)
Red-tailed Minla
(Minla ignotincia)
SOME JUNGLE BIRD ASSOCIATIONS
583
I Ill
| A] B | C F
Species | E iss . &
Paes 8 2
Were hice ETS Hy
A ia io | @
a Sale q Q
| a | 4 a | a a a
Himalayan Black Bulbul as |
(Microscelis psaroides)
Himalayan Brown-eared Bulbul 3
(lxos tlavala)
Himalayan Rufous-bellied Bulbul
(/xos macclellandt)
Striated Green Bulbul
(Alcurus striatus)
Red-vented Bulbul aires ey (ces lee
(Molpastes cafer)
White-cheeked Bulbul
(Molpastes leucogenys)
Red-whiskered Bulbul be elas
(Otocompsa jocosus)
White-browed Bulbul
(Pycnonotus luteolus)
& Scaly-breasted Wren
(Pnoepyga albiventris)
Indian Brown Dipper
(Cinclus pallasitz)
Indian Blue Chat
(Larvivora brunnea)
White-browed Shortwing
(Heteroxenicus cruralis)
Burmese Stonechat sey ‘
(Saxicola caprata)
Indian Bush Chat
(Saxicola torquata)
Dark Grey Bush Chat
(Rhodophila ferrea)
Spotted Forktail Eamany
(Enicurus maculatus) |
Little Forktail
(Microcichla scouleri)
Blue-fronted Redstart
(Phoenicurus frontalis)
Black Redstart ‘
(Phoenicurus ochrurus)
White-capped Redstart
(Chatmarrornis leucocephala)
Plumbeous Redstart
(Rhyacornis fuliginosa)
Red-spotted Bluethroat
(Cyanosylvia suecica) |
Red-flanked Bush Robin
(lanthia cyanura)
White-tailed Blue Robin
(Muscisylvia leucura)
584 JOURNAL, “BOMBAY “NATURATS HIST? SOCIETY, Wel. 50
Species
ee)
Brown-backed Indian Robin
(Saxicoloides tulicata)
Magpie Robin
(Copsychus saularts)
Black-capped Blackbird
(Turdus merula)
White-collared Blackbird
(Turdus merula albocinctus)
Grey-winged Blackbird
(Turdus boulbout)
Red-throated Thrush
( Turdus ruficollis)
Black-throated Thrush
(Turdus atrogularis)
Orange-headed Ground Thrush
(Geokichla citrina)
Plain-backed Mountain Thrush
(Oreocincla molltssiina)
Lesser Brown Thrush
(Zoithera marginata)
Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush
(Monticola rufiventris)
Blue-headed Rock Thrush
(Monticola cinchlorhyncha)
Blue Rock Thrush
(Monticola solitaria)
Himalayan Whistling Thrush
(Myophonus caeruleus)
Maroon-backed Accentor
(Prunella immaculata)
Sooty Flycatcher
(Hemichelidon stbirica)
Ferruginous Flycatcher
(Hemichelidon ferruginea)
Red-breasted Flycatcher
(Siphia parva)
Indian Little Pied Flycatcher
(Muscicapula melanoleuca)
Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
(Cyornis tickelliae)
Verditer Flycatcher
(Eumyias thalassina)
Grey-headed Flycatcher
(Culicicapa ceylonensts)
Large Sikkim Niltava
(Niltava grandis)
Rufous-bellied Niltava
(Niltava sundara)
Myitkyina
Jessore
Pad ent a at
R
o
Wises
Dhubalia
Ramgarh
Monywa
R
*
JONGELE BIR.DY ASSOCIATIONS
Species
Small Niltava
(Niltava macgrigoriae)
Paradise Flycatcher
(Tchitrea paradist)
Black-naped Flycatcher
(Hypothymis azurea)
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
(Chelidorhynx hypoxanthum)
White-browed Fantail Flycatcher
(Leucocirca aureola)
White-throated Fantail Flycatcher
(Leucocirca albicollis)
Indian Grey Shrike
(Lantus rane)
Bay-backed Shr
(Lanius ae
Burmese Shrike
(Lanius collurioides)
Black-headed Shrike
(Lanius nigriceps)
Rufous-backed Shrike
(Lantus schach erythronotus)}
Grey-backed Shrike
(Lanius schach tephronotus)
Brown Shrike
(Lanius cristatus)
Brown-backed Pied Shrike
(Hemipus picatus capiialts)
Nepal Wood Shrike
( Tephrodornts gularis)
Indian Common Wocd Shrike
(Tephrodornis pondiceri eee)
Scarlet Minivet
(Pericrocolus flammeus)
Short-billed Minivet
(Pericrocotus brevirostris)
Small Minivet
(Pericrocolus peregrinus)
Dark Grey Cuckoo Shrike
(Lalage melaschista)
Ashy Swallow Shrike
(Artamus fuscus)
Black Drongo
(Dicrurus macrocercus)
Grey Drongo
(Dicrurus leucophazus)
White-bellied Drongo
(Dicrurus coerulescens)
I {I jaa
A i» C E | F
ve 5 5,8 of §)-- [3] 2
= 2 gis, 18 [2\ ss Zi s
a yr Ae A | mA OFA
a|olalalala| ot b | a|o 2] a
| | ©
*
* *
%
| OK |
*
*
*
| *
; ’
: *
*
ok
‘
*
| Fae «© 8
|
* 5 * AK | OK | * | * * *
| f * x
|
586 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. OR aN Vol. 50
Species
Dhubalia
Ambala
Myitkyina
Jossore
S
eS
2
a
Bronzed Drongo
(Chaptia aenea)
Hair-crested Drongo
(Chibiu hottentotta)
Blyth’s Reed Warbler bed z ty
(Acrocephalus dumetorumy)
Tailor Bird
(Orthotomus sutorius )
Streaked Fantail Warbler
(Cisticola juncidis )
Franklin’s Wren Warbler
(Lranklinia gracilis)
Sykes’s Tree Warbler
(Hippolats rama) or
Booted Warbler
(Hippolais scita)
Grey-faced Willow Warbler
(Phylloscopus maculipennts )
Yellow-rumped (Pallas’ Himalayan)
Willow Warbler
(Phylloscopus proregulus)
Yellow-browed (Crowned) Willow Warb-
ler Abs
(Phylloscopus humit)
Large Crowned Willow Warbler
(Acanthopneuste occipitalis)
Grey-headed Flycatcher Warbler
(Seicercus xanthoschistus)
Chestnut-headed Flycatcher Warbler
(Seicercus castaniceps)
Strong-footed Bush Warbler
(Homochlamys fortipes)
Rufous-capped Bush Warbler
(Horeites brunnifrons)
Brown Hill Warbler
(Suya criniger)
Black-throated Hill Warbler
(Suya atrogularis)
Streaked Wren Warbler
(Prinia gracilis)
Ashy Wren Warbler
(Prinia socialis)
Jungle Wren Warbler
(Prinia sylvatica)
Indian Wren Warbler
(Prinia inornata)
—-—-—"
ey °
e °
e e
SOME .JUNGLE. BIRD ASSOCIATIONS 587
I IL If
A{,B E F
Species | bo
or a S e os | 8
2 15 | Sib lg| 3 S|
= lalala a} oO |x| &
Ss 12 10len qq) QO, A
ab a b|a| a 6|6| a
Indian Oriole * Ps
(Oriolus o. kundoo) |
-Indian Black-headed Oriole i.
(Oriolus xanthornus) )
Maroon Oriole #
(Ortolus traillit) |
Grey-headed Myna Ys x
(Sturnia malabarica)
Black-headed (Brahminy) Myna * *
( Zemenuchus pagodarum)
Black-necked Myna oes af
(Gracupica nigricollis )
Jerdon’s Myna
(Gracupica burmanica)
Common Myna coral
(Acridotheres tristis)
Bank Myna
(Acridotheres ginginianus)
Jungle Myna
(Aethiopsar fuscus)
Pied Myna ca ’
( Sturnopastor contra)
Baya Weaver Bird
(Ploceus philippinus) or
Eastern Baya Weaver Bird |
(Ploceus atrigula) J
Himalayan White-backed (Hodgscn’s)
Munia
(Uroloncha striata)
White-throated Munia
(Uroloncha malabariéa)
Spotted Munia
(Uroloncha punctulata)
Scarlet Finch
(Haematospiza sipaht)
Himalayan Greenfinch
(Hypacanthis spinoides )
House Sparrow Reema x * x | exe | &
“(Passer domesticus)
Malay Tree Sparrow eheule|
(Passer montanus)
Pegu House Sparrow ae * |
(Passer flaveolus) |
White-capped Bunting Se Lael | | 1]
(Emberiza stewartt) | |
Hodgson’s House Martin fan |
(Delichon nipalensis) | |
eee
*&
sek ae Naat
eC sa SCENE SE TE SN I TE TREN I LE TE LE
588 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
>
Species
Myitkyina
Dhubalia
Ramgarh
Monywa
Ambala
Delhi
Okala
R | Darjeeling | 1 | =
8
Eastern Swallow
(Hirundo rustica)
Striated Swallow
(Hirundo daurica)
Indian White Wagtail Ae
( Motacilla alba dukhunensis) |
White-faced Wagtail ase atlig
(Motacilla leucopsis)
Eastern Grey Wagtail noe
( Motacilla cinerea) |
Indian Blue-headed Wagtail near
(AMotacilla flava beema )
Grey-headed Wagtail Act
(Afotacilla f. thunbergi)
Yellow-headed Wagtail
(Motacilla citreola)
Tree Pipit soe pe
(Anthus hodgsoni)
Indian Pipit
(Anthus richardi rufulus)
Vinous-breasted (Hodgson’s) Pipit ee
(duthus roseatus)
Short-toed Lark
(Calandrella brachydactyla)
Burmese Bush Lark
(Afirafra assamica microptera)
Red-winged Bush Lark ve
(Ativrafra erythrop/era)
White-eye =>
(Zosterops palebrosa)
Black-breasted Sunbird co
(Aethopyga saturata) |
Yellow-backed Sunbird ae
(Aethopyga siparaja) |
Purple Sunbird vas
(Cinnyrts asiatica) |
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Note 2) on
(Cinnyrts zeylonica)
Indian Streaked Spider Hunter
(Arachnothera magna)
Tickell’s Flowerpecker ae
(Dicaeum erythrorhynchum)
Thick-billed Flowerpecker
(Dicaeum agile)
Indian Pitta
(Pitta brachyura)
Long-tailed Broadbill ety
(Psarisomus dalhoustae)
i
SOME JUNGLE BIRD
ASSOCIATIONS 589
Species
ras} on
a es bs (} hs!
> 1O|GES = D
a4 |S | — ao a
i oid ‘= a) -_=
m [4|Sia) x =| a
Ss ja (AlZ, A < a)
a ajalaja ba\5}a a
Little Scaly-breasted Green Woodpecker ..,
(Picus vittatus)
Black naped Green Woodpecker
( Picus Cantus)
Small Yellow-naped Woodpecker
(Picus chlorolcphus)
Large Yellow-naped Woodpecker
(Chrysophlegma flavinucha)
Pale- headed Woodpecker
(Gecinulus grantia)
Darjeeling Pied Woodpecker
(Drvobates darjellensts)
Himalayan Lesser Pied Woodpecker
(Dryobates cathpharius)
Fulvous-breasted Pied Woodpecker
(Dryobates macet)
Yellow-fronted Pied (Mahratta) Wood-
pecker
(Dryobates mahrattensts )
Darjeeling Pygmy Woodpecker
(Dryobates nanus semicoronatus)
Red-eared Bay Woodpecker
(By thipicus pyrrhotis)
Golden-backed Woodpecker
(Brachypiternus bengalensis)
Tickell’s Golden-backed Woodpecker
(Chrysocolaples guttacristatus)
Speckled Piculet
(Vivia tnnominatus)
Rufous Piculet
(Sasia ochracea)
Wryneck
(Jynx torquilla)
Great Himalayan Barbet
(Megalaima virens)
Green Barbet
(Megalaima zeylanicus)
Lineated Barbet
(Megalatna lineatus)
Blue-throated Barbet
(Megalaima asiatica)
Golden-throated Barbet
(Megalaima franklinit)
Crimson-breasted Barbet (Coppersmith) ..
(Megalaima haemacephala)
Asiatic Cuckoo
(Cuculus Canorus)
a |
590 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Species
ae
Himalayan Cuckoo
(Cuculus optatus)
Sroall Cuckoo
(Cuculus poliocephalus)
Indian Cuckoo
(Cuculus micropterus)
Large Hawk Cuckoo
(Hierococcyx sparverioides)
Common Hawk Cuckoo
( Hierococcyx varius)
Indian Plaintive Cuckoo
(Cacomantis merulinus)
Indian Drongo Cuckoo
(Surniculus lugubris)
Pied Crested Cuckoo
(Clamator jacobinus)
Red-winged Crested Cuckoo
(Clamator coromandus)
Indian Koel
(Eudynamis scolopaceus)
Large Green-billed Malkoha
(Rhopodytes tristts)
Crow-Pheasant
(Centropus sinensis)
Large Parakeet
(Psittacula eupatria)
Rose-ringed Parakeet
(Psittacula kramert)
Blossom-headed Parakeet
(Psittacula cyanocephala)
Roller
(Coracias bengalensis)
Broad-billed Roller
(Eurystomus orientalis)
Common Green Bee-eater
(Merops orientalts)
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
(Merops superciltosus)
Indian Pied Kingfisher
(Ceryle rudis)
Common Indian Kingfisher
(Alcedo atthis)
Brown-headed Stork-billed Kingfisher
(Ramphalcyon capensis)
White-breasted Kingfisher
(Halcyon smyrnensis)
Hoopoe
(Upupa epop;)
| I | Il Ill
|» | c [>| E F
a ofals B is zs
= /3ela) a1 B/S isle
SISA a |S 18/8 lla
a\o|a\ala a| je Ja| ajo | a
#
*
* *
* |x * a
lie :
*
* | & Ee
*
* | ok bo | * * |
=
x Pk | ok Dk *
eae eae
i +|T
*
a] x dx] * * | *
*
*) & Px * * | x
* |
SOME JUNGLE BIRD ASSOCIATIONS
Species
Red-headed Trogon
(Harpactes erythrocephalus)
Common House Swift
(Micropus atfinis)
Palm Swift
(Cypsturus batassiensts )
White-throated Spinetail Swift
(Hirundabus caudacutts)
Long-tailed (Horsfield’s) Nightjar
(Caprimulgus macrourus)
Jungle Nightjar
(Cabrimulgus indicus)
Common Indian Nightjar
(Caprimulgus asia ticus)
Mottled Wood Owl
(Strvia ocellata)
Brown Fish Owl
(Ketupa zeylonensis)
Indian Great Horned Owl
(Bubo bubo bengalensis)
Collared Scops Owl
(Otus bakkamoena)
Spotted Owlet
(Athene brama)
Barred Owlet
(Glauctdium cuculoides)
Jungle Owlet
(Glaucidium radiatum)
Collared Pygmy Owlet
(Glaucidium brodiet)
King Vulture
(Sarcogyps calvus)
Himalayan Griffon Vulture
(Gyps himalayensis)
Long-billed Vulture
(Gy ps indicus)
Indian White-backed Vulture
(Pseudogy ps bengalensts)
Large White Scavenger Vulture
(Veophron percnopterus)
Lammergeier
(Gypaétus barbatus)
Lagger Falcon
(Falco jug ger)
Hobby
(Falco subbuteo)
Kestrel
(Cerchneis tinnunculus)
Dhubalia
Ramgarh _
Digri
+
eh Wa es
Monywa
R
*
Delhi
>
Okhla
g | Darjeeling | 9}
|
i
ok,
-+
—+
592 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
bs
—
| am
—
eH
=
|
Species
Myitkyina
Jessore
Dhubalia
Ramearh
Digri
Monywa
a | Darjeeling | rx} |
&
ae
ae
ta
a
R
aces
Rg
ne
a=
R
Ti
a5
Eastern Steppe Eagle ase |
(Aquila nipalensis)
Hodgson’s Hawk Eagle
(Limnaétops nipalensis)
Crested Serpent Eagle sire & | x
(Spilornis cheel:)
Pallas’s Fishing Eagle ma t
(Haliaétus leucoryphus)
Large Grey-headed Fishing Eagle one *
([chthyophaga ichthyaélus)
Brahminy Kite waa & | * f
*
(Haliastur indus) |
Common Pariah Kite a“ * | | «| ape
(Milvus migrans govinda)
Black-eared (or Large Indian) Kite
(Milvus snigrans lineatus)
Indian Shikra
(Astur badius)
Indian Sparrow Hawk
(Accipiter nisus)
Bengal Green Pigeon see t
(Crocopus phoenicopterus)
Pintailed Green Pigeon
(Sphenocercus apicaudus) 4
Green Imperial Pigeon ae if
{Muscadivora aenea)
Indian Blue Rock Pigeon see | %
(Columba livia)
Rufous Turtle Dove ee x
(Stveptopelia orientalis)
Spotted Dove seen leae teed tar ie
(Streptopelia chinensis)
Little Brown Dove coe
(Streplopelia senegalensis) |
Indian Ring Dove ae ele
(Streptepelia decaocta)
Red Turtle Dove was pa
(enopopelia tranquebarica)
Bar-tailed Cuckoo Dove Ae
(Macropygia unchall)
Common Indian Peafowl
(Pavo cristatus)
Black-backed Kalij Pheasant
(Genneus melanotus)
Black- breasted or Rain Quail
(Coturnix coromandelica)
Hill Partridge
(Arborophila torqueota)
SOME JUNGLE BIRD ASSOCIATIONS AQ3
Rh EE PE TS A TE I FEE SE EE GS OIE IT |
y
g
Species
Dhubalia
Myitkyina
Darjeelin
Ramgarh
®
=
ee
Q
eS.
ce
nae
Se
iG
oo
a5 4
a
Jessore
Grey Partridge ees! © wiles
(Francolinus pondicertanus)
Common Bustard Quail icon *
(Turnix suscitator)
White-breasted Waterhen 58 :
(Amaurornis phoenicurus)
Indian River Tern
(Sterna aurantia)
Red-wattled Lapwing
(Lobivanellus indicus)
Green Sandpiper we ss
(Zringa ochropus)
W ood Sandpiper sia .
(Zringa glareola)
Little Egret Se |
(Egretta garzetia) |
Cattle Egret ee elieilie|
( Bubulcus ibis)
Indian Pond Heron
(Ardeola gray)
*
a
~)
*
*
*
Note 1. Grey Tit: I am convinced that I saw one member of this species
on one of the tea gardens below Darjeeling, but unfortunately I did not make a
note of the exact altitude. Until somebody shoots one there, therefore, this record
will no coubt not be admitted.
Note 2. Purple-rumped Sunbird: I identified a g and a © beyond all
doubt at Ambala on 19th July, 1942, which is some way north of the range given
for this species in the Fauna.
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION AND INTRODUCTION
OF FISHES IN INDIA*
BY
S,. JONES AND K. K. SAROJINI
Central Inland Fisheries Research Station, Barrackpore
(With a text map and eight figures)
SYNOPSIS
The objects of transplantation of fishes in India and _ intro-
duction of exotic species into the country are mentioned and in the
light of these objects the fishes are grouped as (i) game fishes (ii) food
fishes (iii) larvicidal fishes and (iv) ornamental fishes. The history of
transplantation and introduction of these fishes is reviewed in the
context of the results achieved. Instances of accidental transplantation
are mentioned. In the light of the available data suggestions for furthe
transplantation of fishes are given.
INTRODUCTION
Though transplantation of food fishes from their natural habitat to
nurseries and rearing ponds has been in vogue in India from remote
times, the augmentation of the fish fauna by introduction of exotic
forms and intrazonal transplantation of suitable autochthonous species
for permanent establishment is of comparatively recent origin in this
country. Most of the pioneering work in this field has been done by
westerners, who, finding some of the upland waters similar to the
rivers in their own country, tried to introduce their favourite varieties of
fishes in them. ‘The successful introduction of trout into certain hill-
streams of India is an outstanding achievement of such efforts.
The Madras Fisheries Department was, probably, the first govern-
ment organization to take up transplantation of fish, and its pioneering
effort in this field is worth special mention. ‘Though attempts to intro-
duce or transplant food fishes into various localities were started over
a century ago, it is only in recent years, when the food shortage in the
country became acute, that these operations were intensified. While
the establishment of game fishes and production of food fishes were
the main objects of this work in India, another important object
was the biological control of malaria. From early times ornamental
fishes such as the exotic goldfish have been reared by aquarium keepers,
and there exists a trade in these fishes in same of our big cities. The
tishes that have been introduced or transplanted are here grouped as
(1) game fishes, (2) food fishes, (3) larvicidal fishes and (4) ornamental
*Read at the Symposium on transplantation of fishes during the 3rd meeting
of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council, Madras (February 1951), and published with
the permission of the Chief Research Officer, Central Inland Fisheries Research
Station, Barrackpore.
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION OF FISHES IN INDIA 595
fishes, and a historical account of their transplantations and introductions
with a brief discussion of the results achieved is attempted. Routine
transplantation operations for rearing and harvesting purposes without
the object of permanently establishing the species in regions where
they are not autochthonous are not included in the account.
BOMBAY é
ANDAMAN 0
ISLANDS
Outline Map of India showing the localities mentioned in the article.
Key to the numbering : 1. Periyar (Travancore) ; 2. High Ranges (Travancore);
3. Kodaikanal (Palnis); 4. Anamalais; 5. Ootacamund (Nilgiris) ; 6. Mysore ;
7. Coondapur (South Canara); 8. Shevaroys (Salem) ; 9. Ippur (Nellore) ; 10.
Sunkesula (Kurnool) ; 11. Hyderabad ; 12. Baroda ; 13. Darjeeling; 14. Nainital
(Kumaon Hills); 15. Simla; 16. Kangra; 17. Chamba; 18. Kulu.
TRANSPLANTED Foop FisH ES—Autochthonous
One of the earliest recorded attempts at transplantation of fish in
India, is of the Milk-fish, Chanos chanos, by Hyder Ali of Mysore during
the latter part of the 18th century, from the sea to the Coondapur
estuary in South Kanara (Thomas, 1870). Subsequently Thomas (op. cit.)
transplanted some fish from the sea to the Karkal lake, but they failed
to breed there.
10
596 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
An interesting but evidently unsuccessful attempt to transplant Hilsa
Hiilsa tlisha (Ham.) was made by Wilson (Nicholson, 1915). The eyed
ova of this fish were transferred from the hatchery at the lower anicut
in the Cauvery to the Ponnani river in Malabar, but there is no evidence
of the fish having established itself there.
The Catla, Cat/a catla (Ham.): This is one of the major carps of
India, and is reputed to be one of the fastest growing fishes in the world.
Its natural distribution is from Sind and the Punjab in the north along
upper India to the Krishna river in the south and as far as Burma in
the east.
The successful transplantation of the fish in the south was achieved
by the efforts of the Madras Fisheries Department whose then Piscicul-
tural Assistant, Mr. H. C. Wilson, introduced the fingerlings in 1909, from
the Godavari into the Cuddapah-Kurnool canal where they established
themselves and spread into the Pennar river and the connected tanks in
the Nellore District (Raj, 1916). Catla fingerlings from the Godavari
were introduced in the year 1921 into the Cauvery river below the
Hogaikanal falls and into the Bhavani (Hornell, 1924) where the fish
now affords a major fishery. Catla fingerlings were sent to Cochin by
Dr. Job in 1945 where they were thriving well. Fry from the Godavari
river were introduced into the Periyar lake in Travancore-Cochin in 1947
(Chacko, 1948) but the result of these transplantations is not known.
The Bombay Fisheries Department transplanted catla from Patna
(Bihar) into the Powai lake in Bombay where it has bred and establish-
ed itself (Kulkarni, 1947).
The Rohu, Ladveo rvohita (Ham.): This is another of the major carps
of India and the most esteemed fish in Bengal. Its natural distribution
is from Sind and the Punjab along upper India and Assam as far as
Burma. Recently it has also been reported from the Godavari (Alikunhi
and Chaudhuri, 1951).
The earliest attempt to transplant this fish was made a few years
previous to 1925, when fingerlings were taken from Calcutta and
introduced into the fresh waters of the Andamans. Exact details are
lacking, but from the records of Annandale and Hora (1925) and
Mookerjee (1935) it is seen that the fish grew very well though it is
doubtful if it bred there.
The Madras Fisheries Department had been regularly stocking
several pieces of water in the State from 1944 to 1949 with fry obtained:
from Bengal and Orissa (Jaganadham 1946 and Thyagarajan & Chacko,
1950) and attempts were made to transplant the fish in the Cauvery also.
Whether the fish has established itself there or not is not known. In
Bombay, fry from Patna (Bihar) were introduced into the Powai lake
along with L. ca/basu (Ham.) where both are reported to have bred
(Kulkarni, 1947).
The Mrigal, Cirrhina mrigala (Ham.): This is an important major
carp of India distributed throughout upper India from North-west
Provinces, the Punjab and Sind to Bengal and Assam and in upper
Deccan and Burma.
The fry of mrigal have been introduced from Bengal regularly from
1943 to 1947 and from Orissa in 1949 into Madras waters including the
Cauvery (Thyagarajan & Chacko, 1950) but the results of these transplan-
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION OF FISHES IN INDIA 597
tations are not available. Mrigal introduced as fry into the Powai lake
in Bombay from Patna (Bihar) is reported to have bred there (Kulkarni,
1947).
The Pearl-spot, Atroplus suratensts (Bloch) (Fig. 1): This Cichlid,
distributed in brackish and fresh waters along the coastal tracts of Penin-
sular India from Malabar on the west to Chilka on the east coast, and in
Ceylon, grows to a good size and is one of the most relished fishes of the
Malabar Coast.
Fig. 1. The Pearl-spot, Atroplus suratensis,(Bloch), (After Hornell).
The Madras Fisheries Department introduced the pearl-spot into
the interior districts of Bellary and Anantapur and in the farms at
Sunkesula (Kurnool) and Ippur (Nellore), where it has established
itself,
Fingerlings of this fish have been transplanted successfully from
North Kanara to the Mahim Creek in Bombay (Kulkarni, 1947) and in
1941 and subsequent years from Sunkesula, Madras, to the irrigation
tanks of Baroda where they are reported to be breeding now (Moses,
1942 and 1944).
Fry from Madras have been introduced into the Bidyadhari area in
Bengal (Jaganadham, 1946) and these have been reported to be breeding
there (Job & Chacko, 1947). A total of 500 young fish were taken in
1942 from Madras to Hyderabad (Deccan) of which only a few survived.
These commenced breeding in 1943 and the fish is now reported to have
established itself there (Rahimullah, 1946).
This is perhaps the first or only Indian food-fish that has been trans-
ported to any foreign country. A consignment of pearl-spot was taken
in 1922 from India to Mauritius via Colombo (Hornell, 1923). Over
half of it reached safely, but it is not known whether the fish established
itself there.
The Orange Chromide, Etvoplus maculatus (Bloch): This cichlid, of
more or less similar distribution and habitat as the pearl-spot, is of
smaller size and hence is not of much economic importance. It is
reared as an aquarium fish also and for this purpose has been introduced
into several countries outside India.
598 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
The Orange Chromide has been introduced by the Madras Fisheries
Department into the Sunkesula (Kurnool) Farm and from there trans-
planted by the Bombay Fisheries Department to the Bandra Creek
(Bombay) where it figures regularly in the fishermen’s catches (Kulkarni,
1947). It was successfully transplanted from Madras to the Hyderabad
State in 1943.
The Murrel, Ophicedhalus spp.: In several parts of India where major
carps are not available and tanks are seasonal, the murrel forms a very
important food fish. Kulkarni (1947) reports the transplantation of
Ophicebhalus marulius (Hamilton) from Poona to tanks in Bombay.
The Khorsula, Mugdl corsula (Hamilton): Two trial transplantations
of the mullet, Mugzi corsula (Hamilton), from Bengal to Madras
were made by Dr. T. J. Job in 1944 and by Dr. S. L. Hora in 1945
(Basu, 1946). The fingerlings reached the destination and grew well,
but as their number was small the species has apparently not establish-
ed itself.
INTRODUCED Foop FisHESsS—Exotic
The Gourami, Osphronemus goramy (Laceép.) (Fig. 2): The fish, a
native of Indonesia, was first introduced in India during the early half of
the last century and stocked in the Botanical Gardens at Calcutta, but the
entire lot is reported to have perished by 1841 for want of proper atten-
tion (Thomas, 1881). Further details about this introduction are not
available.
Ca
ana RS,
Osphronemus goramy Lac.
Fig.2. The Gourami, Osphronemus goramy (Lacép.). (After Hofstede)
About the year 1865, Sir William Denison, the then Governor of
Madras, imported some gourami from Mauritius and introduced them in
the Government House ponds at Madras while some were taken to the
Nilgiris (Raj, 1916). The fish bred in the tanks at Madras and it
appears that the fry were distributed to some of the tanks in the neigh-
bourhood, including the Red Hills tank. However, the condition of the
stock in general was not satisfactory anda fresh consignment of about
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION OF FISHES IN INDIA 599
200 fish was brought from Mauritius and Java in 1916. The fish has
established itself in various parts of Madras State, from where it has
been successfully transplanted to Bombay in 1937 (Kulkarni, 1943 and
1946), Baroda in 1941 (Moses, 1944), Mysore in 1942 (Bhimachar, eZ a/,
1944) and Cochin and Hyderabad in 1945. Gourami was introduced in
the Punjab but could not survive the low winter temperature there
(Khan, 1946).
The Tench, 77z2ca ¢tzzca (Bloch) (Fig. 3): The tench was brought from
England by Mr. Maclvor about the year 1870 along with the golden
carp and introduced into the Ootacamund lake (Molesworth & Bryant,
1921), The fish bred in the lake and subsequently fingerlings were
Fig. 3. The Tench, 7inca tinca (Bloch). (After Innes).
transplanted to some more ponds and lakes in the Nilgiris and the
Shevaroy Hills. Its introduction in the lower elevations does not appear
to have met with much success though it is reported to have bred in the
Sunkesula farm, Madras (Hornell, 1923 and Tampoe, 1929).
The Crucian Carp, Cavassius carassius (Linn.): This fish, also known
as the Golden Carp, is a native of Central Europe from where it has
been transplanted to various countries, MacIvor introduced it about
the year 1870 along with the Tench into the Ootacamund lake where
it bred well (Molesworth & Bryant, 1921). Subsequently it was trans-
planted to several ponds and lakes in the Nilgiris, Shevaroys and
Kodaikanal. Attempts to transplant this fish to the plains did not meet
with success.
The Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio (Linn.): Originally a native of
China, this fish is now very widely distributed all over Europe, America
and several other parts of the world. It was introduced in Ceylon from
Prussia in 1914 and from there a consignment of 45 young fish was
brought in 1939 by Dr. Sundara Raj, the then Director of Fisheries,
Madras, and stocked in the Ootacamund lake where it thrived well and
bred in three years. Three varieties of the common carp are distinguish-
ed, viz. the Mirror Carp (var. specularts) (Fig. 4), the Scale Carp (var.
600 fOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
communts) and the Leather Carp (var. »wdus), and of these the first one
is the most common.
Cyprinus carpio L.
Fig.4. The Mirror Carp, Cyfrinus carpio Linn. (var. specularis). (After
Hofstede).
The Mirror'Carp has been transplanted to the Shevaroys where it is
reported to be breeding (Ganapathi & Chacko, 1950). Though the
fish grows well in the plains it has not bred there.
In 1946 some fingerlings of the Mirror Carp were introduced in the
Ulsoor lake, Bangalore (Burton, 1948). In 1947 fingerlings of
the fish were transported by plane in an oxygenated container from
Ootacamund (Nilgiris) to Bhowali in the Kumaon Hills (U.P.) (Raj &
Cornelius, 1947) and the fish is now reported to have bred there.
A small consignment of fingerlings of Mirror Carp was also transport-
ed to Bombay in 1949, from Ootacamund, and introduced into a lake at
Lonavla at an altitude of about 2,000 feet.*
TRANSPLANTED GAME FisH ES—Autochthonous
The Putitor Mahseer, Barbus (Tor) putitora (Ham.): The large-
scaled carps of the subgenus Zvry are known as mahseers and are the
favourite among Indian game fishes. The Putitor Mahseer is found all
along the Himalayas from Kashmir to the Darjeeling hills and probab-
ly further east as far as China.
‘The lakes of Kumaon hills were stocked with this fish by Sir
H. Ramsay about the year 1858 (Walker, 1888). The Bhimtal, the
Nakuchiatal and the Sathtal were stocked with fingerlings transported
in earthen vessels from the Gola river and the Nainital with those from
the Koli river. The fish flourished in all the lakes except Bhimtal,
where a second attempt was made by him in 1878, with success. ‘The
fish took well to the confined waters and bred in the shallow areas of
the streams that drain into the lakes. Edye (1922) stocked the Khurpa-
tal on the Nainital-Kaladhungi Road in 1922. Raj (1945) has dealt
with the present condition of the mahseer in the Kumaon lakes in
detail.
* Annual Report of the Department of Fisheries, Bombay, 1943-19, p. 36.
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION OF FISHES IN INDIA 601
The Khudree Mahseer, Barbus (Tor) khudree Sykes: Molesworth
& Bryant (1921) have cited a report by Mr. Barlow to the effect that
Pykara (Nilgiris) was stocked with mahseer before the introduction of
trout. In the absence of further details it is to be presumed that the
mahseer referred to is B. (Tor) khudree Sykes being the most common
form found in that region at present.
Hornell (1923) reports about stocking the Kodaikanal waters (Palni
Hills) with 162 mahseer fingerlings from the Tungabhadra in Kurnool.
The-species could either be Barbus (Tor) khudree Sykes ot B. (Tor)
mussullah Sykes, these being the mahseers available in the Tungabha-
dra. Information about the result of the transplantation is lacking.
INTRODUCED GAME FISHES—Exotic
Trout is the only exotic game fish introduced into India and at
present two species have established themselves, viz. the Rainbow
Trout, Sa/mo gairdneriz Rich. and the Brown Trout, Salmo trutta fario
Linn., the former in the south and the latter in the north.
The introduction of trout in India was achieved by the efforts of the
European residents in the country during the latter half of the 19th
century and the beginning of this century. Though the work commen-
ced as a private enterprise, it subsequently received the active support
and cooperation of the Government. Details of the introduction of
trout in India are given by Howell (1916), Mitchell (1918), Molesworth
& Bryant (1921), Skene-Dhu (1906 and 1918), and Mackay (1945); and
in the present account only some of the important events are mentioned.
The Nilgiris and Travancore trout came from the same stock as the
Ceylon trout regarding which Fowke (1938) gives valuable information.
Introduction of trout in the Nilgiris (Madras): The first attempt to
introduce trout in India was made by Mr. H. S. Thomas in 1863, but
the consignment of ova he was bringing perished on the way (Day
1876). In 1866 Day (op. cit.) imported 6,000 ova and though most of
them died a few days after reaching Ootacamund, the few that survived
turned out to be the first trout to see life in Indian waters. After
a few years’ lull, attempts were again made by Mr. MclIvor in 1887
and subsequently by himself and others till 1906. Some of the
attempts resulted in failure, others being partially successful. Most of
the consignments were of Salmo fario but trials with Salmo gairdneriz,
Salmo levenensis and Salmo fontinalts were also made. All the successive
attempts proved futile till the first decade of this century.
The credit for the ultimate permanent establishment of the trout in
the Nilgiris goes to Mr. Wilson who organized the whole work on a scien-
tific basis. He found the climate at Dodabetta, where the hatchery was
located, unsuited for the Brown Trout. So he constructed a hatchery at
Avalanche and concentrated on the establishment of the Rainbow Trout.
All the available stocks of brood fishes were transferred and fresh con-
signments of ova were brought from Germany and New Zealand, and
fingerlings from Ceylon. The Avalanche hatchery was a great success
and the Rainbow Trout is now well established in the Nilgiris waters.
Introduction of trout in Kashmir: The introduction of -trout in
Kashmir was carried out independent of the attempts that were in
602 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL ‘AIST. (SOCIETY; Volz 50
progress inthe Nilgiris. The first shipment of ova was sent in the
spring of 1900 as a present from the Duke of Bedford to the Maharaja
of Kashmir in return for the Kashmir stags presented by the latter
(Mitchell, 1918). The whole consignment, however, perished on the
way on account of the heat. A second lot arrived in December of the
same year and another followed in 1901. The ova were of Brown Trout
and took very well to the Kashmir waters. Some ova liberated in the
river Kalapani near Abbottabad flourished and bred there. A heavy
flood in Kashmir in 1903 swept over all the brood ponds and hatcheries
and this, instead of destroying the whole stock as was feared, resulted in
providing more favourable conditions for their permanent establishment
in the waters. Though both Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout were
introduced, it was found that the latter is more suited to the cold
Himalayan waters.
Introduction of trout in the Punjab: Trout was first introduced in
the River Beas in the Kulu Valley (Punjab) in 1909 by Mr. Howell who
brought about 23,000 eyed ova from Kashmir for the purpose (Howell,
1916). This stock established itself in the river and since then many
lakhs of Brown Trout fry have been planted in the Beas and its tributa-
ries and other streams in the Punjab (Tyson, 1941). The fish is now
well established in Kulu and from there it has been transplanted to
rivers and streams in Chamba, in the Kangra Valley and the Simla hills,
About 5,000 eyed ova of Rainbow Trout were introduced in Kulu
waters from Kashmir in 1919. Though the fish spawned in 1922 and
in subsequent years, it failed to give satisfactory results in view of its
greater susceptibility to diseases than Brown Trout, and its culture
therefore was abandoned (Khan, 1946).
Introduction of trout in the Kumaon lakes and in the Eastern
Himalayas: Trout was first introduced in the lakes of the Kumoan hills
in 1910 when a consignment of 10,000 ova was taken from Kashmir to
the Bhowali hatchery, about 8 miles from Nainital. Another consign-
ment was obtained in 1912 and fingerlings from these were stocked in
various lakes such as the Nainital, Naguchiatal, Sathtal, Malwatal etc.
(Skene-Dhu, 1918). Though the first stocking operations met with
encouraging results it is doubtful if the trout has permanently
established itself in the Kumaon hills.
Attempts made to establish trout in the Darjeeling Himalayas did
not meet with success in view of the heavily silted condition of the
rivers during floods and the precipitous nature of the valley with high
waterfalls, whereas the fish has established itself in the Ha Valley in
Bhutan at an elevation of 9,000 to 10,000 ft. (Hora, 1946). Further
details about the above transplantations are not available.
Introduction of trout in Travancore, Kodaikanai and other waters
in South India: The first consignment of trout ova for Travancore
was obtained in 1909 from Howieton in Stirlingshire, Scotland (via
Bombay) and this reached the High Range, Travancore, successfully.
A second consignment was received in the same year via Colombo-
Tuticorin, and another in 1913. All the above consignments comprised
of ova of the Brown Trout. By this time culture of the Rainbow Trout
was becoming a notable success in the Nilgiris and attention was turned
to this species. Though the fry introduced into the waters of the High
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION OF FISHES IN INDIA 603
Range showed phenomenal growth they failed to breed until a
hatchery was located at Rajmally and the fish were liberated in the
Eravikulam river, where they bred under natural conditions in 1937.
Fresh stocks of Rainbow Trout were obtained from the Nilgiris and
Ceylon and by 1941-42 the fish had firmly established itself in the High
Range of Travancore. (Gopinath, 1942 and Mackay, 1945).
Streams in the Anamalais have been stocked with fingerlings of trout
from the hatchery in the High Range, Travancore. The fish does not
breed there due to the comparatively low elevation and consequent
high temperature. As a result of the interest taken by Messrs. Crossley
and MacTaggert two lots of trout ova were imported in 1894 by the
Palni Game Association for stocking the Kodaikanal lake. Both the
attempts resulted in failure (Skene-Dhu, 1906).
TRANSPLANTED LA RVICIDAL FISHE sS—Autochthonous
Among the Indian larvicidal fishes, the cyprincdonts Ajplocheztlus
lineatus, A, panchax, A. blochit and Oryzias melastigma (McCl.) are the
most important; and these have been transplanted in several parts of
the country for antimalarial work. Most of the transplantations are
intra-regional and come under routine activities of public health
departments of the States concerned, and the records are too numerous
to be listed here.
INTRODUCED LARVICIDAL FISHES—Exotic
The Top Minnow, Gambusia affinis B. & G. (Fig. 5): This fish from
North America has been introduced in various countries for larvicidal
Fig.5. The Top Minnow, Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard). (After
Prashad and Hora),
purposes. It was first introduced in India by Dr. B. S. Rao and Dr.
Chandrasekhriah who brought an experimental consignment to Mysore
604 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
from Italy in 1928 (Gopinath, 1942). The attempt was a great success
and the fish bred out of this stock was transplanted to several States,
from Travancore in the south to the Punjab in the north. A consign-
ment of young gambusia was brought from Ceylon in 1929 by the
Madras Fisheries Department and stocked in the waters of Krusadai
Island, and another was taken from Bangalore to Madras city in 1930
(Chacko, 1948). Both lots of gambusia bred well and have been distri-
buted to different parts of the State.
The Millions: Ledzstes reticulatus (Peters): This is a native of South
America and is known also as ‘ Barbados Millions’. A consignment
was introduced by Major Selley into Madras in 1909, but was reported
to have perished due to unsuitable climatic conditions (Prashad and Hora,
1936). However, in 1946 the fish was noticed thriving inthe Rameswaram
temple tank and from there it has now been successfully transplanted
to various parts of Madras (Chacko, 1948).
INTRODUCED ORNAME NTAL FISHES
Records are not available showing the exact period of introduction
of ornamental fishes into the country, but it is probable that this might
have taken place at a very early date during the Buddhist period when
India and China came into intimate contact with each other. During
the Moghul period fish ponds and ornamental pools were popular in
palace gardens, and in the residences of the aristocracy.
Fig.6. The Gold Fish, Carassius auratus (Linn.) :
A. Veil-tailed variety ;
B. Pop-eyed variety ;
C. Lion-headed variety. (After Norman).
The commonest and the most popular ornamental fish is the Gold-
fish, Carassius auratus, introduced from China. Other examples are
the Angel-fish, Prevophyllum scalare, from South America ; the Fighting-
fish, Betta pugnax, from Siam; the White Cloud Mountain Minnow,
Tanichthys albonubes, from China; the Black Tetra, Gymnocorymbus
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION OF FISHES IN INDIA 605
ternetzt, from Paraguay; the Flame Tetra, Hyphessobrycon flammeus, from
Rio de Janeiro; the Pearl Gourami, Zyichogaster leeri, from Siam;
the Jewel Fish, Hemichromis bimaculatus, from Africa; the Chinese
Paradise Fish, (/acropodus opercularis, from China; the Red and Green
Swordtail, X7¢phophorus hellerit, from Mexico; the different colour
varieties of Platies, Platypoectlus maculatus, from Mexico; the Liberty
Mollies, Mollientsia sphenops, from Texas; the Cherry Barb, Barbus titteya,
from Ceylon; the Negro Barb, Barbus nigrofascialus, trom Ceylon;
and the Harlequin, Rasbora heteromorpha, from Sumatra and Singa-
pore. Exact details about the introduction of these ornamental fishes
are not available.
ACCIDENTAL TRANSPLANTATIONS
In the course of purposive introduction of species accidental introduc-
tions have also taken place, such as of Rasbora danicontus (Ham.) and
Oryzias melastigma(McCl.) into the Andamans along with the fry of
Labeo rohtta (Ham.) (Mookerjee, 1935 and Herre, 1941). Species like
Ophicephalus gachua (Ham.) found in the Andamans are considered to
have been introduced accidentally by human agency (Mookerjee op. cit.),
According to Annandale & Hora (1925), along with the fingerlings of
L. rohita (Ham.) the fry of minor carps and certain Siluridae also might
have been introduced into the Island.
As a result of the present fillip to the expansion of carp cultural
activities in the different States (Job, 1951) and the consequent large-
scale transportation of carp fry fromthe Gangetic and the Mahanadi
systems of rivers to other parts of India there is a possibility of
accidental transplantation of unwanted species.
GENERAL REMARKS
As will be seen from the foregoing account, several successful
attempts have been made to introduce exotic species into the country and
to transplant the indigenous ones. The advent of these exotic species
does not appear to have in any way affected the indigenous fish fauna.
Even the trout, the carnivorous habits of which are well known, has
not been detrimental as it is restricted to the cool waters in the higher
reaches of the rivers where economically important varieties of indi-
genous fishes are few. In Kashmir and in the Punjab, the trout waters
still retain a rich indigenous fish fauna. However, this fact should not
leave us unmindful of the dangers of indiscriminate transplantation.
Strict quarantine restrictions have to be exercised while carrying out
transplantation programmes. In view of the present food shortage the
transplantation of food fishes like the major carps of India is of prime
importance. The establishment of carps like catla in the Cauvery in
the south and in the Bombay waters has been a creditable achievement,
especially as it is astep towards regional self-sufficiency in the supply
of carp fry for cultural operations. The result of the introduction of
catla in Periyar lake in Travancore will be watched with interest and
if the fish establishes itself in the Periyar system a suitable source of
seed supply will be available for the region.
606 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Among the fishes indigenous to India the pearl-spot ranks in
importance next to the major carps in its suitability for transplantation
and permanent establishment. The coastal districts of Orissa and
Bengal appear to offer ideal conditions for introduction.
Another indigenous fish considered suitable is the Copper Mahseer,
Acrossochilus hexagonolebis (McCl.). This fish grows to about 25 lb.
and is distributed in the rivers of Assam and the eastern section of the
Himalayas. Recently it has been reported from the Cauvery also. The
fish breeds in semi-confined waters (Smith, 1944 and Hora, 1946) and its
artificial propagation is reported to be easy (Ahmed, 1946 and 1948),
Experimental transplantation of this could, therefore, be tried with
advantage in waters where the major carps do not occur or when trans-
planted have failed to give satisfactory results. The small streams of
the Andaman Islands appear to offer suitable conditions for the breed-
ing of this fish, and it is likely that the Bengali settlers in the islands
will find the Copper Mahseer a welcome substitute in the absence of
the major carps.
The Tilapia, 7tlapia mossambica (Peters) (Fig. 7) whichis a native of
South Africa, has given very encouraging results in some of the South-
“aR
See te elk
fo pee
<<
Tilopia mossambice Peters
Fig. 7. The Tilapia, Tilapia mossambica Peters. (After Hofstede),
East Asian countries where it has been introduced in recent years. It
will be desirable to consider the feasibility of introducing this fish in India
also as an experimental measure.* The usefulness of 7richogaster
pectoralis (Regan) (Fig. 8) for introduction in paddy-fields, swamps and
marshes requires to be studied. This fish is a native of Siam and is
now well established in several parts of Malaya and Indonesia.
We have now in India a variety of fishes both indigenous and exotic
suitable for culture in varying ecological conditions. The optimum
*After this paper was read at the Symposium we were informed by Dr. Nazir
Ahmed that a consignment of 7zlagza had recently been brought to East Bengal
(Pakistan). The results of this transplantation are awaited with interest. If the
fish gets established in East Bengal, its natural spread into the contiguous areas of
India will be only a matter of time.
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION OF FISHES IN INDIA G07
requirements of the species concerned, their response to the change in
habitat etc. have yet to be studied in detail. With regional self-
Trichogaster pectoralis Regon
Fig.8. The Sepat-Siam, 7richogaster pectoralis (Regan). (After Hofstede).
sufficiency in crop and seed as the aim, judicious transplantation
and introduction of these fishes have to be planned and carried out
throughout the country.
BiBETO GRAPH vy"
Ahmed, Nazir, (1946): On the spawning habits and culture of Katli, Baréus
(Lissochilus) hexagonolepis McClelland. Bengal Govt. Fish. Dev. Pamph, No. 2;
pp. 48.
Ahmed, Nazir, (1948): On the spawning habits and development of the Copper
Mahseer, Barbus (Lissochilus) hexagonolepis McClelland. Proc, Nat. last. Scz.
India 14 (1); 21-28.
Alikunhi, K. H. (1948): Observations on the growth of Cyfrinus carpio in
tropical environment at the Chetput Fish Farm, Madras. Proc, 35th Indian Sci.
Congr. (Patna, 1948) Pt. 3, Abstracts, Calcutta, p. 206.
Alikunhi, K. H. & Chaudhuri, H. (1951): On the Occurrence of Ladbeo rohita
in the Godavari River System. Sei. & Cudt.; 16 (11) ; 527.
Alikunhi, K. H., Chaudhuri, H. & Ramachandran, V. (1951): Response to
transplantation of fishes in India, with special reference to conditions of existence of
carp fry. Symposium on transplantation of Fishes, Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council
3rd Meeting, Madras.
Alikunhi, K. H. & Ranganathan, V. (1947) : Bionomics, breeding habits and
development of the Tench, Zzuca tinca in the Nilgiris waters. Proc. 34th Indian
Sci. Congr. (Delhi, 1947) Pt. 3, Abstracts, Calcutta ; 179.
Annandale, N. & Hora, S. L. (1925): The freshwater fish of the Andaman
Islands. ec. Indian Mus. 27 (2) ; 33-41.
Basu, 8. P. (1946): Pcssibilities of Mullet Farming in India. /udian Fme.,
Welnt @ (11); pp. $17-522:
Bhimachar, B. S., David, A. & Muniappa, B. (1944): Observations on the
acclimatisation, nesting habits and early development of Osphronemus goramy
(Lacep.). Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., Bangalore 20 (1) ; 88-101.
Sa
* A great deal of information obtained from the various Administration Reports
of the Madras Fisheries Department is incorporated in the paper but only some
important references are listed in the bibliography. :
608 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Burton, R. W. (1948): Mirror carp. Jour. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., Bombay,
47 (4) ; 761-762.
Chacko, P. I. (1945) : Acclimatisation of Mirror Carp in Nilgiris. Jour, Bomb.
Nat. Hist. Soc., Bombay, 45 (2) ; 244-247.
Chacko, P. I. (1948): Development of Fisheries in the Periyar Lake. Proc. 35th
Ind. Sci. Congr. (Patna, 1918) Pt. 3, Abstracts, pp. 204-205.
Chacko, P.I. & Kuriyan, G. K. (1948): On the bionomics of Catla cutla
(Cuv. & Val.) in South Indian Waters. Proc. Zool. Soc., London. 120 (1) ;
39-42.
Chacko, P. I. & Venkatraman, R.S. (1948): Notes on the Bionomics of the
Millions, Ledistes reticulatus in Madras Waters. Proc. 35th Indian Sci. Congr.
(Patna, 1948), Pt. 3, Abstracts, Calcutta, pp. 157-158,
Day, F. (1873): Report on the Freshwater Fish and Fisheries of India and
Burma, Calcutta.
Day, F. (1876) : Introduction of Trout and Tench into India. Journ. Linn,
Soc., London, 12; 562-555.
Edye, E. H. H. (1923): Report on the Fisheries of the United Provinces,
Allahabad. °
Fowke, P. (1938): Trout Culture in Ceylon. Sol. Zeyl. (Ceylon J. Scz.),
Colombo, 6 (1); 1-78.
Gopinath, K. (1942): Acclimatisation of foreign fish in Travancore. Jour.
Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., Bombay, 43 ; 267-271.
Ganapati, S. V. & Chacko, P. I. (1950): Fish Farming in tea and coffee
plantations. Planters’ Chronicle, Madras, Aug, 1950, pp. 1-6.
Herre, A. W. C. T. (1941): A list of fishes known from the Andaman Islands.
—Mem. Indian Mus., Calcutta, 13 (3) ; 331-403.
Hora, S. L. (1943): Possibility of fish culture in the Eastern Himalayas.
Bengal Govt. Fish Dev. Pamph. 2, pp. 1-3.
Hornell, J. (1923): Administration Report for the year 1921-22. Madras Fish.
Bull., Madras, 17; 1-44.
Hornell, J. (1924): Administration Report for the year 1922-23. Wadras Fish.
Bull., Madras, 18; 1-58.
Howell, G. C. L. (1916): The making of a Himalayan trout water. Jour.
Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., Bombay, 24 (2) ; 317-328,
Jaganatham, N. (1946): A note on the introduction of Roku and Mrigal into
Madras waters. Judian Fmg., Delhi, 7 (6) ; 292-296.
Job, T. J. & Chacko, P. I. (1947): Rearing of salt water fish in freshwaters
of Madras. J/nudian Ecol., Bombay, 2 (1) ; 12-20.
Job, T. J. (1951): Fish Seed Industry in India. Symposium on Transplanta-
tion of Fishes, Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council 3rd Meeting, Madras (February
1951).
Khan, Hamid (1946) : Development of Fisheries in the Punjab—II. Culture and
Propagation. /nedian Fing., Delhi, 7 ; 331-335.
a C. V. (1946): Gourami Culture. Jndian Fimg., Delhi, 7 (12) ;
569-571.
Kulkarni, C. V. (1947): Note on freshwater fishes of Bombay and Salsette
Island. Jour. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., Bombay, 47 (2) ; 319-326.
Mackay, W. S. (1945): Trout of Travancore, Jour. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.,
Bombay, 45 (3 & 4) ; 352-373 and 542-557.
Mitchell, F. J. 1918: How Trout were introduced into Kashmir. Jour. Bomb.
Nat. Hist. Soc., Bombay, 26 (1) ; 295-299.
Molesworth, C. & Bryant, J. F. (1921): Trout culture on the Nilgiris. Jour.
Bomb, Nat. Hist, Soc., Bombay, 27 (4) ; 898-910.
HISTORY OF TRANSPLANTATION OF FISHES IN INDIA 609
Mookerjee, D. D. (1935): Notes on some rare and interesting fishes from the
Andaman Islands, with descriptions of two new freshwater gobies, Kec. /ndian
Mus., Calcutta, 37; 259-277,
Moses, S. T. (1942): Rep. Dept. Fish. Baroda State, 1940-41, Baroda.
Moses, S. T. (1944): Rep. Dept. Fish. Baroda State, 1942-43, Baroda.
Nicholson, F. A. (1915): Papers from 1899 relating chiefly to the development
of the Madras Fisheries Bureau. Sull., Madras Kish. Bur. \,
Phayre, R. B. (1944) : Where the Rainbow ends. Jour. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.,
Bombay, 44 (3) ; 380-385.
Prashad, B. & Hora, S. L. (1936): Ageneral review of the probable larvivorous
fishes of India. Rec. Mal. Sur. India, 6 (4) ; 642.
Rahimullah, M. (1946) ; Acclimatisation of exotic fish, Atroplus suratensis
(Bloch) in the Hyderabad State. Proc. 33rd Indian Sct. Congr. (Bangalore,
1946), Pt. 3, Abstracts, Calcutta, p. 129.
Raj, B.S. (1916) .. Notes onthe freshwater fish of Madras. Rec. Indian Mus.,
Calcutta, 12 (6) ; 249-294.
Raj, B. S. (1945) ; The decline of Mahseer fisheries of the Kumaon Lakes and
a possible remedy. Proc. Nat. Inst., Sct., India, Delhi 11 (3) ; 341-345,
Raj, B. S. & Cornelius, R. P. (1948): On the history and transport of the
Mirror carp in oxvgen container from Ootacamund (Nilgiris) to Kumaon Hills
(United Provinces) Proc. 35th Indian Sct. Congr. (Patna, 1948), Pt. 3, Abstracts,
Calcutta, p. 205.
Ross, E. J. (1939): Trout Fishing in Kashmir. Jour. Bomb. Nat. Hist, Soc.,
Bombay, 41 (2) ; 437-442.
Smith, Langdale W. K. (1944): A note on the breeding habits of Katli, Barbus
(Lissochitus) hexagonolepis McClelland. J, Bengal Nat. Hist. Soc., Calcutta,
19 ; 89-90.
Southwell, T. (1915): Report on Fishery Investigations in Bengal and Bihar
and Orissa, with recommendations forfuture work. Bull. Dept. Fish. Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa, 5.
Tampoe, A. McG, C. (1929) : Report of the Committee on Fisheries in Madras,
Govt. Press, Madras,
Thyagarajan, S. & Chacko, P. I. (1950): Introduction of Roku and Mrigal
from Orissa State to Madras State. Jud. Com. J., Madras, Oct. 1950, pp. 1-4.
Thomas H. S. (1870): Report on Pisciculture in South Canara, London,
(1881) : Rod in India, Calcutta.
Tyson, T. (1941): Trout Fishing in Kulu. Lahore.
Walker, W, (1888): Angling in Kumaon Lakes, Calcutta.
THE POISONOUS & MEDICINAL PLANTS OF INDIA
BY
I. C. CHOPRA & DL. -D; KAroor
INTRODUCTION
Spread over an area of more than a million and a half square miles
and endowed by nature with varied physical and climatological condi-
tions, India possesses a rich and varied flora. Tropical plants grow in
the south and south-east, while temperate and alpine plants thrive
in the north and north-western Himalayas. The vegetation of these
areas contains innumerable economic products, such as food plants,
spices, oils, timber, fibre, gums, etc. There are more than 700
important food or fodder plants, among which about 200 species are
valuable fodder grasses. In addition there grow in this vast sub-
continent a large number of plants with active medicinal principles.
More than 2,000 plants alleged to have medicinal properties have been
enumerated in the literature of ancient India; of the plants listed in
the British and other pharmacopoeias a very large proportion either
grow here naturally or can be cultivated without much difficulty.
The more important families from which come useful medicinal
plants are the following : Leguminosae, Compositae, Labiatae, Euphor-
biaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Rosaceae, Gramineae, Liliaceae, Rutaceae,
Ranunculaceae, Umbelliferae, Solanaceae and Apocynaceae.
Many of these plants have constituents, which if taken internally
may cause serious disorders and even death; such plants are usually
termed ‘ Poisonous Plants’. A large number of these, when taken in
appropriate doses, are of help in the alleviation of suffering; but their
toxic properties are such that in general such plants constitute a serious
menace both to man and domestic animals. Recent studies in India
have shown that we have about 700 species of poisonous plants belong-
ing to 90 botanical families; their poisonous principles may be
alkaloids, glucosides, toxalbumins, ete.,, which though useful and
beneficial in small amounts, are actually harmful -to our livestock.
The study of poisonous plants from their toxicological or economic
aspects in relation to man is, therefore, very important. Many of these
plants provide us with various medicinal principles which can be
extracted and used in the country, or even exported to foreign parts.
This is a study that promises well for the economy of India; under the
auspices and financial assistance of the Indian Council of Medical
Research much has been done here for the collection, extraction and
application of active plant principles, as useful medicinal drugs. On the
other hand, toxicological studies have not been sufficiently intense in
our country ; various countries in Europe and America are far ahead of
us in this type of work, and it is only thanks to the interest taken by
the Indian Council of Agricultural Research that India has awakened
to the possibilities of this line of research.
POISONOUS & MEDICINAL PLANTS OF INDIA 611
WORK UNDER THE INDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL
RESEARCH
In 1935 the Indian Council of Agricultural Research made a grant to
Col. (Sir) R. N. Chopra for the purpose of starting intense work on
Indian poisonous plants; soon the work started in the School of
Tropical Medicine at Calcutta. The first results of Col. Chopra’s
activities was the publication of a list including about 700 plants that
were reputed to be poisonous to man, livestock, fishes, etc. ; this work
entailed intense search for such plants both in the field and in the various
national herbaria. :
In the case of many of the plants listed by Chopra their poisonous
properties had not been substantiated by actual experimentation. A
preliminary chemical examination of the more important plants was
carried out in the School of Tropical Medicine, Caicutta, and later on in
the Drug Research Laboratory, Jammu & Kashmir State. The poison-
ous plants may be divided into two groups according to their toxicolo-
gical properties:
(2) Plants poisonous to man and livestock.
(6) Plants poisonous to insects and fishes.
As far as the first group is concerned, there are still considerable
gaps, but our knowledge is advancing satisfactorily ; in connection with
the second group our knowledge is still very meagre.
Loss of livestock due to poisoning
“In India there are hundreds of plants intimately connected with the
food supplies of roughly 180 million bovine and 80 million other live-
stock heads (sheep, goats, etc.). The fodder supply for this livestock
amounts to at least 28 million maunds daily. Unfortunately there are
no figures for the loss incurred through poisoning with fodder plants
in this country, but they are believed to be very high. It may be
interesting to refer to conditions existing in two states, Montana and
Colorado, of U.S.A., which will give an idea of the possible damage. It
has been calculated that the loss suffered in those two states through
poisoning is of the order of 200 million dollars annually. This is a
very large figure, considering the size of those states as compared with
India (less than one-sixth), and also in view of the fact that the know-
ledge of poisonous plants is much more advanced in America, where
active preventive measures are regularly taken to prevent such losses.
Food poisons
In the large majority of cases, poisoning is produced when plants
are used as food. Cases of poisoning in animals through eating
of poisonous plants are of frequent occurrence throughout the world and
are even more common in India When such plants, which provide food
and fodder for manand animals, produce toxiceffects they are termed
‘Food Poisons’. The following are some of the food poisons commonly
met with in India. Several grasses especially juar (Sorghum vulgare)
and baru (Sorghum helepense), mustards (species of Brassica and Sinapis
especially the rai), several members of the Cucurbitaceae, leaf blades of
Rhubarb (species of R/eum), the Potato family (Solanaceae), buckwheat
de
612 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
(Fagopyrum esculentum, F. tartaricum) and several spscies of une
Lupinus, Medicago, Beta, Quercus, etc.
Poisonous grasses
Our knowledge of Indian grasses which produce poisoning is very
meagre, and it is not possible to estimate the losses in livestock from
this source. The problem of poisonous grasses is indeed of great
economic importance in certain parts of India where the rains often fail
and drought conditions prevail. The development of hydrocyanic acid
among grasses in dangerously large quantities under definite climatic
and soil conditions is very important in certain regions. It has been
observed that such grasses are pvisonous during wilting and under
conditions of drought, that younger and more succulent ones are often
more likely to contain lethal doses of hydrocyanic acid, but if well dried
these plants are generally without poisonous effects.
Plants liable to produce dermatitis
Poisoning may also be produced through external contact as in the
case of some species belonging to the genera Rhus, Holigarna, Urtica,
etc., resulting in irritation of skin, eczema and dermatitis. A long list
of such plants has been drawn up, but some of the important ones may
be marked here :—Abroma augusta (Ulat kambal), Arisaema speciosum
(Kiralu), Euphorbia antiquorum (Tridhera-sehund), E-xcoecaria agallocha
(Gangwa), Holigarna sp. (Bibu), Mucuna sp. (Kiwach), Schima wallichii
(Chilauni), Zvagia sp. (Barkanta), Urtica sp. (Bichu), etc.
Insecticidal plants
The second group is composed of plants pdisonous to insects and
fishes and is also important in the economy of our nation. Insects do
incalculable harm and are responsible for much loss of life and much
destruction of foodstuffs and of property. On a moderate computation,
the annual loss caused in India through insect pests has been estimated
at 2,000 million rupees and over a million and a half in human lives.
An effective control of these enemies of social and economic progress
will reduce this enormous loss and will facilitate national development.
One means of fighting them is by use of the insecticides which can be
supplied by this group of plants.
In spite of the development of cheap synthetic insecticides such as
D.D.T., etc., vegetable insecticides still hold a prominent place. The
reason is that they are less deleterious to warm-blooded animals and
plant life and many possess remarkable immediate knock-out effects.
Among vegetable insecticides of proved value may be mentioned
Chrysanthemum (Pyrethrum), Derris (Tuba root), Vicotzana (Tobacco),
Tephrosia (Sarphankha), Pzcrasma (Charangi), Delphinium (Larkspur),
etc., but there are many others which need investigation.
Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium) and Derris (Derris
elliptica) have already acquired great importance as plant insecticides,
and America alone imports several million dollars worth of. these
commodities. Pyrethrum is now grown in many countries for export,
and Kenya and Japan are making enormous profits by its export.
In India its cultivation has been successfully started in Kashmir, the
Nilgiris, Assam and other places. In Kashmir a large area was brought
POISONOUS & MEDICINAL PLANTS OF INDIA 613
under this crop, and research work to improve the quality of pyrethrum
flowers by proper selection of seed, collection of flowers at the right
time, drying and storing under suitable conditions, was carried out
by one of the authors and his co-workers, Unfortunately large scale
Cultivation for commercial purpcses has nowhere been taken up in this
country. In Kashmir a maximum production level of a hundred tons
of flowers annually was reached, but lately on account of the disturbed
conditions in 1947-48, production fell down to almost nothing. The
plantations are again being revived, but it will take considerable time
before previous levels are attained. MDerrzs ellzpizca is found in a state
of nature to a very limited extent in India, but several other species
growing here need systematic investigation and cultivation for commers=
cial exploitation.
Insect repellents
The insect repellents group of plants also occupy a prominent place
in the economy of a nation. The cheaper and larger the number of
effective insect repellents, the greater likelihood of the masses of India
benefitting from their use. It is a time-honoured practice in India that
the leaves of neem (Azadirachta indica) and patchouli (Pogostemon
heyneanus) and the roots of costus (Saussurea lappa) are used to protect
woollen fabrics from insects. Articles placed in boxes made of sandal-
wood (Saztalum album) are immune from the attacks of these pests.
Some essential oils such as eucalyptus oil (from Lucalyptus globulus)
and citronella oil(from Cymbopogon nardus), when applied to the human
body, give relief from the bites of mosquitoes and other insects so long
as the odour lasts. Hemp (Cannabis sativa), if spread under a bedsheet,
affords ample protection against fleas. The simple device of mixing
leaves of TZvigonella foenumgraecum (Methi) and Vitex negundo
(Nirgundhi) with grains before storage saves them from insect
attacks. _
A long list of vegetable insecticides and insect repellents has been
drawn up elsewhere. Many of these grow wild, and some are even
cultivated in India. Mention may, however, be made of some of the
more important plants in this respect : -Acorus calamus (Bach), Artemisia
absinthium (Afsantin), Czmetctfuga foelida (Juinti), CZunamomum cam-
bhora (Karpur), Curcuma longa (Haldi), Delphintum sp. (Larkspur),
Euphorbia sp. (Hirvi), Ocimum sp. (Tulsi), Peganum harmala (Hurmal),
Santalum album (Sandal), and Zanthoxylum alatum (Tejmal).
Piscicidal plants .
It isa well-known fact that some plants are poisonous to fish. Cases
are known where such plants have accidentally come into contact with
water in ponds or streams and enormous numbers of fish have died as
aresult. Use of these plants for purposes of obtaining food is some
times resorted to by people.~ This is uneconomical and wasteful,
and the practice should be stopped. The list of plants poisonous to
fish is a very long one. This group is also of importance as some of
the insecticides are also piscicides and vice versa. A systematic investi-
gation of the group may lead to the discovery of effective insecticides.
Examples of important piscicides may be cited as :—A/dzz 7a sp. (Siris),
Artemisia vulgaris (Tithwan), Berberis aristata (Darhald), Derris sp.
614 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
(Tuba), Dioscovea sp. (Manalu), Hydnocarpus sp. (Kastal), Juglans regia
(Akhrot), AWzllettia piscidia, Phyllanthus urinaria (Hazarmuni), Rhodo-
dendron sp. (Gaggar), Stvychnos sp. (Kuchila), Tephrosia sp. (Sarapankha),
Verbascum thapsus (Bantomaku), etc. etc.
Medicinal plants
It would be interesting to summarise briefly the salient features
concerning the work on Indian medicinal plants which was initiated by
Col. R. N. Chopra and his co-workers more than thirty years ago.
The work had the following main objects in view :—(a) To make
India self-sufficient, by enabling her to utilise the drugs produced in the
country by manufacturing them in a form suitable for administration.
(0) To discover remedies from the claims of Ayurvedic, Tibbi and other
indigenous sources suitable to be employed by the exponents of
western medicine. (c) To discover means of affecting economy so that
these remedies might fall within the means of the great masses in
India, whose economic condition is low, and eventually (¢@) To prepare
an Indian Pharmacopoeia.
Pharmacopoetal and allied drugs.
The work done in connection with medicinal plants has been
responsible tor bringing into use a large number of crude drugs used
in the British and other Pharmacopoeias which were formerly imported
from foreign countries by the pharmaceutical industry. It was shown
that the active principles of many of the indigenous plants such as
Podophyllum, Rhubarb, EAhedra and Indian Belladonna, etc. were up to
the standards laid down in the pharmacopoeias. Similarly a large
number of plants grow in India which, though not exactly the same,
have properties and actions similar to the imported and often expensive
drugs. These could form excellent substitutes. Colchicum luteum
(Suranjan), Picrorhiza kurrooa (Kour), which grow wild in Kashmir and
Himachal Pradesh have thus come into use as good Indian substitutes
for the officinal variety of drugs Colchicum autumnale and Gentiana lutea.
Indian Ephedra, Indian Belladonna, Aconites and Santonine have
thus all found their way in the exports to U.K. and U.S.A. before and
after the second World War. Many examples can be cited where Indian
drugs, which otherwise perished unobserved in our forests, gained
economic importance in the country.
The Drugs used in Indian Medicine
It is believed that out of the very large number of drugs used in
Indian medicine there must be some at least which deserve the reputa-
tion they have earned as cures. A few plants may be cited for
example :—Atis (Aconitum heterophyllum), Mamira (Copizs teeta), Anan-
tamul (Hemidesmus indvicus), Kurchi (Holarrhena antidysenterica), Maline
(Inula royleana), Hurmal (Peganum harmala), Kuth (Saussurea lappa),
Sarpagandha (Rauwolfia serpentina), etc. etc.
A large number of these commonly used drugs have been worked
out by application of modern scientific methods. Their chemical com-
position has been determined, the pharmacologicaiaction of the active
principles has been worked out by animal experimentation, and finally
suitable preparations made from the drugs have been tested on patients
POISONOUS & MEDICINAL PLANTS OF INDIA 615
in the hospitals. This laborious work has brought out the merit and
qualities of certain drugs and it has been shown that they may prove to be
valuable additions to the present armoury of the medical man to relieve
the sufferings of humanity if brought into general use. But such drug
plants unfortunately are not large in number. In many cases negative
results have been obtained, which also is not without significance.
There is an enormous field for investigation in this country but only the
fringes of this vast problem have as yet been touched. It remains for
future workers to explore and investigate the materia medica mention-
ed in the literature of indigenous medicine and to prove or disprove the
effectiveness and practical utility of many alleged remedies mentioned
therein. As Col. Chopra has said, ‘At the present time when the big
drug manufacturers of the world are producing an ever-increasing flow
of synthetic remedies there has been a feeling in Europe and in America
that medicinal herbs, particularly those used in the indigenous medicines
of different countries, should receive more attention. Their use is
built up on experience of generations extending over centuries at a
price in human lives which is very difficult for any modern research
to pay. From my own experience of thirty years I have no doubt
that much remains to be learnt from a close study of such herbal
remedies. Examples of such drugs are WHolarrhena antidysenterica
(in amoebioses), and Rauwolfia serpentina (in blood pressure) from
India, Stepbhania cepharantha and S. sasakiz, alkaloid cepharanthine (in
tuberculosis) from Japan, Ammz visnaga (diuretic and coronary anti-
spasmodic) from Egypt; Coptzs cotnensia (alkaloid berberine) has
tuberculostatic activity ; and a number of others whose efficiency have
been recently established.’
He further observed that chemical investigation of plants has so far
confined itself to the discovery of alkaloids, glucosides, etc. An
enormous field, yet undetermined, is open to investigation, if plant
research receives a new orientation and plant antibiotics are also
studied. Recent work in India has shown the presence cf substances of
antibiotic nature in common Indian plants, e.g., Woringa plerygosperma
(pterigosperimin), which are highly effective against disease producing
organisms particularly of the bacillary dysentery group. Close colla-
boration in this type of work is pregnant with possibilities not only of
scientific and academic interest, but also of very greit practical economic
importance to the country.
Indian pharmacopoeia
The fact that India should have an official publication which would
record what she recognizes as a trustworthy and approved materia
medica upon which can be established modern Food Drug Acts, Poison
Laws, systems of legal medicine, need hardly be emphasized. But this
involves not cnly the development of machinery for the administration
of laws based upon official standards, but also findirg an authoritative
standard which every doctor and pharmacist in India will hail as real
guide in everyday work. Production of such a work will entail a very
large amount of work. The pharmacopoeia which is envisaged should
include the composition of drugs, definite pharmacological action of
their active constituents, well-established therapeutic uses, fully investi-
gated toxicity and standard for a safe maximum dose based on chemical
616 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY; Vol. 50
and biological standards. The work which was started by Colonel Chopra
and his collaborators and which is now being done extensively by many
workers in the country, is exactly the type of work which will lead to
the preparation of an Indian pharmacopoeia. It is obvious, however,
that much more will have to be accomplished before such an authori-
tative publication can be prepared. It isa matter of great satisfaction
that a committee appointed by the Government of India with Colonel
Chopra as its chairman has composed an Indian Pharmacopoeial list
largely based onthe scientific work done up till now. ‘This list contains
the indigenous drugs which have been sufficiently worked out on the
above stated basis and will form in the first instance an Addendum to
the Pharmacopoeias. This is the first step towards laying the foundation
of the Indian pharmacopoeia and it is hoped that now, with indepen-
dence achieved, an Indian pharmacopoeia will be prepared in course of
a few years.
Drug research
With the opening of the Central Drug Research Institute at Lucknow,
research on economic plants generally and medicinal plants particularly
will be put on a sound, systematic and permanent basis. Colonel
Chopra said in his address at the opening ceremony of this Institute:
‘In spite of many handicaps, India’s men of science have justified their
capacity for original investigations and have taken an honourable and
ever-increasing share in the advance of knowledge of pure and applied
sciences. In iact progress in drug research has depended mainly on the
contribution of a few individual workers rather than a systematic attack
by concerted action. It is now recognised that a more systematic appli-
cation of science and research, over a broader field, is essential in the
national interest. Even during the short period of our independence,
the concept of research which is rapidly developing is highly practical
for country’s needs. The deep interest and foresight of the Prime
Minister and his able adviser, Dr. Bhatnagar, in giving generous grants
for research, in spite of financial stringency, deserve the gratitude of the
nation. Nothing can contribute more towards the rapid building up of
a prosperous nation than wide research activities in science and its
application. This problem is being solved by establishing National
Laboratories of which a number are already functioning. Eminent men
of science have taken up their direction. The work both on the side of
pure science and its practical application should now make rapid
strides. A new era has opened.’ The Indian Council of Agricultural
Research has played a great partin plant research particularly in
connection with plant cultivation on a commercial scale. The whole
country has been divided into a number of zones, and large grants are
being given in connection with drug cultivation on scientific lines and Uires
increasing their contents of active principles.
Other plants of economic value
During the course of the survey undertaken by the authors under
the guidance of Colonel Chopra, besides the plants yielding pharmaco-
poeial ard allied drugs, many other plants having economic value were
discovered and studied. For instance about 50 plants bearing essential
oils, which are in demand both in the cosmetic and the pharmaceutical
POISONOUS & MEDICINAL PLANTS OF [INDIA 617
industry, were found growing wild in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
’ For convenience these plants are divided into three groups :
1. Plants whose essential oil content compares well with those
grown in other countries,-e.g., Mint, Lavender, Thyme, Sage, Angelica,
(Chora) and Juniper (Padambi)j), etc. etc.
2. Plants not worked elsewhere, viz. /uula racemosa (Poshkar),
Skimmia laureola (Nera), Salvia sp., Herecleum sp., Prangos pubilaria
(Kornal) and Sezeczo sp., etc, etc.
3. Plants whose yield of essential oil is low but can be improved
by artificial cultivation, viz. /vzs sp., Artemisia sp., Nepeta sp., etc.
Preliminary work on the survey of essential oil bearing plants has
been carried out. It is now for the industrialists to take up the initia-
tive and to exploit the natural resources to the best advantage of the
country. It is well known that in France in the region of the Maritime
Alps a large industry for the production of scents and perfumes has
been developed which supplies its produce all over the world. With
our vast resources of these essential oil bearing plants a similar industry
and on a much larger scale can be established which will be of great
economic importance.
Cultivation of Medicinal and other plants
As has already been stated, India is an epitome of climates and an
emporium of medicinal herbs. There is no reason why exotic medici-
nal plants should not thrive here under suitable conditions of soil,
season and climate in different parts of the country. Cznchona and
I pecacuanha, which were introduced in the ninteenth century, are valuable
drug plants under cultivation now. Pyrethrum, which is a potent
source of vegetable insecticide, has also been successfully introduced in
Kashmir, the Nilgiris and Assam. Investigations have been carried out
in the Drug Research Laboratory, Kashmir, on the different problems
concerned with the successful cultivation of pyrethrum with a view to
the establishment of a large scale industry in this country. There is
no reason why such an industry should not develop in the near future.
Experimental work at different experimental centres was conducted in
connection with cultivation of Lavender (Lavandula officinalis), Mint
(Mentha piperita), Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), successfully and there
is a great future for these and many others. Seeds of Stvophanthus
Kombe and Duboisia myoporides procured from South Africa and
Australia respectively have been tried in different places in India.
Many exotics can be introduced and those already growing can be
extended for cultivation.
It may be concluded that the cultivation of medicinal, or rather
economic plants, and the introduction of exotics has a promising
future in this country and the work done so far has produced remark-
able results. This should stimulate the governments of the various
States to take the initiative and do this work in a systematic manner.
The part plaved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in
initiating and developing these studies has been of a pioneering nature;
it is pregnant with the possibilities of future development and deserves
the gratitude of the nation,
PHOTOGRAPHING THE WHITEBELLIED SEA-EAGLE
[HALIAETUS LEUCOGASTER (GMELIN) |
BY
Wan THo LOKE
(With four plates)
If I were asked what should be the tutelary bird of Singapore, I
would without hesitation say, The Whitebeilied Sea- -eagle. This
species is common here, althbath not numerous, because the skies of
Singapore are not wide enough to accommodate a large bird with such
a great flying range. Nevertheless, wherever you may be on this small,
green and pleasant island there is always a good chance that you will
see one of these magnificent birds. You will see him at any time of
the year because he is a ‘local-born’ and lives and brings up his
family in our midst.
I known of two nests which are regularly used, and no doubt there
must be others. One of these nests is placed high up in an Albizzia
tree in Malcolm Road; and the other, in a similar tree but placed
even higher up (at 150 feet) finds itself in the very midst of big business,
standing, as it does, in the compound of a house occupied by the man-
ager of a well-known local bank. This latter nest was blown down
in the big storm of 1950 but at the end of the year it was rebuilt and
I was surprised to see that the new nest did not appear very much
smaller than the previous structure.
Stuart Baker, writing of the Whitebellied Sea-eagle in ‘Nidification
of Birds of the Indian Empire’ says: ‘These Eagles select almost, if
not quite, invariably only the largest trees upon which to construct
their nests’. The Malayan birds are true to type in their behaviour in
this respect. It is thus not surprising that no good photographs have
ever been taken of the bird; certainly no such pictures, so far as I
am aware, have ever been published.
Therefore, when His Excellency the Commissioner-General for the
United Kinedom i in South-East Asia, Mr. Malcolm MacDonald (himself
a keen ands knowledgeable ornithologist) telephoned me at the end of
1948 to say that he had found a nest of the Eagle in his garden at
Bukit Serene, a wild thought struck me: why not build a machan up
to it and try and photograph the birds?
An exploratory trip to Bukit Serene disclosed that the nest was
placed at the very top of an enormous jungle tree (Dipterocarpus grandi-
florus). We estimated that a tower roo ft. high would reach it, but first
of all we had to make sure that the bird we had seen sitting in the
nest was in fact incubating. One of the Tamil workmen, employed by
the contractor who was going to construct the tower for us, volunteered
to climb the nest-tree and make the necessary investigation. A couple
of evenings later this lone and brave scout was sent up on his mission,
armed only with a slender piece of rope which he attached to his two
feet. The bole of the tree was smooth and without side-branches until
JourN. Bompay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE I
Phot Author
The photographing tower, 130 ft. high.
ih NE EY lll PEN PRP REPS RNP in AN
ysoul Ye o[svI-vaG PoT]Joqory MM
ouny | = fs Se | als: aed
he
IJ a1vig ‘90S “LSI, “LVN AVvaWog ‘Nunof
PHOTOGRAPHING THE WHITEBELLIED SEA-EAGLE 619
it reached the nest. All went well for a time and our climber moved
steadily upwards. When he was about three-quarters of the way up
he suddenly let out a yell and began coming down so fast that he
practically fell the last twenty feet. His head, face, arms, and back
were covered with little dark objects which made the poor fellow look
like a currant cake. We had reckoned without the enemy, a swarm of
little black bees which had their abode inside a small hole in the trunk
of the tree and formed most effective guardians of the Eagles’ nest.
We rushed to our poor scout’s rescue, swatted and picked off the bees
and then drove him quickly back to Singapore for medical treatment.
Fortunately, the poor man recovered quickly.
This preliminary setback forced us to the conclusion that careful
watching through binoculars would be the only means of settling our
problem. Observations confirmed that the bird was brooding and I
thought I once saw the bird bend down and make movements as
though it was turning over an egg. The decision was then taken
to build a tower.
The nest-tree stood on the side of a hill. We were afraid that
projecting branches would prevent a good view of the nest from the
upper side of the hill and so it was reluctantly decided to place the
tower on the lower slope of the hill, despite the fact that a taller
structure would in consequence be needed.
Construction of a 100-foot wooden tower began: first the timbers
were prepared and cut; then the tower was assembled in the con-
tractor’s workshop to make sure that all the pieces fitted together
properly; finally the tower was dismantled and the entire structure
taken out by lorry to Johore, 19 miles away.
Assembling of the tower on the site began on February 8th, 1949.
The workmen were allowed to work for only two hours a day, for
fear of disturbing the birds. Progress was slow but finally, on
February 20th, the tower was completed. But alas! it was not high
enough. We were some 20 feet short of our goal. The workmen
said they could nail on a superstructure, and argued that as they were
prepared to build it I should not be afraid to sit on it. So, the crazy
work went on.
The additions were completed on the 27th, and I was asked to
inspect the finished job. To my horror I saw that the bit which had
been tacked on was quite evidently out of plumb but as the con-
tractor’s manager and his workmen were watching expectantly and
showing the very greatest interest, I climbed up even though my
heart was in my mouth and lead was in my boots. Later, I learned
that the interest shown had more point to it than I had guessed; some
of the workmen, having less faith in me than I was supposed to have
in their work, had betted that I would never get to the top.
The Eagle, quite unperturbed by our presence below, did not fly
off the nest until I was half-way up the ladder. At the top I was
disappointed to find that the tower was still not high enough to allow
of a sight of the contents of the nest. Later on, when familiarity had
bred a measure of contempt, we added yet a little more to the tower
and were rewarded with the sight of a single, not very white, egg.
The final height of the tower was, in all, about 130 feet. It
was held upright by a number of wire cables, attached either to nearby
620 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL -HIST> SOCIETY, Vol. 50
trees or to stakes in the ground. When the tower was eventually
taken down, we found that the base was sunk only 18 inches into
the ground. I recalled then the remark Mrs. MacDonald had one
day made to me jokingly, but only half in jest, ‘If anything
happens to my husband when these crazy things are going on, I shall
have to blame you’. H. E. went up daily and sometimes twice a day,
watching and keeping careful notes. The remembrance of it all now
makes me think of a story which Mr. Salim Ali sometimes tells con-
cerning the manager of a wolfram mine in Burma who had been given
the job of showing the Governor round. His superiors, realising that
the manager’s vocabulary was of a rough and ready and somewhat
limited nature, cautioned him to mind his language. All went well
until they suddenly reached a low point in the tunnel. The manager,
in his excitement and anxiety to protect his distinguished visitor,
grabbed the Governor by the shoulder and said in a loud voice: ‘Mind
your ‘bloody head, Sir’. Mr. MacDonald, however, is a very courage-
ous and adventurous man, so perhaps even the most forceful language
would not have Srecaeiad in keeping him on the ground.
Observations and photographic activity in the hide extended over
a period of about 6 weeks. Every weekend, and such hours as I was
able to seize during the working week, were spent on the top of the tower.
The distance from my office to Bukit Serene involved a journey of
about 20 miles, so that those early afternoon disappearances must
have been regarded by my staff with more than a little suspicion.
Both birds incubated the single egg, but one bird—the less shy of the
two—did the major portion of this work. It was possible, after a while,
to tell the birds apart, not only from the differences in their behaviour
bui also from their size; the shyer bird was also the smaller of the two
and this I took to be the male. He rarely came to the nest, but was
often to be heard as he flew round in the sky above, or, perched on some
high vantage point on a distant jungle tree, uttered his loud, clear, and
curlew-like call. Any suspicious movement under the nest-tree was al-
ways signalied to his sitting mate. I could tell if the male was flying
overhead because the hen would cock an eye toward the heavens with
that kind of questioning look which wives reserve for husbands when
they come home from a stag party. Once, when I had been sitting in the
hide for some time watching the brooding female and, as usual expecting
nothing much to happen but hoping nevertheless that something would,
the male bird came flying high in from the sea, uttering a loud, insistent
call. His mate answered and immediately flew off the nest to meet
him and together, uttering their wild duet, they flew round in great
circles with only an occasional flap of their huge pinions. She returned
to the nest some time later, but whether the male had brought her
breakfast as well as inviting her to a morning flight, I shall never
know because they were too far away for me to see what they were
doing and she brought no food back with her. In fact, I never saw
the birds bringing anything to the nest, except on one occasion when
a large branch, still with green leaves on it, was brought to add a
little crude decoration to an already huge structure. :
The birds invariably approached the nest from one direction only.
- Even in the calmest weather, the loud thud made by the bird as it
landed on the nest could be heard 4o feet away. This observation of
"ysou }e SUTALIIC P1Ig
AOYINP 0704
III 4lv1d ‘90S “ISIH LVN AvaWwog ‘N¥no
a —
PrAatE IV
RN. BoMBAY NAT. Hist. Soc.
=
Jou
Author
Photo
1c10Nn.
Susp
PHOTOGRAPHING THE WHITEBELLIED SEA-EAGLE 621
the one-way traffic rule allowed me to get the photograph of the flying
bird which is reproduced in Plate III]. With a 14 inch telephoto
lens on the camera and a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec., the diaphragm
had to be used fully open thus giving me practically no depth of focus.
Added to this difficulty there was the problem of the.rapid approach
of the bird which necessitated the release of the shutter a fraction of
a second before the bird reached the spot on which the camera was
focussed. As this spot was placed out in space, I was compelled to
gauge its correct position by focussing the camera on a leaf of the
tree which, it was judged, was the correct distance away. The reader
will thus not be surprised to hear that I had a long string of failures
before finally securing the desired picture on the very last pack which
I was to take of the Shae:
On one occasion, the bird approached from a different direction
and landed on the nest from the right-hand side. I got a photograph
of it as it touched down. Wind currents must have been unfavourable
because the picture shows an off-level landing with the bird pushing
down hard with its left wing in order to correct its balance; the dis-
placement of air caused by the pressure of the wing is clearly seen in
the photograph as it has ruffled the breast feathers.
Bird photographers sometimes suffer from an inability to gauge
the strength of the light because of the continual application of a
single eye to a hole in the hide. The same problem confronted me
in this case also, but on days of flying cloud I was always able to
judge the strength of the sun by the sharpness of the shadows cast
on the ground by the surrounding jungle trees; I could see these
shadows merely by looking downwards between my legs. An exposure
meter reading was also easy to obtain because one had only to direct
the instrument in an earthward direction.
Three planks formed the floor of the topmost storey of the hide
and when the +-plate Graflex camera and tripod were in place there
was not much room left for the photographer. I found, however,
that I could make quite a comfortable morning of it by sitting cross-
legged, in Buddha-like pose, on the free portion of the floor. One’s
body only began to protest after the end of 24 to 3 hours of this
kind of squatting. Five hours was the longest continuous period I
ever spent in the hide.
A storm blew up one day and bore down on the hide from the
north. I decided to sit it out and watch the effect of the rain and wind
on the brooding eagle. But when the wind freshened the tower shook
alarmingly and the cloth of the hide cracked like a whip so that, after
enduring a few minutes of this warfare of nerves, I packed up my
equipment and beat a hasty retreat, discarding my good intentions with
the practised ease of a habitual maker of New Year resolutions.
We had hoped that, having found the eagle at so early a stage of
its breeding, we would be rewarded with a series of egg-to-fledgling
pictures, but in bird photography one soon learns that the best laid
schemes ‘gang eft agley’ and so it proved in this case also. After
a period of at least six weeks, when no little eagle had emerged from
the egg, we began to suspect the worst. (There is reason to believe
that a high percentage of the eggs of the sea-eagle are addled.) The
object of our attention continued as lifeless as if it had been made of
622 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
China and so, one day, quite abruptly, the eagle decided that it had
had quite enough of sitting in its nest and looking at us (just as
we were beginning to get equally tired of sitting on our tower and
looking at the eagle) and apparently kicking the egg over the side
of the nest, it flew away, never to return: I say ‘apparently’ because
no one saw the egg being ejected although Mr. MacDonald found
broken pieces under the tree.
I have always been sorry that things did not turn out better so
that I could have ended up with a complete series of pictures. Although
neither Mr. MacDonald nor I have ever said as much to each other,
speaking for myself alone, I must admit that I was relieved to find
the pole-sitting come to an end. The photographs taken of the birds
have had a good deal of success in exhibitions, and I daresay if the
opportunity of photographing a nest with young in it were ever again
offered, I should soon find excuses for building another tower.
ON THE TRAIL OF THE KOUPREY OR INDO-CHINESE
FOREST OX, (6I1BOS: SAU VEL)
BY
Dr. Boonsone LEKAGUL
t
¢ he
Bangkok (Thailand)
(With three plates and two text figures)
In 1944 I saw a pair of horns of a strange wild ox in a shop
selling Chinese herbs as medicine in Bangkok. These were unfamiliar
to me since they did not belong to the gaur, banteng, buffalo or gayal
which are known to exist in this part of the world.
The horns were about the size of a banteng’s, but curved in a
curious manner. About 13 inches from the tip the surface covering
was split, forming a collar of long shredded strips around each horn.
These strips were 0.2 to 0.3 inches wide and 4 to 8 inches long. The
distance between the bases of the two horns was only 34 inches and
the forehead was slightly convex, not concave as in the banteng or
the gaur. I purchased this pair and enquired of many of my friends,
but could get no information about them.
Towards the end of the same year I found two more similar pairs
of horns in a Chinese pawn shop. ‘These two were smaller in size,
rather flat, and curved like those of the Lesser Koodoo of Africa. The
distance between the horns at the base was about 3 inches and the
frontal bones were also not concave. This led me to believe that these
belonged to cows, and the first pair to a bull, of some unknown species.
After enquiries of many hunters and naturalists in Siam I finally
learned from an old gentleman, Phra Abhai Vongse, who had lived in
Cambodia in his youth, that these were the horns of a kind of wild ox
called by the Cambodians ‘Kouprey’ (wild ox) and by the Lao people
‘Vua Ba’. The animals were apparently plentiful in the jungles of
north-eastern Cambodia where he had hunted them about 20 years ago
near Chongkal, but without success.
In January 1945 I led an expedition to northern Cambodia in
search of these animals. We started from Kralann (or Phibul Song-
kram) going up north passing the villages of Ban Mong, Srae Parang,
Talok, Varin, Srae Noi, Lavia, Tapeng-Sang Kae, Srae Kandal
(Sarong Sangkae), Tapeng and Prey Weng. Some photographs of
the three pairs of horns mentioned above were taken along with us
and we made enquiries in the villages on the way. - During the first
fortnight we met no one who knew anything about these animals, but
after travelling about 200 kilometres we came to a village called Prey
Weng where we got the first information of their occurrence from an
old hunter. He claimed to have hunted them often and stated that
they could be found in the forests of Tapeng Chook and Phrom Dhep
624 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 5d
further north and eastwards. Having spent two weeks collecting this
information we ran short of rice, being unable to get sufficient quanti-
ties from the villages around. We, nevertheless, decided to proceed
with.our expedition living largely on the meat of wild animals. —
About a day’s walk from Prey Weng we reached the Tapeng Chook
which was an open forest on flat rolling hills. Here we found the
first definite signs of Kouprey in the form of old footprints. They
were mixed with banteng tracks. The local hunters could distinguish
the Kouprey tracks without hesitation as they were longer and blunter
in front. The tracks were however several months old having been
made during the last rainy season.
Many herds of banteng were found teeding on the plains and we
also saw many Thamin or Brow-antlered deer (Panolia eldi). Two
fine bull banteng were shot mainly for meat. After 5 days we were
compelled, by the scarcity of rice, to move further to a village called
Anlongpoom. Here too only very small quantities of rice were available,
the local people having to live on roots dug out from the neighbouring
forests.
At Anlongpoom we were again unlucky with Kouprey though we
saw many new tracks. Two bull banteng and a thamin were shot.
The former, which are not much hunted here, feed and stay almost
the whole day in the plains and in the open forest. These habits are
quite different from those found in Siam,
After three days at Anlongpoom we moved to a forest called Kabal
Kamode meaning ‘Corpse Skull’. There being no village here, we
camped near a pond. Fresh tracks of Kouprey and other large
animals were numerous, and on the first morning my companion Mr.
Poon Pan followed up the fresh tracks of two bull Kouprey which were
keeping together. He came up to them at about nine in the morning
while they were still feeding in the open forest. He noted that both
the bulls were grey which turned dark in certain areas e.g. in front
of the shoulder, on the neck and face. He did not observe any brown
at all. He noticed their long and hanging dewlap. Near the tips of
the horns of both of the animals were big ‘collars’ formed of shredded
strips and brushy in appearance.
A bull dropped to his first shot, but repeated misfires due to old
ammunition obtained during the war permitted it to stagger away.
Poon Pan came back to camp and we both went out and followed
the wounded anima! until dusk, and though we found a few pools of
blood where it had lain down we were unable to catch up with it.
We stayed here for 3 days, but only got two bull bantengs,
~. From Kabal Kamode we travelled eastward to Koh Ke or Prasat
Yai and’ Phra Abhai alone saw six herds of banteng. At Koh Ke
there was a pyramid-like monument or chedi with several storeys, and
a big ancient: palace nearby. Not far from the wall of this palace I
found a large herd of banteng and bagged a big bull with fine horns.
As there were no tracks of Kouprey we moved the next morning to
Tapeng Ra Vieng. Here we found new tracks of Kouprey and also
wild buffalo, banteng, gaur and wild elephant. We followed the
Kouprey tracks for 5 days, but the ground was too dry for success.
One day at about noon Mr. Poon Pan and his guide were resting
under the shade of a tree near a pool. A herd of four Kouprey passed
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLatE I
o
#
A. BANTENG ¢ P. KOUPREY C. GAUR ¢
LY
4OYINE
& ONFLNVa
& aquaaom
‘008 ‘SIH
‘yen Avequog ‘uanog
ON THE TRAIL’OF THE KOUPREY 625
nearby, but scenting them they made off at a slow trot. Poon Pan
upon hearing them ran after the herd; being unable to approach the
Fic. 1
KOUPREY GAUR BANTENG
Spoor of Bulls.
big bull which was running in front, he shot the last animal which
turned out to be-a fine cow.
When I heard this good news, I hurried to the spot and
arrived there at dusk taking such pictures as the light permitted.
The whole body was greyish-white, lighter on the abdomen but
darker in front of the forelegs, at the neck and on the face below
the level of the eyes. It had also white stockings on its feet which,
however, did not contrast strongly with the grey of the body. It had
a well defined dewlap, though not as long as in a bull. It had also
long white hairs inside its ears. The dorsal ridge was not as high
as in the gaur and terminated in the middle of its back as in the
banteng. There was no white patch on the buttocks. The horns were
twisted as shown in the picture. There was no horny shield between the
bases of the horns as in a bull banteng. Its nose was peculiarly notched.
The tail was longer and bushier than that of either gaur or banteng.
I obtained the body measurements, but unfortunately I have lost them.
Speaking from memory, it was about the same height as a gaur and
banteng, but the body was not so thick being.flatter on both sides,
the presence of the long dewlap accentuating this effect. The animal
looked leggier than the banteng.
On the following morning I came upon a small herd of Kouprey
feeding in open forest. My guide saw them first when they were ~
about 200 yards from us and whispered ‘Kou! Kou!’ pointing to
them with his hand. It took me some time to pick them out as their
colour at this distance looked like a greyish fog. In this herd I saw
a calf about 3 feet high, greyish white all-over without any brown
as in a young gaur. Having already shot a cow, we were looking
for a bull, but this herd consisted only of three cows and the calf.
As far as I could observe while following up their tracks, they
appeared to feed and rest on the open plain and in open forest avoid-
ing densely wooded areas unless very much disturbed by men. They
626 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
lived in herds sometime numbering twenty or more. There were also
solitaries as in the gaur and banteng. They appeared to be fierce
animals butting at objects in their way—sometimes even at the stumps
of trees or an ant hill—a stump about the thickness of a man’s arm
being broken in two and thrown some distance.
While following a herd which had not been shot at, I found some
drops of blood which might have resulted due to fighting within the
herd. |
Distribution.—I found the Kouprey in the country between Chong-
kal and Melonprey and the Dongrag range on the border between
Cambodia and Siam. I also learnt from Prince Petcharaj, a Lao prince,
that he had hunted them west of Kratie, southwest of Stung Tren,
Voeung Sai, Pakse and Saravane. The northernmost place where he
had found the Kouprey was Se Bang Nuan River, a little north of
Saravane, but not beyond the river.
sé BANG NUAN &.
THAILAND SC eae
ee SS ARAVANE
‘ °
ree
Py pod
- ed
mleregid,
rea aes oVOEUNE SAI
+ (6 STUNG TRENG
°
~
Aa
¥ om ry .
. . Ge
oy otha | cages ae ear AG
ae 4 ‘ . pH AO aed
Aes WRATIE- --
: .
va Se no 7°
oa card - te
.
.
‘. . rs
- & 6.
. . r
. e ao
.
a. 0 oF oe
“ oe 5
Ore
wees
10S
Fig. 2. Map of Cambodia showing distribution of Kouprey (dotted areas)
I was also reliably informed by the Siamese that 30 to 4o years
ago there were many Kouprey north of the Dongrag range.
PuaTE III
LE AT 'TIP
n, reduced 4. Front-back.
ONVTHE TRAIL OFTHE KOUPREY 627
HorN MEASUREMENTS (in inches)
BULLS:
Pair No.1 Pair No.2 Pair No.3
Widest outside Pai ae ar 38 33:0 35°5
Widest inside ea aes 31°5 26°5 29°25
Length on outside curve. Right ae 41°0 32°5 39°5
Length on outside curve. Left. Pa 38°0 g2°5 39°75
Circumference at base. Right ak 0 15 0 14°25
Circumference at base. Lett oe 15°0 15:0 14°5
Tip to tip eae 22°0 — 13°5
Distance between bases of horns Sees 4:0 3°5 3°5
Distance of tuft from tip ae is 13°0 4:0 Shaven ?
Measurements of six other detached horns:
| Cire Length on Dist. of
No. At nce outside tuft from
ig curve tip
iw Right 13°5 BLS 6
2. Left 1325 31°5 7
3.) Richt 13°75 31°5 4°5
4, Left cee ee Soe 12°5 29 4
> Right ee oe ne 12 30 Shaven ?
6. Left Reis aa ais 2 30°5 Shaven ?
Cows:
Pair No. 1 Pair No.2 Pair No. 3
Widest outside ar see Eee 19 0 23°75 20°25
Widest inside hee aR as ats 13°25 18:75 15°75
Narrowest inside ... oes ee 8:5 15°5 14°75
Tip totip a batt 14:0 22°0 17°25
Length on outside curve, Right 2307.5 29°35 20°5
Length on outside curve. Lett af 23°9 28:0 21-25
Circumference at base. Right Pe 8'5 Zo 7s
Circumference at base. Left bee 8°5 7°5 FES
Distance between bases of horns 3475 35 3°75
Corrugation. Ina bull there are corrugations at the base
of the horns like in those of gaur or banteng, but the corrugations in
Kouprey are not as rough as in the other two. In the pair No. 1 which
seemed to be the oldest one, there are 6-7 cross ridges which are about
8 inches long altogether from the base of the horns. The horns of
younger bulls have shorter and fewer corrugations.
In a cow, there are more corrugations than in the gaur or banteng.
In some of them there are a few cross-ridges at the base, and further
than that, there are cross bands for about 8-12 inches from the base.
Bushy Tuft of shredded horn near the tips. In every bull, when
nearly full grown, say about 2-3 years old, the horns become split at
the tips; and as it grows older the tips of the horns continue to grow
longer until they are about 13 inches or more. At the same time the
bushy tuft grows longer and longer until some strands are about 7-8
inches long. It is very peculiar that these split pieces are thin and fairly
12 | ~
628. ° JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
regular in width, i.e. about $-+ inch wide. This is quite different
from gaur and banteng horns which split up in broad and very short
strands near the tips only.
It should be noted also that the bushy tuft shown in the Plate I B
is smaller than what it should normally be, because it is much damaged
by sparrows in my house tugging at the strands.
Some natives say that this manner of splitting and tuft forming is
due to the Kouprey goring and digging into the ground with its horns.
In cows’ there is never any bushy tuft at the ends.
7 7 7
_ 7
-
a
: -
—
- a
a -
- 4 b
\
_
- ae
er 7
a
E a
~
——'
a
7 a a 7
- = 7
———————— ee OOO OO —=* SS——>
.
Y
AITIWA ONMYNIH I"
‘
Ton
(eax ee
~ +
ae
Wap cess se
x
“+
The we
LW vyNH \
- ,
\
fad
Is ancl
uUuad,
Swe” ~l/
ER INERIEELO))
OS6I JO oyenbyyieg uressy ay} Aq payooye vary ;
-
\-* = -
a ek ia .
—_e
ed
008 ‘SIH ‘JUN Aequog ‘‘uanog
THE ASSAM BEARTHQUAKE OF 1950
BY
Hvis GEE, Mey uGallizeS,, "ERG. Se
(With a map and two plates.)
This earthquake occurred at about half past seven, Indian Standard
Time, in the evening of August 15th 1950, and is generally acknow-
ledged to have been one of the severest in history. The preliminary
report of the Advisory Committee, Assam Earthquake Reconnaissance
and Survey, states that it was tectonic in origin, and that it appears to
have been caused by a sudden fracture of a portion of the earth’s crust
or by relative movements along old fault lines.
Its epicentre has been located by seismologists at approximately
latitude 29° N. and longitude 97° E. This would indicate a spot in the
China-Tibet region north of Rima, and some eighty miles north of
Walong, the northernmost outpost of the Assam Rifles in that corner of
India. The area is one of geological instability, being situated at the
eastern end of the comparatively newly formed Great Himalayan
Range, an unstable land-mass not in its final stage of equilibrium.
As far as India is concerned, the area most affected is an arc
bounded on the west by the Ranganadi river (just to the west of the
Subansiri river), and on the east by the Dehing river in the Tirap
Frontier Tract. This includes the Abor Hills, the Mishmi Hills and part
of the Tirap Frontier Tract, in the newly constituted North East
Frontier Agency; and a portion of the plains area of Assam as far south
and west as the town of Golaghat in the district of Sibsagar. The
duration of the shock was approximately four minutes, and it is now
generally assessed as one of the five most severe that the world has
experienced in historical times. One source describes it as one of the two
biggest in magnitude of recorded history, the other being the Colombia
earthquake of 1903. At a symposium organised by the Central Board of
Geophysics at the Geological Survey of India, Calcutta, it was calculated
to have had an intensity of 8°6-—-equivalent to the bursting of several
million atom bombs. It was greater in intensity than the severe
earthquake of Assam in 1897, the one of Quetta in 1934 and the one of
Bihar in 1935.
The damage to railways, roads, bridges and buildings was heavy and
widespread, and all communications were for some time completely dis-
located. Official sources estimated the number of deaths as 1,526; and
stated that from 25 to 35 per cent of livestock, including the interesting
gayal ur mithan (formerely classed as a distinct species, Bos frontalis)
in the Abor and Mishmi Hills, were destroyed or washed away. But as
these hills constitute a wild and inaccessible region, no degree of
accuracy is possible in computing the amount of damage done there.
630 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL Hist, SOCIE IY ial 250
Several Abor and Mishmi villages are known to have been buried
eternally under huge landslides, leaving no trace of their former
existence.
DESCRIPTION “OF TH EH, OHO &
It so happened that at the time of the earthquake Mr. F. Kingdon-
Ward and his wife were on a plant-hunting expedition, in camp at Rima
in the Lohit Valley just beyond the Assam border. No account of this
earthquake would ke complete without a few extracts from his able des-
Cription of the event: ‘.. the earth began to tremble violently, and a
terrible noise assailed our ears . . . Outside we were at once thrown to
the ground ... the near mountainous horizon was blurred, as though
the hills were leaping up and down with high frequency, The noise was
now terrible, and to the muffled hammering of the earthquake itself
beneath us, was added the thunder of rock avalanches pouring down the
mountain scuppers ... The motion was still up and down, as though a
steam hammer were pounding the thin floor on which welay ... After
several tense minutes it began to lessen, and the noise abated some-
what. Rocks were still pouring down the mountain sides with a terrible
clatter, but the internal noises had almost ceased .. . High upinthesky
towards the north-west ...came the sound of five or six sharp
explosions, very clear; it sounded like anti-aircraft shells exploding.’
This noise resembling the sound of anti-aircraft fire was heard also
in the plains. I am indebted to Mr. F. Woolley Smith for some details
of the experiences of persons residing in Upper Assam: ‘The earth
heaved and rolled with a sickly undulating movement. Cars parked on
level surfaces with brakes unapplied careered wildly about, fans swung
and some lights went out... At the end there was a succession of
loud Looming noises variously described as resembling anti-aircraft fire
and express trains.’ It appears that the petroleum and kerosene stored
inthe huge million-gallon storage tanks at Tinsukia ‘slopped violently
about, shooting yards away through fractured plates and covers’. In-
cidentally, the oil fields at Digboi, only 18 miles away, were compara-
tively unaffected by the earthquake. |
Even as far away to the south and west as Golaghat, some 100 miles
from the nearest portion of the Abor Hills, the shaking was terrifying,
and the noise which followed some seconds after the shock was also
described as resembling that of a series of bombs ot shells bursting in
the distance.
The main shock of August 15th was followed by many minor shocks,
and these continued for some eight months, gradually becoming fewer
and of lesser intensity.
IMMEDIATE EPFECTS IN 1959
Considerable damage was caused by the earthquake to the town of
Dibrugarh and other towns, villages and tea estates with their factories. .
The Assam Railway from Mariani eastwards suffered greatly, rail tracks
being torn up and twisted into snake-like patterns. Fissures opened in
the ground, most roads were damaged and bridges destroyed.
Occurring as it did in the middle of the monsoon, when the ground
was saturated and rivers swollen to their maximum volume, the damage
THE ASSAM EARTHQUAKE OF 1950 631
was probably greatest inthe wild Abor and Mishmi country. Here
many hills, several thousand feet in height, were sheared from top to
bottom, their sides crashing down into the valleys below. Rivers both
large and small thus became blocked by huge unstable dams of rocks,
earth and vegetation, and in some cases actually ceased to flow. Even
the huge Subansiri, snow-fed from the higher Himalayas and swelled
with monsoon rains, practically dried up for a few days. Then came
the bursting of the dams, one by one in some cases, in other cases
simultaneously ; and vast flood waves surged down the valleys carrying
everything before them, and on reaching the plains spilled far and wide,
causing extensive destruction to forests, villages and cultivations.
In some cases the lakes thus formed in the hills by these temporary
dams endured for a longer period. For example at the headwaters of
the Tidding river, a tributary of the Lohit, a lake nearly four miles long
by a quarter of a mile wide was found to have lasted throughout the
cold weather into the following spring. This has probably disappeared
during the monsoon of 1951.
I was fortunate to be able to make a brief trip to the fringe of the
North East Frontier Agency inMarch 1951. I first of all had the privilege
of making two flights over some of the affected areas in a two-seater
light aeroplane, thanks to the kindness of Mr. R. C. Reynolds of Seal-
kotee Tea Estate, who has acquired well-deserved kudos by his help to
the State of Assam in air-reconnaissance, relief and rescue work. After
this, I visited by road the areas of Saikhowa, Sadiya, Tezu, Timaighat,
Rongdoi, Kobo, Murkong Selek and Pasighat.
I found that it was estimated that some 75 per cent of the hills in
this 17,000 square mile area were mutilated by landslides. Of these aval-
anches, less than half appear to have occurred on the day of the
earthquake, and more than half afterwards, when heavy rain and sub-
sequent earth tremors assisted the previously fissured hills in disinte-
grating. There have been reports of still more landslides during the
monsoon of 1951.
The floods following the bursting of the dams carried vast quanti-
ties of silt and debris, and all the river channels—even that of the
Brahmaputra itself—became blocked. This again resulted in further
widespread flooding and alarming changing of river courses. For
example even in the latter part of October 1950, the Dibang became so
silted up that its tributaries Jigiapani, Deopani aid Ghurmura could
not enterit. These were diverted by the newly formed silt banks of
the Dibang on to the town of Sadiya, thus covering it with flood water
at an unexpected time of the year.
In the cold weather of 1950-51, after the flood waters of the mon-
soon had dwindled to the usual ‘low levels, all rivers in the affected
area presented a grim sight. Widetracts of desert-like country with
dead trees standing here and there; thousands of trees torn up from
the ground; and silt, debris and driftwood everywhere. The silting
up of these river beds in north-east Assam has considerably altered
the topography of that part of India. The Lohit at Sadiya, where it is
two miles wide, was believed in March 1951 to have silted up to the
extent of four or five feet; and the Brahmaputra at Murkong Selek to
the extent of eight to ten feet and at Dibrugarh some six or seven feet.
In addition to this, the adjacent countryside is estimated to have
subsided some four or five feet during the actual earthquake, thus
632 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NAQRUR AE GEasd) 2 SO Clem Vee ols 50
effecting a general levelling out of the area—a stern foreboding of
floods in subsequent years, as has already been experienced in 1951.
The mass of silt in the Brahmaputra is slowly moving downstream on
its way to the Bay of Bengal, and after August 1950 river steamers
could no longer navigate as far as Dibrugarh, but were forced to termi-
nate their journey at Desangmukh.
EFFECTS IN 1951
Two factors, directly the result of the earthquake, were evident
during the monsoon of 1951. Firstly the rapid run-off of water from
the Jandslides in the hills resulted in equally rapid rises and falls in
the flood levels of the rivers concerned. And secondly, the silted-up
river beds in the plains areas could not contain the flood water, and
consequently vast tracts of adjacent Jand became inundated, some for
the first time in recorded history. Major floods occurred in June-July,
and again in September.
The river Dibang, in particular, behaved in an extremely treacherous
manner, with alarmingly quick rises and falls. Unexpected deposits of
silt after a fall in the flood level were apt to cause equally unexpected
erosions in the following rise of flood water. For example, a party of
officials and tribesmen were taken completely by surprise when the
Dibang suddenly changed its course near Nizamghat, the proposed
sub-divisional headquarters of the Dibang Valley. They were marooned
for some time without any hope of escape, until light planes were
brought from other parts of India and crash-landed on achapori for their
rescue—a daring and praiseworthy effort.
This flood of June-July moved slowly down the Brahmaputra
Valley of Assam, inundating the north and south banks as it went.
Travelling by air from Dibrugarh to Gauhati on July 20th, I observed
that the flood had receded in Upper Assam; but in Nowgong and
Kamrup districts the whole plain from the Himalayan foothills in the
north to the Khasi and Jaintia Hills in the south appeared to be a con-
tinuous sheet of water, with only trees and the roofs of houses showing.
Fortunately the Wild Life Sanctuary of Kaziranga suffered little from
floods, presumably because of the lower flood levels cf the south bank
rivers, and because the Majuli island diverts some of the north bank
drainage away from this valuable sanctuary.
In the flood of September 1951, the depth of the water in the com-
pound of the Saikhowa Inspection Bungalow was no less than five and
a half feet, and the whole population had to be evacuated. Still worse
was the fate of Murkong Selek, where the silted-up Brahmaputra both
flooded and eroded the land on which was situated the Assam Saw
Mills—the largest of its kind in India, with a production of about half
a million tea chests annually. In the three days from September 15th
to 17th the Brahmaputra eroded no less than half a mile northwards,
sweeping away the entire mills with their bazaar, bungalows, lines,
warehouses, workshops and main factory with its irreplaceable plywood
machinery. The hapless staff and workers attempted to take refuge on
the highest land in the vicinity, where the water was waist-deep, until
they were evacuated by air. At that time there was no dry land within
fifteen miles of where Murkong Selek had been, and it was reported
officially that some 2,000 square miles of Upper Assam were under
‘pnur pmby
SUIUUNI SYM IDATI oy} (1S6I Yoreyy) JoyzeoM AIP oy} UI UaAY ‘USTUIS PUP LIISUBQNS SIBALI dy} UIdA\}0q ‘STITT
‘Ysesniqiqd JO YOU USWIS IJaATI 94} Jo Ao[eA poseulep oy] 1oqV 9} jo uotj1od e& 0} aUOp oseWep oY} Jo MAIA [eLIOY
uOSLaPUP °F
4OYINE 0104 Cd
J aLVIg "00S “LSIH “LVN AvaWog ‘Nunof
Journ. Bompay Nat. Hist. Soc. PrAne oil
A portion of the Abor Hills north of Dibrugarh, showing landslides caused
by the earthquake.
Photos Author
The valley of the Timai, a very small stream in the Mishmi Hills near
-arsuram Kunda. Formerly thickly forested, it was a desert of stones and
driftwood when photographed in March 1951.
THE ASSAM EARTHQUAKE OF 1950 633
water. Vast timber forests holding valuable plantations of hollock
(Dipterocarpus macrocarpus), and extensive chaforzs of, thatch, were
irretrievably ruined, and much of the wild life they had contained was
destroyed.
During the rains of 1951 the Subansiri river twice completely chang-
ed its course in the plains of North Lakhimpur. At the beginning of the
year it followed its old course, with slight changes since 1950, By
August 1951 all these channels were dry, and a new and large channel
had formed between Koyam and Baligoan. ‘Then in mid-September it
entirely altered its course westwards, engulfing most of the tea estate
of Pathalipam. Vast areas of forest and cultivated rice fields were
destroyed during the vagaries of this large river.
PROBABLE LONG-TERM EBFFECTS
The gradual westward movement of the colossal silt deposits down
the Brahmapuira Valley may be completed within a decade or two.
But the partial denudation by the earthquake of the hillsides in the
catchment a’reas of the rivers Subansiri, Dihang, Dibang, Lohit, Dehing
and all their tributaries, assisted by the indiscriminate felling of forests
in all the tribal areas of Assam through the system of jhuming (shifting
cultivation), will continue for a very long time to cause greater and
more accelerated floods in the, plains. And until new and deeper
channels can be formed by the rivers of these alluvial plains, the wide-
spread flooding experienced in 1951 will be an annual occurrence—and
may even worsen. It will probably’ take some hundreds of years, if
not considerably longer, before any satisfactory amount of vegetation
can again cover the hillsides mutilated by the earthquake.
It is possible that many riverain districts will have to be evacuated
by their inhabitants, and villages and cultivations moved to higher
‘ground nearer the foothills. In this case there would be a seasonal
cold-weather return to the riversides of graziers, fishermen and growers
of dry weather crops.
DESTRUCTICN OF FLOKA AND FAUNA
Trees and other vegetation of all types from various altitudes were
torn down and swept away by the rivers. Many of these trees were of
coniferous species. A major portion of the driftwood could not be
salvaged in the plains, and has passed beyond the Indo-Pakistan border
on its way to the sea.
Fish in all the rivers from the Subansiri in the west to the Lohit,
and possibly the Dehing, in the east are believed to have been totally
destroyed by the liquid mud mixed with decaying vegetation which
came in the phenomenal flood waves after the bursting of the dams.
Countless thousands of dead mahseer (Barbus for), bokar or catli
(Barbus hexagonolepis) and other species were salvaged by villagers in
this erstwhile paradise for naturalists and fishermen, and also lower
down in the Brahmaputra Valley. It is feared that nothing is left alive
in these rivers of the North-east Frontier Agency. When I saw them
in March last, the driest pericd of the year when the water should be
crystal clear, they were all still flowing with liquid mud.
634 JOURNAL, BOMBAY (NATURAL TWIST SOGEEEY, Vol. 50
Mr. R. G. Menzies, Political Officer of the Subansiri Area, informs
me that though the fishing in the Subansiri river was utterly ruined,
he obtained normal good sport in the rivers Ranganadi and Dikrang
immediately to the west, although the earthquake was almost as severe
in these two valleys. He believes this was due to the fact that these
two latter rivers were not blocked by landslides, with the subsequent
ill-effects of these, as were the Subansiri and the rivers to the east
of it.
It is difficult to estimate the destruction caused among birds. Oc-
curring as it did after nightfall, when birds would be roosting, the earth-
quake must have paralysed some of them with fear and swept them
with the forest to their doom. |
The loss among mammals must have been very great. At a con-
servative estimate, some forty to fifty per cent of the wild animals of
the area must have been killed. These would include the vanishing
Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus), the rare and interesting Takin
(Budorcas taxicolor), as well as Serow (Cafricornis sumatraensis), Goral
(Nemorhaedus), Gaur (Bos gaurus) and other animals. In the plains
areas, Chiefly as a result of the floods of 1951, Wild Buffalo (Budbalus
bubalis), Gaur (Bos gaurus), Sambar (Rusa unicolor), Swamp Deer
(Rucervus duvaucelli), Hog Deer (Hyelaphus porcinus) and others are
believed to have suffered greatly.
I found to be quite unauthentic the newspaper report of 1959 about
a carcase of a rhinoceros being seen floating past Murkong Selek, with
surmises of the existence of Rhinoceros sumatrensis or Sondaicus in the
upper reaches of the Lohit or Dehing rivers. No such carcase had
been seen.
A letter from Mr. F. Woolley Smith of Tingri in Upper Assam last
August stated that the numbers of tiger were on the increase in the
district. These must have migrated from the Saikhowa and Dibru
Reserved Forests, which became inundated in June and July and are
‘ believed to have been mostly destroyed by flood water.
It is feared that the Lalli Game Sanctuary, a chaforz situated
between the Lalli and Dihang rivers and formerly teeming with wild
buffalo and various species of deer, has been totally destroyed. Even
in July 1951 only about eighteen wild buffaloes in very poor condition
could be observed from the air. The floods of September, which com-
pletely submerged these chaporis, must have completed the destruction
of all wild life which could not make their escape from these riverain
areas.
It is well known that erosions and floods are a “normal and annual
occurrence in Assam. But they have in the past been gradual and in
most cases within expected limits. But what has happened in 1951, and
is likely to take place for matiy More years to come, was on an unprece-
dented and alarming scale.
Mr. N, A. B. Warner of Upper Assam, who flew over the affected
area on October 28th after the floods had subsided, has described to me ©
the devastation and destruction he saw. Literally thousands of square
miles of forest appeared to be dead or dying. Very little vegetation
was left alive, and vast swamps still stretched to the foothills. The
loss to wild life, already sadly depleted by an excess of Sportsmen and
poachers during the last few decades, must have been very considerable
indeed.
THE ASSAM EARTHQUAKE OF 1950 635
GLOSSARY
Mithan—either a domesticated form of the Gaur (Bos gaurus), or a
cross between the gaur and domestic cattle; or a mixture of both in
varying degrees. Herds of these mz/han are kept by'the hill tribesmen,
and are used chiefly as barter or for sacrificial purposes,
Chapori—a chur or island (sometimes a bank) formed by channels
‘of a river in ASsam.
Jhuming—a system of shifting cultivation by which forest is felled,
burned and planted up; but after a few years is abandoned for another
area. Ina cycle of twelve years or so all the forest near a village will
be so utilized, resulting in a total absence of primeval forest and an
excess of secondary forest.
REVIEWS
tr HUNTER AT HEART. By B..N. Gordon Graham.” ltustrated
by A. I, Cameron and with 15 photographs by the author and others.
Pp. 222 (84" x 54”). London, 1950 (Herbert Jenkins Ltd.) Price 15/- sh.
This book is designed as a guide to young sportsmen wishing to
shoot in the reserved and other forests of the Central Provinces of
India, the Madras Presidency and Ceylon,
The sixteen chapters deal with choice of a shooting ground and
preliminary arrangements for India and Ceylon; shikar days with
small game, also deer, buffalo, bison, bear, panther and tiger; notes
on all those animals and on beating, sitting up and stalking. Chapter
XV is on Taxidermy and Preservation of Trophies, and XVI gives
a pen portrait of his Muhammadan orderly, and some memories.
Appendices deal with costs, equipment, words and phrases in
Hindustani, Telugu and Sinhalese; and with a list of books suggested
for the sportsman’s bookshelf. In connexion with this may be mentioned
the Bibliography of Bocks on Big Game Hunting published in Vol.
4g of the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, August
1950, and No. 134 of that list. Vhe author is a member of the Ceylon
Game and Fauna Protection Society, but not of the Bombay Natural
History Society.
Generally speaking, the compilation gives well arranged and
necessary advice and information, but there are a good many omissions,
and also some errors.
Weapons and Other matters. Shouldicarnivorawbe
shot at from a motor vehicle at any time? All over India the Rules
prohibit shooting from any wheeled vehicie, excepting only case of
a man-eater. Does the hammerless rifle safety catch ‘invariably’ ‘click’?
Not if properly constructed and oiled. Objection to use of an ejector
rifle is mentioned, yet the author advocates the use of this mechnism.
Use of a noiseless detachable sling with the rifle is barely mentioned.
This should have been emphasized as very necessary as obviating
movement when in the forests, lessening fatigue and temptation to
hand the weapon to an attendant, and of very great use in machan
or tree stance in a beat, and when following up a wounded beast.
The essentiality of a light ladder when following wounded carnivora
is not mentioned: the ladder, the sling, a piece of rope to secure
stance in tree may all be vitally important when following up a wounded
tiger or panther. It is not mentioned that sound of a whistle does
not carry very far in the forest, and use of a high-note signal horn is
much better, and more safe for the beaters. Use of a small greenwood
saw for removal of obstructions to swing of rifle is not mentioned,
nor the valuable asset afforded by the easily acquired ability to fire
rifle from either shoulder. The essential spare foresight should be
carried in a ‘trap’ in the stock or end of pistol grip, and not in
the gun case. It is not mentioned that use of fluor oil before pouring
boiling water greatly lessens work of cleaning both gun and rifle.
Shotgun sportsmen might have been informed that the ring of the
REVIEWS 637
standard cartridge extractor is designed to’ re-gauge dampened car-
tridges, so should always be carried when duck shooting.
The suggested second rifle might well be the .423 Mauser magazine
(8} Ib.) or the slightly heavier .375 Magnum, either of which is power-
ful enough to take the place of the heavy D.B. weapon on all occasions
in case of need, and better for that and other reasons than the advocated
250 OG 2250.
Caren! Of Cahir dis es.) Suitable, aduiceis given ;: but. it
might have been added that cartridges should be carried on the person
in pouch or belt, each round separated from the next, with a separate
arrangement for two to be instantly available at waist level for re-load-
ing.
Clothing. Rolled-down thick socks are a torture in spear
grass. The real solution is to wear canvas ankle-bcots, or shoes, and
no socks; or rather, trousers of hard material with flexible canvas
ankle putties, and so be comfortably protected against all kinds of
pests.
Medical. Paludrine has now superseded the mentioned Mepa-
crine; and there is no mention of quinine. Chlorodyne often dries up, so
Camphorodyne is better. Silk for sutures is better than unsafe cotton.
M&B. 760 and 125 have a wider use than the listed 693. (Your re-
viewer brings to notice that the recent M&B ‘Sulphatriad’, a compound
of Sulphanamides, may be valuable in camp). Sulphaguanidine, an
essential remedy for bacillary dysentery, is omitted. There should have
been mention of 1 lb. of a good chemist’s ointment for sores and injuries
of jungle people, and sulphur ointment for scabies.
Literature,’ ihe complete’ Wst at p. 53) makes no! mention
of the very valuable ‘Book of Indian Animals’ (S. H. Prater)—also
omitted from Appendix ‘D’—nor of the ‘Folding Chart for Identification
of Poisonous Snakes’, both of which are published by the Bombay
Natural History Society. ‘The St. John Ambulance Association First
Aid Text Book’ with Indian Supplement might be substituted for the
recommended Red Cross First Aid Manuals, Nos. 1 & 2.
Most sportsmen are, or should be, interested in trees, shrubs and
other plants in the forests. For C.P., ‘Descriptive List of Trees and
Shrubs of Central Provinces’ by Haines (Rs. 3/-) is good, if procurable.
Commercial Guide to the Forest Economic Products of Mysore.’ (Govern-
ment Press, Bangalore, Rs. 1/8) is excellent for other parts of South
India also. The out-of-print ‘Manual of Indian Timbers’ by J. S.
Gamble is invaluable, but difficult to obtain.
Food Sundries. In these days, food arrangements should
wholly discount replenishment from wild life sources. It should have
been mentioned that any filtering should precede the essential boiling
of all water used for drinking and culinary purposes. The valuable
kerosene oil tin is not listed. Candles are of little use without a
candle lantern of a type not easily broken which can be packed for
transit in a biscuit tin. The ‘X’ Pattern canvas camp bed with bath
and basin should have been advised, also the valuable ‘Icmic’ cooker.
Small tablets of soap as ‘bakhshish’ is a good idea; use of any but
a new village charpoy is, for several reasons, a dangerous practice. Salt
638 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL TTIST 5 O}CRE MMC aitol: a0
and alum should not only be packed apart from food stuffs but be
finely powdered, packed against damp and separately from each other.
Small game. A Jeather hand-protector for hot barrels when
duck shooting is good; but the gun guarded against glint of sun by
a tight-fitting slip-on cover of green or khaki drill gets more shots.
Use of a .22 rifle for gathering cripples is scarcely a safe practice, for
bullets ricochet off water. In these difficult days as to cartridges most
sportsmen are Satisfied with the ordinary 24 inch cases. Use Of 3 in.
cases is unnecessary, and 24” or 2#” cases give erratic results in 3 inch
chambers.
The author has no scruples about eating hares in India. In the
wide experience of your reviewer the Common Indian Hare is a very
foul feeder in vicinity of habitations, as also the grey partridge and the
junglefowl—and, in arid areas, the village cattle too!
The author has confused the junglefowls. Gallus lafayetti is the
Ceylon species and confined to that Island; Gallus sonnerati, known
as the Grey Junglefowl (not found in Ceylon) has a far wider range
than that mentioned; Gallus gallus murghi, also not in Ceylon, is the
Common Red Junglefowl of the sal forest areas, northern India and
Assam. The species of Imperial Pigeon referred to is not stated.
In Ceylon it would be the Green Imperial Pigeon (also Jerdon’s Imperial
Pigeon) while in C.P. it would be the latter, with the former also in
the more eastern portions. The bird promoted by the author to pigeon
status is better known as the Emerald Dove. The Grey Quail is
omitted. Large bags of this bird and of the Rain Quail were made by
many sportsmen when cartridges were not so expensive or scarce as
in these days. Probably the majority of sportsmen prefer smaller
sizes than No. 5 for mixed duck and teal shooting.
Tiger. ‘The Principle of Moments’ described and illustrated at
p. 600 of B.N.H.S. Journal, Vol. 44, would have enabled the author
to weigh his tiger. It is almost unknown for clavicle bones to be
missing in tiger or panther.
Buffalo. ‘Some individuals tend to have grey stockings’, All
truly. wild buifaloes have white stockings.
Chital. Is the record 42 inches, and does it hail from Bhopal?
Is it not 39 inches, and from the U.P. Siwaliks? In India the practice
is to omit the ‘h’ from the names ‘sambhar’ and ‘nilghai’. Females
of deer are usually called ‘hind’ and not ‘doe’; there is no need for
the coined word ‘carnivorae’ to express the plural of mammals that
subsist upon flesh or prey upon others. The Wild Dog Of India can
be tamed, and there may be more than six puppies in a litter. As
many as nine are known. The illustration, presumably of the Rusty
Spotted Cat, at p. 33 is too stocky for this lightly built animal’ of
mostly arboreal habits. The photograph (p. 96) of the first panther
killed by the author (1948) could have been more attractively posed.
The book is well printed, bound and produced.
There is evidence in places of too much reliance on the writings
of others but, notwithstanding the above criticisms, the book will be
useful as a guide to the younger sportsman.
R.W.B.
REVIEWS 639
2. HYDROPONICS. Tue Bencat System. By J. Sholto Douglas.
Ppmi47. ssizelys 1642 4. illustrations. Bombay, 1951 (Oxford Uni-
versity Press). Price. Rs. 6/-.
We have no hesitance in saying that Mr. Douglas has done a
great service to the popularising of Hydroponics through this book.
He makes the subject attractive and practicable through his various
suggestions and guidance. The chapters are excellently arranged and
the matter treated in a very clear manner. The instructions are
brief and clear without being complicated with unnecessary details and
explanations. The illustrations are interesting. and attractive. Al-
together the book is one which all garden lovers in India and specially
those who have taken some interest in hydroponics, should possess and
treat as a basis for their experiments. The author has succeeded in
cutting down expenses quite considerably and brought hydroponics
within reach of the common man in India. This is an achievement.
When we turn to the commercial side of hydroponics, however, we
do not feel at all convinced by what the book tells us, or by the tables
provided. Take Table V: the figures taken for agricultural average
per acre of all the grains are extremely low and for non-irrigated crops
obtained by inefficient cultivators. Jt is, therefore, not fair to compare
these figures with the hydroponic production obtained by efficient work
of those who are practically skilled research workers. Why the agri-
cultural production of potatoes is taken as 4 ton we do not know.
The seed-requirement of an acre: alone is 4 ton. Even in India a
production of 15 tons and over is not unknown. Under Table VIII
the prices quoted may be retail prices, but not the average wholesale
prices. of the produce... Under, ‘estimated’ revenue the author «gives
Rs. 50,000 as gross value of produce per acre per annum, and Rs.
20,000 as nett profit. This is not understandable. On the previous
page under Table VIII we see that maize production per acre is Rs.
1,700 and peas Rs. 1,200, potatoes at Rs. 4,000. If we got one crop
of potatoes and two of peas and maize combined, we would at most
have a total of Rs. 10,000 as the gross value for a vear’s production.
Tomatoes are the only item mentioned of which the produce from an
acre could be Rs. §0,000.
We have no doubt the purpose of the book will be well achieved
as it will be able to attract more enthusiasts for work in this field.
TAA
Oe ithe bi DS OF FHE MALAY PENINSULA, SINGAPORE
PENANG oye NG) Glenister,. F.Z.S., M.B.0.U.4, With 8 plates
in colour, 8 in monochrome (78 species) by Elizabeth M. E. Glenister,
54 text figures and 20 photographs. Pp. xiv+ 282 (84” x 54"), London,
ijt Oxord wniversity ress), Price 35. sh. net.
Mr. Glenister, although we do not recall any of his published
work on Malayan ornithology, has obviously been a keen and observant
student. During his long residence in Malaya many years ago, in
towns and villages and on tin mines and rubber estates, he seems to
have made good use of his opportunities for bird watching. His
640 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURATARIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
own notes supplemented and fortified by the writings of seeded
Malayan ornithologists like Robinson, Chasen and Gibson-Hill have
combined to produce this estimable volume for which bird lovers in
Malaya will feel beholden to him.
The first part of the book is of an introductory nature and covers
general topics such as geographical divisions of the Malayan sub-
region (made up of Malayan, Sumatran, Bornean and Javan Provinces)
as defined by Chasen in his ‘Handlist of Malayasian Birds’ (1935).
It is good to find that the toxonomical arrangement, numbering and
nomenclature is, in the main, that adopted by Dr. C. A. Gibson-Hill
in his recent ‘Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Malaya’ (1949).
To a large extent also the notes on status, distribution and breeding
of that competent ornithologist are summarized. They lend added
weight to his accounts under each species though it may be a matter
of opinion whether the summarising has always been done to best
advantage.
In Chapter I, entitled ‘The Birds of Everyday Life’ is given a list
of the 7o bird families which comprise the avifauna of Malaya, to-
gether with an indication of the species of each family to be found
in the sub-region. An attempt has been made to split up the bird
life into ‘compartments’—Bird life of the Towns and Gardens, Bird
life of the higher Hill Stations, and ‘For the Sportsman’. Those with
experience of Robinson & Chasen’s sumptuous but somewhat cumber-
some volumes, ‘The Birds of the Malay Peninsula’, will be better able
to judge the merits or otherwise of this method of treatment though
it must be admitted that the demerits are to some extent mitigated
when the sections are contained within the covers of a single volume
whereby reference does not involve the handling of a separate tome
each; sume.
Aids to field identification are provided firstly by division of the
7c families into three ‘Field Groups’—‘for field purposes only’ as
the author explains. To this are added a number of tables—Notice-
able colours, bills, legs, tails and other features such as crests, ear
tufts (e.g. as in some owls), ‘eye-patches’ (e.g. as in barbets) etc.
Under Chapter I]I—The Birds and Bird Families of Malaya—is
an enumeration of the species found in Malaya numbered and
arranged according to families. First a short general description of
the family is given—its constituents, characteristics, flight, calls, food
etc. followed by distinguishing points for identification (coloration ;
size in inches) for each species, and abbreviated information con-
cerning its status thus: V=Rare vagrant, V=passage migrant and
winter visitor, R=believed to be resident, I=introduced, and so on,
indicating - occurrence in the various divisions and areas of the sub-
region—lowlands, hills, etc.
Part II of the book begins with the Systematic List under which
each species is described in greater detail, together with notes on its
status and distribution called largely from Gibson-Hill’s Checklist.
The total number of forms dealt with here is 575; an addendum lists
a further 35 species recorded from peninsular Thailand but not yet
from Malaya. The abounding wealth of the bird life of this sub-
region becomes manifest, and Mr. Glenister’s benefaction in providing
such a handy and useful guide is certain to receive wide appreciation
REVIEWS 641
from bird lovers and would-be students to whom its richness and
variety might seem bewildering at the start.
The book ends with 3 appendices—Glossary of Malay Bird Names,
A List of the Birds of Sumatra, Borneo and Java, and A List of some
Malayan Hill Stations, Peaks and Passes with their approximate
heights above sea level.
The spate of tables, footnotes, abbreviations, redundances, instruc-
tions for use, appendices, elaborate index and index to footnotes are
rather complicated and frightening to one cursorily glancing over the
book, and it would seem that so much generous spoon-feeding is not
perhaps strictly necessary. A closer acquaintance will show, how-
ever, that there is a method in all this, and when the instructions for
use are once mastered some of the apparent intricacies will be found
not devoid of usefulness.
The illustrations, both colour and monochrome, are attractive and
helpful ; so also are most of the figures in the text. But the photographs
of captive birds, though well selected as to species, can by no means
be considered incapable of improvement and many of them might
well have been omitted.
The book is a useful addition to literature on Malaysian birds
and its handy format should make it a welcome guide to bird lovers
in’ that area.
Sens
4. ANIMALS STRANGE AND RARE. By Richard Ogle. With
HumMerous drawings im the text by the author. Pp. 1092 (72" x 5!').
Wondon, 1951 (G. Bell & Sons Ltd:).. | Price 12 sh. 6d. net.
This is a pleasantly illustrated book in which we are taken on a
magic carpet to the remotest places to look at strange and rare animals,
many of which are threatened with extinction. It is an excellent
effort covering the whole world and referring to a large number of
interesting animals and facts. Accounts of the discovery of the living
fossil fish Latimeria chalumnae, and the king cheeta in Africa adds
to its value for the layman. The latter, presumably Acinonyx rex,
is, however, now generally regarded as a mutant form of the African
cheeta.
The book also serves the useful purpose of helping to arouse that
spirit of adventure and discovery which is so rare nowadays. A
chapter is devoted to unknown and almost mythical animals like the
Himalayan snowman and the Nandi bear. The former is of parti-
cular current interest in this country since in spite of the opinion
expressed by the British Museum that the footprints seen by Shipton’s
recent expedition were those of the common langur, mountaineers,
shikaries and others have from time to time brought in fragmentary
bits of evidence which, when pieced together, do not appear to warrant
its dogmatic reduction to so humdrum a creature. The latest verdict,
published on p. 572 of this number of the Journal, is that it is the
Himalayan Brown Bear, as indeed has been generally believed
heretofore. ;
There is no doubt that many strange, rare, and perhaps even yet
unknown animals do exist in India or upon its immediate borders.
642 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
The relatively recent discovery of the large forest-ox or Kouprey in
Siam is evidence that our knowledge is far from complete and that
discoveries are still to be made, often in unexpected places. A recent
press note mentioned an expedition to New Guinea in quest of a
saurian monster which was reported from some remote swamps in
a little known and almost impenetrable area there. We hope that
books of this kind will arouse interest in the life history of many of
our animals of which so little is known, and some of which are now
almost on the verge of extinction.
The right kind of public interest can really do far more towards
the saving of our wild life than any number of government ordinances
and regulations. |
A certain amount of literary licence has been introduced into the
book, and this becomes more apparent when the author deals with
animals nearer to us in India. The picture of the Racket-tailed
Drongo on page 124 is unfortunate. On page 119 the Rosy Starling
is said to do a large amount of damage to ‘rice’ in India. This of
course is an error for jawar.
~ Most of the drawings and text, however, are excellent and full
of life:
H.A.
5. PROCEEDINGS OF THE.Xtn INTERNATIONAL ORNI-
THOLOGICAL CONGRESS, (Uppsala, June 1950). Edited by Prof.
Sven H6rstadius, General Secretary. Pp. 662 (93” x 63”), with 1
coloured plate, numerous photographic illustrations, text figures and
graphs. Published by the Board of the Congress. Price 35 Swedish
crowns (=£42-8-3 or $6.75).
International Ornithological Congresses have been held in Vienna
1884, Budapest 1891, Paris 1900, London 1905, Berlin 1910, Copen-
hagen 1926, Amsterdam 1930, Oxford 1934 and Rouen 1938. Then
came the cataclysm of the 2nd World War with the inevitable intellec-
tual and cultural vacuum in its wake, so that it was only in 1950
that this friendly International cooperation could be resumed. Actual-
ly the Xth Congress was scheduled to take place in the U.S., but
owing to the financial upheaval caused by the war, with exchange
difficulties and multifarious other restrictions, it became impracticable
for impoverished ornithologists from Europe and elsewhere to visit that
country. Therefore, to the Swedish Government and the Swedish
Ornithological Society (Sveriges Ornitologiska F6rening) world
ornithologists feel especially beholden for their cordiality in invit-
ing the permanent Executive Committee to convene the Congress
in Sweden instead. The warm-hearted hospitality shown by the
Government, scientific institutions, the press and the people of Sweden
in general, and the well-planned and impeccable arrangements down
to the minutest detail, made by the Swedish Ornithological Society
through its President, Prof. H6rstadius (also the General Secretary
of the Congress) will be testified to by all who were privileged to
share in the deliberations of the Congress and of which they will long
cherish happy memories.
REVIEWS 643
The 1950 Congress was held at Uppsala from 10-17 June under
the presidentship of Dr. Alexander Wetmore of the Smithsonian
Institution of Washington. About 350 ornithologists from 27 countries
participated. The U.S.S.R. and its satellites remained the only notable
European absentees. Unfortunately, also, Asia was totally unrepre-
sented save for a single delegate from India.
This volume of the Proceedings of the Congress opens with an
account of the sessions and the field excursions. Owing to the large
number of papers on every aspect of bird study that were presented,
it has not been possible to print them all in full, even though the
tome contains more than 650 pages. They have, however, been skil-
fully condensed so that none of their original flavour or purport is
lost.
An innovation at the present Congress was the special request
sent out by the organizing committee to four eminent ornithologists
—each of outstanding international repute in his own particular sphere
of work—to review the trends and progress of their special disciplines
during the 12 years since the meeting at Rouen. No serious bird
student who presumes to consider himself, or aspires to be considered,
“in the swim’ or up-to-date in his science, can afford to miss the
masterly surveys by Dr. Ernst Mayr (Speciation in Birds), Prof.
R. Drost (Study of Bird Migration, 1938-50), Prof. N. Tinbergen
(Recent Advances in the Study of Bird Behaviour) and Dr. David Lack
(Population Ecology in Birds). Dr. Wetmore’s Presidential address,
‘Recent Additions to our knowledge of Prehistoric Birds 1933- 1949" ;
recounts the progress of palaeontology in relation to birds, and gives
a useful list of the bird fossils described during this interval.
The volume is so packed with papers of real merit and originality
that it would seem invidious to mark out particular titles for mention.
But the list of contents will indicate the breadth of the canvas and
the wide range of topics covered by the contributions. They may
be broken up as follows: Evolution and Systematics (17 papers) ;
Migration and Orientation (19 papers); Behaviour (7 papers); Ecology
(23 papers); Regional Faunas (6 papers); Miscellaneous (9 papers,
including such diverse titles as ‘Progress in Bird Photography and
Sound Recording’; ‘Conservation on Ornithological Programs’; and
“The Structures in the Avian Pituitary responsible for the transfer
of impulses from the Nervous to the Hormonal System’). An account
of the Round Table Conference on Bird Ringing at which practical
suggestions for international cooperation in this sphere were discussed
and adopted, or recommended, is of the greatest usefulness. Most
of these contributions are of as high a scientific standard as might be
expected from an international pool of this nature. They represent
sound original research, and often show amazing ingenuity and _per-
severance in the planning and execution of experiments in field and
laboratory. Apart from the four invited key contributions, each
section contains some papers of quite outstanding merit. They indicate
the stature which the science of ornithology has attained since 1938,
in spite of the war and the abnormal conditions since prevailing.
In some aspects, for example Systematics, Animal Behaviour and
Ecology, it can justly be claimed that ornithology now leads in the
1s.
644 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. (SOCIETY. Vol. 50
zoological field, and the advances it has made or induced, particularly
in these directions, are truly phenomenal.
Those at the Congress who had the pleasure of listening to the
fascinating and erudite papers of Dr. H. Johansen (on the bird ring-
ing work of the Copenhagen Zoological Museum) and Dr. W. Vogt
(‘On the Ecology of the Peruvian Guano Islands’) will deplore the
absence of these two titles in the permanent record due to non-receipt
of the MSS by the editor in time.
To all who were present at Uppsala, and to others merely perusing
this volume of Proceedings, the privileged place enjoyed by the
English language as a medium of international communication in
social, scientific and every other walk of life will be manifest. It is
significant that of the 87 papers presented at the Congress no less.
than 65 were in English. Next came German with 17, and third
French with only 5. As this reviewer has observed before, the review
of a publication is no place for moralising; but in the context of
certain unhappy trends in our country to-day, it may perhaps not
be devoid of profit merely to draw attention to this fact, without com-
ment.
The volume is well printed on good paper, and pleasingly produced,
and considering the polyglot nature of its contents, is remarkably
free from typographical errors. It compels unreserved admiration
for its versatile editor.
Ornithologists all the world over will welcome this permanent record
of progress and achievements which, as a reference volume, must prove
indispensable for every serious student of birds.
Ae!
6. BREEDING BIRDS OF KASHMIR. By R. S. P. Bates and
E. H. N. Lowther. Pp. xxxiii+ 367 (84” x 54”). Illustrated with 151
photographs by the authors and 5 coloured plates by D. V. Cowen.
End maps. London, 1952 (Oxford University Press). Price Rs. 25 net.
Kashmir has for so long been a paradise for the ornithologist that
a book describing the wonders of its bird life was greatly overdue.
Visitors to the country have hitherto found published sources of infor-
mation regarding the bird life of Kashmir inadequate and sometimes
(as in the case of the two papers by Osmaston) difficult to obtain.
The reviewer writes with some feeling on this point because he is
one of those whose enthusiasm has driven him to take out on each.
of his several treks in Kashmir all of the six volumes of the ‘Fauna’!
The publication, in one manageable volume of 367 pages, of the
‘Breeding Birds of Kashmir’ by that great partnership of Bates and
Lowther has therefore been long and eagerly awaited.
Bates’s and Lowther’s book is the result of more than 20 years.
of work and 16 separate visits to Kashmir during the summer months.
Ii concerns itself only with those birds of which there is adequate
or reliable proof that they breed in Kashmir. Ag the book was
written before the partition of India, the authors regard the State of
Kashmir as containing the whole of that area of some 85,000 square
miles found within its pre-1947 boundaries.
REVIEWS 645.
To keep their book within reasonable proportions and ‘to avoid con-
fusion with Plains’ birds and those of Kashmir proper’ nesting species
found only in the four following areas are dealt with:
(a) The Vale of Kashmir and the Jhelum Valley from Kohala to
Baramullah.
(b) The slopes and side valleys around the Vale of Kashmir up
to the passes over the Great Snowy Range.
(c) The Kishenganga Valley inclusive of. Gurais.
(d) The Upper Wardwan Valley of Kishtwar.
As long ago as the year 1920, the authors took their first photo-
graphs of Kashmir birds with the object in mind of using them to
illustrate a book. In the Introduction they write, ‘While the five
coloured plates contain the majority of the most gaily dressed birds
of Kashmir, as well as portraits of a number of species whose photo-
graphs we have as yet been unable to obtain, we have aimed at
including such photographic illustrations as will help in the identi-
fication of each bird and its nest, thereby rendering long descriptions.
in the text unnecessary. We are only too well aware that our efforts.
in that respect are by no means complete... .’. A characteristically
modest understatement because of the 167 species of breeding birds
described {omitting those mentioned in the Supplement) no less than
99 have been photographed. To anyone aware of the difficulties of
bird photography this is an achievement of a very high order. Among
the birds photographed there are a number which are notoriously
shy and wary. Any photographer who has tried to take pictures.
of the Blueheaded Rock-thrush must look with admiration and envy
on the excellent illustrations, showing both the male and female,
in the plates opposite page 84. Most of the water and marsh birds,
too, such as the Snipe, the Coot, the Ruddy Crake and others of
their kind, are outstandingly unco-operative, yet the authors have
managed to lure them into the range of their telephoto lenses.
In India, there are other difficulties apart from the problem of
getting the birds to pose for their portraits: the correct type of photo-
graphic material is not always obtainable, nor is it easy to store it
properly ; in the early days, films were slow and in modern times the
second world war often made it impossible to get them at all; the
developing of films, even in Kashmir, is always a problem because
of dust and heat and sometimes of cold. The authors, moreover,.
clearly did not have such modern aids as flash (and particularly speed-
flash) to help them. Therefore to have done as much as they have,
is, all things considered, a splendid and remarkable achievement.
I would, however, make one small criticism: not all of the photo-
graphs are of the same general standard of excellence: for a book
which maintains such a high standard throughout, a little more ruth-
less editing in this department would not be a disadvantage.
The plates, both in black-and-white and colour are well printed
and Mrs. D. V. Cowen’s coloured illustrations are pleasing and, on
the whole, true to life.
The text is admirable. Accurate observation, careful collation and
good use of existing sources of information, much painstaking work
in the field, economy and reliability of description make it certain that
this book will remain, for many years to come, the authoritative
‘646 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
work on the birds of Kashmir. The authors have an intimate know-
ledge of birds in the field so that their descriptions of behaviour and
habits are full of those little touches, born of long study and sensitive
observation, which make the word-picture come alive to the reader.
Instances are too many to permit of quotation; the reader will have
the pleasure of finding them for himself.
The descriptions for field identification are short but to the point
and pick out for mention only those characteristics of the bird which
are readily noticeable in the field. That excellent habit, begun by
Mr. Salim Ali, of stating the size of the bird in terms of a selected
group of more familiar birds is here carried on with beneficial
results.
The translation of bird song into terms of human speech has
been handled with restraint. To anyone who has not heard a song
it will be of no help to syllabize it, but as an aide-memoire to those
who have, the system can be very useful. The authors have employed
the method with success.
Whether the Kashmiri names used for the birds are equally suc-
cessful is perhaps open to doubt. The reviewer had the privilege on
a visit to Kashmir in 1951 of being able to use the book while it was
still in proof form. Attempts to describe birds to his shikaris by
means of the Kashmiri names proved singularly unsuccessful. In all
other respects, however, it is true to say that, after two months of
use in the field, the book proved to be wholly admirable. This, for
a book which sets out to be field guide, is surely the greatest praise
that could be given to it. aoe
Wi.
The following books have been added to the Society’s Library since
December 1951 :—
1. CHECKLIST OF PALAEARCTIC AND INDIAN MaMMALs 1758 to 1946.
By J. R. Ellerman and T. C. S. Morrison-Scott. [British Museum
(Natural History), 1951]. {A complimentary copy).
2. Hyproponics—THE BENGAL SystTEM. By J. Sholto Douglas.
(Oxford University Press, 1951). (A Review copy).
3. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BREEDING BIoLOGy oF Larus argentatus
and Larus fuscus. By Knud Paludan (Reprinted from Vidensk. Medd.
fra Dansk. naturh. Foren., bd. 114, 1951).
Fifty back numbers of periodicals which include among others,
Journal of Mammalogy (a Quarterly published by the American Society
of Mammalogists) and the Auk (a Quarterly Journal of Ornithology
published by the American Ornithologists’ Union) were presented by
Dr. C. Brooke Worth of Bangalore.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
1. WILD AND TAME DOGS
The familiar relations existing between wild dogs and one’s own
pets was published for the first time in ‘Wild Animals in Central India’
in 1923, viz. 28 years ago.
Winterbotham’s letter in Volume 50, No. 1, so far as I am aware,
is the first confirmation of my remarks which has been published. As
regards Winterbotham’s experience I have no doubt that had all his
dogs retreated, the wild dogs would have followed them up right to
his very feet.
As it was, the wild dogs stayed to fraternise and gambol with the
larger dog who was not afraid and had stayed behind.
November 25, 1951. A. A. DUNBAR BRANDER
peel Ate (ARIS AXTS (ERXE)|: A STRANGE ATTRACTION
During my years in the Indian jungles I have often been puzzled by
the strange attraction the sound of a hand-saw has for the chital and
wonder if any of the Society’s members can throw some light on the
subject.
In Ganjam, Kalahandi, Jeypore Samasthanam (all in Orissa) and in
Bastar, I have more than once surprised chital near sawing benches
in the forests. In all of these several instances the deer has been
attentively facing toward the sound of the sawing, its ears pricked
forward listening as it occasionally takes a step toward the source of
the sound as if to get closer and discover the agency responsible.
In Belgarh, Ganjam, one of my mates--Ronoo Gond—has actually
led me quietly to a bench where a pair of sawyers in his file have
continued sawing through a log whilst we have stood near them watch-
ing a chital stag staring and listening to them from a distance of
some forty feet, only turning to disappear into the undergrowth when
we moved towards him. I have brought up this strange habit of the
deer with Oriya, Khond, Gond and Muria sawyers, who all confirm
the fact that--for some reason unknown to them—chital deer are
attracted by ‘the crying of the saw’ (literal translation). Some of
them affirm that chital have been shot due to this trait of curiosity,
but I have no concrete proof of any such shooting though it is certainly
possible.
The nearest natural jungle noise tnat a hand-saw cutting through
timber resembles is the ‘sawing’ or calling of the Leopard (Panthera
pardus) and it may be this sound association that attracts the chital
into finding out the source of the sound, though why the deer should
stand and gaze at the sawyers as if hypnotised is not understandable
especially as it is an extremely alert animal, more so in Orissa where
the local villager and his crop-protection gun, blunderbuss and match-
lock musket are continually blazing at it, in season and out, doe, fawn
648 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.“ SOGIMI = Vole 250
or stag so that man is an enemy to be as much avoided as the local
carnivora. a
P.O. GupuR: NELLORE, Ke VS ART GPE Reis
November 11, 1951.
3. MELANISM IN THE BARKING DEER (MUNTIACUS
MUNTJAC)
In his interesting article ‘Jungle Memories’ Lt.-Col. E. G. Phythian-
Adams (four. B.N.H.S, Volume 50, page 11) mentions shooting a
Barking Deer with a sepia coloured coat. This probably was a melanis-
tic specimen.
Melanism is not rare in this deer in the Darjeeling district; it
usually takes the form of very dark brown. There is one such example
mounted in the Darjeeling Natural History Museum. Nearly black
animals have also been reported.
KENILWORTH, C. M. INGLIS, £:2z.s., Cm3B:0%u3
Coonoor, NILGIRIS,
November 10, 1951.
4. SAMBAR DEER IN MAURITIUS
(Reproduced from Country Life—May 4, 1951 with acknow-
ledgments)
POT,
I have recently seen Mr. Kenneth Whitehead’s article on deer,
and in the hope that it may interest your readers, I send you a few
notes on deer hunting in the island of Mauritius.
Deer (Cervus vusa) were introduced into the Colony from Batavia
by the Dutch in 1639 and now roam in fairly large herds in the wooded
districts of the island.« Considering its small extent (720 square miles)
and the fact that the shooting season lasts only three months, from
June to August, it may appear exaggerated to state that 2,500 to 3,000
stags are shot every year. A morning’s beat on one of the more
extensive chasses, or hunting grounds, yields an average of thirty to
forty stags.
A beat usually comprises thirty to forty guns disposed round the
area chosen, which usually covers about 400 to 600 acres. The
hunters are stationed on small platforms, or miradors, some 200 yards
apart from each other. Fifty to a hundred native beaters and as many
dogs are employed to dislodge the stags from the bushes and wooded
areas, whence they are driven towards the plains and clearings, or
chutes, prepared in advance. The stags are shot at while they are
crossing these plains and clearings and the sportsmen thus have an
excellent opportunity of displaying their marksmanship.
I enclose herewith two photographs, showing two adult stags and
a morning’s bag on my estate in the district of Black River.
Partridges and quails used to afford excellent sport not so long
ago but are now practically extinct thanks to the Mongoose (Herpestes
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 649
griseus), which were introduced from India to destroy rats—the vectors
of plague and a pest to sugar-cane planters. The young hares (Lepus
migricollis) are likewise being preyed upon by the mongoose, with the
result that this game animal is gradually disappearing.’
PY ©. Box bo, J. RENE MAINGARD DE VILLE-ES-OFFRANS
PorT Louis,
MAURITIUS.
[In response to a request by the Honorary Secretary of this Society,
for further information Mons. Rene Maingard replied as follows :—
‘Referring to my recent article in Country Life on the above
subject I give you hereunder some brief notes on the occurrence of
Sambar Deer in Mauritius. .
Its introduction from Java dates back to the Dutch occupation
of the Island. (1598-1710) since when this wild animal has thriven
considerably and now roams freely in the wooded and uncultivated
portions of the Island.
Some 2,500 stags are shot annually, the hunting season extending
from the first Saturday in June to the first Sunday in September.
This season some 360 stags were shot on my Estate alone (the
Estate is named ‘‘Yemen’’ and is situated in the district of Black
River), the luckiest bag being on 16th August last when 81 stags were
killed by a gathering of 45 guns, including a very fine and rare
specimen of a 15/16 year old stag with 34 inch horns.
So far as hares are concerned, these tend to disappear for two
main reasons:
1. Their unlawful hunting at night with car spotlights.
2. The destruction of the young by Mongoose (Herpestes griseus)
also introduced from India in the last century to help destroying rats
after a serious epidemic of plague in the Colony.’—Eps. |
5. OLD: JUNGLE TALES RETOED
THE TIGER AS FRUIT EATER
‘There is a forest fruit of the shape and size of a wood-apple with
a very powerful, pungent, aromatic smell, which tigers and wild
dogs eat greedily; this is also the favourite fruit of the Chenchu
buffalo; but singularly enough the bear, which devours every other
kind of forest fruit, will not touch it. The favourite fruit of bears and
wild dogs alike is that of the female blackwood tree.’
This is taken from the article titled ‘Wild Dogs’ written by a
forest officer under the name of ‘Robin Hood’ and _ published at
page 130 of the fournal Vol. 10. in 1895. It is an interesting
item of jungle lore which will be appreciated by a number of our
members.
I have ascertained through the Conservator of Forests, Bellary
Circle, that the fruit referred to is that of. Careya arborea Roxb.,—
Dudippa in Telegu. The blackwood is Dalbergia latifolia Roxb.
650 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 59
BUFFALOES SLAY A TIGRESS
In the same article “Robin Hood’ related the killing by a tigress
of a female Chenchu buffalo, and the speedy retribution by the maddened
herd which slew the murderer of the cow and her calf. “Hie was at
the Bairnuti Forest Inspection Shed and while sitting in the verandah
one evening was looking at the herd feeding on the fallen fruit of
a large fig tree which strewed the ground on the skirt of the forest
a stone’s throw from the shed.
‘There was the ‘‘tonk’’ of a startled sambar, then a combined
roaring and bellowing from the forest. Some of the buffaloes rushed
back with dismayed snorts, stopped suddenly as if by word of command,
circled round and returned to the scene of conflict. In serried ranks,
like a squadron of cavalry, with their great heads lowered to the
ground, and bellowing out encouragement to their fellows fighting in
the forest, they swept onwards to the rescue, while I nimbly ran
along in their rear with my rifle. In this order we crashed into the
forest. A feeble gurgling noise announced that the buffalo had been
vanquished and a hoarse roar of rage proclaimed that ‘‘stripes’’ refused
to quit the victim. Then ensued a perfect pandemonium of roaring,
bellowing, stamping and crashing in the midst of which I had to
drop my rifle and shin up the nearest tree, owing to two blundering
buffaloes, who could not force their way through their struggling
companions in front fixing their regards upon me, and in insane delu-
sion that I was the cause of all the turmoil, charging me savagely.’
So he lost sight of all that was going on, but after what seemed
an interminable time a number of Chenchus arrived and with great
difficulty appeased the ferocious buffaloes and got them away. The
tigress was found trampled deep into the mud and gored all over.
Beside it lay the carcase of an immense she-bufialo, and a yard or two
away the body of her calf in defence of which she had lost her life.
I saw the Bairnuti Shed when shooting in the Nallamallai Hills in
1902 but had forgotten, or not noticed the remark about the tree fruit
so made no enquiry about it.
THREE TIGERS FOUND DEAD. MAY HAVE BEEN RABIES?
‘Robin Hood’ further relates how no less than three tigers were
found dead in the forests by Chenchus who averred they had been
killed by wild dogs. He had only fired at one tiger, and that fifteen
miles away, and did not see the carcases as he had shifted camp.
As these three tigers were found within a period of about a week
may it be, in view of cases of ‘Rabies in the Tiger’ which have taken
place in Assam, that those tigers died of rabies? Had wild dogs killed
them decomposed carcases would not have been found, for wild dees
do not leave their prey uneaten.
A LEOPARD CHILD
At a meeting of the Bombay Natural. History Society held on the
7th May 1889 there was read an article by Mr. Jivanji Jamshedji Modi,
‘Recorded Instances of Children having been nourished by Wolves
and Birds of Prey’ which was published in Vol. 4 of the Society’s
journal at pp. 142-147.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 651
There has been since then no particular other mention of that subject
in the Journal, but in an article, ‘The Power of Scent in Wild Animals”
by themlate= Mir. 2B MG! Stuart Baker,’ F.Z/S., F:L.S.,'-M.B.O0.U., which:
appeared in Vol. 27, pp. 112-118 (1920), is related at first hand the
quite unique instance of a child being nourished for several years by
a female leopard in the jungles of the North Cachar Hills in Assam.
That record attracted no attention, possibly because it was tucked
away in an article on scenting power of animals, and is now rescued
from oblivion for the interest of members.
Mr. Stuart Baker was a well known police officer, an intrepid hunter
of big game, an expert ornithologist and a trained observer of natural
history occurrences so not in the least likely to have been led away
by the story related to him by the people of the village and backed
by his personal observations and enquiries made on the spot in his
official capacity. He writes:
‘Before leaving the subject of feline senses it may be of interest
to relate a story of a leopard child which has not yet ever been published
though it was pretty well known at the time.
In the North Cachar Hills, where the boy was found, Government
taxation used to consist in part of labour, so much being supplied by
every village for the upkeep of roads, rest-houses, etc. Sometimes.
men would petition for exemption from this labour on various grounds,
and one day when questioning a man as to why he wanted exemption
from such labour he told me that he had a little ‘‘wild’’ son to look after
and as his wife had recently died he could not leave the village to work
or the boy would run back to the jungle.
I accordingly went outside the court to see the ‘‘wild child’’ and
satisfy myself as to the truth of the story. There sure enough outside
was a small boy about seven years old, or less, squatted on the ground
like a small animal; directly I came near him he put his head in the
air and sniffed about, finishing by bolting on all fours to his father
between whose legs he backed like a small wild beast retreating into
a burrow. Looking closer at the child I saw that he was nearly or
entirely blind from some form of cataract and his little body was covered
with the white scars of innumerable healed tiny cuts and scratches.
Struck with his appearance I asked the father to tell me all about the
boy and he then narrated the following wonderful story which I fully
believe to be true, but which my readers must accept or not as they
think fit.
It appears that about five years before I saw father and son, the
Cachar villagers of a village called Dihungi, had found two leopard
cubs close to the village which they killed. The mother leopard had
tracked the murderers of her children back to the village and had
haunted the outskirts for two days. The third day a woman cutting
rice in some cultivation close to the village laid her baby down on
a cloth while she went on with her work. Presently, hearing a cry,
she turned round and saw a leopard bounding away and carrying the
child with it. The whole village at once turned out and hunted for
leopard and baby but without success, and finally they were forced
by darkness to leave the boy, as they supposed, to be eaten by the
leopard.
Some three years after this event a leopardess was killed close
to the village by a sportsman who brought in news of his success
652 fOURNAL, BOMBAY NALURAE SAUST SO CLET VomaVole a5)
together with the information that the leopard had cubs which he
failed to secure. On hearing this the whole village turned out and
eventually captured two cubs and one child, the boy of this story. He
was at once identified by his parents, claimed by them, and their
claim admitted by the whole village.
Subsequently when visiting Dihungi I interviewed the headman
and also the man who actually caught the child, and they both corro-
borated the father’s tale in every detail. It appears that at the time
he was caught the child ran on all fours almost as fast as an adult
man could run, whilst in dodging in and out of bushes and other
obstacles he was much cleverer and quicker. At that time he was
only suffering from cataract to a slight extent and could see fairly
well, but after he was caught his eyes became rapidly worse. His
knees, even when I saw him and he had learnt to move about upright
to a great extent had hard callosities on them and his toes were retained
upright, almost at right angles to his instep. The palms of his
hands and pads of toes and thumbs were also covered with very tough
horny skin. When first caught he bit and fought with everyone who
came within reach of him and although even then affected in his
eyes, any wretched fowl which came within his reach was seized,
torn to pieces and eaten with extraordinary rapidity.
When brought before me he had been more or less tamed, walked
upright except when startled into extra rapid motion, was friendly
with his own villagers, whom he seemed to know by scent, would
eat rice, vegetables, etc., and consented to sleep in his father’s hut
at night. Clothes, being a Cachari child of tender years, he had not
‘been introduced to.
His blindness was not in any way due to his treatment by the
leopard—if the story is true—as I found that another child, a couple
of years older, and the mother also both had the same cataract. At
the same time the defective sense of sight may well have intensified
his sense of smell as the loss of one must have caused him to rely more
on the other. When caught the child was in perfect condition,
thin but well covered, and with a quite exceptional development of
muscle.’
BANGALORE, R. W. BURTON
August 13, 1950. Lt.-Col. LAs Reta 4)
“6. -FHRILUS. IN. SPORT
The question of the greatest thrills in sport is often discussed by
sportsmen. One will say, after a brief reference to a right and left
at woodcock, or the fall of a stag that he considers the finest of all
is the first pull and rush of a salmon; another, his thoughts further
afield, recalls the close approach to a dangerous rogue elephant or
a wounded and savage buffalo as the greatest thrills in his experience.
The subject is interesting to anyone who has enjoyed various forms
of sport, and has given me food for thought at various times. I
consider from my own experience that the thrill afforded by the rush
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 653
of a salmon or a large mahseer is not so exciting—though very
pleasurable—as certain other thrills which have come my way.
It is not easy to analyse the various thrills in sport. Some are
sustained, others are momentary. A sulking salmon can become ‘boring’
in more ways than one.
There is certainly excitement in the first rush of salmon or mahseer,
added to the hope that it is a big fish,—and well hooked. Then, too,
the anxious consideration of the surroundings: the presence of snags,
rocks or rapids; the relief after a successful landing, especially when
alone.
I think my first salmon of 124 lb. gave me the greatest thrill as
far as fishing is concerned, because it was on a trout rod and took
1% hours to tire out, and gaff. A few days later I landed 8 salmon
of from 6 lb. to 16 lb. in an afternoon’s fishing on a light salmon
rod—but it was easy fishing on a lovely pool of the R, Inver and
though each fish, on being hooked, gave me a thrill, I remember
that it was only a mild form of excitement. In later years salmon of
22) lbs and. 23, lb-om the R. Wye and fish.of 16 lb. to: 22 Ib. onva
Very Swit, river, othe .Oleron in, the: Pyrenees, were more. exciting,
and I often lost large fish, owing to the hook-hold giving in the
strong current. The same thing occurred at times with mahseer in
the rivers of Northern India and the River Indravati in Central India,
where large fish took out 100 yds. of line and then got round rocks,
broke wire traces, and even crushed treble hooks; my biggest was
51 lb. So much for fishing. Let me now refer to other sport.
Pigsticking in the Deccan and United Provinces in India gave
many a thrill. The furious gallop, often over bad ground, the striving
to get 1st spear, the charges of a heavy boar, standing 36” at the
shoulder are unforgettable. But even more so was the day when
we put up and rode a panther. Our horses had to gallop all they
knew to get up, and then the panther crouched amongst the tussocks
of grass—the latter often 2 to 3 ft. high. Turning hurriedly and
searching for the panther, the latter charged and sprang on to the
neck of one horse, fell off, and jumped on another horse behind the
saddle. It was bucked off and I managed to get Ist spear. Though
wounded it still charged, but was soon despatched. Neither of the
two riders were hurt, but one horse was scratched on the neck and chest
and for 2 days became feverish and off his feed. After that he re-
covered.
I find it difficult to say whether my tst panther or Ist tiger or 1st
Ovis ammon, or any of the ibex (one was 46”), shapoo, bharal, Tibetan
gazelle or stags (barasingh) sambar, swamp deer, and chital gave
the greatest thrill.
Out of the 18 tigers I bagged the majority were in beats—from
machans. There were wounded beasts which I had to follow up on
foot. Two of these charged, and twice I have been charged by un-
wounded tigers whom I surprised on their kills in the early morning.
I have never shot a tiger or panther off an elephant.
_. There were plenty of, thrills in following up wounded tigers on
foot, but perhaps my greatest thrill was in shooting 3 tigers in one
minute from a machan, in Ahiri. That was in a beat.
I have a vivid recollection of a thrill when a wounded panther
654 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
got into a thick patch of thorn jungle. I was guarding a narrow
path through this, and the beaters were hurling stones into the thicket,
when my Indian orderly appeared in the path. He was carrying a
loaded shot-gun, and was perhaps 15 paces from me. There was a
sudden roar and, as I put up my D.B. .475, the panther sprang on to
the man. The latter, luckily for him, had his finger on the trigger
of the gun, and fired into the air, and fell backward. So did the Panther
—dead. I had fired as he sprang. He must have just reached the
orderly, as the latter had 2 or 3 scratches on one shoulder, but suffered
no ill effects, as I had disinfectants at hand.
In conclusion therefore I would be inclined to classify sporting
thrills as of 3 kinds:
1. The merely pleasant, e.g. wet fly fishing for salmon, trout, sea-
trout, grayling, etc.
2. Such sports as demand skill, experience, practice and a quick
hand and eye, e.g. dry fly fishing, shooting, fox hunting, and stalking
(of the cervidae). One should not forget tunny and tarpon and sword-
fish.
3. The most thrilling of all: the pursuit of dangerous game (tiger,
elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, bear, etc.) with rifle or spear (boar).
Still greater thrills abound, no doubt, in steeple-chasing, ski-ing,
mountaineering, motor-racing, flying, etc. But should these be in-
cluded in ‘Sport’ as here discussed?
A thrill can also accompany a failure. In the Kadir Cup of ’o9
there were over 100 competitors. Having won 3 heats I found myself
in the Final heat, with 2 others. My horse was a 14.2 Arab. The
others were English thorough-breds and had the legs of my Arab. So
I waited for the jink and got on to the pig’s tail, just as he entered
a patch of tooth-brush stiff grass. Twice I tried to spear, but the
stiff grass covered the pig, and the point of my spear was brushed
aside and almost torn from my grasp by the reed-like grass. My
Arab was jumping the tussocks and tiring. :
As we emerged onto open ground I again got close to the boar,
but before I could get quite up I was ridden off by one of the others
who was on a very fast horse and who got Ist spear.
V. K. BIRCH, D.s.o.
Col., 1.4. {Retd.).
[The above article was prepared by the late Colonel Birch during
1950 for publication. He died in Yorkshire on the 24th January 1951.
He served in the Hyderabad Contingent cavalry and was a junior
contemporary of the late Brigadier General R. G. Burton and R. W.
Burton who sends us this contribution in memory of a fine all-round
sportsman who was not, unfortunately, a member of our Society.—EDs. |
7. HOGHUNTING REMINISCENCES
The words of the famous Hoghunters Song, ‘The next Grey Boar
we see!’ were given at page 169 of the Society’s Journal Vol. XXXIX,
No.1:
It is now known from a note by Inverarity at p. 814 of Vol.
XXII No. 4 that the author of the song was Captain Thomas D’Arcy
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 655
Morris who used for his signature the last letters of his three names
(‘Sys’). He also wrote ‘Saddle, Spur and Spear’ and a number of
other songs besides contributing several amusing prose papers to the
pages of the Oriental Sporting Magazine, 1828 to 1833.
BANGALORE, R. W. BURTON
August 13, 1950. Lt.-Col., 1.4. (Retd.).
8. UNUSUAL BEHAVIOUR OF THE WHITECAPPED
REDSTART (CHAIMARRORNIS LEUCOCEPHALUS
VIGORS.)
It is more than time that I recorded what I now realise must
have been the most unusual behaviour of a party of Whitecapped
Redstarts. I had trekked into the Kulu Valley from Simla early in
May 1944 and was spinning a gold Devon for trout in the Tithan
River about ? of a mile below Manglour Bridge. At that point the
river is about 3,500 ft. above sea level and some 35 paces across,
broken up by protruding rocks interspersed with fast runs and small
turbulent pools. On the far bank was a short cliff with its foot
in the river and against it a roundish pool, perhaps five feet in
diameter. This pool contained a slow circular eddy with an oily
surface and was almost completely surrounded by low boulders no-
~where more than a foot above water. It was only as my Devon pitched
near this pool that I saw its verge was occupied by about 4 to 5
redstarts, all of them facing inwards and intent on the antics of 2
others which were floating in the pool. These two were leaning back
on spread tails in the water, their heads held high and drawn back,
their opened wings thrust outwards and downwards into the water
to maintain balance. In this position they sailed round and round,
the pool facing one another across it; when the current drew them
towards the pool’s centre, they fluttered together and collided breast to
breast once or twice after which they drew apart again and repeated the
whole performance. The atmosphere of this play was ponderous rather
than skittish or vicious, if so heavy a term may be applied to the
actions of so small a bird. Neither used his beak or claws and no
feathers flew; a quite gentlemanly engagement. I use the masculine
gender because I can only assume that this was a jousting match for
the ladies’ favour. At this stage in the proceedings another most
unusual’ circumstance intervened. I had the misfortune (sic!) ‘to
strike a fish which made off down-stream and for the moment de-
manded all my attention. In the interests of science I know now that
I should have broken with that fish forthwith and returned to the
redstarts, but a fighting trout put too great a strain on the naturalist’s
sense of duty, let alone the angler’s tackle. Before my fish carried
me out of sight of the birds, however, I was able, out of the tail
of one eye, to note two further points. That one of the swimmers
was apparently worsted and retired to a ring-side seat on the rocks, his
place in the arena being immediately taken by a new entrant; and
that at one period there were as many as three birds in the pool
at the same time. By the time my fish had come to the net and
€56 JOURNAL, BOMBAY? INAT CRATE SEES Te Oe ee mays mello etna)
I had returned to a point opposite the cliff, the birds had all gone.
Thinking back on this interesting scene I have considered, and ruled
out, other possible reasons for the birds’ behaviour. They were
not feeding on insects trapped in the eddy; this bird is normally
most jealous of its feeding beat on a stream and it seems certain that
a party of 6 or 7 could not forgather for such a purpose on com-
paratively amicable terms. The spectators on the pool’s verge ignored
each other completely; indeed they seemed torpid, apparently mes-
merised by the circling birds in the water. The possibility of a
family party at play is very unlikely at that time of year; for one
thing the party was too large and for another it appeared to consist
solely of birds in full plumage. This redstart is not gregarious and
it would therefore seem unlikely that common indignation had banded
the party together to punish a transgressor; had this been the case
the spectators would surely have shown more interest in the proceed-
ings. I can only conclude that their behaviour was actuated by the
mating instinct.
BomBay, M.. J. HACKNEY
Jie Ta hOs i.
9. BLACKBACKED ROBIN [SAXICOLOIDES F, FULICATA
(LINN.)] ATTACKING CAR
I have read with interest Mr. Alexander’s account of the Large
Grey Babbler attacking the metal hub cap of the wheel of a car
(Jour. B.N.H.S. Vol. 49; 550) in view of my own experience with
a Blackbacked Robin. Every time my car is brought into the porch
it is attacked by the robin. Sometimes he takes his seat on the rear
number-plate and pecks his way upward until he reaches the window
pane in the rear. Then he goes back to the number-plate and repeats
the performance. At other times he sits on the front mudguard or
the bonnet and pecks at it like a woodpecker tapping at a tree. When
I drive him away he flies off to a nearby pillar and comes back as
soon as my back is turned. His attacks have become so persistent
that I am compelled to keep the car in the garage until it is wanted.
I may mention that this is one of a pair of robins that have been
trying, so far unsuccessfully, to rear a brood in my verandah. It is
only the male robin that indulges in this pastime. The female goes
quietly about her business.
It is a reflecting surface that is attacked. I do not think, however,
that it is the reflection which excites him. It is not as if he sat on
the car, saw his reflection and then attacked it. He comes as soon as
the car is brought under the porch. He starts from the rear number-
plate from where he cannot see his reflection. It seems to me a little
game which he has invented for himself.
THE ROOK E. B. WIKRAMANAYAKE
CASTLE LANE
COLOMBO 4.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
[=>)
COU
S
10. BAYA.(PLOCEUS PHILIPPINUS LINN.) NESTS ON
TELEGRAPH WIRES
On October 7th, whilst motoring from this place to Bangalore,
my wife pointed out a number of Baya’s nests slung from telegraph
wires. On our return trip we stopped to check the actual number of
nests, which was twelve including one half-finished nest. Birds were
working on some of the nests, evidently putting the finishing touches
to them, whilst we were taking the count. All the nests were suspended
from a single strand of telegraph wire which crossed over a field of sugar-
cane. The area is extremely well-wooded, the particular field over
which the colony was suspended being surrounded by trees on all sides
and it at first seemed surprising that the Bayas should forego these
abundant natural nesting sites and attach their nests to a single hori-
zontal wire.
However, the entire local area abounds with the destructive Bonnet
Macaque (Macaca radiata Geoffrey) and I feel sure that these are responsi-
ble for the many half-finished and finished Baya’s nests that we have
found over the past month strewn under colony trees, more especially
where these colonies are built on Madras Thorn and tamarind trees,
and I feel that this particular colony may have attached their nests to the
telegraph wire well away from the supporting columns at either end
in an effort to avoid destruction by the monkeys. I am more inclined
to place the blame for the destruction of birds’ nests on the monkeys
than the local population, whom I have found to be wholly disinterested.
and pitifully ignorant of the bird-life surrounding them apart from the
capture of storks and the shooting of ducks with crop protection
powder guns.
I trust this unusual nesting site may be of some interest to you.
The location of the colony is 25 miles from Chittoor on the Chittoor-
Chandragiri road in a well-wooded, cultivated valley between high
hills through which both the road and railway run alongside each other.
c/o Postmaster, K. M. KIRKPATRICK
P.O. GupuR: NELLORE
October) 14,1951.
[The suspension of Baya nests from telegraph wires is not unknown.
But this departure in habit by a few individuals only from amongst
a population of normally tree nesting birds is so local and unusual
that one would like to know something more of the factors that prompt it.
Mr. Kirkpatrick suggests safety from the ravages of macacques. It
would be interesting to discover what degree of extra immunity, if
any, nests hung from telegraph wires enjoy over those built in natural
situations, i.e. at the ends of pliant and often thorny twigs. We have
sometimes found nests on telegraph wires in places where no special
danger from monkeys was apparent. Sunbirds also hang their nests.
from telegraph wires occasionally.—Ebs. |
658 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
11. COMMON CUCKOO (CUCULUS CANORUS) PARASITISING
PLUMBEOUS REDSTART (RHYACORNIS F. FULIGINOSA) '
(With a plate)
In 1945, I published a note in this journal (Vol. 45; 419), describing
the strange death of a young Cuckoo found in a nest of Plumbeous
Redstarts. The nest was actually found in June, 1944. In the follow-
ing year, in June 1945, I was again in Sonamarg, Kashmir, and found,
in almost exactly the same spot as the previous year, another nest
of Plumbeous Redstarts containing a young Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) ;
the bird was fully fledged and almost ready to fly. Possessed of the
voracious hunger of its kind, it was being* constantly fed by both its
foster-parents.
The Cuckoo found in 1944 was not too young for a correct identi-
fication of its species to be made, but evidence of a more conclusive
nature was desirable. The happy chance presented to me in 1945 to
photograph the bird with its foster-parent gives me the opportunity
now to offer to the editors of the Journal proof positive of what, I
believe, must be the discovery of a new host of the Common Cuckoo.
I trust it will be conceded, even by those who put their faith in
the infallibility of the dead specimen, that a bird in the plate in this
instance is as good as one in the hand.
‘SINGAPORE, Wt VOKE
CO) CLODen. 27.5 TOS 1.
|The Plumbeous Redstart does not appear to have been definitely
recorded as a fosterer of the Cuckoo in the Western Himalayas before,
though from Mr. Stuart Baker’s list (‘Cuckoo Problems’, 1942, p. 187)
this is apparently not uncommon with the Khasia Hills race, Cuculus
canorus bakeri. The only other cuckoo recorded as parasitizing the
Plumbeous Redstart is the Indian Small Hawk Cuckoo, Hierococcyx
fugax nisicolor.—-EDs. |
a2. NOTES ON THE NEPAL KOKLAS PHEASANT (PUCRASIA
MACROLOPHA NIPALENSIS) AND THE SPINY BABBLER
(ACANTHOPTILA NIPALENSIS) ;
(With a text map)
In the fall and winter of 1949-50 Nepalese authorities gave me
permission to lead an expedition to the Kali Gandak region of West
Nepal. The country north of Tansen, capital of West Nepal, had
never been visited before by ornithologists. We spent three months
collecting birds for the Chicago Natural History Museum. Our route
lay directly north of Gorakhpur, U.P., through Tansen, Baglung,
Dana, Tukche and through the Dhaulagiri Range on the left and
Annapurna Range on the right to the Tibetan side. We were within
a few miles of Muktinath, an important place to Hindu pilgrims. One
‘Wespey snoesquin[d pue ooyon>
2407 “LM
0104
a a a Ad
—— ee
OO
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 659
of our party secured birds from 18,000 feet. From the higher elevations
we secured twelve species of pheasants and partridges.
On our return journey we visited the lake region of Pokhara and
beautiful Phewa Tal which yielded us additional rare and little known
“Mustang
Muk tnath
Jumlae
Tuke hea”
Sali yang Dana 5
Baglungy “» Pokhara
Gurkha
Katmandu
Nepalganje
(es
“$Tansen
¢But wal
f
Gorakhput Araxaul Darjeeling
Map of Nepal showing our route........
species including the Spiny Babbler (Acanthoptila nipalensis), In com-
paring our list with that of Dillon Ripley | Jour. B.N.H.S., Vol. 49 (3),
December, 1950] I estimate that possibly a third of our birds are
not mentioned by him. More than 7oo of my Nepal specimens are
in Chicago. In this note I only give some data on the Nepal Koklas
and the Spiny Babbler regarding which our information is so scanty.
fia ehces Nepal Koo K td.g
In February, 1939, I made a trip to Naipalganj Road, Baliraich
District, U.P., which is situated on the Nepal border. Permission was
given to visit Nepalganj, Nepal. When I reached the town, which
was a distance of about three or four miles from where I was staying,
I learned that a goodly number of tribesmen had just come down
from the hills. Some of them had brought live birds enclosed in
wicker baskets. A musk deer (Moschus moschiferus L.), in a small
box, was displayed along the street. Nearby was a caged Nepal
Kalij Pheasant (Gennaeus leucomelanus) with no feathers or skin
covering his skull. Seeing my interest in the bird, a local man volun-
teered to take me to a place where there were more caged birds. To
my surprise I found two rooms full of about 130 specimens including
Monals (Lophophorus impejanus), Horned Pheasants (Tragopan satyra),
Chir Pheasants (Cutreus wallichii) and Nepal Koklas Pheasants
(Pucrasia macrolopha nipalensis), but no Nepal Kalij Pheasants. There
were also Common Hill Partridges (Arborophila t. torqueola) and
numerous Snow Pigeons (Columba |. leuconota). For a nominal sum
I purchased three Koklas, two Horned, two Impeyan and one Chir
14
660 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, oj. 58
along with a Hill Partridge. One Koklas and both Horned Pheasants
died and were skinned, but the others were brought to Mussoorie and
kept for ten months. Meanwhile the birds moulted in July and August
and it was possible to obtain exact measurements of them. The Koklas
cock which died was much darker than the second one; both were
said to have come from the vicinity of Jumla. This second bird more
closely resembled those we took on the upper reaches of the Kali
Gandak River in northern Nepal during November and December,
1949. Measurements of the two Jumla birds are as follows:
ef Se
Wing we. © ceo tom 212 mm
Tail em 20S 166
Tarsus’ ofan 55
Culmeni aes acs 29
Stuart Baker has pointed out! that ‘very little is known as to...
how far this Pheasant works East.’ One of the purposes of our Nepal
expedition of 1949-50 was to obtain skins of this pheasant. We found
them in two localities near the Kali Gandak River, some 20 or 30
miles apart. The first place was near Tukche (9,000 ft.) which is located
about 15 miles southwest of Muktinath. A small covey consisting of
a cock and three hens was located in the blue pine forest (Pinus excelsa)
at approximately 11,000 feet, above and to the west of the village.
They were on the side of a very steep nala soon after dawn. A wounded
cock flew far down the valley while the hens scattered and were not
seen again. |
Late in November we established an upper camp (12,000 feet). It
was in the shelter of a large rock at the head of a steep valley to
the west of Tukche. This spot was only a mile north of the perpendi-
cular wall of rock and snow of Dhaulagiri (26,800 feet). From our
tent it was necessary to scale 2,000 feet to reach the wider slopes.
Another Koklas hen flew out from a valley covered with grass, bushes
and a few large birch trees (Betula sp.). A few days after this a shikari
brought in a battered cock which he obtained from the heavy fir
forest not far below and to the east of Tukche.
Early in December we moved down the Kali Gandak to Dana
(5,000 feet), Baglung District, where we had stopped a month before
and had collected several Nepal Kalij Pheasants with the aid of hunters
and a belled dog. Upon our return we set up a second camp about
seven miles northwest of the village. The height was about 9,000
feet; our camp was on the edge of a ringal—oak forest. A Koklas
crowed across the valley to the south and another sounded somewhat
above us on our side of the hill. We disturbed a Horned Pheasant
on the path among bamboos near our tent and later got two. Dr.
Carl Taylor and I climbed the grassy terraces above us which bordered
the forest. That afternoon Dr. Taylor secured two Koklas cocks
from a thick patch of bamboo at about 9,500 feet. The birds were
eee
1 Baker, E. C. Stuart: Fauna of British India Series, Birds. Vol. 5, p. 313.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 661
wary and ran at once at the least sign of danger. The measurements
of one of the cocks, a young male with rudimentary spurs of about
5 mm in length and rather light in colour, are as follows:
Wing 220;. tail 191; tarsus 64; culmen 26; crest 80-90 mim.
One other cock bird was brought to us at Dana. These specimens
are now in the Chicago Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois,
U.S.A. The known range of the Nepal Koklas Pheasant is thus
extended some roo miles east of Jumla from where it had been reported
by Hodgson more than a hundred years ago.
Ze iohe Spiny ab bdier
Our party arrived at Tansen, capital of West Nepal, on November
2, 1949. Tansen is about 65 miles directly north of Gorakhpur, U.P.
The city les on the southern slope and near the crest of a 4,800 foot
range. On the northern side, up back of the city, are the Srinagar
forests. We were not sure whether our collecting of birds in the
vicinity of Tansen would be appreciated so we waited until we left
Tansen for Riri Bazaar.
Our road wound along the top of the ridge to the west. Dr. Taylor
noticed several birds lurking in a small wayside bush. He secured
a specimen which we at once identified as a babbler, but it was not
until our return to Mussoorie that it was identified as a Spiny Babbler.
Ten weeks later, when again in Tansen, numbers of shy white and
brown birds. were noted skulking in low bushes of the Srinagar forest
but none were obtained. These may also have been this species.
Two other specimens were obtained by me at Pokhara at 3,000 feet,
Pokhara is a large town just eight days’ trek west of Katmandu,
situated on a plain between low ranges of hills. The first Spiny Babbler
I secured was one of four or five, flitting through a hedgerow along
a lane in the south-western part of the town. The second bird was
one of a somewhat larger party found in grass and bushes at the base
of a hill directly north-east of the parade ground, only about a mile
from our camp. These birds were quite noisy. They would appear for a
moment only to dart under cover at once. After a shot all the rest
would vanish, not to be found again. In my opinion, this species of
babbler is not uncommon, either around Tansen or- Pokhara.
‘WoopsTocr’, ROBERT L. FLEMING, ph.p.
Mussoor£EE, U.P., |
April 15, 1951.
13. AN UNRECORDED FEATURE OF SPURFOWL
(GALLOPERDIX)
It is curious that none of the standard reference works on Indian orni-
thology mention a crest in birds of the genus Galloperdix. On the rath
“instant I was at the Kanheri National Park with Mr. Horace Alexander
and we had a good view of a pair of Red Spurfowl (Gallo perdix spadicea)
at a distance of about 30 yards only and both the birds showed a distinet
tuft of feathers on the forehead. Mr. Alexander remembered having
662 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, fol. 56
noticed this in other places in the C.P. and this prompted me a
look up the specimens in the Society’s collection. , |
There is no doubt that both sexes of Galloperdix spadicea do have
slightly elongated feathers on the crown which apparently can be
raised in life as a fairly noticeable tuft. The spurfowl is a great
skulker and the only view that one ordinarily gets of him is at the
wrong end of the gun and this perhaps is why this distinctive feature
has so far been overlooked. In the prepared skin the elongated feathers
have to be looked for. ;
Such feathers were not found in specimens of G. lunulata, the
Painted Spurfowl.
GO) MI AIZu ee Com HUMAYUN ABDULALI
75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET,
BOMBAY 3,
July 15, 1951.
14. THE CHUKOR PARTRIDGE | ALECTORIS GRAHCA
CHUKAR (GRIFFITH & PIDGEON)] IN NEVADA, U.S.A.
At the present time I am attempting to compare the environments
inhabitated by the chukor partridge in Nevada, with those found
in their native land. To my present knowledge the bird which we
have in Nevada is the Indian-hill variety (Alectoris graeca chukar) which
is distributed from Ladak to Nepal in north-eastern India. The type
locality is Srinagar. I have been taking climatological data in Nevada
over the past year, and am now interested in comparing the average
monthly maximum and minimum temperatures and the monthly preci-
pitation of a station in Nevada with atypical station found in their
native habitat. Up to now I have not been able to obtain such climato-
logical data for an Indian station. Records for the year 1950 would
be very suitable. |
The area where favourable chukor partridge populations occur in
Nevada ranges from 4,000 to 7,000 feet in elevation. Daily temperatures
fluctuate considerably—having in cases, a difference of 40°F between
the daily maximum and minimum. Precipitation is low, averaging
around 5 to 7 inches per year. I would be very appreciative of any
help which you can offer.
Incidentally, we are having a month-long hunting season on the
chukor in Washoe County this year (Sept. 30 to Oct. 31). An opening
day check showed that the hunters were averaging nearly 3 birds
apiece, which may be considered as very good. Due to a very mild
winter, and great amounts of available food the chukor population
has increased considerably and the birds are offering some of the best
upland game hunting we have had for some time.
Box 9460,
UNIVERSITY STATION, GLEN C. CHRISTENSEN
ReENo, NEVADA,
October. 24, 1951.
bE: MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 663
[The Deputy Director General of Observatories (Climatology and
Geophys: cs), Poona, has kindly supplied the following data for two
stations lying within the native distributional range of the Chukor
(Alectoris graeca chukar) which enable interesting comparison.
- -Muktesar, Naini Tal District, 29°28’N x 79°39’E. Altitude
F500 aT OO"
Mean daily tempera- Maximum Minimum
ture (Fahrenheit) ... 73:2 (June)+49°8 35:5 (Jan.)-530 (June,
(Jan.) July)
Mean annual 63:0 Mean annual 48°3
Average rainfall in 12°37 (July) 0:42 (November)
inches -,,.. Annual average 53°55”
Mussooree, Dehra Dun District, 30°27’N x 78°5’E. Altitude
6,000’ — 7,500’.
Mean daily tempera- Maximum Minimum
ture (Fahrenheit) .... 765 (May)—49°5 36:3 (Jan.)-- 60°7 (June)
(Jan.)
Mean annual 63-5 Mean annual 59:1
Average rainfall in 31:35 (August) 0:49 (November)
inches .. Annual average 97:69”
At these two stations the difference between the daily maximum
and minimum temperatures is at no season normally above 20 degrees,
while the precipitation is considerably higher than in Nevada.
No climatological data are available for Ladakh, but in some respects
the conditions there may approximate more closely to those mentioned
in Mr. Christensen’s note.—Eps. |
1. THE WHIMBREL (NUMENIUS PHAEOPUS) IN ASSAM
Mr. G. E. D. Walker of Margherita P.O., Upper Assam, has sent
us the bill of a whimbrel shot at the Ledo airfield which is worth
recording since this bird has actually been so seldom noted in Assam.
Ledo is at the north-eastern extremity of the Assam Railway.
In the Journal Vol. 13; 570, Stuart Baker records a young male,
one of a pair shot by Mr. V. Woods of the Assam-Bengal Railway
at Haflong on 1st September 1899. The species is not mentioned by
Stevens in ‘The Birds of Upper Assam’ nor. by Stuart Baker in ‘The
Birds of North Cachar’ though both refer to the Curlew. It is also
omitted from Stuart Baker’s ‘Birds of the Khasia Hills’. In his serial
on ‘The Game Birds of India’ in the Journal, Vol. 35; 712, Stuart
Baker says, ‘I shot one bird of this race (N. p. variegatus) on a small
lake in N. Cachar in 1899, which had been in the company of two
others, and I saw a small flock in Lakhimpur in 1900... ._ It is
a common winter visitor to the Indo-Chinese countries and Burma
and probably also to Assam and Eastern Bengal.’
114, APOLLO STREET, FORT, EDITORS
Bompay.
664 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Kol. 50
16. BLACKNECKED GREBE (PODICEPS NIGRICOLLIS
BREHM) IN BHAVNAGAR
During my bird watching visits to the Ruvapari Tanks and sewage
waters only a mile away from Bhavnagar, I came across the Blacknecked
Grebe on 7th November 1951. The bird looked so different from the
common little grebes or dabchicks that I took a few cine shots of it
before collecting the specimen. It was a male in winter plumage.
I beieve this to be the first instance of its being recorded in
Saurashtra.
BHAVNAGAR, K. S, DHARMAKUMARSINHIJI
December 4, 1951.
[Identification of the specimen has been confirmed.—Ebs. |
17, SOME BIRD NOTES EROM JASDAN, SAURASHTRA
On the 12th November 1951 I had been to a lake some 15 miles
from Jasdan where I was surprised to see a Great Crested Grebe,
{Podiceps crisatus cristatus) in winter plumage. M. K. S. Dharma-
kumarsinhji who was with me confirmed the identification. This bird
is a very rare straggler to these parts having been previously re-
corded in Bhavnagar and Kharaghoda.
Another rare winter straggler seen by us was the Starling (Sturnus
vulgaris) four birds among grazing cattle on the lake side. They were
all collected and have been sent for identification as to the subspecies.
JASDAN, Yo°S? SHIPV RAK UMASS
December 2, 1951.
[| Apparently S. v. poltavatskyi Finsch. In the B.N.H.S. collection
we have two specimens of this race collected by the Gujarat Ornitholo-
sical Survey at Saiat (Kaira District), December 1945.—Eps. |
18. MORE STRAY BIRD NOTES FROM MALABAR
1. CUCKOO CHICK FOSTERED ON KING CROWS
On the 30th of May, 1951, I came across a pair of King Crows
(Dicrurus macrocercus) which were feeding a fully-fledged cuckoo
chick. The chick flew from tree to tree when I attempted to catch
it, while the king crows, though agitated, kept at a distance. I left
the chick finally on a tree more than 100 yards away from its original
perch. The next evening the chick was found once again on the very
same twig where it had been first found, and the king crows were
observed feeding it often. When the ‘gunman’, who had agreed to shoot
the chick for me, and I were standing under the tree, one of the king
crows flew past the chick, uttering short, sharp notes, whereupon
the chick left its perch and followed the foster-parent to a distant
tree. Now and then one or both drongos bullied the crows and a
Crested Serpent-eagle which flew over us,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 665
After shooting of the chick it was found that the king crows
left the area—where they had been the most conspicuous birds—
entirely. |
To the best of my knowledge, we have four parasitic cuckoos with
us in spring: the Koel (numerous); the Common Hawk Cuckoo
(common); the Plaintive Cuckoo (never more than two or three); and
the Indian Cuckoo (uncommon—never more than half a dozen).
2. THE BREEDING OF THE LITTLE RING PLOVER (Charadrius dubius)
In the latest authoritative account of the birds of the west coast,
Mr. Salim Ali’s ‘Ornithology of Travancore and Cochin’ (J.B.N.H.S.
39; 581), it is said of Jerdon’s Little Ring Plover: ‘No specific
instance of its breeding in Travancore and Cochin has hitherto been
recorded’. As this seems to be true of Malabar also, it may be worth
while placing on record that this Ring Plover breeds regularly in
numbers in the rivers of the Palghat taluk from December to June.
In Kavasseri, on the bed of the river Gayatri, at least 29 times they
have nested between April 1943 and June 1951.
March, April and May seem to be the months when the majority
have nests. Four times nests were found in December: Dec. 27, 1948,
©) 22 Deer 2S 1943) C/ 2 DeC. 19,1949, C/257Dec. 20,; 19505) c/ Tr.
The usual number of eggs in a full clutch is three; I have never ~
found one of four.
The birds which nest late in May always stand a serious risk of
having their eggs or chicks washed away by monsoon floods. This
year for instance, on June 3, there were three pairs of Ring Plover
in the river, each with a family of chicks. One pair had 3 chicks,
another had 1, and the third had an egg and a newly hatched chick.
On June 4 this last egg also hatched. On the 11th the river was
in spate and the chicks undoubtedly perished. Two pairs out of the
three disappeared at this time, the third pair remaining with us till
about 20th June, and resorting to the grassy banks, laterite flats
and the marshy paddy fields for their food.
Throughout the month of May this year I had wandered about on
the river bed noting that there were three pairs of Ring Plovers, and
confident that only one of these had a nest (May, 28 c/2). On June 3
I was on the river bed, in heavy rain which a strong wind was driving
almost through me. A Ring Plover was found brooding over, what
J_ thought must be eggs. Though its mate was uttering warning
calls this bird got up and ran away only after I had gone very near
it. When it got up, three tiny chicks ran away from the shelter of
its wings and fluffed-out breast feathers. The moment I walked off
the parent got the chicks safely tucked up under it once more.
Some 150 yards away yet another Ring Plover was sheltering a
single chick in the same way. Another 150 yards, and I came across
the pair whose nest I had found on May 28. Here it looked as though
one bird was sitting on an egg and the other protecting a chick from
the rain. On June 5 also the birds were found protecting their brood
in this fashion.
666 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
3. THE BREEDING SEASON OF THE BLACKHEADED ORIOLE (Oriolus
xanthornus)
The Blackheaded Oriole is said to breed from February to July,
hut on the September 24, 1950, I discovered a pair feeding two chicks
in a nest on a mango tree. On the 25th the chicks were still being
fed. On the 27th the nest was found torn to pieces, by some predatory
bird most probably.
4. PARADISE FLYCATCHER (Tchitrea paradisi)
The last date on which a Paradise Flycatcher was seen in the
plains this year (1951) was April 24 (Olavakkode). Throughout April
the birds were found to be rare and had to be carefully looked for.
On May 15 I was at Padagiri (Nelliampathy hills) for a few hours,
and was surprised to find a Paradise Flycatcher of uncertain sex at
the edge of a forest by the roadside. I watched the bird for a long
time through fieldglasses.
In view of the fact that Mr. C. R. Stonor repeats (J.B.N.H.S. 46;
118-125) Kinloch’s statement that white males were found predominant
on the hills, it may be interesting to know that in the plains of the
Palghat Gap white males as well as chestnut males with streamers
are rare at all times, though birds whose sex cannot be distinguished
in the field are very common. Mr. Salim Ali does not tell us (J.B.N.H.S.
38; 303) whether he found white males more common than the others
in the Nelliampathies, but states that at Nemmara, ‘Red plumaged males
and females were common, but white males exceedingly rare.’ My
experience suggests that white males, when with us, prefer jungles
and forests where they have more cover, whereas the birds of ‘uncertain’
sex frequent the more open jungles, gardens etc. Is it not probable
that this may have something to do with the white males’ greater
need for protection? If within their breeding range, the white males
also are found to frequent inhabited areas and open countryside, it
may be due to the boldness that breeding birds invariably display.
Night Herons, for instance, fearlessly go about collecting nesting
material even at noon during the breeding season, whereas, at other
times, they hide very carefully throughout the day in thick foliage.
5. THE Common GREY HornsiLut (Tockus_ birostris)
In ‘The Ornithology of Travancore, and Cochin’ (].B.N AS, 305
21-23) only three hornbills are listed as occurring in those states. -In
Kavasseri, which is close to Nemmara, one of the collecting camps
of the Survey, the resident breeding hornbill is the Common Grey
Hornbill. The Pied Hornbill, the only other hornbill of our place,
is just an occasional visitor during the monsoon months. It would
be most surprising if the Common Grey Hornbill were found to be
totally absent at least in that part of Cochin State which lies in the
Palghat Gap.
6. THE SOUTHERN GREYBACKED SHRIKE {Lanius schach caniceps
BLYTH) as a Mimic
It is well known that the Rufousbacked and Greybacked shrikes
are expert mimics. But, unfortunately, they seem to be rarely disposed
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 667
to give performances. Of the many Greybacked shrikes I have known,
only one indulged in mimicry, and that too only on three evenings.
But this bird displayed real taste in the call notes it chose to mimic.
Within half an hour it gave excellent renderings of the notes of some
fourteen different birds. Almost every bird which has an interesting
call or song was included, e.g. the Common Hawk Cuckoo, the Red-
wattled Lapwing, the Whitebrowed Fantail Flycatcher, the Indian
Nightjar, the Plaintive Cuckoo and the Whitebreasted Kingfisher. Every
time the Hawk Cuckoo’s ‘pipeeah’ notes were uttered they were either
preceded or succeeded by the ‘teeti-teeti-teeti’ preface which the Hawk
Cuckoo itself very often does not utter. In the case of the Redwattled
Lapwing, the ‘Did you do it’ call was invariably preceded by the
‘Trick .. trick . . trick’. When taking off the Whitebreasted Kingfisher,
the shrike faithfully reproduced the first notes which sound like a
stammerer’s efforts to commence a sentence.
As no other avian mimic has such an astonishing repertoire, it is a
pity that the shrikes do not give more frequent performances.
7, A GREYBACKED SHRIKE USING LARDERING TACTICS ‘TO TACKLE
NEEM FRUITS.
In a thin teak jungle bordering on cultivated land and_ scrub,
a pair of Greybacked Shrikes (Lanius schach caniceps Blyth,. most
probably) has been found every summer for the past seven years.
This year, in the first week of June, they were found feeding two full-
grown chicks which must have left the nest many days ago. On June
15, when I could no longer distinguish between adult and young,
one of these birds was observed eating a ripe neem fruit in an interest-
ing fashion.
The shrike picked up a fruit from the ground, hopped on to a thin,
low bush and very dexterously, with a sudden downward sweep of the
bill, impaled the fruit on a dry, upstanding twig. Then it peeled and
ate the fruit bit by bit, slowly turning the fruit about. Now and then
the fruit fell off and the bird had to jump down, retrieve it and refix
it. Once it wasted a couple of minutes vainly trying to fix a fruit
on a twig which was green and still had leaves on it. Every time
the bird tried jabbing the fruit on the twig, the fruit fell off and had
to be fetched from the ground. After a time, the bird hopped back
to the first twig and succeeded in its very first attempt to get ‘the
fruit fixed satisfactorily. |
GOVERNMENT VICTORIA COLLEGE, K. K. NEELAKANTAN
PALGHAT, MALABAR.
19. PURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE NEPAL
VALLEY
Sitta himalayensis ; Whitetailed Nuthatch.
A nest found at 8,oco ft. on Phulchok ridge on February 25. It
was about 5 ft. from the ground in a rhododendron tree. Both birds
were carrying nesting material into the hole which was built up with
white mud. On April 8 both parents were feeding young which appeared
well feathered when I flashed a torch into the nest hole. —
668 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Acanthoptila nipalensis: Spiny. Babbler.
Since reading Dr. Ripley’s article in the December 1950 number of
the Journal I think my previous record of this bird must have been
a mistake’. It differs from the illustration in the Journal as follows.
White of throat less pure white, more dirty or off-white. The bill
is less slender. The iris is brown not white. Otherwise it looks much
the same but the bird I saw was always solitary and could not have
behaved less like a sociable Garrulax. I have not seen one this winter,
but hope to get a specimen sometime to clear up the doubt.
Actinodura nipalensis: Hoary Bar-wing.
Common on the ridge leading up to Sheopuri 7,000-8,000 ft., also
on Phulchok ridge at the same height. Has many low churring notes,
also whistle ‘tui whee-er’ very like that of the Streaked Laughing
Thrush with which I think I have confused it in the past.
Siva cyanouroptera; Bluewinged Siva.
Fairly common at Godavari, usually in flocks with babblers, yuhinas
etc. Until my husband shot one I had failed to identify it in the
field, and had been much puzzled over this small bird which appeared
to have a grey head contrasting with rufous back and black and white
wings. The blue of the head and wings cannot be easily seen. The
crest also is not visible and the bird appears very long and thin with
very flat head, a curious distinctive shape. I have only seen it in
jungle quite low, 5,000-6,0o00 ft. but only in winter so presume it
moves to higher levels for breeding.
Leiothrix lutea: Redbilled Leiothrix.
I heard the male singing for the first time on March 4, and during
April a pair obviously had a nest in thick scrub at 5,500 ft. Both
birds would scold us whenever we passed, though owing to the thick-
ness of the jungle I failed to find the nest.
Certhia discolor: Sikkim Tree-creeper.
We shot 2 of these birds at Godavari during December and they
proved to be of the above species. Not seen there after the beginning
of February.
Cyornis hyperythra ;: Rufousbreasted Flycatcher.
A single male shot at 8,ooo ft. on Sheopuri on April 22. It was
so much on the ground that I had mistaken it in the distance for a
chat of some kind.
Niltava grandis: Large Niltava.
A female. shot in jungle above Godavari at 6,500 ft. on January
28. No others seen.
Niltava sundara: Rufousbellied Niltava.
A male spent a couple of months in our garden from January 15
till March 8. Very quiet and tame and always found in the same
patch of bushes. In March it began to be more active and would
* But see note No. 12 (2), p. 661 by Dr. IR, vi. Bleming taps:
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES O79 0i00 669
chase other birds which entered its strip of territory. I never heard
it utter a sound.
Niltava macgrigoriae ; Small Niltava.
Fairly common from March onwards at Godavari. The males have
a curious little grating song, uttered sotio voce, a sort of sub-song,
but they seem to have no other. On April 1 I saw 2 males challenging
one another. They were only about 2 feet apart with feathers fluffed
and both uttering this curious song, a mere thread of sound. They
keep their bills open while singing. So engrossed were they that I
could get very close to them, though they are usually shy. I have
not seen them anywhere else except this west valley of Godavari, not
above 6,oo0 ft. A male shot March 11.
Rhipidura albicollis; Whitethroated Fantail Flycatcher.
Seen several times up the west valley at Godavari 5,500 ft, during
January.
Seicercus castaneiceps, Chestnut-headed Flycatcher Warbler.
Seen fairly often at*Godavari during January, February and early
March in mixed flocks of babblers, willow-warblers etc.; occasionally
in our garden. Not seen above 5,000 ft. One shot February 19.
Abroscopus schisticeps ; Blackfaced Flycatcher Warbler.
Not common. A pair seen at 7,500 ft. on Sheopuri on New Year’s
day in a flock of tits. Seen occasionally at Godayari during February.
Ploceus philippinus; Baya Weaver Bird.
Nests found this year by K. Kilburne in pine trees in his garden,
Is it not very unusual for these birds to build in pines?! Pine needles
are also partly used in the construction of the nests.
Hypacanthis spinoides: Himalayan Greenfinch.
This year these have been very common all winter in the Valley and
in the Embassy garden. They are still here in flocks (June 4th), In
1948-49 I hardly saw one. .
Aethopyga nipalensis ; Nepal Sunbird. :
The common sunbird of the hills round the Valley, where it is
abundant all winter. In summer not seen below 7,000 ft. In my
previous notes I made a stupid mistake and noted Mrs. Gould’s Sun-
bird as being common. The latter bird is in fact extremely rare here.
Dicaem ignipectum: Firebreasted Flowerpecker.
Very common this spring from February 25 onwards. The numbers
seem to vary greatly in different years.
Pitta nipalensis ;: Bluenaped Pitta.
A female shot at Godavari, 5,600 ft. on January 28. This is the
only one seen. |
—— ——
* In the Konkan it sometimes builds in Casuarina trees (Casuarina equesetifolia),
but this is decidedly uncommon.—Eps.
670 JOURNAL, BOMBAY ‘NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Picus chloroiophus : Small Yellownaped Woodpecker.
A male shot by a little boy with a catapult and drésenited® to me
on February 5 was the first one I had seen in the Valley. Have since
seen it on Nagarjung uttering the most peculiar call, a trill of 5 or
more ascending notes. If I had not seen it calling I should have
thought the call to be made by some variety of cuckoo. Also utters
a loud ‘quaaa’ at intervals. Has, moreover, a wide range of more
woodpecker-like trills, and it also drums.
Rhopodytes tristis ; Himalayan Greenbilled Malkoha.
March 20 and 29 in our garden, very tame, and uttering at intervals
of 4 to 6 seconds a most peculiar croak.
Caprimulgus indicus: Jungle Nightjar.
Common on Nagarjung. First heard calling mid March, but night-
jars are seen on this mountain all winter, and I think this species is
resident.
Falco peregrinus peregrinator ; Shahin Falcon.
Seen for the first trme this summer. In our garden May 21; on
the hills at 7,000 ft. on May 27. It is smaller and very much darker
than the race which visits the Valley in winter. The bird seen flying
on the hills was almost black with a very conspicuous cheek stripe.
Falco severus; Hobby. y
Arrived in our garden this year on May 30, a day later than in
1948.
Elanus coeruleus: Blackwinged Kite.
Seen once only on June rst in our garden.
Sphenocercus sphenurus; Wedgetailed Green Pigeon.
A single bird shot on Nagarjung at ©,000)it- On. Aprill:2 iamaenave
often caught glimpses of green pigeons before without being sure of
their identity. They are often heard whistling in the hills during April
and May.
Gennaeus leucomelanus: Nepal Kalij Pheasant.
Common on Nagarjung, less so on the other hills. At the end of
March they are evidently pairing, as the cocks collect in open places
and challenge other cocks. They make the most extraordinary noises
and appear to dance round in circles.
Unfortunately I have never been able to approach close enough
to see the whole display. There are usually 3 or 4 cocks dancing
and fighting and a half dozen or more hens. On June 4th on Nagar-
jung I saw a cock and two hens and about a dozen tiny chicks.
Although very small, the chicks used their wings when following the
parents downhill and appeared able to fly fairly well. I was surprised
to see the cock with the hens and apparently helping with the chicks.
The dark stripe down the chick’s neck was very consp:cuous.
KATMANDU, NEPAL DESIREE PROUD
June 4, 1951. |
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES é71
20.. OCEANIC AND OTHER BIRDS SEEN ON TWO RECENT
TRIPS. BETWEEN COLOMBO AND ADEN IN 1951
I was so interested to read Mr. W, W. A. Phillip’s paper on the
Wilson’s Storm Petrels, Shearwaters and other sea birds in the Gulf
of Aden and Indian Ocean [jJ.B.N.H.S. Vol. 49 (3)], that I was
moved to keeping a careful diary of the birds seen between Colombo
and Aden on two recent voyages.
It was interesting to compare the complete absence of birds seen
in February with the very large migration that was observed moving
in a southerly direction on August 4, 1951. This migration was
presumably being undertaken by birds leaving their breeding grounds
somewhere in the Persian Gulf.
The following are extracts from my diaries :—
RIMS Orcades:
Homeward Voyage—February 28th to March 5th 1951.
February 28. Sailed from Colombo at midnight. No birds seen
across the Indian Ocean at all.
March 4. 09.00 hrs. ship was off Cape Gardafui—quite a few Red
Sea Blackheaded Gulls seen and 4 elu iees Boobys. There were also
a few solitary terns (unidentified).
March s. Entered Red Sea—Lesser Blackbacked Gulls ; Herring
Gulls (quite a few in juvenile plumage); 2 Red Sea Blackheaded Gulls
and 1 Redbilled Tropic Bird seen. ,
ih M.S. Orion
Outward Voyage. August 3 to August 8, 1951.
August 3. “Sea calm with a swell, weather hazy and cloudy. .
09.30 hrs. 2 different species of moths seen on board together with
a locust. | :
09.35-09.50 hrs. A large flock of Wilson’s Storm Petrel seen sitting
upon the sea with others flying around very like Common Switts..
skimming the water.
10.10 hrs. The ship disturbed another large flock of Wilson’s
Storm Petrels.
10.30 hrs. Another large flock of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels seen.
10.55 hrs. Red Sea Blackheaded Gull was following the ship.
11.30 hrs. Ship arrived off Aden. Aden Gulls; juvenile Black-
backed Gulls were seen and a Peregrine was seen to make half-hearted
stoop at the Aden Gulls. ven
16.00 hrs. Ship sailed from Aden. A Brown Booby was seen
fishing just outside the harbour; it dropped into the water from quite
a considerable height and was totally submerged.
A large number of Caspian Terns (? Black head; dark grey mantle ;
flight feathers appeared lighter than rest of wing ; underparts white ;
tail fairly long; bill orange.)
17.50 hrs. A dark chocolate coloured shearwater (Wedgetailed
probably) with a flock of Wilson’s Storm Petrels.
18.10 hrs. A solitary black storm: petrel was..seen, but not
identified.
672 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Yol. 50
August 4. Ship’s position at noon Lat. 12°53’N, Long, 51°21’E.
Sea calm with long swell. In the afternoon the wind freshened and
the sea became choppy becoming rough.
07.45 hrs. A solitary Redbilled Tropic Bird seen.
08.40 hrs. A solitary Palefooted Shearwater seen. (This was a
light brown bird with long pointed wings which it flapped frequently ;
it moved very fast.)
09.30 hrs. A Wedgetailed Shearwater was seen. (This appeared
smaller and darker chocolate than the last species; the flight feathers
were noted as being nearly black in colour.)
Wedgetailed Shearwaters were seen throughout the morning together
with a couple of Palefooted Shearwaters.
10.40 hrs. 4 Bluefaced Boobys were seen. |
15.30 hrs. Large flocks of Dusky Shearwaters were seen. It was
quite apparent that the ship was cutting across a very large southerly
migration of birds as the number seen was impossible to estimate. The
following species were seen in this order of predominance :—Wedge-
tailed Shearwaters, Palefooted Shearwaters, Dusky Shearwaters, Sooty
Terns, Brownwinged Terns and the odd Aden Gulls. This migration
was still continuing until approximately 18.30 hrs. when the volume
of birds noticeably slackened; as the ship was averaging about 19
knots per hour we had proceeded approximately 57 nautical miles since
the start of the migration. The depth of front can therefore be estimated _
at 57 miles across a very close mass of birds. It was, indeed, a most
interesting spectacle.
18.00 hrs. The ship passed Socotra.
August 5. Ship’s position at noon Lat. 11°27’N, Long. 59°10°E.
Sea rough; strong S.W. monsoon wind blowing; weather fine and
clear.
07.00 hrs. A solitary Wedgetailed Shearwater seen.
11.30 hrs. A solitary Pomatorhine Skua (the white markings on the
upper sides of the wings were very prominently noticeable) ; a Wedge-
tailed Shearwater was keeping company with this skua. During the
morning 21 Wedgetailed Shearwaters were seen all of .which were
solitary birds. | ie
14.10 hrs. Wilson’s Storm Petrel (a solitary small petrel which
was black with a white rump and underparts was seen).
16.40 hrs. A solitary tropic bird was seen, it was too far for
definite identification. Another solitary Wilson’s Storm Petrel was
also seen.
18.00 hrs. Wilson’s Storm Petrel—solitary bird. From 14.00
hrs. to 18.00 hrs. g Wedgetailed Shearwaters, all of them solitary,
were seen. ,
August 5. Ship’s position at noon Lat. 9°20’N, Long. 66°35’E.
Sea calmer with moderate long swell; wind had lessened considerably ;
weather fine and clear.
08.00 hrs. Wedgetailed Shearwater, solitary bird seen.
08.20 hrs. Palefooted Shearwater seen (this bird was much lighter
in colour).
10.55 hrs. 2 Palefooted Shearwaters flew in front of the bows
and settled on the water.
11.40 hrs. Another Palefooted Shearwater seen.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES eg
11.45 hrs. 3 Wedgetailed Shearwaters.
11.55 hrs. A Redbilled Tropic Bird was disturbed by the ship and
rose up from under the bows, giving me an excellent view. It had’
a short tail and no streamers. :
During the afternoon a further 9 Wedgetaileq Shearwaters were
seen at odd intervals.
August 7. Ship’s position at noon Lat. 7°56’N, Long. 74°13’E.
Sea calm with light swell; wind slight; weather fine and cloudy.
09.50 hrs. A single Palefooted Shearwater seen. The Palefooted
Shearwaters do not appear so graceful as the Wedgetailed as their
flight is heavier with considerable flapping of their wings. The Wedge-
tailed swerve and glide with great speed along the troughs of the
waves and appear to keep closer to the surface of the water.
14.00 hrs. A Redbilled Tropic Bird seen. (This bird was complete
with streamers in its tail.) No other birds were seen all day.
/
August 8. Ship arrived Colombo at 06.00 hrs.
SUMMARY
The dates of the voyages undertaken by Mr. W. W, A. Phillips
were: homeward—11th to 19th July 1949 and, outward—r3th to 2oth
January 1950; whereas those of mine were: homeward—28th February
to 5th March 1951 and, outward—3rd to 8th August 1951.
In January 1950 Mr. Phillips saw the following species of birds:
Lesser Blackbacked Gull; Herring Gull; Aden Sooty Gull; Large
Crested Tern; Aden Gull; Blackheaded Gull; Dusky Shearwaters ;
Redbilled Tropic Bird; phalaropes; Wedgetailed Shearwater; Poma-
torhine Skua; Brown Booby ; Whitetailed Tropic Bird and Brownheaded
Gull. The majority of these birds were seen in the Gulf ot Aden
and only tropic birds were met within the Ind!an Ocean. In March
1951 I saw no birds whilst crossing the Indian Ocean; this fact, I
consider, was due to most species having left the open ocean for
their breeding grounds.
Mr. Phillips saw quite. a few shearwaters in the Gulf of Aden,
which is comparatively close to land to the north and south; these
birds may have been moving slowly to the north in the vicinity of
the Persian Gulf to breed. I saw no phalaropes on my trip.
It would be interesting to ascertain the local breeding times of
these species mentioned as this may explain the reason why so few
birds were seen by me. Is it possible that the tropic birds breed
at a later date than the other species? Alexander gives the nearest .
breeding grounds of the Redbilled Tropic Bird as the islands in the
Persian Gulf and, the Whitetailed Tropic Bird as on the Mascarine,
Seychelles and Andaman Islands; which may account for the reason
why the Whitetailed Tropic Bird was seen by Mr. Phillips in the
eastern section of the Indian Ocean.
Mr. Phillips expresses his surprise at seeing so many shearwaters
off Colombo in July 1949; I also saw quite a few in August 1951.
In view of the large southerly movement seen by me on 4th August
it may be possible that the birds seen by Mr. Phillips were early
breeders or non-breeding birds.
Alexander states that the Wedgetailed Shearwaters breed at the
Seychelles and Mauritus, which makes it difficult to explain why I
674 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL Hist. SOCIETY, Poi. 50
saw sO Many moving in a southerly direction across the Gulf of Aden.
I feel certain that these birds must have been returning to the open
ocean from their breeding grounds, otherwise I am at a loss to explain
the reasons for such a large movement. Again I am at a loss to
explain the presence of Palefooted Shearwaters as Alexander gives
their breeding locality as the western coast of Australia, the North
island of New Zealand and Lord Howe Island.
On 18th July 1949 Mr. Phillips witnessed a large movement of
Sooty Terns flying in a south-westerly direction, these terns were
also present in the very large movement seen by me on 4th August
1951, but were definitely in the minority.
The species of birds met on both Mr. Phillips’s and my trip appear
to be the same with, of course, a difference in concentration. The. |
large movement seen by me on 4th August was a truly remarkable
sight.
Mr. Phillips stated that on 1gth July 1949 he saw many Wilson’s
Storm Petrels that appeared to be in moult with ragged plumage ;
although I saw many of these birds in August 1951 I did not notice
any with ragged plumages.
IKUTTAPITIYA,
PELMADULLA, CEYLON C. E. NORRIS
October 17, 1951.
REFERENCES
Alexander, W. B. (1928): Birds of the Ocean.
Phillips, W. W. A. (1950): Wilson’s Storm Petrels, Shearwaters and other sea
birds in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Journ. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. 49 (3) ;
503.
21. BIRDS ATTACKING THEIR REFLECTIONS
I was greatly interested in the three communications on this subject
in. the Journal [Vol. 50 (1) 171-174]. May I make a further
comment? I am glad to note that my old friend Mr. Hamid Ali has
had a parallel experience to my own with the Large Grey Babbler in
Delhi. Mr. Cumberlege has, I think, misunderstood me. It is quite
well known that birds will attack their own reflections in a mirror or
in a window. Such instances have been published again and again.
Experiments have been carried out with Blackbirds and other species,
and convincing evidence has been produced to show that it is the sight
of the reflection that causes the attack. I was not questioning this
at all; I was only questioning whether it was the right explanation
in the case of the babbler attacking a hub-cap.
On this essential point the long note from Mr. H. G. Acharya,
recording a very similar experience with Jungle Babblers (Turdoides
terricolor) is of the greatest value and interest. It appears that Mr.
Acharya had not read my note, and did not know how closely parallel
his observations were to mine and those of my friends in Delhi. But
there are important differences. First, at Ahmedabad it appears that
the habit is confined to Jungle Babblers; Large Grey Babblers do
not do it, though they are present. In Delhi, though both species
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 675
are present their roles are reversed. The Large Grey attacks, the
Jungle refrains from attacking. This is surely rather odd.
Mr. Acharya is convinced that it is the sight of the reflection in
the cap that causes the bird to attack. He points out that the curve
of the hub-cap does not distort the picture of the bird. That is true;
‘but it greatly reduces its size. Is it likely that a bird will rush to
attack one of its species which appears to be a long way off? If it
were by nature pugnacious towards its own kind, perhaps; but neither
of the babblers in question is a bird (like the robins or some others)
that drive off their_own kind. On the contrary, they are constantly
feeding in more or less peace with the other ‘sisters’ of their family
party. Yet, suddenly they break away from this peaceful social
behaviour to attack one of their own kind which, if seen at all, is seen
far away. Moreover, as friends of mine and I myself have again
and again noticed, they rush to the attack from a position in which
they cannot possibly see any reflection in the hub-cap.
I confess I am still puzzled. I hope other readers of the Journal
will contribute their evidence. I think very careful and scrupulous
observation will be required if we are to discover the true solution.
144, OAKTREE LANE,
SELLY OAKS, H. G. ALEXANDER
BIRMINGHAM, 29,
December to, 1951.
22. SCENTING POWER OF BIRDS
Since November 1949 there have been published in The Field a
number of letters from correspondents on ‘Scenting Power of Birds’.
Some have said that carrion birds only have this sense of smell,
others that it is evidenced only by seed and insect-eating birds such
as pheasants, pigeons, grouse and others. The latest lJetter—15th
July 1950, p. 110—is from one correspondent with 7 years’ experience
of pursuit of ptarmigan. He says these birds have a very keen sense
of smell, that it is no use attempting to stalk them down wind, that
he and his companions have been on more than one occasion winded
a quarter of a mile away. ‘The latest are two letters in the issue
of 4 November 1950 in which a Major R. H. Welge and Mr. Dugald
Macintyre both make very positive statements as to scenting power
of birds.
Welge says domestic hens detected newly sown peas four inches
below the ground; and Macintyre repeats the statements as to ravens
having a sense of smell so acute as to be able to detect the taint of
human smell on gins—presumably traps of iron—when almost down
on the carrion placed in the trap as bait. He also says that ravens
have a sense of smell so acute that they can move on to hidden carrion
as a pointer dog does on game. One of these two also discredits
Darwin’s experiment as to scenting power of the vulture.
Are all these observers just deceiving themselves, or are their state-
ments to be credited?
Most people think that birds have very little sense of smell. In
‘course of his very interesting and authoritative series, ‘The Study of
15
676 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Indian Birds’ in ten chapters, published in the Society’s Journal, Vols.
33 to 35, Whistler remarked (Vol. 33; 784) ‘Birds as a class are
believed to have little or no sense of smell’.
Here we are in 1950 A.D. and this matter of Scenting Power of
Birds undecided! Vultures, eagles, falcons, hawks, kites; . 7erows =
geese, ducks, junglefowls, domestic fowl, pheasants, partridges, parrots
are all to be found in the several zoological gardens of this country.
{It should not be too difficult to have blinkers-caps made to fit the
species of birds to be ‘investigated’ and so find out what scenting
power is possessed by each of them for the food they are accustomed
to eat.
A suggestion is that, given the necessary interest in the matter,
it should not be too difficult for naturalists, aided by the several
superintendents of the zoological gardens (who would doubtless afford.
all help and facilities) to carry out the experiments and make the
essential careful notes in each case.
As to birds scenting human beings photographers taking photo-
graphs from ‘hides’ do not seem to bother much about that !
What is needed is an expert investigation of the kind carried out
by Capt. Allen Payne regarding ‘The Sense of Smell in Snakes’ which
was published in Vol. 45 (pp. 507-515) of the Society’s Journal.
BANGALORE, R. W. BURTON
August 10, 1950. bb Col. a aeaivendaie
23. CHANGES IN SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF INDIAN BIRDS
The occasion of the publication in the Journal of my ‘Birds from
Nepal 1947-1949’ [49 (3) 1950; 355-417] prompts me to write and
to attempt to explain to the members of the Society why I have
apparently departed so radically from the system of nomenclature familiar
to many students of Indian birds who work with the ‘Fauna’ series.
In a previous number of the Journal [ 47, (4) 1948; 790] it was
announced that the Honorary Editor, Mr. Salim Ali and the under-
signed proposed to start a five-volume handbook on Indian birds. It
has been. agreed between us that the first priority in this cause should
be given to the completion of a Handlist of the Indian birds, and this
I have been currently at work on for some time. The urgency of
this work is manifest to professional workers. The standard work
on Indian birds, the ‘Fauna’ series, published between 1922 and 1930,
was an attempt to modernize the treatment of Indian birds previously
revised in 1889. And yet much of the work of Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker
which made these volumes admirable lay along other lines from those
of bringing the nomenclature up to date. In effect, a good deal of
this technical side of the work was already outdated on its publication.
Ornithology is by no means a regional subject, but unfortunately
some world areas have suffered from regionalism. There are the
International Codes and Rules of Nomenclature, and of course workers
of many other nationalities to be reckoned with in the systematic study
of birds. It is today a quite outmoded process to attempt to work
in a vacuum without regard to these outside and stimulating influences.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 677
Since the publication of the last edition of the ‘Fauna’ series, there
has been a great spate of systematic ornithological research, partially
inspired by the recent advances in genetics and in ethology. New
theories of the technics of evolution have come to light, and in addition
at present there is an outstandingly active generation of professional
ornithologists. These workers today are publishing papers on families
and lesser groups of birds often rather removed from the Indian sub-
region, but which bear by implication on Indian systematic problems.
A study of African bulbuls, for example, may reveal relationships in
that group which require the suppression of a generic name. The
combined genus may have two identical specific or subspecific names
requiring under the International Rules, the suppression of the latter
of the two, with the consequent introduction of some little-known pre-
viously suppressed old name, or the erection of a new name. These
tedious, extraneous and troublesome details (from a field naturalist’s
point of view) have to be ironed out and brought up to date if nomen-
clature as such is to continue to exist.
So much for changes in names. The question of the order in which
birds should be listed is perhaps even more arbitrary. The class Aves.
is a great mushroomed, sprawling aggregation of families, some obvi-
ously related, others of questionable relationship, which is certainly not
subject to linear arrangement. No proper family tree can be diagnosed.
The mere listing of birds means running out each branch to the
terminal twigs, and then retracing one’s steps back to the main trunk to:
seek the next nearest branch in the order, and so on and on. Personal
opinion obviously enters as regards which branch to follow first,
second and so on.
The order itself has changed a great deal. That followed by the
immortal ‘Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum’ may still be
preferred by some. Others may choose that of Hartert in his ‘Die
Vogel der palaarktischen Fauna’. Currently among students of world
birds it seems that most do or will follow the order and arrangement
of families proposed by Wetmore and followed largely by Mr. J. L.
Peters in his ‘Check-List of Birds of the World’ (Harvard University
Press, seven volumes now published). This arrangement commences
with the most primitive families and leads up to the most advanced,
though as to the exact sequence to follow there will probably continue
to be arguments for many generations to come. This is the order
being followed by authors working on checklists of neighbouring areas
such as Burma (Smythies), the Indo-Chinese subregion (Deignan), Indo-
China (Delacour), Malaya (Gibson-Hill) and Ceylon (Phillips). It seems
far wiser, therefore, to make a definite and thoroughgoing break with
the traditional arrangement of Indian bird families and swing into
line with the main stream of world opinion on such matters. Only
harm will be done by continuing to remain in the old mould, (and this
I say consciously, as a distant kinsman on my mother’s side of A. O.
Hume). It is for the above reasons that I have been bending
every effort to bring the Indian Handlist up to date, and to speed its
appearance.
‘KILRAVOCK’
LITCHFIELD, CONNECTICUT, U.S.A. > DILEON RIPLEY
July 28, 1951.
678 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
24. THE ORTHOGRAPHY OF ENGLISH NAMES OF BIRDS
In any Handlist, Checklist or any other list of birds, the incon-
sistencies shown in the orthography of the popular names is always
a matter for wonder. Thus, in one Checklist which I saw recently,
the ‘ following appeared on opposite pages, ‘Water-Hen’ and
‘Watercock’. Similarly, person may write ‘Sea Eagle’ in one
place and ‘Eagle-Owl’ or even ‘Eagle-owl’ in another.
In an attempt to bring some order out of chaos, the following
‘Rules’ are submitted for the consideration of the Editors and other
readers of this journal. In framing them Simplicity, Clarity and
Consistency have been regarded as of fundamental importance.
A: Nouns
Where the name of a bird consists of two Nouns, the w6?ds should
be joined by a hyphen, thus :-—
Serpent- -eagle, Magpie-robin, Hawk-cuckoo, Eagle-owl, Hen- perce,
Snow-pigeon, Scops-owl, Fish- owl and so on.
For the sake of simplicity it is suggested that the second noun be
written entirely in lower case.
The exceptions to this Rule would be:-—
(i) Where constant usage has made a different form familiar,
e.g. Peafowl, Nuthatch, Nutcracker, Stonechat, Flycatcher, Wood-
pecker, Sandpiper.
The Rule of simplicity would appear to demand the elimination of
the hyphen wherever possible and, to my mind, this, in most cases, could
be applied. Clarity, however, forbids the writing together of two words,
one of which ends and the other begins with a vowel, for example,
‘Eagleowl’. A name which is a borderline case is ‘Laughingthrush’ :
laughing’ being a present participle can be used as either a verbal
adjective or a noun. If it is regarded as a noun the word should be
written ‘Laughing-thrush’; if an adjective, ‘Laughingthrush’ or
‘Laughing Thrush’. [See Rule B (1)]. I favour ‘Laughing-thrush’.
(ii) Where a proper name is used, as in the examples that follow,
the hyphen should be omitted and the words written separately each
beginning with a capital letter, thus:
Nicobar Pigeon, Sarus Crane, Shahin Falcon.
B: ADJECTIVES |
(1) A single qualifying adjective should be written, as in common
practice, apart from the noun, e.g. Rosy Pastor, Green Loriquet.
Exceptions would be those which usage has joined and no man can
now put.asunder, e.g. Bluechat, Greenshank, Redshank, Whitethroat,
Bluebird.
_ {2) Where there are two qualifying adjectives, I am of the opinion
that, they should be written together, thus:
Whitebellied Sea-eagle, Bluetailed Bee-eater, Whitebreasted Water-
hen, Whitecollared Kingfisher.
(3) Where the description requires the use of more than two words,
€larity ‘réquires’ the’ use of hyphens, thus:
Black-and-Yellow Grosbeak, Black-and-Orange Flycatcher.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 679
In submitting the above proposal, I realise that rules have an
awkward way of producing exceptions and keys have a habit of opening
more than one lock. It is also realised that a certain amount of
arbitrary procedure goes into the forming of these ‘rules’, although
careful attention has been paid to usage. It is submitted, however,
that some consistency in the writing of popular names is desirable
and a beginning in that direction ought now to be made.
Bompay, | W. T. LOKE
November 4, 1951.
25. BULL FROG (RANA TIGRINA DAUD.) PREYING UPON
THE COMMON TOAD (BUFO MELANOSTICTUS SCHNEID.)
A captive specimen of a well-sized Rana tigrina Daud. swallowed
two adult Bufo melanostictus Schneid., its fellow captives. There was
an interval of 15 days between the two feeds.
The above specimens were kept in the museum’s workrooms and
intended for modelling. They were daily fed on cockroaches (Peri-
planeta Sp.)
BomBay, Vo KSCHAKI
December 14, 1951. Asst. Curator
26. NOTES ON THE BIONOMICS OF THE RED GOBY,
TRYPAUCHEN VAGINA BLOCH & SCHNEIDER
(With a text figure)
In his account of the Gobioid Fishes of the Gangetic Delta, Hora
(1936) described the ecology and bionomics of ten species of gobies.
from the Uttarbagh area on the Piali river, one of the estuarine creeks
a few miles on a motorable road from Calcutta. He referred to Try-
pauchen vagina, but, since specimens of this species were not available
to him at Uttarbagh, its ecology and bionomics were not dealt with
by him. The writer was, however, lucky to obtain specimens from
the Calcutta markets and Port Canning, about 20 miles south of Calcutta,
and also from the fixed engines or Chinese dip-nets operated at the
mouth of the Cochin Harbour on the West Coast. As our knowledge
of the bionomics of this species is meagre, the following observations.
‘seem worth recording.
Trypauchen has a wide distribution, extending from the Persian
Gulf, along the coasts of India, to the Indo-Australian Archipelago and
China. Koumans (1941) has given a list of localities whence this
species has been recorded from India. It is generally found frequenting
the coasts, estuaries and lower courses of brackish water streams,
canals and creeks. Though essentially a euryhyaline species, it is
occasionally found to push its way up rivers into waters that are nearly
Om quite fresh.
Its zonation in relation to the other estuarine Gobioids is similar
to that described for Taenioides rubicundus (Hamilton) by Hora (1936,
~
680 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, sVol. 50
p. 849). It is found living low down on muddy banks between tide
marks and in outlying shallow portions. It moves about by wriggling
in the mud. :
Trypauchen vagina Bloch & Schneider.
(a) Lateral view of head and anterior part of body.
(6) Upper and lower jaw showing arrangement of teeth.
(c) Alimentary canal.
The mouth of Trypauchen vagina is superior and oblique, the lower
jaw being very prominent (figure a). Both jaws are fringed with two
or three rows of teeth, of which the outer row is sharp and caninoid
(figure b). Behind the rows of teeth in either jaw, a membranous flap
is present. The markedly upturned nature of the mouth may help
the fish to respire even while completely hidden in the mud, with only
a part of the head showing in the water. The wide and unspecialised
gill-openings suggest that the fish breathes continuously and can pass
out muddy water without clogging its gills. Due to its oblique nature,
the mouth offers least hindrance to progression through the mud.
In correlation with its mode of life in the muddy waters, the eyes
have also undergone considerable reduction and, in some of the speci-
mens, are hardly recognisable. On either side above the operculum
is a cavity or blind pouch, which is probably sensory in function. The
pelvics, which are jugular and partly fused to the ventral surface of
the body, are also reduced to a certain extent.
The alimentary canal, which is slightly convoluted, showed practically
no variation in the nature and disposition of the coils (figure c). The
length of the gut roughly ranges from o.4 to 0.6 in the total length
of the fish. The stomach is only 1/1oth to 1/12th in the length of the
alimentary canal. The short nature of the alimentary canal
is suggestive of a carnivous diet. The inner wall of the stomach
is produced into a number of longitudinal ridges or folds. In some
specimens, the stomach was empty though the intestine had digested
food in it. This suggests that feeding is not only intermittent, but
that the digestive action is also rapid.
The stomach contents of 36 specimens of T. vagina were examined
and it was found that the fish feeds mainly on Polychaete worms. Along
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 681
with the semidigested food, plenty of sand particles were also present.
The sand may probably have been derived from the Polychaete worms
on which the fish feeds. Bits of algae were found in the stomach of
two of the specimens. As none of the other specimens examined showed
any trace of phytophagous remains, its stray occurrence suggests that
it had been accidently taken in along with other food.
Of interest is the fact that in the stomach of one of the specimens
measuring 128 mm., an entire young Ophichthys, about 58 mm in
length, was found. That the prey had been taken in a short while
prior to the capture of the fish is certain, because no digestive action
Seems: to. Mave taken place. » It isttlikely’ that ~the prey «had-> been
swallowed when both fish were in the net together.
The approximate percentage of food in the specimens examined
is as follows: Polychaete remains 65%; digested pulpy mass: 20%
and sand particles and other food 15%.
It may therefore be surmised that Trypauchen frequents muddy
areas and is carnivorous in habit, feeding mainly on Polychaete worms.
ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, be Gaol AS
MC ALCUITA.
RUE FE RECN CoE S
Davey be (8716) :.% Bish, India, 1, py 320:
Hamilton, B. (1822): Fish. Ganges, p. 33 and 365.
Hora, S..L. (1924): Notes on Fishes in the Indian Museum. VI. On a New
-genus of Gobioid Fishes (Subfmaily Trypauchenidae) with notes on related forms.
Rec. Ind. Mus., KXXYI, pp. 155-163.
Hora, S. L. (1936): Ecology and bionomics of the Gobioid Fishes of the Gangetic
Delta. C. R. Congr. Inter. Zool., KIT, pp. 841-863.
Koumans, F, P. (1941): Gobioid Fishes of India. Mem. Ind, Mus., XIII,
pp. 305-306.
27a WO RURTHER €ASES OF OBSTRUCTION OF THE
MOUTH] OR THROAT BY “TSE
- The recent report by B. K. Behura and M. A. John on ‘A Curious
Death of a Snake’ (|J.BUN.H-S. Vol. 50,({1);.183]| reminds me of two
-other instances in which fish that were too large to be swallowed
or subsequently disgorged were taken into the mouth.
In 1942, while the guest of a local rancher near Tampico, Mexico,
I noticed that one of my host’s dog's was acting strangely. He examined
the animal and found that it had a large fish lodged in its throat. This
class of Mexicans generally owns numerous dogs for hunting and
other purposes, but the animals can scarcely be classed as pets. They
‘are fed irregularly, if at all, so that they must forage for what they
‘ean find. The ranch was on the banks of the Panuco River, and
‘apparently the fish had been washed ashore dead or dying. The ravenous
‘dog had not taken time to gnaw the fish but had taken it in entire.
The rancher: was unable to dislodge the fish, as it had been ingested
head foremost, and various backward-directed spines were wedged
into the tissues of the throat. These tissues were already grossly
infected, and it seemed that under the conditions there was no choice
682 JOURNAL BOMBAY ‘NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
but to shoot the dog. My host was unwilling for me to ‘waste’ a shot,
however, and since it was his animal I was unable to do more than
sympathise with the suffering beast. The dog lingered about the ranch
house for four or five days, until one morning it suddenly arose,
tottered for a few steps and fell dead.
The second case did not come under my personal observation, but
I heard its details in 1949 in Tampa, Florida, and have no reason to.
doubt their truth. In this instance a Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occiden-
talis occidentalis, had dived for a large fish and succeeded in obtaining
it in its pouch. The fish was too large to be swallowed. The pelican
was unable to disgorge the fish, for the dimensions of its prey
were greater than the widest degree to which the bird could spread
its flexible mandibles. Apparently the force of the dive and the impact
with the fish were great enough to over-distend the mandibles, but
the pelican could not work up an equal counter force to eject the
fish.
After the bird had spent several days at one spot on the water,
being unable to arise in flight and also acting in abnormal fashion,
its behaviour aroused the curiosity of some local fishermen. They
were able to capture the bird. Charged with humanitarian instincts,
they removed the fish from the pelican’s pouch and released the great
bird. It was weakened from hunger and could not launch itself in
flight. The fishermen left the bird to its natural reactions, and the
next day it had disappeared. Whether it recovered from its experience
or had died no one knew.
Now some one else must take up the thread of these fish stories.
BANGALORE, | C. BROOKE WORTH
November 5, 10951.
23. USE. OF FISH SEIME IN STRUCTURE ENGINEERING
Fish by-products such as fish liver oil, fish meal, fish manure,
isinglass, glue, and a host of others are fairly well known. What is
perhaps not so well understood ts the use of fish slime or mucus for
extra strength in the construction of big buildings.
The mucus in question is the one obtained from the body of
Ophicephalus spp.—‘Braal’ (Malayalam). Generally the bigger varieties.
such as U. striatus and O. marulius are used. The mucus is obtained in
the following way: Living specimens are put into a large mouthed
copper vessel {about 5 ft. in diameter and 1 ft. in height) with water.
The quantity of water is determined with reference to the number
of specimens available. Three or four specimens with every gallon
of water gives the proper quantity of glue. The fish are kept in the
vessel for two or three days. Their movements in the limited quantity
of confined water causes the slime on their bodies to enter into solution
with the water. This solution is viscous and sticky. A certain amount
of the slime settles down at the bottom. This assumes a dull greenish
hue. When the solution is found to be sufficiently sticky the specimens
are removed, and the solution stirred well. Locally this mucus solution
is known as ‘Braal pascha’.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 683:
When available in large quantities fish slime is used in the prepara-
tion of mortar or in plastering. Structures built with mortar prepared
in this way have an extra adhesive strength and do not give way
under ordinary conditions. In the construction of domes and other
arched structures, Ophicephalus mucus is of special importance. It
is said that many of the old churches in Travancore-Cochin with arches
and domes were built using Ophicephalus mucus. The use of this
is not so common now as of old, presumably because Ophicephalus
specimens are not obtained in sufficient numbers for large scale
constructions.
Ophicephalus is considered excellent eating all over India. It forms
the mainstay of the natural pond fishery in South India. It is cultured
in several parts of India and is esteemed as excellent food for con-
valescents.
Ex-FISHERY TRAINEE,
CENTRAL INLAND FISHERIES RESEARCH STATION,
BARRACKPORE, AM CAVAN TONY
November 12, 1051.
29.) WARNING OF BUTTERELIES
While out in the jungle the other day, in hilly country some 60
miles NNW. of Madras I came across enormous swarms of a lycenid
butterfly. They were settled along two miles of a red earth forest road
in such profusion that there were large patches of grey all over the
road.
I estimated there were some patches 10 yards long by the whole
width of the road which was about to ft. wide, and each patch must
have contained tens of thousands of butterflies.
The road was dry but not dusty and there had been rain the week
before: |
I enclose a specimen of this butterfly and would be very grateful
if you will identify it for me.
Incidentally there were smaller patches of other buiterflies in the
vicinity, notably Graphium nomius nomius (twenty to thirty in a group),
Graphium doson eleius, Catopsilia crocale, Appias libythea libythea,.
and Papilio demoleus demoleus.
In the same place last year in September I came across enormous
numbers of Papilio polytes romulus oo all drinking on damp ashes.
On this occasion I flopped my net on one patch and caught 57!
c/o GRAHAMS TRADING Co, (INDIA) LTD.,
310/11 LinGHit CHETTY STREET, NE ats Gs DESAY
MADRAS,
July 27, 1951.
{The specimen has been identified as Chilades laius laius Cr., the
Lime Blue. It has a practically overall Indian distribution.—Ebs. |
'684 JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOGIETY,-Vol. 50
30. A CASE OF HETEROPHYEVY IN 457 brace nmr
LONGIFOLIA NEES.
Heterophylly is a characteristic feature exhibited by certain aquatic
plants as well as a few land plants. It has been explained that the
ribbon shaped or finely divided submerged leaves of amphibious plants
represent youth forms and may not be regarded as adaptations to
the surrounding medium.
An interesting case of heterophylly in the seedlings of Asteracantha
longifolia {a plant common in wet places such as rice fields, margins of
tanks etc.) has recently been observed by the present writer. The
Jeaves of this plant are described as entire in text-books and Floras.
In my material the youth forms are broader and deeply dissected while
those that follow later are narrower with a fairly uniform leaf-margin.
There is no mention of this fact in Arber’s Water Plants.
BioLoGy DEPARTMENT,
(GUDIVADA COLLEGE, GUDIVADA, B. S.-M. DUT
November 29, 1951.
31. AN UNUSUAL CASE OF VIVIPARYUIN - REIZOP Ore
MUCRONATA LAMK.
(lVith a plate)
Vivipary is a fixed rule in Rhizophora mucronata Lamk. presumably
owing to its adaptation to the peculiar mangrove habitat. Under
normal conditions only one hypocotyl emerges out of the fruit and
hangs down to a length of about 20 inches.
During our exploration of the mangrove vegetation at Pichavaram
certain cases were met with where the fruits had two hypocotyls.
The occurrence of such unusual specimens no doubt is very rare;
rarity being judged from the fact that after a close search spread
over two years only ten such specimens have been found. Recently,
during one of the trips a single specimen was found with three hypo-
cotyls, hitherto unrecorded.
The anatomy of these viviparous fruits does not appear to have
been worked out so far. It is this aspect of study which is particularly
presented in the present communication.
Normal viviparous fruits (Figs. 1 & 2): The plumule is capped
by a cotyledon, lined by a thick tissue gauzed with reserve food
material shaped like a phrygian cap.
Unusual viviparous fruits with two hypocotyls (Figs. 3 & 4): Kumar
and Joshi! described a similar phenomenon in 1942 in Rhizophora
mucronata Lamk. but they have not given any anatomical details.
This unusual case under reference is beyond doubt a fruit with 2 seeds
which have germinated in situ simultaneously in a viviparous manner.
The two plumules are separately capped (Fig. 3), by their own phrygian
1’ Kumar, L. S. S. and Joshi, W. V. (1942): False ee -embryony in viviparous
Rhizophora mucronata Lamk. Current Science 2 (6):
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
EXPLANATION OF FIGURES
(c=cotyledons ; e=-endosperm; h=hypocotyl; ow--ovary wall; p=plumule).
Fig. 1. Rhizophora mucronata Lamk.: longitudinal section of a normal
viviparous fruit. x2.
Fig. 2. Idem: transverse of the normal viviparous fruit as seen in figure 1. x2.
Fig. 3. Idem: longitudinal section of an unusual viviparous fruit with the
two hypocotyls. Note two separate cotyledons on each plumule, covered by the
endosperm. x2.
Fig. 4. Idem: transverse section of the unusual viviparous fruit as seen in
figure 3. x2.
Fig. 5. Idem: longitudinal section of an unusual viviparous fruit with three
hypocotyls (left one broken in transit). x2.
Fig. 6. Idem: transverse section of an unusual viviparous fruit as seen in
figure 5. x2.
i
.
’
r
.
ry E z
:
J .
E; ~
7 .
Z *
r
,
bd 7
iy
>
‘ ‘
.
2
* Pr ea0
‘
* =
. = F P)
1 ry
. 5 «
%
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 685
capped cotyledons gauzed with reserve food material as in normal
specimens.
Unusual viviparous fruits with 3 hypocotyls (Fig. 5): Such an
unusual viviparous fruit had not been observed before. The fruit
is comparatively big. One of the hypocotyls had broken off in transit.
The three plumules are separate and each one of them is independently
capped with its own cotyledon gauzed with reserve food material
(Figs. 5 & 6). .
Grateful thanks are due to Professor T. C. N. Singh, D.sc., F.B.s.,
Professor of Botany, Annamalai University, for his valuable criticisms
and suggestions in the preparation of this paper.
DEPARTMENT GF BOTANY,
ANNAMALAI. UNIVERSITY, V. R. RAJAGOPALAN
ANNAMALAINAGAR, A, IT. NATARAJAN
November 27, 1951. Research Scholars
322. REPLACEMENT OF INFLORESCENCE BY TURIONS IN
CALDESIA RENIFORME MAKINO.!
(With a plate and 3 text figures)
Turions, which were regarded as adaptations of the plant to tide
over the cold season, and to ensure vegetative propagation have been
shown to be the result of unfavourable conditions by Goebel (18q1-
1893). And the relation which these turions bear to the flowers and
inflorescence is of interest. Gliick (1906) has recorded the production
of an ordinary turion at the apex of an inflorescence which had become
submerged. In Alismaceae and some other hydrophytes the connection
between flowering and vegetative reproduction is well shown (Arber,
1920; p. 224). In Echinodorus ranunculoides (Alismaceae) a plant
of America and Africa, transitions between inflorescence and vegetative
offshoot occur. And in Caldesia parnassifolia (Alismaceae), which is
widely distributed in Southern Europe, the inflorescence may be trans-
formed into an axis bearing turions. According to Gliick as referred
to by Arber the transformation of inflorescences into vegetative shoots
takes place as the depth of water increases.
Caldesia reniforme Makino. (=Alisma reniforme Don.) is a plant
that is widely distributed throughout the plains of India, and ascends
to 5,000 ft. in Kashmir and Kumaon. In a number of specimens of
Caldesia reniforme that were collected by the author from a tank
in Bhadgaon in Nepal this year (1951) in early May, the turions have
replaced the flowers on the floral axis either in part or completely.
As Caldésia reniforme is quite common in India, and the occurrence
of turions in this species has not been reported so far, the author
thinks it proper to describe them. Interest also lies in that the present
observations support the view that with the increase in the depth
of water the inflorescence is progressively transformed into vegetative
* Makino in Bot. Mag. Tokyo 20: 34, 1906.
686 JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HIST: SOCKET Y, Vol, 50
turions. ‘The complete transformation of the inflorescence into an axis
bearing turions in this species is exactly as occurs in Caldesia parnas-
sifolia.
It is quite necessary to give, in brief, the ecological conditions
under which the plants were growing. The tank which is about 650 ft.
in length and 300 ft. in breadth 1s approximately 20 ft. deep in the
middle. Towards the margin the depth gradually decreases, as the
sides are bounded by steps. The tank supports a Caldesia reniforme
—Utricularia sp. association, with the rare occurrence of a Hydrilla.
The vegetation is 3-4 ft. away from the sides of the tank. The water
is very clear and is used by the populace for washing and bathing, and
this may be the reason for the vegetation being away from the sides
of the tank. The vegetation is not very dense, and near the fringes
the plants are sparse. On April 4, 1948, when the author first visited
Bhadgaon and collected specimens of the species the association was
the same and he did not come across any specimen with flowers or
turions.. “Itis, thus, quite evident that the flowering. time Tor the
species in this part of the Himalayas is somewhere about the middle
or end of April; and is, consequently, much earlier than the flowering
time in Kumaon, where it is in June.
Fic. 3 Fic. 4 Fic. §
Caldesia reniforme
The flowers are in large whorled panicles. In photo 1 the in-
florescence bears normal flowers at the top of the floral axis and in
the lower portions of the axis, the flowers have been replaced by
turions (a, b and c). In photo 2 the complete replacement of
the flowers by turions all over the main axis has taken place. Some
of the turions have sprouted as well (a, b and c). The structure of
each turion before it sprouts consist of a short axis on which scale
leaves are alternately arranged (Fig. 3). The number of scale leaves
on each turion varies from 6 to 10, but commonly there are 8 or 9 of
them. The basal scale is always the smallest and approximately of
the size of a normal sépal. The other scales are gradually bigger.
The turions sprout even when they are still attached to the main
axis (Photo 2 a, b and cc). But the largest number of sprouted turions
collected have been those which had separated from the parent plant.
In some cases the main axis begins to rot from the base with. the
result that the turions attached to the detached axis begin to sprout
‘pajnoids savy yoy
MA JO 90S ‘SUOTIN] SUIMOYS
°e
‘six SoWOdSaTOWUl
dY1 UO SUOCTIN} PUL SIOMCLH [eUIZOU SUIMOYG “I
‘005 ‘ISIH ‘JUN Avquog ‘uanoe
cry
Saag
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 687
and form roots (Fig. 4). Normally a sprouted turion bears roots
from the middle of its axis and normal foliage leaves are developed
at the apex (Fig. 5). In turions, that sprout when attached to the
healthy main axis, roots are not developed early.
For valuable suggestions and criticisms the author is deeply indebted
to Dr. V. Puri, who has been the source of encouragement.
BOTANY DEPARTMENT,
MEERUT COLLEGE, . M. BANERJI
November 1, 1951.
i BOF CE-RAE N © 3S
i Aeberee\. (1920)2 Water Plants.
12. Glick, H. (1906): Biologische und morphologische Untersuchungen. tiber
Wasser—und Sumpfgewachse II Untersuchungen uber die mitteleuropaischen
Utricularia—Arten tiber die Turionenbildung bei Wasserpflanzen, sowie uber Cerato-
phyllum. Jena 1906.
13. Goebel, K. (1891-1893): Pflanzenbiologische Schilderungen. Marburg, Lief.
Ee soie Met. 1,393.
4, Safeeulla, K. M., & Govindu, H. C.. (1949): Occurrence of turions in Elodea
canadensis. Curr, Sci. 18 (11), 414-415.
5.-Lakshmanan, C. (1951): A note on the occurrence of turions in Hydrilla
verticillata. Journ. Bom. Nai. Hist. Soc. 49 (4) 202-803.
1 As referred to by Arber in ‘Water Plants’, originals being not available to
the author.
NOTES AND NEWS
We regret to announce the death on 24 March at his home in
Tunbridge Wells, England, of Mr. W. S. Millard, one of the oldest
members of the Society and its Honorary Secretary from 1906-1920.
A fuller obituary note will appear in our August number.
* * * *
At the invitation of the President of the International Committee
for Bird Preservation, the Government of India have set up a
National Section for Bird Preservation, (vide Gazette Notification No...
22 (3)/51 SRII dated 17th December 1951) to assist the international
body in its objective of stimulating active interest for more adequate
protection of India’s bird life. Government have directed that the
national committee shall function under the aegis of the Bombay
Natural History Society and maintain international contacts through
the Ministry of Natural Resources and Scientific Research, New Delhi.
The constitution of the committee is as follows:
1. Mr. Salim Ali (Chairman)
2. WMine 3H IP Gee, Assam
3. Dr. Satya Charan Law, Calcutta
4. A representative of the Forest Research Institute
5. A representative of the Zoological Survey of India
6. A representative of the Zoological Society of India
7. Mr. C. E. Hewetson, Conservator of Forests, Bastar, Madhya
Pradesh
8. Mr. Horace Alexander, Delhi
g. Two university professors of zoology, each to be nominated
by the National Institute of Sciences of India and the Inter-University
Board respectively.
It is a matter for gratification that the Society’s services in the
cause of bird protection in India have received official recognition in
this manner, and it is to be hoped that the national committee, with
the co-operation of the international body, will further help in inten-
sifying and making more effective our efforts. There is urgent need
for action in the case of several bird species and habitats which are
threatened with extinction or with unwise over-exploitation to the
detriment of their native bird faunas.
The Indian National Committee expects to hold its first meeting
shortly when plans for priorities and action will be discussed. Re-
ports will be published in the Journal from time to time.
* * *
Negotiations with the Central Ministry of Finance (Revenue Division)
have resulted in Government’s approving of the Society for purposes
a, vg
NOTES AND NEWS 685°
‘of Section 15-B of the Indian Income-tax Act 1922. This in essence
means that donations to the Society of amounts not less than Rs, 250:
will be exempted from income-tax subject to the aggregate of any
such sum not exceeding 1/20th in the case of a company and 1/1oth
ieaidy Other case Of the assessee’s total imeome, “er Rs. 2,50,000
whichever is less. The Executive Committee hopes that well wishers
of the Society will find in this concession just the opportunity they
have been waiting for to make substantial donations 10 the Societv’s
funds and assist thereby not only in furthering its current activities.
but also in building up an adequate reserve for the future.
BRERA ee
THE HILSA FISHERY OF THE CHILKA LAKE
[Published in Vol. 50(2)~-December 1951]
Page Line
‘266 6
268 “Grapholiee:.
269 Graphilt...
2/9 Baral
ast
sentence,
‘PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY V.
18 CHURCH ROAD, VEPERY, MANDRAS—20-5-1952.
EDITORS: SALIM ALI, S. B. SETNA AND H. SANTAPAU
Read
Tua side
Graph II. Showing trend
(i.e. continuous rise or
fall) of flood levels in
the Kathjuri (branch
of the Mahanadi), over
the crest level of the
Naraj Anicut in the
years 1948 and 1949.
Showing rainfall over
the Chilka region in
the years 1948 and 1949
(Average of Gopalpur,
Khurda and Puri).
The success. of this
measure in a rather out
of the way place is not
an easy task, but the
experiment may be
worth trying and its
long range effect worth
studying.
For
Tuaside
Graph II. Showing
rainfall over the
Chilka region in the
years 1948 and 1949.
(Average of Gopal-
pur,- Khurda-- and
Puri.)
Graph III. Showing
trend — - (7.6.7 cone
tinuous rise or fall)
of flood ievels in the
Kathjuri (branch of
the Mahanadi), over
the crest level of the
Naraj Anicut in the
years 1948 and 1949.
The success of this
measure, in a rather
out of trying and its
long range effect
worth studying.’
M. PHILIP AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS
C5421
114 APOLLO STREET, FORT, BOMBAY
NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS
Contributors of scientific articles are requested to assist the
editors by observing the following instructions :
1. Papers which have at the same time been offered for publica-
tion to other journals or periodicals, or have already been published
elsewhere, should not be submitted.
2. The MS should preferably be typed (double spacing) on
one side of a sheet only, and the sheets properly numbered.
All scientific names, to be printed in italics, should be under-
lined. Both in zoological and in botanical references only the initial
letter of the genus is capitalized. The specific and sub-specific names
always begin with a small letter even if they refer to a person or a
place, e.g. Anthus hodgsoni hodgsont or Streptopelia chinensis suratensis
or Dimeria blattert.
Trinomials referring to subspecies should only be used where
identification has been authentically established by comparison of
specimens actually collected. In all other cases, or where identification
is based merely on sight, binomials should be used.
5. Photographs for reproduction must be clear and show good
contrast. Prints must be of a size not smaller than 34 x 24 inches
(No. 2 Brownie) and on glossy glazed paper.
6. ‘Text figures, line drawings and maps should be in Indian ink,
preferably on Bristol board.
7. References to literature should be placed at the end of the
paper, alphabetically arranged under author’s name with the abridged
titles of journals or periodicals underlined (italics), and titles of books
not underlined (roman type), thus ;
Roepke, W. (1949); The Genus Nyctemera Hubner. Trans. ent.
Soc. Lond., 100 (2); 47-70.
Prater, S. H. (1948); The Book of Indian Animals, Bombay.
Titles of papers should not be underlined.
8. Reference to literature in the text should be made by quoting
the author’s name and year of publication, thus: (Roepke, 1949).
g- Synopsis: As recommended by the Royal Society Scientific In-
formation Conference (July 1948), the editors consider it desirable that
each scientific paper be accompanied by a synopsis appearing at the
beginning, immediately after the title. ‘The synopsis should be factual.
It should convey briefly the content cf the paper; draw attention to
all new information and to the author’s main conclusions. It should
also indicate newly observed facts, the method and conclusions of an
experiment, and if possible the essential points of any new finding,
theory or technique. It should be concise and normally nct exceed
200 Words.
When the synopsis is complete it should be carefully revised by
the author to clarify obscurities, and further compressed wherever
possible without detracting from its usefulness.
114 Apollo Street, Fort, EDITORS,
Bombay 1. Journal of the Bombay Natural
History Society.
ot 3
.
«+
Pe THE beni sis
pene
“ anew
Book of fadisn' Li
white plates. a i
ke Birds of India, by Bae. Stuart Baker. Vol. IL
Book of tedian Birds, by Sélim: Ali, with ae
Nae ach edition, ae? and enlarged. |
ea ‘a be Was
ee ‘a
Set of: 12 ‘Coloured Picture Postcards of Commo 1
(Tat ‘Fish. iat
-Circumventing the Mahseer and Other S
_ Burma, ee rots Sg i Macdonald, aoe colour
<
"Snakes,
Identification of Poisonous Snakes— .
F olding Chart.
“S
8 ,
2
Obtainable from: | cds ;
one dipnok at een
London Agents: :
Messrs. Wheldon : & Wesley Lea.,
ye, Life bers pay an entrance { at £
\ ponent AS. SOON s) S se Oa
me Ordinary Members pay an ‘entrance fee of ihe 2 25, cand
tion of Rs. 30. . ;
i _ The subscription of micmbers elected in io cadens
" : covers ey Beeiod from the date of bet election ie, till
ands Me : ap Bid a
: ae
tee oe their Seaections ye means pe pe ‘on he
amount of the subscription, plus postage—in all Rs. ;
Bombay on the 1st January in each year. If this 1
of £2-8-0 should be paid annually to the Society’s Lo: 1d
National Bank of India S eborseste Beh lod ame
ve
506. 54
JOURNAL OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
Vol. 50, No. 4
Editors
sALIM ALI, S. B. SETNA, H. SANTAPAU
Zeonsonigp
NOV 4- ig
| LigraRnl 7
SPECIAL 50th ANNIVERSARY
ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL
AUGUST 1952
| Rs. 20
~ INDIAN MOLLUSCS
‘james Hornell, F. L. S. 3 R. A. is
_ AN attractive booklet of 96 pages
(9: in. x 63 in.) with 2 coloured ||
plates and 70 line drawings inthe |
text illustrating and describing a Bl ieee
the shells and shellfish found
Indian coastal and fresh waters:
Price Bs. OW. a
(Rs. 4-8 to Members) _
- BREEDING BIRDS OF
KASH MIR
2 ~ , .
< a ae Ye
A - je =
.
.
R Scar: Bates & & H. N. Lowther _
IIlustrated with 51 photographs —
by the authors and 5 coloured
: plates by D. V. Coheed
Price Rs. 25/- net__ ro
te Apply to : ghee
apie 91 Bombay | “hattrat History. Sodiety
| 414 Apollo ‘Street, Bombay 1
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50, No. 4
FRONTISPIECE
EDITORIAL ates ips ; oat aoe
DEEP-SEA OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION IN INDIAN WATERS. By
-Lieut.-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell, C.1.E., £¢.D., F.R.S. (With a chart
and two plates) : ;
TuE CLIMATE OF INDIA. By 8. K. Barerji, 0.B.#., D.Sc., F.N.I., F.R.M.S.,
F.aAsc. (With five plates, cne text figure and a graph)
THE DESERT LOCUST AND ITS CONTROL. By Hem Singh Pruthi, ph.p ,
sc.p. (Cantab.), F.N.I., F.A.S., and D. R. Bhatia, m.sc. (Hons.), F.#.s.1.
(With one coloured and two black-and-white plates) ie
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN InpiA. PartI. By N. Kesava Panikkar. (With
eight plates) BA oe a. Lz
THe HISTORY OF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLCGY. Part I.
Mammats. By Sir Norman Kinnear, c.B. (With three plates)
THe HistoRyY OF BIRD-PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA. By R.S.P. Bates and
E. H.N. Lowther. (Wzith seven plates) te tee
PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS WITH THE HIGHSPEED FLASH. By W. T. Loke.
(With five plates) ae oe as es ie
THE Genus POA LINN. IN INDIA. FPartI. By N. L. Bor. (With three
plates and thirteen text figures) es au asé
THE FLIGHT OF EaGLes. By C. H. Donald. (With three plates)
A History OF SHIKAR IN INDIA. By Lieut.-Col. R. W. Burton, 1a.
(Retd.). (With four plates) — af Ss
. Notes oN THE GENUS SALICORNIA Linn. (CBENOFOTIACEAE), By
Charles McCann, F.L.s. (With two plates)
Mosouiro WORK IN INDIA. By Sir Gordon Covell, M.D., D.P.H.
FUNCTIONAL DIVERGENCE, STRUCTURAL CONVERGENCE AND PRE-ADAP-
TATION EXHIBITED BY THE FISHES OF THE CVYFRINOID FAMILY
PSILORHYNCHIDAE Hora. By Sunder Lal Hora, p.sc., F.R.S.E,,
C.M.Z.S., M.I, BIOL.,* F.Z.S.1., F.AeS., F.N.I. (With two text figures)
BUTTERFLY COLLECTING IN INDIA. By M., A, Wynter-Blyth, F.R.E.S,
(With a coloured plate) ‘ cg = a
New Finps oF Inpran Cucurpirackar. By H. L, Chakravarthy, shes
(Edin.), F.L.S. (With five plates anda text f igure) Bs
VANISHING AND EXTINcT Birp § ;
Revise trdizek sidien esac Inpria. By S. Dillon Ripley.
THE HISTORY OF HERPETOLOGY IN INDIA. _ By Malcolm.A, Smith, M.R.c.§
L.R.C.p, (London) , ‘S.,
OBITUARIES :—
W.S. Millard. (Plate). By Norman'B. Kinnear
E.H.N. Lowther. (Plate), By R.S.P.B.
»
PAGE
691
705
718
910:
913
ii CONTENTS OF VOLUME 50, No. 4
PAGE
REVIEWS :—
1. MyIndia. By Jim Corbett. (R.W.B.) aoe . act ae Oe
2. ‘The Pheasants of the World. By Jean Delacour.~- (S.A.) scar MOLT
3. Pharmacognosy of Ayurvedic Drugs of ‘Travancore-Cochin.
Series 1. (Published by the Central Research Institute, Trivan-
drum, 1951). (H. Santapau, S.J.) = 920
4. Head and Thorax of Stensbracon deesae. Ey S. Mashhood Alam.
PartI. (S. Mahdihassan) von wae » SOT
5. The Butterfly Fauna of Ceylon. By L.G.O. Woodhouse. 2nd
(Abridged) Ed. (M. J. Hackney) é SM ce |
6. The Story of Animal Life. By Maurice Burton, p.sc. (D.E.R.) .... 923
ADDITIONS TO THE SOCIETY’S LIBRARY SINCE JANUARY 1952... FOS
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—
1. Some Tiger incidents. By H. R. D. Robey (p. 927). 2. Post-script
on ‘ Rabies in Tiger’. By C. Brooke Worth (p. 929). 3. A record of the
Cheetah (Acinonyx 7ubatus Erxleben) in Chitoor Dist., Madras State. By
K. M. Kirkpatrick (p. 931). 4. The ‘Dipping’ habit of the Tapir (Zapirus
indicus Cuv.). By Humayun Abdulali (p. 932). 5. An Elephant’s stride.
By R. C. Morris (p. 933). 6. Measurements of an Indian Bison head (260s
gaurus). By H.G. Hundley (p, 933). 7. The record spread of Gaur horns
(Bibos gaurus). (With a photo). By B. Subbiah Pillay (p. 935). 8. Cattle
diseases and Wild Life. By R. C. Morris (p. 936). 9. A ‘Red’ Porcupine. By
Harold Colam (p. 937). 10. The Diary and Sporting Journal of W. P. Okeden,
1821-1841. By R. W. Burton (p. 938). 11. Strange behaviour of a House-
crow (Corvus splendens). By Dinsha J. Panday (p. 939). 12. The mating
habits of the House-crow (Corvus splendens) and Pied Myna (Sturnus
contra). By (Mrs.) Jamal Ara (p. 940). 13. Possible association between ~
the Large Yellownap2d Woodpecker (Picus flavinucha) and the Large
Racket-tailed Drongo (Dissemurus paradiseus). By R.S.P. Bates (p. 941).
14. A Canary’s curious reaction to yellow. By Editors (p. 942). 15. Koels
( Zudynamis scolopaceus) eating the poisonous fruit of the Yellow Oleander.
By M. Krishnan (p. 943). 16. Does the adult Cuckoo ever assist in feeding its
offspring ? By D. G. Lowndes (p. 945). 17. Occurrence of the Cinereous
Vulture (Aegypius monachus Linnaeus) in Kaira Dist., Gujarat. By Hers- |
chel C. Aldrich, M.D. (p. 945). 18. Reappearance of the Little Indian Red
Turtle-dove (Streptopelia tranquebarica tranguebarica Hermann) in Ceylon.
By W. W. A. Phillips (p. 946). 19. Occurrence of the Avocet (/ecurvirostra
avosetta Linn.) in Assam. By (Mrs.) D. Sendall (p. £47). 20. The White-
tailed Lapwing (Chettusia leucura) near Bombay. By Humayun Abdulali.
(p. 947). 21. Occurrence of the Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus
chirurgus Scop.) in Nellore Dist., Madras. By K. M. Kirkpatrick (p. 947).
22. Birds attacking their reflections. By (Mrs.) Margaret Rivers (p. 948).
53. Bird migration in India. By Editors (p. 949). 24. Large stone in
stomach of Crocodile. By K.S. Dharmakumarsinhji (p. 950). 25. Locali-
zation of the striped variety of the Roughtailed Earthsnake—Uvopeltis
macrolepis (Peters)—to Mahableshwar, .By V. K. Chari (p. 950). 26. Apose-
matic Butterflies protected by the poisonous qualities of their larval food-
plants. By D. G. Sevastopulo (po. 951). 27. Notes on the Lepidoptera of
Assam—I. By ‘Il. Norman (p. 952). 28. Mature larva of Pales townsendi
Baranoff (Diptera: Tachinidae). (With a plate). By R. N. Mathur (p. 953).
99, Probable odour trails in Termites (Isoptera). By H.S. Vishnoi (p. 955).
30. On the occurrence of the freshwater Medusa in the Krishnarajasag ar on
the Cauvery. By D.R. Krishnamurthy (p. 955). 31. Notes on the genus
Ludwigia Linn. By Charles McCann (p. 956). 32. Longevity of Succulents
in herbaria. By C. McCann (p. 958). 323. Wild life preservation. By
R. W. Burton (p. 959).
Nores AND NEWS... one Sc eee Sas «sr 962
NoricE TO CONTRIBUTORS oe ee iz Inside back cover.
es
by
ee: . 5 7 E IVT pvscvs Vuk
Apo ae
IULOAYIOIY
HOHId SILNOY “00S “LSI ‘IVN AVANOG ‘NuAOf
JOURNAL
OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
1952 VoL. 50 No. 4
EDITORIAL
The Society’s Journal which has maintained uninterrupted publica-
tion for the last 66 years completes its fiftieth volume with the present
issue. This surely is an occasion for justifiable pride. From small
beginnings—four parts of Vol. I published in 1886 contained only
234 pages —it has grown to imposing proportions, the average number
of pages in the last 10 volumes being 774.
For a natural history publication conducted by a private society
purely out of revenues derived from its membership subscriptions,
with practically no financial aid from Government or extraneous sources,
this is indeed a praiseworthy achievement. Add to this the general
lack of interest in natural history in India that had to be contended
with tor keeping up the Society’s membership strength, also the fact
that contributions for publication were gratis and voluntary and there-
fore not always to be depended on—and the achievement becomes
doubly creditable.
The contributions to the Journal at first consisted largely of sporting
and popular articles written mostly by members of the Society who
were generally observant sportsmen and field naturalists—‘amateurs’
it is true, but in the best sense of the term. The scope of these con-
tributions has steadily expanded, and serious scientific papers by
acknowledged experts have now become a regular feature of its pages.
Finally, the fact that throughout the years the editors of the
Journal have all been entirely honovary—business or professional men
with plenty of enthusiasm but limited time at their disposal—is not
the least notable feature of this remarkable achievement..
The membership of the Society does not consist of scientific men
alone, nor does it consist of sportsmen pure and simple, nor altogether
of persons who look upon natural history merely as an amusing
pastime. It is a conglomerate of all these types. And this is not
all, for while readers of the Journal include some who are mainly
interested in large game animals, the interest of others centres chiefly
on plants or snakes or butterflies or birds. Every branch of the
study of animal or plant life, moreover, has its devotees among them.
Some are interested in problems of evolution or systematics and
taxonomy, others in field study and ecology, others in morphology
692 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL UIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 30
and laboratory experiments, others in economics and _ applied
biology or some other line of study, and yet others in shooting, fishing
or nature photography. The effort to cater for all these polyglot tastes
makes the task of editing the Journal one of absorbing interest, but
by no means easy. The problem always is to maintain the golden
mean, and the difficulties involved in the effort are such as the casual
reader can have but a vague conception of. Since the journal does
not pay for contributions, it is seldom in a position to pick and choose
material to any large extent; nor is it always possible to publish
articles strictly in rotation as they are received. Such delay some-
times causes dissatisfaction among contributors, and in some cases,
where, for instance a new species is described, deferred publication
may ‘even constitute a genuine grievance. It may happen that one
particular issue contains a preponderance of articles on birds, or
plants or fish or what have you; or it may contain more articles on
s¥stematics or morphology—‘dry-as-dust’ as they are commonly
dubbed—than perhaps the average reader or field student cares to be
inflicted with. A howl goes up immediately. One member com-
plains that the Journal is getting much too ‘high brow’ for a simple ~
nature lover like him and therefore writes in to ‘Please accept his
resignation from the Society’! Another member complains of a follow-
ing issue that the Journal has descended to the level of a story-telling
magazine and is no longer a truly scientific. publication, therefore he
feels constrained to dissociate his good name from it! And so it
goes. One finds in the journal too much of fish and too little of
birds; another too much morphology and too little natural history ;
and the charges of similar excesses and deficiencies levelled at the
editors are “without end. Our sins of omission and commission are
indeed bewildering! But they are not new, and that the Journal has
survived them during the last 60 years, and even grown from strength
to strength to enjoy the high esteem of scientific workers throughout
the world would seem abounding proof that it has, on the whole,
been conducted along the right lines. This is, of course, not the
same thing as saying there is no room for improvement; the editors
are the foremost to realize this. There are indeed certain directions
in which the scope and desirability for improvement are quite obvious.
For instance, we could easily do with more coloured plates for the
general reader and nature lover, and also with more original and
snappy articles on shikar, scientific expeditions and the out-of-doors
generally. There is no doubt that these would help substantially in
widening the appeal of the Journal and help to develop greater general
interest in nature. But within the limits imposed by hard facts, it is
almost as much as we can do at present to keep going.
Although it is gratifying to find that among the eight original
founders of the Society two were Indians, the lion’s share of the
credit for what it has achieved must nevertheless, go where it belongs.
It was really British members of the business community and services
who, through their keenness on sport and natural history, enabled
the Journal to be born and to survive and flourish.
Scanning the earlier volumes for.names, one finds that the first
Indian contributor to the Journal was Surgeon-Major K. R. Kirtikar,
I.M.S., whose studies on ‘The Poisonous Plants of Bombay’ published
EDITORIAL 69S
serially in 20 parts, led the way to his well known ‘Indian Medicinal
Plants’, written jointly with B. D. Basu. Revised by the late Fr.
Wank) }Caius,.3S.j., one of the) later editors of the Society's! journal,
and published in four volumes, this is still a standard work of re-
ference.
The number of Indian contributors has risen from five in the
first 15 volumes to well over 120 in the last 15. They have now
largely taken the place of British in plants, insects and fishes, on all
of which subjects there is a steady inflow of papers for publication,
many of them of a high scientific standard. Contributions on other
branches of animal life and, particularly, articles on shikar and general
natural history are not of equal volume. Fortunately, we still have
in our midst a number of British sportsmen and field naturalists upon
whom the editors can always rely when material in lighter vein and
free from scientific technicalities is needed to vary the ponderous diet
of ‘dry-as-dust’ specialized fare. Although our countrymen may
number many mighty slayers of tiger and other big game, equalling
and even surpassing British sportsmen of the past, so far there are
scarcely any known to us who, through love of the jungles and inti-
mate study of the ways and habits of wild animals, can wield gun
and pen with the dexterity of such sportsmen-writers of’ the past as
J. D. Inverarity or Reginald Gilbert.
A passage from the Introduction to the very first issue of the
Journal (Vol. I, No. 1, January 1886) seems worth quoting, since
what was true then is perhaps even truer to-day: ‘In accordance
with the character which this Society has assumed from the begin-
ning, the aim of its journal will be, as far as possible, to interest all
students of nature, ever remembering that there are many naturalists,
in the highest sense of the term, who have not such a technical know-
ledge of any particular branch of science as to be able to enter with
interest into questions of nomenclature and the discrimination of
closely allied species. The Secretaries of the Sections would there-
fore invite sportsmen and others to communicate anything interesting
or worthy of note, which comes under their observation, beariig on
the nature and habits of animals and plants.’
Papers on birds have in the past consisted largely of regional lists,
but the recent happy trend of laying greater emphasis on physiography,
habitat and ecology, and detailed field notes on individual species,
has helped to impart more life to the pages of the Journal and added
to their usefulness for students. The increasing use of Champion’s,
‘Forest Types of India and Burma’, constantly advocated by the
editors for fixation and description of biotopes, has tended in some
measure, to minimize diffuseness in the terminology employed by
workers in different branches of animal and plant life. Champion’s
system was primarily devised for foresters, but experience shows that
there is real scope for simplifying and perfecting it for the general
use of field naturalists possessing but little technical knowledge. Since
scientists have to depend so largely for their data upon objective field
observations of the so-called amateurs, the importance of a standard
designation of habitats will be readily appreciated.
694 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL UIST. SOCIHIY WV ol. 50
Departments in which the Journal is to-day poorer than in the
past—besides sport and field natural history—are perhaps Herpetology
(in which we led during the era of Col. Frank Wall, 1.M.s.) and
Mammals, of which, except for some of the larger and more specta-
cular game animals—our knowledge of their habits and life histories
remains lamentably deficient and static.
While on the subject of contributions and contributors it seems
pertinent also to refer to the past editors of the Journal who laboured
so devotedly for its growth and development, and won for .it the
important place it now occupies among scientific journals of the
world. All honour and praise to those men for the traditions they
have built up. They have set high standards, and though it may be
difficult to maintain them, these will ever ‘serve as an inspiration to
their successors and an ideal towards which to strive. The trail
has been clearly blazed for us, and if the same type of co-operation
as our predecessors enjoyed from members and contributors is forth-
coming now, we are confident that our task of maintaining the level
of achievement will be considerably lightened.
THE Epirors’ WHo’s WHEN
A scrutiny of the Journal for the names associated with the
editing of the 50 volumes, from its inception in 1886 to the present
day, reveals as follows:
Vols. I-II (1886-7): R. A. Sterndale & BE. H. Aitken.
», LU-X1(1888-97): HM. Phipson.
5» AII-XVI (1898-1904): H. M. Phipson & W.S. Millard.
» XVII (1907): W. 5. Millard, BE. H. Comber -&, UC ore
Young.
5, AVITI-XXVI (1907-1918): W. S. Millard, R. A. Spence &
N. B. Kinnear.
» AXVII-XXIX (1920-23): R.A. Spence, B.C. Hilson te
. bieaerater:
» XXX (1924):°R. A.-Spence, P. MoD) Sandersomicyo.ebe
Prater.
5» AX (1926): RiWAS Spence; cS. i. Prater.
»» XAXIT (1927-8) 2 RoAsrSpence, P. M: DeSanderson; Ss: "ke
Prater & Salim Ali.
9» ~XXXIEL (1928-9): RAS Spence; S: Hy Prater ic 3Saliae
Ali.
o «609 XAXXIV-KXXXV_ (1930-32): R. A. Spence & S. H.* Prater
9 RAXVI-FXXXVITL © (1932-34) > .R. AS Spence; Es Mee
Sanderson, S. H. Prater & C. McCann.
» S&XXVITI-XL (1935-39): P. M.-D. Sanderson, S. H. Prater;
C. McCann, H. M. McGusty & J. F. Caius.
» XLI-XLITI (1939-43): H. M. McGusty, J. F. Caius &
5.11. Prater:
» XLIV (1943-44): J..F. Caius, 5. H. Prater & C. McCann,
», 40-47 (3) (1944-48): S. H. Prater, C. McCann & Sdélim
Ali.
» 4&7 (4)-48 (2) (1948-49): Salim Ali & S. B. Setna.
» 8 (3)-50 (1949-52): Salim Ali, S. B. Setna & H. Santapau.
EDITORIAL 695:
Happily, as will be seen, we have never had to suffer a clean break
in the chain of editors, so that there have always been one or more
in a new combination sufficiently familiar with the conduct of the
Journal to permit of smooth continuity. This circumstance has helped
appreciably in the maintenance of its general policy and traditions.
hurekprrors: Wio:s WHo
iw Bdward Hamilton. “Atk en, better known ‘as EHA,
hardly requires introducing. As author of several books which have
become almost classics, he enjoys a wide reputation as a naturalist.
‘Behind the Bungalow’, ‘Tribes on my Frontier’, ‘A Naturalist on the
Prowl’ and ‘Common Birds of Bombay’ are amongst his most popular
writings. Indeed EHA is claimed by some to be India’s greatest
naturalist-writer, and a perusal of his books shows that this is by no
means an exaggerated view. He was an exceptionally keen observer
of nature, interested in everything that lived and breathed and posses-
sed the gift of humorous and imaginative, yet scrupulously accurate,
description such as has seldom been surpassed or equalled. When
EHA resigned his editorship of the Journal in 1887, presumably
because of transfer from Bombay, his place was taken by H. M..
Phipson who had in the meantime returned from leave in England.
A very good biographical sketch of EHA by W. T. Loke is given
in the 3rd ed. of ‘The Common Birds of Bombay’ reprinted in 1947
by Thacker & Co. Ltd., Bombay, under the altered title of ‘The Com-
mon Birds of India’.
Sir Norman Kinnear relates that in an obituary notice that
appeared on his death in 1909 in a local newspaper of his provincial
home town in Scotland, EHA was described as an expert on Indian
birds, Bungalow Economy and the Frontier Tribes! How EHA him-
self would have enjoved this description can be imagined by any one
familiar with the spirit of his writings.
2. Fr feanm Ferdinand Caius, 5S2j., a° distinguished bio-
chemist, was Professor of Chemistry in St. Xavier’s College, Bombay,
from 1922, and founder and first director of the Pharmacological
Laboratory at the Haffkine Institute (Government of Bombay) from
1924-1932. He became Honorary Secretary of the Society in 1941 and
served as Chairman of the Sub-Committee of Trustees of the Natural
History Section of the Prince of Wales Museum, and as one of the
editors of the Journal till his death in 1944. He was an indefatigable
worker and among his more outstanding scientific achievements were
the intensive investigations he carried out at the Haffkine Institute
on the therapeutic value of various remedies employed against diseases
caused by hookworm and roundworm, so prevalent in India. His
work has been recognised as the most exhaustive and complete treatise
en the subject and is widely quoted in most text books on pharma-
cology. Another contribution by Fr. Caius was his extensive studies
of the poison apparatus of snakes and of the remedies employed
against snake poisons, particularly those alleged to be efficacious in
the Ayurvedic and Yunani systems of medicine. His experiments.
proved that all of such cures, even those most widely reputed, were
completely ineffective against cobra and viper venom.
69G JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
He contributed a valuable series of articles to the Journal on the
Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of India, and completed the revision
started by the late Fr. Blatter, of Kirtikar and Basu’s ‘Medicinal
Plants. of India’. |
Fr. Caius died in Bombay in July 1944. <A full obituary notice
appears in Vol. 45, pp. 79/80. .
3. Edward Comber, a partner in the Liverpool firm of
East India Merchants, Lyon, Lord & Co., was one of the most active
members of the Society in its early years. He was a great yachtsman,
and keenly interested in birds and insects though his many notes and
articles between Vols. 10 and 20 of the Journal cover practically every
branch of animal life and reveal the wide range of his natural history
interests. Among his contributions is a series ‘Hints to Beginners
on collecting and preserving Natural History Specimens’—Mammals
(Vol. 13; 100), Birds (Vol. 13; 270), Reptiles & Amphibians (Vol. 13;
641) and Fishes (Vol. 17; 396), which by the help they afforded up-
country members, were largely instrumental in building up the
Society’s zoological collections from different parts of the country.
Comber was largely responsiblé for the proper care and cataloguing
of the various collections, lists of which he published in the Journal
from time to time. Also for preparing the first General Index for
Nols. F touXal.
Sir Reginald Spence who was Comber’s contemporary in the early
years, from rogo1 on, and until the latter was transferred to Karachi,
tells us that he did a lot of work in the evenings after office hours in
the Society’s rooms at 6, Apollo Street. In fact his wife once wrote
to him that she was sure this was bad to him. ‘Consider those who
work there’, she said, ‘Mr. Phipson is like a sucked orange, Mr.
Millard a bundle of nerves and as for Mr. Spence “‘why look at him’’’ !
To which it seems irresistible for one of the present editors to add
that Sir Reginald must have looked very different indeed in those
days !
4. N.Bo (now Sir Norman) Kinnear came;out to Indiaman
1907 as the first wholetime curator of the Society. He had had his
training in the Royal Scottish Museum at Edinburgh under the well-
known ornithologist Dr. William Eagle Clarke, and his advent marked
the immediate shift of the Society’s activities to a more scientific plane
through a proper rearrangement, labelling and cataloguing of its
various collections. His staff work in connection with the Society’s
Mammal Survey was invaluable, and the success of the undertaking
is due in no small measure to the care he bestowed on its planning and
direction. His main influence on the Journal was also in the direc-
tion of a greater scientific bias. He encouraged and guided many
young people to develop their particular interests in natural history,
and several of the names that have since gained prominence in its
pages can be claimed to have derived their inspiration largely from
Kinnear. He published numerous notes and short articles in the
Journal on various branches of Indian natural history, and through
country-wide correspondence with outstation members elicited a wide
range of useful and interesting matter for the Miscellaneous Notes
section. .
EDITORIAL 697
Kinnear’s special interest lay in Mammals and Birds, and _ fieid
study in these two branches received a great fillip whilst he was in
the country. Since his return to London he has maintained a lively
interest in the affairs and progress of the Society and rendered valuable
assistance to it in various ways. He has also contributed important
papers on birds of the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions to the Journal
including the report on the Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern
Ghats—written in collaboration with the late Hugh Whistler—which,
by showing up the many gaps in our knowledge of Indian ornithology
led the way to the useful regional bird surveys that have since been
sponsored by the Society.
Kinnear left India in 1919 to take up an appointment in the Bird
Room of the British Museum (Natural History), London. He rose
to be Director in. 1948, an eminence from which he retired in 1950.
Eon iwinnears departure “from India; ~ Bernard: C.
f111son was selected on behalf of the Society by R. C. Wroughion
(who was working in the British Museum on the collections of the
Mammal Survey) and sent out as curator to Bombay in ig20. The
choice would, on the whole, seem to be an unfortunate one since
Ellison—overtly, at any rate—possessed few ot the qualifications that
might be expected in the curator of a natural history museum or in
the editor of a scientific journal. Ill health terminated his contract
with the Society early, and he returned to England in 1923.
6. Charles McCann joined the Society as a collector in the
Mammal Survey in December 1921 and was appointed Assistant
Curator in 1922 and Joint Curator in January 1946. Later in the year
he resigned his post and left India.
The minute of the Society’s Executive Committee dated 14th
November 1946 recording its appreciation of his services and regret
at his resignation gives a good sketch of McCann’s career. It reads
in part as follows :—
‘The merit of his scientific work is evidenced in his many biological
contributions to the journal of the Society. He is one of the out-
standing botanists in India and his monograph on Grasses which he
wrote jointly with the late Father Blatter, and which was published
under the aegis of the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, will
remain for many years the standard work on the subject. Equally
outstanding in merit are his various revisions of the genera and species
of Indian plants which the Society was privileged to publish. Mr.
McCann also contributed various authoritative papers on Indian
Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibia. They are based on careful field
work and observations. The study of Nature was his absorbing
passion and his main recreation.
In the Museum his services were invaluable, and the galleries of the
Natural History Section of the Prince of Wales Museum and the fine
range of groups and well-mounted exhibits owe much to his skill and
ability. His resignation is a great loss to the Society.’
McCann was indeed a phenomenal fiela naturalist. His powers of
observation were uncanny in their keenness and _incisiveness.
Nothing escaped his attention as he tramped through the jungles of
his beloved Western Ghats. The degree of his familiarity with all
698 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL MHIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
living things was such that whether it be plant or rat, bird or snake,
lizard or frog, butterfly or snail, he could identify it pat and without
hesitation correctly down at least to the genus in nine cases out of
ten, and often give you the ‘species as well!
He is now settled in New Zealand and is on the Staff of the
Dominion Museum at Wellington.
7. H. M. McGusty was a senior assistant in the firm of Phipson
& Co., which has had a traditional unbroken connection with the
B.N.H. Society from the time it-was founded. He served the Society
variously as Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer for several
years between 1934 and 1941 when he finally left India. His connection.
with the Journal was, however, purely ex-officio and titular, and he
had no active hand in editing it.
8..Walter Samuel Millard who, took, over; from, (ehipson
in rg06, had already been associated with the editorship since Vol.
14 (1903). Millard proved an admirable successor to Phipson, and
the period of his stewardship may be called the period of consolidation
for the Society, when it expanded widely both as regards membership
and usefulness. His most notable contribution to its progress and
scientific reputation was the organising and carrying out of the
Mammal Survey of India, Burma and Ceylon, a full account of which
is contained in Part III (pp. 86-89) of the Society’s Jubilee volume
published in 1934. ae
Millard was an expert gardener, and his garden on Malabar Hill
is still remembered with pleasure and nostalgic envy by some of
the older residents of Bombay. His ‘short notes in the Journal cover
many branches of natural history, and jointly with Rev. Fr. Blatter
he was author of ‘Some Beautiful Indian Trees’, an attractive well-
illustrated book published by the Society in 1937.
Millard left India on retirement in 1920, and it was only the other
day the sad news of his death reached us. An obituary notice appears.
on p. gto of this issue.
An amusing story is told of Mr. Millard when he was Honorary
Secretary. Every afternoon it was customary for the Society’s.
cashier to take the day book in for his inspection and tally of the day’s
receipts. As soon as Baburao (or whatever his name was) appeared
from behind the door, Mr. Millard would look straight into him and
solemnly exclaim ‘Baburao, I suspect you!’ His daily advice to the
cashier when they parted was, ‘Baburao, each time you make an entry
in this book say to yourself ‘“‘Mr. Millard’ suspects me’’, and you
cannot thea go wrong’.
9. Herbert Musgrave Phipson was a truly. remarkable
man. During the early years of the Society, Phipson as Honorary
Secretary and Editor was its virtual ‘Ma-bap’. It is largely to his.
keenness and contagious zeal as a naturalist, his devotion to the cause,
his untiring enthusiasm and energy, and above all to his wonderful
personality that the Society and its journal owe their growth and
prosperity. This was the truly formative period, and the firm founda-—
tion upon which Phipson built has enabled the Society to weather the
storms and stresses of subsequent years.
EDITORIAL 693
Phipson’s particular interest lay in Snakes and he contributed a
great deal to their study; but except for a few short notes he un-
fortunately published litfle of his own observations in the Journal.
He left India in 1906 and died in London in 1936. <A good bio-
graphical sketch of H. M. Phipson appears on pages 152-154 of
Volume 39 (December 1936).
TOs ley em ty: © tate miad entered, the’ Society's service
in 1907, working first under the guidance of E, Comber and subse-
quently as assistant to N. B. Kinnear. He was a voracious and
discriminating reader, particularly of natural history books in his.
early years, had the power of assimilating what he read, and was
blessed with a remarkably retentive memory. He was a clear and
lucid descriptive writer with a pleasant easy style; a good artist and
modeller, and dextrous with his hands in other ways. He possessed
an almost uncanny aptitude not only for picking up techniques but
for passing on what he learnt to his assistants and then getting the
best out of them. These qualities, fortified by the practical experience
he had acquired and a course of academic grounding in systematic
zoology with the late Fr. E. Blatter to provide the necessary scientific
background, fitted Prater admirably for taking charge of the Society’s
museum and journal. Prater’s forte was his capacity to pick out the
essentials of anything he read—of separating the grain from the chaff
—and of clothing the substance in clear jargonfree language. Though
he would not claim any original achievement in the scientific field,
yet there is perhaps no other recent naturalist who has done more to
popularize zoology in India. He was a master in the art of compila-
tion. The skill and discernment with which he would browse among
heavy scientific literature and the facile way in which he would con-.
nect up and expound disjointed facts culled from a dozen sources.
and produce harmony from them, excited the admiration and envy
of less gifted souls. It is but natural that a person possessing ail
these advantages should, up to a point, dominate his colleagues, and
indeed from the time his name first appears on the cover of the Journal
—Vol. xxvil (1920)—and up to the time of his retirement in 1948.
Prater virtually ruled the editorial roost. He had the contents of alt
the previous volumes at his fingers’ tips and could recall everything
published on any topic before, by whom and when, and could turn
to it without effort or fumbling. His familiarity with the Society’s.
reference library was also ‘such that he knew exactly where to turn
for just the information needed. And how most effectively to make
use of that information is of course what he excelled in. As a natural
historian he was an all-rounder, having had, during his long connec-
tion with the Society, the opportunity of working fairly thoroughly
through all its collections and acquiring a wonderful general knowledge
of the various branches. He could name straightway almost at a
glance, most specimens brought in by members of the less uncommon
mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, butterflies and many
other groups of insects, and could usually tell of their distribution
and habits as well. His numerous notes and articles in the Jowrnal
cover a very wide range of natural history topics. Though not a
specialist in any particular branch, he was perhaps more at home with.
‘700 JOURNAL, ‘BOMBAY NATURAL TST. SOCIETY, Vol 50
birds and snakes than with other groups. Yet such was his general
grasp and versatility that whatever he chose to write on bore the
imprint of authority. Indeed he wrote nothing of doubtful authenti-
aay since all his basic facts were garnered from authoritative sources.
His masterly treatment of The Whale Shark in Indian Coastal Waters
(Vol. 42; 255) and Fish Supply of the West Coast of India (Vol. 34;
973 & Vol. 35; 77} and The Game Fishes of Bombay, etc. (Vol. 36;
29) are examples. On perusing them it seems inconceivable that they
should be written by any but a specialist—so sound and facile are they.
It was largely during the run of Prater’s editorship that the
Society’s journal attained the esteemed position it now enjoys among
the scientific periodicals of the world; of course we were fortunate
also in our contributors who included an increasing number of workers
of distinction in the international field.
Prater retired in 1947 after some 4o years of devoted service to
the Society, and now lives in London.
11. P, M. D. Sanderson also of the firm of Phipsons, whose
name flicks sporadically on the editorial board first in 1924 (Vol. XXX)
and again in 1928 as an editor for Vol. XXXII (4), acted as Honorary
Secretary during Sir Reginald Spence’s periodic absences on leave
in England. He was also one of the old brigade with Millard and
Spence who had had their introduction to Indian natural history under
Phipson’s tutelage. On Spence’s retirement from India in 1934,
Sanderson took over from him as Managing Director of Phipson & Co.
and, in keeping with the long established tradition, more or less auto-
matically stepped in as Honorary Secretary of the Society as well.
Though a keen naturalist and sportsman, and an enthusiastic
protagonist of the Society, Sanderson’s activities in regard to the
Journal were more of a general supervisory charactr, and strangely
enough the Journal carries no article contributed by him. He left
India in 1939, and now kindly looks after the Society’s interests in
Hyon Wie a
12) R. A. (afterwards Sir R’e ¢ rn'ald)) Spence who’ succeeded
Millard, had likewise started his career in India as a young assistant
in the wine business of Phipson & Co. He had early caught the
contagion of enthusiasm for natural history from his chief, and was
nurtured in this interest through Phipson’s guiding care. During
Spence’s long association as its Honorary Secretary, the Society may
be said to have attained its flowering. His genial personality won
him many friends, and the esteem he commanded both with the public
and with Government reflected beneficently on the affairs of the Society.
He brought to fruition the negotiations started by his predecessors
regarding the transfer of fee ncial responsibility for the housing and
proper care of the Society’s zoological collections from the Society to
the Government of Bombay, and had the satisfaction of feeling the
‘imminent fulfilment of his labours before leaving India in the detailed
plans for the completion and utilization of the beautiful new natural
history wing of the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, which has
since come into being.
As editor of the Journal Spence was fortunate in having the able
collaboration first of N. B. Kinnear, a trained and experienced zoologist
EDITORIAL , 701
lately out from England as the Society’s first stipendiary curator, and
then, after 1919, of S. H. Prater who succeeded him in office.
Though increasing demands on his time from business and social
work caused Spence latterly to leave much of the actual editing to his
colleagues, he nevertheless continued to take a lively interest in the
welfare of the Journal and to guide its general policy.
His outstanding contributions to the Journal, both written jointly
with Prater, were the articles on ‘The Fish Supply of the Western
Coast vot India; (Part 1, Vols xxxiv;.97g, Part Il, Vol. xxxv; 77) and
‘Game Fishes of Bombay, the Deccan and the Neighbouring districts
of Bombay Presidency’ (Vol. xxxvi; 29).
Sir Reginald left India on retirement in 1934.
13. Robert Sterndale came to Bombay soon after the
Bombay Natural History Society was formed in 1883, and at once
joined it and worked for it with his characteristic enthusiasm. The
idea of starting a journal originated with him and ‘proved practicable
only because of the way in which his ready pen and pencil solved
all difficulties.” Being an exceedingly keen and versatile field natu-
ralist, he himself contributed many interesting articles and was largely
responsible for getting the Journal under way. Sterndale is perhaps
best known as the author of ‘Natural History of Indian Mammalia’
which, published in 1884, is still one of the standard reference books.
He ended his official career as Governor of the island of St. Helena,
and died in 1902.
i4. L. C. H. Young who, with E. Comber, was an editorial colla-
borator of Miullard’s for Vol. 17, came out to Bombay about 1903
on the staff of the insurance department of Forbes, Forbes, Campbell
& Co. He was a Marlborough man, and a keen and knowledgeable
lepidopterist, being a disciple of the distinguished entomologist, E.
Meyrick, F.R.S., whom he got to write the monumental papers on
Indian Microlepidoptera, published between Vols. 18 and 23 of the
Journal. He reorganised, re-set and re-catalogued the Society’s butter-
fly collection and published several useful notes and papers, chiefly
on butterflies, between Volumes 15 and 17 of the Journal. About
him Sir Reginald Spence writes, ‘We called him ‘“‘Bug’’ Young.
He lived for a time out at Andheri with F.C. Annesley and with
me—a quaint man at dinner in a tent with an oil lamp and plenty
of flying insects to interrupt his dinner and conversation.’ Young
did not enjoy good health and had to return to England where he died
soon after. The serial on ‘The Common Butterflies of the Plains
of India’ was originally started by Young in Vol. 16. He had to give
it up after the first 3 parts owing to ill health. It was taken up by
another distinguished lepidopterist-member T. R. Bell, 1.F.s., in Vol.
19 who conducted it for 16 years, concluding it finally in Vol. 32.
THE PRESENT EDITORS
tr. SdAlim Ali _ has had a long and active association with the
Society. His chief interest is birds, particularly the field aspects of
their study, and he is the author of several books on Indian birds.
He served as one of the editors in- 1927-28 (Vols. 32 and 33), and
702 JOURNAL,” BOMBAY NATURAL EST “SCCIETY, Vol. 50
resumed his connection with the Jowrnal in 1944 (Vol. 45), collaborat-
ing with S. H. Prater and C. McCann. Upon their leaving India,
Salim Ali took over as General Editor assisted by Dr. S. B. Setna for
a year, when Fr. H. Santapau joined the board.
2. Dr..S. B. S etna ‘studied under Dr. J. Gray, Professor’ ofthe
Zoological Laboratory, Cambridge University, where he obtained his
ph.p. degree. He is the Director of Fisheries, Bombay State, since
the inception of the department in 1945. In this capacity he is
responsible for the development of freshwater and marine fisheries
in the State and also for the maintenance of the Taraporevala Aquarium.
He was elected a Fellow of the National Institute of Sciences of India
in 1947 and was awarded the first Chandra Kala Hora Memorial Gold
Medal in 1950 for conspicuously important contributions to the deve-
lopment of the fishing industry.
Dr. Setna has been one of the editors of the Journal since 1947
and is chiefly responsible for editing the articles relating to fish and
fisheries.
3. Rev. Fr. H.Santapau, s.j., studied at the Imperial College
of Science and Technology, London, and in Kew Gardens and speci-
alized in Plant Taxonomy. He is particularly interested in the botany
of Western India and has done intensive explorative work in
Khandala, Purandhar, Mahableshwar and now in Saurashtra. He
is director of the Biology Department of St, Xavier’s College,
Bombay.
CostTs—THEN AND Now
A comparison of the cost of printing the journal at different periods
of its existence is revealing.
In 1891, all the 4 parts of Vol. VI were published. These included
6 coloured and 10 black and white plates printed in England. The
text was printed, as from the commencement, at the Educational
Society’s Press, Byculla, Bombay. The total cost of the volume
came to Rs. 4,316-1-2.
In 1900 all the 5 parts {including Index) of Vol. XIII, together with
No. 5 (Index) of the previous volume came out. It contained 10
coloured and 4 black-and-white plates printed in England. The text
was printed at the Times of India Press who took over the printing
in 1893 (Vol. VIII) and continued it till 1925. The total cost oi
production that vear was Rs. 6,338-7-0.
In 1915 Vol. XXIII, Nos. 3, 4 and 5 and Vol. XXIV, No.i with
9 coloured and 22 black-and-white plates prepared in England, and
text printed at the Times of India Press, Bombay, cost. Rs.
9,308-12-2.
The first number to be printed at the Diocesan Press, Madras—
who have been our printers since—was Vol. XXX, No. 3 (June
TO25)):
In 1930, the first three numbers of Vol. 34 were published con-
taining 10 coloured and 52 black-and-white plates. Of these, all
the coloured and a few of the monochrome plates were prepared in
England. The total cost came to Rs. 15,562-5-6.
| EDITORIAL 703
In 1950, Nos. 1, 2 and 3 of Vol. 49 appeared together with Index
to Vol. 47 (Pts. 1 and 2), With only one coloured and 28 black-and-
white plates the total cost that year came to Rs. 12,755-8-4.
Since then the cost of paper as well as of printing have risen still
higher. At the present time the 3 numbers of the Journal which
we normally publish during a year, containing the average number
of black-and-white plates and an occasional coloured one, cost us
roughly Rs. 15,000.
For the grousy ones who insist on knowing why we don’t pro-
vide a larger number of plates, and for the magnanimous ones, like
Mr. W. T. Loke and Dr. Dillon Ripley in the present issue, who like
to make gilts of coloured plates to the Journal now and again, it
might be mentioned that apart from the original painting or colour
transparency, each colour plate costs us on an average Rs, 360 and
each black-and-white plate Rs. 120.
There is no more befitting manner in which readers can express
their appreciation of the Journal than by donating plates to it, and
it is a form of appreciation which the editors would like zealously
to encourage.
But plates alone are not enough. We want the co-operation of
all naturalists and observant sportsmen in sending us notes about
any interesting or unusual natural history incident or fact that may
have caught their attention, and we want all serious field workers
to send us the results of any original investigations they may under-
take. The opportunities in India for field study of every description
are limitless. Past journals are replete with examples of the type
of material we need, and it is only with the active co-operation of
members that we can make our journal something that they will look
forward to three times a year and wish for a fourth.
PROPOSED RE-CHRISTENING OF THE Journal
From time to time there has come a suggestion from several active
members, some of them eminent scientific men, that a shorter title
should be found for our journal to eliminate the labour or repeating
the lengthy ‘Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society’, even
when abbreviated to ‘Jour. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc.’ or merely to ‘J.B.
N.H.S.’ in references and bibliography. There is much to be said
for this plea, and only workers who have the need to quote this journal
frequently in their writings are able fully to appreciate its force and
relevancy.
It has been suggested that for the sake of brevity and convenience
the Journal be christened ‘Hornbill’? or one of its Indian equivalents,
say ‘Garuda’. Its full title would then read ‘Garuda—The Journal
of the Bombay Natural History Society’, but for purposes of reference
or quotation, simply ‘Garuda’ would be explicit. There are a number
of well-known precedents for this kind of title, some of which were
adopted after the publication had been running under the longer name
for some years, e.g. The Auk which was up to a certain date known
as ‘The Journal of the American Ornithologists’ Union’. Other scien-
tific periodicals with abbreviated titles of the same sort are The Ibis
which is the official organ of the British Ornithologists’ Union and
704 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NALURAL. AIST “SOCIETY. Vol) 50
Oryx: ‘The Journal of the Fauna Preservation Society’; and there
are many besides in other parts of the world.
It has been argued by some that the adoption of the name Horn-
bill or Garuda would convey the misleading impression that ours
was a purely. ornithological journal and not one of general natural
history. For many years now the Great Indian Hornbill within a
circle has been the recognised crest of the Society and as such every-
body is familiar with it on the top cover of the Journal and on the
title page of almost all the Society’s recent publications. It would
seem that the mere addition of the word Hornbill or Garuda on the
cover is hardly likely to cause the misconception.
The proposition was discussed at a recent meeting of the Society’s
Executive Committee and it was thought desirable to invite members’
views. If members have any objection to the proposal, except on
purely sentimental grounds, will they please communicate them to
the Honorary Secretary?
It is true that there are other publications as for instance ‘Trans-
actions of the Entomological Society’, ‘Proceedings of the Zoological
Society, London’ and ‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal’ who
have not felt it necessary to abbreviate their titles in the way here
proposed. But the question here is not whether we can also get along as
they do, and as we have in fact so far done, but whether the change
would not be a very definite advantage from the practical point of
view. If consensus of competent opinion favours the change, no
time will be more opportune for making a beginning than from the
December issue of the Journal which will mark the commencement
of volume 51.
DEEP-SEA OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLOKATION IN
INDIAN WATERS
BY
Eimur,-Cou: R; By SEYMOUR SEWELL, C.I.E., SC.D.,-F.R.S.
(Vith three plates)
The science of Oceanography is of relatively very recent origin,.
and is of such a wide nature that it necessitates the study of many
other branches of science. It includes not only the chemistry and
physics of the sea-water and a ‘study of the meteorological conditions
of the atmosphere but also a detailed study of both botany and
zoology, since the oceans are inhabited by both plants and animals,
and the distribution of the flora and fauna necessitates a study of
the physiology and the manner in which animals and plants are
adapted to the particular conditions in which they live and the degree
to which such differences in the environment can influence the growth
and development of the animal or plant. These conditions show a
very wide range of variation both horizontally as one passes from
the warm tropical area to the cold Arctic and Antarctic regions, and
vertically as one passes from the surface of the sea down to the great
depths. The study of the ocean floor and of the sedimentary deposits
that cover so much of its surface calls for the application of
seismology, geology and petrology, while the changes that are con-
tinually going on in these bottom deposits require a knowledge of
organic chemistry and bacteriology.
Only a hundred years ago scientists were of the opinion that
living organisms could not possibly exist in the very peculiar con-
ditions that are present in the great depths of the ocean, such as
the complete absence of sunlight, the cold temperature and the
enormous pressure that may amount to several tons to the square
inch in the deepest layer; it was thought that a depth of about 400
fathoms was the lowest level at which life could exist, but within a
few years this view was to be proved wrong.
During the nineteenth century it had become recognised that very
valuable contributions to our knowledge could be achieved by pro-
viding a scientist to accompany any expedition, and that the experience
so gained would be of great value to whoever was selected. By the
middle of the century several British scientists had achieved world-
wide reputations as a result of their work on such expeditions. f
need only mention the names of Charles Darwin, who sailed round
the world in the ‘Beagle’ in 1831-36; Joseph Hooker, who accompanied
Sir James Clark Ross to the Antarctic in the ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror’ in
1839-43; and T. H. Huxley, who sailed as Assistant-Surgeon in the
‘Rattlesnake’ to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef in 1846-50. The
development of inter-continental communication that took place as a
result of the invention of the telegraph, and the necessity of a careful
survey of the lines along which submarine cables could safely be
705 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vor. 58
laid, resulted in several cable-ships being sent out to study the
contours of the sea- bed and select suitable routes. One of the vessels
engaged in this work was the ‘Bulldog’ under the command of
Captain M’Clintock, which was engaged in surveying a line for the
trans-Atlantic cable between England and North America in 1860.
Accompanying this expedition was Surgeon-Major G. C. W allich, who
had retired from the Indian Medical Service and who was the son
of Nathaniel Wallich who had been the Superintendent of the Sibpur
Botanical Gardens. Wallich showed beyond any doubt that animals
could live at depths below 1,000 fathoms; and in consequence of his
discoveries British zoologists persuaded the Admiralty to send out
an expedition to investigate the Atlantic deep water round the British
Isles and in the Bay of Biscay, at first in the ‘Lightning’ in 186%
and in the ‘Porcupine’ in 1870. The success of this work led to the
famous voyage of the ‘Challenger’, which carried out during the
years 1872-96 inv ‘estigations in all the great oceans on the ae and
flora, the character of the sea-water at all depths and a study of the
bottom and its sedimentary carpet, thus laying the foundations for
the science of Oceanography.
During the years 1532-62 a survey of Indian waters had been
conducted by the Indian Navy: but this service was abolished.in the
latter year. From time to time ships of the Indian Navy had carried
medical officers, who were interested in biology and took the oppor-
tunity to carry out valuable research work. Two of these officers
became + distinguished, namely, Dr... BH: J, Carter, F Rs... and. om
Theodore Cantor, the former becoming one of the leading authorities
on the lower invertebrata, especially the Porifera, and the latter on-
the fishes of the Malay Peninsula.
With the abolition of the Indian. Navy, the Marine Survey
temporarily ceased; but in 1872 the Government of India inaugurated
the Marine Survey of India and the very important work being done
at this time by the ‘Challenger’ caused the Asiatic Society of Bengal
to urge the Government of India to include in the ship’s company
the appointment of a Surgeon-Naturalist whose duty it would be to
carry out, when opportunity offered, in Indian waters not included
in the ‘Challenger’ programme, similar investigations into the fauna
of the deep sea and also the conditions that existed at different depths
and the character of the sea bottom. This proposal was warmly
supported by Commander Dundas Taylor, who was appointed to
command the Marine Survey. The Government of India agreed to
this proposal and in 1875 the post of Surgeon-Naturalist was created
and Surgeon J. Aumnerone was appointed. He was the first of a
succession of Indian Medical Service officers, who during the next
51 years either temporarily, or in three cases permanently, devoted
their attention to the study of zoology and so, if I may adopt the
charming phrase by which Phillip Gosse in his autobiography summed
up his own life’s work, became ‘A Truant from Medicine’.
Armstrong continued to hold the appointment till 1879, but as no
suitable vessel was then available he could only carry out observations
in shallow water and in the littoral region, at first in S. S. ‘Clyde’
and later with a boat-party. He relinquished the appointment in
1879 and the post remained vacant till 1884. The honour of being
OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION IN INDIAN WATERS 707
the first to carry out deep-sea biological work in Indian waters fell,
not to the Surgeon-Naturalist, but to an officer of the Indian Museum,
Calcutta, Dr. J. Wood-Mason, who was sent in 1871 by the Trustees
of the Museum to investigate the fauna of the Andaman Islands.
During the four months that he spent in these islands he managed
to persuade the Governor to allow the Guard-Ship, $.S. ‘Undaunted’
to work for him for one day and so was able to carry out crawls in
depths of 100 to 300 fathoms.
The first of the Indian Marine Survey ships was built, i. 1879-80,
She was a wooden paddle-steamer of 580 tons and was launched in
1881, being given the name ‘Investigator’, thus continuing a tradition
that existed in the British Empire, for in 1850 a vessel of this name
was one of the ships sent out to try and discover what had happened
to Sir John Franklin and his crew, who had sailed from England in
1846 to try and discover a .iorth-west passage be-ween the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans. There had also been among the suips of the
Bombay Marine a previous ‘Investigator’ which had carried out
hydrographic investigations as a secondary part of her duties. In
1878 Lieut. Jarrard, R.N., who had been appointed to the Marine
Survey of India under Commander Dundas Taylor, was in England
on leave; the ‘Challenger’ had recently returned from her world-cruise
and Jarrard took the opportunity of consulting the scientists who had
sailed in her regarding the apparatus necessary for deep-sea investiga-
tions. He then went to the Admiralty and requested their assistance
and the Government of India also asked for some of the ‘Challenger’
apparatus to be presented to the ‘Investigator’. The Admiralty was
willing to do so, and so it came about that when the Marine Survey
of India commenced deep-sea work in Indian waters they were
actually using ‘Challenger’ gear. The post of Surgeon-Naturalist
remained vacant till 1884, but in that year Commander Alfred
Carpenter, R.N., who*’had been one of the officers in the ‘Challenger’,
was appointed to command the Marine Survey and Surgeon G. M. }.
Giles was appointed Surgeon-Naturalist, and deep-sea research be-
came one of the duties, if only a secondary one of the Survey. |
It may be of some interest to my readers if I give here a brief
account of the position that the Surgeon-Naturalist occupied on board
the survey vessel at any rate as it was in my day. The Surgeon-
Naturalist, when first appointed, was usually a relatively junior officer,
either a Lieutenant or Junior Captain; he was the Senior Medical
Officer of the ship and so was directly responsible to the Captain for
the sanitary condition of the ship and for the health of the officers,
and indirectly for the health of the crew, which numbered about 110.
To the Surgeon-Naturalist was attached an ‘Assistant-Surgeon, who
was directly responsible for the crew, the Surgeon-Naturalist merely
keeping a watchful eye on his work and only intervening when a
lascar had been on the sick-list for more than three days. As the
ship’s crew were specially selected at the commencement of each
survey-season and the vessel was at sea on the survey-ground for
some twenty-seven or twenty-eight days in each month, only returning
to port in order to re-victual and re-coal for about three days, there
was very little sickness on board, and surgical work was almost
non-existent unless there was an accident in the engine-room or
2
708 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 50
an emergency, such as a dislocated limb or a fracture. There was
thus plenty of time for biological and other scientific investigations.
As he was the only ‘land-lubber’ among a group of professional
sailors, the attitude of his colleagues to him would to some extent
depend on whether or not he proved to be a good sailor and could
stand up to a certain amount of rough weather, and also was a ‘good
mixer’ and could take a certain amount of good-natured ‘leg*pulling’
by his ship-mates: for instance, on Sunday mornings the Officer-
Commanding occupied the Ward-Room for the purpose of carrying
out a function known as ‘Signing all Books’, a business with which
the Surgeon-Naturalist had no concern. One Sunday morning I was
on deck chatting to some of my brother officers, when a lascar came
up from below, saluted, and said to me, ‘The Captain wishes to see
you, Sir’; so I put on my jacket and cap and went down to the Ward-
Room. I saluted and said, ‘You wish to. see me, Sir?’; ‘Yes, I
certainly do’, said he with a grim expression on his face. ‘How long
‘have you been in this ship?’ ‘About ten years, Sir’, said I, wonder-
ing what the trouble could be and whether my Assistant-Surgeon had
failed to carry out his duties properly and I had failed to discover his
error. ‘Ten years! Ten years!! and you don’t know better than
this.’ Clearly, whatever had gone wrong I was going to be held
responsible.” “What's \the “trouble, iSin??— 1 asked 1“ Whhatis ihe
trouble?’, he replied, ‘What’s the trouble? Here we are, the 15th
of the month and your wine-bill is only Rs. 5’. ‘Well, Sir, that’s
easily. remedied... What’s yours?’ ‘Thanks very much, I’ll have a
cocktail’ !
In the early years of the Survey the areas that most urgently
needed investigation around the coasts of India and Burma were
relatively small and scattered, and several of these might be visited
and surveyed each year. It thus happened that the ‘Investigator’
might traverse the Bay of Bengal several times in a single season and
it was during such runs that deep-sea trawls could be carried out.
The publication. of Charles Darwin’s great work on ‘The Origin of
Species’ in 1859 had thrown a new light on the study of zoology,
and the work of the ‘Challenger’ had proved conclusively that animals
were to be found living at almost all depths between the surface and
the sea-floor; it- had been hoped that the investigation of the fauna of
the great oceans might reveal a number of ‘missing links’ in the
evolution of the species of the present day. Though the hope was
not realised, it was but natural that the Surgeon-Naturalist should
take more interest in and concentrate his energies on a study of the
deep-sea fauna rather than on the physico-chemical character of the
sea-water or the nature of the sea-floor.
In the year 1888 A. Alcock was appointed to be Surgeon-Naturalist
and he held the post till 1892. In the accompanying Table I give
the number of ‘trawls that were carried out by the ‘Investigator’ in
each 5-year period from the commencement of the work in 1885 till
it came to an end in 1926. A reference to this shows that a great .
increase in the number took place during his tenure of the office, and
some idea of the mass of material that was collected during these
early years can be got from ‘A Summary of the Deep-Sea Work of
the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship ‘“‘Investigator’’ from 1884 to
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
PLATE T
anespopene se epenee i ananuenggeann a wor 22
R.I.M.S. *‘ INVESTIGATOR I’
SEERA
SORE ARN
RRA
Sect CRRA
| RESET
{
The name ‘ Investigator’ carved on the facade of the
Oceanographic Institute at Monaco
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE
~
}
~toreememeernte seers : :
* a Re
- Sc See oes ie eee, Sa es
fs : ~- ee ees = >. ow
SS i se j
R.LMGS. “ INVESTIGATOR 1°
H.E.M.S. ‘ MABAHISS ’”
Arriving back at Alexandria, May 25, 1934
OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION. EN INDIAN’ WATERS 709
1897’ published by Alcock in the series of ‘Scientific Memoirs by
Medical Officers of the Army of India’ in 1898. .
TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF TRAWLS OF DIFFERENT KINDS MADE
DURING EACH 5-YEAR PERIOD BETWEEN 1885 AND 1925
Year Agassiz trawls Mid-water
Deep Shallow trawls
1885-1889 va 235 Zi 43
1890-1894 ae on se 5)
1895-1899 He sh 55 Vi
1900-1904 es Ss IAS 13
1905-1909 a a 30 4 sed
1910-1914 bid ans 10 25 4
1921-1925 As she 5 1 )
I give below a list of the numbers of the various species and genera
that were obtained during this period from depths below too fathoms.
= New species Previously Number of
and varieties known species genera
Protozoa sue a 8 a3 eee
Porifera aan het 26 5 11
Madreporaria ... as 17 8 14
Cnidaria — ., oe
Asteroidea... ies 39 15 26
Ophiuroidea ... ee 38 17 ae:
- Hchinoidea ... ~ sithe 6 Z 6
Holothuroidea a 6 ali ave
Crustacea :
Cirripedia 2 2
Amphipoda bie 3 ee 3
tsopoda = ©... ee aa 2 Z
Stomatopoda 2 - 1
Schizopoda ... 2 8 5
Macrura o4 43 645
Anomura ... 5 5 6
Brachy ura:
Cancroidea . 5 nS
Ocypodoidea 2 g
Oxystoma 13 re 9
Oxyrrhyncha 10 4 8
Pycnogonida ... 2 ]
Mollusca :
Lamellibranchiata On 8 23
_ Gastropoda ,,, oi 7 2+
Scaphopoda ae 5 1 1
Cephalopoda sie 6 4 8
Pisces :
Chondroptery gii ian 5 1 5
Acanthoptery gii ae 23 15 30
Anacanthini Po 48 8 24.
Physostomi... kes 41 16 39
Plectognathi er 1 ai
r=
ey)
(ep)
Grand Total... ASGE EAA, A132
710 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST VSOCIE IY. V ol.cae
In spite of the enormous advances that had already been made
by the ‘Challenger’, no less than 71 out of every hundred species or
varieties recorded from Indian waters proved to be new. These
zoological results. were embodied in a magnificent series of ‘Investi-
gator’ Memoirs, that were published by the Trustees of the Indian
Museum, namely :—
Echinoderma, pts. 1-8 oe -.. 1889-1914
Squillidae one ae are 1895
Brachyura we aan ae 1899
Fishes a nies ee 1899
Decapoda, Macrura and Anomala ee I9QOI
Crustacea, pts. 1-3 aAe «se. 1901-1906
Hexactinellid Sponges ee wes 1902
Accompanying these Memoirs a series of plates was published by
the Royal Indian Marine under the title of ‘Illustrations of the Zoology
of the Royal Indian Marine Surveying Steamer ‘‘Investigator’’ bet-
ween 1892 and 1909’. In addition to the faunistic work of the
Surgeon-Naturalist, other observations were made.on the temperature
of the sea-water at both the surface and near the bottom and a
number of samples of the bottom deposits were taken and reports
dealing with ‘The Mean Temperature of the Deep Waters of the
Bay of Bengal’ and the ‘Topography of the Arabian Sea in the
Neighbourhood of the Laccadive Islands’ were published in the Journal’
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal by two of the officers commanding
the Marine Survey, namely Captain A. Carpenter in Vol. LVI in 1887,
-and Captain Oldham in Vol. LXIV in 1895. But the observations on
the bottom deposits were not published till many years later, when
I was able to collate them and get them published.
By the beginning of this century the zoological work of the
Marine Survey of India had aitracted world-wide attention, and the
great importance of these contributions to our knowledge of marine
life had earned for the ‘Investigator’ the honcur of having her name
carved on the facade of the new Institute of Oceanography in Monaco
that was erected by H. R. H. Prince Albert I. I am greatly indebted
to Captain Rouch for having this photograph specially taken for me.
Other well-known ships similarly honoured were the ‘Challenger’,
“Travailleur’, ‘Talisman’, ‘Gazelle’, ‘Novara’, etc. These investiga-
tions had also built up for succeeding Surgeon-Naturalists such a
high reputation that in 1913, although I was but a junior officer of
the Indian Medical Service and had held the appointment for only
two-and-a-half years, I was appointed a Vice-President of Section V,
Oceanography, at the meeting of the International Congress of Zoology
that was held at Monaco that year.
From 1904 on, the number of trawls that were carried out shows
a somewhat rapid decline. The amount of deep-sea work that the
Surgeon-Naturalist could get done depended on the situation of the
survey ground, and as the whole of the survey season was now spent,
as a rule, in one particular region the only time that the ship was
in deep water was during her passage to and from her home port of
Bombay at the commencement and conclusion of the season’s work:
OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION IN INDIAN WATERS fells
thus the time that could be devoted to trawling became less and less.
Another very important factor was the interest, or lack of it, shown
by the Officer Commanding. By this time the novelty had worn off
and so one had to use to the utmost one’s powers of persuasion, and
if this failed other steps had to be taken. There is a story of one
of my predecessors that illustrates this: the Surgeon-Naturalist
naturally wanted to get ag many trawls carried out as he could, but
the O.C. wasn’t interested: however, he hated to see any of his officers
with no work to do, so the Surgeon-Naturalist devised a scheme
which consisted of getting a comfortable deck-chair, which he placed
on deck where he could be seen from the bridge, and settled himself
there with a bottle of beer and the latest novel from the ship’s library.
Every time that the O.C. looked forward over the bridge-rail he
couldn’t help seeing this officer, and eventually this got too much
for his feelings and he called down ‘Got no work to do?’ ‘No, Sir;
I am afraid not,’ replied the Surgeon-Naturalist. ‘Ha! Can’t have
this, we’ll have a trawl’ !!
In 1908 the old ‘Investigator I’ was scrapped and ‘Investigator [1’
took her place. Thie new vessel was a steel ship built by Vickers
Maxim and Co., of a gross tonnage of 1,018 tons and capable of
steaming at about 14 knots. Owing to the decline in the amount of
deep-sea work the Surgeon-Naturalist was able to commence work
in other branches of oceanographic research and so when I was.
appointed in 1910 I took up the study of the Copepoda which formy
an unportant constituent of the floating population of the sea, termed
the Plankton, and of the conditions of salinity and temperature of
the sea-water in which these animals live. I aiso collated all the
previous observations that had been made on the topography and
nature of the sea-floor. The results thus obtained have been published
in the Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. IX, between
the years 1925-35.
While on the ‘survey-ground the ‘Investigator’ anchored each
night in the week, and from mid-day Saturday to Monday morning
in some more or less sheltered locality. In order to obtain samples of
the surface plankton one or more tow-nets were put out at 6.00 p.m.
and the tide was allowed to drift through them till 6.00 a.m., when
they were hauled in and the catch was taken down to the laboratory
for examination and preservation. Samples of the surface-water and
a record of its temperature were taken, usually at four-hourly intervals
throughout the day at 4, 8 and 12 a.m. and p.m.: certain meteoro-
logical observations, such as the air-temperature readings by both
wet- and dry-bulb thermometers, the barometric pressure and the
strength and direction of the wind were also made. The water samples
were examined as soon as possible after they had been collected. All
this, involving both day and night work was, as must be obvious,
considerably more than one individual could accomplish; but I was
greatly assisted by the ship’s staff, both officers and men, and to them
I owe a deep debt of gratitude. There were occasions when some
fluid other than sea-water was substituted for the sample that had
been taken during the night, but examination at once revealed the
substitution, and on a protest being made the true sample was usually
712 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST: SOCIETY, Vol. 250
forthcoming. When all these observations were correlated and com-
pared with the total quantity of the plankton or with the number of
any particular organism, such as the common Salp, Salpa (Thalia)
democratica (Forskal), some very interesting results were obtained.
It was found that the salinity of the surface water exhibited a double
diurnal variation that at one period of the year coincided and at
another alternated with the rise and fall of barometric pressure. -The
conclusion to be drawn seems to be that with the change of barometric
pressure there is a corresponding change in the strength of the wind,
and that an increase in the wind-force brings about a corresponding
increase in the lateral movement of the surface water that is com-
pensated for by an upwelling of water from some depth below the
surface, this deeper water having a lower salinity than the surface
water during the hot dry period of the year in consequence of evapora-
tion and a higher salinity during the wet, cold period owing to the
dilution of the surface water by rainfall and the increased influx of
river water into the neighbouring area. The salinity of the surface
water also showed oscillations of a longer period, from a few days
to as long as a fortnight, in different localities, and these oscillations
appear to correspond, as regards their period, to the estimated time
of a ‘seiche’, i.e., to a to-and-fro swing of the deep water in the
basin in which the locality is situated, as for instance in the Andaman
Sea. During the monsoon periods the wind, blowing in a particular
direction, causes a piling up of the surface water on one side of the
basin and a corresponding depression of the level of the deep water,
and when the wind ceases the two strata of water, upper and lower,
begin to re-adjust themselves so that the boundary in between shall
once again be horizontal. In this process the level of the deep water
swings up and down on the two sides of the basin, rising at periodic
intervals nearer to the surface where admixture with the surface layer
can be brought about by wave action: accompanying this periodic rise
and fall in the salinity there may occur a marked rise and fall in the
number of some of the planktonic organisms in the surface water.
After a year’s experience of purely surface work I was desirous of
extending these observations to the mid-water regions. I therefore
requested the authorities of the Royal Indian Marine to sanction the
construction in the dockyard of nets suitable for mid-water trawling.
At first my request met with some degree of opposition and I was
asked what put this new idea into my head, and why I should suppose
that the Marine Survey should undertake it; but when I pointed out
that it was no new idea, since observations of this type had been
earried out by the ‘Challenger’, and that it did not exactly reflect
credit on the Marine Survey that they had for so many years entirely
neglected this important branch of oceanographic research, consent
was given and a 6-foot square mid-water trawl was _ constructed.
Four hauls of this net, taken in the survey-season r911-12 at depths
of from 375 to 475 fathoms yielded some very interesting catches and
very greatly increased the number of Copepoda that were known to
inhabit Indian waters. 3 |
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914, brought the work
of the Marine Survey to an end for the time being, and it was not
Ss
OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION IN INDIAN WATERS 713
dill 1921 that I was able to resume my marine investigations. During
the next four years the ‘Investigator’ was engaged in surveying in
the Maldive ‘Archipelago and in the central group of the Nicobar
Islands, regions in which there is a profuse growth of coral, and I
was thus able to study the probable mode of formation and the
present conditions existing in such localities; but there was _ little
opportunity for continuing deep-sea work.
On my relinquishing the appointment of Surgeon-Naturalist, in
1925 Major R. W. G. Hingston was appointed; but he only held the
post for one year after which he resigned from the Indian Medical
Service, and the post again became vacant. The Director-Generai
of the Indian Medical Service notified the Government of India that
there was no officer serving under him who appeared to have the
necessary qualifications, and he recommended that the post should be
abolished. In my capacity of Director of the Zoological Survey of
India I strongly opposed this and urged the Government of India not
to abolish the post altogether but to change its character and substi-
tute for the Surgeon-Naturalist the post of Naturalist to the Marine
Survey and attach it to the Zoological Survey of India. This the
Government of India agreed to do, but although this post continues
to exist in theory, in practice no appointment has ever been made.
Thus in 1926 the work of the Surgeon-Naturalist came to an end.
The scope and the methods employed in the study of oceanography
have rapidly expanded during the last half century. . New discoveries
‘in other sciences (and especially in physics) have been adapted
for oceanographic work and have resulted in a very considerable
advance in our knowledge of the oceans: one of the first of such
inventions was the development of ‘Asdic’ during the 1914-18 war.
This method made use of an echo for the detection of enemy
submarines; but later it was adapted to give the depth of water below
a vessel, and a ship fitted with the apparatus was able to take sound-
ings at the rate of about 25 to the minute, while steaming on her
course whereas previously, by the lead and sounding-wire method,
a single deep sounding used to take two hours or more, during which
time the ship was stopped and was manoeuvred to keep the wire
straight ‘up and down’. While greatly increasing our detailed
knowledge of the features of the ocean bottom, this method has one
great disadvantage, it does not give one a sample of the bottom
deposit. More recently another method for the study of the ocean
bed has been borrowed from the science of seismology and by ex-
ploding a small charge either on the sea-bed or in the water above it
and by getting accurate records of the time taken for the resulting
vibrations to pass down into the sea-bed and be reflected back to the
recorder on the vessel, an estimate can be made of the depth at which
different strata lie below the carpet of bottom sediment and of the
thickness of these strata.
From time to time research vessels have passed across the southern
region of our Indian waters either on their way to or return from
other parts of the world. In 1899 the German Deep-Sea Expedition
in the ‘Valdivia’ on her return voyage crossed from the northern
point of Sumatra to Colombo and on to Dar-es-Salam in Africa and
then turned up the African coast to the Gulf of Aden and the Red
714 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST: SOCIETY, Vol, 50
Sea; in 1928-30 the Danish Carlsberg Expedition in the ‘Dana’ during
her world-cruise followed much the same course but on reaching the
African coast turned southwards to pass round the Cape of Good
Hope. The ‘Dana’ was equipped with echo-sounding apparatus, and
during her passage across the southern part of the ‘Arabian Sea
obtained evidence of a great submarine mountain range rising from.
the bottom of the ocean. The late Prof. Johannes: Schmidt, the
Leader of the Expedition, from a study of these and previous sound-
ing’s, concluded that a great submarine range extends roughly from
the island of Socotra off Cape Guarda-fui to the Chagos Archipelago,.
and for this ridge he suggested the name Carlsberg Ridge. In a
paper that I submitted to the Asiatic Society of Bengal for publication
in April, 1933, I had put forward the view that ‘such soundings as.
were then available seemed to indicate that a submarine ridge ran i
a south-westerly direction from the Indian coast in the neighbourhood
of Karachi towards Socotra and I suggested that this might be a
submerged continuation of the Kirthar Range of Sind that had been
involved in the formation of the great ‘fault’ that had, at about the
close of the Tertiary epoch, given India its present western coast-line-
The next stage in the exploration of the northern region of the
Indian Ocean came in 1933 when the ‘John Murray’ Expedition to the
Indian Ocean was fitted out and sailed from Alexandria in the Egyptian
research vessel, H.E.M.S. ‘Mabahiss’. The primary object of this.
expedition was to investigate the fauna of the deep warer below
100 fathoms and the nature of its habitat, and the region to be studied
was the area to the west of the Laccadive and Maldive Archipelagoes,
so as to continue the previous investigations of the ‘Investigator’
westward to the African coast. For the most part these earlier
investigations had been confined to the Laccadive Sea, the Bay of.
Bengal and the Andaman Sea, though in 1895-96 she had carried out
a survey of the Indian coast off Karachi and in the region of the
submarine gulley of the ‘Indus Swatch’. She had also worked in
rg01-02 in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, and in 1904-05
along the Arabian coast and in the Gulf of Aden. Evidence of the
richness of the fauna in this area was obtained at ‘Investigator’ Station
364 off the south coast of Arabia, in a depth of 110 fathoms, where
over 500 examples of a species of ‘Mantis Shrimp’ were taken in the
trawl. The story’ is told that the Surgeon-Naturalist, in view of the
large number taken, concluded that the species must be a common
one, though he couldn’t remember having seen it before. He
therefore preserved about 20 specimens and handed the remaining
480 over to’ the Mess cook, who made an excéllent ‘Prawn Curry”
out of them, a change from ship-borne mutton that was greatly
appreciated. On his return to the Indian Museum at the end of the
survey-season, the Surgeon-Naturalist made a careful examination of
his 20 specimens and then discovered that these represented a new
species, which he christened Squilla investigatoris. It was thought
that most of the big zoological museums all the world over would
have been willing to give £1 for a co-type of this new species, so
that this ‘prawn curry’ was one of the most expensive dishes ever
served on board! No further examples of this species were taken
till the ‘Mabahiss’ carried out a series of observations in the same:
Piate III
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
J
e
& Mid Indian Ridg
fon)
“ a
YMA:
o
=
0
Sp
4
es, <
: S
=
oo
ald,
ica
YY, Li
Lad :
i) 4, G i
i
CHART OF THE ARABIAN SEA
ssion from The Geolog
Reproduced with perm
(
OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION IN INDIAN WATERS ety
region, but the extraordinary concentration of the species in this
locality is shown by as many as 14 examples being taken in one-half
a square metre of the sea-floor by a haul of the grab.
The topographical results obtained by the ‘Mabahiss’ are shown
in the chart. (Plate III.) From this it is seen that the existence of
both the above-mentioned submarine mountain ranges was confirmed,
and we were fortunate enough to obtain actual specimens of the rocks
ot which the Carlsberg Ridge is composed. This ridge near the
Fquator in long. 66° 34’ E. is composed of basalt while further to
the northwest in lat. 7° 14° N. x long. 60° 38’ E. fragments of a
rock resembling consolidated Globigerina ooze were obtained. The
presence of basalt is particularly interesting in view of the opinion
of most, if not all, geologists that a large area of the Deccan Trap,
which covers so much of India, must have been broken off and has.
sunk to the bottom of the Arabian Sea. But the chemical composition:
and the radio-activity of this submarine basalt is markedly different
from that of the Deccan Trap and so cannot be regarded as an out-
lying part of it. The general results are particularly interesting for
they prove quite clearly that the character of the sea-bed is far
more irregular than was previously thought to be the case, and that
there is an enormous submarine mountain chain that runs from north
to south through the whole of the Indian Ocean and finally connects
with the Antarctic continent.
Although the work of reporting on the ‘John Murray’ collections.
is far from complete, an analysis of those reports that have been
published shows that of the fauna of this region out of the 1,642
species so far identified, 240 new species or varieties have been
discovered—a proportion of about 14.6 per cent.
All along the ‘Arabian south coast and in the Gulf of Oman we
encountered a most interesting difference at different depths in the
character of the fauna. From the entrance to the Gulf of Aden and
stretching eastward is a zone that at its eastern end, near Cape
Ras-al-Had, extends downwards from a depth of some 200 m. to
about 1,250 m. in which there is little or no life, whereas above and
below this zone the fauna is extremely rich both in species and in
numbers. Towards the west, in long. 46° to 51° E. living at or near
the edgte of the continental shelf in about 200 m. depth there is a
large population, consisting of 225 examples of certain lobster-
like crustacea, such as Puerulus sewelli Ramadan and Scyllarus orien-
talis Spence Bate, and huge numbers of certain echinoids, such as
Clypeaster annandalei Koehler, between 4,000 and 5,000 examples of
this latter species having been taken in a single haul. A little further
east, between long. 48° and 52° E., at about the same depth, we have
the haunt of the stomatopod, Squilla investigatoris Lloyd, to which
[have already referred;-at the head of the Gulf of Oman, in lat, 25°
to N. x long. 56° 47’ E., at 210 m. depth the commonest inhabitant
was a species of holothurian, probably a Stichopus, as many as 666:
examples being taken in one haul. At the head of the Gulf of Oman,
between long. 56° and 57° E., the most frequent ingredient of the
fauna at about 200 m. depth is the mollusc Rostellaria delicatula Nevill
and the empty shells of this species occur with great frequency in
"016 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY. Vol. 50 ‘
the mud of the azoic area at deeper depths. This deposit is of con-
siderable interest to geologists because of its close resemblance to
a deposit that Blanford discovered at Barrah in Sind. Here he
recorded the presence of ‘a bed abounding in a species of Rostellaria,
‘apparently the R. columbaria of D’Archiac and Haine, but a very
different form from the true R. columbaria of Lamarck’: the age of this
bed appears to be Middle Eocene and further north near ‘Attock similar
beds of the same period have been found to be petroliferous, and _ it
has been suggested that we have here in the Gulf of Oman and along
the Arabian coast an area where petroleum is in process of formation.
In the deep water at depths of some 2,000 to 2,500 m. below the
level of the azoic area, in about long. 50° E., the most conspicuous
ingredient of the fauna are large ophiuroids, especially Ophiura
irrvorata (Lyman) and Ophiomusa lymani (Wyville-Thomson), as many
‘as 206 examples of this last species being taken at Station 135, while
further east, in long. 59° 50’ E., at a depth of 950 m. thousands of
-ophiuroids, belonging to several species, were taken in one haul.
Throughout the azoic area the bottom deposit consisted of a greenish
mud that in some areas contains a high percentage of sulphuretted
hydrogen gas, while the supernatant water is almost entirely devoid
of oxygen. These conditions are almost certainly attributable to the
putrefaction of organic matter, OF which the mud contains a relatively
high percentage—between 4 and 5 per cent in contrast to about 1 to
I.5. per cent over most.of the bottom further south. The origin of
this high percentage of organic matter in the bottom deposit is to be
found in the amazingly rich zoo-plankton that is present, along the
African and Arabian coasts and extending eastward towards India,
“during the months of the Southwest Monsoon and shortly after. The
cause of this rich plankton is to be found in the upwelling of deep
water all along the coasts of East Africa and Arabia under the
influence of the Southwest Monsoon wind. This upwelling water is
rich in nutrient salts, nitrates and phosphates, and thus provides the
‘necessary conditions for a rich outburst of phyto-plankton that is
followed by an amazingly rich zoo-plankton; and as the dead bodies
of these organisms sink to the bottom and accumulate in the mud,
they provide nutriment for large numbers of other animals in the
zones above and below the azoic region’ where there is sufficient
oxygen to support life.
Before closing this summary of the oceanographic work oe has
been carried out in the Indian region, mention must be made of the
work that has been done in the study of the depth of water and the
hydrographical conditions that exist. A number of vessels of the
Royal Navy have made observations of great value to students of
marine life, and among these I may mention H.M.S. ‘Sealark’ (1906)
which carried the Percy Sladen Trust Expedition to the Indian Ocean
under the leadership of the late Prof. J. Stanley Gardiner, F.R.s.
‘Other vessels are ‘Penguin’ (1891), ‘Stork’ (1897), ‘Merlin’ (1920),
‘Ormonde’ (1927), ‘Endeavour’ (1933), ‘Challenger’ (1946), ‘Owen’
and ‘Delhi’ (1950). |
Many other collections and observations have been made of the
fauna of the Indian coastal and shallow water regions. From time
‘to time the Surgeon-Naturalist was able to leave the ‘Investigator’
OCEANOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION IN INDIAN WATERS Felis
for a short time, usually a week or so, and camp on the sea-shore in
the neighbourhood of the Vide-watching Party; and was thus able to
make extensive collections of the littoral fauna. From time to time
members of the Zoological Survey of India have visited and collected
in various parts of the long Indian coast-line and much has been added
to our knowledge by the work of the research vessels employed by
the Fishery Departments of Madras, Bengal and Bombay. In
addition the officers of the Madras Museum and the Marine Biological
Department of Madras University have studied the fauna of Krusadai
Island, the officers of the Bombay Natural History Society have
carried out a survey of the fishes of the Bombay coast, and other
private individuals have made extensive collections. Among these last
mention may be made of James Hornell, who carried out a survey of
the Okhamandal coast, of A. J. Abercrombie, who collected: intensively
round Bombay and, in collaboration with J. C. Melwvill, enumerated
320 species of molluscs. W. F. Townsend, who collected round
I<arachi and in the Persian Gulf between 1893 and 1900, recorded as
many ‘as 935 ‘species of Mollusca from the region of the Persian Gulf,
the Gulf of Oman and the northern part of the Arabian Sea and also
made collections of the fishes of this area. A full consideration of
the littoral and shallow water work is, however, beyond the scope of
this review.
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA
BY
S, K, BANERJI, O.B.E., D.SC.; F.N.I., F.R.M.S., F.A.SC.
(With five plates, one text tigure and a graph)
CLIMATIC VARIATIONS
Post glacial time falls into three main stages: first, a period of
steadily increasing warmth, covering the establishment and decline of
northern coniferous flora; next a long period of maximum warmth,
marked by the dominance of deciduous forests ; and finally an indication
of decreasing warmth accompanied by gain of conifers at the expense
of deciduous species. These results came from pollen analysis. There
are minor variations, namely, return to warm conditions a thousand
years ago and a present trend to warmer and drier conditions, which
may be no more than a passing phase. In producing these long-
period changes some common cause was at work, which has also been
changing more or less rhythmically. There has been much discussion
over this common cause, but at present attention is centred mainly
on the variations of the seasonal distribution of insolation in different
latitudes through changes in the constants of the earth’s orbit, the
inclination of the earth’s axis and the long-period changes in the solar
radiation.
People are never able to count on the weather. Directly or in-
directly it is the ruling variable in all of man’s enterprises. It makes
farming, the occupation of 65 per cent of the world’s population,
the most critically speculative enterprise of all. Throughthe ages, the
Indian farmer has ever prayed to the ‘rain-gods’ to shower timely and
plentiful rains for his crops. The weather is intrinsically neither good
nor bad. Inits extreme violence, men and their material wealth are
destroyed. Human life is itself an equally incidental of 16,000,000 tons
of rain and snow that fall upon the earth’s surface every second.
India presents as great contrasts in meteorological conditions as any
area of similar size in the world, and furnishes the typical large-scale
example of the alternation of seasons known as monsoons. The
contrasts are striking.
In the northwest lies the great Thar desert with an average annual
rainfall of less than 5 inches; in the northeast is Cherrapunji with
an average annual rainfall of 424 inches. The observatory at Dras in
Kashmir has recorded a temperature as low as —49°F. in the winter
months ; while in the summer months temperature as high as 120° and
over is not infrequent in the desert of Northwest India. Hill stations in
the Himalayas, such as Simla, may be shrouded in cloud for days.
together in August and September with bumidities of 100 per cent., but
in December may be overrun with air of very nearly zero humidity.
The mean annual range of temperature at Cochin in South India,
20°F., is less than the daily range at many stations in North India and
only about one-third of their annual range. During the winter third of
the year the general flow of the surface air strata is from land to sea and
thence over the Indian seas asa north-east monsoon (Plate I) ; itisa
a
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA fale
season of winds of continental origin and great dryness. The summer
third of the year sees a complete reversal of this condition ina flow from
sea to land of the moist winds of the southwest monsoon (Plate II); this
consequently is a season of much humidity and cloud and frequent rain.
Between these principal seasons of the year are the transitional periods
of the hot weather months, Apriland May, and of the retreating south-
west monsoon, October and November. ‘The causes determining the
monsoon currents are many and complex, but the fundamental cause is
certainly the difference of temperature in the winter and summer months
respectively between southern Asia on the one hand and the Indian Ocean
and China seas on the other. The dominating factor in this drama is the
great High Pressure Belt over Siberia inthe winter months and which
is replaced in the summer months by a low pressure area in North-
west India and West Pakistan. Inthe establishment of the southwest
monsoon current, the Himalayan mountain system plays a vital role.
Meteorologically, the year in India may be divided into the follow-
ing four natural periods :—
(a) The winter period (December to March) when northeasterly
winds of land origin extend uninterruptedly over India and the Indian
seas up to the equator.
(6) The pre-monsoon or the hot period (April to June), character-
ised by a gradual extension northwards of the oceanic air over the
Indian seas and over India and terminated by the establishment of the
southwest monsoon.
(¢c) The monsoon or the rainy period (July to September), when
southwesterly winds of oceanic origin prevail over the Indian seas as
well as over the country.
(2) The post-monsoon period (October and November), when the
oceanic air retreats southwards from the Indian seas and is replaced by
northeasterly winds of land origin.
NoORTHRAST MONSOON
The northeast monsoon is fully established in the Indian land and
sea areas in the beginning of January when temperature is lowest in
the Asiatic continent. There is then a belt of high pressure with anti-
cyclonic conditions stretching from the west Mediterranean to Central
Asia and northeast China, Clear skies, fine weather, low humidity,
large diurnal range of temperature, and light northerly winds are the
usual features of the weather in India during this period, broken only
at intervals by weather disturbances which originate in the Mediterra-
nean Sea and which pass eastwards across Persia and Northern India,
often into China.
These disturbances are ordinarily less intense than, but similar in
type to, the depressions of European latitudes. The precipitation
accompanying them is small in amount, but very important for the
winter crops of India. Some in their eastward passage give light rains
over the whole of Northern India, while others which confine their
activity to the extreme north give moderate to heavy rain in the Punjab
plains and Kashmir, and heavy snowfall in the higher Himalayas. The
disturbances are attended by marked temperature effects, a rise occur-
ring in front of them while in the rear unusually dry clear weather
prevails, as a rule, with stronger and cooler westerly winds. During this
720 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
period of the year, rainfall is greatest in the northwest and decreases
towards the south and east; dry weather prevails generally in the
Peninsula. The distribution of temperature is almost similar to that of
rainfall, the weather being colder in the northwest than in the east and
south.
The hot weather period of March to May is one of continuous
increase of temperature and decrease of barometric pressure in North
India, of continuous decrease of temperature in the south Indian Ocean
and adjacent land areas of Africa and Australia and of intensification of
anti-cyclonic high pressure area in the south Indian Ocean. There
occurs a steady transference northward of the area of greatest heat in
India, and simultaneously of the equatorial belt of low pressure of the
winter season. In March the highest day temperatures, about 100° F.,
occur in the Deccan; in April the area of the highest day temperatures,
from 100° to 110°F., lies over the south of the Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat; while in May the seat of greatest heat is northern India, and
especially the northwest desert, where temperature often reaches 120°F.
or over. The area of lowest pressure lies over Rajasthan, Sind and
Thar Desert and a trough of low pressure extends from Rajasthan to
Chota Nagpur.
A local air circulation with this trough as centre, exists over India
and causes indraughts from the adjacent seas of southerly winds across
the Bengal coast and of northwesterly winds across the Bombay coast.
The land and sea winds give rise to large contrasts of temperature
and humidity and consequently to violent local thunderstorms, especially
in Bengal, where they are usually calied ‘Nor’westers’. These are
sometimes of tornadic intensity and very destructive. During this
period dust-storms and dust-raising winds are more common in North
India than in other narts.
SOUTHWEST MONSOON
Towards the end of May the air circulation over India becomes
more and more vigorous until, almost abruptly, in most years the
southeast trade winds from south of the Equator are induced north-
wards into the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal and caught up in the
Indian circulation ; in other years, the establishment takes place by a
slow process. This relatively cool as well as humid current, known as
the southwest monsoon, bursts on the Malabar coast ordinarily during
the first five days of June. It gradually extends northwards and is
usually established over most of the Indian areas by the end of June.
The current before reaching India has a travel of more than 2,000 miles
over sea, and is consequently saturated. It is the great rain-bearing
current for most of India.
The orographical features of India are of great importance in
modifying the flow of the monsoon currents and the distribution
of monsoon raintall. The Himalayan ranges to the north andthe Burma
ranges to the east are equivalent to two sides of a box, through the
other two sides of which the monsoon currents enter the country. The
southerly or Bay of Bengal current is naturally deflected by the two
sides of the box northwards through Bengal, and then westwards up to
the Gangetic Plain. The Arabian Sea current, on the other hand,
surmounts the Ghats on the west coast, causes copious rain there,
AUVOANVI—CNIM ONITIVASUd § adnssadd NVaW
pe el cere
O x
Ww
\
\
‘ ~S
Reqy— TY HO ne Hezht —xi20/ *4
°o
}] 31°79 ‘009 “ISIR ‘tN Avquog ‘“aanoe
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA 725
advances over the Deccan and Madhya Pradesh, and generally meets the
Bay of Bengal current along the line of the trough of low pressure over
the Gangetic Plain, normally extending from Orissa to northwest India.
At the eastern end of the trough over the north Bay of Bengal, depress-
ions frequently form. They intensify the monsoon rainfall and travei
from the head of the Bay along the trough to Saurashtra, Rajasthan or
the Punjab, and cause widespread rain and occasionally local floods.
July Rainfall.
Further, the trough is not stationary but moves north or south of the
normal position and affects the rainfall distribution as it moves. Con-
sequently the monsoon period is not one of continuous rain in any part
of India. Bursts of general rain alternate with breaks, partially or
generally as the case may be. The pulsatory character of this action
and of the rainfall precipitation is one of the most important features of
the monsoon period meteorologically, as it is also economically for the
proper growth of the crops. On the average it may be said that the
strength of the currents and the accompanying rainfall increase from
June to July and remain steady till about the end of August. The
monsoon then begins to retreat from northern India. Taking the
country as a whole, India gets 42°8 inches of rainfall during the monsoon
months, of which 3:1 inches fall in May, 7-9 in June, 11-2 in July, 10:3
in August, 7:0 in September and 3:3 in October. The distribution of
rainfall in July is shown in the above text figure.
722 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Vol. 50
There are four important variations from the normal in the monsoon
vain over the country. Firstly, the commencement of rains may
be considerably delayed over the whole or a large part of India;
secondly, there may be a prolonged break or breaks lasting over the
greater part of July or August; thirdly, the rains may terminate
considerably earlier than usual; and lastly the rains may be con-
siderably heavier than usual over one part than over another. The
last constitutes the most common abnormality.
Post-Monsoon
The post-monsoon or retreating southwest monsoon period—the end
of the wet season—forms a transition period leading up to the establish-
ment of the conditions of the dry winter season. This transition begins
in the early part of October and is usually not completed until mid-
December. The Arabian Sea monsoon current retreats southwards from
Rajasthan, Saurashtra and the Deccan by a series of intermittent
actions.
The Bay of Bengal current retreats similarly down ths Gangetic
Plain. The low pressure conditions previously prevailing in north
India are obliterated by October, and are transferred to the centre of
the Bay at the beginning of November and to the south of the Bay by
the beginning of December. By the end of that month the belt of low
pressure usually passes out of the Bay limits into the equatorial belt,
where it forms a permanent feature of the meteorology of the Indian
Ocean during the next three months. Similar conditions obtain in the
Arabian Sea also. This retreat of the Jow pressure to the south of the
Bay is associated with dry weather in northern India but with more or
less general rain on the Madras coast districts and over the eastern
half of the Peninsula, where October and November are often the
rainiest months of the year.
Rainfall Variations
From the foregoing description, it will be understood that
the distribution of rainfall over India depends largely on its
orographical features. If the hills and mountains of India were
effaced, the country would receive much less rainfall. It will also
‘be seen that the rainiest season in most provinces is the monsoon period,
June to September; that rainfall during the cold weather is scanty:
and that the important rains in southeast Madras are those of October to
December. Stress has also been laid on the great variability of monsoon
rainfall in time and space in any one year. The variations in the
amount of precipitation received from year to year arealso surprisingly
large. The annual rainfall of the Indian region, excluding Burma, is 42
inches and variations from this normal as great as + 12 inches and —8
inches occurred in 1917 and 1899 respectively. A long break in the
monsoon, or an abrupt termination of rains, is disastrous to crops and
produces droughts or famines. .
On the other hand, tracts of country are sometimes deluged with
rain and suffer distress through excessive flooding. These heavy
downpours occur chiefly near the tracks of the cyclonic depressions of
the monsoon months or of the cyclones that occasionally advance inland
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA 723
from the Bay of Bengal or Arabian Sea. A fall of 10 inches to 20 inches
in a day is by no means a rare occurrence. We have records of rain-
fall in the plains as high as 25 inches in 24 hours at Purnea in Bihar
and 28 inches in Bombay.
The following table (Table 1) summarises the essential facts about
India’s rainfall based on observations made during the period 1875 to
1950 :—
TABLE I
Facts about India’s Rainfall
| Limits (in percent-
Extremes of 3 age of normals)
Normal wars Standard bade :
Raincall Psbegvene Ae onion atest plio tes F
(inches) mount a1 (inches) all is expecte
Year | tobeona4dtol
chance of success ~
|
Monsoon Rainfall | | |
(June to September)
Northeast India ...| 52°6 — 99 1884
| + 80 1922 4-1 | + 10
|
Northwest India ++] 19°4 —11°6 1877 |
Lye +14:0 1917 4°6 + 30
Peninsula we] 34:1 —16°6 1899 |
+10°3 1878 orl ga lt)
Winter Precipitation
(January to March)
Northwest India ... 2°8 — 21 1902
+ 97 1911 dec | Sas:
|
TEMPERATURE AND CLIMATES
During the first half of the year, from January to June, the increase
of temperature by solar action is greater than the loss by radiation
and other actions, and hence temperature rises more or less steadily in
conformity with the increasing elevation of the sun. During the
remainder of the year, the balance is the other way and temperature
steadily decreases from July to December. ‘Though in most countries
July and August are as hot as, or hotter than June, this condition does
not prevail in India owing to the cloud and rains of the southwest
monsoon. The annual variation of temperature is small in the extreme
south and increases rather rapidly northwards up the east and west
coasts of India. It is twice as great at Bombay as in Malabar; it is
from eight to ten times as great at stations in the north Deccan and
northern and central India, and is greatest in the most inland stations of
the driest tracts, Rajasthan and the Punjab. The difference between the
minimum and maximum temperatures ona day, called the diurnal range,
is much smaller in the wet than in the dry season, and at coast stations
5
724 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
than in the interior. It is about 12°F. on the west coast of the Peninsula,
and rises to 30°F. on the mean of the year in the Punjab. As already
indicated, different parts of India exhibit very great diversity in respect
of their climatic features.
Northern India alone, in its most easterly and most westerly
provinces—Assam on the one hand and Rajasthan on the other—presents.
us with the greatest possible contrast of dampness and dryness, and
when we further compare the most northerly province, the Punjab, with
the most southerly, namely Travancore, we find in the former a conti-
nental climate of the most pronounced character—extreme summer heat
alternating with winter cold that sometimes sinks to freezing point—and
in thelatter an almost unvarying warmth in conjunction witha uniformly
moist atmosphere that is especially characteristic of the shores of a
tropical sea. In addition to this heterogeneity on the plains, there is a
further variety to be found on the hills.
The hill stations are situated along the Himalayas and on the Ghats.
in the Peninsula. In all cases their atmosphere is cooler and damper
than that of the neighbouring plains; but while those in the northwest
Himalayas are subject to great vicissitudes of heat and cold, dryness.
and dampness, in the course of the year, those of southern India are
comparatively uniform in these respects. ‘Their fine clear season is.
shorter than at the northern stations, and by no means So dry.
The mean maximum and minimum temperatures at a few stations.
in India are given in Table II (opposite).
CYCLONES AND DEPRESSIONS
Besides the setting in of the monsoon early in June, its extension
into India during June and July, and finally its retreat southwards in
September and October, we have also to consider the other major
phenomena like cyclonic storms and depressions.
The cyclones which form in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
in the transition periods (April-June and October-December) are
generally of great intensity and often have an inner area of hurricane
winds and calm centre. In these storms, oval or circular in shape, the
air moves in converging spirals ina left-handed direction against the
hands of a clock. The winds become fiercer and fiercer as the centre is
approached and reach hurricane force near it. In the innermost central
zone of some ten miles diameter the wind suddenly falls off to a calm or
light air, and the barometric pressure there often marks an inch, and
sometimes as much as two inches, below normal.
Cyclones generally die away soon after they reach land, but in the
coastal districts which they touch may cause great havoc through high
winds, torrential rain and—most destructive ofall in low-lying districts
—storm waves. The latter are due to the huge masses of sea water
swept forward by the storm and, when aided by a high tide, may
inundate low-lying iand to a depth of 20 feet. The storm wave accom-
panying the Bakarganj cyclone of 1876 was one of the most destructive
on record; about a hundred thousand people were drowned in half-an-
hour on the alluvial flats of the Meghna, while an equal number died.
from the epidemics of fever, cholera and other diseases which almost
invariably follow a storm wave. As recently as 1942, a storm wave
caused great havoc in Contai district of Bengal.
Temperatures
inimum
TABLE 11
Mean Maximum and M
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA 725
oe
ns
ba oh a eR > 28) N 90 — un
BS ove) ~ Sp) a — oO ~ A So ~
See N ie) oe) a) en (Se) A) = = uw
CeO peek Oy OD eS
- oe) =) = : .
~ Sse = SH 4 = 8 3 pr ee}
ra = ret ~ re re ro re re
ON PP St om Sob iw SS HH BE aN
Aan N 00 (fe) wor ee) a ™ oO S52) oe cn D>
ae) ~ ss ~~ = tC = ~w nN uD [I~ uD Cth fore)
pO ND NH +H SON BS AND HH HH NO
OD NO MHD mmMm Ae sq NH OF Mn wet
DN dm dost cdOMW i ceo 0 (ore) coo worm
YO Ot PH mH HV WH FH BA HH OO
Om nO AN AR At FA RH NH OH Oo
DO DO DO MoO com oN don wo
PH SH WO MS NL YH VHA OF BS HO
HM MnR MM HO RA DH OOo con AW
Om On ~ am com CO MN orm corm om ore a
on 2 eS ON SO, ey (en Sore
5 On AD FO SDH KH AD RO Or OnR OM
< Srmw Orn @YF® DK CKR Or OR DOrWR DOR De
> WE at SY PLE DO PHN OCD VO HO OM
3 BS wa ND ND OM OD OH BARE HBR Wo
ex DO Do OO Or OnR AR DAR BOR DOKWR Or
o ON PO Ot AD BRM NH MH DBO mH MO
q man mm MH ANN RO MND HO WOO NRO WO
Ss So CO oO oO (ane o) oc a &~ ora Om co ™ S>) 00 OD) 0
= [oo | v ra
SYP SONY NSD CO MH HH CO ANP YA VP
Ch tO RR OD HO OK HH ON OH NRO
8 CO~ CO on OF OW OR OY OYF® COO DE
ei ton | = rm i — re
= SS ee Sen ee Cee
& SA AN FAR AN OO Om HH NR OM AN
a, SK On SG SHR SK GR GOR BE SNR OR
G oa = re on =
Pa P~ SO NH DY CH NO Ot OCH CH MED
Om SOW Am HO OM HR ANH HNN Oa
S co OW oO AO op) Coon DO Dar
a On OF WD HD Wt oN OO Sm OF! MO
oO of <tr COO Are HN we NO wom wood tr. 00
fx co Ww NRW tt << IN WwW co WD rw CO OO ae) lo one) co
OH SP WH FSO VO SP wo OCs Oa
O~ ton HO WO NO RH MN Au mw
at Rt RF Re AD NH KH ow Oo
Jan.
76
50
eee
@eo
e@eo |
oe
eae
eee
e
Allahabad
Jodhpur
Delhi
Agra
Jubbulpore
Patna
Calcutta
Tezpur
Sambalpur
Madras
726 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
oa
ns
o 4 eo) 00 00 co co S fo») oO
eae on) iV) op) nw CO o Ve) ro)
ga Y 5) =H un of ao) re) Ve) Ze)
+ @
a3 st 00 sa) > So se) 2° w
= Co) ~ o 29
og mr =) S = = rc = Oo
eK rei re ra = _ ri rf
ac
=
S) OO) ORD” R00 HOD. | ESOS Oe
o COD DH DO NH HM 2D HRD ON
a no nN o~ OH DOH OH OG
St oy ee ee
> Om ON NH INN Wig Oto Clon, Om
S) tN OMA OM WM GOO ANH OM Art
Zi corm nO On 00 © ars Oo ™~ core
aS et te ae ae ee Cans Soe SS
S) Oo nin t+ o@D Do HRN OD CO <H
@ com co com [o.6) Om = aoarw~
a Sia ESO, Gi orel : Pies car Pr 2S >
rev xm AH tat GA HR No wMe¢E UN
n D cor coo Ore oo Oo 4 Ot
Ww a
£ ny «(OM USM HT YH NH SY SO NH
Ono NH OHM WN F Ow we N
us x oO CON 5 Om Sim. om =
2,
Se]oe jes se er ee PF we So Ye
vat Dog NO om NRO NF MO ne ae
aS a = OR. Coico co tN COILS Hoole Looe niogy oS com
Ss
COiog os
= a © NN AD YO MTA SP |79R SO FO
a C HO HO wt BO OM FPO AD ~mu
ub As 3 mo DO OW Dr AM oe Om on
— = ar
a 2 ;
eee eG) [OO ROU eat ie, 00 Oy ieee
NO HRD HO NS OM RD AD ON
fq q — DAD DMO DAY CH OY OF OO Ar
< S a ri rd
i = moO mt OH NN THD OH SOS ON
u RO NM Ho Ho Ho wHe HO WH
= rey, O~ OO QR OCOnR SCO SOR GR ON
= < me re om
Gis Ab eee eee a 7 i
v
= ron COS et OO aE Se ret | Cans = CeO
a SH AH OM O©O RA OR OA Reg
s Oon~ DAO m— oo HO ON SK
To Co WN Of tC co in OO OS
On OSD orn Om OM KR On wom
oe co 6S okK DO aw ZB oo
¢ om Cn NO AND TWH OF SCOP Sf
sR On ODO Hoa Om HR ON BHA
ia SS Sn S= OH OH OH COS ON
=~
p=)
o
a,
q
aA 3
° do
a es
E a
am 3 =
) i 3 & a
wu aS) 3 {0 Le} ay sc)
on) is) m @ ro) a
- q q KS) ° eg | aa
S 6a = i ev < aa) =
LUSNO JO SaLVd IWINYON—NOOSNOW LSAMHLNOS AHL
oe Coes ene
PY Yeuseyy
&
Lia
——| SNH C*
alVv °
a
“EFC '‘Kyoor o zo
AJ] aLV Ig
909
“st
qeny Kequrog “usmnor
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA (27
The principal cyclone months in both the Arabian Sea and Bay of
Bengal are May, October and November. They may also occur in
April, September and December, and, particularly in the Arabian Sea,
in June, on the advancing front of monsoon air. Onan average 1 or 2 ©
severe cyclones inay be expected to form in the Indian seas in the pre-
monsoon period, and 2 or 3 in the post-monsoon period.
EASTERN DEPRESSIONS
The fluctuations in the intensity of the monsoon itself areto a large
extent associated with a series of depressions which mostly originate
(or, when they are coming from farther east strengthen) at the head of
the Bay of Bengal and travel in a northwesterly direction across the
country towards N.W. India, causing heavy rainfall along their track.
The frequency of such depressions is 3 or 4 in a month during the
monsoon months (June to September).
WESTERN DEPRESSIONS
During the period November to Maya series of western depressions
enter India through Baluchistan and the N.W. Frontier and move
eastwards across north India towards N.E. India (Assam-Bengal).
These depresSions cause cloudy weather and light rains in the plains
with snowfall in the Himalayas and are followed by cold waves. ‘Their
frequency is on the avetage, 2 in November, 4 to 5 per month during
December to April, and about 2 in May.
CHARACTRR (OF -TH RE S::-Wioa. MONSOON :R AINF Adit
Figs. 4 and 5 show the normal dates of onset and of withdrawal of this.
monsoon in different parts of India. The actual dates of onset as well
as the intensity and distribution in time and space of the monsoon
precipitation vary from yearto year. It will be noticed that there is a
considerable variation not only in the dates of establishment but also in
the speed with which the monsoon current moves from the T'ravancore-
Cochin area in the south towards Kolaba in the north (near Bombay).
As the major agricultural operations have to synchronize with
the monsoon rains, the importance of an advance knowledge of dates
of establishment of the monsoon in different parts of the country, the
spells of rain and breaks in rain which occur during the season, cannot
be over-emphasized.
For an analysis of floods and droughts, we consider the total
rainfall during the period June to September. If the deviation of the
actual rainfall in a year is more than about twice the mean deviation,
that year is defined as a year of flood or drought according as the
departure is positive or negative. The resuits of the analysis from 1875
to 1945 are given in Table III. In this table the ‘@’ sign and‘ O’ sign
indicate rainfall in excess and in defect of the normal by an amount
more than twice the standard deviation.
If we study the distribution of floods and droughts in the various
subdivisions in each year, we see that the years 1877, 1899 and 1918
stand cut very prominently as years of generai drought. It will
be recalled that these were actually years of great famine and distress.
The year 1920 was one of partial drought, only the northwest and
728 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
central parts of the country being affected. The years of general flood
are 1878, 1892, and 1917. In two instances at least (1877, 1878 and 1917,
1918) droughts and floods occurred in adjacent years, but there is
usually no regularity in time in the distribution of droughts and floods.
Heavy Rainfall
If we examine the frequency ‘of heavy rainfall over India we find
that :—
(i) Fall exceeding 5 in. in 24 hours have occurred over the whole
of India excluding N.E. Baluchistan ard parts of the N.W.
frontier.
(ii) Falls have not exceeded 10 in. in 24 hours over most of the
interior of the Peninsula and in a few districts in the central
parts of the country.
(iii) Falls of 15 to 20 in. in 24 hours have occurred ali along the
west coast including Saurashtra, on the south- Coromandel
coast, in south Assam, in Bengal, and the foot of the
Himalayas.
(iv) A few isolated falls of 20 in. and over have occurred in the
plains.
(v) The greatest fall of over 40 in. in 24 hours has occurred at
Cherrapunji in the Khasi Hills.
Heavy rainfall is almost invariably associated with the movement
inland of storms from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. When
heavy rainfall occurs consecutively on a number of days and particularly
over the catchment areas of rivers, the magnitude of the ensuing floods
may well be imagined.
Plate V gives the distribution of the frequency of heavy falls of three
inches and above in 24 hours.
Increasing forest-cover, checking erosion, delaying flood-peaks, and
training the major rivers, etc., are problems which have begun to
demand an increasing attention of the State.
MICRO-CLIMATE
All the foregoing are the large-scale, or macro-climatic, effects of
topography, land and sea surfaces. Locally, however, the variation of
land-forms creates an infinite variety of smaller climatic differences,
called micro-climates. In addition to the micro-climatic effects of various
land forms, concave (valley), convex (crest), lakes, swamps, forests,
etc., other climatic influences usually of a subordinate nature, are
introduced by the presence or absence of vegetation and by human
activities.
Vegetation introduces marked influence on the hydrologic cycle.
Trees intercept falling precipitation and part of it is evaporated before
reaching the ground. Evaporation is also increased by the transpiration
of plants. Precipitation that reaches the soil will, on the other hand,
not readily evaporate, nor will it run off easily, because the soil of forests
has a spongy structure that can absorb and store considerable quanti-.
ties of water. Inside forests, temperature maxima are lower and
minima higher than over open land. The wind speed is sharply
reduced at the surface and the relative humidities in the forests are
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soe.
TABLE Ll
NORTH-WEST
NORTH-EAST
CHOTA
NAGPUR
BALUCHISTAN
™! BOMBAY
OECCAN
| © | 4
ee
en)
= 4
a
me
Kol mat
eae
Eats
aes
eileney
|_ | @|
Ree —
@; |
eerie
ONO ae eet el elie)
Tee EE oh (oN Lo) Lo TR Be LoD et oD ae AE RT a es
1 el El ae os ake
La!
ee
Pele ea
Ae ees
fs eal Se ae
Pee AO OP AO OiOn 1O1OioiOrolon te eS ae ae eS
Ce ee OR Be ee l@; | | C2 ae a ee ee
aa al ee ee ee |@'@/e| {4
18 ele! T0010, Tor TOO OOS OOO OT OOO OOO ——
ee ae a a a ee ee
Ee 2Os ee OL OlOlgiOi ae be Oot O10 | jOlOl at tal)
2 a Ee el ae
ey ae je} bo
[CER a
[ee a (oe
ae ee ae
26 | ||
a 2 a Ca a EE a
2 ee ee Ol tes! ctr ols aueeaaa Saas ak
ee —|—}|+}-} a ee (a Da FL
|_1930 |_| et ee ee iat al ed al |_|
Ped
ea
(en EE Fe a a
Inna eralewc selmi alsa frelon los tp falsalae sein ocala
DEVIATION fo [e3 [sos ofeolealertes|s [ss [eslos|s [sels tea|solsris e's [se]
‘ARO nmscty sjeojedeaion|ooloaicals fee [soit2 40 [solaonalnaisdmatoojgaled ojeds
pecoons [427i r ty Yala totes fsf2lrtelel7{ols ial [2 {4 [6 |
forousurs [3 [3 [22 tal7 [es le [sis [3 | apetrteteteretere tote tetas
pe oTAC ZS To Ls Ps fir [2 ie fi a2 liz f2ai79 7s fio ja fie | 7 fiz is Tole ts |
FLOODS @ AND DROUGHTS O_ IN INDIA.
THE FAMINE YEARS OF 1877.1899 AND 1918 foe CONSPICUOUS.
cc OAJA NOT AVAILABLE.
©
SOE!
&
=)
y
Oo
yy
t=)
eh
pons
iJ
"EGS CROED'E TOO
“OOS PUL OOF GOE "OO? ‘G01 ‘Gs
“GS “OT “S °O 40y UABIP ade BYYs}doug
hey EPUE,Y
2
~
sInoY $Z UI sAOgE
|
(02611681 porsad ay) ur suorsed50 jo Es2qUINN )
pue ¢ jo sqjey Anvay yo Aouanbe.y ay} Jo UONIIjsIq
Ci
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
SS
Height in feet above ground
DS
Us
Temperature in C Kapour pressure in nm of Hg
SOME MICRO-CLIMATES
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA 729
raised. Tillage of ground will increase water loss from the surface by
evaporation, and will also lead to lower minimum temperatures at the
surface because of the poor heat conductivity of the loose soil, which
will radiate heat without being able to draw on the reservoir at great
depths. Such ground will also lead to increased dust blowing at high
wind speeds.
Factories and big cities have appreciable influence upon climate.
By increasing the atmospheric pollution, they change the radiation
balance in the atmosphere over the area. Dust and smoke deplete
particularly the ultra-violet part of the solar spectrum. The consider-
able amount of heat produced in the cities results in an increase of the
air temperature. In summer, increased convection causes higher
cloudiness over cities, coupled with somewhat higher rain frequencies
and amounts.
When soil samples containing only hygroscopic moisture are expos-
ed in the open, they lose water by evaporation from the morning up to
the maximum temperature epoch inthe afternoon. Thereafter, towards
the evening, during the night and until sunrise next morning, the soil
absorbs the water vapour from the atmosphere. There is a comple-
mentary phenomenon going on in the air layers near the ground.
During day-time there is an upward flow of water vapour with the
vapour pressure decreasing with height. During night time there is a
downward flow of water vapour towards the ground which dessicates
the air so that the vapour pressure increases with height.
The micro-climates of plant communities are of fundamental
importance in agricultural operations. The air temperature, humidity,
wind velocity, evaporation, etc., at different levels above ground inside
environments like standing crops and orchards, that is the micro-climates
of these environments, show significant and typical deviations from the
conditions at the same leveis in the open space. A few typical micro-
climates for cotton, betel-vine, wheat, double-beans and sugarcane as
observed in the Poona Agricultural Meteorological Observatory are
shown in the graph (opposite). The curves referring to the minimum
temperature epoch are marked WN while those referring to the maximum
temperature epoch are marked X. The horizontal separation between
the N and the_X curves indicates the diurnal range at the level under con-
sideration. The micro-climatic characteristic depends on the plant
density, wind break effect as controlled by the distribution and intensity
of the foliage, the canopy effect, wetness of ground, etc.
The healthy growth and normal yield of crops depend upon certain
optimum conditions of rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind, cloudiness,
etc., in the air and soil layers with which the plant world is concerned.
Analysis of existing data has given ample evidence for concluding that
of all the ‘controls’, the climatic factor is the one ‘control’ which
accounts for at least 50 per cent of the variability of crop yields over a
series of vears. Manure, variety, cultural operations, etc., all combined,
account only for the remaining 50 per cent of the variability.
MISCELLANEOUS CLIMATOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
(1) Periodic Variations and Climatic Trends
Ellsworth Huntingdon has utilised field studies in Asia and North
America for evidence of progressive, or perhaps a mode of desiccation
730 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
that occurs in the form of pulsations which endure for a century or
more and are then followed by a swing in the opposite direction.
There is strong reason to believe that during the last two thousand
years there has been a widespread pronounced tendency towards.
aridity. In drier regions the extent of land available for pasturage and
cultivation has been seriously curtailed, and the habitability of the
country has decreased. Moreover, in both the drier and the moister
regions the change of climate does not appear to have been all in one
direction. After a period of rapidly decreasing rainfall and rising
temperature during the earlier centuries of the Christian era,
there is evidence of a slight reversal and a tendency towards more
abundant rainfall and lower temperature during the Middle Ages. This
pulsation has been more in evidence in desert regions than elsewhere.
Writing about Lake Nagami, north of Kalahari Desert in South Africa,
Prof. Schwarz says: ‘In 1760 it was dry ; then followed a period, when
it was great lake, from 1813 to Livingstone’s visit in 1849, when it
had begun to decrease; from 1854 until 1861, when it held some shal-
low water surrounded by reeds: and from 1896 until 1922 when there
was no water and the lake was a dry plain’. The restoration of Lake
Nagami is regarded as evidence, amongst others, of a cyclic climatic
change of.period exceeding 100 years.
In arid and semi-arid areas, annual precipitation varies greatly from
year to year. Long-time changes in precipitation may be classified
into (1) random fluctuations, (2) cyclic fluctuations, and (3) trends. As
regards random fluctuations, it miay be expected, since there is a
large variation in the annual rainfall, that consecutive years will have .
similar as well as dissimilar amounts. A chance event may happen
singly or in random groups. If there are cyclic fluctuations, the varia-
tion from the mean should be similar in magnitudes, and should be
repeated at regular intervals of time. Walker found between sunspots.
and the annual temperature of India a correlation coefficient as high as
—0:5. This is suggestive of a cyclic variation of 11 years, or 22 (or 23),
years, or 34 (or 35 years, as in Bruckner’s ‘cycle’), though it is not
easy to trace such cyclical variation in a plotted curve of annual preci-.
pitation against years.
Trends may be defined as diminishing or increasing average preci-
pitation over a given period. The annual variations obscure the trend
in many cases, but in others it is clearly visible in a plotted graph. To.
determine whether the aridity is increasing or decreasing over any part
of Rajputana and adjoining areas, or over Deccan, -we have to determine
the trend of (a) rainfall at typical individual stations, and (b) over speci-
fied areas, such as districts.
The most commonly used method for determining trend is the
method of moving averages. Theeffect of this process is the smooth-
ing out of the annual variations: the greater the number of years in
each group the more effectively is the annual variation smoothed out.
A more accurate method is to assume a law, Ry = a+ bn, where
R, denotes the rainfall in the nth year, and determine the most proba-
ble values of a and b by the method of least squares.
Analysing in this way, we find that the rainfall in some of the
stations in the Great Indian Desert, in the south Punjab, Cutch and
Saurashtra show a definite downward trend. At Jacobabad, which is a
typical desert station with long records, the mean annual rainfall for the
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA 731
26 years ending 1886 was 44 inches; for the 52 years ending
1920, it was 4°0 inches; and for the 60 years ending 1940, it was 3:6.
inches. At Delhi, the mean annual rainfall for the 36 years ending
1886 was 27°6 inches; for the 55 years ending 1920, it was 26:18
inches ; and for the 75 years ending 1940, it was 25:25 inches, These
overlapping means definitely show a downward trend of rainfall. Such
decrease of rainfall must necessarily lead to an increase of aridity.
@) aridity factor and Precipitation Ratio.
To introduce a numerical expression for aridity as a climatic element,
Lang defined in 1920 the ‘ rain factor’, P/T, in which P denoted the
mean amount of precipitation in millimetres and T the mean air tempe-
rature in degrees centigrade, for a specified period of years. In 1926,
Hirth plotted the lines of equal ‘ rain-factor’ called isonotides. P/T
has generally the minimum value over the desert region. But this or
the form P/(T + 10), introduced by Prof. Maroune, to avoid negative
values, which he called ‘index of aridity’, does not provide a complete
description of aridity. Heavy rainfall in one year, followed by little
rain in the next 2 or 3 years or what is known as ‘ rainfail variability ’
as well as the large diurnal variation of temperature (or range of
temperature), called also ‘thermal continentality’, are major contri-
butory factors for aridity. Accordingly Gorcezynski gave the following
numerical measure for the percentage of aridity: K x (Latitude
factor) x (Range of Temperature) x (Precipitation Ratio.).
The ‘latitude factor’ was taken to be merely the cosecant of the
latitude, (on the ground that 12 cosec (lat.) gives the range of tempe-
rature in centigrade scale in most part of the oceans). The ‘ precipitation
ratio’ represents the ratio of the difference of maximum and minimum
annual precipitation to the average precipitation for a given number of
years. The range of temperature is the mean annual range of tempe-
rature. When temperature is measured in Fahrenheit scale, the
constant K is taken as 5-4, so that the ‘percentage aridity’ may
approach 100 for the worst desert conditions. Calculated on this basis,
the aridity of the Sahara is 79% at Colomb Bechar and 65% at
Fayium; the aridity is 66% at Salton (California) and 40% in West
Rajputana. While this formtla is approximate, it indicates the major
factors to be taken into consideration in the computation of aridity. A
more accurate formula has yet to be evolved.
One of the main contributory causes for the increase of aridity is the
destruction of forests and vegetative cover. The formula given above
for the percentage of aridity shows that it is directly proportional to the
range of temperature. Over barren grounds, the range of temperature
is considerably mote than that over forests or grounds with a vegetative
cover. ‘Therefore, indiscriminate cutting of trees for cultivation, fire-
wood, etc., and destruction of vegetative cover by cows, goats, sheep
and other animals must lead to an increase of aridity. The increase of
aridity in several parts of India has been partly due to this cause.
Historical evidence has been adduced that western Kajasthan was
well-wooded at the time of Alexander and the Maurya empire. Since
A.D. 600, the use of forests for firewood and other domestic purposes
increased beyond their natural recuperative powers. Thus a vicious
cycle was set up. Herds of goats and sheep moved about by the
732 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
ol oes a a q
nomadic tribes used up vegetation wherever it existed or appeared. In
this way man and his animals contributed, and are still contributing
appreciably, to the increase of aridity.
(3) Classification of Climates
Koppen classified the principal climatic zones of the world into five
main classes, namely, dry climate, humid meso-thermal climate, humid
micro-thermal climate, polar climate and tropical rain climate, and
further sub-divided these into a total of eleven climatic provinces. The
dry climate (steppe and desert) is distinguished from the others mainly
by precipitation limit, while the others are separated from each other
by characteristic temperature limits. Thornthwaite, on the other hand,
defined the climatic classes based on the effectiveness of precipitation,
by which was meant the ratio between precipitation and evaporation at
a given place. The statistical value obtained by him for the precipitation-
evaporation ratio (P/E) is
he. 11:5( Bren) 20/9)
Ti 107
where P and E are the monthly precipitation and evaporation in inches
and T is the mean monthly temperature in°F. This factor is found to
bear aclose relation to plant growth. According to this basis, the five
climatic classes are: Arid (desert), where P/E =< 16: Semi-arid
(steppe), where P/E = 16 to 31; Sub-humid (grassland), where P/E =
32 to 63; Humid (forest), where P/E = 64 to 127; Wet (rain-forest),
where P/E = or> 128. The importance of plant cover and agri-
culture to human culture has resulted in widespread use of these
climatic classifications. In India we have regions where one or the
other of these climatic types prevail.
(4) Influence of Topography on Climate
The topography, mountains, lakes, etc., have profound influence on
climate. The distribution of precipitation is most noticeably affected
by mountains. Onthe windward side there is an increaSe of precipita-
tion with height, and this is approximately given by the formula
P= Po 0:072h:
where P,, represents the annual precipitation in inches at height h above
the foot of mountain measured in feet, and P, the annual precipitation
in inches at the foot. Thus if at a station at the foot of Western Ghats
the annual rainfall is 100 inches, it is 244 inches at a height of 2,000
feet.
The rate of decrease of temperature with height is‘known as the
lapse rate of temperature. It amounts on the average to 3:4 to 3°8 °F.
per 1,000 ft., but may vary considerably from this depending on the
locality and the season.
(5) Diurnal Variation of Climatic Elements
There isa pronounced diurnal variation of pressure, temperature and
humidity at all stations. At many stations in India there is also a clear
THE CLIMATE OF INDIA 733
diurnal variation of rainfall in the months June to September. ‘There
is a well-marked tendency to increased rainfall during the dark hours,
and asa consequence, the earlier half of the day, from midnight to noon,
gets more rain than the latter twelve hours. Thus at Bombay, the
analysis of the hourly values.of rainfall for the 60 years, 1875 to 1934,
shows that during June to September, 35:7 inches were recorded bet-
ween midnight and noon and only 28°8 between noon and midnight.
(6) Climatological Folk-lores
Climatological folk-lores are prevalent in many countries of the
world. In India, too, there are many such folk-lores. Some of these
are based on astronomical or astrological grounds, such as those asso-
ciated with the effect of full-moon or new-moon or the position of
planets on rainfall; some of the others are based on climatological
experience, such as rainfall lasting for one day only or for three days or
for seven days, if it commences on certain specified days of the week in
July. While they contain climatological statements in convenient forms,
statistical investigations are necessary to determine how often they are
true, and if any of them be found to be true more often than one should
expect on random chance, the locality to which it is applicable.
This review will make it clear that the climate is the collective state
of the atmosphere at a given place during a specified period of time.
The climatic conditions depend on the general circulation of the
atmosphere and its local modifications. The circulation of the atmos-
phere is determined by a multitude of processes; many of these
processes are known, but their influence, inter-relation and inter-action
are very complex, These make the climate a variable quantity and no
analytical and quantitative treatment of all the causes determining
the climate can be given in the present state of our knowledge.
THE DESERT LOCUST AND ITS CONTROL
BY
Hem SINGH PRuTHI, Ph.pD., Sc.D. (Cantab.), F.N.I., F.A.S.
(Plant Protection Adviser & Director, Locust Control in India)
&
D. R. BuaTiA, M.Sc. (HONS.), F.E.S.I1.
(Deputy Locust Entomologist)
(With one coloured and two black-and-white plates)
BNE RO D“U<C22Et OoN
About half a dozen species of locusts are found in the world, of
which the Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria Forsk.), the Bombay
Locust (Patanga succincta L.) and the Migratory Locust (Locusta
migratoria L.) are found in India.
Of these the Desert Locust is the most important. This insect
is a denizen of desert, (Col. pl., fig. 1), its belt extending from
northern India to western Africa, through Pakistan, Arabia, Iran, ‘etc.
In India, its permanent desert homes lie in the major part of Rajasthan,
part of Saurashtra, Kutch, Hissar and Mohindergarh districts of
the Punjab, and Pepsu’. Individual locust specimens are normally
found in these and similar outbreak areas in other parts of the locust
belt, even when the locust cycle 1s not on. At such times they ame
in the ‘Solitary phase’. However, when there is a mass and crowded
multiplication they become very active, fly together as swarms and
are transformed into the ‘Gregarious phase’: thus a new cycle starts.
Since 1863 eight such cycles have occurred, and the ninth cycle is on
since 1949. The last cycle was in progress during 1940-47 and the
present cycle started, after a lapse of only one year, in 1949. When
swarm formation- occurs, the area of locust activity extends into
Europe, the major part of the African continent, southern U.S.S.R.
and ‘Afghanistan, etc. In India the swarms generally invade the
northern parts but sometimes reach as far as Assam in the east and
Madras in the south. The actual locust breeding areas, however,
do not extend beyond the western districts of Uttar Pradesh in the
east and northern parts of Madhya Pradesh in the south.
or GE iso Rey
The locust passes through three stages in its life, viz. egg, hopper
(wingless young ones) and adult. Locusts are promiscuous, each
—_——_——
1 Patiala and Eastern Punjab States Union.
Journ. BompBay Nat. Hist. Soc.
Fic. 1. Adult Solitarv Phase—Female
99
9°
99
39
2.
3.
4.
5
Egg-laying
Egg-cluster (magnified)
Egg (magnified)
Hopper—Gregarious phase
Fic. 6. Hopper—Solitary phase |
Grown up Hopper—Gregarious "4
Grown up Hopper—Solitary ph®
Adult—Gregarious phase
99
bh)
99
THE DESERT LOCUST AND ITS CONTROL 735
copulating with several individuals of the opposite sex in its life
time. There is no courtship. The mature male abruptly mounts the
female but copulation takes place only if the latter is in a receptive
condition and mood. Otherwise the male is literally kicked off. Once
the copulation is firmly established, the female (with the male on its
back) freely moves about and may even take to feeding, etc. After
the male has actually copulated, the temale drills a hole, in moist
sandy soil (Col. pl., fig. 2) about 4 to 6 inches deep with the help of
chitinized curved ovipositors at the end of her abdomen. A mass of
50 to 100 eggs is laid at the end of this hole and thereafter in the
remaining part she secretes a frothy liquid which soon hardens into
a water-proof plug. Since locusts in the gregarious phase rest
together several egg masses are laid close to one another.
The eggs hatch in about two weeks time during the monsoon. The
hatching period is prolonged during autumn and spring and may ex-
tend upto four weeks. On emergence the hoppers congregate and march
together in bands, eating up all vegetation in their path. They under-
go five moults before they acquire wings (Plate I), the hopper stage
generally lasting about four weeks during monsoon.
The hoppers of the gregarious phase are black in their early stages
(Col. pl., fig. 5) but subsequently, during summer, most of the black
pigment disappears and they become yellow with a few black
markings. The immature adults are pink (Col. pl., fig. 9) but
gradually turn grey and _ finally yellow when’ sexually mature
(fig. 2). Pink locusts are very active and cause most damage to crops
whereas the yellow swarms are not so destructive. Locust swarms
and hopper bands generally rest congregated on bushes, crops
or trees, etc., at night and mid-day in summer. In summer locusts
take wing early in the morning but in winter they do so only after
about 10 a.m. The ovipositing swarms, however, might stay in a
particular locality for 2 or 3 days.
The hoppers of the solitary phase are generally green without
black markings (Col. pl, figs. 6 & 8). In fact their coloration
resembles the vegetation on which they live and feed. The solitary
adults are grey and do not turn yellow even when sexually mature, so
long as they lead a scattered existence (fig. 1).
In addition to the change in colour, the transformation of phase
brings about morphological changes also. For instance, in the
gregarious phase, the hind wings are longer, the eyestripes six in
number and the antennal segments 26, whereas in the solitary phase
the hind wings are shorter, eyestripes six to eight and antennal
segments 26 to 30. The ratio between the elytra and hind femur
gives a fairly accurate indication of the phase of an individual. In
the gregarious phase this ratio is over 2.15, whereas in the solitary
phase it is upto 2.05. In the intermediate phase the ratio lies
between 2.05 ad 2.15.
BREEDING AND MiaGRATIONS
There are generally two breeding seasons during a year—spring
and monsoon. In the areas where rainfall is received during winter-
spring, e.g. Baluchistan, southern Iran, south-eastern Arabia, Red
736 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Sea coasts, Afghanistan, etc., locusts breed in the spring season,
the period generally extending upto April-May. In areas where
rainfall is received mostly in the S.W. monsoon season, e.g. India,
the adjoining Sind-Bahawalpur desert of Pakistan, Anglo-Egyptian
Sudan, etc., locusts breed during that period. |
During the swarming period, India is generally invaded by exotic
swarms from western countries between May and August. The
swarms which invade India before the start of the monsoon in the
desert areas, cross over towards east and south, but at the onset of
the rains they generally return to the desert parts for breeding.
Breeding occurs generally between July and September, but in case
the monsoon is a prolonged one, post-monsoon breeding may also.
occur, extending upto November. If control operations in India or the
adjacent areas of Pakistan are inadequate, fresh swarms develop which
may invade the cultivated states of Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Bharat,
Punjab, Bombay, etc., but normally swarms which escape destruction
migrate westwards to the winter-spring breeding areas. Sometimes,
however, there is over-wintering in India and spring breeding may
also result, such as happened in the Punjab and Pepsu in 195t.
Normally, breeding in India occurs during the monsoon only.
NATURE AND EXTENT OF DAMAGE
Swarms covering 300 square miles are on record. Often they are
so dense that they mask the sun. The distance covered in a flight is.
sometimes enormous. A swarm was discovered in mid-Atlantic,
1,500 miles off the coast, indicating that it had flown this long distance
at a stretch. In India they usually travel at about 150 miles a
day. In the course of their flights the swarms, particularly when
sexually immature, cause immense damage to crops and other vegeta-
tion. They are capable of consuming the entire vegetation of a
locality, devastating crops, and completely defoliating fruit and
shade trees (Plate II). The hoppers also cause incalculable
damage to vegetation and crops. They even enter houses, fall
into wells and make life miserable. At times they block railway
traffic, by making the line slippery on account of their crushed bodies.
Due to their ravages on fodder and pastures there occurs a heavy
mortality among cattle, goats and sheep, and sometimes people have
to leave their homes in search of livelihood elsewhere. During the
1926-31 cycle, direct losses to crops alone amounted to about 10
crores of rupees.
Locus?Tr CoNn@tROL ORGANISATION
InternationajJ: As stated previously the locust belt ex-
tends from India to west Africa; therefore, for ensuring the success
of the anti-locust campaign as a whole international co-operation is
essential. There is a convention between the Governments of India,
Pakistan and Iran under which information regarding the locust
situation is regularly exchanged, and, every year during a cycle the
jRN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE I
Photos Authors
A hopper-infested field of ‘ bajri’ being dusted by hand-operated dusting machine
PLATE [I]
Journ. BomsBay Nar. Hist. Soc.
Va swarm
lated b
ree totally defol
T
Authors
Photos
ion
t
in spraying ac
“Piper Cub
THE DESERT LOCUST AND ITS CONTROL 737
representatives of these countries meet, review the situation and
discuss plans for action. Other interested countries are also invited
to attend these conferences. During the conference held under this
convention at New Delhi in 1950, it was decided to approach the F.A.O.,
for arranging from some international source, material assistance for
fighting the locust menace. Accordingly, the F.\A.O. convened a con-
ference of experts from all countries at Rome in October, 1951. The
main recommendations of this conference were that a Standing Com-
mittee should be appointed to assist the F.A.O. in the general co-
ordination of the work in the entire locust belt, and the proper disposal
of any material assistance which might be forthcoming. ‘An advisory
committee has been set up and one of us (H.S.P.) has been appointed
as a member.
India: Since 1939, the Government of India is maintaining a
permanent Locust Warning Organisation, which keeps a careful watch
over the fluctuations of locust population in the desert outbreak areas.
The organisation also collects information from the various States.
and countries and disseminates it to all concerned, by means of
periodical bulletins and radio broadcasts. The organisation works
under the control of the Director, Locust Control, and Plant Protection
Adviser to the Government of India, Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
During the swarming period this organisation is expanded and a
control wing is added to it. The control work is carried out under
the Anti-locust Co-ordination Scheme and the expenditure on actual
control operations in the desert outbreak areas is shared by various
beneficiary States. This scheme was started in 1942. The various
States maintain their own organisations for intelligence and control in
their cultivated areas. The Director, Locust Control in India, how-
ever, co-ordinates the work in the various States.
In the desert areas, technical assistance, labour, pesticides, etc..,
are provided from the Central ‘Anti-locust Pool, but conducting the
actual control operations is the duty of the revenue staff, assisted by
all other departments, and under the general supervision of the central
organisation. The Central and State organisations work in close co-
operation. When locust breeding is heavy, normal revenue work is
suspended to enable the staff to devote their wholetime attention to
the anti-locust campaign. Wherever necessary, additional revenue
staff is also appointed. The Ministries of Defence, States, and
Railways & Communications also extend their full co-operation.
For control operations in the desert areas, the Central Anti-locust
Organisation has about five dozen 4-wheel drive vehicles (which can
cross the difficult sandy areas), over 2,000 hand-operated and 80 power-
dusting machines, etc. Wireless sets are functioning at about a dozen
strategic points, particularly near the Indo-Pakistan border. Similarly,.
States maintain equipment for the cultivated areas but, at a time of
emergency, they can have more on loan from the Central Organisation.
The Central Organisation has employed aeroplanes (Catalinas,
Ansons, Tigermoths, etc.) for locust reconnaissance. In 1951, three
small planes (‘Piper Cubs’) were secured under President Truman’s
Four Point Programme to test the aerial method of locust control
(Plate II).
738 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
CONTROL METHODS
Swarms: The control of swarms is ordinarily a difficult task be-
cause of their quick movements over extensive areas. When the swarms
rest at night, they can be dusted by ground machinery. During
April-June control even at night is generally not possible because on
account of the prevailing high temperatures locusts are active and get
disturbed when approached. During monsoon the temperature is
lower and the locusts settle down longer for copulation and egg-laying,
providing better chances for their control. Winter is particularly
suitable for their destruction, because the locusts generally settle
down early in the evening and resume flight next day by about 10
a.m. During the period of rest they are benumbed with cold and
their destruction becomes easier.
Swarms can be destroyed by the following methods:
(1) Collecting locusts at cooler. hours and burying them or
beating them to death.
(ii) Burning them with flame throwers or local ‘mashals’.
(iii) Baiting with sodium fluosilicate, BHC, ete.
(iv) Dusting with 10% BHC, particularly with power dusters,
Hand dusters can also be used if a swarm is settled on the ground,
crop or low bushes. In Rajasthan major parts of about half a dozen
swarms and part of several others were thus destroyed during 1950
and 1951.
(v) ‘Aerial spraying was tried in India in the Bikaner area during
August, 1951, the insecticide used being a mixture of Aldrin in kerosene
oil. In all, one dozen mature resting swarms were treated, covering
a total area of 2,080 acres. As the swarms moved out of the sprayed
area it was not possible to work out the percentage of mortality, but
quite a number of dead and paralysed locusts were found in the sprayed
area and in one case even upto 10 miles from the area of operation.
In one case locusts from the sprayed area were collected and kept in
a cage where 74% died within 48 hours.
For the control of a swarm, the time factor is very important,
because their resting period is short. It is, therefore, essential for
information about the settled swarms to be communicated immediately
to the centres where the control equipment is located. The equipment
must be rushed to the spot promptly because the operations have to
be concluded by the morning, i.e. before the swarm takes wing. It
is no use chasing the swarm after it has started on the move. It is
desirable to have control equipment at several centres connected by
a net work of wireless sets and each provided with a fleet of vehicles.
The village organisations should thin out the swarms by beating,
burning, etc. if control machinery is not available.
The views of Mr. O. B. Lean, U.K. entomologist who was in
India during September 1951 and is at present in charge of anti-locust
operations in East Africa, are interesting:
‘It is not easy to exterminate a flying swarm. The world is
seeking for a mode of attack but nothing really practical is yet
available. It has been calculated that with an average settled swarm
there are 300 tons of locust per square mile. A swarm may frequently
cover 10 sq. miles. How far can hand collecting of locusts reduce
HAE DESERET EOCUSE, ANDVITS CONTROL 733
these 3,000 tons? How much kerosene will be required to burn
them? BHC dust is certainly highly effective but time is limited and
a great number of machines is required to treat the whoie area before
the swarm moves on again. As speed of application is the main
difficulty, perhaps aircraft provide the answer; but to kill our theoreti-
cal swarm some 60 tons of dust will be required and to spread this
would require 300 sorties by small aircraft. They cannot fly at night
and there may be only 2 hrs. in the morning before the locusts them-
selves fly off. Such are some of the difficulties. Aircraft may seem
an obvious method of attacking locusts—adult swarms and hopper
bands. I believe they will have a limited use, but much has yet to
be done before their value is established. It is certainly encouraging
that India is studying this particular problem. The Air Unit working
in Bikaner is being used for a very practical experiment.’
Eggs: Destruction of locusts in the egg stage is not profitable
as it is not possible to destroy all the eggs in any area. Therefore con-
trol operations in these areas have necessarily to be repeated when the
hoppers emerge. The egg-laid areas should, however, be marked out
and preparations for control made in advance, so that hoppers, can
be destroyed in early stages.
Some synthetic insecticides have prolonged residual effect. It is
under trial, if any of them (possibly Aldrin) can be used as a spray on
egg-laid areas, anticipating the emergence of hoppers.
Hoppers: The hopper stage is the most vulnerable in the
life history of the locust. In fact, effective control is generally possible
in this stage only. Although the hopper period lasts for about four
to six weeks, control measures are most effective and easier against
the younger hoppers. The following are the control methods:
(i) Tvenching: (Trenches are dug across the front of marching
hopper bands, the width and length of the trench varying according
to the stage of the hoppers. For young hoppers, a trench 18 inches
deep and 12 inches wide is enough. The trenches are generally
supplemented by tin sheet barriers which are placed at an angle
oblique to the direction of the drive.
(ii) Burning: Hoppers congregated on bushes are burnt, flame-
throwers being used wherever available. The {mashal’ or flaming
torch is a good substitute. <A barrier of tin sheets may be erected
round the bush before it is set on fire.
(ili) Poison baiting: Poison baiting is another method which
is extensively used in some of the countries. The bait consists of
bran and poison such as BHC, sodium arsenite or sodium fluosilicate.
The main limiting factors in India are the high cost and inadequate
supply of bran and difficulty in its transportation.
(iv) Poison dusting and spraying: The poison dust used most
commonly is benzene hexachloride (BHC) (Plate I). For young
hoppers about 2.5% strength is enough but it has to be increased
upto 7% and even 10% for hoppers of advanced stages and freshly
fledged adults. The insecticides DNOC and Aldrin are also in ex-
tensive use against grasshoppers and locusts in some countries.
Spraying Aldrin against hoppers from an aeroplane was tried in 1951,
but it did not prove economical as a routine method of control.
4
740 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Biological Control: Several birds eat locusts. Of these, ‘crows, a
kites and tiliars (Rosy Starlings) have been particularly observed
destroying locust adults and hoppers. The Rosy Starling (Pastor
voseus) is the most important enemy. It is migratory bird and is
found in very large numbers during the locust season. It should,
therefore, be protected. In fact, in some States its shooting is already
prohibited. The locust is also eaten by reptiles. Among mammals,
it is destroyed by foxes, bats, etc., and large numbers of locusts are
collected by humans for consumption, particularly in Pakistan, Persia,
Arabia, etc. Fried locusts are considered a very delicious dish in
some of these countries. Aslid flies and mantis also feed upon young
hoppers. Some mites also attack locusts. Other biological enemies
of locusts, such as bacterial and fungal diseases, do not so far offer
any practical solution of the locust problem.
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA!
BY
N. KgSAVA PANIKKAR
Chief Research Officer,
Central Marine Fisheries Research Station, Mandapam, South India
PART Il
(With eight plates).
: CONTENTS PAGE
1, The Problems wee ae ose .. 741
2. Introduction and Retrospect ae er we. 142
3. The Research Institutions as tee .. (47
4, Survey of Resources and Statistics ane re! poo
5. Fishery Biology and Fishery Management ... SG i sie:
1 THE PROBLEMS
The problems of fisheries research in India could be formulated in
the following 15-point programme:— -
1. A qualitative and quantitative appraisal of our aquatic food
resources and the principal species contributing to them.
2. Acquisition of full biological knowledge of those species and
factors influencing their abundance and availability for
fishing.
3. Application of that knowledge to the management of the
fishing programme so that a steady annual yield may be
assured.
4, Exploration and charting of fishing grounds in the sea in
relation to time and space.
5. Experimental fishing to select types of craft and gear suitable
for mechanization so as to increase the range of sea fishing
and catch per unit of effort.
6. Investigations to select species which couid be cultivated as
food, and habitats which could be developed for that purpose
taking full advantage of geographical and climatic features.
7. Perfection of field practices which would lead to the develop-
ment of marine and coastal fish farming,
8. Expansion of fish seed resources as the basis for the extension
of fish culture operations.
1 The views expressed in this paper are purely the personal opinions of the
author and should not be taken as the official views of the organization to which
he belongs.
742 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vel. 50
ico)
Development of improved methods for growing fish in village
ponds as an essential contribution to rural economy.
10. Protection of fishery wealth from being wiped out by multi-
purpose projects and industrialization.
11. Perfection of methods of handling fish and fish products
to reduce wastage by deterioration and to ensure
their reaching the consumer in a good condition at a low
price.
12. Improvements in methods of processing to utilize the surplus,
and the introduction of new and acceptable methods for
utilizing surplus landings.
13. Technological improvements in the manufacture of fish oil
and other fishery by-products which are at present not or
only inadequately utilized.
14, Researches on consumer preferences, price structure, com-
mercial organization and other factors influencing the
industry, and on the socio-economic fabric on which the
industry is based.
15. Discovery of new aquatic food resources and the techniques
for their utilization.
2 INTRODUCTION AND RerRosPpeca
In the following account an attempt is made to give a brief outline
of the various aspects of work above enumerated ; what has been done
and what remains to be done. At the very outset, it may be conceded
that considering the magnitude of the problems, the size of the country
and the material value of the resources concerned, the efforts expended
towards research is small and work is in the very early stages of fact
finding. In many other countries where fishery wealth ranks high,
well-developed research organizations have grown gradually for a
number of years and work has been steadily carried out, which has
taken them past the introductory phases, enabling them to understand
their problems and to apply scientific results for the adequate manage-
ment and utilization of their fisheries. Much of the work which they
now do deals with aspects closely related to the actual management of
the fishery and fishing industry. On the other hand, in our country
little or no attention has been paid to this subject all these years,
except within the last five years. A large amount of preliminary in-
vestigations remain to be covered before we are in a position even to
evaluate our various problems. The gap between Scientific investi-
gations on the one hand and obtaining results of immediate practical
application to the fishing industry on the other is unfortunately large,
and achievements inthe field of research judged by short-term standards
are often unimpressive. Mistakes have been made in considering
fisheries research as a matter purely for Provincial or regional action
subservient to the local problems of development. A greater mistake
was to consider fisheries research as a commercial investment which
should bring direct revenues to administrations in complete disregard
of the role it undoubtedly plays in the increase of food supplies, —
improvements in nutritional standards and attendant benefits to the
public health and physical well-being of our people, and the raising of
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 743
the standard of life of a very considerable section of our population who
are directly engaged in fishing operations and trade. As pointed out
by Sewell, Fisheries Research should be regarded as a social service
and not as a business enterprise aithough as work progresses it will be
the basis for the expansion.of the industry in fish which is already an
important article of commerce both in the fresh state and as cured fish
for inter-Statal and export trade.”
Interest in fish has been evinced from ancient times in India as
found from references in Kautilya’s Arthashara (c. 309 Bc.) and some of
the Pillar Edicts of Asoka (246 B.c.) (Hora, 1948, 1950). The ancient
Hindus had also made comments on the form and behaviour of fishes
in relation to their environment and modes of locomotion. ‘The possi-
bility that taboos introduced by Asoka for the consumption of fish
during certain phases of the month were based on the knowledge of
the breeding habits of fishes like Carps has been indicated by Hora
(1950). These views as well as the chronology of some of the earlier
texts are controversial], but there seems to be enough evidence to show
that the role of fish as food for the people was fully realized, Fishery
science in the modern sense has, however, not a long history in this
country. It is necessary to draw a distinction between vesearch on fish
and fishertes research, the latter being a modern development of the
study of fish stocks in relation to their yield. If this interpretation is
taken, fisheries research has hardly made a beginning in this country,
although we havea considerable amount of information on the fishes:
which contribute to our fisheries. Among the earlier contributions on:
the fishes of India which deserve mention are the account of the fishes
of the Ganges by Hamilton Buchanan (1822) and the comprehensive
work on Fishes of India by Francis Day (1876-78). These two monu-
mental contributions may be said to form the basis for all ichthy ological
work in this country and even to-day the two volumes on Fishes in the
Fauna of British India Series by Francis Day (1889) constitute the only
standard work. During the past fifty years, substantial additiors to our
knowledge of Indian fishes have been made through the efforts of many
investigators, the most outstanding among them being Hora. Till
about 1930 the progress achieved was largely in the fields of
taxonomy and geographical distribution, but with the growth of depart-
ments of zoology attached to various Universities, noteworthy among
them being Madras and Calcutta, increasing attention began to be paid
to the study of life histories and habits oi both freshwater and salt-
water species. These studies concerned more with the zoological
aspects rather than with fishes as contributing to fisheries. Similarly,
a large volume of information has been collected by the many natural-
ists and sportsmen who have visited various parts of India. It may,
however, be mentioned that subsequent to Day, the basic work
relating to fisheries was until 1930 carried out at the Zoological
ee
1 The number of active adult fishermen alone is estimated at 500,000 while the
total fishing population is estimated at 1,600,000. Including those who no longer
do fishing, over eight million people belong to fishing communities.
? About 43 per cent of the total production is consumed as fresh fish, the
remainder being cured. Exports include about 30,000 tons of cured fish valued
at about 300 lakhs of rupees and 3,000 tons of fish manure valued at Rs. 3 lakhs
(Pre-partition figures).
744 - JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Survey of India which still has the largest authentically named
collection of fishes in the East.
The oldest established Department of Fisheries in India is in the
State of Madras, where, thanks to the efforts of the late Sir Frederick
Nicholson, the problems of fisheries received attention even during the
last century leading to the formation of the Department in 1905.
Researches on important marine fish like sardines and the flying-fish,
the pearl oyster and a few of the freshwater fishes were carried out by
the Scientists of the Madras Government, notably - Hornell, and
continued by Raj and Devanesan. A real impetus was also given
to fisheries and marine research in general by the publication of the
Reports on the Pearl Oyster Fisheries of Ceylon edited by Sir William
Herdman (1903-6) and the starting of the Marine Experimental Station
at Ennore (1908), the Madras Aquarium (1909) and the Field Collecting
Station at Krusadai (1928) by the Madras Government. Similarly, the
Opening of the West Hill Biological Station at Calicut (1921) where
much of the early research on sardines has been done, was a
pioneering effort in the study of Indian marine fishery problems
initiated by Hornell. In Bombay with the opening of the State
Fisheries Department in 1933, work relating toa preliminary assessment
of the resources was carried out and steps taken for increased utilization
of marine fish by mechanized transport along the coast. In Bengal,
interest in fisheries, although begun towards the end of the last century,
suffered neglect in the later years and no substantial progress was made
until its revival within recent times (1941). Travancore started the
Department in 1916 and work on a small scale has been in progress
there ever since, These are the only centres which have contributed to
the subject, although in recent years, smaller fishery stations have been
opened in Orissa, U.P., Baroda and Mysore. Considerable work on
freshwater fisheries in the Punjab and exploratory work on marine
fisheries in Sind was also carried out by those provinces of pre-parti-
tioned India.
The next phase in the progress of fisheries research is the interest
taken by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which subsidized
definite schemes of fishery work at various centres. The following is a
list of the schemes subsidized by the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research :—
1. Life-history, bionomics and development of Freshwater
Fishes of Bengal—Calcutta University, 1936-46.
2. Rural Pisciculture—Madras Province, 1942-51.
3. Processing of Fish—Government of Baroda, 1943-45.
4. Improvement of Preserved Fish Industry in Bengal, 194446.
5. Fish Eggs & Larvae of Madras Plankton—Madras University,
1944-47.
6. Do ! Bombay Waters—Bombay University,
1944-47,
7. Manufacture of semi-dried prawns—Madras Government,
1945-48.
8. Bionomics of Indian Migratory Fishes—Bengal Government,
1946-48.
1 Formerly known as the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research.
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 745
9. Experimentation on the Barn type of Dehydration plant for.
preservation of fish—Orissa Government, 1945-47.
10. Biology of Marine Prawns—Madras University, 1947-49.
11. Award of scholarships for fishery research—Calcutta Univer-
sity.
Although some very commendable individual efforts have been
made in the progress of these schemes by the respective groups
of investigators, the results achieved have not been impressive owing
to lack of facilities and funds to take up work on any adequate scale and
the transitoriness of the schemes which made it impossible to
- maintain continued effort. These schemes were mainly sponsored by
individual scientists, with the backing of the organizations to which they
belonged, like the Universities or the Provincial Departments of
Fisheries, who did real service in coming forward to take up fisheries
research at atime when no such work was being carried out. They
were thereby able to train young scientists who subsequently were
available for recruitment to the staff of the fishery research stations ©
when they were established, along with the scholars chosen for training
in fisheries in the U.K. and the U.S.A. under the foreign scholarships
schemes of the Central Government. The Indian Council of Agricul-
tural Research also had a sub-committee to deal with fisheries which
did much exploratory work on the establishment of a Fisheries
Research Institute for the country.
When the Indian Constitution of 1935 came into force, Fisheries was
definitely considered as a provincial subject in the same manner as
Agriculture. This transfer of authority to the provincial sphere result-
ed in what may be called unco-ordinated development of fisheries activi-
ties in the various States of India. While some States like Madras
forged ahead and implemented several schemes for the development of
fisheries both marine and inland, many states although rich in potential
resources hardly paid any attention to this source of food. The reasons
for apathy were also psychclogical for, with the partial exception of
Bengal, influential and progressive communities in the various provinces
were generally not inclined to accept fish as an important item in the food
requirements of the people. As aresuit of the last war and with the
increasing food shortage inthe country brought very poignantly before the
public mind by the Bengal Famine of 1943, the question of development
of fisheries on an all-India basis received the earnest attention of the
Central and State Governments. The Government of India decided that
some central agency to advise and coordinate development in the
various sectors of fisheries and fishing industry was necessary if this
valuable source of food was to be utilized and its production augment-
ed. Attached to the then Ministry of Agriculture was created a section
dealing with fisheries headed by Baini Prashad? who was then Director
or ee
* Mahatma Gandhi’s. advocacy of the subject in February 1946 did much to
'4mprove this background.
? Prashad had H.S. Rao as his Deputy, the present author as Officer on
Special Duty for Fisheries Research and D. Rk. Bhatia as Asst. Adviser. H. S. Rao
took charge of the Marine Fisheries Research Station early in 1947 and was suc-
ceeded by B. N. Chopra as Deputy. With the retirement of Prashad and Rao
Chopra succeeded as Adviser at the Ministry and the author as Chief of the Marine
Station.
746 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL WHIST. VSOCIEL Y, Vol. 50
of the Zoological Survey of India. It is worth while mentioning here
that, in the organization of a central machinery for fisheries work in the
country on an all-India basis and in the formulation and implementation
of the Central Government schemes, the work of Prashad will long be
recognized as a notable contribution. A similar contribution to place
fisheries in the scientific programme of the country and to create much
needed public interest on the subject, more especially on fish culture,
was made by Hora! who wrote extensively on the various aspects of
fishery research and development.
Apart from research on fish and fisheries, an essential line of ex plora-
tory activity lay in experimental operations of new types of fishing in
Indian waters. The craft and gearemployed by our people remain as they
have been for centuries past, both frail and primitive. It is not suggest-
ed that they are not efficient, but, on the other hand, considering the
material available, the cost and mode of operation, it is impossible to.
improve on them for the limited use to which they are put. Their
greatest drawback lies in their dependence on wind power for propul-
sion, making them available for use only within a narrow Stretch of the
coastline, hardly more than five to ten miles off the shore and, in many
instances, much less within five miles. They are likewise unable to
withstand the fury of the monsoon winds, which limits fishing to
certain seasons only. The inadequacy of this craft for large-scale
operation lies in its inability to use any large trawl or seine net or in
fact any large net which would raise the catch per head to any appreci-
able extent. Large catches are obtained during favourable seasons, but
it-is seldom that these can be landed and utilized on the shore before
they deteriorate, In spite of their innate efficiency, they are not enough
tor any large-scale exploitation of the sea, if any substantial progress
in fish landings is aimed at.
Realizing this the Governments of Bengal, Bombay and Madras at
different times tried to introduce mechanised fishing by experimental
operations carried out by trawlers. ‘Golden Crown’ in Calcutta (1998-9),
‘ William Carrick’ in Bombay (1921-22) and ‘Lady Goschen’ in Madras
(1927-29) carried out such exploratory fishing in waters of the three Pro-
vinces respectively. Unfortunately, the employment of trawlers for these
experimental operations was based on the presumption that the tropical-.
fisheries would show the same pattern as those of the colder seas where
the large majority of exploitable species occur at considerable depths. It
was not then realized that in tropical seas where problems of producti-
vity and marine phenomena occur in a different manner, the major
fisheries are either pelagic or mid-pelagic. Owing to this fundamental
error and the numerous difficulties connected with the introduction of
mechanized gear in a country where no industrialization of any type had
taken place, these operations were not marked with any notable success.
In spite of these difficulties, the catches were moderately good, but
sooner or later, all these operations were given up by the respective
Governments that undertook the ventures, as they were commercially
unsuccessful. :
a rae
1 Hora was also Honorary Chief of the Inland Fisheries Station for a short
period after its inception, but was succeeded by T. J. Job who remained as chief
of the Inland Station until December 1951.
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA C47
In 1946, the Central Ministry of Agriculture decided to start fishe-
ries research on an all-India basis together with research operations in
mechanized fishing. The advice of foreign experts was obtained,
notable among them being Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell, F.R.s., who drew
up a memorandum for the establishment of a Fisheries Research
Institute which he envisaged in the form of two marine stations, one for
the East Coast of India at Mandapam and one for the West Coast of
India at Karachi, one inland fisheries station at Khulna or Calcutta
with a mobile estuarine unit and a power fishing operational unit at
Bombay, together with a technological institute at Calicut. These
schemes had to be considerably modified owing to the partition of the
country and subsequent developments resulting in the Government’s
decision to have the Marine Fisheries Research Station at Mandapam
and the Inland Fisheries Research Station at Pulta near Calcutta. One
of the trawlers which became surplus to the requirements of the Indian
Navy, H.M.S. ‘ Berar’ was taken over by the Ministry and converted for
fishing operations, thus beginning pilot fishing operations at Bombay.
By the end of 1947, all these stations had taken shape and by the time
our new Constitution had been adopted which makes research and
fishing in off-shore waters a definite central responsibility as against the
provincial sphere of development and regional research, the nucleus of
research organizations to deal with at least the major aspects of Indian
fisheries has been laid. A brief account of the three central institutions.
may not here be out of place.
3. Ture RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS
(a) THE CENTRAL MARINE FISHERIES RESEARCH STATION
The Central Marine Fisheries Research Station was started in
February 1947 for handling marine fisheries research on an all-India
basis with temporary headquarters in the Biological Laboratories of the
Madras University where the staff remained till September 1949 when
the Station was shifted to its permanent headquarters at Mandapam.
Buildings originally put up as a naval hospital by the Defence
Department during World War II were acquired and converted into
laboratories and temporary residential accommodation for the staff.
Subsequently, an aquarium was built, fittings to the laboratories carried
out and an effective means of running sea-water for keeping marine
organisms has been worked out and its installation is nearly complete.
A capital expenditure of 64 lakhs of rupees has been incurred on the
Station and about a hundred acres of land around has been acquired
for expansion and for putting up permanent residential buildings.
In addition to the headquarters Station, there is a subsidiary Research
Station at Kozhikode to deal with the special fisheries problems of the
West Coast of India, aresearch unit at Karwar in the Bombay State to
deal with the mackerel fishery, and another ‘unit at Narakkal in Tra-
vaucore-Cochin to deal with the prawn fisheries and prawn farming
operations. It is also proposed to set up very shortly a research unit
at Bombay for carrying out investigations on off-shore fisheries and
another at Ennore (near Madras) for handling studies on edible
Mollusca. In order to collect fishery data from the large coast-line of
India, fishery survey assistants have been posted at twelve centres
748 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. ‘SOCIETY, Vol. 50
representative of the various divisions of our coastline extending from
Kathiawar to West Bengal, The data gathered by them are regularly
sent to the headquarters where they are analysed and for the first time,
a machinery for the collection of all-[ndia marine fishery statistics has
been developed and put into execution.
The work of the institution is broadly divided into four categories,
Fishery Survey, Fishery Biology, Marine Biology and General Physio-
logy. Fishery Survey aims at assessing the marine fishery resources
of the country, computing fish landings and to see if the marine fisheries
in general are under or over utilized. The studies relating to Fishery
Biology deal with the fish stocks, special habits, distribution, life-histories
and such aspects of fish life as have intimate bearing on fisheries problems.
The major fisheries of India like the Sardines, the Mackerel, the Sharks
and other less known categories of fishes are all investigated in detail
in an attempt to understand the causes governiaig their abundance, and
the efficiency with which the fish are caught and utilized. Subsidiary
fishery resources like the prawns, the oysters, clams, etc., are also receiv-
ing close attention. Sea weeds which occur in considerable abundance
in the sea and form a valuable raw material for the production of agar
and other industrial products are being investigated in detail to deter-
mine the extent of the resources. The third important category of
investigations come within the field of Marine Biology dealing with the
factors connected with the abundance of smaller forms of plant and
animal life which ultimately form the food of fish. This is also corre-
lated with studies on the chemistry of sea-water with a view to under-
standing seasonal changes in the occurrence of fertilizing substances in
the sea. Bacteriology of sea-water and fish products is also investigated
with a view to arriving at enforceable standards in the handling of fish
‘products. The physiology of fish and other commercially important
forms of marine life are studied with a view to selecting suitable types
-that would be ideal for large-scale culture in coastal waters which could
be developed into marine fish farms. The institution maintains a good
library and a reference collection of correctly determined marine fishes.
(6) THE CENTRAL INLAND FISHERIES RESEARCH STATION
The Central Inland Fisheries Research Station at Barrackpore
near Calcutta handles investigations pertaining to freshwater and
-estuarine fisheries of India. The Station was started in March 1947
and is located at Pulta (Barrackpore) and it has a sub-station at Cuttack
in Orissa, The comprehensive programme of freshwater fishery
research which is before the Research Station, is detailed below :—
1. Thehydro-biology of fisheries of estuaries, brackish-water and
lakes;
2, Studies on Hilsa, the major carps, mullets and prawns of
inland waters;
3. Investigations on the micro- and macro-fauna and flora asso-
ciated with tank and pond life;
4. Pond culture experiments on the development, growth and
food of the major carps and other fresh water food fishes
under varying conditions ;
.5. Study of the extent of freshwater fish seed resources;
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 749
6. Investigation regarding fish migration and induence of dams
and weirs on fish life ;
7. Study of the pollution effect of industrial ae municipal
wastes ;
8. Investigation on the use of sewage in manuring fisheries ;
9, Substratal variations in the waters and their influence on the
fish life; and
10. Comparative study of the fishing methods in different types
of inland waters.
The work of the Station is broadly divided into three main sections,
Estuarine Fisheries, Pond Culture, and Riverine and Lacustrine
Fisheries. The problems under investigation at the Station include
rearing and transport of freshwater fish-seed, study of food, growth,
maturity, and breeding of freshwater and estuarine fishes of commer-
cial importance. Special fisheries like Hilsa, and mullets are being
investigated in detail and problems of hydrobiology in relation to the
freshwater and estuarine fisheries of the Gangetic delta are being
studied. Pond cultural practices and investigations to reduce the
mortality of fish-seed are receiving urgent attention owing to the im-
mediate value which such investigations have in the development of
freshwater fisheries. The effect dams have on riverine fisheries is
being closely studied owing to the various river valley schemes which
are being actively pursued in the States of Bengal and Bihar and the
probable effect which they will have on the fishertes of the entire
region.
(¢) THE DHEP-SEA FISHING STATION
The Deep-Sea Fishing Station was started in Bombay in 1945. As
‘suitable fishing vessels were in very short supply in India and abroad
at that time, fishing operations were started in January 1948 with the
converted Basset Steam ‘Trawler ‘ Berar’, under the name‘ Meena’.
The vessel was in commission for 513 days, but on account of several
difficulties partly due to congestion in the Bombay Port, it was out at
sea Only for 212 days. In addition to doing charting and other explo-
ratory work mostly in waters north-north-west of Bombay, she was able
to land 4,400 maunds of fish, giving a catch of 20 maunds per day’s
absence from port. S.T. ‘Meena’ was a single-screw vessel, 152’-5”
in length and with a net registered tonnage of [59°85 tons. An ice-
making and cold storage plant was installed on the ship. As the
Maintenance and operation costs of this large coal burning vessel were
unduly high, she was decommissioned in June, 1949. The work that
S.T. ‘Meena’ was doing is being continued with two Dutch motor
cutters, M.T. ‘ Ashok’ and M.T. ‘ Pratap’ (of an overall length of 83’-4”
and net registered tonnage of 23:44 tons each) and two Reekie boats
MF.V.‘Bumili’ and M.F.V. ‘ Champa’ (each being 50’ long and having
a net registered tonnage of 10:0] tons). Both the cutters have been
commercially more successful than the S$.T. ‘Meena’. Cutters
‘Sagarika’ and ‘ Baruna’ of the West Bengal Government began
operating from Calcutta in 1951 with considerable success. Recently
a Japanese trawler ‘Tayo Maru 17’ has been conducting offshore fishing
from Bombay with the permission of the Government of India. Com-
750 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
mercially this vessel has been very successful and has landed catches on
a scule larger than any mechanized vessel so far operated in India. An
account of the working of these vessels and analysis of the catches will
be given under the section on Power Fishing.
(2) INSTITUTIONS OF STATE GOVERNMENTS & UNIVERSITIES
In addition to the three Central Institutes dealt with above, there
are centres of fishery research maintained by some of the State Govern-
ments and Universities where work on biological problems related to
fisheries continue to be carried out. In 1937 the University of Travan-
core created a Chair for Marine Biology and Fisheries and an aquarium
was completed and opened in 1940. Some progress has been achieved
there in preliminary studies pertaining to problems of that area. ‘The
Taraporevala Aquarium in Bombay which was set up by the Bombay
Government aided by a private benefaction was completed and opened
in May 1951 as an adjunct to the Department of Fisheries, Bombay.
This fiae aquarium which is now attracting large numbers of visitors
will no doubt go along way in creating public interest in studies on
fishes. It is regrettable that the Madras Aquarium, one of the oldest
of such institutions in the East, which was dismantled during the
Second Worid War has not yet been restored. Among other research
centres maintained by State Governments reference has already been
made to the Biological Station at West Hill and the Field Centres at
Krusadai and Enndre. In addition, the Madras State Government
maintains a Pearl and Chank Unit at Tuticorin, a Fishery Technological
Station at Calicut and a Hydrobiotogical Unit at Madras to deal with
problems of freshwater fisheries. Orissa State has opened a research
station on the banks of the Chilka Lake at Balugaon for the study of the
fisheries of the lake. The State of West Bengal has a small technolo-
gical unit attached to the Department of Fisheries, and exploratory
power fishing and investigation of the Bay of Bengal have been begun
with two Danish cutters. Similar freshwater fisheries centres have been
opened by the States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Baroda had plans to
open a Biological Station at Port Okha, but owing to the integration of
the State with Bombay, the project is probably being re-examined and
eventually marine stations may be opened at Ratnagiri and Okha.
Among the Universities, Madras has since 1933 carried out a consider-
able amount of marine biological work which has been so essential to
providing a background for fishe1ies investigations and training workers,
while a similar position in freshwater fisheries work has been maintained
by the University of Calcutta.
A great handicap in marine fisheries work in India at present is the
absence of any fisheries research vessel. Work has necessarily to be
restricted to the facilities offered by the commercial catcnes brought by
the indigenous vessels. The recent ventures in power fishing have
given added facilities for investigations, but it would obviously be
difficult to combine the needs of research with purely commercial opera-
tions. The Government of India have already plans for the acquisition ©
of a research vessel for marine fisheries investigations, and it is hoped
that exploratory surveys and marine investigations could be soon started
in our off-shore waters in the same manner as experimental fishing
started from Bombay.
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 751
S SURVEY OF RESOURCES AND STATISTICS
(a) STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION
For any programme of improvement of the Fisheries, it is essential
to have a clear idea of the resources. Owing to the very diffuse nature
of this industry in our country, there are many practical difficulties in
obtaining accurate information. Reliable statistics of production are
wanting. Based on the survey carried out by the Agricultural Market-
ing Department during 1941, the following figures were arrived at for
undivided India. (vzde Agri. Marketing Reports).
Quantity Value
in Metric in
lakhs of tons, lakhs of
maunds, TuUpees,
Sea fish (including estuarine fish) at 116°7 4,35,909 362°7
Freshwater fish (excluding that caught 62°6 2,335;829 yh VA
by non-professional fishermen )
otal ar. 179°3
6,69,738
1,045°0
The generally accepted figures for partitioned India based on 1948
figures of the Marketing Department are :—
Quantity Value
in Metric in
lakhs of tons. lakhs of
maunds. rupees.
Sea fish (including estuarine fish) 100°9 3,76,891 868
Freshwater fish ... 41°2 1,53, 894 927
Total 142°1 5,30,785 1,795
es es,
These figures give only a very rough idea of the total production
and value. The sea fish comprise some 70 per cent of the total production,
but owing to the fact that a large fraction is converted into manure, the
average value of sea fish is considerably less than what it would be if
adequate shore facilities existed to utilize the surplus production as
fresh fish or as processed food. Although the total production is small,
the freshwater fish contribute to a larger share of the total value owing
to the fact that the bulk of it is sold fresh to the consumers over areas
scattered throughout the country. ‘This is the reason why freshwater
fisheries have a great importance in the development of village food
resources in a stable rural economy as will be indicated in a subsequent
section. It is also obvious that any appreciably large-scale increase in
production is possible only from the marine resources, because, it is
here that unexploited areas remain to be developed. Similarly it has been
computed that if better use is made of sea fish instead of allowing
a good fraction of it to be cured or converted into manure the value of
sea fisheries would be about thrice the present value, a portion of which
752 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
could be advantageously transferred to the consumer to make fish less
cosily to him than at present.
It is necessary to indicate here that we Here no adequate machinery
for the collection of fishery statistics. The difficulties of obtaining
accurate fishery statistics, both as regards landings and disposal,
are immense. Further, the scale of subsistence operations is always
a problem to estimate. Any organization which aims at perfection
should take into account the fact that there is no proper registration
of craft and gear; the fishermen are illiterate and owing to the fear of
taxation are by no means willing to give correct figures even if their
cooperation is assured except under their own voluntary effort. Total
enumeration would require an army of workers to deal with the
fishing operations carried out throughout the country by the most
infinitely varied type of fishing boats and nets and such an undertaking
would obviously be expensive. Until recently no machinery for
the collection of statistics existed. Some of the State Governments,
notably Madras and Bombay, were obtaining figures for the total
landings of fishes in the places where the coastal fish curing yards
existed. But these figures were by no means complete and with the —
abolition of salt duty, which resulted in many fishermen not utilizing the
services of Government fish curing yards, this. machinery has
practically broken down. With the introduction of subsidized issue of
salt, the value of fish curing yards as anagency for statistics will again
prove useful, but only a part of the production will be covered
and that only of marine fisheries of Madras, Travancore-Cochin and
Bombay States.
Realizing the importance of the marine fishery statistics in any
organized programme of marine fishery research in the country, the
Central Marine Fisheries Research Station has paid attention to this
aspect even from its inception. A preliminary survey of the Indian
coast was carried out and the entire coastline was divided into twelve
zones, each zone being placed in charge of a survey investigator.
Centres for observations and for enumeration of landings were chosen
and a multistage random sampling method perfected for the collection
of data based on which the total landings of the whole zone were
computed. The observations made involved both a quantitative and
qualitative assessment of the catches so as to develop the biological
programme on the basis of the relative abundance of the various
commercial species. As work progresses the centres where the survey
investigators work are expected to serve as regular biological obser-
vatories for the study of commercial species in addition to their value as
centres for the collection of statistics.
At present this is the only machinery in existence in India
for the collection and coordination of Indian fishery statistics. In 1946.
when this programme of survey was drawn up it was hoped that the
State Governments would likewise develop survey organizations and
the Centre would primariiy deal with the methodology and coordination
of the all-India statistics. Progress in this direction has not been
achieved although it is hoped that with the increasing consciousness.
regarding the value of accurate statistics, some stable all-India
machinery will be perfected. The Indian Council of Agricultural
Research has already carried out some small-scale pilot investigations
for evolving suitable techniques.
‘erpuy UF Ysty Jo wodoy Sunoyrefl ul wep Joyy ‘eipuy Jo saysiqy r9yeMysog jo Sdnorg [edoung
Y9O SHAOYIUY 9 SPULL IY
KOM SEE
YECl saysyy f{0)
jo I= J SIGSIS SUM 5 =
oe PPO SHU) i y
L490 SJasfJUlo a
"Esd0 (SSE MUON (p=. © ON
a ce xa
N
Z £27 YSIf 4925
Lb vl ADD 4d0/!>
ai ten Zaehle’
YY)
=
ee
o
—_
ee
I] fLvig ‘208 ‘ISTH ‘3tN Avquog ‘“‘uanop
Ql
FISHERIES KESEARGE IN UN DIA Te:
As regards the collection of statistics of freshwater fisheries there
are several regional problems and hence they can only be tackled on a
regional basis where the only agency which may be utilized lies in the
State fishery departments.
The diagrams on Plates I and II show the various categories of
marine and freshwater fishes of India and their relation to total pro-
duction. Table I shows production by zones.
LABEL
‘Table showing total landings of marine fish in India during 1949 and 1950
(Based on data at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Station.)
In Metric Tons
1949* 1950
1. West Bengal and Orissa (part) : 18,842 15,686
2. Andhra Coast (from south of Gopalpur to
north of Visakhapatnam) 54,273 40,463
3, Andhra Coast (from Visakhapatnam to Masuli-
patam) 24,426 41,237
4, Andhra Coast (south of Mas: alipatam to north
of Pulicat Lake) 1,308 969
5. Coromandel Coast (Pulicat Taace a Cudda-
lore) s& 22,065 30,284
6. Coromandel Coast (south of Cuddalore to
Devipatanam) rey wwe 11,850 35652
7. Palk Bay and Gulf of Manaar (south of Devi-
patanam to north of Cape Comorin) ca 2,600 4,030
8. Travancore-Cochin and South Malabar (Cape
Comorin to Ponnani R.) 48,659 93,600
9. Malabar ard South Kanara (north ‘of Ponnani
R. to Mangalore) Bo,ole. 166,021
i0. Kanara, Karwar and Konkan Coast (north of
Mangalore to south of Ratnagiri) .. pon (pie, O40 40,426
ll. Bombay and Gujarat (Ratnagiri to Broach) snp S044, ll AZ
12. Kathiawar Coast (north of Broach)... asi6 ae ans Data not.
available
Total. -... 3,81,442 -5,60,385
(6) SURVEY OF FISHERY RESOURCKHS?
(i) Freshwater Fisheries
The biogeographical and ecological conditions against which the
fishery resources have to be examined may here be indicated. It is
obvious that freshwater fisheries would flourish only in areas where
large quantities of water are available either from rain or rivers. The
river systems of India provide the backbone of freshwater fisheries
because apart from the extensive riverine fisheries themselves, the
rivers alone provide the means of providing water to many other
culturable waters and also form the source from which sufficient spawn
for cultural purposes could be obtained. The great freshwater basins
of India are (1) the Ganga System stretched across the Indo-Gangetic
1 1949 figures are probably incomplete.
2 For a detailed survey of the resources, vide Handbook of Indian Fisheries
edited by B. N. Chopra, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, 1951.
TE4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURALSAISPVSOCIERY, Volo 50
plain and composed of the tributaries of the Ganga; (2) the East Coast
system comprising principally the Mahanadi, the Godavari, Krishna and
Kaveri; (3) The West Coast system covering the narrow strip of laad
between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea which enlarges in the
northern part tc cover the Narbada and ‘lapti rivers; (4) the Brahma-
putra system covering Assam; and finally (5) the Indus system which is
now of negligible proportions in India after partition.
ny
Ba w
= ww
sa S Length RES = We
Water system S228 of rivers Rainfall S2>8
Sis SSS
SS N ‘Ss
Miles Range Average =
Ganga system eo CWS) 5,000 25% — 77” 43” 20” 397
East Coastsystem ... 4:70 6,400) 28°87 — 61:5”, -42577% 2 135, 334
West Coast system... 1:90 2,100 LS" 1157 48” 20. e202
Brahmaputra system... 2°00 2,900 40”%— 83” 48” SO 2310
It will be obvious from the above that the Ganga system constitutes
the most important region from the freshwater fisheries point of view and
covers the States of West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and a portion of
Madhya Bharat. The rivers also support several perennial and seasonal
jeels and ponds and a wide variety of freshwater habitats at varying
elevations and having different temperatures and harbouring a rich fish
fauna of game fishes, loaches, culturable carps and prawns. The second
in importance isthe more diffuse East Coast river system which has rich
carp fisheries in the northern sector but gives place to the more
miscellaneous assemblage of warm water fishes in most other parts.
The carps and game fishes and various other freshwater groups are also
noteworthy in the other systems. Freshwater lakes in India are few
but mention may be made of the Kumaon lakes in Uttar Pradesh which
have valuable Mahseer fisheries and the Mettur lake in the south,
developed artificiaily by the construction of the Mettur Dam, which is
now yielding an extremely rich carp fishery.
The freshwater fishery resources of India comprise (1) the major
carps, (2) the catfishes, (3) prawns, (4) mullets, (5) the live fishes,
(6) the feather backs, and (7) the miscellaneous category which includes
a number of minor carps, freshwater perches, eels and the small number
of freshwater clupeoids. Both from the point of view of resources and
potentials for increased production the carps are the most important and
include the well-known forms Rohu [Ladeo rohita (Ham.)], Calbasu
[Labeo calbasu (Ham.)], Mrigal [C7zrrhina mr7gala (Ham.)] and Catla
| Catla catla (Ham.)]. Less known but equally valuable in future
expansion are Labeo fimbriatus (Bloch) and Cirrhina cirrhosa. The
large-scaled barbels belonging to the genus Barbus, and under which
comes the well-known Mahseer, form fishesies of considerable value in
freshwaters and the large species are excellent game fish. Thecatfishes
are a mostly carnivorous group and although some of them are excellent
table fish, they are mostly active predators like the freshwater shark
Wallagonia attu, and should not be allowed to grow along with carps.
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 755
Nevertheless at present a large yield, almost as big as that from the
carps, comes from catfishes of the genera Wallagonta, Bagarius,
Pangasius, Silonia, Mystus, Eutropiichthys, Rita and Callichrous. The
category called ‘live fishes’ torm a taxonomically divergent assembly
having one common character, viz. their powers of aerial respiration and
ability to be transported and kept alive outside water, which has been of
much value in meeting the demands of fresh fish in various places.
Species of Clavius, Heteropnestes, Anadas and Ophicephalus are included
in this category; in many places in the Deccan special attention 1s paid to
the culture of species of Ophicephalus. The ‘feather backs’ (Volopterus
chitala and N. notopterus), the freshwater mullet Mugztl corsula,
eels and spiny eels of the genera Anguilla, Amphipnous and Mastacem-
balus and prawns of the genus Palaemon, principally P. carcznus, contri-
bute to the remainder of the freshwater resources. Estuarine species
which are taken in freshwater include Afzlsa, Setzpinna and Atroplus
all of which are valuable and will be dealt with in the various sections
below. The freshwater and estuarine fisheries are best exploited at
present in the States of West Bengal and Orissa.
(i) Bstuarine Fisheries:
A second geographical peculiarity of the country which has influenced
the pattern of Indian fisheries is the extensive development of estuarine
and brackish-water tracts either as estuaries proper at the mouths of
rivers as part of the river systems or as embanked brackish-water tracts
near the coasts fed by rain and sea-water. The size and physiography
of these coastal tracts vary a great deal, depending on whether they are
in association with rivers, tidal creeks, backwaters or with large lakes,
among which mention musi be made of-the Chilka and Puiicat Lakes on
the east coast of India, both of which are typical brackish water lakes.
They all have the common feature of extremely variable salinity
conditions, but as the marine fauna of India has a large number of
euryhaline species, the estuaries and brackish waters support a rich
fauna including several commercially valuable fishes and crustacea. In
fact as these estuarine and brackish water areas are zones of high
biological productivity, they form excellent nursery grounds even for
many coastal species of fish and prawns. Biologically, and from the
fisheries point of view, the estuaries have close affinities with the sea as
their fauna is predominantly marine and in almost all cases with the
exception of AWz/sa, the fisheries depend upon the colonization of these
areas by young ones of marine species. A factor which has led to the
extensive development of estuarine fisheries in the country is the fact
that the areas covered are mostly shallow and exploitable without the
employment of complex craft and gear.
Among the estuarine fishes, the most important is Afzlsa. It is a
migratory species of great value in the lower reaches of the rivers in
Bengal and Orissa on the east coast, and of the Narbada and Tapti on
the west. Mullets form another valuable group of estuarine species.
The well-known Bekti, Lates calcarifer, the threadfins, which include
species of Polynemus and Eleutheronema and many other euryhaline
fishes, prawns and crabs contribute to highly productive fisheries in
most coastal parts of the country.
5
756 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
(iit) Marine Fisivertes:?
As regards the marine fisheries of India the striking feature is the
differences between the western and eastern coasts of the Peninsula. As
judged by the present day landings which are predominantly based on
the fishing carried out within the narrow coastal range of 5-7 miles from
the shcre, about two-thirds of the total landings of marine fish come
from the west coast, where apparently the water masses adjoining
the coast are of an oceanic character and enriched by the nutrient-laden
waters of the Bottom Antarctic Drift as well as by the Somali Current,
which moves notthwards from the coast of East Africa and sweeps
round at the head of the Arabian Sea moving downwards along the
west coast of India. The turbulance of the inshore waters, within the
continental shelf which has an approximate width of about 50 miles,
caused by the heavy Southwest Monsoon winds, the mud suspensions
which probably act as reservoirs of nutrients, the presence of submarine
ridges like the Carlsberg and Murray Ridges in the Arabian Sea are all
factors which make the west coast having more productive fisheries than
the east coast. The pattern of the east coast is largely influenced by the
river systems opening into it, and the somewhat enclosed nature of the
Bay of Bengal prevents active oceanic circulation. There is nothing at
present to show that east coast marine fisheries are poor in off-shore
waters; in fact rich marine fishing grounds have been located in
waters off the mouths of the Ganga and Mahanadi at the head of the
Bay inthe exploratory activities of the cutters operating for the Bengal
Government. ‘The scientific evidence available at present points to the
western coast being more productive.
Notwithstanding the broad demarcation indicated above, the fisheries
of either coast are not uniform in character throughout the length of
each coast. This may be seen fromthe following enumeration of the
chief biogeographical zones as understood from the fisheries point of
view. Starting from the north western part of India, the coast of
Kathiawar has, in common with the Pakistan coast, an extremely
valuable fishery of Sciaenids (Ghol and Dhoma) which appear in large
numbers during certain seasons of the year, considerable landings of
Polynemids (Rawas and Daras), Clupeids, perches and sharks and rays,
Ghol, Daras, Rawas and Pomfrets are first class table fish occurring
in large concentrations off Kathiawar. The Gulf of Cambay and the
strip of the coast north of Bombay share many features with the
Kathizwar coast, but owing to the influence of the Narbada and Tapti
there is adevelopment of the estuarine fisheries as well and, further
down, the fishery for Bombay Duck, Hlarpodon nehereus, and eels is well
marked. Both the Ghol and Bombay Duck are not pelagic in the sense
we understand the mackerel and sardine fisheries which are best
developed to the south of Bombay. ‘The Konkan coast is noted for the
mackerel, Aastrelliger kanaguria, enocmous shoals of which appear
during the October-January period. Mackerel is a most important
fishery throughout the west coast of India from the Konkan to the
Travancore coast, but shoals are not encountered to the south of
Quilon. On the Kanara and Malabar coasts, the mackerel, although
1This section is adapted from the author’s article in the Handbook of Indiam
Fisheries, op. cit.
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 187
important, is partly eclipsed by the Clupeoids—more particularly the
oil-sardine of Malabar, Sardinella longiceps, and the related forms Sardz-
nella timbriata, Kowala thoracata, and by species of anchovies. Several
Carangids, Cynoglossids (Cynoglossus semifasciatus), sharks and
rays and catfishes also contribute to the high annual yield of the
Malabar coast. Polynemids and pomfrets are found in considerable
numbers throughout the west coast. The prawn fisheries, composed
of Penaeids are also well developed in the coastal belts of Malabar,
Bombay and Travancore-Cochin. The general features of the Malabar
coast, with a rich productive season during the period September-
February and a lean season during the following months ending in total
inactivity during the monsoon months, June to August, are in evidence
up to about fifty miles north of Cape Comorin the southernmost point
of India. |
The pelagic fisheries composed of sardine and mackerel disappear
in the Comorin area, but their place is taken by midpelagic or demersal
species, mostly perches (species of Servranus, Lethrinus), pomfrets
(Stromateus spp.), the butter fish (Lactarius lactarius), sharks, rays and
species of Cybzum in considerable numbers. Small tunnies (Authynnus)
appear in shoals at certain places. The Wadge Bank near the Cape is
one of the richest fishing grounds for percoid fishes and may well prove
to be a lucrative trawling ground like some of the waters off Ceylon.
The Cape area has much in common with the east coast between
the Cape and Point Calimere, where the fisheries are composed of
numerous species, each contributing to a small-scale fishery consisting
of Silver Bellies (Lezognathus spp.), pomfrets (Stvomateus spp.) and
Carangids (Cavanx spp.). The waters of Palk Bay and Gulf of Manaar
have considerable yields of Be/one and Hemirhamphus, and the smaller
Ciupeoids Dorosoma, Stolephorus, Dussumteria and Sardinella and the
large Clupeid Chirocentrus dorab. High yields are noticeablé¢ in this
area of numerous perches of the genera Lethrinus, Serranus and Seer
fish comprising species of Cyézum. The waters between Tuticorin and
Point Calimere are noteworthy in the possession of extensive chank
beds, which yield a lucrative and unique fishery, as also of the pearl
oyster in the Tuticorin area. The Palk Bay is a valuable fishing ground
with considerable resources in leiognathids, elasmobranchs, cybiids,
clupeids, and carangids, but the fisheries do not appear at present to be
exploited adequately. From Point Calimere to Adirampatnam there are
good grounds for sharks and rays and, during June to August, shoals of
flying fishes (Cypszluvus spp.) appear off the coast of Nagapattinam and
Cuddalore. Inthe same area there are also unexploited fishing grounds.
for perches and the lobster 7hexus. From Madras to Vishakapatnam,.
the biggest shoaling fishery is that of the hair-tail or species of
Trichiurus. This important area on the east coast is also noted for
Cybium, Letognathus and Lactarius. The Andhra coast appears to have
numerous valuable grounds for shark fishing, especially to the south
of Kakinada with considerable yields also in Engvaulis, Pellona and
Stromateus. Between Godavari and Ganga there are numerous small-.
scale fisheries, the predominant forms being species of Fellona,
Sardinella, Engraulis and Stolephorus with subsidiary fisheries of species
ef Arius and Cybium. On West Bengal and Orissa coasts, Az/sa also.
appear in large numbers.
The most noteworthy feature of the east coast marine fisheries
768 fOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
seems to be the absence of large shoals of mackerel and oil sardine,
although small numbers of them are noticed; their place seems to be
taken by the less valuable clupeoids, horse imackerels and leiognathids.
It will be obvious from this survey that the fisheries of the east coast,
which now yield only about a third of the total, are more diversified in
character than those of the west. It is probable that the smaller output
is correlated to socio-economic factors, not least of which is that the
west coast fisherman is a better seaman and that conditions of transport
and utilization here are not as well developed as in Malabar. While
the west coast will be suitable for large-scale production followed by
industrial exploitation of fewer fisheries like the clupeids, mackerel and
prawns, the east coast would, if developed, substantially increase the
supplies of sea fish for consumption in the fresh state in an area where
the level of nutrition is already very low.
5. FISHERY BIOLOGY & FISHERY MANAGEMENT
It is futile to attempt fishery management without adequate know-
ledge of the biology of the fishes concerned, and in the present stage of
our development it is natural that much attention
General should be paid to studying the biology of our commer-
cially valuable species. This work is made somewhat
dificult owing to certain natural factors over which we have no
control. In countries with colder climates, speciation takes place
less rapidly than in the tropics, and it is a common experience that
in the place of single cold water species of importance we find in our
waters a large number in the same family. In many instances instead
of single species fisheries, there is in otrr waters groups of species
comprising combined fisheries, most of them having such very similar
features and apparently similar habits as to render their separation and
study extremely difficult. Both in marine fisheries as well as in inland
fisheries, sound taxonomic work is necessary for the correct recognition
of species and suhspecies. Much work on fish taxonomy has already
been done in India, and excellent work continues to be done by the
publication in parts of the series Fishes of the Indo-Australian Archi-
pelago, started by Weber and De Beaufort, now being continued by
the latter.
In former days most species have been described from single speci-
mens and even when large series were available, the emphasis has been
to find the extremes of characters rather than the range
of common occurrence of particular characters. In
recent times, thanks to the development of statistical
concepts, increasing attention is being paid to the analysis
of characters, based on frequency distributions and the
correlation of characters with specific delimiting factors. Although we
haveaconsiderable number of workers on the taxonomy of fishes, their
background is even now the museum concept rather than the genetical
concept. This criticism can, in fact, be applied to many centres of
taxonomic work all over the world. It is unfortunate that close study
and analyses of characters based on large populations of species with
a view to revising the taxonomy of groups of fishes of commercial value
is not being taken up by any one. Investigations of this type are closely
bound up with the problem of racial stocks of fishes which is so funda-
New
Systematics
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 759
mental to understanding fisheries made up of species widely distributed
as are most of the Indo-Pacific forms.
The ‘New Systematics’ which has emerged by the impact of geneti-
cal concepts on problems of taxonomy is equally dependent on
physiological ideas on species and races. Physiological investigations.
have generally been lagging behind in India owing to the paucity of
qualified workers, but the development of this discipline will be
essential if we are to make sound progress in fish cultural practices.
relating to coastal, estuarine and marine fisheries.
Considerable progress has been achieved in morphological studies
relating to fishes owing to the facilities for such investigations being
available at most places. Many publications have
appeared on various aspects of marine and inland fishes,
their food, growth, occurrence, larvae, spawning seasons,
life-history, parasites and a host of similar problems, but
the large majority of these studies are random contributions.
and, even now, there are few species of fish of which it could be said
that areasonably allround pictureis known, Examination of fish stocks,
year classes, rate of recruitment, exploitable margin and such basic
information relating to fisheries has not been obtained for any of our
commercial species, although workers at the Central Fisheries Stations
have begun to apply themselves to these aspects. Controlled growth
studies, so essential for the development of fish culture on scientific
lines, have hardly been attempted but here again recent efforts are
being made both at Barrackpore and Mandapam. It could perhaps be
said that on the whole the work at present does not match with the
standards set by the more advanced centres of fisheries research, but
the answer to this may be found in the introductory section. Apart
from the late beginning, the preliminary stages required the development
of almost a new discipline unfamiliar to the majority of Indian workers
who also had to cope with inadequate facilities at various levels in their
programme. What has been achieved during the past five years is
encouraging, and one can say with confidence that considering the
various difficulties which had to be surmounted inthe initial stages, it is
doubtful if more could possibly have been accomplished by any other
band of investigators under similar circumstances. Objective fisheries
research as has been develoved in other countries has placed emphasis on
varying aspects and in the integrated development of this science in our
country, the orientation needed is for increased exploitation in marine
fisheries, conservation of coastal fisheries and expansion of the culture
fisheries.
There is a small butinfluential school of thought in Indian scientific
circles which considers that the fisheries institutions are devoting far too.
much time and energy to problems which are purely
Morphologi-
cal Studies
Applied of an academic nature, unconnected with actual fisheries.
US. This criticism is in a large measure unjustified, but
Pure it does not mean that there is no further room for
Research
improvement in the research programmes and_ their
execution which, as workers become experienced, are
bound toimprove. Onthe other hand, inconsiderate criticism as has been
voiced in certain quarters will react adversely on the overall necessity
to obtain a larger measure of public support for scientific work on fisheries
than is now available. It has already been indicated that there is much
760 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
preliminary ground to be covered in the purely zoological and botanical
aspects, which it would have been unnecessary~for fishery workers to
devote to, had knowledge of aquatic animals and plants in this country
been sufficiently advanced. When any fishery problem is bound up with
groups of organisms whose scientific study is inseparable from that
problem, such studies have to be pursued by some members of the
teams. Similarly it would be disastrous to the growth of scientific
knowledge if workers begin completely ignoring any new fact or
relationship which they may discover during the course of their work,
although it may not be possible to give it the ‘fishery’ stamp. There
cannot be any sharp distinction between pure and applied research. For
the success of the latter, there will arise problems which have to
be pursued with that amount of thoroughness necessary to establish
facts with sufficient experimentation and control, which might give
others the impression of an academic approach. Similarly, what some
of these critics consider as academic are some of the very problems to
which much attention is paid elsewhere. It would never be in the
interests of fishery research and, in fact, of scientific advancement
of the country to ignore the fundamental aspects of the various sections
of a composite subject like the fisheries which is the meeting place of a
number of disciplines of knowledge. Healthy development of new
ideas and techniques can be expected only if the researchers are aliowed
a certain measure of freedom within the programmes without subjecting
them to judgment based on short-term achievements of applied value.
Nothing would please a fishery scientist more than the discovery of facts
of practical value to the industry and to the country as a whole, but it
is not his fault if short cuts to such findings do not exist.
We may now examine the problems presented by some of the major
fisheries both marine and freshwater. The oil sardine of Malabar
and the Indian mackerel and the Hilsa will be discussed as they form
outstanding fisheries in the country formed of single species. This will
be followed by problems relating to group fisheries.
Sardines: The fishes belonging to the family Clupeidae rank
first in world production; in India too they constitute about a
third of the sea fish production represented by the oil sardine
(Sardinella longiceps) and other related sardines (S. fmbriata, S. gibbosa
and S.sivm), the anchovies (7%rzssocles spp.), the white bait (Azchoviella
spp.), the rainbow sardine (Dussumuieria acuta), the white sardine (Kowala
coval)and many other clupeoids yielding small-scale fisheries. There is
large fluctuation in their annual yield, which is most pronounced in the
oil sardine, the most valuable clupeoid of India. The species is widely
distributed and is landed on the coasts of Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Ceylon,
Andamans and Indonesia, but large-scale shoals seem to be limited to
certain areas only, for example the Malabar and Kanara coasts alone in
India. The fishery starts after the consmencement of the South-west
Monsoon but the peak period is after September extending to January,
a time when the entire coastal fishing population concentrate their
efforts. to catch sardines with large boat seines and gilling nets so
efficiently operated in Malabar.
It will be easy to picture the calamity that would befall the industry
if shoals which are accustomed to appear on the coast do not appear in
certain years, or the shoals arrive at unforeseen times. But it is
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Pate IT]
Sardinella longiceps
The Oil Sardine of Malabar
Rastrelliiger kanagurta
The Indian Mackerel
Plate IV
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
from the Malabar Coast
ines
Other Common Sard
1eria
3. Dussumi
.
>)
iella commersonii
4. Sardinella fimbriata
; 2. Anchov
hasseltti
al
1. Kowala cov
.
»
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 761
precisely the irregular and undependable nature of this fishery and the
great decline of the shoals in recent years which have constituted a
serious problem. Nair & Chidambaram (1951) have reviewed the
subject. From their work the following table of landings for the
oil sardine is reproduced below after adding th2 figures for 1950-52.
TABLE II
Statement of estimated landings of Oil Sardines from the fish-curing yard
registers in the South Kanara and Malabar Districts
Oil sardines landed in
maunds
ae ee eee Total in
matunds |
South Kanara Malabar
1925-26 6,50,707 5,41,742 11,92 ,449
1926-27 74,021 322,020 3,96 647
1927-28 63,673 1,29,339 1,93,012
1928-29 8,465 39,968 48,433
1929-30 42,122 31,656 VEY Eis)
1930-31. 4,824 1,11,048 Ve1,8/2
1931-32 B/ 17S 41,378 58,553
1932-33 zie 29,901 S0;113
1933-34 7,96,805 11,26,788 19,23 ,593
1934-35 10,796 5,47,414 5,908,210
1935-36 961 39,188 40,149
1936-37 1,22,365 6,05,361 7,27,726
1937-38 76,445 379,092 4,56,037
1938-39 66,873 24,576 91,449
1939-40 78,240 1d 724 1,89,964
1940-41 2,90,603 3,86 ,406 6,77,009
1941-42 13,442 1,05,789 ai
1942-43 690 23,948 24,638
1943-44 sh 5,867 9,991 11,858
1944-45 17,472 123 17,595
1945-46 195 281 476
1946-47 30 207 237
1947-48 25,494 6,419 31;913
1948-49 oat 6,645 1,144 7,789
1949-50 : Gorey 16,083 | 74,744 £0,827
1950-51 Ecce A 41,102 1,29,462 1,70 ,564
1951-52 eee temierr 1 10:500 2,71,694 2,91,194
sD Piero Eee reer wth < RaeNeSe arena ee (Ea a a (Snare
762 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
TABLE III
Table showing the approximate landings of Oil Sardines in
South Kanara and Malabar for the years 1950-52
Month | S. Kanara Malabar
Mads, Mads.
1950
July aes . = 660
August ir 50 3,975
September ane poe 276
October Aue . 490 2,932
November es : 4,615 ty, 180
December a 3 27,199 64. O11
1951
January ais : 6,860 31,398
February eae 7. 1, 888 9.725
March ane ; — 40
April + gas : — 265:
May Sais _— —
June he : _ —
July aoe : — : £05
August ave ‘ 810 6.705
September* see : 11,595 71,590
October ae ; 6,475 1,58,444
November a : —_ 1,010
December 485 . 520 5,070
1952
January* ae 100 18,110
February* ies : 5,110
March* ue ; — 4,750
*Data incomplete.
The available statistics show that the fishery was extremely rich in
the latter half of the last century which resulted in the oil extraction:
from sardines forming a lucrative industry with the increase in.
value of the oil. Large fluctuations were, however, evident in the
landings even in those days, but from 1926 a new and unprecedented
phase of decline set in. There was again a notable recovery in 1933-34
followed by further falls and slight recoveries, but the fishery dwindled
to practically nothing in 1941-42. Improved landings were noticed
again in 1949-50 and there has been an encouraging increase in sardines
from that date; in fact the fishery as may be seen from the tables has.
been of some magnitude during the current year.
The oil sardine has been the subject of study by the scientists of the:
Madras State Government for a number of years; since 1947 the work
has also been taken up by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Station:
of the Government of India. Various views on the length of life,
spawning, rate of growth and other biological features have been ‘put
forward, but it is obvious that more reliable data are needed to establish
many facts relating to its biology. The fish has a maximum size of
22.23 cms.; the commercial catches are predominantly the juveniles.
varying from 12-15 cms. All investigators are unanimous in ascribing.
-Zurp1ous uaas st 39U sy, “s}eOq OM} Aq pajpuey (9U |
|
18) 004 VIVYD
"GEN “A “Y HYS Aq yoroyg) “sourpres Jo [eoys &
1yIVIT IYI JO UOTyIIdG ‘leqeyeyA, UI SUIYSy sUIpPIeG
=
aratatets
RK
oe
A SLVIg
Le
gegen gs Pp
Ly GEZ
|
.
:
>
SS
it
:
2
5 s
trea
‘00g “ISIHT ‘3eN Avequiog ‘‘uanor
pineal as _ s
-_ Ss —_ ~— ——— i a i ee
IA
!
‘(RN CA WW EYS
Aq y9}94S) ‘SdUIpies [Io oY} AOJ posn ATOAISNOX9 Jou oUTOs poztjeroods e si yOIYM YIYYA 27/03 -1yIMPy 243 Aq ButYsy ouIpieg
s
ALVIg
Zee
a
Ny
TN 4
a
sao
"905 “ISTH ‘FEN
Acquog ‘‘uanoe
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 763-
the success of the fishery to the abundance of immature young sardines.
The sardine is a plankton feeder and spawning is from August to.
November, probably commencing with the onset of the S. W. Monsoon.
Sexual maturity is attained by 15 cm. sardines when they are certainly
more than a year old but the exact age of spawners is not established.
According to Nair the life span is 3-4 years and sexual maturity is at
the end of two years.
In the scientific study of this fishery one of the major problems to.
be solved is how far intensive fishing is inimical to the fishery. From
the time of Day the possibility that the sardine fisheries were being
over-worked was constantly in the minds of all investigators on the
subject and it was believed by the fishermen that the introduction of the
close-meshed ‘ Kolli vala’ which was a much more efficient net for
catching small-sized sardines than other nets, was one of the chief causes.
forthe decline of the fishery. In olden days the sardines were caught
only by the large Boat Seines or ‘ Paithu vala’, but when the industrial
demands for the fish grew regardless of size (which was immaterial in
oil extraction) the more destructive nets were introduced.1 In 1943.
the Madras Government introduced legislation to protect the fishery in
the Malabar and S. Kanara Districts. The legislation which was mainly
intended to prevent the more efficient nets being used to capture the
small-sized sardines throughout the year and to protect the spawners,.
lapsed in 1947. During the time the legislation was in force there
have been many practical difficulties in its enforcement. It is fairly
evident at present that enough is not known of the sardines to formu-.
late legislative measures.
It would obviously be of the highest practical value to determine
the causes responsible for the great fluctuation in the fishery, and there-
by modify fishing operations so as to obtain a steady annual yield, at
least avoiding total failures which would throw the entire shore
establishment idle and, finally, to have a system of predicting the time
and magnitude of the fishertes beforehand. If the fish cannot be had.
in their normal haunts, can they be fished elsewhere? If the recent
decline has been due to overfishing, the establishment of close seasons
to protect spawners and probably other measures will be necessary.
The sardine fisheries is a world problem because their decline has been
observed in various parts of the world. There is a considerable body of
experts who attribute the wide fluctuations in these fisheries to cosmic
factors beyond the control of man, and consider that under these
circumstances protective legislation would serve no purpose. If the
decline and fluctuations in any fisheries cannot be controlled, researches.
would all the same be extremely necessary to develop the prediction
side of these fisheries by the correlation of oceanographical or other
conditions with the abundance and availability of the fishes for fishing.
The relationship of the oil sardine populations with other sardines,
notably S. fzmbériafa, has also to be closely established to secure an
overall picture of their relative abundance in successive years.
* A seasoned fisherman of Mahé once told the author that the decline in the
fishery was caused by the larger sardines forsaking the coasts in sheer disgust, on
finding, from the refuse thrown back into the sea after oil extraction, what is
happening to their young ones!
764 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
The Indian Mackerel Rastvelliger kanagurta Cuvier! is probably:
the most important marine fish of India. The fishery is composed of
only a single species, it has along season of occurrence, and the annual
variations in the catches are not so high as inthe sardine. It has been
known for many years that lean sardine fisheries coincided with good
mackerel fisheries and with the decline in sardines, it is only natural
that mackerel is receiving much attention even in areas where they
formerly had only the second place. Thegenus /astrelliger is widely
distributed, ranging from the Iranian Gulf to the South China Seas, and
although three species have been described it is fairly certain that the
Indian mackerel fishery is composed of a single species; further, it
seems probable that the Aembong fisheries of the Malayan coast, and
the Pla-thu of Indo-China and Thailand are ali contributed by one and
the same’species. The districts of North Kanara in Bombay State,
South Kanara and Malabar in the Madras State and the northern part
of Travancore-Cochin State provide the chief areas of mackerel fishery,
the actual range of the fishery on the west coast being from Ratnagiri
south of Bombay to Quilon in Travancore. The season commences in
September and continues till February. On the east coast of India,
the fish appear rather erratically contributing to local fisheries near
Mandapam, Madras, and occasionally as far up as Kakinada and
Orissa. On the eastern coast of Ceylon there is a fishery from
November to December. In essentials, its appearance throughout
India corresponds to the colder part of the year although small landings
of the species are by no means uncommon in many parts of the west
coast during what is usually spoken ofas the off-season. The fish is
a plankton feeder and its shoaling on the west coast corresponds to a
period of rich plankton production.
The mackerel of the commercial catches of the season are juvenile
examples ranging from 18-21 cms. having very poor development of the
gonads. In the monsoon months irregular catches of mackerel of all
sizes varying from 7 to 24 cms. are not uncommon in Malabar (Chidam-
baram ef al. 1951) and in the Kanara Districts. The juvenile examples
of 18-19 cms. appear in shoals during October, and as may be expected
the average size increases in the succeéding months registering the
higher figures of 21-22 cms. by February and March. Although shoals
disappear in the subsequent months, the mackerel! obtained in small
numbers are progressively larger, the maximum size being in the sum-
mer months, July and August (24-25 cms.) by which time the gonads
are ripe, indicating a spawning period which corresponds with the
Southwest Monsoon. This is supported also by the fact that very small
mackerel from 9 to 11 cms. occur inthe August/September period in
Karwar, and small ones of varying sizes from 6 to 11 cms. in Calicut.
It seems reasonable to consider that these small individuals do not
form the fishery in the immediately succeeding months, the present
indications being that it is the second year class that comprise the
fishery. It is also a remarkable fact that mackerel collected in any one
lot present an extraordinary similarity in the size of individuals
comprising the catch, a uniformity that is most unusual in fish popula-
i RS
1 Scomber microlepidotus of Day’s volumes. For recent account of taxonomy
vide Beaufort in fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Vol. 9, 1951, Leiden.
Journ.,
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
1. Outrigger canoes are extensively used in mackerel
fishing. Photograph shows a canoe with mackerel in
Karwar Bay.
2. Fresh mackerel gibbed, salted and kept’ for drying.
Note the uniformity in size.
3. Mackerel fishing village on N. Kanara coast. Note
the outrigger canoe, nets, fishermen, huts and curing yards
PLATE
> WA
V;
18
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Pirate VIII
1. The Rampani nets, which are very large shore
seines, are extensively employed in mackerel fishing in
the Kanara coasts. The photograph shows one arm of
the net being drawn ashore.
2. The mackerel encircled in the net are kept im-
pounded near the shore until the arrival of launches
from Bombay. Photograph shows the boats and impound-
ing net with their floats.
3. Impounded mackerel are hauled ashore in batches
as required. At the back may be seen a launch loading
mackerel with ice for being transported to Bombay.
FISHERIES RESEARCH IN INDIA 765
tions.1_ While such a uniformity may be expected of smaller examples
not many months old, the very narrow range of size variation in a
second year class iS so pronounced as to throw suspicion on their age.
It is needless to add that much remains to be knowa,. but we shall have
achieved much when a complete story of the Indian Mackerel is avail-
able to us: Where do the first year fish disappear to their feeding
grounds? Which are the spawning grounds? Is spawning intermit-
tent and extending for a long time as in the Atlantic Mackerel? What
are the factors which control their movements and cause fluctuations
in the fishery ? We have no data to show whether the fishery is worked
at its optimal level. The present operations are more or less coastal
and it remains to be found out whether mackerel operations could be
extended to the off-shore waters. Both sardines and mackerel appear
earlier in the south and slowly extend northwards and their disappear-
ance from north to the south also follows a similar pattern. These
two fisheries require close study under an integrated programme
because it is becoming increasingly clear that they form two major as-
pects of the zeritic pelagic complex * of the west coast waters. Infor-
mation is badly needed on the extent of off-shore stocks of both these
fishes which are unexploited at the present time.
The introduction of carrier launches for the mackerel in 1936, and
the steady increase in the fleet of launches operating between Bombay
and the mackerel centres of Malwan and Karwar have had a healthy
effect on the development of this fishery because it has become possibie
to land large quantities of mackerel for the people of Bombay at a
reasonably low price. The operators have already shown a way of
minimising the risk involved in the trade by the practice of impounding
mackerel on the Karwar Coast, in the large Rampani nets in which they
are caught, between the time of capture and the time they can be packed
in ice in carrier Jaunches arriving from Bombay. Researches on
mackerel should further help in the prediction and assessment of the
annual fishery, improvement in the efficiency of operations by closer
knowledge of the habits of the mackerel and, above all, to assure that
nothing is done to the stock of fish which might lead to decline in the
yield as has occurred in the sardines.
(Zo be continued)
~
1] am indebted to Prof. W. Rich who drew my specific attention to this
point.
2The term was coined at the first meeting of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries
Council at Singapore to denote the problems relating to the pelagic fisheries of the
coastal areas as against true pelagic fisheries of off-shore waters.
THE HISTORY OF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND
ORNITHOLOGY
BY
Str NorMAN KINNEAR, C.B.
Part I. MaAmmars
(With three plates)
The study of mammals in India in the first half of the last century
owes more to Brian Hodgson and Edward Blyth than any other
naturalist. Hodgson’s work in Nepal and Sikkim laid the foundation
of our knowledge of the mammalian fauna of the great Himalayan
chain, while Blyth, owing to his facilities as curator of the museum of
the Asiatic Society, had a wider influence since he had at his disposai
specimens from the whole of India, Burma and Ceylon, as well as.
Afghanistan and the Malay Peninsula.
But before either of them had arrived in India Major-General
Hardwick, head of the Bengal Artillery, had for many years collected
specimens and employed native artists to make coloured drawings of
them. He described a number of species, such as the Goral
(Naemorhedus goral) and the Indian Gerbil (Tatera indica), but he was
forestalled in his description of the Gaur and Four-horned Antelope. In
1815 Dr. Wallich, superintendent of the Calcutta Botanical Garden,
went to Nepal to collect plants and seeds. He was a great friend of
Hardwick and sent him a number of mammals, birds and many insects.
Some of the mammals Hardwick described himself, while others he
presented to the British Museum, the Zoological and the Linnean
Societies. Hardwick seems to have been-.unfortunate in his dealings.
with the last named society, since according to the minute book for
1821 a description of the Panda (Ailurus fulgens) was communicated by
General Hardwick and read in his absence, but never published.
Again in 1823 his communication on the ‘tail-less deer’ Cervus wallichw
and the sheep ‘Ovis argali’ =(Ovis hodgsoni) met the same fate !
Hardwick returned to England in 1823 and some years later com-
menced publishing, in conjunction with Dr. J. E. Gray of the British
Museum, the well-known ‘Illustrations of Indian Zoology’ (1830-1835).
In 1844 Dr. John McClelland in writing a review of Belanseee
‘Voyage aux Indes Orientales’ (1838) remarked ‘We wish our own
Government would take a lesson from the French, who seeing the
interest of science neglected in the colonies of other rival nations, with
an enlightened policy peculiar to the French, dispatched their own
philosophers to supply desirata’. Before giving a brief account of
the important work the French did in India, it is well to remember
that one Governor-General—Lord Wellesley —did attempt to set
up an institution for the study of natural history in the beginning of
the nineteenth century. The scheme was to establish a college at
Fort William and attached to it a natural history establishment at
HISTORY OF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY 707
Barrackpore where animals and birds were to be kept and studied.
Orders were sent to officials in ali parts of the Company’s territories
to send in live animals to Barrackpore. Dr. Francis Buchanan was
appointed to take charge of the institution and undertake the official
study of Natural History in India. Between 1800 and 1804 many
animais reached Barrackpore, but Lord Wellesley’s successor took
little interest in the scheme; the institution degenerated into an in-
different zoological garden and gradually came to an end.
McClelland’s remarks about the French were, however, quite true
and one of their earliest travelling naturalists to visit India was
Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour, who arrived in Pondicherry in
September 1816 to take charge of the Royal Botanical Gardens there.
He travelled and collected widely in South India and visited Salem,
the Nilgiri Hills, the French possessions on the west coast and then
went south to Cape Comorin from where he crossed over to Ceylon.
He returned to France in 1826. A year after Leschenault’s arrival
Pierre Medard Diard reached Chandernagore, where he was joined by
Cuvier’s step-son Alfred Duvaucel. These two naturalists accompanied
Sir Stamford Raffles’s expedition to Java in 1818-19. Diard went on
to Sumatra and Indo-China and in 1825 joined the Dutch administra-
tion at Batavia. Between 1820 and 1825 he sent specimens to Paris
but thereafter all his collections were sent to Leyden. He died at
Batavia in 1863. Duvaucel parted from Diard in 1820 and went to
Pedang and then returned to Chandernagore. Irom there he went to
Sylhet and apparently visited the Khasia Hills, from where he returned
to Calcutta in bad health and died in Madras in 1824. While
at Chandernagore he visited General Hardwick at Dum Dum and
made drawings of a four-horned antelope the general had alive.
He also studied and made. sketches of the animals at Barrackpore
including the tail-less deer (Cervus wallichit), which had been sent
from Nepal. ‘Two of his native collectors he sent to Katmandu where
they worked under Hodgson. About the same time a captain in the
French mercantile marine, by name Dussumier, was very active in
collecting specimens at many ports of call, which naturally were for
the most part in the French possessions.
The specimens these naturalists collected were sent home to Paris
where they were described: by the Cuviers, Geoffroy, Blainville
and others and. included Rousettus leschenaulti, Semnopithecus
dussumieri, Cervus leschenaulti (=Cervus unicolor niger) and Cervus
duvaucelt.
Four years after Duvaucel’s death Victor Jacquemont arrived in
Calcutta and remained in India some four years. He seems, however,
to have been more of a traveller, and a very observant one, than a
collector., In the course of his journeys he visited Delhi, the
Himalayas, the Punjab and Kashmir from where he returned to Delhi
and then went south to Bombay via Indore and Ajmere. He _ had
intended continuing down the ghauts to Pondicherry and Ceylon, but
he was taken ill and died in Bombay on 7th December, 1832.
Jacquemont collected few mammals and though he described several
the only name given by him which stands is that for the long tailed
marmot Marmota caudata. More successful, however, was Charles
Belanger, who reached Bombay in 1825 after a journey overland from
763 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
France. He travelled south to Malabar and then crossed the peninsula
to Pondicherry from where he went to Calcutta. Thence he sailed
to Pegu and after doing some collecting there he proceeded further
south to Java and then returned to Pondicherry on his way home.
He discovered several mammals such as the Rusty-spotted Cat (Felis
rvubiginosa) near Pondicherry and Melogale personata the Burmese
Ferret-badger and the Tree-shrew Tupaia belangeri, both near
Rangoon. The last French travelling naturalist is Adolphe Delessert,
who came out to Pondicherry in 1834, but as he was more interested
in birds than mammals details will be given under that section.
In October 1824 Captain W. H. Sykes of the Bombay Army was
appointed statistical reporter to the Bombay Government and for the
next seven years was engaged in this work. He wrote two large
statistical reports on the Deccan and while gathering information on
the subject also collected natural history specimens of all orders, which
he gave to the Company's Museum in London in 1831. In the same
year he published in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society a paper
on the mammals in which he deserbee the Indian Wolf Canis pallipes,
the Wild Dog Cuon dukhunensis, the Indian Gazelle Gazella g.
bennetti, and a number of others. In all he listed thirty-nine species
with some information on their distribution and habits.
A deputation in 1839 was sent to study the tea plant in Assam.
The party consisted of Dr. Wallich, Dr. William Griffith both
botanists, and Dr. John McClelland, a geologist who was interested in
natural history generally, especially fishes. They visited the Khasia
Hills and McClelland made a collection of mammals and birds, which
were despatched to the Company’s Museum on the return of the deputa-
tion. With the assistance of Dr. Horsfield, the Keeper of the
Museum, McClelland wrote a paper on his collections in the Proceedings
of the Zoological Society for 1839. Of the nineteen different species
collected the Macaque Macaca assamensis and the Giant Squirrel
Ratufa gigantea were among his four new discoveries.
Sir Walter Elliot, better known as an archaeologist than a
zoologist, served some seven or eight years in the Southern Mahratta
country, now known as the Dharwar district. In 1839 he published
in the Madras Journal of Literature and Science a ‘Catalogue of the
species of mammalia found in the Southern Mahratta country’. This
paper was far in advance of any previously published on Indian mam-
mals. Fifty-eight species are given with detailed descriptions and very
good notes on habits and distribution. All this goes to show that Sir
Walter was a very close observer and had he continued his studies no
doubt he would have become one of the leading naturalists in India. In
his introduction Elliot divides the various species into five categories,
according to where they are found, as follows: (1) ‘Common to
all parts of the country where they are found’, (2) ‘Mountain forest’,
(3) “‘Mulnad or rain country’, (4) ‘Black plain’, (5) ‘Sandstone
and red soil’. Surely this paper must be one of the fore-
runners of the study of animal ecology! Many years later Elliot
sent to the British Museum the skulls of several cetaceans obtained
at Vizagapatam, together with notes of the colours of the fresh
animals. These were described by Sir Richard Owen in a paper
published in the Transactions of the Zoological Society for 1866.
HISTORY OF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY 769.
Brian Hodgson went to Nepal as assistant to the Resident at
Katmandu in 1820 and, with the exception of a break of eighteen
months remained there till 1843. During the last ten years of his
service he was Resident. Throughout his service he employed hunters
to shoot and trap mammals and birds and every specimen which they
brought to him was carefully measured, weighed and described.
In addition he had one or two artists who made careful drawings of
the feet, ears, etc., while fresh, and in some cases of the whole animal
also. Skulls were always taken out and attached to the skins and
sometimes entire skeletons were preserved, or at least parts of them.
The weak point in Hodgson’s collecting was his labelling of the
specimens. Either no label was attached to the skin, or merely the
name of the animal on native paper. In this Hodgson was not alone;
few collectors in those early days realized the necessity for careful
labelling. Nevertheless Hodgson brought together a remarkable
collection and so far no important addition has been made to his
Nepal list. One of the first animals he described was the serow
which he named Antilope thar in 1831, and in the following year
appeared his first catalogue in which twenty species are recorded by
name but there are many others he was unable to identify’. His final
catalogue published by the British Museum in 1846 records one
hundred and fifteen species, including some ten or so from Tibet. It
was owing to Hodgson’s friendship with Bhim Sen, the Prime Minister
of Nepal, that he was enabled to get specimens from Tibet and
ultimately to send his own men there. It has often been said, and quite
correctly too, that Hodgson described many of his species on unsatis-
factory characters or too small material and also that he was always
in a hurry to get priority. This last suggestion is not true since over
and over again we read in his papers that he has known a certain
animal for years but delayed describing it till he had further examples.
In 1843 Hodgson left Nepal and came home to England but two years
later he returned to India and lived at Darjeeling till he finally
left India for good in 1858. The most remarkable animal which.
Hodgson named was the Takin. In 1846 a Major Jenkins, the
Governor-General’s Representative in Assam, sent him an imperfect
specimen which was followed two years later by good examples of
both male and female. It was while he was living at Darjeeling that
Hodgson wrote his important paper on the ‘Physical Geography of
the Himalayas’ in which he divided that mountain range into three
altitudinal areas and described the animals inhabiting each.
When Dr. McClelland in 1840 started the Calcutta Magazine of
Natural History among the contributors to the first number was.
a young officer of the 31st Bengal Native Infantry, in civil employ,
stationed in the wild district on the south west border of Bengal.
1 In a footnote Hodgson writes: . . . ‘My shooters were once alarmed in
the Kachar by the apparition of a ‘wild man,’ possibly an ourang, but I doubt
their accuracy. They mistook the creature for a cacodemon, or rakshas, and fled
from it instead of shooting it. It moved, they said, erectly; was covered with
long dark hair, and had no tail.’
Here we have an early reference to the animal which has been exercising the
minds of climbers in the Himalayas and zoologists who have never seen India!
770 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
This was Lt. R. S. Tickell, one of the best field naturalists India has
known. His contributions included papers on the sloth bear, brown
flying squirrel and anteater, and when he was stationed in Tenasserim
he wrote a very good account of the habits of the gibbons. At one
time Tickeli intended to publish a book on Indian mammals and
birds, but although his manuscript, and illustrations by himself, were
all prepared, it was never published and is now carefully preserved in
the library of the Zoological Society in London. When Blanford
wrote the ‘Mammals’ he made frequent use of Tickell’s MS.
When the first ‘Afghan war broke out in 1838 Lt. Thomas Hutton
of the 37th Native Infantry joined the army of the Indus but was
soon transferred to the ‘Pay and Commissariat Department of Shah
Soajah’s forces’ and bitterly complained that he had no time to get
about. All the same he somehow or other did a good deal of collect-
ing and wrote interesting notes on the Sind Ibex, Markhor and Urial;
the last two he also named and described. In addition he sent some
smaller mammals to Blyth for identification and, after the war,
published a paper in the Jour. Asiat, Soc. of Bengal (1845) ‘Rough
notes on the Zoology of Afghanistan’. Hutton later was in charge
of the ‘Invalides’ at Mussoorie where he continued his natural history
studies and at one time was said to be writing a popular account of the
Mammalia of the north western Himalayas, but it was never published.
In September 1841 Edward Blyth arrived in Calcutta to take
charge of the Museum of the Asiatic Society. Before long he was
in touch with many naturalists in India and the neighbouring countries
and large numbers of specimens of many orders began to come to the
Society. First and foremost of these correspondents was Dr. Jerdon,
who became a great personal friend, then there was Col. Phayre,
afterwards first Commissioner for Burma, and Major Birdmore, both
stationed in Tenasserim where too was Ossian Limborg. The well-
known Roman Catholic Missionary the Reverend J. Barbe sent speci-
mens from the Tipperah Hills, Tenasserim and the Nicobars; Captain
Hutton and Dr. Stewart from Mussoorie, Captain Tickell, Chaibassa,
and Dr. Kelaart and. E.. L. Layard from Ceylon. R. W. Frith of
Jessore made several trips for the Society to Cherrapunji and brought
back many interesting specimens. Blyth was a man of great energy
and in addition to carrying out his museum duties it was his custom
to prepare reports for the monthly meetings of the Society of the
accessions received since the last meeting. This was no mere list of
specimens but a_ detailed account in which new — specimens
were described and attention drawn to others whether little known
or new’ .to. the collection _.of the ,.Society....Not infrequently. ie
read a paper at these meetings and his choice of subjects was very
wide, ranging from the ‘Rats and Mice of India’ to the ‘Great Rorqual
of the Indian Ocean’. Blyth had a remarkable memory, was very
well read, and anything he wrote generally contained some out
of the way information. On account of continued ill health he had
to retire in 1562 and return to England, but not before he had
finished the catalogue of the Mammals in the Society’s collection,
which his friend Jerdon saw through the press for him.
Dr. Kelaart, Blyth’s correspondent in Ceylon, was in the Army
Medical Service and when on leave in England had been persuaded
1
~ PLATE
a een ra
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon
Samuel Richard Tickell
1811-1875
Died 1865
(Reproduced from ‘‘ The Nests and Eggs of Indian Bivds”’ by A. O. Hume, 2nd edn.)
VION
~“UUSSPU Ff To UUFYUOLLUFY UE trey sae =
II a1iv1g ‘00S ‘LSIH ‘LVN AVaWog ‘Nuano[
HISTORY OF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY 771
by the head of the Medical Service Dr., afterwards Sir Andrew,
Smith, to take up the study of natural history. I» 1850 he published
in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society “A Catalogue of the
Mammals of Ceylon’ enumerating 58 species, and two years later his
well-known ‘Prodromus Faunae Zeylaniae’ appeared. In the introduc-
tion to his work he remarks ‘our own labours would, like those of
many collectors, have been in a chaotic mess, but for the assistance
of cabinet investigations of such eminent men as the Grays and Blyth’.
On 18th May, 1849 the 22 Foot—the Cheshire Regiment—landed in
Bombay, crossed the harbour and marched over the ghauts to Poona.
Their medical officer was A. L. Adams, who later became professor
of zoology in Cork, a very keen and observant naturalist. Adams
served with the regiment for seven years at Poona, Karachi and
Rawalpindi and while at the last station made expeditions into the
Himalayas and to Kashmir. In a paper in the Proceedings of the
Zoological Society, 1858, he described the habits and distribution of
the different mammals he had met with during his stay in India, and
some nine years later published an interesting book entitled ‘Wander-
ings of a Naturalist in India’.
In 1867 Jerdon’s ‘Mammals of India’ appeared and for the next
twenty-one years it was the standard book till replaced by Blanford’s
volume. Though confined to the animals found in Kashmir and the
Indian peninsula, he frequently referred to species in Assam,
Burma. and Ceylon. In his introduction Jerdon admits that the portion
of the work dealing with the small shrews, bats and rodents was very
imperfect and this was not to be wondered at as the only collection
he could refer to was the Asiatic Society’s in Calcutta and many of
the species described by Hodgson and Gray were not represented
there. Then, too, he had to rely to a great extent on his own observa-
tions on the habits of animals, since little had been published except
in the papers of Sykes, Elliot, Tickell and Hutton. Nevertheless
the book filled a great want and Jerdon’s own notes were excellent.
In England Doctors Horsfield and Gray had been making known many
new animals from India, principally collected by Hodgson, who con-
tinued to send consignments to both museums. The ‘Catalogue of
Mammals in the Museum of the East India Company’ appeared
in 1851 and two years later Hodgson sent his final donation
to the Company’s museum, which Horsfield described in the
Annals and Magazine of Natural History (1855). This was an
important paper and besides descriptions of new and _ little-known
species there were notes on all the additions to Gray’s ‘Catalogue of
the Mammals and Birds of Nepal’ published ten years earlier. At the
beginning of the paper Horsfield mentions that this consignment
included a large supply of Indian ungulata, but except for the takin
he makes no mention of them. ?
The year 1845 was an important one in the study of zoology in
india since in that year W. T. Blanford arrived in India to join the
Geological Survey. In addition to being an accomplished geologist,
Blanford was a zoologist with wide interests and wrote many papers,
not only on mammals but also on birds, reptiles and mollusca. He
was concerned with the agitation which ultimately induced the
Government of India to establish a museum in Calcutta, and there is
6
T12 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
little doubt but that he had much to do with the memorial which
persuaded the Secretary of State for India to sanction the series of
volumes known as the Fauna of British India, of which he was the
first editor and author of four volumes. While engaged in geological
field: work Blanford had ample opportunities for collecting and see-
ing live animals, and when the staff of the Survey worked in Calcutta
during the rains he devoted his spare time to studying the collections —
in the museum.- He wrote many papers on mammals and one of his
most important was the mammal portion of the ‘Scientific Results of
the Second Yarkand Mission’ (1878). The specimens brought back
by the expedition were collected by a young ‘Austrian geologist on the
staff of the Geological Survey named Ferdinand Stoliczka, who died
on the way home when crossing a high pass!.
Previous to this expedition littlke was known about the mammals
of Kashmir, except the game animals and a short account in the fourth
volume of Baron von Hugel’s ‘Kaschmir und Reich der Sick’ (1840).
Blanford’s paper may therefore be said to be the basis of all future
work on this region. During the next twenty years or so several
officers stationed in Kashmir and adjacent agencies did good work in
making known the local fauna, such as Biddulph and Scully in Gilgit,
Macmahon—afterwards Sir Henry and founder of the Baluchistan
Natural History Society—in Dir and Swat, Fulton in Chitral and
at a much later date Colonel Stockley in various parts of Kashmir.
During the first ten years of the present century Major Dunn, Colonel
Magrath and Captain Whitehead collected in Hazara and the North
West Frontier Province and helped to enrich the collections of both
the Society and the British Museum. Between 1891 and 1894, Dr.
W. L. Abbott, an American of independent means, who spent most
of his life travelling and collecting for the Smithsonian Institution in
the East Indies and East Africa, visited Kashmir on two occasions.
On the second of these visits he travelled north as far as the Tian
Shan following the same route as the Yarkand expedition. His
collections were reported on in the Proceedings of the U.S, National
Museum. It was not, however, till Colonel Ward of the Kashmir
Game Department began to collect that the mammals of Kashmir
became properly known. ‘At first Ward collected himself, but latterly
engaged C. A. Crump to come out from England and collect both
mammals and birds. From time to time Ward sent short papers to
the Journal giving the identifications of the specimens he had sent to.
the British Museum. In the first of these papers he quotes from a
a letter he had received from Oldfield Thomas dated September 1904
as follows,—‘I doubt if you realize that we have no specimens except
yours of the commonest Kashmir species or indeed of India generally
(except from Wroughton) and these we have moreover without the
date, measurement etc. that nowadays make the chief value of speci-
mens’. It is much to be regretted that no general account of the
mammals collected by Col. Ward was ever published.
During the Afghan Delimitation Commission in 1896 Dr. Aitchison
the official naturalist, and Colonel Yate, a member of the Commission,
EE
1 Stoliczka was buried in Leh. A photograph of his tomb is published at p. 656:
of Vol. 32 (4) of the Journal.—EpDs. |
~1
jew)
HISTORY .OF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY vi
both. made collections of mammals which were described in the
Lvansactions of the Linnean Society and in the Journal of the Asiatic
Society. When Colonel Younghusband’s Mission went to Lhasa in
1904 Captain Walton, I.M.s., was attached as doctor and naturalist.
He got together a small but interesting collection of mammals, some
of which were collected in the same localities that Hodgson’s men
had procured the originals sixty-three years previously.
Not long after Blyth left India the Government decided to
build a museum in Calcutta and in September 1866 Dr. John
Anderson was brought out from home to be the curator. During
his term of office he did much to increase the collections and
in this he was helped by Dr. G. E, Dobson, an army doctor interested
in bats, who besides writing many papers also wrote a monograph
of the Asiatic Chiroptera (1876) which was based on the Museum’s
collections. Anderson did a considerable amount of collecting himself,
accompanied the two Yunnan expeditions in 1868 and 1875, and
at a later date went to the Mergui Archipelago. . The collections made
on the Yunnan expeditions were described in a special volume entitled
‘Anatomical and Zoological Researches’ (1878) and included an impor-
tant memoir on a new river dolphin Orcella fluminalis captured in the
Irrawaddy during the first expedition. Sir Arthur Phayre, the first
Governor of Burma, a great friend of Blyth’s and donor of many
specimens to the Asiatic Society’s Museum, had asked Blyth to write a
general account of the mammals and birds of Burma. This Blyth
was engaged in at the time of his death in 1873. The Asiatic Society
later. published the account in a special number of their journal along
with a short life of Blyth. The mammal portion was revised by
Anderson and Dobson, and the birds by Viscount Walden.
Between 1885 and 1887 Leonardo Fea of the Genoa Museum
visited Burma and made exiensive collections in all branches of natural
history in the Bhamo district of upper Burma, and in Karennee and.
Tenasserim. The mammals were described by Oldfield Thomas in
the Ann. Mus. Genova (1892).
In 1846 the missionary, the Rev. P. Barbie, s.J., wrote an account
of the Nicobar Islands in the Asiatic Society’s journal to which Blyth
added a natural history appendix. Eleven years later the islands.
were visited by an Austrian scientific expedition in the frigate ‘Novara’
and considerable collections made. Towards the end of the mutiny
Dr. Mouat was sent to the [Andaman Islands on behalf of the govern-
ment to report whether the islands would be suitable for a convict
settlement and in 1863 he published an account of his visit in
‘Adventures and Researches in the Andamans’ with an appendix on
the natural history by Blyth. It was not, however, till 1901 that the-
mammalian fauna of the two groups of islands was properly investi-
gated. In that year Dr. Abbott accompanied by C. Boden Kloss, who.
afterwards was on the staff of the F.M.S. Museums, made a com-
prehensive tour of both the Andamans and Nicobars and collected a
series of specimens which were described by Geritt Millar in the
Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum.
The name of A. O. Hume is generally associated with the study
of Indian birds, but he was also interested in big game and presented
to the British Museum his collection of over a hundred heads and
774 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 56
horns. In 1874 he described in the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal the race of the Ibex from the Sind hills and of the Markhor
inhabiting the Suleiman range. Two years later Major Sandeman,
the famous frontier officer, sent him an Urial from Baluchistan which
he named after Blanford. Hume also had a collection of mammal
skins amounting to 400 specimens collected by his own men and some
of his correspondents. This collection was presented to the British
Museum in 1886.
Many different kinds of rats and mice had been described by
Gray, Horsfield, Hodgson and others on various occasions, but it was’
exceedingly doubtful if they were all good species. This uncertainty
was cleared up in 1881 by Oldfield Thomas who, in the Proceedings
of the Zoological Society, published a paper on the ‘Indian Species of
the Genus Mus.’ Besides examining all the old specimens in the
British Museum, Thomas had at his disposal some material recently
collected by Blanford in various parts of India, by Mandelli in Sikkim,
Colonel St. John in Ajmere and the Rev. Fairbank at Ahmednagar.
It is interesting to note that at that date the genus Mus included
among other genera Katlus, Bandicota and Nesoria.
Two years before the Bombay Natural History Society was founded
a memorial signed by Charles Darwin, Sir Joseph Hooker and other
eminent men of science was presented to the Secretary of State for
India recommending that a series of volumes dealing with the Fauna
of British India should be published. This was eventually agreed
to and Blanford was appointed editor and in addition undertook to
write the volume on mammals which was published between 1888 and
1891. This work was a great advance on that of Jerdon, published
some 20 years earlier, but the study of mammals had not advanced
in the same way as that of birds had. Although many people in
India were interested in the larger animals, few took any interest in
squirrels, bats and the like. Furthermore, Blanford, who was work-
ing in London, had poor material at his disposal and many of the
specimens had been exposed to light in the public galleries. In spite
of some shortcomings in descriptions and distribution, for which
Blanford was not to blame, this work was of great value to the student
in India and was the first authoritative account of the mammals of
the Indian Empire.
In 1884 Sterndale brought out his ‘Natural History of the
Mammalia of India and Ceylon’, a popular work which was well re-
ceived, and the same year saw J. A. Murray’s ‘Vertebrate Zoology of
Sind’, a compilation as regards the mammals and birds from Jerdon’s
works. The author of this last work was at one time in charge of
the Frere Museum in Karachi and afterwards of the Victoria and Albert
Museum, Bombay.
With the starting of the Society’s Journal in 1886 a periodical
became available where naturalists could record their observations.
Among the early contributors there were two eminent Bombay lawyers,
J. D. Inverarity a barrister, and Reginald Gilbert a solicitor, both of
whom probably knew as much about the habits of big game as they
did about the law! Interesting notes on bears and Himalayan game
animals were contributed by Major G. S. Rodon, a retired officer of
the Royal Scots, who had settled in India and every year spent some
HISTORY OF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY 775
time in Chamba State. Then there was Colonel G. H. Evans of the
Burma veterinary service, a popular figure in Rangoon, whose articles
on the Thamin, Serow and Goral showed that he was a good observer.
For long there had been a dispute as to whether the Gyal was a
distinct species or a domesticated form of the Gaur and it was Stuart
Baker who settled the question in the fifteenth volume of the Journal,
but, alas, the four gaur heads which were depicted in the paper never
came to the Society!
In 1871 R. C. Wroughton joined the Indian Forest Service and
spent nearly the whole of his time in the Bombay Presidency. At first
he was interested in Hymenoptera, especially ants, which he deserted for
scorpions and through scorpions became acquainted with R. I. Pocock.
At that time Pocock was in charge of the collection of Arachnida in the
British Museum, but mammals were his real interest and in 1904 he
left the Museum and became superintendent of the Zoological Society’s
gardens. But some time before that he had interested Wroughton in
mammals and when the latter came home on leave in 1896 he brought
with him a collection of bats which he worked out with Oldfie'd
Thomas’s help and wrote a paper ‘Some Konkan Bats’ in the
12th volume of the Journal. When Wroughton retired in 1904
he went to live in London and became a regular worker at the Museum.
At first he had to work at African mammals because, as already
mentioned, there was no recent Indian material available. He tried,
however, to persuade friends in India to collect specimens but with
litthe result, though the Society began to send a small but steady
stream of rats, and Colonel Ward’s consignments from Kashmir
began to appear.
In 1904 Captain Glen Liston, I.M.s., read a paper before the Society
on ‘Plague, Rats and Fleas’ in the course of which he said ‘Hankin
suggested that the accessibility of people to rats was more important
than the filth, overcrowding etc.’ He went on to say ‘It is absolutely
certain that rats are the most important factor in the spread of
plague’ and finally he added ‘what do we know about rats, very little’.
The last remark was only too true, and looking back it is extra-
ordinary that nothing was done to properly identify the different
species of rats or work out their distribution and biology. It must,
however, be remembered that the importance of animals in spreading
disease was not yet fully realized. A year after Liston’s paper Dr.
Hossack of the plague department, Calcutta Municipality, contributed
to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal a ‘Preliminary Note
on the Rats of Calcutta’ and this was followed two years later by
‘An Account of the Rats of Calcutta with some remarks on the existing”
class function of the genus Mus and Nesokia’, which was published
in the first number of the Records of the Indian Museum. There was
little new in either of these papers since the author was neither a
naturalist nor trained systematist.
Liston’s paper, however, encouraged members to send rats to the
Society for identification and regular consignments used to arrive
from Father Lord of the Cowley Fathers who worked at Pen in the
Kolaba district across Bombay Harbour. Many of the specimens
were forwarded to Wroughton who, when sending the identifications.
6 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. -50\\
~J
continually urged Millard that the Society should emoploy. a paid
collector, but the difficulty was the lack of funds.
‘At the end of 1911 or beginning of 1912 C, A. Crump Si dcltinly
arrived in Bombay and offered his services to the Society. Here was an
opportunity not to be missed! Hurriedly calling a meeting of the
Committee, Millard persuaded the members to allow him to engage
Crump for some months and at the same time issue an appeal for
funds. In April Crump started collecting in Khandesh and that was
the beginning of the Mammal Survey. In the special Supplement
commemorating the Golden Jubilee of the Society (1933) details are
given of the money raised, the areas investigated and the forty-six
reports issued.
By the next year there were four collectors working, and then
in 1914 the war came, the collectors gradually joined up and for a
short time the work of the survey came to a standstill. But this:
was only temporary since, thanks to the assistance of members, the
survey went on and one of the Society’s assistants was sent to
Darjeeling to carry on where Crump had ceased. In 1915 he was
moved to Baluchistan to work under Sir Ernest Hotson who had joined
the army, and with him also he went to East Persia. R. Shunkara
Narayan Pillay, formerly in charge of the Trivandrum Museum,
undertook to collect in Travancore, in various parts of Burma J. M. D.
Mackenzie of the Forest Service collected in his spare time and
Captain Philip Gosse, R.A.M.c., did good work in the Poona district
and the Nilgiris. S. H. Prater, then assistant curator of the Society,
was sent to work the Satara district and afterwards to North Sind.
So it was that the work of the survey was continued all through the
first war and soon after peace was declared Mr. Millard engaged
another collector to come out from home. Other collectors were
recruited in India and Charles McCann, who later succeeded Prater
as assistant curator, also went into the field and did good work.
In this way the survey carried on till the end of 1923.
During the time the survey was working some 25,000 specimens
were collected including all the areas where the old collections of
Sykes, Hodgson etc. had been made. The work of sorting and
cataloguing this huge series of specimens was carried out in London
by R. C. Wroughton assisted by his brother-in-law, T. B. Fry, who
carried on the work after Wroughton died in 1921. In addition
Wroughton prepared most of the 55 reports and made many contri-
butions to the Scientific Results, besides being responsible for the
“Summary of the Results from the Indian Mammal Survey’ the first
number of which appeared in Volume 25 of the Journal. The Society
owes a great deal to these two members for all the work they did,
and it must be remembered that neither of them was young at the
time.
At the Indian end there was the late Mr. Maillard, a very busy
man who nevertheless found time to keep the appeal for funds going,
engage collectors, arrange where they were to go, supervise the
despatch of specimens home etc., to say nothing of editing the Journal
and looking after his own business. When Mr. Millard left India
Sir Reginald Spence took his place and even in the difficult post-war
years raised money to keep the survey going.
(upa pug ‘aun ‘o'r Aq ,,spaig uvipuy fo saazT puv sysant ay fT ,, most poanposdag, )
Co61-CEQI
Ee ee TENN
z161-6zg1
SUNT UPIAL}IGO ULTY
lll a1vIg
PND §TOTTH "FF waY FTwaMracr
eararanl
HISTORY OF INDIAN MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY 777
Briefly the results of the survey are that we now know what
mammals are found in India, their characters, variation and distri-
bution and it is unlikely that many remain undiscovered except a few
shrews, bats and small rodents. It is interesting to compare the
genera and species of one family—the rodents—as known to Blanford
and the figures from the latest check-list.
Blanford, Fauna of British India, 1891: genera 22, species 93.
Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian Mammals, 1951: genera 44
species and subspecies 201.
The survey collections are a sound basis for future volumes in
the new edition of the Fauna and were utilized to the full by Pocock
in his two volumes. Without these collections Sir John Ellerman
would have been unable to deal effectively with the Indian and Burmese
species in his ‘Families and genera of living Rodents’ 1940 and
certainly the very useful ‘Checklist of Palaearctic and _ Indian
Mammals’ by Ellerman and Morrison Scott would likewise. have been
incomplete.
In addition to specimens the survey made available a very con-
siderable amount of information on distribution, altitudinal range and
the notes by the collectors supply particulars about habits and breeding.
Both before and since the survey was started many valuable papers
have appeared in the Journal, but the majority have been concerned
with the large cats and big game on which there was already quite a
library of books. A. A. Dunbar Brander’s ‘Wild Animals in Central
India’ its, however, of quite a different type and there is more in it about
the behaviour of animals, not all of them game. animals, than of
how to shoot them. The author was fortunate to spend all his
service in the forests of the Central Provinces, that classic ground
of Forsyth’s ‘Highlands of Central India’ and Sterndale’s ‘Seonee’.
Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. Burton in Volume 41 has given an admirable
summary of all that is known of the wild dog, while Salim Ali’s
account of the wild ass in Kutch is a model of its kind. Useful
observations on monkeys and different bats have been given by
McCann, and in Spolia Zeylanica Dr. Osman Hill has described the
breeding habits of certain monkeys in captivity as well as writing a
‘Monograph of the genus Loris’. More is known of the habits of
Ceylon mammals than of those of India thanks to Phillips’s ‘Manual
of Ceylon Mammals’ which contains much useful information. A
similar work, but covering a much wider field is S. H. Prater’s small
volume ‘The Book of Indian Animals’ (1948) a veritable multum in
parvo. The movements of bats are being studied by Humayun
Abdulali, and two members Messrs. Powell and Frere have described
in the Journal interesting particulars about two species of mongoose.
Strangely enough there is little on record on the habits of the different
kinds of rats though P. V. Wagle’s ‘Rice Rats of Lower Sind and
their Control’ in Volume 32 confirms some of Elliot’s observations
made many years earlier.
The members of the Society have always been interested in the
conservation of the fauna and much has been done by members of the
forest service. The great decrease in the numbers of rhinoceros,
buffalo and certain deer led to a valuable series of papers on the ‘Wild
Animals of the Indian Empire’ (1933-34) by S. H. Prater, with special
778 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
articles by members in different provinces. From this it became evident
that unless something was done certain species were in danger
of disappearing. The establishment of game reserves at the foot of
the Himalayas and in parts of Assam, it is hoped, may save the rhino
and buffalo for the present. On the western side the lion still
holds its own thanks to careful conservation; the wild ass, too, is.
strictly protected at least within Kutch State.
(To be continued)
THE HISTORY OF BIRD-PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA
BY
R. S. P. Bates & E. H. N. LOwTHER
(With seven plates)
It is indeed possible that photographs of Indian birds, or of their
nests and eggs, appeared in other publications before ornamenting
the pages of this journal, but we believe the contingency to be remote.
In any case, even if such were the case, their numbers must have been
very small. Consequently we have confined our researches into the
history of bird-photography in India to the pages of our Jourvnal, and
since records indicate that the nest and eggs even of a British bird were
photographed for the first time in April 1892, by Cherry Kearton, and
of a bird at its nest not till the spring of 1895 (in this instance by that
other great pioneer of bird photography, R. B. Lodge) we feel it is.
improbable that much, if indeed any, bird photography had been done
in India earlier than 1900. We have therefore not looked through
the Journal published prior to that ;ear!,
Neither of us being lucky enough to possess a compiete set of
the Journal, we repaired to the library of the South Kensington:
Natural History Museum where we spent two happy days browsing
through their interesting pages, being afforded every assistance by
Mr. Townsend, the Librarian, and by his staff. Often did we stray
from our subject to read to each other scraps of absorbing: interest,
and as frequently did we have to pull ourselves- up with a jerk to:
ensure completion of our task in the limited time at our disposal. As
may be imagined nostalgic memories overcame us again and again,
but we learnt much.
Some of what we learnt surprised us not a little, for it was not
until we reached the fourth part of Volume 21 (November 1912):
that we made our first discovery, a photograph by Magrath purporting
to show the site of a bird’s nest—that of the Orange Bullfinch.
‘Purporting to show’ is the right expression, for the photograph, or
else its reproduction—a very possible contingency—is so poor that
even a cross to show the nest’s position entirely fails to give a clue
—_—
* Since this article went to press my attention has been drawn to a few photo-
graphs in the pages of the Journal which we appear to have missed out in our
survey. One or two of these have perhaps been omitted in error, but others were
undoubtedly rejected for technical or other reasons. The sudden death of my great
friend and collaborator, Bob Lowther, renders it inadvisable, in my opinion, to
make any alteration in this paper, but I. find that the photograph of the female
florican on nest in Vol. XXI (July 1912) is reproduced excellently at page 207 of
Vol. II of Stuart Baker’s Game Birds of India, Burma and Ceylon where it is
credited to H. H. The Maharao of Cutch. The latter is also responsible for a
picture taken on 8th November 1903 (Vol. XV of June 1904) of flamingos’ nests
and eggs in the Great Rann of Cutch. I would also like to mention F. M.
Bailey’s Bar-headed Geese photos (Vol. XIX of 1909) and his pictures of the nesting:
of the Ibisbill taken in May 1909 (Vol. XIX of February 1910).—R.S.P.B.
780 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
to the composition of this strange smudge of printer’s ink. its;
being of a nest, cannot take pride of place as the first published Indian
bird photograph. This honour apparently goes to C. Beadon who,
to illustrate a Miscellaneous Note in Volume 24 (September IQI5),
in addition to pictures of a nest arid eggs of the Common Sandgrouse,
has one of the bird itself on the nest. Admittedly there are earlier
photographs than those named, as for example that of a Ram Chukar
taken in 1912, but these are of captive or wounded birds and as such
should not, in our view, be included in this brief sketch, since bird
photography, as understood by its devotees, means the portrayal of
wild birds in their natural surroundings and under no form of human
control. |
From 1915 onwards, until some time after the close of the Great
War, nature photographs were used only sporadically, but in ro21
[Volume 27 (3)] there appeared an article which conveys the
impression that the author’s intent was to give to photography its due
importance in supplementing the written word. This article, ‘A List
of the Birds of Dharmsala,’ by Captain R. W, G. Hingston, was illus-
trated with 6 photographs, about quarter plate in size, of various nests
and of a couple of birds—a Brownbacked Indian Robin and a
young Himalayan Snowcock, the latter poorly reproduced. This
article was the forerunner of those illustrated ornithological papers
of both scientific and of a more popular nature which thereafter formed
a steady if somewhat thin trickle up to the present day.
Up to this time the photographers’ technique and the quality of
reproduction left a great deal to be desired, but with thie inception
of E. H. N.- Gills *A Description “of the Nests “and Boos von cme
Common Birds occurring in the Plains of the United Provinces,’
[Volume 28 (4) dated December 1922} a new era was ushered
in. It is true that these photographs were still mainly of nests, but
there is a crispness of definition and attention to composition about
them, and those of the few bird photographs he included, which were
previously .altogether lacking. Unfortunately Gill’s enthusiasm for
ornithology appears to have waned with the conclusion of these
articles, and by 1924 he had faded entirely from the Indian scene.
As Gill’s articles ‘were drawing to a close, one of the present
authors, R. S. P. Bates, stepped into the breach, first with ‘Notes on
Hugh Whistler’s ‘‘A Contribution to the Ornithology of Kashmir’’,’
a short article with one plate depicting nearly life-size photographs of
the nests and eggs of the Sooty and Whitebrowed Blue Flycatchers,
and then; ‘shortly afterwards [Volume 29 (4) May 1924] with the
first of a series on ‘Birds’ Nesting with a Camera in India’. This
series, in 6 parts, lasted until August 1926, and was written with
the express purpose of popularizing the photographing of India’s birds»
and to encourage the use of photographs in furthering bird study.
We have repeatedly been told that, more than anything else published
up to that time, it did focus attention on India’s teeming. and
varied bird life and caused many to turn their attention to the birds
around them, some for relaxation, some in a more serious manner,
while the fillip it gave to those who were already bird enthusiasts
was considerable. Perhaps few were induced to take up bird photo-
graphy, but nevertheless from now on there was a small but noticeable
Prater al
)
inuta
ttern (Ixorbrychus m
ttle Bi
Li
9URN. BomMBAY Nat. Hist. Soc.
= —
—— ee ee -. : - a -—; - . -
uIO,, IAAT ueIpuy
une
Li
Il 21v1g ‘00S ‘LSIET “LVN AvaWog ‘Nuno[
(2ydjnppig omnqM X14S) [MO POONA S,A][NIS
saw ‘d “SM Oioe ch
Na vay ‘00S “LSIF] ‘LVN AVaWwogd ‘Nuno[{
“THE HISTORY OF BIRD-PHOTOGRAPHY IN- INDIA~: 781
increase in the numbers using photographs to give point to. their
writings. ,
At the end of 1926 S. Basil-Edwardes put in a ‘Contribution to
the Ornithology of Delhi’ with some habitat photographs, but alas
this promising ornithologist died very soon afterwards. :
The year 1927 saw illustrated works by three different authors.
Bates’s ‘Impressions of Pachmarhi Birds’; C. B. Ticehurst’s and
Sir Percy Cox’s ‘Birds of the Persian Gulf Islands’ with poor but’
interesting photographs of nest sites of Crab Plover, Cormorants
nesting on sandbanks and gulls flying over their colony stealing the
unguarded eggs; and Major R. W. G. Hingston’s ‘Bird Notes from
the Mount Everest Expedition of 1924’. The four photographs illus-
trating the last, of Chough, Blue Rock Pigeon, Accentor, and Adam’s
Mountain Finch, though small, are very clear. From the end
of 1928 until December 1932, except for Bates’s ‘A Reed-bed in the
Dal Lake, Kashmir’, illustrated chiefly with photographs depicting
the life history of the Little Bittern [Volume 33 (3), May 1929],
Salim Ali holds forth with a series of articles dealing largely with the
role of certain birds in the dissemination of plant-life, and in Volume
34 [(4), March 1931] with an outstanding contribution on the
‘Nesting Habits of the Baya’. Although the photographs in this
article can be said to be only fairly good, they are of exceptional
interest. Unfortunately Salim Ali ist-a user of miniature cameras,
instruments of great precision, it is true, but of limited use in straight
bird photography. The miniaturist will no doubt take us to task for
implying that first-class bird work cannot be turned out by the true
miniature such as the Leica. We do not say that it cannot, since for
certain work the Leica has given remarkable results. Some birds in
flight and in the mass, such as the concourses at heronries, can be
admirably depicted, but for bird portraits from the hide where a high
degree of enlargement and the meticulous depiction of. detail are
required, it falls down except in the case of the largest birds.
With the introduction about this time of faster panchromatic
emulsions, fine-grain developers, and photo-electric exposure meters, the
task of the bird photographer tended to be simplified. For this reason
one might reasonably have expected to find a noticeable increase in the
numbers of nature photographers and an improvement in their work.
There was in fact a slight increase in the output of bird portraits
about 1935, but the Indian climate presents many adverse factors
which more northerly temperate climes do not possess, so that only
in the years following the last war is there an obvious improvement
in achievement over previous work. The harsh lighting, the great
heat of the spring, followed by the extreme humidity of the monsoon
months, are not only factors which daunt the spirit and sap the
energies of would-be photographers, and which have undoubtedly kept
down their numbers, but have equally devastating effects upon the
mechanical processes of development and printing and particularly bad
effects upon exposed photographic emulsions if left unprocessed for
any length of time. But thanks to the accumulated experience of
782 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
the pioneers, and the steady improvement in materials and appara-
tus, those adverse factors are being overcome. In fact, we think
it can be said quite fairly that a new era is opening in the art of bird
photography in India. However, we must not anticipate.
In Volume 37 (4) dated April 1935, in the same number in which
Bates added his ‘Notes on the Habits of some Indian Birds’ with three
plates, a new name appeared, that of F. N. Betts, with a short article
_on ‘South Indian Woodpeckers’. Unfortunately the accompanying
photographs are poor and much below Betts’s present standard.
The year 1936 might, we think, be described as a good one. It
started with Bates’s article on the Kishenganga Valley and was follow-
ed by T. R. Livesey’s ‘Cuckoo Problems’ and the first part of Salim
Ali’s & Humayun Abdulali’s ‘Birds of Bombay and Salsette’—none
of these illustrated with particularly good work. It ended in Volume
39 (1) of December, with the first part of the long and important
series of E. H. N. Lowther’s ‘Notes on Some Indian Birds’. His
opening gambit on the Crested Swift was not only a useful paper
ornithologically but it introduced, with some unusual photographs of
this bird of most remarkable habits, the work of a bird photographer
who was actually in action even before Beadon published his portrait
of the sandgrouse. In Part II, Lowther followed up his first published
effort with a batch of noteworthy photographs of the different
species of nightjars found in the plains. The series ran to 9g instal-
ments which appeared intermittently throughout the greater part of the
Second World War.
The fact that Lowther had been photographing India’s birds since
1911 shows the danger of relying for this article only on the printed
word, for no doubt there are many excellent bird-photographers who
never blossom into print, a fact borne out by a perusal of the catalogue
of the Wild Life Photographic Exhibition held in Bombay in April
1939 and the Nature Calendars issued by the Society annually since
1941. An outstanding example is Major C. L. Boyle who showed
a fine series of 18 Kashmir bird photographs at this Bombay exhi-
bition, including the best picture we have yet seen of both male and
female Little Bittern at the nest. This photograph was also used
in the Society’s 1942 Calendar and is reproduced here. (Plate I.)
That good year of 1936 was the precursor of a ten-year period
with a number of bird photographers in the field, by no means all of
the Old Brigade. Apart from Lowther’s series, more work came
from Bates, his ‘Rosefinches and other Birds of the Wardwan Valley’
[Volume 4o (2), September 1938] being the first to be illustrated
with photographs reproduced in the U.K. in a most pleasing manner
“in sepia by the Vandyke process. A number of the illustrations to
papers by Lowther and Bates which followed were reproduced in this
way, but in 1942 war conditions rendered it no longer possible to
employ this process in the Journal. As permanent half-tone blocks
are not prepared in this process, none of those photographs are
available for reproduction here.
Amongst others at work during this period were Betts with two
illustrated articles in December 1937 and April 1938, and C. McCann
with some photographs of a deserted flamingo city in the Rann of Cutch,
‘OURN. BomBay NAT. Hist. Soc.
PLATES,
W. W A. Phillips
| The Spoonbill ( Platalea leucorodia)
JourN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLatEeE Vil
Alert and with measured tread, the Ibisbill approaches the nest
f
Photos " B. T. Phillips |
Settling down to brood |
PLATE VII
0
fe)
WY
H
Z
a
5
<
A
a
<
-Q
=
je)
=
Z
~
E. H. N. Lowther
Crested Swift on nest with egg
A
THE HISTORY OF BIRD-PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA Zc
OD
ice
and towards the end of the period W.W.A. Phillips has ‘Some Observa-
tions on the Indian Courser’. Photographs by this author of a
higher standard appeared in 1947 with an article entitled ‘The Islet—
A Bird Sanctuary in Ceylon’.
‘In September 1945 (Volume 45) the late Lt.-Col. B. T. Phillips
was at last persuaded to venture into print. His first paper, ‘Photo-
graphing the Ibisbill’, was supported by some most illuminating
photographs of this elusive and rarely-portrayed bird. Colonel
Phillips concerned himself ‘largely with colour work—his excellent
transparencies cover nearly one hundred of Kashmir’s birds and are a
monument to his skill and experience in the use of the miniature
camera in conjunction with the distant release. As his object was
to produce colour transparencies for projection, his choice of apparatus
was undoubtedly correct: the result of attempting to translate these
same photographs into large-scale half-tone reproductions with which
to illustrate his later series of articles, called ‘A Bird Photographer’s
Musings from Kashmir’, was not, however, altogether a happy one,
for many of them show up his work to poor advantage.
In Volume 46 (2), August 1945, Salim Ali illustrated ‘An Ornitho-
logical Pilgrimage to Lake Manasarowar and Mount Kailas’ with a
mixed bag of small photographs some of which are really excellent,
particularly of Horned Lark and Pamir Sand Plover, while, later in
the same year W. T. Loke added ‘A Bird Photographer in Kashmir’.
On the photographs accompanying this article we have no remarks to
make for the simple reason that they do not reflect the excellence of
his later work and the fact that this summary is to be rounded off in
the next article by his own explanation of the methods he now
employs to obtain results which undoubtedly mark the opening of a
new era in bird photography in India.
A perusal of articles from all sources appearing in these years shows
a marked advance in technique and quality although Lowther’s last
paper on the Lammergeier (Volume 46, December 1946) reveals a
noticeable falling off. The rise and fall are easily explained. Before
the war high-speed fine-grain panchromatic emulsions were already
coming into their own and existing stocks lasted into 1943. There-
after, to obtain a box of plates which was not so stale as to be almost
useless—or which had not been salvaged in a partially wet state from
a torpedoed vessel—became impossible. Lowther’s long-awaited
opportunity to photograph the most majestic bird of the Himalayas,
the Lammergeier, suffered for this latter reason.
Finally let us say that there are signs at last that bird photography
in so far as India is concerned has emerged from its teething troubles,
for in addition to the older names, the /ournal and Calendars now
contain work bearing such names as C. A. Gibson-Hill, whose studies
of the tropical sea-birds are outstanding, K. S. Dharmakumarsinhji,
the Maharao of Kotah and the Maharajah of Bikaner, O. C. Edwards
and others. Bird photographers are undoubtedly on the increase
in India but there are still far too few to cover but an infinitesimal
part of the ground. When we look back and think of the photo-
graphic material at our disposal in the early days and compare it with
the super-fast emulsions of great latitude, the fine-grain developers,
and the aids to correct and silent exposure which now exist, whereby
734 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
with comparative ease first-class photographs can be obtained by those
with energy and determination, it seems to us scandalous that the ranks
of the Society are not bursting to fill the /ournal’s pages with portraits
of that multitude of India’s birds whose secrets are crying out to be
divulged.
In the British Isles the Zoological Photographic Club has been
largely responsible for raising the standard of bird photography to
near-perfection. Its membership being limited to forty on account of
the circulation of work by means of portfolios, other clubs with a
like object have sprung up, showing that in these islands bird photo-
zraphers are to be numbered in hundreds rather than in tens. So
buck up India, and if you have not yet started your Z.P.C., do sa
now to give a greater stimulus to the wonderful and useful hobby of
bird photography. Personally we feel it deserves to be termed a
science and an art, especially such work as that of W. T. Loke with
the highspeed flash which heralds a new phase in the photography of
India’s teeming birdlife and a wonderful means of recording their
every action.
% % %
NOTE BY THE EDITORS
It is interesting to find that as early as the year 1900, in Some
Hints on the Collection and Preservation of Natural History Specimens
(Vol. 13; 279) E. Comber, under Nesis & Eggs advises: ‘Written
descriptions of the materials, form and situation of nests can be
enormously increased in value if supplemented by pictures of them
taken while in situ; and now that the means for taking snap-shots is
so simplified and brought to such perfection, every field naturalist
should provide himself with one. Every one must naturally please
himself of course as to the camera he selects, but, to those who have
not already formed opinions, I can recommend the Eastman ‘No. 4
Bullseye’ which takes pictures 5 by 4 inches. Besides being cheap
(cost between 42 and £3) it is a great advantage to be able to change
the spool of films in broad daylight. Films of course must be fresh,
and I myself find the best plan is to send a postal order for 25s, to
Eastman’s in London as fresh supplies are wanted; this covers the
cost of postage of six spools of one dozen exposures each.’
PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS WITH THE HIGHSPEED FLASH
BY
MANN 2 COKE
(With five plates)
The use of the highspeed flashlamp (or electronic flash, as it is
known in the U.S.A.) has undoubtedly caused what Eric Hosking
calls a revolution in bird photography.
The wonders of highspeed flash photography first became known
to the world in the 1930’s when a group of scientists at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, headed by Dr. Harold FE.
Edgerton, perfected a system of taking photographs at very high
speeds. Photographs taken at these great speeds showed bursting
bulbs, bowls of milk at the instant they smashed on hitting the floor,
the shape of footballs when kicked and other happenings hitherto un-
seen by the human eye.
During the last war this system, which consists of passing a
very high voltage current through a tube filled with a rare gas or
gases thus producing a bright light of very short duration, was found
to be of great usefulness in night-time reconnaissance photography
from the air. Since the war, the invention made available to the
ordinary photographer has each year grown rapidly in popularity.
The main disadvantage of the high-speed flash is its great weight.
The power pack for my own equipment weighed some 50 lb., and in
addition there were the usual camera and tripod plus two lamps
which needed a tripod each.
The 6-volt current from the batteries is stepped up to some 2,500
volts before it is discharged through the lamps. When working in
the field, often under damp conditions, it is essential that the connec-
tions between power pack and lamps be completely safe from leakage,
otherwise the photographer handling them might easily be killed.
During my recent expedition in Kashmir (1951), I used the speed-
flash for the first time for a period of continuous work in the field,
and the lessons I learnt may be of some use to other bird photo-
graphers. I am not competent to deal with the technical aspects of
speedflash photography, but from the practical point of view several
qualities are desirable :—
(1) The light should be of high intensity to allow for exposures
at small stops. When using a telephoto lens, it is clear
that good depth of focus is of very great importance.
(2) The flash must be of short duration. My set gave me an
exposure speed of about 1/3,oooth of a second. This was
not fast enough to ‘freeze’ the movement of the smaller
birds such as the Bluechat. It could, however, deal quite
adequately with a slow-flying bird like the Hoopoe. I
am certain that for a bird like the Central Asian King-
fisher, an effective speed of at least 1/10,oooth of a
second is essential.
786 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
(3) Quick re-charging of the condenser is useful. As a light of
high intensity is important, the transformer naturally has
to be large, and weight in the equipment is unavoidable.
(4) The leakage of current from the condenser is usually de-
signed, as a safety measure, to empty it in about 1
minute. It should be possible to lengthen this time to,
say, 3-5 minutes. For ordinary use this would be danger-
ous, but birds quite often do not visit the nest for long
stretches at a time and it would be a distinct advantage
for the bird photographer to be able to make his battery
last longer by having to charge his condenser less often.
When on trek, one’s constant worry is when the battery
is going to run down. There is, of course, no hope
of getting the battery recharged in Kashmir, for instance,
except when one reaches a place like Pahalgam or
Srinagar.
In the early examples of speedflash photography, it was not un-
usual for the pictures to have inky black backgrounds which made
the bird look as if it was flying by night. This look of unreality may
be avoided by either photographing the bird with a background close
enough to be illuminated by the lamps, or choosing a point where the
bird is in shadow but the distant background in full sunlight. The
photograph of the Hoopoe (Plate II) was taken by this later
method.
I found that in most cases two lamps were necessary. The use
of a single lamp causes dense shadows in the photograph which are
ugly and can only be avoided by using a supplementary light source
to light up the shadows. |
It is unwise to photograph when it is raining, even if the rain
is only a slight drizzle. Apart from the damage likely to be caused
to equipment and the danger involved, raindrops get ‘frozen’ and in
the photograph appear as round blobs which (as this happened to
me) made me think at first that my film had deteriorated.
A developer which will give good shadow detail is essential and I
found ‘Promicrol’ from this point of view most satisfactory. My
camera Was a quarter-plate Speed Graphic and I used a 1o-inch tele-
photo lens for all my pictures.
There is no doubt that the highspeed flash will cause as great a
revolution in bird photography in India as it has done elsewhere.
Photographs of quick-moving birds, like the Bluechat, which always
nests on the ground in dark places could not be obtained except by
using it. As it does not give dense, hard shadows of the kind usually
associated with pictures taken with the ‘M’ or ‘F’ type of flashbulb,
the results are also more pictorial.
I did not have an opportunity to use colour films with my speed-
flash but as the light emitted is white in colour, there is no reason
why daylight-type colour film should not be used satisfactorily with it.
When technical improvements finally bring decreased weight with-
out decreased efficiency, the use of the speedflash in the high places
of the Himalayas will become, as indeed it should be, a problem
in photography and not a problem in transportation.
JsouU SUIARZ] PEYOONI IIe
(ysegpeeds ) ayo7 “TM 0j04d
ye ew : — i accep ita -
es 5 aaa 3 eat)
‘sunoA jo yoxOed soos YIM SoU SUTAPOT (sdoda vdndy ) sodooyy
‘00S “LSIH ‘LVN AvaWog ‘Nunof[
( ysegpeeds ) ayo7
Jt
M
Q
O
‘yy Ooo0'S IIWYSeY JO 9]eA
myoeoidde (raysns opunsp]) MOT[LeEMS WOUTUIOD
O10Ud
TP SY oe HR
VN Avawog -
Journ. BomsBaAy Nat. Hist. Soc.
W. T. Loke (Speedflash) |
Paradise Flycatcher (Tchitrea p. leucogaster ).
Male approaching nest with food. Anchar Lake 5,o00 ft.
‘YF OOO'TT siewmUeIsy “UlYS 94} UT dun] & SULyeUT Poo}; a10N
‘SUNOA PoYo}eY-A[MOU SUTZEQNOUL s[eULo} Poof 0} JNOQe SI oTeU oY, *( 2uamyNs *s uopyaysuuaz) aoyoyeoAT,J A JOOS Iruysey
( ysegpeeds ) ayoT °L "MM 0704
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA
BY
N. L. Bor
PART I
(With three plates and thirteen text figures)
SUMMARY
In the Flora of British India the species of Poa were worked up by the late
Dr. Otto Stapf and in all 17 species were described. Of these, the species called
Poa persica Trin. has been made the type of a new genus, Hvemopoa Roshev., by
the Russian botanist Roshevitz. ‘The characteristics of Hvemopoa Roshev. are
so different from those of Poa Linn., particularly in the nervation of the lemma,
that there is no doubt that they are better kept apart. ‘This leaves sixteen species
of Poa for India.
In the present study, forty-nine species are described, and it is by no means
certain that this number covers all the valid species of the Himalaya and neigh-
bouring areas. Some of these forty-nine species have not so far been found within
the political boundaries of India and Pakistan, but as they occur just over the
border, it may be assumed that they will sooner or later be found within the
geographical area known as India, since there are no natural barriers to their
spread.
Introduction
The name oa, from the Greek wéa, mon, woin, grass, herb or
fodder, apparently was not used to designate any particular plant until
Linnaeus founded the genus Poa in his Genera Plantarum 20 (1737)*, a
genus which appeared in each successive edition of the book with the
characteristics unchanged. In the first edition of his Spectes Plantarum
67 (1753), Linnaeus gave binomials to 17 species in this genus, the
majority of which still remain in the genus foa as conceived by modern
agrostologists. The remainder have been transferred to other genera,
e.g. Eragrostis, as necessity arose.
The systematic treatment of the species of the genus Poa is one of
the most bewildering and difficult of taxonomic studies. While many
species are clear cut and can be recognised at a glance, there are
groups of species about which one can only conclude that their evolu-
* In the first four editions of this work, Linnaeus refers to the Agrostographia
of Scheuchzer, published in 1719, for illustrations of the genus Poa. By a curious
error, which remained undetected through four editions of the Genera Plantarum,
Linnaeus quotes tabula IV, fig. 17, instead of tabula, III, fig. 17. In the sixth
edition of the Genera Plantarum, published in 1754, Linnaeus drops all reference
to Scheuchzer, since, as he tells us in the preface to the edition, ‘citationes
auctorum pro determinandis speciebus expunximus’, since these are to be found
in Species Plantarum, 1753.
7
788 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL FIST. SOCIETY, VoL 50
tionary history has been so complex that they do not lend themselves
to systematic treatment by present taxonomic methods. One cannot
rely upon a single character to separate species in such groups, but
combinations of more or less variable characters must be used—a
procedure, it must be confessed, which often leads to the recognition
of species by what is suspiciously like guesswork, even if it is termed
experience or intuition.
The foregoing statements do not apply to the Indian species of Poa
_ only, but have been the experience of all workers in this field, no matter
what flora has been the subject of their studies. One of the reasons
for these difficulties is presumably hybridization and polyploidy
followed by apomixis. This suggests that the only satisfactory way of
dealing with such difficult groups will be by experimental analysis.
So far no experiments of this kind have been undertaken with any
of the Indian species and it seems as if these experiments are far
distant. This, however, should not be a valid reason for postponing a
revision of the genus in India, for, no matter how difficult and complex
the study is or how desirable a knowledge of the genetic basis for each
species may be, there are still collections to be named.
Until all the data necessary to give the complete picture have been
obtained, the taxonomist must do the best he can with the material at
hand. At any rate we are very far from the stage in our knowledge of
the genus Poa about which Stebbins (1950) surmises ‘ when this genus
is better known, it may have to be regarded as a single huge polyploid
complex, which is in part purely sexual, in part facultatively apomictic,
and which contains in addition obligate apomicts’.
Difficulties of classification in default of breeding experiments and
analysis have so far been tackled in adjacent areas (India and Russia)
in two ways, neither of which is entirely satisfactory. The first method
is to widen the characters of certain species to such an extent that these
species become a kind of dustbin to which many of the aberrant
or doubtful specimens can be relegated.
In this method the concept of a species of Poa may include characters
which are as divergent as firm and herbaceous lemmas, wool or no wool,
keels of the palea which are scabrid or ciliate, anthers large or small,
ligules long or short, and so forth.
Such a hypothetical species becomes a polymorphic assemblage with
extremes looking as different from one another as only two distinct
species can. For typical examples of this method, one had only to look
at the treatment of the two species Poa nemoralis Linn. and P. annua
Linn. in the Flora of British India. Now, if the ambit of 7. xemoralis
Linn. is extended to include specimens with a long ligule and lower
glumes which may be lanceolate, oblong-elliptic or even ovate in shape,.
it is quite clear that P. xemoralis as understood by Linnaeus will be
swamped in the flood of specimens which obviously look different but.
which, thanks to the widening of the characters, fall pat into the artificial
and capacious receptacle created for thein.
In the folders of Indian P. nemoralis at Kew, Edinburgh, Calcutta
and Dehra Dun were to be found a small number of sheets only which
could actually be identified as true P. nemoralis Linn. The erection of |
var. ligulata Stapf permitted numerous sheets of P. sterélis M.B.,
avaratiea Trautv. and several other species to be included.
The treatment of Poa annua Linn. in the same work is just as
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 733
unsatisfactory. This cosmopolitan species is usually a lax annual,
sometimes biennial, but very rarely perennial—there is little or no wool
at the base of the lemmas—the lemmas are herbaceous, green, with
cilia on the keel and outer nerves—the paleae are ciliate on
the keels—the anthers are almost 0°8 mm. long. The erection of two
varieties, var. mepalensis and var. stkkimensits in the Flora of British
/ndia, widens these characters so that the Poa annua of India is annual
or perennial, with wool or without wool, with keels of the palea ciliate or
ciliate below and scabrid above, with lemmas very firm or herbaceous,
with all nerves ciliate or only the outer, with anthers varying in length
from 0°4 mm.to2 mm. _ Into the hypothetical species possessing these
characters it is possible to fit P. annua Linn., P. supina Schrad.,
P. intirma H.B.K., P. nepalensts Wall. and P. stkkimensis Bor, all of
which differ in morphology, habit and appearance, and soms even have
different chromosome numbers.
The second method is to take a single character as a basis
and to divide the species of the genus into two parts on the
criterion of its presence or absence, The most frequently used character
for this initial subdivision is the nervation of the lemmas. In one
group the nerve between the lateral and keel nerves is extremely
prominent, while in the other group it is very faint. Each of
the two divisions so obtained could again be subdivided by taking
another character, say, wool or no wool at the base of the lemma.
Further subdivisions would demand other contrasting characters. In
this way a rigid dichtomous key is obtained and this is the method, one
feels, that has been followed in the Flora U.S.S.R. Vol. 2. for in the
treatment of the genus Poa inthat book, which incidentally runs to 106
species, the species are separated in the key on just such characters as
the above. If the dichotomy in the key is based upon contrasting
characters which are not absolutely reliable, then the whole system
breaks down and makes the determination of species by means of a key
impossible. In the absence of data obtained by experimental techniques.
the writer of this paper feels that an intermediate position between the
two extremes is in the circumstances the best course to pursue. By this.
means the unreasonable expansion of the limits of the species, and
hence the inevitable lumping, on the one hand, is avoided, and, on the
other, that while due regard is given to the status of recognisable species,
excessive splitting on doubtful characters is likewise excluded.
The procedure however does not solve the question of the treatment
of the more difficult groups, and the writer has come to the conclusion
that it is quite impossible to deal with the members of such groups by”
the ordinary classical methods, but that species must be lumped to be
dealt with later when, by breeding experiments, the exact relationship
of the members of the group can be elucidated.
Taxonomic Characters and their Reliability
Before any key to a genus can be drawn up a decision has to be
made regarding the characters to be used for the separation of species.
And after the selection of such characters has been made, further
consideration must be given to the confidence or weight which can be
dlaced in these characters.
790 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Such decisions can only be made after experience has been gained by
the examination and dissection of a large mass of material. To this end
the collections of the genus in the great herbaria of England, India,
Paris and Holland have been examined, particularly those of the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew ; the British Museum (South Kensington) ; the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh; the National Botanic Gardens,
Calcutta ; the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun; and the Rijks-
herbarium, Leiden. Afterexamination of this very large mass of material,
one is forced to the conclusion that, in so far as the genus Poa in India
is concerned, there is no single character which can be selected (except
possibly one) in which absolute reliance can be placed. The degree of
reliability also varies. Some characters are almost always present,
others fairly constant, while others only occasionally can be found.
The one exception to which reference has been made is the possession
of scaly rhizomes. I have yet to find a specimen of Poa pratensis which
does not possess this organ. But here again it is often missing in
herbarium specimens, though usually the remains of it can be made
out.
The compilation of a kéy to the species of Poa is therefore a matter
of considerable labour, and the writer has been reduced to a state of
extreme exasperation on more than one occasion by the discovery that
the carefully-built edifice has had to be destroyed because one specimen
of a species did not possess the vital character. The fact of the matter
is that groups of characters have to be used, and this method, in a
dichotomous key, means the repetition of species in the contrasting
sections.
In the following pages an attempt is made to list and evaluate
characters for diagnostic purposes in the light of experience gained
from the examination of the material at hand.
Colour
Although species of Poa exhibit many different shades of green, it is
difficult to make use of the variations since they are often partly due to
habitat conditions. Another difficulty is that of conveying in words the
exact description of a shade of green. Still it is possible to make a
limited use of colour differences. As, for example, the two grasses,
Poa litwinowiana Ovez. and P. koelziz Bor, can be picked out at once
because of their extremely glaucous aerial parts. As for shades of
green, P. anxnua Linn. is light green, P. compressa Linn. has a bluish
tinge in the green and P. pratensis Linn. is said to be dark green in
colour.
Some species are much paler and P. sterz/is .M.B. is one such, while
its close relative P. avaratica Trautv. is equally pale but has a reddish
or purplish shade in the basal sheaths.
P. tibetica Munro is distinguished by its very pale spikelets, while
the spikelets of many of the other species which grow at high altitudes
are suffused with purple. Butthis purple colour, although it usually
can be correlated with high altitudes, is too variable to be of any value
as a diagnostic character. Other species, again, have bands of gold or
orange near the tip of the spikelet and this is sometimes of limited
value in diagnosis.
THE GENUS-POA LINN, IN INDIA 791
Vegetative Characters
Roots
The dense fibrous shallow roots of the species of Poa vary so much
In appearance and size in response to habitat conditions that no reliance
can be placed upon them for diagnostic purposes.
SHOOTS
In addition to the vertical vegetative shoots which usually end in the
inflorescence, the genus Poa has two types of horizontal modified
shoots: underground shoots or rhizomes and stolons which creep over
the surface.
CuLMsS
In most species the culms are terete and smooth but some are
scabrid below the panicle, and this is taken in some floras to be diag-
nostic. While in some instances the scabridity is of such a degree as
to be noticeable to the touch, itis usually much less apparent. Seen under
a lens, however, it is safe to say that a large proportion of species are
at least minutely scabrid below the inflorescence, where the scabridity
takes the form of very minute, well-spaced teeth on the nerves.
In one species only, P. compressa Linn., is the culm markedly com-
pressed. This is of diagnostic importance in the field, but in a pressed
herbarium specimen the character is lost or masked.
STOLONS
P. trivialis Linn. is strongly stoloniferous, the prostrate stems:
creeping widely, rooting at the nodes and sending up flowering shoots.
P. nemoralis Linn. is a species that is weakly stoloniferous.
RHIZOMES
‘The possession of these organs is a most reliable feature and 1s
quite characteristic of the group into which P. pratenszs falls.
Poa alpigena has a characteristically curved underground stem which
is very constant and distinguishes at once living and herbarium
specimens from other species.
Poa araratica possesses a striking rootstock, really a thick rhizome
with very short nodes, but it is rarely present on herbarium sheets as,
when carelessly collected, the culms of this species break off easily at
the base, and the rootstock is left in the ground. The culms grow
closely crowded together arising from the short, stout, inclined or
almost horizontal rootstock which is quite characteristic and which,
if present, separate this species at once from the closely related /oa
stevtlts M.B. with which it is often confused. The latter does not arise
from a rhizome of this kind, and the circumstance emphasises once
again the necessity for careful collecting if correct identificaticns are to.
be made.
792 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
The two species P. himalayana Nees and P. stewartiana Bor are
very close together: the former possesses a rhizome while the latter
does not. They are easily separated on this feature alone.
Appendages to the Vegetative Shoots
SHEATHS
The firmly compressed sheaths of Poa compressa Linn. are character-
istic, but then the sheaths are more or less compressed in most species,
and when dried specimens are being examined no reliance can be placed
on this character.
The scabrous sheaths of foa frivialis Linn. are often considered to
be diagnostic, but the character breaks down in the form of this species
which has smooth sheaths! Indeed, in many species the sheaths are
more or Jess scabrid and the roughness is very variable in amount,
even in the same species.
In the series Bulbosae the swollen leaf bases, which give the base
of these plants a bulbous appearance, are quite distinctive. The grasses
which form this group can be separated with confidence from other
Poae by the possession of this character alone. The bases of the sheaths
of non-flowering shoots of these species become thickened and
succulent, and act as storage organs where starch and reserve cellulose
can be accumulated.
In Poa aipina Linn. the basal sheaths decay very tardily, so that
the base, consisting mainly of dead and partly disintegrated sheaths,
becomes thicker and thicker. Loose, scarious, smooth sheaths are
characteristic of P. dagophila Bor, P. hirtiglumis Stapf and P. polycolea
Stapf.
The basal sheaths of P. avaratica Trautv. are distinctly reddish-
purple in colour, though this does not hold good for every specimen.
The colour is absent in the specimens of the closely related P. sterzlis
M.B.
LIGULES
The length of the ligule 1s an important and often diagnostic
feature, and there appears to be little variation in ligule-length within
a single species.
The range within the Indian species is considerable, varying as it
does from practically none to 7 mm. long.
At one end of the scale are P. nemoralis Linn. and P. khastana
Stapf. In the former the ligule is very short, often practically absent
and never more than 0'5 mm. long. In the latter it is longer, but still
not more than 1 mm. long. At the other end of the scale are P. pago-
phila Bor, P. lahulensts Bor, and PP. jaunsarensis Bor—which have
ligules over 5 mm. long.
Most ligules are truncate or rounded on the upper margin and
‘become lacerate with age. The ligule of P. ¢vzvialis Linn., however,
ends in a more or less sharp point, a feature which is diagnostic,
provided other essential characters are present.
The texture of the ligule varies from hyaline to membranous or
chartaceous, and it is sometimes milky or brownish in colour. The
THE GENUS POA LINN... IN INDIA 793
outer surface of the ligule is sometimes scabrid, but this scabridity is
so variable as to be worthless as a distinguishing character. In the
descriptions of the species the ligule- lengths recorded are those of the
ligule of the topmost leaf.
LEAVES
The leaves in the genus are mostly linear in shape, tapering
abruptly to a point which is hooded like the prow ofa boat. But this
characteristic is not uniform throughout the genus, for the leaves of
P., trivialts Linn., P. gammteana Stapf and P. palustris Linn. end in a
long. acuminate tip which is quite different from that just mentioned.
The texture of the leaves may be firm or flaccid, they may be green or
even pale green, or glaucous or variously suffused with purple. The
leaves of all species are folded in the bud.
It is a moot point whether the size and texture of the leaves can in
general be taken as reliable characters in the separation of species
since these depend so much upon habitat.
In one instance, however, two species very much alike in other res-
pects, can be separated with certainty on the width of the leaves.
These two species are Poa pratensis and Poa angustifolia in which the
leaves are much smaller and narrower in the latter than in the former—
a circumstance which makes the two grasses look very different in the
field or ina herbarium specimen.
The margins of ieaves and their surfaces are usually smooth,
though asperities can be made out with a lens. Feinbrunn* makes use
of this scabridity as an additional character by which Poa sinaica Boiss.
can be separated from Poa etgiz Feinbrunn, the latter being scaberulous
on the margins of the leaves only, while the former is scaberulous
on the surface and on the margins, Whether this difference is a con-
stant feature in all leaves of the two species, or in any way reliable, is
open to question. In Poa asperitolta Bor, however, the leaves are so
scabrid to the touch that the scabridity alone is almost sufficient to
determine the species.
Leafiness, or the reverse, is so difficult to define precisely that no
matter what conception the worker on Poa has in his own mind, it is
perhaps better not to try anduse it as a contrasting character. Yet,
looking through a series of folders, one does get the idea that, com-
-pared with others, some /oae are distinctly leafy. For example, long
lax leaves are found in foa trivialts Linn., P. nepdhelophila Bor,
P. khasiana Stapf, P. nemoralis Linn., P. nepalensis Wall., VP. tbeticola
Bor, and P. aztchisoniz Boiss. Other species, Poa stertlzs M.B. and
P. avaratica Trautv., for example, are decidedly less leafy.
The arrangement of leaves is 2a somewhat better criterion. Nume-
rous flat basal leaves with very short culm leaves are characteristic of
Poa alpina Linn. and Poa azichtsoniz Boiss. The leaves of the former
often turn purple when dried. The mature basal leaves are folded in
Poa tibetica Munro and flat in P. alpina Linn.
The leaves of the sterile shoots at the base of tufts of Poa bulbosa
Linn., Poa sinaica Steud. and P. bactriana Roshev. are very flexuous and
threadlike, giving a very distinctive facies to the tuft.
© Kew Bulletin, 1940, 277 (1940).
794 JOURNAL, BOMBAY) NATURAL HIST.FSOCIE TRY, Wol.w50
The leaves of P. infirma H.B.K. are extremely thin, almost translu=
cent and far thinner than those of any other Indian species.
Inflorescence
PANICLE
The shape of the panicle and its density are important for classifica=
tion. Most densely spiculate panicles do expand a little as they grow
older, but even so they retain their character and are not likely to be
mistaken for the effuse wide-spreading panicles common in the meadow
grasses.
The length of the pedicel and the branches are important in this.
respect, aS even an expanded spicate inflorescence will retain its densely
arranged spikelets.
The number of basal branches is important, and is usually fairly
constant. If a Species which normally has five basal branches appears to
have two or three only it is well to examine the node carefully. Traces.
will nearly always be found of the missing branches which can be made.
out as aborted or fused rémnants.
THE SPIKELET
The spikelet consists of glumes, lemmas, paleas, rhachilla, androe-
ceum, gynaeceum and lodicules—each of which will be considered in
turn.
First of all, the shape of the spikelet may be characteristic.
FP. alpina Linn., in which the glumes and lemmas are curved on the
back, has broadly ovate spikelets, and can be recognised Dy the spikelet.
alone. On the other hand, there are numerous species in which the
keels of glumes and lemmas are more or less straight, and these have
spikelets which are cuneate or oblong-cuneate in shape. In between.
these two extremes there is a gradual transition from one to the other.
(1) Tue GLuMeEs
The lower glume is usually smaller and narrower than the upper.
The upper is invariably 3-nerved, the lower 1- or 3-nerved. The ner-
vation of the lower glume is more or Jess constant for the species.
The size of the lower glume and its relationship to the other parts of
the spikelet is sometimes diagnostic. For example the two species Poa
himalayana Nees and P. stewarttana Bor, are very close to one
another. If, however, the spikelets of each are examined, it will be seen
that the tip of the lower glume reaches beyond the centre of the keel of
the lowest lemma in Poa stewarttana Bor, while in Poa himalayana Nees.
the tip of the glume does not reach so far up. Knowledge such as this.
obviates the necessity for dissection, and an examination of the palea..
In some species the tip of the lower glume exceeds the tip of the
lowest lemma in the spikelet. This is an important taxonomic charac-
ter and only a few Indian species possess it.
The glumes are usually narrowly hyaline on the margins, but in Poa
glabriflora Roshev. they are curiously translucent, and the bases of the
lemmas can be seen through them.
The shape of the lower glume is a good character. ‘Those of Poa
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 795
nemoralis Linn. and of P. setulosa Bor are awl-shaped, that of P. alpina
Linn. ovate when flattened; others are (and this includes the majority
of the species) lanceolate or elliptic-acute when flattened.
(2) Lemma
The grass flower arises in the axil of a scale-like bract or leaf, the
lemma, and is enclosed between it and the bracteole or palea. Thus
these two scales are in close contact with the most important part of
the plant and therefore intimately concerned with its protection. As
might be expected these organs show less variability than any others.
In all species the lemma is more or less keeled. In Poa palustris
Linn. the lemma is sharply keeled below and not above, so that in the
fruit the lemma is flattened on the back.
In Poa calliopszs Litw. the lemma is more rounded than keeled and
is reminiscent of the lemmas inthe genus Colpodium.
(a) Colour
Colour is hardly a reliable factor, but glaucous spikelets are found in
Poa litwinowiana Ovez. and P. koelztz Bor. For the remainder, which
possess spikelets of various shades of green, an infusion of purple in
the lemma seems to be correlated with habitats at high altitudes.
Possibly the colouring matter is a protection against the penetrating
rays of the sun in the rarified air of the highest mountain tops. In
some of the species which live at high altitudes the purple lemma is.
divided from the hyaline margin at the tip by a band of golden coloured
tissve which makes the spikelet an object of great beauty. A faint
yellow band is often present between the hyaline tip of the lemma and
the lower green or violet portion.
This can easily be seen in P. stevz/zs M.B., Poa nemoralzs Linn., Pea
pratensis \sinn. and others. In FP. palustris Linn. the colour of the
band is coppery or orange, but is not always so distinct as to be diagno-
stic.
(b) Mervation
All the lemmas of species of Poa have five nerves, the centre one
being the keel nerve, about which the lemma itself is folded or com-
pressed. °
The texture of the lemma varies within wide limits, though it is.
constant for a species. Most lemmas tend to become indurated or at
least firmer as the seed ripens, and this fact is a point to remember when
making use of a character which has been used for a very long time to
divide the species into two categories. The section Pachyneurae
Aschers. contains those species of Poa in which the nerve between the
keel and marginal nerves on each side is prominent and conspicuous.
The other section is the Lep/oneunrae DOll, in which the corresponding
nerves are faint and inconspicuous. This subdivision is reasonably
satisfactory as long as the lemmas are young. When older, however,
the conspicuous intermediate nerve of species in section Pachyneurae
tends to become inconspicuous as the lemma becomes firmer, so that
the significance or reliability of this character becomes masked. Never-
theless this is a very useful subdivision and one which is made use of
in many floras.
796 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST SOCIEEY, Vorwse
Personally, I think it can be best applied as an ee asa
primary—distinguishing character.
(c) Surface
The surface of the lemmas in most species of Poa is dull and mat,
and while they may not be actually scabrid, they are granular in appear-
ance under a lens. The surface actually looks as if it were pitted and
glandular. Under a higher power it becomes clear that the granular
appearance is due to the numerous silica cells in the epidermis of the
lemmas. These are much more numerous in some species than
in others. For example, in P. pratensis Lian., P. angustifolia Linn.,
P. wardiana Bor and others, these silica cells are very numerous, and
give a dull appearance to the lemmas which are markedly different
in appearance and texture from the shining lemmas of P. alpina
Linn., P. dahulensis Bor and P. ¢zbetica Munro in which the silica cells are
not sO numerous.
Some species are distinctly scabrid on the dorsal surface, not only on
‘the upper parts of the nerves and keel, but on the actual surface between
the nerves. P. wardiana Bor, P. gamblet Bor, and P. pagophila Bor may
‘be mentioned as examples of this.
I'he covering of matted hairs, white or yellowish, which is to be
found on the lower half of the lemmas of some species is very remarkable.
This feature is a good diagnostic one, but it must be looked forcarefully
Since the short matted hairs are caducous, and in mature spikelets very
often all but the barest traces are lost. In P. Azrt¢glumis Stapf, one of this
group, the hairs are golden yellow in colour and comparatively long, and
are appressed to the surface of the lemma. All the species which possess
this feature are high altitude plants, and it is possible that the felty
covering serves a useful purpose as an insulating device to protect the
androeceum, gynoecium and Seed against violent fluctuations of heat and
moisture.
Other appendages which are found on the Jemma are—(a) the ciliate
hairs on the nerves, and (4) the wool on the callus at the base. First of
all it should be stated that there are some species which are almost
completely devoid of cilia, hair or wool. Such species are Poa glabriflora
Roshev., P. daciriana Reoshev. and P. poobhagorum Bor,and some races
of P. bulbosa Linn. and P. aifchtsonii Boiss. are equally bare.
For the rest every combination can be seen—all the nerves, or only
the keel and outer pair, or the keel alone may be ciliate. The presence
or absence of the cilia on the nerves are good characters and do not
vary much withina species.
The keel is rarely ciliate for more than half its length, the upper half
being most often scabrid. The nerves are usually scabrid, not ciliate,
in the upper third or quarter.
The wool at the base of the lemma, actually on the callus, is a very
good and reasonably reliable character, but not quite good enough to
‘separate a whole genus into two sections. How far this is a genetic
character is of course not known, but in the sfevilis group, for example,
the quantity of wool does not appear to be constant. In P. sterilis M.B.
itself, wool is not considered to be present, but in certain specimens
which can undoubtedly be placed under P. stevilis M.B. there is wool
present, albeit only a strand or two. In the dichotomous key, therefore,
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 797
| P. sterilis M.B. will be found in both halves. Actually to separate species
on the possession or absence of wool, as in the Flora of the U.S.S.R.,
seems to be a dangerous procedure.
The wool on the callus and the cilia on the nerves appear to consist
solely of 1-celled hairs.
(3) PALEA
This organ is one of the most important in the grass flower. Mor-
phologically itis the bracteole which is situated between the flower and
the rhachilla and is homologous with the prophyllum. Typically the
palea is 2-nerved, the nerves being separated by a thin sheet of hyaline
tissue which is concave on the adaxial surface. Outside the two nerves
are two flaps, both being thin and hyaline. This structure suggests
very strongly that its shape and nervation are due to space conditions
within the developing spikelet. At any rate the two flaps are pressed
against the margins of the lemma and the surface between the nerves
against the rhachilla, so that the palea is strongly 2-keeled. The rdéle of
the palea seems to be a protective one. The hyaline tissue between the
keels is sometimes granular from the presence of silica cells, and
l-celled hairs may or may not be present in addition on the adaxial
sutface. These surfaces may also be very scabrid as in the species
P. wardiana Bor.
By far the most interesting and important, however, are the
appendages to the keels. The keels are invariably armed with either
forwardly directed teeth or hooks or spreading 1-celled hairs, the upper
half bearing teeth and the lower half cilia.
In the species Poa calliopsis these teeth are reduced to a few blunt
projections on each keel, but the teeth are numerous and in one ormore
rows in all the other species except those in which the keels are
completely ciliate. For this one species the reduced number of teeth
constitutes a diagnostic feature.
Von Oettingen has attempted to use the armature of the palea keels
as an additional tool in the identification of species.
After the examination of a large number of specimens he formulated
a scheme the salient features of which are as follows :—
He distinguished four groups.
(1) Pélosae in which the keels are ciliate from base to apex with
longish hairs.
(2) Semz-pilosae in which the lower half of the keel is ciliate with
the cilia passing insensibly to the teeth above.
(3) Dentatae in which there are no hairs but more than one row
of hooked teeth.
(4) Pectinatae in which the teeth are reduced to a single row on
the keel.
In the writer’s opinion the possession of hairs, teeth or a mixture of
both is of such importance in the identification of species of Poa that it
is worth while taking some trouble to find out exactly how these
structures are arranged.
The palea to be examined should be placed in a drop of water and
the keels carefully examined. In young paleas the hairs, if present, are
not immediately apparent, and indeed it may be necessary to tease them
‘out. Inolder paleas the hairs are motile and stand out at once.
798 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
These hairs or trichomes are reduced in number or almost entirely
aborted in some races of those species in which they are normally
present. This sometimes happens in Poa annua, one of the com-
monest of species. It has been found, however, that the hairs are not
altogether absent though they may be reduced in extreme instances,
to a single trichome. In specimens which exhibit a palea with few or
no trichomes on the keels, it is reasonable to search for the species
among those listed under Pdlosae below. In specimens in which the
upper part of the keel of the palea is covered with hooks and the lower
half bare or almost bare, the species should be sought for under
Semzpilosae. In both these categories there are additional subsidiary
characters, which help to separate the species easily.
Apart from such aberrations, experience has shown that the.
armature of the keels of the palea, when hairs are present, is a very
great help towards identification, but that von Oettingen’s other two
sections are of limited value only.
The writer’s opinion is that to attempt to divide aJl the species
which have scabrid kee¥s into two rigid classes, according as they have
one row of teeth (Pectinatae) or two or more rows (Dentatae) is a matter
of some difficulty. For, while it is admitted that some can be relegated
to one or other category with ease, there are others which appear to
occupy an intermediate position. For example, it is quite evident that
P. angustifolia Linn. has one row of teeth, and that P. palustvis Linn.
has more than one. But it is not so easy to place P.compressa Jinn.,
which appears to have teeth in one or more rows.
The following is a list of those species which belong to the sections
Pilosae and Semz-pilosae.
Pilosae
A bare half dozen species belong to this group. They are P. annua
Linn., 2. hirtiglumis Stapf, P. infirma H.B.K., P. nepalensis Wall.,
P. supina Schrad., P. nephzlophita Bor.
Semtpilosae
To this group belong P. alpina Linn., P. burmanica Bor, P. gam-
mieana Hook. f., P. stapfiana Bor, P. stewartiana Bor. An interesting,
but idle, speculation is that these species are tertile hybrids between
species in Pzlosae and species in Dentatae-Pectinatae. If this be so,
there is no method of telling in our present state of knowledge what
_the parents may be.
(4) RACHILLA
The rachilla in the genus Poa is slender and terete and jointed
below each floret. It is always prolonged beyond the upper perfect
floret and crowned with arudimentary lemma and palea. The internodes
are attached to the base of the adjacent lemma, and the internode and
floret fall together when the rachilla breaks up.
The shape of the spikelet depends very largely upon the lengths of
the internodes of the rachilla. The compact lanceolate or ovate types
are those in which the joints are very short. On the other hand the
oblong, loose types are those in which the florets are well spaced.
The rachilla joints (internodes) are much_ longer in P. nephelophila
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN’ INDIA 799
Bor. and P. folycolea Stapf than in any of the remainder of the Indian
species,
The rachilla is smooth and glabrous in about half of the Indian
species, while in the remainder it is shortly hairy, verrucose, or covered
with scabridities. It is not possible to use these features to any extent
in the separation of species. :
THE FLOWER
In the majority of the Indian species of /va all the florets in a
spikelet, excluding the terminal rudimentary floret, are usually herma-
phrodite, but in one of the commonest Indian species, Poa annua L.,
the lower florets are hermaphrodite, while the upper one or two are
female. This arrangement is quite unusual in the genus.
(a) Androeceum
The androeceum consists of three stamens, each of which has a
jong filament surmounted by an anther with 2 loculi opening by
longitudinal slits. The size of the anthers does not vary to any extent
within a species, except in one known instance, as will be seen later.
In so far as the genus in India is concerned, the smallest anthers,
0:22 mm. long, are found in the species Poa infirma, and the largest,
3 mm. long in Poa falconert, P. ludens, P. pagophila and P. palustris.
As had been indicated, the size of the anthers is a reliable character
and has been used in the key to separate groups. As might have
been expected, however, there is an exception to the otherwise general
rule. In Poa staptiana (P. tremula Stapf) there is a race in which the
only difference from the type is the small anthers. Stapf called the
variety var. microtheca and it is the sole example of a marked variation
in the size of the anthers within a species. The peculiarity has of
course been allowed for in the key.
As in the majority of species the anthers are bright yellow, but
purple anthers and yellow anthers spotted with purple are not unknown,
especially in the high altitude species.
(b) Gynoeceum
The gynoeceum consists of a one-celled ovary with two styles and
two plumose stigmas. There isa single ovary attached to the wall of
the carpel. .
(c) Lodicules
The lodicules are two in number and are more or less 2-toothed
or -lobed.
(d) Grain
The hilum is punctiform and basal.
Cytology and Cytogenetics
Avdulov’s (1931) pioneer work on the cytology, anatomy and
morphology of the grasses has been of great importance to those
whose studies include the systematics and phylogenetic relationships
of the Gramineae. This original work and research lead him to
divide the family into two large groups, Sacchartferae and Poatae. The
800 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HAST. SOCIETY; Vol. 50
latter were again subdivided into Phragmitifermes and Festuciformes.
Both Sacchariferae and Phragmttiformes have small chromosomes, the
former in multiples of 9 or 10, and the latter in multiples of 12. The
Festucifo+mes, however, have large chromosomes with a basic number
o£ -/.
When Avdulov came to examine the Festuciformes in detail, he found
that the vast majority of those included in this group were inhabitants
of the temperate or cooler regions of the world. From this and other
considerations he propounded the hypothesis that the evolutionary
trend inthe grasses was towards a reduction in chromosome number
but an increase in chromosome size—a hypothesis which has had a
large measure of acceptance. He took the view that the phylogenetic
increase in size of the chromosomes was brought about as an adaptation
to the more rigorous climate in which these grasses live.
In common with mest of the genera which inhabit temperate or cold
climates, the basic chromosome number in the genus Poa is 7. The
genus can also be considered to be advanced in that the species,
inter alia, have specialised appendages in the torm of the wool
at the base of the lemmas, and often hairy coverings to the lemmas
themselves. It is therefore something of an anti-climax to find that the
chromosomes in the genus are small, in fact much smaller than in other
members of the Festuciformes. Stebbins (1950) considers this circum-
stance to provide the best evidence among plants for the reversibility of
trends in absolute chromosome size.
Since no Indian cytologist has worked on the Indian species of Poa,
the work of Russian, American and British scientists on those species
which are cosmopolitan and which are also found in India, has been
taken as the basis for the following short account.
Reference may be made to an excellent review of the whole subject
by Myers (1947), whose index to the literature contains over 600
references, |
Polyploidy is a feature of the Gramineae and the genus /oa is one
of the genera which provides perhaps one of the best illustrations of
this statement.
Not only is polyploidy common in this genus, but several of the
species include races which differ in chromosome number, as will be
evident from the following list of species, all of which occur in India :—
* Eu
Poa annua Linn. Baer Ao.
P. supina Schrad Ee
P. intirma H.B.K. <bean [5
P. bulbosa Linn. es 20
P. tibetica Munro ie 4256
- P. sterilts M.B. #9 428;-42
P. nemoralis Linn. -aaeconae
P. palustris Linn. Aco uae
P. alpina Linn. wee 90-34,°42522-38, =E 31-22, 23,5248
AS to
P. compressa Linn. i380 $35, 42249556:
P. pratensis Linn. .. 28, 56, 70, 49-85, 50-87, 1, 66,
67, 41-+ to 64, 48-72, 28-114,
18, 40, 42, +72.
t
|
THE GENUS -POA LINN..IN INDIA SOL
The inost important effect of polyploidy is the genetic barrier which
immediately comes into being between a polyploid and its diploid
progenitor (Stebbins). Apart from this there are morphological as well
as physiological changes about which there is considerable difference
of opinion.
Actually it is difficult to generalise about these matters and accord-
ing to Stebbins the only safe generalization which can be made about
morphological and physiological changes as a result of polyploidy is
that they depend greatly upon the original genotype !
On the other hand, some authors hold that the alteration in chromo-
some number from diploidy to tetraploidy and hexaploidy leads
generally to an increase in plant and organ size. Any further increase
in chromosome number means either no increase in plant size or, in
some instances, a diminution.
With regard to ecological conditions and particularly to extreme
conditions, there is some evidence which seems to indicate that
polyploidy confers certain benefits upon the plant. It is believed by
some authors that polyploidy actually means the acquisition of new
genetical and morphological characters, whereby the migration of the
plant into areas where the conditions for plant life are more exacting,
is facilitated.
In areas where drought, insolation, ice and snow are the controlling
factors, the proportion of polyploids in the plant population is high. It
has been found that in those species in which diploids and polyploids
occur, the polyploids prefer a more northern and alpine habitat than the
diploids.
As an example the mountains of the Pamir (a continuation of the
Karakoram Himalaya through the Hindu Kush) and the Altai (Central
Russia) can be taken. Two Russian botanists, Sokolovskaya and
Strelkova (1940), found that the proportion of polyploids in the species
studied (mostly Gramineae) was 85 per cent. for the former and 65 per
cent. for the latter. {[t may be added that the conditions for plant life
in the Pamir are far more exacting than in the Altai. Further, in the
Arctic, polyploids account for about 80 per cent. of the plants studied
by Flovik (1940).
Polyploids, which have arisen as hybrids between races or
subspecies of a species, are known to possess a toleration of edaphic
and climatic conditions which are greater than those of either of the
parents. The same is true of allopolyploids. Such polyploids, then,
do possess characteristics which enable them to colonise habitats which
are beyond the range of the parents.
Apomixis
Included in this term are proliferation (sometimes called vivipary)
and agamospermy. As far as is known no critical investigation has been
carried out on proliferation, considered as a form of apomixis, but
Arber was of opinion that the number of instances in which prolifera-
tion gave rise to new plants must be small indeed. Onthe other hand
the fact that P. bulbosa L. is exceedingly common in the Himalaya and
that proliferation seems to occur in every inflorescence, it is possible
that the production of new plants from viviparous inflorescences is
much higher than it is thought to be. At any rate, out of many
802 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
hundreds of plants seen, only in one case did it appear that the inflore-
scence was normal. In India proliferation has been noticed, apart from
P. bulbosa, in P. alpina and a dubious case of P. pratensis. Among
other members of the Bulbosae(P. bactriana, P. glabriflora and P. sinaica)
this condition does not appear to occur.
Agamospermy is common in the genus Poa and extensive studies
on this phenomenon have been carried out, especially in the species
P. pratensis and P. alpina. Apomixis was first suspected in P. pratensis
because parent plants with aneuploid chromosome numbers produce
morphologically uniform progenies with the same chromosome nume»
ber (Miintzing). In subsequent investigations it was shown for
P. pratensis that there is almost a complete series of forms which
range from almost entirely apomictic to completely or almost
completely sexual. The cytological basis for apomixis in P. pra-
tensis was discovered by Akerberg (1939, 1942, 1943). It was
found that aposporic apomixis took place in which the embryo sac
developed from acell of the nucellus without fertilisation. Generally
the products of meiosis degenerated and disappeared and were replaced
by the aposporous embryo sac. The development of the embryo is
independent of fertilisation but pollen is an absolute necessity before
there is any formation of endosperm. One remarkable result of this
research was the discovery that the pollen of P. alpiza can bring about
the formation of endosperm equally well with that of P. pratensis.
In P. alpina meiosis has not been observed in apomictic biotypes,
the first division of the macrospore mother cell being mitotic. In this
species pseudogamy also occurred. The development of the embryo
started without fertilisation, but endosperm development was depen-
dent upon fertilisation of the polar nuclei (Hakansson 1944).
The progeny test, carried out on P. compressa, indicates that it, too,
reproduces, at least in part, by agamospermy on the same basis as
P. alpina.
That the cause of apomixis is to be ascribed to genetic factors seems |
to be indicated by the work of Muntzing (1940}. In crossing sexual
and apomictic forms of Poa he obtained types which were predomin-
antly sexual, showing that apomixis is recessive to sexuality. Hybrids
obtained from a cross between two apomictic parents P. prazensis and
P. alpina were themselves sexual. Similar results were obtained when
P. compressa and P. pratensis both highly apomictic, were crossed. In
this case both the F, and F, generations were also sexual.
Classification
It is not the writer’s intention to attempt to provide a new system
of classification of the subdivisions of Poa. No published system has
so far been accepted in its entirety, nor is a thoroughly reliable system
likely to emerge until there has been a complete study of the genus as
a whole, particularly 1 in the field.
What follows is merely a grouping of the species treated in this
work into what seems to the writer to be their probable relationships.
Since any logical classification must take into consideration the life
habit of the species, a characteristic which cannot be accurately or |
completely deduced from herbarium specimens, it is quite certain that
THE GENUS POA LINN; IN INDIA 803
the following proposals will eventually become modified or upset
allogether as knowledge of the genus increases,
Until that stage is reached, the following may serve as a basis for
criticism, and perhaps provide the stimulus to produce something better.
-T; OCHLOPOA
Annuals or caespitose perennials ; glumes + unequal in length, the
lower the smaller, l-nerved, the upper 3-nerved; lemma and glumes
mostly thin; anthers usually small; keels of palea pilose, rarely
semipilose or scabrid; leaves broad, flaccid, green.
P. tibeticola Bot. .
. P. intirma H.B.K.
. P. nefalensis Wall.
. P. nephelophila Bor.
P. supina Schrad.
P. annua Linn.
P. stkkimensis Bor.
P. stapfiana Bor.
OND Ub OWE
IIl.. HIMALAYENSES
Slender perennials; glumes unequal; the lower very narrow,
l-nerved, the upper 3-nerved; lemmas conspicuously 5-nerved; wool
copious to absent; anthers less than 1mm. long; keels of palea
scabrid, rarely semi-pilose ; ligule over 1 mm. long ;. rhachilla smooth,
BW CLY WATE shy. conte ar a |
9. P. himalayana Nees.
10. P. stewartiana Bor.
ll. P. khasiana Stapf.
12. P. wardiana Bor,
III. N&MORALES & :
Slender perennials; lower glume awl-shaped, 1-3-nerved, upper
3-nerved ; lemmas hyaline at tip and on the margins ; anthers over 1 mm.
long; ligules very short, less than “1 mm. long; leaves narrow ;
thachilla minutely.hairy. . :
13. P. nemoralis Linn,
14. P. polycolea Stapf.
15. 2. aztchisonti Boiss.
IV, SETULOSAE
Tufted perennials; glumes awl-shaped, setulose, l-nerved, much
longer than the Jemmas; anthers less than 1 mm. long.
mo lbs Pi setulosa Bors |
V. STERILES
Caespitose perennials; panicles effuse or’ contracted; glumes +:
equal in length, narrowly or broadly elliptic, both 3-nerved; lemmas
8
B04 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL Hist. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
indistinctly 5-nerved, hyaline at the tip with usually a yellow band
below, rarely silky on the dorsal surface, rhachillas minutely verrucose
to hairy.
17. P. stertlis M.B.
18. P. araratica Trautv.
19. P. litwinowiana Ovcz.
20. P. lahulensts Bor.
VI. PALUSTRES
Caespitose perennials; glumes thin, subequal, the lower 1-, the
upper 3-nerved; lemmas thin, inconspicuously nerved ; wool present,
often plentiful; rhachilla shortly and minutely hairy; leaf-blades flat,
dark green, abruptly tapering to a point.
21. P. palusivis Linn.
VII. TRIVIALES
Perennials with stolons; glumes small, curved on the back ; lemmas
firm, distinctly 5-nerved ; ligules long, pointed ; leaves thin, soft, taper-
ing; sheaths, particularly the lower, harsh to the touch, rarely smooth.
22. P. trivialzs Linn. ;
VIII. STOLONIFERAE
Perennials with scaly, long-noded rhizomes; glumes -- unequal,
the lower 1-, the upper 3-nerved; lemmas firm, conspicuously 5-=
nerved; wool usually very copious: keels of palea scabrid; anthers
linear, long ; leaves rather firm, hooded.
23. P. alpigena (Blytt) Lindm.
24, P. angustifolia Linn.
25: P. asperitolia Bor.
26. P. jaunsarensts Bor.
27. P. pratensis Linn.
IX. TICHOPOA
Perennials, with extensively creeping rhizomes; stems compressed ;
glumes -: equal, the lower 1-, the upper 3-nerved; lemmas very obtuse,
firm, inconspicuously 5-nerved ; wool rather scanty; leaves flat.
28. P. compressa Linn.
X. LANATIFLORAE
Perennials; panicles spreading; spikelets large; lower glume l-
rarely 3-nerved, upper 3-nerved; lemmas conspicuously 5-nerved, often
broadly hyaline on the margins, hairy on the lower surface in the lower
half, rarely only scabrid; anthers generally large; leaves broad to very
broad, flat.
29. P. pagophila Bor.
30. P. falconeri Hook. f.
31. P. nitide-spiculata Bor.
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 805
32. P. gamimieana Hook. f.
33. P. eleanorae Bor.
34. P. burmanica Bor.
35. P. ludens Stewart.
36. P. gamblez Bor.
XI. GLABRATAE
Densely tufted perennials; glumes + equal, the lower 1-3-nerved,
the upper 3-nerved; lemmas somewhat firm, almost quite glabrous,
shining, with inconspicuous nervation ;. wool present or absent; leaf-
blades flat, plicate or very narrow; anthers minute to 1°5 mm. long.
37. P. amoena Bor.
38. P. poophagorum Bor.
39. P. pbhariana Bor,
40. P. rhadina Bor.
XII. PAUCIDENTATAE
Perennials rhizomatous with basal nodes closely crowded; glumes
and lemmas thin, very broad, rounded or very obtuse, curved on the
back ; lemmas obscurely 5-nerved; paleas with a few blunt teeth on the
keels; leaves plicate, tapering abruptly to a stout point.
41. P. calliopsis Ovecz.
XIII. ALPINAE
Perennial grasses with basal nodes close together; spikelets broadly
elliptic-ovate; glumes broad, both 3-nerved, curved on the back:
lemmas silky-hairy on the dorsal surface, curved on the keel; keels of
the palea semi-pilose, rarely scabrid; leaves flat, tapering abruptly to a
point, nearly all collected at the base of the plant.
42. P. alpina Linn.
43. P. hertiglumis Hook. f.
44. P. koelziz Bor.
45, P. tibetica Munro.
XIV. BULBOSAE
Perennials with culms bulbous at the base; glumes -t equal, broad,
the lower l-, the upper 3-nerved, scarious; lemmas rather firm, very
variable in the matter of cilia and wool; leaves very narrow, filiform to
flat and somewhat rolled.
46. P. glabriflora Roshev.
47. P. bactriana Roshev.
48, P. sinaica Steud.
49. P. bulbosa Vinn.
POA Linn.
Spikelets 2-7- (rarely 1- or 9- ) flowered, in loose, spreading or con-
tracted, sometimes almost spike-like, panicles; rhachilla disarticulating
above the glumes and below each floret, smooth and glabrous or minu-
806 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
tely warty or hairy, rarely pilose below, usually continued beyond the
topmost floret and crowned by a rudimentary floret; florets hermaph-
rodite or the upper imperfect. Glumes usually shorter than the lemmas,
occasionally longer, more or less equal in length, membranous, green
or more or less suffused with purple, keeled, acute, acuminate or rarely
obtuse, 1-3-nerved, with a broad or narrow hyaline margin, smooth
and glabrous or rarely sparsely scabrid on the dorsal surface near the
tip, usually scabrid on the upper half of the keel. Lemmas varying in
texture from thinly membranous to almost coriaceous, obtuse, acute or
rounded at the tip, green or suffused with purple, with or without a
yellow band below the hyaline tip, keeled, faintly or conspicuously
S5enerved, smooth or more often scabrid on the upper half of the keel,
more rarely scabrid on the dorsal surface near the tip or all over,
hyaline at the tip and along the margins, ciliate on the lower half of the
keel and lateral nerves, rarely on all the nerves, glabrous on the dorsal
surface below between the nerves or with a more or less thick covering
of white matted hairs in the lower half or all over, very rarely entirely
glabrous; often punctate or granular all over the dorsal surface,
especially when the lemmas are of firmer texture; cal/us small, obtuse,
distinct, often carrying a tuft of long wool. Paleas usually shorter than
the lemmas, occasionally longer, hyaline, 2-keeled, hairy or glabrous
between the keels, punctate or not on the flaps and/or between the
keels, dentate, scabrid, spinulose, ciliate, or almost smooth on the keels
or scabrid above and ciliate below. Lodzcules 2, more or less 2-toothed
or 2-lobed. Stamens 3; anthers very minute up to 3 mm. long, purple
or yellow. Ovary glabrous; styles short, distinct; stigmas plumose,
laterally exserted. Gvazz linear, free or adherent to the palea. Alilum
punctiform, basal.
Annual or perennial grasses, the latter with rhizomes or stolons or
both. Czudms terete or rarely compressed, erect or decumbent below,
Sometimes with a bulbous thickening at the base, often densely tufted,
smooth or scabrid beneath the panicle. Leaf-blades flat and flaccid or
firm, sometimes plicate or convolute and threadlike, smooth or scabrid,
often abruptly contracted toa firm scabrid tip or hooded; sheaths smooth
or scabrid; /zgi/es hyaline to membranous, pointed to rounded, lacerate
or entire, almost absent to 7 mm. long, occasionally scabrid on the outer
surface. Panicle branches often whorled or single, usually scabrid,
rarely smooth; pedicels always scabrid.
This genus is a large one of well over two hundred species which
are world-wide in distribution. ‘The species are found in all temperate
or cold climates, irrespective of whether these climates are due to
geographical position or high altitude. A few species are cosmopolitan.
In the Himalaya the vertical limits between which species of Poa are
found, is 800 m. to 6,500 m.
How to use the key
The characters by which the individual species are separated are
duration of life, habit, shape and size of the spikelets and their separate
parts and the vature of the keels of the palea. It has not been found
possible to draw up a key containing only characters which are visible
to the naked eye—a lens and dissection are necessary to be certain of a
correct determination. Those who spend months on the genus, do,
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 807
with time, acquire a certain facility in separating the species by eye,
but the systematist who wishes to name a collection or a single speci=
men cannot be expected to know all the species by sight.
The grass to be identified must first of all be carefully examined in
order to find out if there is a bulbous thickening at the base or not. Is
the plant a perennial or annual, is it tufted or does it possess stolons or
rhizomes, or both? Find out if the culm is smooth or scabrid below
the inflorescence and if it is terete or compressed. Are the lower
sheaths smooth or scabrid? Measure the length of the ligule of the
topmost leaf. Before dissection of the spikelet, there are two things to
find out (a) the shape of the spikelet—is it ovate or some other shape?
and (6) the position of the tip of the lower glume in relation to the
mid-point of the lower lemma as it is in the untouched spikelet. Find
out whether the tip of the lower glume equals or exceeds this point or
whether it definitely does not reach it. The nervation of the lower
glume is important—it may be 1-3—nerved. Is the upper glume
ciliate on the margius below? Examine the lemma—is the tip broadly
rounded, obtuse—acute or even apiculate—is the keel strongly curved
or straight in profile—are the nerves faint or conspicuous—is the dorsal
surface, apart from the nerves and keel, scabrid, glabrous, hairy,
‘granular or glandular-punctate ’—are the nerves and keel glabrous or
ciliate? Is the connecting wool at the base on the callus copious or
Sparse or is the callus quite glabrous? Measure the length of the
stamens. Examine the keels of the palea. Are they smooth or scabrid
above and ciliate below or are they ciliate all along or are they almost
smooth with a very few hooked teeth above ? It is advisable to soak
the palea in water as the cilia sometimes do not become visible until
they are teased out. Is the rhachilla smooth, glabrous, scabrid, pilose
or verrucose ?
The terms ‘ granular, gland-dotted, glandular-punctate’ used
above describe an impression given by the surface of some lemmas or
on occasion, the palea, when viewed through a lens. The surface looks
as if it were pitted, and the pits when viewed at a certain angle seem to
glisten. These seemingly pit-like structures, are not glands but the
silica cells, which by refraction of light at certain angles, give the
illusion of pits. The Pyratensis group of Poas shows this particularly
well. It is advisable to use a power greater than x10 to obtain the
best effect.
Key to the species of Poa
Stems with a bulbous thickening at the base :—
Lemmas entirely glabrous :—
Panicle contracted 71'S cm. lons, 5 mm.. broad ;
branches very short; spikelets congested; very
slender grass, up to 15 cm. tall 46, P. glabriflora
Panicle spreading, 4-6 cm. long, 15-20 mm.
broad; branches up to 3 cm. long, spreading;
plants up to 40 cm, tall . 47. P. bactriana
Lemmas with some hairs at least on side nerves
and keel :—
Lemmas 3:5—4 mm. long; spikelets rarely show
proliferation; a grass of dry arid places fs 48. P. sinaica
808 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL “HIST: SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Lemmas 2°'5-3 mm. long; spikelets almost
always exhibit proliferation; a mesophytic
grass
Stems without any thickening at the base :—
Lemmas with a hairy covering on the dorsal surface
between the nerves, often this reduced to a few
hairs at the base of the lemma and dorsal sur-
face of lemma coarsely scabrid, rarely shiny :—
Spikelets ovate in outline; base thick due to
numerous short persistent leaf-sheaths; keels
of the palea long ciliate below
Spikelets oblong, elliptic, lanceolate or wedge
shaped :—
Inflorescence a spreading panicle :—
Lower glume equal to or longer than the
lowest lemma in the spikelet :—
Lemmas hairy all over the dorsal surface ;
lowest lemma 2:5 mm. long; spikelets
4°5 mm. long hes
Lemmas hairy in lower half or less;
lowest lemma 4 mm. long; spikelets
6°5 mm. long
Lower glume distinctly shorter than lowest
lemma :—
Upper ligules short, under 1°5 mm.
long :—
Tufted grasses; lower glume awl-
shaped in profile :—
Keels of the palea ciliate in the lower
half; margins of lemmas and
glumes narrowly hyaline; basal
sheaths disintegrating into brown-
ish fibres; spikelets up to 5 mm.
long; anthers 1 mm. long; wool
copious
Keels of the palea scabrid, margins
of lemmas and glumes broadly
hyaline; basal sheaths many,
scarious, straw-coloured ; spikelets
upto 7 mm. long; anthers 2-2:5
mm. long; wool scanty
Not tufted; lower glume lanceolate, not
awl-shaped; anthers 2-3 mm. long,
leaves and sheaths crowded at base
of culm; glumes and lemmas finely
granulate mn
49. P. bulbosa
42. P. alpina
43. P. hirtiglu-
mts
eyo uel bee eleanorae
34. P. burmant-
ca
14. P. polycolea
35. P. ludens
THE GENUS POA LINN, IN INDIA
Upper ligules longer, over 1:5 mm. long.
Lemmas very broadly hyaline; spikelets
pale; basal sheaths scarious ; rhachil-
la joints not conspicuous
Lemmas not very broadly hyaline, often
purple; basal sheaths not scarious:
rhachilla joints sometimes conspicu-
ous from side :—
Lemmas more or less scabrid or dull
all over the dorsal surface; ligule
2-3°5 mm. long or more; hairy
covering of the lemma often
reduced to a few hairs at the
base:
Very slender grass, basal leaves
setaceous; rhachilla joints not
conspicuous from the side; upper
glume 3-3'5 mm. long; lemma
4-45 mm. long
Robust grass; basal leaves flat;
rhachilla joints very conspicuous
from side; upper glume 4:5-5
mm. long; lemma 4-5 mm. long
Lemmas smooth, sometimes shining,
on the dorsal surface, but often
glandular punctulate; ligule up
to 5 mm. or more :—
Keels of the palea scabrid :—
Anthers over 2 mm. long; wool
present on callus :—
Glumes and lemmas broadly
hyaline on the margins;
plants grey-glaucous; lem-
mas 6 mm, long
Glumes and lemmas not broad-
ly hyaline, plant green;
lemmas 4°5-5 mm. long
Anthers under 2 mm. long :—
Wool absent; lemmas 3°5-5:5
mm. long: paleas scabrid
or semi-pilose on the
keels :—
Leaves narrow, 2°5 mm.
broad; keels of palea
scabrid
Leaves broad, 7 mm. broad;
keels of palea semi-pilose
14. P. polycolea
29. P. pagophila
30. P. falconeri
31. P. mitide-
spiculata
30. P. falconerz
25. P. asperitolia /-
32. P. gammie-
ana
810 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL: HIST, (SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Wool present, very copious;
lemmas about 2°5 mm.:.long;
paleas ciliate on the keels
Keels of the pales ciliate below :—
Sheaths smooth ; leaves narrow,
30 times as long. as broad;
‘panicle long exserted’; ligule
“membranous, up to 5 mm.
long; lemmatal nerves not.
particularly prominent; lower
lemma at most 4 mm. long ;
a western species
e P. nepalensis
8. P. stabfiana
Sheaths scabrid or asperulous; leaves
broader, 10 times as long as
broad acuminate; panicle » not
long exserted; ligule up to
4
mm. long; lemmatal nerves very
prominent; lowest lemma. 4:5-5
mm. long ; an eastern Himalayan
species
Inflorescence contracted, dense, at most 6 cm.
long, 1 cm. broad :—- ;
Dwarf plants not above 15 cm. tall, very
glaucous or not glaucous ; keels of palea.
semi- pilose ; wool present
Much taller as a rule, not glaucous; palea
shortly semi-pilose, cilia often reduced to
a few hairs, scabrid above; wool absent
or very sparse
Lemmas not hairy between the nerves but occa-
sionally scabrid (P. Aimalayana) :—
Anthers 2 mm, long or over :—
Ligules short not over 2 mm. long ; lemmas
prominently 5-nerved :—
Lemmas completely glabrous :—
Lemmas 5°5 mm. long, scabrid
Lemmas not above4 mm, long, smooth ...
Lemmas ciliate on keels and side nerves,
smooth; rhachilla joints conspicuously
long ; lower glume very narrow
Ligules longer, 2°5-4:5, mm. long; lemmas
inconspicuously 5-nerved:—
Panicle contracted ; branches erect; lemmas
smooth pale; margins of upper glume
cilitae below ven
Panicle lax ; branches spreading ; margins of
upper glume eciliate:—
Lemmas scabrid, broadly hyaline; glumes
and lemmas very d ill, green or purplish.
32. P. gammie-
ana
44. P. koelzit 4
20. P. lahulensis
36. P. gamblei
15. P. aitchisoniz
14. P. polycolea
45. P. tibetica
29, P. pagophila
PHEOG EN US, POA LINN, IN“INDIA ."
Lemmas smooth, hyaline on margins ;
glumes and lemmas shining, pale or
yellowish ; lemmas often with a yellow
streak below hyaline portion
Anthers under 2 mm. long :—
Wool present on the callus :— .
Ligules short not more than 1 mm. long;
keels of palea scabrid :—
Lower glume Janceolate, l-nerved, 2-2:5
mm. long; lemmas almost glabrous,
hyaline at the tip only, distinctly 5-
nerved i:
Lower glume awl-shaped, 3-nerved, 2°5-3
mm. long; lemmas ciliate on the keel
and side nerves; hyaline in upper
quarter, faintly 5-nerved
Ligules over 1 mm. long ; or if less keels of
palea semi-pilose or ciliate :—
Keels of palea_ ciliate below, scabrid
above
Keels of palea either scabrid or ciliate
throughout :—
Keels of palea ciliate throughout :—
Panicle branches whorled in 4’s;
keel and lateral nerves of Jemma
ciliate ; wool scanty; leaves up to
5 mm. broad; panicle green hen
Panicle branches in pairs; keel and
laterai nerves of lemmas densely
ciliate ; wool copious ; leaves up to
4 mm, broad; panicle silvery
Keels of palea scabrid throughout :—
Stems and sheaths compressed ; side
nerves of. lemma obscure; spike-
lets rather crowded in the panicle...
Stems and sheaths terete :—
Lower sheaths scabrid :—
Ligule long, pointed, more than
1:5 mm.dong; panicle in dis-
tinct whorls of 4-6 (usually 5);
side nerves of lemma promi-
nent ; inflorescence spreading ;
base not curved aoa
Ligule short, just over 1 mm.
long ; panicle branches in 2’s
or alternate : lemmatal nerves
obscure; panicle compact;
base curved
Sil
17. P. sterilis
ll. P. khasiana
13. P. nemoralis
10. P. slewarti-
ana
4. P. nephelo-
pbhila
3. P. nepalensis
28. P. compressa
.
2, PB. trivtalts
ry
23. P. alpigena
812 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Lower sheaths smooth :—
Lemmas very broad, rounded
on back and hyaline at the
tips:— :
Lemmas strongly compressed,
up to 3:75 mm. long; palea
scabrid with many teeth; a
dwarf plant not more than
4 cm. tall; panicle glabose
compact; spikelets dark
purple
Lemmas rounded on the back;
palea with distant teeth on
the keels; up to10 cm. tall,
with long reflexed panicle-
branches; spikelets suffused
gold and purple or green
Lemmas not broad; acute or
narrowly obtuse at the tip :—-
Lowest branches of the panicle
3—5enate; grasses with
shortly or extensively
creeping rhizomes or short
or long stolons :—
Perennials, loosely or dense-
ly tufted, with short
stolons ; ligules acute or
obtuse; side nerves of
the lemmas obscure or
prominent :—
Ligules pointed, 3-4 mm.
long; side nerves of
the lemmas very pro-
minent ; lemmas
green :—
Stems and basal sheaths
scabrid
' Stems and_ basal sheaths
smooth or
Ligules rounded 3 mm.
long; side nerves of the
lemmas very obscure;
lemmas with a brown
or copper streak below
the hyaline tip
Perennials with widely creep-
ing rhizomes forming
scattered _ vegetative
shoots or culms or tufts
39. P. phariana
41. P. calliopsis
22. PF. tvivialts
22. P. trivialis
f. glabra
21. P. palustris
THE GENUS! POAYV LINN: IN INDIA
of these ; ligules trun-
cate; side nerves of the
lemmas very conspicu-
ous :—
Plants erect from the
base :—
Basal leaves narrow,
almost setaceous ;
lemmas 2:°5-3 mm.
long
Basal leaves broad, flat;
lemmas 3—4°5 mm.
long :—
Ligules not more
than 2 mm. long;
lemmas 3-3°5 mm.
long
Ligules 2°5-6 mm.
long; lemmas 3:5—
4°5 mm. long
Plants conspicuously
curved at the base
Lowest branches of the pani-
cle 2-nate, occasionally 3-
nate; plants non-rhizomat-
ous or witha thick horizon-
tal or inclined rootstock
(P. avaratica):—
Lower glume equai to or
longer than the lowest
lemma :—
Panicle spreading ; glumes
acute not acuminate
or subulate :—
Lemmas 2°25-2°5 mm.
long
Lemmas 5-6 min. long
Panicle very narrow, line-
ar-oblong with ascend-
ing branches: glumes
subulate in profile
Lower glume definitely short-
er than the lowest lem-
ma :—
Panicle narrow :—
Plants very glaucous ...
813
24. P. angustifo-
lia
27. P. pratensis
26. P. jaunsar-
(ATA AY
23. P. alpigena
40. P. rhadina
33. P. eleanorae
16. P. setulosa
19. P. lztwinow-
Zana
814,
Plants not at all glauco-
iS. -
Branches not more
thama2, cm, -long ==
spikelets elliptic or
lanceolate usually
suffused with violet,
base of plant red-
dish mauve ; rhizo-
matous, rootstock
stout
Branches over 3 cm.
long ; spikelets
wedge-shaped,
green or yellowish
green; lemmas
broadly hyaline on
the margins: plants
oreen: .of pale at
the base; no stout
rootstock
Panicle spreading :—
Lemmas quite glab-
rous; broadly hyaline
on the margins
Lemmas at least ciliate
on the keel and
nerves; narrowly
or broadly hyaline
On margins and at
the tip.
Lower glume reach-
ing half-way up the
lowest lemma or
less; lemmas
4-4-5 mm. long;
lowest branches of
panicle 2-nate
Lower glume longer
than half the
lowest lemma ;
lemmas 3-4 mm,
long :—
Lemmatal nerves
conspicuous;
lower glume
very narrow,
l-nerved; spike-
lets STeen;
lowest branches
of the panicle
3-S-nate
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
18. P. avaratica
LPs sieradis
15. P.atlchisoniz
9, P, himalayana
ll. P. khasiana
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 815
Lemmatal nerves
faint ; lower
glume lanceolate
er elliptic, 3-
nerved; spikelets
yellowish green;
lowest branches
of the panicle
2-nate we. 17. P. sterilis
No wool on the callus :—
. Ligules less than 1 mm. long .. Ll. P. khastana
Ligules over 1 mm. long :—
Keels of the palea ciliate below, scabrid
above .. 1.2. sitkkimensts
Keels of the palea either ciliate or scabrid
throughout :—
Keels ciliate :—
Intermediate nerves ol fem Bla
brous; anther 1°2-1°6 mm. long . 5. P. supina
All nerves of the lemma aie :
anthers lessthan 1 mm. long :—
Anthers 0°2-0°3 mm. long; upper
floret markedly dissimilar to the
lower .. 2 FP, infirma
Anthers 0°6-0°8 mm. long; upper
floret similar to the others aaa 6. P. annua
Keels of palea scabrid :—
Culms scabrid below the panicle :—
Lemmatal nerves conspicuous; lem-
‘mas scabrid; anthers less than 1
mim. long .. 12. P. wardiana
Lemmatal nerves obscure; lemmas
smooth ; anthers over 1°5 mm.
long :—
Spikelets wedge-shaped, 5--6 mm.
long, 4-several-flowered;
panicle widely spreading ; lem-
ma broadly hyaline at the tip,
narrowly so on the margins,
obtuse, sparsely pubescent on
the nerves; a yellowish band
present below the hyaline tip;
panicle -- lax; culms 30-60
em, tall; plant green w. ~L7.. P. sterilés
Spikelets elliptic or lanceolate,
2-3 (4)-flowered, 4-5 mm. long;
panicle of closely crowded
spikelets; lemmas not broadly
hyaline, usually acute, marked-
S16 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
ly pubescent on the nerves; no
yellowish band below the tip ;
plants very glaucous, up to 30
cm, tall - 19. P. lilwinowi-
ANA
Culms smooth below the panicle :—
Culms strongly compressed .. 28. P. compressa
Culms terete :—
Glumes usually equal to or
longer than lowest lemma ; if
shorter, then base covered
with long scarious sheaths ;
panicle strict, shortly exser-
ted .. 37. P. amoena
Glumes definitely shorter than
lowest lemma ; basal sheaths
not long scarious; panicle
usually long exserted :—
Lemmas quite glabrous on
dorsal surface; inflorescence
a narrow linear panicle .. 38 P. poopha-
gorum
Lemmas with at least keel and
side nerves Ciliate :
Inflorescence a spreading
panicle :—
Spikelets up to 6 mm.
long ; lemmas 3°5-3:75
mm.long; anthers 2-2°5
mm. long wo 15. P.attchisonit
Spikelets up to 3*25 mm.
long; lemmas 2—2°5 mm.
long; anthers 0°4-0°5
mm. long w. §=60OodL. S&P. ttbeticola
Inflorescence a strict pani-
cle ... 38 P. poophago-
rum
I. OCHLOPOA
ij. Poa tibeticola Bor, in Kew Bull. 1948 : 139, 1948.
An annual or perennial (?) grass with very leafy, slender stems.
Culms from a few centimetres up to 25 cm. tall, 0°3 mm. in diameter
just below the panicle, very smooth and glabrous, erect or shortly
geniculate at the base, covered below with the remains of earlier leaf
sheaths; nodes smooth and glabrous, becoming visible as the sheaths
slip from the culm. Leat-blades soft and flaccid, up to 25 cm. long by 2
mm. broad, linear-acuminate in shape, tapering gradually to a very
firm, scabrid, stout tip, contracted abruptly at the base to the sheath,
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 817
cartilaginous on the margins, smooth in the central portion and armed
with antrorse teeth at the tip and retrorse teeth at the base, very
minutely scabrid on the nerves on both surfaces, distinctly veined
Sheaths rather loose, the lowest slipping from the culm and disintegrat-
ing into fibres, the central somewhat inflated while the uppermost clasps
the stem firmly, very striate, scabrid on the nerves with downwardly
directed teeth. Lzgw/e membranous, erose at the tip, scabrid on the
outside, 2-3 mm. long.
Fig. 1. Poa tibeticola Bor, x 10
[ntlorescence an oblong panicle up to 10 cm. long by 5 cm. broad, very
delicate ; axis smooth and glabrous or very minutely scabrid below;
branches about 1 cm. long, capillary, very flexuous, coarsely scabrid,
for the most part binate at the nodes, sometimes 3-nate; branchlets
short, coarsely scabrid, sparsely branched, carrying a small number of
spikelets. SpAzkelets 2-3-flowered, seated on short scabrid pedicels, up
to 3°25 mm. long, elliptic-oblong in shape ; florets diverging at anthesis.
Lower glume 1:5-3 mm. long, 0°8 mm. in width, lanceolate- or oblong-
acuminate in shape when flattened, narrowly hyaline along the margins,
curved or almost straight on the keel in profile, 1-3-nerved, scabrid on
the keel, covered on the dorsal surface with asperities in the upper third
or upper two-thirds. Upper glume 2-2:25 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, elliptic-
or ovate- or lanceolate-acuminate or -acute when flattened, slightly curved
on the back, 3-nerved, hyaline on the margins up to the lateral nerves,
scabrid on the keel, covered with asperities on the dorsal surface in the
upper two-thirds. Lowest lemma 2 mm. long or little longer, oblong-
obtuse or broadly elliptic-obtuse in shape, often erose at the hyaline tip,
hyaline along the margins, distinctly 5-nerved, scabrid on the keel to
the base and along the lateral and intermediate nerves, covered on the
dorsal surface with asperities, or free from asperities and minutely
elandular-punctate in the lower half, no trace of cilia on the keel and
lateral nerves. Ahachzlla minutely scabrid, produced beyond the top-
most floret and covered with a rudimentary floret. <Azthevs minute
0:'4-0°5 mm. long. Wool absent. Pal/ea shorter than the lemma,
scabrid on the keels.
Tibet: Khambajong, 7 Sept. 1903, Younghusband 304; Lhasa,
Sept. 1804 Walton.
Sikkim: Chugyu, 5,000 m., 12 Sept. 1912, Rohmoo Lepcha 284..
A very delicate species with minute spikelets which are perfectly
glabrous without a trace of cilia or wool. The keels of the palea are
scabrid. The specimen from Chugyu is not more than 3 cm. tall.
818 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 50
2. Poa infirma H.B.K., Nov. Gen. et Sp. 1 : 158 (1815) 27.
P. exilis (Tomm.) Murb. in Ascher. et Graebn., Syn. Mitteleurop:
Flora 2: 389 (1900).
P. remolitlora Murb., Contrib. Flor. nor.-ous. Afr. 4: 2? (1900).
P. annua Linn., ssp. exilis Tomm. apud Freyn. Zool.-Bot: Ges. 27:
469 (1877). | j
Catabrosa thomsoni Stapf ex Hook. f., Flor. Brit. Ind. 7: 311 (1896).
A strictly annual grass. Cuzlms rather slendet and weak, smooth
and glabrous, up to 10 cm.tall, occasionally twice as tall, sheathed |
almost to the inflorescence. Leafzblades soft, flaccid, linear, abruptly
contracted to a blunt point, up to 6 cm. long, 5 mm. broad, scabrid on
the margins and on the midrib below, very scabrid at the tip, very thin.
Sheaths rather loose, herbaceous, smooth and glabrous, somewhat
inflated at the base of the plant. ZLzgule membranous, entire, 1-2 mm.
long, rounded or obtuse at the tip.
Fig. 2. Poa infirma H.B.K., * 10
Inflorescence a narrow, oblong, rathe1 open panicle with branches
ascending, rarely horizontal, and never deflexed; axis smooth and
glabrous, angled; branches smooth and glabrous, in pairs, often a
longer accompanied by a shcrter, up to 2 cm. long, carrying rather
remote spikelets at anthesis. Spzkele/s 4-4'5 mm. long, 3-5-flowered,
oblong-obtuse in shape, with remote florets which occasionally hide the
joints of the rhachilla, seated, except the terminal, on very short
pedicels. Lower glume 1:25 mm. long, 0°6 mm. wide, oblong-acute in
shape, slightly curved on the back, broadly hyaline on the margins,
smooth and glabrous. Upper glume 15 mm. long, 1] mm. wide, broadly
elliptic-obtuse in shape when flattened, very broadly hyaline on the
margins and at the tip, 3-nerved, smooth and glabrous. Lemma 2:5 mm.
long, 1:5 mm. wide, widest above the middle, oblong-ovate-obtuse or
almost round at the tip, herbaceous in texture, faintly 5-nerved, very
broadly hyaline at the tip and along the margins, almost straight on the
back, thickly ciliate on all nerves or occasionally thinly ciliate. Woo!
absent. Afachilla produced and carrying a rudimentary spikelet,
smooth and glabrous. Azdhers minute, 0°22-0°33 mm. long. Palea
shotter than the lemma, long ciliate on the keels. :
THE GENUS, POAW LINN. EN’ INDIA 7 819
Ind. Or.: Rawalpindi, 21 April 1930, 2. #. Stewart 10755;
Dehra Dun, Robber’s Cave, 780 m., 29 Feb. 1928, Umras
Singh 317.
Vibet buaspur, Ovihze 's.ns: | Nubra Valley, 3—3,500 m.,-7.
Thomson.
This delicate little species is comparatively rare, having been
collected on four occasions only. It is a strictly annual species and
bears only a superficial resemblance to P. annua. The chromosome
number: 2n = 14. The panicle is oblong in shape, and the branches
either ascending or approximately horizontal with spikelets loosely
scattered along them. AI] lemmatal nerves are hairy, but there is no
wool at the base of the lemma. The anthers are tiny, being only
0:2-0°3 mm. long. Asin FP. annua Linn. the apical floret is female
while all those below it are hermaphrodite. One of the remarkable
features of the plant is the thinness of the leaves which are almost
translucent.
The identity of Catabrosa thomsonit Hook. f. with this plant was
quite unexpected and only came to light when the Indian species of
Colpodium were being studied. The type sheet is at Kew and although
the material is meagre and well glued down on the sheet, there is no
- doubt that the plant represented is Poa infivma H.B.K.
Tutin (1952) succeeded in crossing P. annua and P. infirma, pollen
from the latter being used. The hybrid is completely sterile and has
2n = 21, as was to be expected.
Tutin points out that at meiosis seven univalents and seven biva-
lents are present, and concludes that this condition could only occur if
P. intirma were one of the parents of P, aznua. So far no one has
demonstrated by an actual cross that P. ézfzrma and P. supina are the
parents of P. aznua.
3. Poa uepalensis Wallich ex Duthie, Grasses of North-western
India, 40 (1883).
P. annua Linn,, var. zepalensis Griseb. in Goett. Nachr., 75 (1868),
A tall perennial grass from a creeping rootstock which gives off
numerous rootlets from the nodes. Culms up to 50 cm. tall, erect,
smooth and glabrous, terete, long exserted from the uppermost leaf-
sheath, 2-3-noded, geniculate at the base. Leaf-blades up to 15 cm.
iong, 4 mm. wide, linear, tapering to a sharp point, flat, flaccid, shorter
or longer than the supporting sheath, scabrid on both surfaces and along
the margins. S#eaths rather loose, smooth and glabrous, eventually
slipping from the culm. Lzgudée membranous, not more than 1:5 mm.
long.
/ntlorescence a large, pyramidal panicle up to 14cm. long by 10 cm,
wide; central rhachis smooth and glabrous; branches in pairs (one
of a pair much shorter than the other), smooth and glabrous, almost
capillary, bare at the base for one-third to one-half their total length,
shortly rebranched into 2 or 3 arms which occasionally are shortly
branched. S/zkele¢s whitish in colour, about 4-flowered, 3:5-4 mm. long,
elliptic-acute when young, with spreading florets at anthesis. Lowey
glume 1°5-2 mm. long. ¢°6 mm. wide, pale in colour, curved on the back,
1-nerved, hyaline on the margins, smooth and glabrous, apart from the
9
820 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 50
rough upper part of the kee]. Upper glume 2°25-2:5 mm. lorg, 1°4mm.
wide, broadly elliptic-acute or elliptic-ovate-acute in shape when flattened,
3-nerved, curved on the back, pale glaucous in colour, hyaline on the
margins, scabrid on the upper half of the keel. Lemma 2:5 mm. long, 2
—S
>
Fig. 3. Poa nepalensis Wall., x 10
inm. wide, obiong-elliptic-obtuse in shape, very narrowly hyaline on the
margins and at the tip, 5-nerved with inconspicuous intermediate nerves,
profusely ciliate on the lateral nerves and on the lower two-thirds of the
keel, glabrous in between, very faintly punctate all over the dorsal surface,
minutely scaberulous in the lower third. Rhachilla smooth and
glabrous. Wool copious. <Azthers linear 0°75 mm. Valea shorter than
the lemma, broadly oblong-elliptic, long ciliate on the keel to within
one-eighth of the apex.
Ind. Or.: Kumaon, Binsar, 2,300 m., Strachey et Winterbottom
(Type); Tehri Garhwal, Thadiar, 1,000 m., May 1893, Gamdle
24194 ; Kulu, Manali, 2,700 m., 9 May 1941, M. Z. Bor 14101 ;
Dalhousie, 29 Sept. 1874, C. B. Clarke 23275c.
The name Poa xepalensis Wall. first appears in Duthie’s Grasses of
North-western India, 40 (1883) where the specimens cited are those of
T. Thomson from N.W. India and Strachey and Winterbottom’s sheet;
from Binsar in Kumaon. In the Flora of British India, Hooker
returns to the name Poa annua L. var. nepalensis which had been given
to it by Grisebach in Goett Nachr., N. 3, 75 (1868) who based the variety
on two sheets, viz. Strachey’s from Kumaon and Hooker’s from the
Eastern Himalaya. In point of fact all these sheets represent the
same species and Strachey and Winterbottom’s is selected as the
type.
In the Flora of British India, Stapf who worked out this genus
introduced another complication, for this species is again reduced to the
status of a variety of Poa annua but the specimens upon which it is
based were altered to P. annua B Nees in Herb. Royle and foa Wall.
Cat. No. 3791. Royle’s specimen is P. nepalensis but Wallich’s No. 3791
does not fit the description given by Stapf and actually is a different
species.
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
PLATE
¥
FLORA OF BURMA. |
( be Fe ¢ ar) |
SAVUVLAWILNID
Poa nephelophila Bor
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
PLate II
,
Boe
IN HERB. HORT. BOT. REG. KEW. -
i ae
+ WL HIMALAYA: Jrutivortet, Aap, 77
{ ; , ‘
ee
| - Legit J. F. DUTHIE.
Poa annua Linon.
THE GENUS, POA LINN, IN INDIA o2k
According to Stapf the characteristics of P. annua var. nepalensis
were, among others, that the keel and outer nerves of the lemma were
silky and the wool copious. In Wallich’s No. 3791 the lemma is almost
glabrous and the wool non-existent. -In fact Wallich’s 3791 does not
conform to the description and, moreover, it is not identical with
Strachey and Winterbottom’s specimen, nor is it the other specimen to
which Duthie refers, namely T. Thomson’s specimen. It is therefore
quite clear that Wallich No. 3791 must be excluded from consideration.
[t really is quite a different species, namely, P. stkkimensis Bor.
4. Poa nephelophila Bor, in Kew Bull. 1948; 139 (1948),
A very leafy, stout, lax, annual grass. Culms up to 45 cm. tall, by
1:5 mm. in diameter just below the panicle, to 3 mm. at the base, very
smooth and glabrous, erect or slightly geniculate below, .clothed at the
base with disintegrating old sheaths; nodes smooth and glabrous, visible
because of the loose sheaths. Leaf-blades green, lax and flaccid, flat,
16 cm. long by 5 mm. broad, linear in shape, tapering gradually toa
sharp point, narrowly cartilaginous on the margins which are armed
with widely spaced, forwardly pointing teeth, scabrid at the tip on
margins and surfaces, very minutely scabrid on the upper surface, often
with a few hairs on the margin at the rounded base. Sheaths very lax
and loose, slipping from the culm and exposing the nodes, smooth and
glabrous, minutely striate, the lower falling away completely and sur-
rounding the base ot the culm, the upper more or less clasping the stem,
shorter than their leaves. Lzgu/es short, membranous, erose, not more
than 1-5 mm. long.
Panicle pyramidal, up to 12 cm. long, 9 cm. broad; axis stout to
capillary, smooth and glabrous, nodes up to 3°5 cm. apart; branches.
whorled in 4’s, smooth and glabrous, up to 3°5 cm. long before branch-
ing; branchlets scaberulous, sparsely rebranching and carrying a few
crowded spikelets. Sfzkelefs narrowly oblong in shape, 5-6°5 mm.
long, 4-6-flowered, pale green. Lower glume 2-2°5 mm. long, 0°8 mm.
broad, l-nerved, oblong- or lanceolate-acuminate when flattened,
curved on the keel, narrowly hyaline along the margins in a definite
band; smooth and glabrous except the keel which is most minutely
scabrid along the whole length. Upper glume 2:5-3 mm. long, 1:5 mm.
broad, curved on the back, elliptic-acuminate in shape when flattened,
hyaline in a definite narrow band on the margins, 3-nerved, smooth and
‘glabrous except for the keel which is minutely scabrid. Lowest lemma
35 mm. long, 2 mm. wide when flat, oblong-obtuse in shape when
flattened, distinctly 5-nerved, very shortly hyaline at the tip and along
the margins, ciliate on the keel in the lower two-thirds, scabrid on the
keel above, ciliate on the lateral nerves, not ciliate on the intermediate
nerves. Wool practically absent. Ahachilla long jointed; joints
0:75 to 1 mm. long, glabrous. Anthers minute, 0:6-0°75 mm. long. Palea
shorter than the lemma, ciliate on the keels.
Burma: Chimli Pass, 3,300 m., 11 May 1929, Sukoe 9974 (Type).
A very leafy species with a large panicle the branches of which are
4-nate.
Very close to P. annua Linn., but it has a very different appear-
ance—the spikelets are slightly larger, the panicle branches are in
whorls of four and the intermediate nerves of the lemma are glabrous.
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
5. Poa supina Schrad., Flor. Germ. 1: 289 (1806).
A perennial grass, sending out leafy runners above ground. Culms
up to 25 cm, tall, usually not much more than 15 cm., usually decum-
bent at the base, clothed with leaves almost to the tip and with old
sheaths in the lower part. Leaf-blades linear and contracted suddenly
to a rather stout tip, 1-2-5 cm. long, 2-3 mm. wide, dark green, flaccid,
more usually flat, sometimes folded, scabrid along the margins,
especially towards the rather short tip; those of the sterile shoots much
longer up to 6 or 7cm., and correspondingly broad. Sheaths at the base
much longer than the internodes, very loose, scarious, smooth and
glabrous, shining, hyaline on the margins, those of the culm much
tighter, clasping, striate, smooth and glabrous, hyaline on the external
margin. Ligue membranous up to i‘5 mm. long, rounded at the tip.
ILELED De ee,
FZ
SSE
. \
)
———
Fig. 4. Poa supina Schrad., * 10
Intlorescence, at first a dense, pyramidal, usually purplish panicle,
usually as long as broad, afterwards spreading and finally with deflexed
branches; axis smooth and glabrous ; branches in pairs or often single,
the single branch soon dividing into two equal branchlets which
rebranch, smooth and glabrous. SZzkelets 5—6-flowered, 4-5 mm. long,
clustered at the ends of thin branchlets. Lower glume 1:5 mm. long.
0:8 mm. wide, oblong-acute in shape when flattened, slightly curved on
the back, l-nerved, hyaline at the tip and narrowly along the margins,
smooth and glabrous, suffused with purple. Upper glume 2-5 mm,
long, 1*2-1:3 mm. wide, elliptic-acute or elliptic-obovate-acute in shape,
suffused with purple, S-nerved, narrowly to broadly hyaline on the
margin, hardly hyaline at the tip, minutely scabrid on the keel. Lemma
2°5-3-3'5 mm. long, 2-3 mm. wide, herbaceous, broadly elliptic-obtuse
or oblong-ovate-obtuse in shape when flattened, 5-nerved, very hyaline
at the tip and hardly hyaline along the margins, prominently 5-nerved,
ciliate on the keel in the lower half or two-thirds, scabrid on the keel
above, ciliate on the marginal nerve, otherwise smooth and glabrous.
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 823:
Rhachilla smooth and glabrous, produced beyond the topmost floret and
carrying a rudimentary floret. Wool absent. Azthers 1:2-2 mm. long.
Upper floret several times longer than the rhachilla joint. Palea shorter
than the lemma, ciliate on the keels.
Ind. Or.: Himalaya; Tehri Garhwal, 4,000 m., 28 Sept.1948,
W. Koelz, 22025 ; Kashmir, Baltal in Sind Valley, 3-3,700 m.,
28 June 1892, Duthze 11599 Hazara, Suan Valley, 29 June 1896,
Mayat 20352; Gulmarg, 2,700-3,000 m., 26 June 1893, Dutse
13032 ; Lahul, above Kandang, 6 July. 1888, Drummond 23354.
Chitral ; Barum Gol, Shokor Shal, 3,300 m., 22 June 195u, Ler
= Wendelbo s.n., ‘ by a brooklet’.
This very distinctive grass is found in the Himalaya at altitudes
above 2,000 m. only. ‘The panicle is broadly triangular in shape, and
the branches, either horizontal or deflexed, with the spikelets crowded
at the tips of the branches, give a facies which is quite different from
that of P. annua. The intermediate lateral nerves of the lemma are
glabrous. There is no wool at the base of the lemma. The anthers.
are larger (often 3 times as large) than those in P. annua, being 1:6-2
(2°5) mm. long. The keels of the palea are long ciliate. This is always
a perennial grass. The chromosome number of /. sapzna Schrad. is
2n = 14(Nannfeldt 1935). The apical floret in the spikelet is female,
while all the others are hermaphrodite.
6. Poa annua Linn., Sp. Pl. ed. 1, 68 (1753).
P. royleana Steud., Syn. Pl. Glum, 256 (1854).
An annual, sometimes biennial or exceptionally a perennial, grass.
Culms erect or more often geniculate, ascending from a fibrous root-
stock, up to 30 cm. tall, usually much shorter. Runners often rooting at
the nodes, forming buds in the axils of the sheaths which immediately
develop, and after bursting through the sheaths send out other runners.
and vertical stems which flower. Leaf-blades usually 2-3°5 cm. long, but
often very much longer in favourable habitats up to 5 mm. wide,
linear, suddenly contracted to a stout tip, flat, flaccid, dark green,
scaberulous on the margins. Sheaths somewhat compressed, smooth and
glabrous, covering the nodes or not. Lzgwle of the upper leaves up
to 3 mm. long, of the lower much less, often only 1:5 mm. long.
Inflorescence a loose pyramidal panicle, often one-sided, 1°2-1°6
times as long as broad; branches 2-(rarely 3-5-)nate or solitary,
spreading, eventually almost deflexed, 2-8 mm. long before branching,
smooth and glabrous. Sfzkelets more or less crowded, seated on scabrid
pedicels, 3-5-flowered, ovate or elliptic-oblong in shape, 4-6 mm. long,
green, sometimes tinged with violet. Lower glume 15-2 mm. long,
1 mm. wide, lanceolate-acute or -acuminate in shape, l-nerved, hyaline
on the margins, scabrid on the keel. Upper glume 2—2°5 mm. long,
1:5 mm. wide, eJliptic-acute when flattened, 3-nerved, with a conspicu-
ous hyaline or whitish band all along the margin, scabrid on the keel.
Lemma 3 mm. long, 1:5 mm. wide, oblong-obtuse, herbaceous in texture
with a broad hyaline or whitish band all along the margins, 5 -nerved,
silky ciliate on the keel for three-quarters of its length, cilliate on the
lateral nerves below, for the rest smooth and glabrous. Lowest floret
hermaphrodite, the upper 1 or 2 female, the topmost seated on a
824 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
rhachilla section, about one-half as long as the floret. Wool absent.
Rhachilla smooth and glabrous, produced beyond the topmost floret
and crowned with a rudimentary floret. Avzthers 0-6-0:'8 mm. long,
yellow. /a/ea elliptic-truncate, long ciliate on the keels, but occasionally
almost glabrous though usually some hairs will be discovered.
This cosmopolitan grass is found everywhere in India and Burma
above the 1,300 m. contour. Sir Joseph Hooker collected it on Wallan-
choon Pass in Sikkim at 4,000 m. altitude, and it is probably found at.
even greater heights in shaded places. A specimen has recently been
collected in Delhi. This was sent to Kew by Shri M. B. Raizada, Forest
Botanist, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, with the observation
that it isto be found in Delhi in cool shady places in winter. Actually
there is no reason why Poa annua should not flourish in the cold season
in Delhi where the temperatures, at least at night, in the winter are
very low. The extensive irrigation system in the plains would facilitate
the transport of seed from the hills.
This species is usually found as an annual, though it is sometimes
a biennial, rarely perennial. In England the flowering period is often
prolonged and sometimes starts as early as December. The hairiness
of the lemmatal nerves is variable but all of them are more or less hairy.
The anthers are medium sized, 0°6-0°3 mm. long. Wool at the base of
the lemma is absent. The keels of the palea are covered from the base
up to the tip with long cilia, but in some races the hairs are much re-
duced in number or almost entirely absent.
The chromosome number is 2n= 28 and frequent hybrids between
it and Poa supina Schrad. have been obtained in Sweden (Nannfeldt
1935), suggesting that it hybridises freely in nature. The chromosome
number of the hybrid is 2n==21. According to Hackel the apical floret
is ordinarily earlier in opening than the lower florets. ‘This is contrary
to the normal sequence of flowering in grasses. Moreover, this floret
is female in sex but all those below it are hermaphrodite. Thisisa
characteristic of the closely allied species P. sufina Schrad. and P.
intirma H.B.K.
Nannfeldt (1937) has speculated concerning the origin of Poa annua
Linn. He points out that on morphological grounds alone the probabi-
lity that Poa annua Linn. is an allotetraploid and is the result of a cross
between P. supina Schrad. and P. intirma H.B.K. is very strong, since
the morphological characters of P. amnua are intermediate in every
particular between those of the other two. Moreover it shows all the
characteristics of hybrids, not only in hybrid vigour, but in its great
adaptability to varying ecological conditions. At the present time it is
one of the most cosmopolitan of grasses, and shows all intermediates
between strictly annual plants and subperennials. Further evidence that
Nannfeldt’s hypothesis may be correct is deduced by Tutin (1952) who
succeeded in pollinating P. azuua with pollen from P. zzfirma. The
hybrid is sterile and has 2n=?1. At meiosis it has seven bivalents and
7 univalents, a condition which could only arise if P. zufivma were in
effect a parent of 2. annua.
7. Poa sikkimensis Bor, in Kew Bull. 1952: 130 (1952).
P. annua Linn. var. stkkimensis Stapf in Hook. f., Flor. Brit.
Ind. 7: 346 (1896).
THE, GENUS POA LINN. IN INDPA 625
An annual or subperennial grass. Culms up to 30 cm. tall, usually
geniculate at the base, with many fibrous roots, covered at the base
with the scarious remains of old sheaths, smooth and glabrous, covered
with leaves almost to the panicle, terete. Leaf-blades flat, linear,
tapering to a blunt point, suddenly contracted at the base to the sheath,
smooth and glabrous on both surfaces, or minutely to strongly scabrid
at the tip, margins usually scabrid, sometimes smooth, up to 10 cm,
long, 5 mm. wide, flaccid, green. Sheaths rather loose below, tight
above. Ligule long, membranous, smooth, 3-6 mm. long, erose at
the top.
Fig. 5. Poa sikkimensis Bor, x 10
Intlorescence a panicle up to 15 cm. long, pyramidal or oblong in
-shape; axis smooth and glabrous; nodes often wide apart, the length
of the lowest internode may be 4 cm.; branches binate, flexuous, capil-
lary, ascending divergent or even deflexed; branchlets nearly always
scaberulous. Sfzkelets oblong in shape, up to 4 mm. long, 3-4-flowered;
pedicels short, scabrid. Lower glume 1:5-2 mm. long, 0:8 mm. wide,
mostly 3-nerved, rarely 1- or 2-nerved, sometimes indistinctly, hardly
hyaline on the margins, lanceolate- or oblong- or narrowly elliptic-acute
when flat, suffused with purple. Opfer glume 2:5-2*75 mm. long,
1-5 mm. wide, broadly elliptic-obovate-acute when flattened, 3-nerved,
denticulate on the margins, scabrid on the upper half of the kee], hardly
hyaline on the margins, smooth and glabrous. Lemma 2:75-3 mm.
long, 2 min. wide, broadly eiliptic-obovate-obtuse when flat, somewhat
firmly chartaceous, narrowly hyaline all along the margins to the top,
rather faintly 5-nerved, shortly ciliate on the keel in the lower half,
scabrid on the keel above, glabrous on the intermediate nerves, glabrous
or Ciliate on the lateral, smooth and glabrous over the dorsal surface
which is very finely gland-pitted, often with a narrow band of yellow
below the hyaline tip succeeded by violet. Wool completely absent.
Rhachilla smooth and glabrous, produced beyond the uppermost floret
and carrying a rudimentary floret. Amthers 0°5-0°8 mm. long. Palea
scabrid on the keel in upper third, ciliate below.
826 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL -HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Ind. Or.: Sikkim, Wallanchoon, 3-4,000 m., J. D. Hooker (Type) ;
North-east Sikkim, 1893 Cummins ; Lachung 3,500--4,000 m.,
30 Aug. )849, J/. D. Hooker; Morray Samdang, 2 Sept. 1849,
J. D. Hooker; Phusum, 3,000 m., Boret Kiratram 19936.
This species was treated in the Flora of British India as a variety of
Poa annua L. with which it has liltle in comnmon. It can easily be
distinguished from FP. annua by the 3-nerved lower glumes, firmly
chartaceous lemmas which are broader and by the palea which is ciliate
on the keels below but scabrid in the upper third. The anthers are
0:5-0°8 mm.long. ‘The panicle-branches at maturity are often reflexed.
8. Poa stapfiana Bor, in Kew Bull. 1949; 239 (1949).
P. tremula Stapf in Hook. f., Flor. Brit. Ind. 7: 344 (1896) non
Lam. .
A perennial, stoloniferous grass with leafy culms and fibrous roots.
Culms up to 60 cm. tall, erect or geniculate at the base rooting at the
basal nodes, 5-6-noded, the lower clos2, the upper. widely separated,
terete, smooth and glabrous, striate. Leaf-blades 5-14 cm. long by
1-5 mm. wide, at the top often much less, tapering gradually or abruptly
to a sharp point; flaccid or occasionally firm, the upper as long as or
longer than the subtending sheath, glabrous, distinctly toothed on the
cartiaginous margins, smooth or minutely scabrid on the upper
surface, Sheaths covering the nodes, rather loose, smooth and glabrous,
scarious below, striate, the lower slipping from the internodes and dis-
integrating into pale yellow fibrous threads; the shape of the line of
junction of leaf and sheath is an inverted U. Ligule up to 5 mm.
long, hyaline, rounded.
Fig. 6. Poa stapfiana Bor, x 10
Intlorescence a lax, loose, widely spreading, pyramidal panicle up to
25 cm. long; axis smooth and glabrous, stout at the base, filiform at
the tip; branches long and flexuous, lowest binate, very rarely 1l- or
a
Rik, GENUS POA, LINN, “IN: IN DTA S20)
3-nate, up to 15 cm. long, smooth or nearly so, glabrous, capillary,
loosely branched towards their tips; branchlets rough, glabrous,
carrying a few short-pedicelled spikelets. Sp7kelets elliptic-oblong,.
4-6 mm. long, 3—5-6-flowered, crowded at the tip of the branches, green
or somewhat glaucous it: colour. Lower glume rather variable in length,
2:75-3:75 mm. long, 1-1:5 mm. wide, oblong-lanceolate, elliptic-oblong
or even lanceolate-acute or acuminate, gently curved on the back,
normally definitely 3-nerved but l-nerved lower glumes are often
found, hyaline at the tip and narrowly so along the margins, glabrous,
coarsely scabrid on the keel in the upper half, and on the terminal
portion of the lateral nerves. Upper glume 3-4'5 mm. long, 1:5-1:75 mm.
wide, oblong-, elliptic- or even oblanceolate-acute or -acuminate, slightly
curved on the back when seen in profile, glabrous, 3-nerved, coarsely
scabrid on the keel in the upper half and occasionally on the side nerves.
Lowest lemma 3-45 mm. long, sometimes, though rarely, suffused
with purple, with a yellow streak at the tip just below the hyaline
portion whichis very definite and may extend to one-eighth of the length.
of the lemma, oblong-obtuse when flattened, erose at the tip, dorsal
surface glandular-punctate, ciliate on the keel tothe middle and scatrid
above, ciliate on the lateral nerves, with many or few silky hairs.
on the dorsal surface in the lower half; succeeding lemmas similar,
diminishing in size. Wool definite, cupious or scanty. Ahachilla hairy,
produced beyond the uppermost fertile floret and surmounted by a
rudimentary floret. Azthervs 1-15 mm. long. Lodicules 2, very small,
unequally 2-fid, sometimes up to1'5 mm.long. Falea 2°5 mm. long,
6 mm. wide, lanceolate-oblong in shape ; keels rather long ciliate in the
lower half, covered in the upper half with prickles diminishing in length
from below upwards and finally reduced to short antrorse teeth, occa-
sionally lower half with longer teeth than those in the upper half and
not definitely semi-pilose.
Ind. Or.: West Himalaya; Boope Valley, Jacqguemont 277 3.
Dharamsala, Laka, 3,700 m., C. B. Clarke 24414; Nepalia, Wai-
lich 3798; Kashmir, Upper Sind Valley, 28 Sept. 1848, 7.
Thomson; Ladak, Leh, 4,000 m., 1856, Schlagitntwert; Manali,
2 Aug. 1941, 3,700 m., VM. L. Bor 15575.
The long panicle branches bare at the base and the silky lemmas.
are very characteristic of this species.
var. micranthera Bor, comb. nov. P. tremula var. micranthera
Stapf.
The variety is typical P. sfadfiana Bor except for the very minute
anthers. Since variability in the length of the anthers is a very rare
phenomenon in the Himalayan Poae, none in the present review apart
from this variety having been found, a special study of the variety was
made in order to find out whether characters specifically different from
the type exist. As already stated, however, it is not possible to separate
the variety on any character except the size of the anthers.
Ind..Or.: Kashmir, Palgam, 4 Sept. 1876, 3,900 m., C. B. Clarke
31057 ; Pahlgam, 4 Sept. 1876, 4,CCO m., zdem 31061; Tilail,
23 Aug. 1876, tdem 30667.
Lahul, Rotang, 11 July 1941, 4,000 m., WV. Z. Bor 9806.
828 JOURNAL, BOMBAY (NATURAL, HIS@s SOCIETY. (Vols 40
Il. HIMALAYENSES
9. Poa himalayana Nees ex Steud., Syn. Pl. Glum. 256 (1854).
A tufted grass, slender when annual, stouter when perennial. The
perennial has a slender rhizome. Culms very smooth and glabrous,
terete, 05-1 mm. in diameter below the panicle. Leaf blades linear, up
to 15 cm. long, 2 mm. wide, scabrid on both surfaces, becoming
smooth with age, very scabrid on the margins, often hairy on the
rounded base where the blade joins the sheath, flat, flaccid, glabrous.
Sheaths tightly fitting, old often loose, scarious, slipping from the culm,
smooth and glabrous, not covering the nodes. Lzgz/e up to 2 mm. long,
-often rough or hairy on the outside.
Fig. 7. Poa himalayana Nees, x 10
Intlorescence a panicle, often lax, with widely spreading branches, up
to 16 cm. long, 8 cm. broad; rhachis of the panicle glabrous and
smooth ; branches in twos, up to 3cm. without branching, scabrid ; branch-
lets scabrid, sparsely rebranching. Spzkelets narrowly oblong, 4:°5-6 mm.
long, 3-flowered, occasionally only 1-flowered. Lower glume 2:25-2:5 mm.
long, 05 mm. wide, awl-shaped in profile, lanceolate-acuminate in
shape when flattened, 1-nerved, slightly curved on the back, scabrid on the
keel and on the dorsal surface near the tip, very narrowly hyaline onthe
margins. Upper glume 2:75-3'5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, lanceolate- or
narrowly ovate-acute in shape when flattened, 3-nerved, scabrid on the
keel and side nerves especially towards the tip, very narrowly hyaline
on the margins. Lemma 4-4'5 mm. long, 1:5 mm. wide, conspicuously
5-nerved with nerves reaching nearly to the margin, long-ciliate on the
lower half of the keel, scabrid above, shortly ciliate in the lower portion
of the lateral nerves, very narrowly hyaline along the margins
and at the tip or not hyaline at the tip, very gladrous between
tbe lateral nerve and keel, but dorsal surface finely pitted or surface
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA $29
scaberulous. Wool present, often fairly copious. Afachilla joints long
up to 15 mm. long, continued as a slender stipe up to 2 mm. long,
crowned. with a rudimentary spikelet. Azzthers O°75-1 mm. long.
Palea 3 mm. long, narrowly elliptic in shape, armed on the keels with
very fine antrorse teeth.
Ind. Or.: Nepalia: 1821, Wallich 8885 (Type); Sikkim: Lachen,
3,000 m., 11 June 1849, /. D. Hooker; Sandhakphu, 2,600 m., May,
1894, C. B. Clarke 35029; Sandhakphu, 4,000 m., July 1881,
4 Gamble 9052; Phusum, 3,500 m., 25 June 1945, Bor ef Kiratram
19915. Tibet: Chubitang, 4,000 in., 22 June 1945, ‘in marshes in
fir forest ’, Bor et Kiratram 19647.
This is one of the commonest grasses in Sikkin above 3,000 m., but
it has been much confused in the past. The description of it given by
Hook. f. in the Flora of British India is quite misleading, for it is
based in part upon a closely related, but quite distinct, species, namely,
P. stewartiana Bor. For a discussion upon the differences between
these two species the reader is referred to Kew Bulletzn, 1951, 181.
10. Poa stewartiana Bor, in Kew Bull. 1951: 185 (1951).
A delicate annual grass. Culms very slender, smooth and glabrous,
somewhat striate, glabrous at the nodes. Leaf-blades linear-acuminate,
green, flaccid, rounded at the base to the sheath, flat, minutely scabrid
on the margins, especially towards the stout tip, smooth and glabrous
on both surfaces, up to 15 cm. long, 3-4 mm. broad, uppermost leaves
as long as or shorter than the subtending sheath. Sheaths tight, smooth
and glabrous, striate, longer than the internodes. Ligz/es milky,
membranous, 2:5-3 mm. long.
Fiz. 8. Poa stewartiana Bor, x 10
Inflorescence a weakly spreading, often nodding panicle up to 20 cm.
long, 10 cm. broad or even larger; axis angled, capillary, very minutely
scabrid or scaberulous or even smooth, striate; branches in pairs, erect,
spreading or finally deflexed, flexuous, scaberulous, bare for 3-4 cm.
and then rebranching and carrying a few spikelets at the tips. Spzkelets
830 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
3-5 mm. long, broadly elliptic when young, wedge-shaped when old,
3—4-flowered. Lower glume 2:5-3 mm, long, 0:75-1 mm. wide at the
widest parts, Janceolate-acuminate in shape when flattened, awl-shaped
in profile, curved on the back, l-nerved, smooth and glabrous except
on the keel in the upper half which is scabrid. Upper glume 2:5-4 mm.
long, 1-2 mm. wide, oblong-acute or oblong-elliptic-acute, 3-nerved,
straight on the back in profile in the lower two-thirds then gently
curving towards the tip, hyaline on the margins, smooth and glabrous,
except for the scabrid upper half to the keel. Lemma 2:5-3:5 mm. long,
1:75-2 mm. wide, oblong-elliptic-acute, 5-nerved, smooth and glabrous
on the dorsal surface, ciliate on the keel in the lower half and on the
marginal nerves or the latter glabrescent, hyaline on the margins,
coarsely scabrid on the keel in the upper half. Rhachzlla smooth. Wool
copious. Stamens 3. Anthers yellow, 1mm.long. /alea shorter than
the lemma, strongly 2-keeled, ciliate on the keels in the lower half,
scabrid above.
Ind: Or.: N. W. India; Jaunsar, 2,000 m.,.5 May 1897, Duthze
19777, ‘in forest’ (Type); wet rocks on old Mahasu road,
2,300 m., 25 June 1878, J..S. Gamble 6,237A ; Bussahir-Kunawar,
1885, J. &. Duthie. Kashmir, Tragbol, 3,200 m., 19 July 1876,
C. B. Clarke 29244; Gulmarg, 3,000 m., July 1926, A. R. Stewart
8675. Near Simla, June 1889, /. F. Duthie 10137 ; Simla 27 Aug..
1849, 7. Zhomson ; Punjab, J. R. Drummond 21362.
For a discussion regarding the merits of this species vis-a-vis its
closest relative P. himalayana Nees, the reader is referred to Kew
Bulletin 1951, 181.
1l. Poa khasiana Stapf, in Hook f., Flor. Brit. Ind. 7: 343 (1896)..
A tall, slender, loosely tufted, perennial grass without rhizomes.
Culms up to 70 cm. tall, smooth, terete, erect or somewhat geniculate:
at the base, rooting at the nodes,.clothed at the base with a few loose,
scarious, membranous sheaths. Leaf-blades linear, tapering to a rather
sharp point, up to 20 cm. long by 3 mm. wide, flat, flaccid, or the
shorter ones rigid, minutely scabrid on the upper surface, smooth be-.
low, glabrous, smooth on the margins, becoming very scabrid towards
and at the tip; midrib and lateral nerves strongly marked. Sheaths
smooth and glabrous, rather loose on the culm, very loose at the base,.
longer or shorter than the leaf. Lzgule very short, not more than 1 mm.
long, erose.
Intlorescence a pyramidal panicle with horizontal branches and few
spikelets, nodding when young, rather contracted, branches subsequent--
ly spreading or standing at right angles to the stem; lower branches
3-5-nate, scaberulous to the base, branched; branchlets very short,.
scaberulous, carrying only a few spikelets, often only one; axis smooth
and glabrous below, scaberulous above. Spikelets usually 3-flowered,
oblong-elliptic in shape when young, wedge-shaped at anthesis. Lower
glume 2-2'5 mm. long, 1 mm. broad, slightly curved on the back,
lanceolate-narrowly-elliptic or oblong-acute in shape, glabrous, sparsely
gland-dotted on the dorsal surface, l-nerved, narrowly hyaline on the
margins, minutely rough on the keel in the upper half. Upper glume
3-3:5 mm. long, 1:5 mm. wide, elliptic-acute or oblong-ovate-acute-
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 831
when flattened, 3-nerved, slightly curved on the back, glabrous, coarse-
ly scabrid on the keel in the upper half, on the dorsal surface in the
upper quarter and on the side netves. Lemma 3-4 mm. long, 1:5 mm,
wide, oblong-obtuse in shape, conspicuously 5-nerved, side nerves
Fig. 9. Poa khasiana Stapf, x 10
running almost to the top which is very shortly hyaline, narrowly
hyaline on the margins which are distantly toothed, whole of the
dorsal surface glandular-punctate, ciliate on the keel in the lower half,
scabrid in the upper half, ciliate on the marginal nerves, on the whole
of the dorsal surface almost glabrous, occasionally with the most
minute scabridities in the lower half of the dorsal surface. Wcol absent
or scanty. Rhachiila with 3 joints; in a typical instance, 1, 1°25-1:5
mm. in length, the uppermost slender and carrying a rudimentary
spikelet, rather warty. Anthervs1 mm. long or just under. Lodzczles
1-toothed. Palea 2:75-3:75 mm. long, scabrid on the keels.
Ind. Or.: Khasi Hills; Cherrapunji, 2,000 m., I8 June 1850,
J. D. Hooker (Type); Shillong, 1,500 m., 17 April 1886, C. 2.
Clarke 43383 ; Maflang 1,500 m., 2 July 1850, /. D Hooker; Shil-
long, 2,000 m., 2 May 1943, WV. L. Bor 17392.
Naga Hills; Thekubnma 2,300 m., 18 June 1935, V.L. Bor 4460.
This grass bears some resemblance to Poa pratensis Linn., particu-
larly in those specimens which have connecting wool. There are, how-
ever, no rhizomes, the lowest branches are 2-nate not 5-nate, and the
lemmas are smoother and more glabrous. The amount of wool is
variable and occasionally almost absent. It is a much more robust plant
than Poa himalayana Nees, which it also resembles. If a spikelet of
each be examined, however, it will be found that the tip of the lower
glume in P. kimalayana does not exceed the mid-point on the keel of
the lowest lemma. In P. khasiana the tip of the lower glume does
overlap the mid-point of the lemma. Moreover, the lemmas in P. £ha-
stana are shorter than those in P. himalayana and give the spikelet a
different appearance.
This species is found inside forests and along forest margins and in
moist shady places generally.
832 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST.“SOCTEDTY, Viol, 50
12. Poa wardiana Bor, in Kew Bull. 1948: 143 (1948).
A slender grass, probably perennial. Culms up to 35 cm. tall,
straight, rather weak, somewhat decumbent at the base, scabrid below
the panicle, smooth and glabrous elsewhere; internodes longer than the
sheaths; nodes smooth and glabrous. Leaf-b/ades up to 8 cm. long,
2 mm. wide, soft and flaccid, green, minutely scabrid above and below
and on the margins, linear, abruptly contracted to the hooded tip, shorter
than the subtending sheath. Sheaths rather tight, smooth and glabrous.
striate, the old sheaths clothing the base or slipping from the culms.
Ligules truncate, lacerate, 1:5 mm. long.
lntlorescence a rather delicate panicle; lower branches long, flexu-
ous, scabrid, bare from 2-3:5 cm., branching; branchlets carrying a
few spikelets at the tips. SAzkelets oblong-elliptic in shape, 4°5 mm.
long, 2—3-flowered, the florets diverging at anthesis. Lower glume
2°5 mm. long, 0°38 mm. wide, oblong-acute in shape when flattened,
rather thin, l= occasionally 2-nerved, smooth and glabrous, except on
the keel which is scabrid, slightly curved on the back, flushed with
purple. Upper glume 2°5 mm. long, 1:2 mm. wide, ovate lanceolate-
or elliptic-acute, slightly curved on the back, 3-nerved, narrowly
hyaline on the margins, suffused with purple near the tip and/or
along the margins, smooth and glabrous except for the scabrid
keel. Lemma 3 mm. long, 2°5 mm. wide, broadly oblong-obtuse when
flattened, prominently 5=nerved, coarsely scabrid on the dorsal surface
as well as on the keel and nerves, otherwise glabrous, hyaline at the tip
and along the margins, sparsely ciliate on the keel towards the base.
Wool absent. Ahachilla smooth and glabrous, joints rather long, pro-
longed beyond the topmost floret and carrying a rudimentary floret.
Stamens 3; anthers 0°75 mm. long, purple. Pa/ea of the topmost floret
longer than its lenima, it and the others coarsely toothed on the keels,
scabrid on the flaps and between the keels.
India: Assam, Balipara Frontier Tract, Poshing La 3-4,000 m.,
21 July 1938, Capt. F. Kingdon-Ward 13990. ‘A shade grass
scattered along the path in Silver Fir-Rhododendron climax’.
This species is extremely like P. Azmalayana superficially, but can
be readily separated from it by the culm being scabrid under the panicle
and by the absence of wool at the base of the lemmas. The lemmas
themselves, moreover, are very scabrid, as also is the palea on the flaps.
and between the keels.
- IlI. NREMORALES
13. Poa nemoralis Linn., Sp. Pl. ed. 1, 69 (1753).
A perennial forest grass with short stolons, reaching a height of 80
cm. and forming loose assemblages. Culms usually erect but often rising
from a weakly geniculate base, very slender, very smooth, glabrous,
terete, rather weak. Leaf-blades linear-acuminate, narrow, not more than
2 mm. broad, tapering to an acuminate tip, up to 20 cm. long, but
usually much shorter, the topmost not more than 10 cm. long, longer
than the subtending sheath, strongly contracted at the base to the
sheath, rough on both surfaces and onthe margins, rather soft, bright
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
PLATE Tit
British Museum Expedition
FLORA OF ASSAM 1938.
: Capt. FL Kingdon-Ward
15990 (Gramineae;
% Re [SSX
Poshing La. 12000" - 13000". :
@is?.36, A Bhade grase, scattered =
in the Rhododendron-Frir forest, :
along the edge of the path along
oe AK sy
Whee TLGZS.
Locality
Poa wardiana Bor
THE GENUS. POA LINN. IN INDIA 833.
green. Sheaths rather tight, but slipping from the culm at the base,
smooth and glabrous. Ligule often entirely absent, at the most a
narrow membranous annular ring, not more than 0:5 mm. wide.
Fig. 10. Pea nemoralis Linn., x 10
Intlovescence a very loose panicle not more than 15 cm. long, but
usually about 10 cm., with widely spreading branches at flowering time,
sometimes nodding ; panicle-branches usually rough, 1-4-nate, loosely
branched with branchlets carrying few spikelets up to 4-6 mm. long,
narrowly elliptic-acute or lanceo'ate-acute in shape, green, bright brown
or suffused with purple, 2-5-flowered. Lower glume 2:5-3 mm. long,
1mm. wide, lanceolate-acuminate in shape when flattened, awl-shaped in
profile, broadly or narrowly hyaline on the margins, 3-nerved, occasional-
ly 1-nerved witha very slender second, slightly curved on the back, smooth
and glabrous, apart from the keel which is scabrid. Upper glume 3-3°5 mm.
long, 1:55 mm. wide, elliptic-lanceolate-acute when flattened, 3-nerved,
broadly or narrowly hyaline on the margins, curved and rough on the
keel. Lemma 3-3:25 mm. long, 1:5 mm. wide, narrowly oblong-acute or
sub-obtuse when flattened, 5-nerved, slightly curved on the back,
hyaline in its upper quarter and along the margins, ciliate on the keel in
the lower half ard scabrid in the upper half, ciliate on the marginal
nerves, glabrous and smooth in the intervening spaces (or very
occasionally puberulous). Wool present, often very scanty. Ahachilla
minutely hairy. Anthers 1:2-1:'5 mm. long or even a little longer.
FPalea shorter than the lemmas, scabrid on the keels.
Ind. Or.: Kashmir, Burzil Valley, 3,000 m., 18 September 1293,
Duthie 14067 ; Badarwaz Valley, Chenab, 2 June. 1848, 7. Thom-
son; Mussoorie, July 1845, 7. Zhomson ; Kumaon, 2,800-3,000 m.,
14 July, 1886, Duthie 6160; Jaunsar, 2,000 m., June 1892,
Gamble 23499.
Tibet: Gautsa, 4,200 m., 29 May, Bor 19431.
The species which is called P. nemoralzs Linn.in this revision is that
species which I conceive to be true P. zemoralzs Linn., namely, a species
of which the characteristics are a very short ligule, not above 0°5 mm.
long, and a lower glume which is 3-nerved, very narrow and acuminate,
834 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
almost subulate. In the Flova of British India var. Linuaei Stapf is
what isunderstood by the above. The erection of var. /igulata Stapf to
cover species with a ligule up to 3 mm. long, introduced an element
which is quite foreign to true P. zemoralis Linn. A glance through the
folders of this variety at Kew revealed that most of the specimens
could be referred to Poa sterilis M.B., some to P. avaratica Trautv. and
that about half a dozen other species absorbed the remainder.
14. Poa polycolea Stapf, in Hook. f., Flor. Brit. Ind. 7: 342 (1896).
A perennial, stoloniferous grass with slender, wiry stems. Czlms
erect, terete, smooth, from a somewhat geniculate or creeping base, up
to 30 cm. tall, clothed at the base with many characteristic, Scarious,
shining, pale straw-coloured sheaths which have slipped from the culm
and are persistent ; nodes smooth and glabrous. Leaf-blades narrowly
linear or subsetaceous, the lower up to 8 cm. long, smooth and glabrous
on the upper surface, minutely scabrous below and on the margins,
linear-acuminate from an abruptly rounded base. Sheaths, apart from
the basal, tightly fitting, smooth and glabrous, deeply striate, upper
sheath much longer than its leaf-blade. Ligules very short, up to 1 mm.
long or a little longer.
Fig. 11. Poa polycolea Stapf, x 10 -
Intlorescence an effuse panicle, sometimes more or less contracted,
seated on a long, exserted peduncle, 5-10 cm. long, nodding or erect;
branches whorled, the lower in groups of 2-5, flexuous, slender,
smooth, usually carrying spikelets in the upper half only, as a rule
only branched to the first degree, and then more often giving
tise to a whorl (up to 3) scabrid branchlets which are ultimately
spiculate. Spikelets seated on short (up to 5 mm. long) scabrid
pedicels, 1-3-4-flowered, pale and somewhat silvery in appearance,
often suffused with purple, up to 7 mm, long, elliptic-acute before
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 835
anthesis, then wedge shaped; florets spreading widely at anthesis.
Lower glume 2:5-3 mm. or even 3:75 mm. long, 1 mm. wide when
flattened, linear-acute or lanceolate-acute or acuminate, awl-shaped in
profile, slightly curved on the back, 1-nerved, smooth and glabrous
except for the upper half of the keel which is scabrid, hyaline on the
margins. Upper glume 3-3-5 mm. or even 5 mm. long, 2 mm. wide,
oblong- or elliptic- or ovate-acute in shape when flattened, 3-nerved,
slightly curved on the back, smooth and glabrous, except for the upper
half of the keel which is scabrid, broadly hyaline along the margins.
Lowest lemma 3°5-5°5 mm. long, oblong-obtuse or elliptic-oblong-obtuse
in shape when flattened, slightly curved on the back, 5-nerved (nerves
inconspicuous when the spikelet is young but become prominent after-
wards), rather thin in texture, broadly hyaline along the margins from
the tip, gland-pitted all over the dorsal surface, scabrid along the nerves
and on the dorsal surface to almost smooth, silky-ciliate on the outer
nerves and along the keel in the lower half or glabrous on all nerves,
softly tomentose or (quite) glabrous between the nerves, scabrid on the
keel in the upper half ; succeeding lemmas gradually shorter in length.
Wool absent or very scanty. Rhachilla glabrous and smooth, minutely
gland-pitted, long-jointed, the second joint being often 1:5 mm. long, the
final joint often the longest and carrying a rudimentary spikelet.
Anthers 2-25 mm. long. lLodicules 2, unequally 2-toothed. Palea
3°5 mm. long, 0:75 mm. broad, narrowly elliptic, keels smooth in lower
third and upper sixth, intermediate space with small antrorse hooks.
West Himalaya: Valley north of Chamba, 3-3,500 m., Huok. ¢.
et IT. Thomson, no. 15 Poa(Type); Datmir, 2,700 m., Gaméle s.n.;
Kumaon, Dugli 3,500 m., Strachey et Winterbottom; Tehri
Garhwal, Harke Dun, 3,000 m., 1893, Game s.n.
Tibet: Yatung, 3,000 m., 10 June 1945, Bor et Kiratram 20099.
This is a very distinct species which might be confused with P.
pagophila were it not for the very narrow, acuminate, lower glume and
smooth and glabrous lemmas. The numerous, scarious, straw-coloured,
loose, lower sheaths are also characteristic.
15, Poa aitchisonii Boiss., Flor. Orient. 5: 602 (1884).
A tufted, perennial grass with many fibrous roots. Culms genicu-
late below, rooting at the nodes, finally erect, reaching a length of
30 cm., slender, smooth and glabrous, leafy, covered at the base with
the scarious remains of old sheaths. Leaf-d/ades linear, shortly taper-
ing to the short tip, contracted at the base to the sheaths, flat, green,
somewhat flaccid, up to10 cm. long by 4 mm. wide, scabrid on both
surfaces and sharply scabrid on the margins, midrib rather prominent
and carried down on the sheath as a rather indefinite keel. Sheaths
smooth and glabrous when old, the young sheaths covered with a very
short pubescence, rather loose and slipping from the culms, more or
less keeled. Lzgule about 1 mm. long, lacerate.
Inflorescence a rather narrow panicle, up to 9 cm. long by 5 cm. wide,
rather contracted at first, then spreading ; axis smooth and glabrous,
angled; branches ia pairs, erect at first, then spreading at anthesis
almost at right angles to the stem, smooth and glabrous, becoming
scabridulous towards the spikelets and branching, bare at the base,
10
836 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
branching once or twice and then the branchlets few spiculate ; distance
to first forking of the branch up to 2:55 cm. Spikelets 4—5-flowered,.
crowded at first, wide spreading at anthesis, shining; florets widely
opening, seated on very scabrid pedicels. Lower: glume 3 mm. long,
1 mm. wide, awl-shaped in profile, 1-nerved, with a slender second or
Fig. 12. Poa aitchisoni Boiss., x10
third nerve, hyaline on the margins, lanceolate-acute when flat, scabrid
on the keel and on the upper half of the dorsal surface, hyaline on the
margins, leaving a narrow band of green tissue around the median
nerve. Opper glume 3°5 mm. long, 1:2 mm. wide, lanceolate-acute,
almost acuminate in profile, 3-nerved, hyaline on the margin and
scaberulous over the dorsal surface in the upper third. Lemma 3°5-3:75
mm. long, 1:5 mm. wide, oblong-obtuse, conspicuously 5-nerved,
entirely glabrous on the dorsal surface including the nerves, scabrid or
shortly ciliate on the keel and minutely scaberulous on the dorsal sur-
face, very minutely granular all over the dorsal surface, hvaline at the
tip and along the margins. Wool at the most consisting of one or two.
hairs. Ahachille smooth and glabrous, long-jointed, produced beyond
the uppermost floret and carrying a rudimentary spikelet, A sample
measure of the joints from below upwards gives the following result in.
mm,: 1,1,1:5,1. Anthers 2-2-5 mm. long, Palea nearly 3 mm. long,.
narrowly elliptic-oblanceolate, scabrid on the keels.
Ind. Or.: Kurram Valley, Aina Mela, 3,000 m., 20 April 1894,
Harsukh 14934; Waziristan, Pir Ghal, 17 May 1895, 2,500-3,500-
m., Duthie 15604; Northwest India, Wingate.
Afghanistan: Barre Kot, Olipore, Griffis, 206.
This very leafy species can only be confused with P. polycolea Stapf,
from which it differs in the completely glabrous glumes and the much
wider leaves. It has also, quite unjustifiably, been mistaken for a
leafy robust P. annua L. The perfectly glabrous lemmas, large anthers.
THE GENUS POA LINN. IN INDIA 837
and scabrid keels to the palea are quite sufficient to separate them at
once. This is a common grass in Afghanistan, Waziristan and no
doubt in other parts of Northwest India.
IV. SETULOSAE
16. Poa setulosa Bor, in Kew Bull. 1948: 142 (1948).
A slender, tufted, perennial grass. Culms up to 16cm. tall, slender,
erect or slightly geniculate below, glabrous, scabrid below the inflores-
cence, 2—3-noded, usually clothed at the base with a few loose old
sheaths. Leaf-blades much longer than the sheaths, linear, up to
7 cm. long, 1:5 mm. wide, abruptly contracted to a stout point, scabrid
on’ both surfaces and on the margins, flat, sometimes folded, flaccid,
reflexed or spreading. JLeaf-sheaths rather tight, somewhat rough
glabrous, striate, hyaline on the outer margin, glabrous. Ligules
membranous, up to 3 mm. long, lacerate on the upper margin.
Fig. 13. Poa setulosa Bor, x10
Inflorescence a narrow panicle up to 9cm, long by 5 mm. broad.
sometimes nodding, usually erect; branches 1-2-nate at the base, up to
2°5 cm. long, bare below, carrying few spikelets, very scabrid ; rhachis
angled, scabrid. Sfzkelets wedge-shaped, 4:5 mm. long, 4~—5-flowered..
Lower glume ?2.5-4 mm. long,0:'8 mm. wide, awl-shaped in profile,
long-acuminate, straight on the back, almost setulose at the tip, very
narrowly hyaline on the margins, 3-nerved, scabrid on the keel.
Opper glume 3:75-4 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, 3-nerved, straight on the
back, narrowly hyaline on the margins, linear-acuminate in shape, awl-
shaped in profile, scabrid on the keel. Lemma 2°75-3 mm. long, 1 mm.
wide, oblong-obtuse in shape when flattened, upper quarter hyaline,
margins narrowly hyaline, long-ciliate on the keel in the lower half,
scabrid on the keel above, ciliate on the marginal nerves, inconspicu-
ously 5-nerved, punctate but glabrous on the dorsal surface. Wool
scanty but distinct. Rhachilla with a few hairs. Anthers 0:6-0°75 mm.
838 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURALSAISTASOCIETY: VoL 50
long. Palea 2 mm. long, rather shorter than the lemma, oblong in
shape, scabrid on the keels.
Ind. Or.: West Himalaya, Kunawar, 15 August 1847, Z. Thomson
(By pe):
A delicate species with a long ligule. The glumes are remarkably
long in comparison with the lemmas and are almost setulose.
(Lo be continued)
Lee LIGHT OF EAGLES:
BY
C. H. DoNALpb
(With three plates)
When I received an invitation from our editors to write a note
on Eagles for the Journal for this, its fiftieth birthday, I accepted with
the greatest pleasure for well did I know what joy was in store for me.
Would I not be going over some of the happiest days in my life in
which eagles, falconry and the Bombay Natural History Society were
all inextricably woven into a glorious background of the vast virgin
forests of Bhadarwa and Kashmir, where I seemed to be the little tin
god in command of a world of forest coolies, with plenty of leisure
on my hands?
I had already embarked on falconry in the plains of India and had
been most fortunate in securing the services of two old bdzdars
(faleoners) who had served my father in Hissar, during the troublous
times of 1857. It was impossible to live long in the company of such
enthusiasts without being bitten to the bone with their craze. They
were brothers and rejoiced in the names of Jhanda and Balunda,
respectively. White-bearded old Jhunda, who said he was not yet
quite seventy, usually stayed behind and looked after my team of
falcons, and incidentally did most of the training, while little Balunda
—a mere boy of some 50 odd summers—accompanied me everywhere
and was my constant companion and iistad or tutor. With eyes like
one of the falcons on his wrist, that man missed nothing which flew
or ran, and from him I learnt lessons which have stood me in very
good stead for over half a century, of how to recognise the different
birds of prey by their flight, almost as far as you could see them.
With a few tips from Balunda I soon discovered the process as not
only. interesting, but amazingly simple. It just came, and gradually
you found yourself recognising at a glance, confidently, bird after
bird as it flew past or soared high up in the sky.
One day the supreme test came; we were up at about 11,000 ft.
and above tree level, when Balunda came to a stop and said in awed
tones, ‘Sahib, what is that?’
I followed his gaze and there, a thousand feet or so above us.
soared a huge bird on motionless pinions. ‘Burra Jiimbiz !’ I exclaimed,
unable to think of anything else for a very dark and large bird. ‘No,
no, Sahib, that is no Jambiz but a mighty hunter which I have never
seen before.’
I marvelled. The old man admitted he had never seen the bird be-
fore yet recognised it as a mighty hunter, a thousand feet above him. |
looked and looked again. I had seen that bird before many times,
in different localities but now for the first time saw what Balunda
meant. The flight was entirely different to that of the Jambiz or
840 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Imperial Eagle. Forceful and resolute, yet light and buoyant.
‘Balunda, call him down and I'll shoot him and find out what it is.’
‘That is easy, Sahib. You get in under that bush and I’ll have him
down in a couple of minutes.” Out came Balunda’s ubiquitous bag
and from it he extracted a dead pigeon, a lure composed of crows’
wings attached to some ro ft. of string. Then taking the falcon
on his wrist he removed the hood and placed the bird on a conspicuous
boulder and rushed back to hide under a bush to my right. Next he
threw out the lure, giving the customary call for the falcon to come
and bind to it, which she did immediately, and Balunda proceeded to
draw her in, still holding the lure, which made her flutter not a little.
None of this drama was lost to those all-seeing eyes up in the sky.
‘He is coming, Sahib’, whispered Balunda, a fact I had noted for
myself a few seconds ‘previously. The falcon saw her danger and
picking up the lure flew under Balunda’s bush just as I fired at the
black ball descending at umpteen miles per hour. No. 1 shot did
the trick, and the great bird fell with a dull thud, dead, where the
falcon had been a couple of seconds before.
Balunda rushed to it, turned it over, and pointed to the enormous
foot and claws. ‘Did I not say he was a great hunter, Sahib?
That bird could kill a sheep or even a man.’ ‘This must be the
bird the shepherds call a Muriari of which I have heard a lot in the
last few months,’ said Balunda, and I too had heard a good deal of
its depredations among the shepherds’ flocks. But as time went on
and I persisted in my search for correct information, the assertions of
its killing sheep and lambs became more and more vague; and in some
50. years of wandering all over the Himalayas I do not think I met
with more than half a dozen men who had actually seen this eagle
attack a sheep, though I had myself seen one kill a tahr.
We wrapped him up in Balunda’s sheet and made for camp where
the eagle was skinned and filled with moss and lichen,: and on the
following morning the skin was on its way to Bombay. A long week
of suspense and, at long last, a reply from the Hony. Secretary,
acknowledging receipt of the ‘lovely skin’ and informing me that the
bird was an Imperial Eagle. How could I break this to Balunda,
the more especially that after a few talks and explanations from him
as to the flight of the bird, to say nothing of those claws, I was. now
very much of his way of thinking. By return post I replied and
thanked the Hony. Secretary for his letter and asked for another
examination, as I was sure the bird was not an Imperial Eagle
whatever else it might be. Back came a reply that a committee of
the leading ornithologists, then in India, had gone carefully over the
bird and come to the unanimous conclusion ‘that the bird was an
Imperial Eagle. This was getting serious, so’what should we do
next? I again replied very politely and asked if it would be possible
to send the bird to the Natural History Museum, London. It went,
and three months later came the reply: ‘The bird is a young Golden
Eagle in transition stage of plumage.’ Good old Balunda! He had
the unfailing key to the identification of accipitrine birds—Flight. A
falconer, born and bred from many generations of men who had
watched every phase of dighe and ee not confined themselves to their
hawks and falcons.
pipuod “H °O
WYySsTy
—— ———————————— /————~ a
(ajouysv fo pua aas uoyvunjdxa 10,7)
pesyIoao jo suorssoidur o1eurUerseIg
AvIq jO spiigq outos
AQ SUDASDL
II
bipuod *H ")D
Havel]
qUSTp
peo
YI9A0 Jo suorssoiduat orjyeururerserq,
Aosiq JO spilq oul0S
‘90S ‘LSIH ‘IVN Avawog “Nunof
THE FLIGHT OF EAGLES 841
Now it must not be supposed that I have written the above
introduction merely to praise Balunda, but when I quote from a well-
known book, which many members must have read, a paragraph which
completely misled me, and must have similarly put off many a young
tyro like myself, thirsting for knowledge, it will be conceded there is
some method in my madness. The paragraph reads :—‘As far as |
am aware this bird is of such excessive rarity in the Himalayas, south
of the snows, as scarcely to deserve a place in our lists. Every so-
called Golden Eagle which has as yet been sent to me, has proved to
be A. imperialis in the dark 3rd stage of plumage.’ The author had, at
Kotgarh (Simla Hills), a regular establishment for shooting and _ pre-
serving birds, from which he’ received over a thousand specimens and
who had special injunctions to shoot all large eagles. © From them he
apparently received several Imperial Eagles but not one single Golden.
Later he modifies the above in his ‘Nests and Eggs’, Vol. III,
pp. 130-131, by saying ‘the Golden Eagle occurs and breeds sparingly
in the Himalayas from Sikhim to Afghanistan. In the eastern and
central portion of this tract it is confined to the immediate neighbour-
hood of the snowy ranges, but in the extreme N.W. it comes nearer
down towards the plains.’
Another well-known ornithologist once wrote to inform me that
in 20 years collecting his collectors had never found a Golden Eagle
in Kashmir. Some months later I happened to be in Srinagar, and
paid a visit to the museum, and the very first thing, on entering the
door, I was confronted by was a magnificent specimen of a female
Golden Eagle, in its first plumage, labelled ‘Aquila heliaca: The
Imperial Eagle. This bird sometimes catches Chikor.’
Further comment seems superfluous, except to emphasise the fact
that if an illiterate old man is able to identify a bird which he has
never even seen in his life, at about 1,000 ft. above him, as a mighty
hunter and not an Imperial Eagle, it is obvious there must be some-
thing in his system of identification which is entirely lacking in the
make-up of most good ornithologists; and that something is the key
in the study of the birds of prey, viz. their very distinctive flight which
varies considerably from the one to the other of the various species.
All Indian falconers are extremely good at recognising birds on
the wing, but Balunda had made of this hobby a fine art, and in the
five years or so he was with me I never lost an opportunity of asking
him what any particular species that might be passing at the time was,
and, as a rule, his reply came pat without the least hesitation, but
very occasionally he seemed to look very carefully before replying and
in such cases it was generally Astur badius or Accipiter nisus that
caused the slight momentary doubt in his mind, and that only when the
light was against him, and no colouring or markings could be seen.
I would not like to say that this method is infallible, but it is
certainly 95% correct, and where it goes wrong is probably due to
the specimen in hand rather than the system, as aberrant specimens
_ are by no means unknown among the Raptores, and a very obvious
Tawny Eagle in the air might turn out to be a Steppe in the hand, or
vice versa; extremely rare, I should sav, but just possible.
The keys given in Blanford and Oates’s Fauna of British India
Birds, and Stuart Baker’s more recent revision of the same, cannot
842 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL -HIST..SOCIETY, Vol, 50
well be improved on, and in my paper in Vol. xxvi, No. 2 (pp. 629
et seq.) of the B.N.H.S. Journal, I have used the above keys freely.
With that paper are also two charts showing different birds in flight,
which, I have been told by many members, have been of great service
to them in identifying birds of prey. The reprints of these papers.
were, at the time, sold by the Society, and if still available, I would
certainly recommend their careful study, to anyone keen on taking
up these birds as a hobbyt. Not being an artist in any way, I can
lay no claim to beauty of execution, but if they are clear enough to
depict the differences in overhead flight between the various species,
the papers and the charts will have served their purpose.
I am told the real ‘headaches’ are.the Imperial Eagle (Aquila
heliaca), the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) and the Tawny Eagle
(Aquila rapax). With the possible exception of an abnormal speci-
men turning up, I should have said off-hand, that these three are
among the easiest to separate. Let us take each species separately.
Each species has two very different phases of plumage, a very light
brown to deep umber brown which in the Imperial is almost verging
on black in the adult bird; and there are many shades in between.
1. The Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca). In the young or lineated
stage, whether the overall colouring is light brown or very dark
brown, there are always lines of darker brown spots running down
the full length of the breast and front of the bird generally.
In the adult stage the whole plumage, i.e. the background is very
dark brown almost black. The head is white or whitish changing to-
buff on the nape and a few odd pure white feathers are visible on the
scapulars and back. A white bar on the tail completes the set-up:
of this species.
2. The Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis). Whether the overali
plumage be dark or light brown, it is always uniform on the breast
and never lineated or spotted in any way, thus it can never be confused
with the Imperial Eagle in its young (lineated) plumage or in fact
at any stage. In this species there is a light bar, or often two,
running the whole length of the wing made by the upper and lower
faded wing covert tips. These bars are always visible and a distinc-
tive feature “of the: pird.
3. The Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax). General colouring not un-
like the Steppe Eagle whether in the light or dark phase, but the:
Tawny lacks the white bars on the wing and is an altogether smaller
bird, with a tarsus measurement of 24” to 3” as against 34” to 4” in
the Steppe. Length of Steppe Eagle might ‘easily exceed that. of
the Tawny by five or six inches, and the wing span of the latter is
noticeably less.
It is, however, in the two last species that ‘headaches’ might be
caused by aberrant specimens, as I am of the opinion, perhaps quite
erroneously, that very occasionally they may interbreed. I have seen,
on one occasion, a Steppe Eagle carrying sticks to the nest whence I
had just previously caught a Tawny. I also on one occasion shot
what I was sure was a Tawny, on a high pass in Kulu, on the migration’
1 The charts are reproduced herewith. Reprints of the papers are unfortunately
no longer available.—Ebps.
“SITTH BIWIS “YIes}Oy] WOIy
SOTIW OF JSOU WIOIF Taye} (PO sivad Z) o[Sea UspfOyH ajseq oddaqs vy
AOYIN sojoyd
—— ~“——_- -- —
SNOC *T CTT IAT OO Cearar nn CF
Ill ALVIg
ec i a — an a aan sn een rename |
THE LLIGHT.OF EAGLES 843°:
route of the Steppe and Imperial Eagles, but this is pure conjecture
and not worth considering, though it might be worth looking out
for.
If this very short paper will induce some of our young and keen
members to take up seriously a study of the flight of birds it will not
have been written in vain.
BirDS OF PREY IN OVERHEAD FLIGHT
Explanation Of Diagrams
Plate I
No. 1, 1 A, 1 B—Griffon Vulture. 1 Ba young bird.
Note the tail in each. (Wings broad, tail short)
No. 2, 2 A, 2 B—A Kite.
Note wings and tail. (Wings ample, tail long and forked)
No. 3, 3 A—The Lammergeier (adult and young).
Wings long and rather narrow ; tail long, wedge-shaped.
No. 4—A Golden Eagle (young plumage).
Wings long, tail long. Wings held very straight and well upwards ;
tertiaries meet body above root of tail and form conspicuous
triangle with it.
No. 5—A Steppe Eagle.
Two parallel lines along ample wings, tail medium; wings not
always very straight ; held in the same plane as body; tertiaries.
do not make a prominent triangle with tail as in No. 4.
No. 6—A Hawk-eagle (Spzzaétus).
Wings short and broad ; tail long. Wings held well upwards.
No. 7—A Buzzard. |
Wings rather rounded, long ; tail medium to long; half moon in
wings always present; tail frequently spread,
No. 8—A Falcon.
Wings long and pointed ; tail medium.
No. 9—A Hawk.
Wings short and rounded ; tail long.
No. 10O—A Blackwinged Kite.
Wings long, pointed; tail medium. From below practically pure
white with black tips to primaries only.
No. 11—Pallas’s Fishing Eagle.
Wings long and often bent; tail medium, half white and_ half
black; head whitish. Remainder of plumage practically jet
black.
Plate II
No. 1—The Cinereous Vulture.
Wings very broad, tail short ; colour uniform throughout.
844. JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
No. 2—The Black Vulture.
Wings broad, tail short ; white crop and thigh patches faint whitish
line along the wings.
No. 3—The Whitebacked Vulture.
Wings broad, tail short; body and tail brownish black; a
broad white band across wings. The body is wrongly shown as
whitish in the diagram.
No. 4—The Large Spotted Eagle. |
Wings rather broad, tail medium; colouring black, streaked and
patchy ; white patches on wing.
No. 5—Bonelli’s Eagle.
Wings ample, tail long; body white, streaked; tail greyish
brown, slightly barred; wings dark grey with white patches.
No. 6—The Booted Eagle.
Wings ample, frequently bent; tail long, unforked; body and
front of wings dirty white, tips of wings, margins and tail dark
brown to black.
No. 7—The Short-toed Eagle.
Wings ample and broad, tail long. Colouring throughout, pale
greyish, often silvery ; a dark streak near chin and another on or
near first primary.
No. 8—The Crested Serpent Eagle.
Wings broad, tail medium. Colour varies from reddish brown to
deep brown. A broad wing stripe and two often visible on tail -
white or whitish.
No. 9—The Brahminy Kite.
Wings rather broad, tail medium. Hed and body pure white,
slightly streaked, wings reddish with black tips, tail reddish,
upper parts bright chestnut.
No. 10—A male Hen Harrier.
Wings long, slightly rounded ; tail long. Colour white or bluish
white throughout except for tips of primaries, which are black.
No. 11—A Kestrel.
Wings long and narrow, not very pointed, tail long. Colour
light brown, streaked, wings lighter than body. In males the
tail is bluish with a black band near the end.
No. 12—Hodgson’s Fishing Eagle.
Wings broad, tail medium, neck and breast brownish, body white
tail brown mixed with white ; ; wings dark brown.
No. 13—A Hobby.
Wings long and pointed, tail medium. Body white, wings and tail
dark brownish grey, speckled with white.
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA
BY
Lrzut.-CoLt. R. W. Burton, Indian Army, (Retd.)
(With four plates)
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION ats oe aed $45
Tur PRE-MOGUL PERIOD ae zee see 846
THE MOGUL PERIOD on ae ee 846
THE SHIKAR ANIMALS OF THE MOGULS a2: ei, 847
Elephant, Rhinoceros, Buffalo ae see oes 847
The Larger Felines was ay oue 847
Bears . See ee, 847
Deer mabe Bae ae 847
Antelope and Gazelle sine vee wee 847
Hunting with the Cheetah aoe aes eae 847
Falconry ns wee Se 848
Fishing ane bi ake ste 848
Tuer Post-MoOGUL PERIOD eee 3 oes eke 848
Tiger and Lion oe on ro 848
Panther or Leopard see see bh 849
Crocodiles Soh ake oe 850
The Sloth Bear and the Malayan Bear ... nae a 850
Wild Dogs and Hyenas soe ie en 850
Sheep and Goats see eee ose 850
SMALL GAMES SHOOTING ae see a 851
HUNTING WITH A BOBBERY-PACK ae ie Oe 852
HUNTING WITH FOXHOUNDS wk ae vee 852
PIGSTICKING OR HOG-HUNTING aes aos ae 854
FALCONRY aes se ue 856
FISHING oes one eee 856
EVOLUTION OF THE SPORTING RIFLE... me on 858
Bic GAME PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA ee . 2. 2) 859
WILD LIFE PRESERVATION bee 860
APPENDIX, A LIST OF THE GAME ANIMALS OF INDIA, BURMA AND
CEYLON | aes AGE Hee 864
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Sic Se ee 866
INTRODUCTION
The India of our subject includes the whole sub-continent, also Burma
and Ceylon. We have to pass in review the Indus Valley flanked by the
Kirthar, Baluchistan and Suleiman Ranges and then see Kashmir and
adjacent territories of Baltistan, Ladak and Changchenmo, Zaskar,
Rupshu, Spiti and Lahoul all of which are a vast entourage of snowy
mountains, riven ravines and precipices; of plateaux and lofty
ranges which remain an everlasting wall between India and the
rest of Asia.
‘ Northwards soared the stainless ramps of huge Himala’s wall.’
Where the mountains have a northern aspect they are usually forest
covered, while the southern slopes and folds of the hills are often
846 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
bare and dry, subject to forest fires and the depredations of Comestic
flocks and herds.
‘ Lower grew the rose oaks and the great tir groves where echoed —
pheasant’s call and panther's cry.’
Continuing east we pass over the wooded and often mountainous
tracts of the Simla Hill States, Garhwal and Kumaon until we' meet the
five hundred mile long exclusive Kingdom of Nepal. Then we see Sikkim
and the dense forests of Bhutan, which have been almost unknown to
British sportsmen of the past and present alike, until we arrive at the
northern part of Assam, so often devastated by earthquakes. Here we
may remark that the animals of the Eastern Himalayas resemble those.
of the Burma region, while along the mountains to the westward are
kinds more akin to those inhabiting the temperate parts of Asia.
Passing over Burma, Tenasserim andthe Malay Peninsula we view Java
and Sumatra and then turn west for Ceylon. Within that enormous arc
is the Peninsular India with which our subject largely deals.
What is sport?
It can be said that all sport is governed by unwritten laws, -and.
the general tendency is to give the animal a sporting chance of escape,
also to make the sport as great a test as possible consistent with the
object in view—the death of the quarry. It may also be defined as
measured by difficulty in achieving success.
THs PrRE-MOGUL PERIOD
The physical aspects of the Indus valley have undergone many
changes. No longer are there the forests which provided timber for the
first Indus flotilla constructed by Alexander in 325 B.c.; gone are the .
rihinoceros and the elephant ; gone are the swamp deer, and the last
tiger was shot in 1886. Hog-deer, wolves, chinkara, wild dogs, jackals,
hares, cats, and the hyena very rarely, now comprise the larger animals
of the Indus valley. The Indian Antelope (Blackbuck) has been >
introduced into the Khairpur territory.
In the early Jain and Buddhist periods (c. 600 B.c.) there was
considerable knowledge of mammals, birds and reptiles, but previous.
to the appearance of the Kmperor Babur on the scene there is little
information concerning shikar.
THe MoGuL PERIOD
From 1526 to 1707 much of interest is contained in the memoirs of
the Mogul Emperors and the chronicles of European travellers in India
in those times. The famous illustrated copy of the Ain-i-Akbari,
bearing the signature of the Emperor Jehangir, in the Victoria and
Albert Museum should be seen by all whocan do so. In the series by
Salim A. Ali on ‘The Mogul Emperors as Sportsmen and Naturalists ’
we learn about the hunting methods practised in those days; and this is
aided by Handley’s valuable illustrated article. These two contributions
afford a remarkably full picture of the shikar methods and natural
history knowledge of the period. The shikar grounds of- the Moguls
(snuixou spydajq) yueydojy ueipuy
yovgqneT a4opoay T
==—— Sa Sa —= — ieee ;, aoe: ), , "20S “LSIH, “LYN Avawog ‘Nunof
YO FURS Cre ee @ A] wvev—~v == 4a prpYyorrat:
ajopual “A *H
£
TP avid | AvaNog ‘Nuno[
AATISEORY OF SHIKAR IN INDTA « B47
were the upper vatles of the Indus towards Peshawar, and the whole of
the present U.P. westward from the Ganges to Kathiawar and south-
wards to Mandla in the Central Provinces.
THE SHIKAR ANIMALS OF THE MOGULS
Elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo were known to the Moguls,'ilt! wo
the ‘Bison’. When the Moguls first entered India in 1526, the
rhinoceros was along the Indus, and the elephant in many places whence
it has since vanished. Akbar was specially interested in trapping wild
elephants. At the present time there are no longer any elephants
north of the Dehra Dun Siwaliks; the rhinoceros lives only in Nepal,
Bengal and Assam ; the wild buffalo in those same areas, while a few
herds survive here and there in Orissa, Raipur, Jeypore and Bastar.
The Larger Felines: The Emperor Babur was a fine
sportsman, as also was Akbar, while Jehangir excelled as a naturalist.
Akbar disliked the less hazardous methods of tiger-hunting—traps,
nets, limed leaves. etc.—and preferred to attack these animals openly
with bows and matchlocks.
In Mogul days, and as late as the 1830's lions were numerous in
Hindustan. Jehangir killed them in Malwa, and the Rev. Terry
(c. 1650) was frequently terrified by them when passing through the
then vast jungles of that country.
The Mogul Emperors quickly discovered the delights of Kashmir,
but there is little record of what they did there in the way of shikat.
Abul Fazl mentions that the snow leopard was tracked in the snow in
Kashmir, but since this is a very elusive animal, seldom seen by
sportsmen, it is more likely that this had reference to the common
leopard or panther. This is still considered a fine sport by the few who
have done it; Ward’s series should be seen.
Bears: Of bears there seems to be almost no mention in the
Mogul literature. —~
Deer: Nordo we find much about hunting of Deer in the Mogul
days. A net was put round the horns of a tamed deer and the horns of
the wild one became entangled. It is related that one of the deer
‘caught’ a leopard which became entangled inthe net. The species of
deer referred to is not clear. Another form of hunting was by means
of a light inside a basket on a man’s head; the animals attracted were
shot or speared. The modern poacher uses electric torches or other
contrivances and buckshot cartridges.
Antelope and Gazelle: There must have been a very
great number of antelope (blackbuck), nilgai and gazelle in all the areas
suited to them. All the Emperors, Jehangir in particular, were
extremely fond of hunting the nilgai and spared no personal effort in
pursuit of sport where this species was concerned. Blackbuck were
trained as decoys to take the wild ones by the net method. That same
device is in use in a part of South India at the present time.
Hunting with the Cheetah: This is a pastime indulged
in by many notables in India since very early days. The Mogul
Emperors were partial to the sport, and Akbar kept a thousand of these
848 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
animals. Three sets were khacah (‘ Royal’) or for use of the sovereign.
The monarch’s best leopard, by name Samand malik (‘like a ruby’),
rode in a chandol, or litter borne on the necks of two horses.
In a wild’state the cheetah hunts antelope, gazelle and the smaller
deer, also hares, peafowl and other birds and the smaller mammals,
but for sport it is mostly trained for blackbuck. ‘The buck is struck
down at full speed, not by blow of a paw only as is commonly stated,
but by use of the large-taloned dew-claw which gives the necessary
purchase. Blackbuck can attain a speed of 42 miles per. hour when
hunted and going all out. The cheetah is an animal partial to rocky.
and open country and was soon shot out when the land became more
developed. ‘They were frequent!y found in packs, and there is record
of a cavalry officer having in one day speared six off one horse. The
animals having become exceedingly scarce in India, the supply for
sporting purposes comes—or used to come latterly—from Africa. The
animals have to be trapped when full grown; if taken as cubs the
training is tedious and unsatisfactory.
The Caracal—‘ Siah-gosh’ as the Moguls knew it—is easily tamed,
and was trained in the same way to kill gazelle and the smaller deer,
foxes, hares, peafowl. Vigne witnessed the sport and says their speed
is, if possible, greater in proportion even than that of the cheetah.
Falconry: The antiquity of falconry is known to be very great,
and it is certain that the Moguls gave much impetus to the sport in
Northern India. Inthe Salim Ali series we have something, also in
Handley’s ‘ Sport in Indian Art’, where we learn that Akbar hunted
with trained falcons and hawks of which his favourite was the bashak
(Sparrowhawk). In the Ain-i-Akbari names of many varieties are
given, and the names of those in use in Sind are in Langley’s book.
The famous French physician, Bernier, relates of the Emperor
Aurangzeb that there passed before him at his daily Court, or Public
Audience, ‘... every species of the birds of prey used in field sports
for catching ‘partridges, cranes, hares, and even it is said for hunting
antelopes, on which they pounce seni violence, beating their heads and
blinding them with their wings and claws.
Fishing: The Mogul Emperors were partial to the ancient
sport of fishing, in which connection Salim Ali and Hora should be
seen. It is common knowledge that Muhammadans of the present day
all over India are much addicted to angling with rod and line in both
rivers and lakes ; and there are many anglers in Bengal and other parts
of India also.
THE Post-MoOGUL PERIOD
Tiger and Lion: Judging by the number of tigers and other
game in a seventy by thirty-mile area near Neemuch in the years
1850--1854 as related by Rice, and the mention by Newall of a railway
official having killed one hundred tigers in Rajputana owing to the
facility with which he could move about, the quantity of game in the
time of the. Moguls must have been very great. Gordon Cumming
takes the modern record to the Tapti river border (in 1862 ten tigers
in 5 days); Montague Gerard killed 227 tigers in Central India and
Hyderabad before he left in 1993; Prideaux of the Central Provinces
A, HISTORY OF SHIKAR TN: TN DIA 843:
shot 147 tigers during his service up to about 1930. Forsyth, Hicks,
Glasfurd, Burton and others fill in the period 1845 to 1905 as to the
land of hills and plains from the Narbada to the Kistna. For Madras
and Ceylon there are Campbell, Hamilton, Sanderson, Samuel Baker,
Dawson, Drury, Fletcher and some more.
In regard to Orissa, Bengal, Assam, and Bihar to the Siwaliks we
have Williamson, Okeden, Kinloch, Simson, F. W. Pollok, E. B. Baker
Fayrer, Baldwin, Braddon, MacIntyre, Adams, Lambert, and others to
fill in the hundred years from 1780 to about 1880.
In 1852 a tiger killed an officer of the 98th Regiment 23 miles from
Rawalpindi; there was a man-eating tiger near Poona in 1849; and
there are interesting records of tigers on the islands of Bombay and
Salsette. Owing to increase of cultivation and decrease of forests,
tigers are in less number than formerly. Although people are still
killed by them in some tracts they are necessary to the torest economy,
as are the deer and wild pig on which they are meant to exist, so neither
the tigers nor their natural prey should be unduly destroyed by man.
It is said in the Bengal Sporting Magazine of 1837 that within
23 years of occupation of the country (after the Mahratta Wars) the lions
were extinct in the dry and sandy deserts of the Hariana. In 1832-33
cavalry officers at Rajkot shot lions from horseback ; and Colonel D,
of the cavalry killed eighty lions while in Kathiawar, one of them being
10 ft. 6 in. long with an 18 inch mane. With another gun (Rice ?) he
killed 14 lions in 10 days in the Gir forest. There are now no lions
out of Kathiawar, and the number in the Gir is estimated to be 247.
Panther or Leopard: Panthers are more ubiquitous than
the tiger and less affected by the advance of cultivation, In proportion,
the animal is more destructive than the tiger, and under favourable
circumstances is more deadly as a man-eater being more agile and
active, also more silent and more stealthy. He climbs better, jumps
better, and stalks better than the tiger,and can conceal himself
almost anywhere.
Thomas Vigne was in Kashmir in 1835 and his book would be
a useful reference were it not so rare and difficult to obtain. Adams was.
a naturalist and ornithologist rather than a sportsman. From his
book, and from Newall and Maclatyre who were also in Kashmir about
1851-52, it is known there was then much game in those countries. Not
long after that the writing was already on the wall. Far too many
animals were shot by Sportsmen; and the people of the country, then
as now, took heavy toll during the winter months,
The conclusion from perusal of all the old sporting books, cealnee
also with Kashmir and Burma, is thatthe steady diminution of all the
game animals began about 1780 as to Hindustan, 1840 as to the Western
Himalayas, later as to Burma, and is now nearing its climax unless it is
halted by all the governments.
In Williamson’s day there was the sport of riding on the neck
of a ‘koomkee ’—a female elephant used as decoy in capturing a male—
and throwing a noosed rope round the head of a wild tusker. ‘This
kind of sport,’ says Williamson, ‘cannot be classed among the
effeminacies of the day!’ The hunting by tracking of the rogue
elephant was declared by Sanderson to be the greatest of all sports;
and is still available from time to time.
‘850 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Crocodiles: Of the two species of crocodile knowa in India
the river crocodile of the burning ghats and other places takes a man when
it has a chance, while the estuarine species is a very dangerous reptile.
‘The Indian Gharial is a fish-eater and not feared by man. Concerning
crocodiles and the gharial there are more than fifty Miscellaneous Notes
in the Society’s Journal ; among which harpooning in tanks, gharial
catching in the Indus river, hints on shooting crocodiles, angling
for crocodiles, and poisoning of crocodiles! The shooting of these
animals in India can be excellent sport and calls for considerable
technique and knowledge of the animals. In jungle streams and pools
they take considerable toll of wild life. At p. 75, vol. 1 of Langley’s
book is a visual account by an officer of a tiger being vanquished
by a large mugger.
The Sloth); Bear: and -the: Malayan. Bear c. Upine
sixty years ago the Sloth Bear was really plentiful all over the forested
tracts-of India and Assam from the base of the Himalayas to Ceylon.
Because of its aggressive habit when chanced upon in the jungle,
the hand of man is against it, so it is now almost or quite extinct in
places where formerly numerous. Nowhere has it been protected
under shooting rules. Many of these bears were speared from horse-
back by Colcnel Nightingale in the 1860’s. This noted sportsman died
in the saddle in 1868 while spearing a panther. The Sloth Bear wil]
probably survive through protection in some of the National Parks and
Sanctuaries in course of formation, and in its more remote haunts.
Naturalists regard the Sloth Bear of Ceylon as a distinct race.
The Malayan Bear of Chittagong and Burma is a smaller edition of -
the Himalayan Black Bear and merits little mention in this history of
shikar as it is seldom met with or hunted.
Wild Dogs and Hyenas;: The Indian Wild Dog has an
immense range. In earlier days the packs of these animals in forest
areas were considerably larger than now. Apart from distemper and
other diseases which keep the numbers in check, the fluctuation
of the wild dog population must depend considerably upon food
supply—mainly deer, pig and other forest animals. Fortunate is
it for India that that the species does not attack man, and is not
habitually destructive to domestic stock. Should it be more and more
deprived of its natural food it may, like the tiger, increasingly
prey upon the flocks and herds. The hyena of India is not ordinarily .
greatly inimical to human life. [i is here mentioned as occasionaily
affording sport to the bobbery-pack, or the horseman with his
spear.
Sheep and Goats: When the record Sind Wild Goat (52? in.)
was shot in the Kirthar Range in November 1912, considerable herds
were seen; of present stock there is no news. In Baluchistan the
Persian Ibex may not have survived the influx of modern rifles ; nor
will the toothsome Urial have fared better. The Persian Gazelle may
have survived in a few places. Of the stock of all these animals
in earlier days there is no literature available to the writer, but they pro-
bably existed in considerable numbers. The Suleiman Markhor is also
an animal of the Baluchistan Hills. Soldier-sportsmen serving trans-
‘ Indus used to have fine sport and secure good heads of this race.
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA &51
In Adams’s day ibex were plentiful in Kashmir and Wardhwan; now
they are no longer there, and have not been for a number of years.
Only in the more remote nullahs of Baltistan, Gilgit and Astor could
the sportsman now hope to find worth while ibex ; and markhor
may have almost vanished (Stockley, Vol. 32 ; 783). Both Adams and
MacIntyre pointed out in their books what was happening, and what the
result would be; while both Baldwin and MacIntyre remarked on
the great diminution of game birds in the Terai and the Doon.
SMALL GAME SHOOTING
In his Mogul Emperors series Salim Ali, being an expert ornitholo-
gist, has given us some interesting information. In those days, and up
to the period 1840-1860, the game birds of the hills and plains must
have been everywhere in great numbers. Nature had evolved for them
a high reproduction rate and they were able successfully to contend
against all natural checks, and even with the amount of trapping and
snaring to which they had been subjected through all the centuries.
With the shotgun and its indiscriminate use there came a very great
change; but some of this depletion was also due to the increased
incentive to the people to snare game for the tables of the foreigners.
Now we have the present intensified diminution of all game birds
for there has never been any thought for the morrow, and some species
are nearing extinction. During the past few years there has been great
opportunity for all game birds to recover in some measure their former
abundance, for the changed conditions have made shooting of every
description both difficult and expensive. But the apathy of Govern-
ments and the authorities, and the activities of trappers and snarers have
nullified the opportunity as the demand for meat of any kind has
‘become clamant, and modern communications have made it easy for the
supply to reach both markets and consumers.
Failing speedy and suitable measures by Government, the outlook is
exceedingly gloomy. Jecently, an observer from a foreign land
has said to the writer, ‘ You will lose a// your game birds.’
Kashmir: Of Kashmir it is reported at the present time that
there is depletion of the number of chukor. Large bags of wildfowl used
to be made in Kashmir by sportsmen inclined that way. One of these
shot 6998 duck and geese in one year; while another, also shooting alone,
bagged 58,613 wildfowl in the seasons 1907-1919. He killed 119 grey
lag geese in one day, and on another day 509 duck and teal.
Rajputana: In the well-known Bharatpur wildfow] shoots the
bags were large. On 20th November 1916 there fell 4206 birds
to 50 guns. Without any reference to anything here written or referred
to, may be quoted ‘Some prefer flighting, others shoot for averages and
lose many of the delights of an exceptionally high bird, and there are
those who will not pull trigger until three heads are ina straight line !’
In the Imperial Sandgrouse shoots huge were the bags. Perhaps
the record may be that of the Bikaner shoot in 1921(?) when Lord
Rawlinson was one of the party which killed in two mornings 5,968
birds. May be those large bags of wildfowl could still be made, but the
world’s wildfowl situation does not warrant such slaughter; and
11
852 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
perhaps those other big shoots are events of the past not likely to be
repeated, for the times have changed.
In India there is now urgent need for a nation-wide fixed close time
for the shotgun from Ist April to 30th September. If enforced, that
would do much good; but the trappers and snarers must be dealt with
by finding them alternative pursuits, as has been done for the
toddy tappers in the cause of prohibition. And the shooting and
consuming public must be taught to co-operate by refusing to shoot,
buy or eat game birds and wildfow] during that period.
HUNTING wITH A BOBBERY-PACK
The Emperor Akbar was extremely fond of good hunting dogs and
imported them from several countries; those from the Hazara District
would attack any kind of animal, even thetiger. A bull-mastiff or cross-
bred dog of that 60 1b. type will fasten on the nose of the largest of buffa-
loes, tame or wild, and bring it to its knees within forty yards. In the
1870’s Sir Montague Gerard used bull terriers to bring tigers to bay, but
discontinued the practice because of inevitable casualties. It is all right
to use dogs when following wounded tiger or panther, but too much
courage is fatal, and unfair to the dogs.
Sport with a Bobbery-pack has been enjoyed by British sportsmen
in India since the early days of the East India Company. Williamson
has much of interest—management, feeding, kennels, diseases and care,
and kindred matters—-which are profitable to us even in these later days.
He experienced, as have all who hunt the jackal, the instinctive
faculty these animals have of ‘shamming death’.
Among modern writers J. W. Best gives an excelient sixteen pages
of his small book to the Bobbery-pack; and in the ‘Sportsman’s Hand-
book for India’ a contributor with fifteen years experience describes his
doings and lists jackal, hare, fox, hyena, wolf, blackbuck, gazelle,
-sambar stag, pig, wild cat and porcupine as having at one time or
another fallen victims to his eager dogs. Burton contributes a chatty
account ‘Days and Doings with my Bobbery-pack’ in the Hyderabad
country during a number of years. It is essential that the dogs be well
broken against ‘ riot’ as to domestic stock; rabies has to be watched for,
and there may be casualties from snake-bite.
In these greatly changed days a Bobbery-pack is almost a pleasure
of the past, fora general charge of Rs. 3 a dog will not, as in 1904,
cover the cost of feed, and the wages of a kennelman would be much
more than Rs. 7amonth. ‘he keep of a horse is four or five times as
great, and everything else in proportion. Again, and again, Aheu
tugaces !
HUNTING WITH FOXHOUNDS
When asked what he thought of fox-hunting, the great G.B.S.
promptly replied in his own inimitable way, ‘It is the pursuit of the
uneatable by the unspeakable *!
This essentially British sport has not, for climatic reasons, at any
time been universal in this country ; but since 1776 when the Madras
Hunting Society imported a pack of hounds from England, hunting has
gone on uninterrupted in India up to the present day through a Hunt
yf Bikaner
a Oo
PEATE tit
H. H. The Mahara
—
Pris’.
BomMmBAyY NAT.
Photo
JOURN.
Sambar or Rusa Deer (Rusa unicolor)
ive
(eoosuoy *{ ‘[ Sq Sutnured
e WO) 9981 “req ApuINy ut
quNn]_, SeIpeyN oT
lobe
“00S °LSIH
‘LVN AVaWog ‘Nunof
AP USTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA 853
being maintained at one time or another in a number of places. The
list is a long one: Bangalore, Belgaum, Bombay, Calcutta, Dacca,
Delhi, Jaipur, Jaora, Jullundur, Madras, Meerut, Mbhow, Mysore,
Ootacamund, Peshawar, Poona-Kirkee, Rawalpindi, and perhaps some
more.
The Madras Hunt: Unfortunately the continuous records
only date back to 1862; but from a letter in possession of Kenel Rigby,
Esq., of Meriden Hall, Coventry, it is seen that a ‘ Hunt Society’
existed in Madras as far back as 1776. That most interesting and
informative letter is too long for reproduction here. At irregular
periods from 1854 to 1875 professional huntsmen were employed. It
‘was Squires of the Pytchley who hunted the Pack during that
famous run in 1875 when King Edward VII, as Prince of Wales, was -
out. One of the characters of the later years of the Hunt was the
Kennelman, Charlie, who did 55 continuous years service and remained
with the Hunt unil it closed down in 1946. In the Adyar Club are
some old records and many group pictures, one of which is reproduced
with this contribution. The Bombay ‘Ovxlooker’ for May and June 1940
contains fuller information regarding the Madras Hunt.
The Ootacamund Hunt: Ootacamund was ‘discovered’ in
1820, and hounds from Madras were kenneled there in 1829. Full
information as to the Ooty Hunt is contained in, ‘ A Centenary Chronicle
of the Ootacamund Hunt 1845-1945’ by J. F. Smail, M.F.a. Gleanings
from the Chronicle :
‘The present kennels are easily the best in India, and even
compare favourably with the best in England.’ ... ‘ Hounds have on
many occasions been killed by panther, but there is only one record of
‘riot’? after a panther.’ ... ‘The ideal type of hunter is a sound,
quality horse, not more than 16 hands, with a placid temperament.’
aie ‘The ideal hound for Ooty isa large harrier, say 21” to 23%,’
... ‘Itisnot the size of the pack, but the quality which tells.’ .
‘I personally prefer a pack of 11 couples to a larger one.’....
‘There is no doubt that first class hounds suited to local conditions can
be bred generation after generation in India with occasional blood from
home.’
4th June 1903 provided the best run that is known—well over nine
miles, and one hour and ten minutes. 1913 furnished a sixteen-mile
hunt lasting one hour and forty minutes.
Connected with the Hunt is the annual Point-to-Point Race, the
Ootacamund Hunt Cup, the Ladies Cup, the Peter Pan Cup. Appen-
dix X of Chronicle gives origin of 121 names of nullahs, sholas, etc.,
entered on the Hunt Map. The Hunt still flourishes. Long may it
continue.
Two Lesser Hunts: When the writer was in Belgaum in 1890
he hunted with Colonel Sherringham’s hounds. The Mysore Hunt was
in existence during 1932-1936 and showed good sport during May to
January on alternative Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with 30
couple of foxhounds, imported and country-bred. A non-subscription
pack of which the Patron was H. H. the Maharajah of Mysore and the
Master, Prince Jaya Chamrajendra Wadyar Bahadur,
864 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. 50
The Bangalore Hounds: This country was first hunted many
years ago by a Bank Manager who ran a very good show in tip-top
style at his own expense. He left India and the pack was not kept up.
Between 1905 and 1910 the 30th Lancers (Gordon’s Horse) ran a useful
pack. After a considerable interval the pack was again set going in
May 1924 and known as Captain Buckley’s Hounds until, in 1929, when
the Hunt was well established, the Hounds were purchased by the
Bangalore Hunt Club by whom the Hunt was conducted until it closed
down in January 1948.
Gleanings from Captain W. H. Buckley’s notes:
‘Some of our best country is the very best in India and better than
most provincial countries at Home.’ ...
‘The country-bred hounds have again shown that those who say
C. B.’s are mute or small, are liars!’ ...‘ A big pack, 30 to 35 couple,
is an economy.’ ... ‘ Dueto an equable climate never a case of dis-
temper in seven years.’ ... ‘ You must have “ Music” and for this in
Bangalore the Welsh hound is supreme.’ (Welsh also asked for by
Madras in 1776.)
Bombay: Hunting began in Bombay about 1811, but the Bombay
Hunt was constituted in 1865. It has now been combined with Poona
and Kirkee and is known as ‘ The Bombay Hunt and Poona & Kirkee
Hounds.’ It is distinct from ‘The Jackal Club’ which has existed
since 1889 and is still going strong.
Mhow and Meerut: In 1906, perhaps earlier, and up to 1927 at
any rate, there was a pack of foxhounds at Mhow. Later information
is lacking.
The Meerut Hunt was formed by Major W. T. V. Wooley, M.F.H.
with hounds obtained from the Delhi Hunt before it closed down in
1945. Present strength is 195 couples, and the M. F. H.is Lieut.-
Colonel D. R. Sahni, r.v.F.c. Hound puppies now receive Indian
names, Hounds meet every Sunday and bye-days are arranged on
holidays. Attendance varies between 25-30 at a Meet; and some
members of the Diplomatic Corps come from Delhi—40 miles—to ride .
with the Meerut Hounds. The present C-in-C in India is the Patron-in-
Chief, and but for his active and enthusiastic support and guidance the
Meerut Hunt would have closed down.
Peshawar: Hunting was first started in Peshawar in 1863 with
‘Hussay’s Regimental Pack’. In 1865 the 19th Foot brought their
pack, and it hunted during 1865-66 under the name of ‘ The Green
rloward’s Pack.’ In 1869, on transfer to England, the regiment
presented its pack to the Station at Peshawar on condition that it should
remain there. The pack then became known in 1869 as ‘ The Peshawar
Vale Hunt’ and had its first meet under this name on 2nd February
1870.
The P,V.H. has hunted every season since 1870 with the exception
of 1880 when ihe pack was taken to Kabul during the Second Afghan
War. Owing to an unfortunate circumstance the season 1950-51 was
the first. since 1863—excluding 1880—when there was no pack in
Peshawar. In November 1951 hounds were flown out from England
under arrangements made by the Pakistan Army. Long may the P.V.H.
flourish and show fine sport.
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA 855
PIGSTICKING OR HOG-HUNTING
_ The sport of chasing the wild boar on horseback with a spear was
introduced by British sportsmen in Bengal in the latter part of the
eighteenth century. At first the sloth bear was hunted; but in 1776
it was the wild boar, the weapon used in the Dacca District being a
short, heavy spear three feet long and well poised. It was thrown like
a javelin; and if the sportsman missed his aim he had to dismount and
recover his weapon, thus letting in the next in succession, and so on
till the pig was killed.
The modern spear is up to 6 ft. 3 in., Jong and fairly heavily leaded
—about 12 1b. On the Bombay side the spear was eight to ten feet or
even more, and often unleaded.
Twenty-five years later a jabbing or thrusting spear was in use in
Upper India, but the practice developed in Bengal was to use a spear
about seven or more feet in length, also thrown as a javelin as is well
described and illustrated in Williamson’s ‘ Oriental Field Sports ’, 1807.
We know from Simson that in 1830 the throwing of the spear was
discontinued, and penalized by the Calcutta Tent Club at the instance
of Mr. Mills, 3.c.s. Published in 1880, Simson’s book contains
complete guidance to everything pertaining to pigsticking in Eastern
Bengal up to that time; and, except as to localities, is of equal value at
the present day.
All regarding the sport as developed in Upper India is contained in
the article by Neville-Taylor in the ‘Sportsman’s Handbook for India’,
with which is a map showing the pigsticking centres and Tent Clubs of
those parts in 1904.
‘Modern Pigsticking’ by Wardrop covers practically all of India
and is acomplete compendium of pigsticking. The Meerut Tent Club
country is fully dealt with ; also the Kadir Cup which was constituted in
1869 and the winning of which has been the blue ribbon of pigsticking.
Among the hazards related by Wardrop is that of a pigsticker’s Arab
horse, having swum a river, being seized by the head by a crocodile
while drinking in shallow water, dragged into deep water and never
seen again; and Kinloch, when hunting with the Meerut Tent Club, had
his horse ripped, himself thrown and wounded by the boar in /fzfty
places !
The Nagpur country is well described by Best and Dunbar Brander,
Praise of the Boar: ‘Itcan be said that the finest and most
spectacular animal of the Indian jungles is the tiger, the most noble in -
appearance the elephant ; but the concensus of opinion is that the Indian
wild boar is the bravest and most gallant of all.’ ... ‘Nothing for
size and ferocity could surpass, if it could equal, the pure Bengali breed;
other hunters, however, declare the Deccany pig to be unrivalled for
speed and ferocity.’ : while a widely experienced expert has declared,
‘Give me a Bengali hog in Guzerat country.’ ...‘No man who has not
been an eye-witness of the desperate courage of the wild hog would
believe in his utter recklessness of life, or in the fierceness that will
make him run up the hunter’s spear, which has passed through his
vitals, until he buries his tusk in the body of the horse, or, it may be,
in the leg of the rider.’ ... ‘ Thehunter loses his seat at the peril of
his life.’
856 JOURNAL, | BOMBAY NATURAL UHIST VSOCIERY, Wo)" 50
Praise of Pigsticking: Pigsticking is the grandest sport that
India or any country affords. ‘Some have condemned pigsticking as
cruel, yet of all sports this is the oniy one practised in modern times
where the hunter shares, on almost equal terms, the danger with the
hunted. It has a code of honour; the boar is hunted with respect and
pursued on certain fixed principles ; and there is a casus be/lz, for he 1s
an incorrigible plunderer. ’
An enthusiast has composed the following imperishable verse:
‘ Youth’s daring spirit, manhood’s fire,
Firm seat and eagle eye,
Do they require who dare aspire
To see the wild boar die.’
Under the altered conditions in India pigsticking is now almost a
dream of the past, and all the above of little more than academic interest.
There are two records in the Society’s journal of a wolf being ridden
down and speared, or shot, by a single horseman. Only in favourable
country can the feat be accomplished, and the horse must have a good
stride and be in really hard condition, for the distance covered may be
16 to 18 miles. A gorged wolf is easily dealt with. Here it may be
remarked that there is no record of the Indian Wild Ass having ever
been run down by a single horseman. The animal is able to
attain, and keep up without difficulty, a speed of 30-32 miles
per hour.
FALCONRY
Hawking is not now so much practised in Rajputana and Northern
India as it was even sixty to eighty years ago. In 1908 an expert
modern falconer wrote, ‘ A few days’ roaming about a river bank with a
net, a set of nooses and some mynahs and sparrows in a cage, and I had
collected two peregrines—one a laggard and the other a splendid dark
bird in her first year—a saker, a duggar and two merlins, and within a
month was ready for houbara, herons, paddy—birds, crows, kites, hoopoes
and Jarks, and surely it would be a bad day on which I could not find
one or other of the above. The saker I kept exclusively for kites, the
young peregrine was all there when see saw a heron, and both had been
“entered ’”’ to houbara.’
The list of animals and birds which can be captured through falconry
in India is a long one: antelope, gazelle, hares, cranes, egrets, herons,
ibises, spoonbills, stone plovers, storks, houbara, florican, jungle-
fowl, partridges, peafowl, sandgrouse, crows, kites, grass owls, vultures,
hoopoes, larks, rollers, sparrows.
In the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society ‘The Review
ot the Accipitres’ is of the greatest interest; and the article, ‘Shakes-
peare on the Nodle Art of Hawking’ is of interest not only to lovers of
Shakespeare.
FISHING
Bombay: The Bombay Presidency Angling Association was
started in Bombay with its centre of activities at Powai Lake about
1932 by the late Mr. H. B. Hayes of the American Express Co. Inc., Mr.
J. G. Ridland of the Imperial Bank of India and few others, the fishing
rights being secured from the Bombay Municipality.
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA 857
In the initial stages the only fish available were minnows (Rasdora
danicontus) and olive carp (Barbus sarana), but several thousand fry of
rohu and catla were released in the lake, and they have grown both
in size and numberxs. The club is now well established with a member-
ship of over a hundred, and the lake teems with rohu and catla, the
former scaling between 20 and 30 lb. while a 65 lb. catla was landed a
few years ago. As usual, much heavier fish are said to have got away!
More fry have again been recently released and the lake is well stocked
for many years.
Madras: The Angler’s Club initiated in Madras in 1946 was
short-lived. It would seem that India is not yet ready for an Angling
Association on Western lines. Perhaps the Angling Club now (1952)
proposed to be formed in Mysore State may have more lasting
success.
Books on angling in India are listed in my ‘ Bibliography of Big
Game Hunting and Shooting in India and the East.’ (.B.N.A.S, 49;
222-241).
Trout of the East and the West
The so-called ‘Indian Trout’ of the rivers of Central India,
Northern India, Assam and Burma is a worthy rival of the trout
and grayling of Western countries. But the successful introduction
of the trout of those lands in the upland streams and lakes of Ceylon,
the Nilgiri and Travancore Hills, Kulu and Kashmir has brought
great enjoyment to many anglers; and there is the landslide-formed
Guhna Lake in Garhwal which has proved to be a natural spawning
ground and is said to be one of the best trout fishing areas in this
‘country. It is now only two marches from Chamoli where is the ter-
minus of the bus route from Hardwar to Badrinath. -Six marches
from Tehri is the Dodhi Tal (lake) in Tehri Garhwal where the trout
are large and five pounders common.
Regarding the introduction of trout into India pp. 601-3 of the
article ‘History of transplantation and introduction of Fishes in India’,
by S. Jones and K. K. Sarojini, published in Vol. 50 No. 3 (April
1952), may be seen.
In these days of the motor vehicle the angler in India has quicker
access to localities than formerly ; and through hydro-electric projects
a number of lakes have been formed. On the other hand, these same
projects, and certain canal weirs also, have adversely affected migra-
tion of important species to spawning grounds, thereby greatly altering
some of the rivers and streams of the country to the detriment of the
angler and the food supply of the people alike. |
From articles in the Journal, and earlier angling books and records,
it seems that on the whole the angler is not able at this time of
writing to have equal success with mahseer in running waters as in
former days. Assam has always been a grand province for the angler,
but those formerly prolific waters will have been much altered by the
recent earthquakes.
The issue in the Journal in serial form of the book by A. St. J.
Macdonald, ‘Circumventing the Mahseer and Other Sporting Fish
in India and Burma’, and its publication by the Society as a book in
1948 was a notable event,
858 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAE HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
The Society’s journal contains close on 300 articles and Miscellaneous
Notes on all aspects of fish and fishing both from the angle of sport
and of commerce.
In 1907, following the publication in the Journal of certain papers
(Vol. 17; 637-644) the Society moved the Government of Bombay in
respect to legislation for protection of fisheries in Western India; and
on 16th January 1908 (Vol. 18; 668-669) addressed the Government
of Bombay asking that the expediency of creating a Fisheries Depart-
ment be favourably considered. That led to useful results in many
directions; but from a New Delhi press report of 10th May 1952 it is
apparent that even after all these yearsa great deal remains to be done.
Of the 1,00,00,000 maunds of fish taken from the sea in each year
only 32 per cent is consumed as fresh fish. This, says the report is
due to unsatisfactory transport facilities, inadequate supply and distri-
bution of ice and marketing facilities. Other defects are scattered
fishing centres and primitive methods of catching, preserving, trans-
porting and marketing. It is emphasized that with proper arrangements
and scientific control the fishing industry can make a substantial addi-
tion to the country’s food resources. So much as regards sea and
maritime fishing.
Inland, the activities of the Fisheries Departments have been in
recent years principally directed towards stocking of lakes and tanks.
Running waters have not received adequate attention. Moreover, the
malpractices declaimed by Day and Thomas over eighty years ago—
wanton destruction of the nation’s fishery resources through use of
explosives, fish poisons, capture and waste of fish fry and spawners—
have not at all abated, and are getting worse. India should emulate
the example of the Philippines where a favourable public opinion in
these matters has been brought about.
Defects in regard to running waters have been pointed out by
several contributors—Hamid Khan (Vol. 43; 416-426) and (Vol. 46;
193-194); Setna and Kulkarni (Vol. 46; 126-132); and there is a
valuable article in two parts by Jones (also in Vol. 46) with which is a
long reference list. Fishing contrivances in the Hyderabad State are
dealt with by Mahmood and Rahimullah (Vol. 46 ; 649-654) ; and there
is a note by H. de B. Codrington pointing out how much has yet to be
discovered in regard to the Mahseer, the premier sporting fish of India.
The illustrated article, also published in pamphlet form, by Spence
and Prater on the ‘ Game Fishes of Bombay and the Deccan’ is valuable
to anglers. Indeed, the Society through its Journal has done much to
aid and inform regarding the land and sea fish and fisheries of the
sub-continent.
* x * *
EVOLUTION OF THE SPORTING RIFLE
The early days of European sportsmen in India were those of the
flintlock, powder horn and bullet pouch. Then came the percussion cap
followed by the breech-loader. The accuracy of those 18-bore muzzle-
loaders was obtained by a sharp twist of rifling necessitating the small
charge of 14 drs. of powder which gave a high trajectory to the
spherical bullet of hardened lead, and insufficient shock to the animal.
To remedy this, bullets containing an explosive charge were also used
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA 859
by Rice and his companions in Rajputana during 1850-1854 when sixty-
eight tigers were killed, some of them having to endure up to a dozen
bullets, and another thirty wounded but not recovered.
The Express System: About 1840 Sir Samuel Baker
introduced the large bore rifle with a heavy charge of powder; and in
the 1860’s arrived the ‘Express’ system devised by Forsyth. In the
beginning, the hollow-pointed conical bullets had insufficient base. This
caused much wounding of animals and, even as late as 1895, a number
of tiger and panther maulings and fatalities. When the bullet was
improved and used by discriminating sportsmen the black powder
Express was an efficient weapon against soft-skinned animals. Even
now, some tiger-slaying sportsmen are partial to the °577 D.B. black
powder Express taking 75 grains Nitro powder and a 650 grains
conical bullet. The Forsyth system of the 12 bore rifle with slow
spiral rifling was in vogue until the late 1890’s, the bullet being either
spherical or blunt conical. Some designs of the latter contained an
explosive charge detonated by impact in the animal. Meade’s spherical
explosive bullet was used in shotguns.
H.V. Smokeless Powder Rifles: With the advent of
smokeless powder, black powder weapons were superseded and there
arrived ‘the battle of the bores’ ‘which sportsmen of experience
resolved into a small bore (under ‘400) magazine rifle with the
‘ Nobeloy ’-jacketed solid soft nose bullet cf weight not less than 180
grains for hill shooting ; and, as a constant companion in plains
forests the -375 Magnum magazine which, for an initial shot, is equal to
any animal met with. The weapon ordinarily used for dangerous game,
or following up wounded animals isthe D.B. H.V. rifle of the °470 class.
Space does not permit of detailed mention of the ‘Paradox’ and
other systems as big game weapons, or the various types of expanding
shotgun bullets; or the miniature rifles such as °295, °300, and -310
advisable for antelope and gazelle shikar in populated open spaces,
Bic GAME PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA
Wild Life Photography is a modern sport of a high order, perhaps
more especially in the wide, open spaces of the hills and plains. The man
with a rifle has his difficulties ; but the sportsman-photographer who has
to take his ‘shot’ at a much closer range and bear in mind half
a hundred things of importance before he can press the camera trigger
has to be a stalker almost in a class apart.
The first book on big game photography in India— With a Camera
in Tiger Land ’—was published by Champion in 1927. This pioneer
work attracted much attention and was followed three years later by
‘The Jungle in Sunlight and Shadow,’ by the same author. Many of
the photographs in these books were taken at night by automatic flash-
light apparatus; soalso most of the 120 photographs in the two sumptuous
volumes by Bengt Berg. The article on ‘Measurement and Photography
of Big Game’ by Stockley is good guidance tothe shikari-photographer
and the sportsman.
Success with his camera in the forests of Burma is illustrated in the
two articles by Peacock ; and the late Theodore Hubback enriched the
Journal with five photographs and thirteen pages of valuable information
860 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
as to the habits and hunting of the Malayan Gaur, or Seladang. This
was followed by ‘his article ‘ Wild Life Photography in the Malayan
Jungles’ portraying elephant, seladang and sambar at salt-licks together
with eleven pages of great value and interest—Apparatus, Hides,
Taking the Photographs, Outfit, The Menace of Damp, Animal Psycho-
logy. In another article the vanishing Two-horned Asiatic Rhinoceros
(Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is fully written up and pictured by Hubback,
with additional notes by Prater, the whole forming a monograph
on the species.
The finest-ever photograph of a wild bull elephant taken in the
Thayetmyo Yomah of Burma by W.S. Thom at a few yards distance
with a 174 inch Ross Telecentric Lens, and the thirteen pages of this
most interesting contribution area delight to shikaris.
At the present time the Society has valued contributions from the
camera and pen of BE. P. Gee of Assam.
WILD LIFE PRESERVATION
bout the middle of the eighteenth century the animals of the open
country were still in much the same numbers as they had always been,
but following the advent of sporting firearms in increasing number, and the
pressure on the land through a growing population, the stock of antelope
and gazelle all over the country has been greatly reduced—almost to
vanishing point in some places. In areas of Upper India where antelope
of both species still have a measure of protection on religious grounds
they are still in fair number; but outside those special localities they are
becoming more and more scarce.
Through the length and breadth of India it is no longer possible for
the traveller to view these lovely creatures from railway or motor car
window. In that respect there is a lifeless landscape; nor does
the former common sight of a stately bustard now delight the eye.
Everywhere the Great One-horned Rhinoceros is now protected.
The wonder is that it has survived its relentless pursuit by poachers and
the indiscriminate shooting of it by sportsmen in earlier days. The
Wild Buffalo should be under strict protection. The tracking and
shooting of a solitary bull has afforded genuine sport.
The Indian Gaur, or ‘Bison’ seems at present to be holding its own;
but too many are shot, some are being poached for meat, and the species
is subject to cattle diseases—so there is no room for complacency.
None of these animals should be shot except on foot, and not by
driving. If that is not possible they should be left alone, for what
sport is there in slaying them from an elephant or in a beat?
It is much to be feared that the Brown Bear of Kashmir and
adjacent hill territories is approaching extermination because of its
handsome pelt. A male has been measured to be 74 ft, with girth of
584 inches. Weight about 500 lb. The Himalayan Black Bear was
formerly in great number in Kashmir and Poonch, but much toll of the
species has been taken by sportsmen, and also in organized drives on
the ground that the animals are not only destructive to crops but often
maul and kill the villagers. .
Owing to its widely extended forest and mountain habitat, the
species is not yet in danger of extermination. Notwithstanding all the
poaching and malpractices, there is still, in some places and due to
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA 861
local circumstances, a fair but decreasing number of sambar, chital,
swamp deer, hog deer, and barking deer. Because of its commercially
valuable scented pod the Musk Deer is being everywhere slain.
In Burma the Brow-antlered Deer survives only in zoological
gardens, while the Manipur race is extinct.
Survival of the elephant where it exists in a wild state is due to the
Elephant Preservation Act, 1873, since when proscribed males only
may be killed. Recently, in the Madras State, interested parties have
obtained the retrograde step of an alteration in the law to permit of
females also being proscribed in the cause of cultivation.
In earlier days wolves were a real menace to the people in many
parts of India. Williamson (1780-1806) relates how the troops used
to assist in smoking them out of dens, and shooting, trapping and
killing them by various methods. The wolf, being a creature of the
open country, has been greatly reduced through extension of cultiva-
tion; yet, in a few areas, the animal still gives sporadic trouble.
Kashmir in 1924. Of preservation of game in Kashmir, Ward
rightly remarked: ‘ When we consider the difficulties experienced in
preserving game in Great Britain we can imagine what has to be faced
in the case of tens of thousands of square miles of rugged and
mountainous country. It is useless to imagine that poaching in
Kashmir can be stopped.’ Since then the situation has greatly
worsened. Ward’s series on Kashmir and the Adjacent Hill Provinces
is a complete vade mecum for the sportsman-naturalist.
Kashmir and India in recent years: Of the Kashmir Stag
it was reported in February 1951 that since the 1947 troubles began
there has been rapid disappearance of the species from localities where
it was formerly abundant. The 1950 Pakistan report to the I.U.P.N.
was that fauna is being rapidly diminished, and that military occupation
of certain Himalayan regions has not bettered the situation: while the
report from India said that the situation is gloomy and poaching
extensive. The India report referred to the whole country and not to
Kashmir in particular.
The Role of the Society: The influence of the Society
towards Preservation of Game commenced in 1888, and has continued
all through the subsequent years, as can be known through perusal of
the many references published at pp. 620-22 of Vol. 47, and other
contributions in later volumes.
The Society’s Honorary Secretaries—Phipson, Millard, Spence,
Salim Ali, Humayun Abdulali and others—and the Curator, S. H.
Prater have been ever mindful of the influence which can be exercised,
and the Editors have given valuable aid through means of a number of
important editorials. Had the experienced and expert advice contained
in all the above—and in the special illustrated series in five parts
compiled by Prater (Vols. 36-8)—been heeded by the various govern-
ments, administrations and departments the rapidly deteriorating state
of affairs at present existing would not perhaps have come about. But
there are many factors and facets in this matter.
In his address to the Society on the 17th March 1930 the President
(H. EB. Sir Frederick Sykes, Governor of Bombay), remarked that in
this country we are confronted with the almost insurmountable difficulty
862 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
of persuading the masses to have any regard for the principles of wild
life preservation; but there is now much more to it than that.
Example is more than ever necessary; for a very great difficulty at
the present time in India is the increasing number of officials with no
interest in sport or natural history, and the rapidly lowering shikar
ethics. Even among those who should know better, proper sporting
considerations are subordinated to the hunger for meat and the ‘ some-
thing-for-nothing ’ attitude of mind of the man with the gun.
Wantof Public Opinion: At the All-India Wild Life
Conference held at Delhi in January 1935 it was declared that Indian
Wild Life could only be saved by Public Opinion, and that legislation,
however efficient, could do little in matters like these without the
whole-hearted support of the Public. There is as yet no sign of a
proper public opinion while there Aas been apathy, and even discour-
agement on the part of the authorities. ‘Forests, while saving us from
the ravages of flood and famine, can themselves become a menace to
cultivation’; and there have been other utterances which are almost
direct incitements to users of guns to turn them against wild life. As
the present writer has said in letters to the newspapers, ‘ deer and other
wild creatures are just lumps of meat and catchers of votes.’
Laws are enacted, rules are made and forgotten, for there is no
continuity of official enforcement and no public opinion to keep them in
mind.
India’s Vanishing Asset: A comprehensive pamphlet
stressing the urgent need for immediate steps towards conservation was
printed in January 1948 and widely circulated, with covering letters
from the Society and the author (R. W. Burton) to the Governors-
General of India and Pakistan, to Prime Ministers and many other high
officials ; and a précis was circulated through the newspapers and press
services all over the country. The pamphlet was printed in the
Society’s Journal (Vol, 47; 602-22) together with a list of 56
references. The Society’s notice about itis at p. 792, Vol. 47. 500
copies of a Special Appeal relating to Reserved Forests was also distri-
buted among divisional and other forest officers throughout the
country. Later, a Supplement to the pamphlet by the same author
(Vol. 48; 290-299) was cyclostyled and similarly circulated.
At no time did it seem that the above impassioned appeals had
attracted any attention except for the one Miscellaneous Note [Vol. 48
588. (1949)] by M. D. Chaturvedi, But there is reason to suppose that
sundry measures such as The Bombay National Parks Act, 1950; The
Bombay Wild Birds and Wild Animals Protection Act, 1951; the
Committee assembled at Delhi on 23rd and 24th July 1951; and nowthe
Central Board for Wild Life appointed by the Government of India to
preserve the Fauna of India (Press Note: New Delhi, 11th April 1952)
have stemmed from the original pamphlet and other writings. The
Hailey National Park and the United Provinces National Parks Act,
1935, resulted from the activities previous to the 1935 Delhi Conference.
A Central Board for Wild Life: This Board was cons-
tituted at Delhi on the 4th April 1952 by a Ministry of Food and
Agriculture Resolution. It will function through States’ Wild Life
Committees and will meet at least once in two years.
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA 863
/f this Central Board and the States ’ Committees have before them
in correctly summarized form the principal contents of all the main wild
life contributions to the Journal; the 16th October 1950 thirteen page
Memorandum by the writer: and the Address delivered by M. S.
Randhawa to the Section of Botany, 35th Indian Science Congress,
Allahabad, 1949. (‘ Nature Conservation, National Parks and _ Bio-
aesthetic Planning in India’), and study and apply all that is practicable
in them there should be good results: du¢ the States’ Wild Life
Committees need to be formed quickly and all that is decided speedily
putin motion or results will be of little avail, also too little and too late
as has proved to be the case with previous Conferences and Committees.
A Department for Wild Life: Ithas to be conceded that
no such Department will be formed in India—not yet awhile at any
rate—but it was counselled by the Society [ Vol. 38; 223. (1934)] that
there is need for creating a definite agency within the forest department
for administering the laws relative to the protection of wild animals.
This is supported in the above-quoted note by Shri M. D. Chaturvedi,
the present Inspector-General of Forests and a Vice Chairman of the
new Central Board. A weighty consideration is that the success or
failure of game preservation depends upon a wholly trustworthy and
impeccable subordinate staff.
National and States Forest Policies: The recently
announced Forest Policy for India should have excellent long-range
effect on wild life in general ; and the C.P. (Ist May 1952) Plan announ-
cing 46 recommendations (including game reserves) for management
and future development of the Madhya Pradesh protected forests, tree
forests, minor forests, pasture lands, recreation forests, fuel and fodder
reserves should be a valuable guide to other States and Unions.
South India and the Nilgiris: At tne Meeting assembled
at Ootacamund on the 7th June 1933 by the Governor of Madras it
was decided to form an Association for the Preservation of Wild Life
in South India. The project was launched, but within a year proved
completely abortive and was never heard of again.
The only bright spot has been the mostly effective preservation of
game in the Nilgiris District [41: 384-96 (1939)|-
Ceylon: In December 1949 Ceylon attained the long sought for
Wild Life Department, and the growth of it during 1950 gave hope that
at last the menace of the professional poacher and the commercialisation
of wild life would be halted.
Uttar Pradesh and Assam: The sub-montane tracts of
the former United Provinces have always been well stocked with game
animals and birds. With some exceptions this obtains at the present
time. Let us hope that no Caliph will arise to alter all this.
In Assam there is now a strong movement associated with the names
of P. D. Stracey and E. P. Gee. A thousand pities it began too late to
save the Manipur race of the ¢kaminu from extermination, for there was
sufficient warning of what was happening.
Burma and Malaya: In spite of vigorous efforts and warnings
by Smith, Peacock, Weatherbe, and Hubback important species
have vanished or are nearing extermination in these countries—
&64 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL WS TS © Chi Taye enol eas)
and this before the two countries were overrun by the Japanese during
the Jast war.
Education in Schools: ‘The youth of today must become
the conservationists of tomorrow.’ The Bombay Natural History
Society has worked towards this end with, as yet, no widely extended
results, and the present writer has been urging the neezd for the past
five years. Sir Frederick Sykes (1930) said that we should aim
at teaching the children to appreciate the value of wild life. In
his address to the Ceylon Game and Fauna Protection Society on
14th December 1950 the Governor-General and Patron of that Society
said, among other things, ‘There is need for extensive propaganda
and education, and the Government and this Society can co-operate to
convince the younger generation in the schools that they will,and must
be, the future custodians of wild life'—to which can be added ‘ and of
the forests also.’ .
At the present time the International Union for the Protection
of Nature is making considerable effort in this direction, and Italy,
Greece, French Cameroon, Mexico, Belgium, Belgian Congo, Madagascar,
and Turkey are issuing special lessons on the subject for the
interest of educators and use by teachers and. pupils in primary
and secondary schools,
‘In spite of its importance to mankind, the theme of these lessons is
little known or totally ignored by contemporary nations.’ How
very true itis that,’ Many are the paths along which man proceeds to
(his own) destruction... ’.
The Education Departments of Governments in India have a great
responsibility in regard to education of the childrenin matters affecting
wild life and world resources.
CONCLUSION
In the 1948 Pamphlet the writer remarked (Vol. 47; 618) :
‘An atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion is all too common
among tineducated people, so the beneficial intentions of measures to-
wards wild life preservation are apt to be misconstrued unless
the objects and reasons receive the widest publicity through Govern-
ment channels—and the newspapers.
The years are passing; this great national asset is wasting away.
It is the duty of every government to preserve it for posterity. The
urge should come from the highest levels.’
Opportunity is taken to again plead for the above, and for the
essential whole-hearted aid by editors and journalists.
APPENDIX
A List OF THE GAME ANIMALS oF INDIA, BURMA
AND CEYLON
Note.—(H). Hunza only ; (B), Burma only. (C), also in Ceylon.
The Indian Elephant— Elephas maximus indicus (C)
The Great Indian Rhinoceros—ARhinocervos unicornts
The Smaller One-horned or Javan Rhinoceros—Ahznoceros son-
daicus.
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA
The Sumatran Two-horned Rhinoceros— Ahinoceros sumatrensts
The Malay Tapir—7Zapirus indicus
Sheep
The Great Pamir, or Marcopolo’s Sheep— Ovzs ammon poli
The Great Tibetan Sheep, or Nyan—Ov7s ammon hod gsoni
The Shapu of Ladak—Ovz?s vignez vignet
The Urial of Punjab— Ov7zs vignet punjabiensts
The Bharal—FPseudois nahoor
Goats
The Asiatic [bex—Capra sibirica
The Sind Wild Goat—Capra hircus blythiz
The Markhor—Capra falconeri falcenert
The Pir Panjal Markhor—Cafra falconeri cashmtriensts
The Suleiman Markhor—Capra falconeri jerdont
The Himalayan Tahr—Hemztragus jemlahicus
The Nilgiri Tahr—Hemitragus hylocrius
The Serow—Capricornis sumatraensts
The Grey Himalayan Goral—Nemorhaedus goral
The Brown Goral—Nemorhaedus hodgsoni
The Burmese Goral— Nemorhaedus griseus (B)
The Mishmi Takin—Budorcas taxicolor
The Indian Wild Ass—Aquus onager indicus
Antelope and Gazelle
The Indian Gazelle—Gazella bennettz
The Persian Gazelle—Gazella subgutturosa typica
The Indian Antelope or Blackbuck—Azniézilope cervicapra
The Nilgai or Blue Bull— Boselabhus tragocamelus
The Four-horned Antelope—TZetraceros guadricornis
Deer
The Kashmir Stag—Cervus kashmiriensts
The Sambar—fusa unicolor (C)
The Spotted Deer, or Chital—Axzs axis (C)
The Hog Deer—fyelaphus porcinus (C)
The Swamp Deer—Rucervus duvaucellt
The Brow-antlered Deer of Manipur—Fanolia eldi eldz
The Brow-antlered Deer of Burma—Fanolia eldt thamin (B)
The Barking Deer, or Muntjac—MJunttacus- muntjac
The Mouse Deer, or Indian Chevrotain—Moschiola meminna (C)
The Musk Deer— Moschus moschiterus
Bovinae
The Indian Wild Buffalo—Bubalus bubalis (C)
The Gaur, or ‘Indian Bison ’—Azbo0s gaurus
The Banteng or Tsaing—Szdos banteng birmanicus (B)
865
866 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 50
Bears
The Himalayan Brown Bear— Ursus zsabellinus ; |
The Himalayan Black Bear—U*vsus torquatus |
The Sloth Bear—Melursus ursinus (C)
The Malayan Bear—Aelarctos malayanis
Beasts of Prey
The Asiatic Lion—Panthera leo persica
The Panther-—Panthera pardus (C)
The Tiger—FPanthera tigris
The Snow Leopard, or Ounce—Uncia uncia
The Hunting Leopard, or Cheetah—Acinonyx jubatus
The Clouded Leopard—Weofelis nebulosa
The Caracal—Felzs caracal
The Striped Hyena—Ayena striata
The Indian Wild Dog—Cuon dukhunensis
Tibetan Game Animals
The Yak—FPoephagus grunniens
The Tibetan Antelope—fanthalops hodgsoni
The Tibetan Gazelle—Gazella picticaudata
The Tibetan Wild Ass—Agumus kiang
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES
General
(1) Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl ‘Allami’. Translated by Blochmann, Cal-
cutta, 1873.
(2) Bernier, Travels in the Mogul Empire, 1656-1668, second edition. Mitford,
1914
(3) Bibliography of Big Game Hunting and Shooting in India and the East.
By Lt-Col. R. W. Burton, Journ. B.N.A.S., Vol. 49, August 1950, with
Addenda in August 1951 and 1952. (Contains titles of upwards of 300
books on Shikar and lists of other publications and references. )
(4) Authors mentioned in the text and includedin the Bibliography | (3), above].
(5) Haney Col. T.H. (1916) ; The Journal of Indian Art, XVII, (134);
(6) International Technical Conference on the Protection of Nature I.U.P.N.,
Brussels (1950) : Proceedings and Papers.
(7) I.U.P.N., Brussels (1951) : The Position of Nature Protection throughout
the World in 1950.
(8) hd of the Bombay Natural History Society, January 1886 to August
(9) Knighton, Dr. W., (1855) : Life of an Eastern King.
(10) Prater, S.H. (1948) : The Book of Indian Animals.
(11) Roe, Sir Thomas, and Dr. John Fryer. Reprinted from the ‘ Calcutta
- Weekly Englishman’, Trubner & Co. (1872.).
(12) Salim A. Ali (1927): The Mogul Emperors of India as Naturalists and
Sportsmen. J.B.N.A.S. 31 ; 833-861, 32 : 34-63 and 264-273.
(13) Talbot, F. G. (1909) : Memoirs of Baber.
(14) Terry’s Voyage to East India, Reprinted from the edition of 1665 in 1777,
Kashmir
(1) Books of Adams, Vigne, Newall, MacIntyre and others listed in the
Bibliography [(3), General]
(2) Ward, A.E. (1921-1922) : Big Game Shooting of Kashmir and Adjacent
Hill Provinces. J.B.N.H1.S. Vols. 28 & 29, (in five parts).
A HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIA 867
(3) Ward, Col. A. E. (1924-1929) : The Mammals and Birds of Kashmir and
the Adjacent Hill Provinces. J/.B.N.H.S. Vols. 29-33 in eight parts.
For Elephant, Rhinoceros, Buffalo, ‘ Bison’, The Larger Felines, Bears,
Deer, Antelop, Gazelle, see the Bibliography [(3) General].
Wolves (Ridden down by a single horseman.)
(1) Symons, N. S., a Member of the Society and a noted pigsticker rode down
a wolf single-handed, ‘ Aszan’ newspaper 25th October 1881.
(2) Waddington, C. W. (1893) : Wolf-hunting (Rajkote). J/.B.N.A.S., VU;
94-55
(3) Wray, J. W. (1893) : Wolf Hunting in the Southern Mahratta Country.
J.B.N.H.S., Vill; 145-149. ?
Wild Dog ,
(1) Burton, R. W. (1940) : The Indian Wild Dog. J.B.N.A.S., 41; 691-715.
‘Crocodiles
(1) Shortt, W. H. O. (1921) : A Few Hints on Crocodile Shooting. J B.N.ALS.,
XXVIII; 76-84, illustrated.
‘Small Game Shooting
(1) ‘ Pheon’, Shikar near Cantonments. Article in Journal, United Service
Institution of India, July 1951.
(2) Tulloch, Maurice (1948) : The All-in-one Shikar Book.
(3) Ward, Col. A. E., (1923) : Small Game Shooting in Kashmir -and the
Adjacent Hill Provinces. J.B.NV.A.S., XXIX; 653-658.
Hunting with Cheetah
(1) Bibliography, Vigne, Handley, Salim A. Ali.
(2) Burton, R.W. (1950) : The Dew-claws of the Hunting Leopard or Cheetah
[(Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber)]. J.B.N.A.S., 49; 4541-543.
Hunting with Foxhounds
(1) Barrowcliff-Elliss, H. (1949): The Worseman’s Year. ‘Hunting in
India’, Contribution at pp. 76-84, —
(2) Information supplied by Mr. H. Hadow (Madras Hunt); Mr. J. de Wet
Van Ingen (Mysore Hounds) ; Notes by Captain W. H. Buckley (Banga-
lore Hounds) ; Mr. A, L. Holme. (Bombay Hunt and Poona & Kirkee
Hounds, and Bombay Jackal Club) ; Mr. H. J. M. Dent (Peshawar Vale
Hunt).
Hunting with a Bobbery-Pack
(1) Aflalo, F.G, (1904) : ‘The Sportsman’s Handbook for India.’ Article at
pp. 409-418.
(2) Best, Hon. J. W. (1922) : Shikar Notes, pp. 139-154.
(3) Burton, R. W. (1939) : Days and Doings with my Bobbery-Paek.
J.B.N.H.S., 415 324-331.
Pigsticking or Hog-Hunting
(1) Aflalo, F. G. (1904) : The Sportsman’s Handbook for India. Contribu-
tion by Major Neville-Taylor, pp. 309-381.
(2) Best, Hon. J. W. (1922) : Shikar Notes, pp. 170-186.
(3) Dunbar Brander, A. A. (1923) : Wild Animals in Central India, pp. 247-
3
263.
(4) ‘G.R.A.M.’ (1875) : A Manual of Indian Sport, 2nd Edition, pp. 119-134
and pp. 213-222.
(5) Simson, F. B. (1886) : Letters on Sport in Eastern Bengal.
(6) Wardrop, Gen. Sir Alexander (1930) : Modern Pigsticking.
{7) Williamson, Captain Thomas. First edition, coloured plates, 1807;
second edition, engraved plates, 1808. Vol. 1; p. 23.
12
868 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST: SOCK RY, eal o50
Falconry :
(1) Blanford, W. T. (1897) : Review of the Fauna cf British India, including
Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Vol. I1I, Accipitres, /.B.N.H.S., 10 ; 505-524.
(Full of interest and valuable information as to all diurnal birds of
prey.)
(2) Donald, C. H. (1908) : The Sport of Kings. J.B.N.H.S., XVI; 785-791.
(A vivid description of practice of Falconry in India.)
(3) Donald, C. H. (1921) : The Catching of Hawks and Falcons. J/.B.N.H.S.,
XXXVII; 829-834.
(4) Luard, Lt.-Col. E. C. (1921) : Shakespeare on the Noble Art of Hawking,
J.8.N.H.S., 27; 161-164.
(5) Langley, Captain E. A. (1860) : A Narrative of a Residence at the Court
of Meer Ali Moorad. With Wild Sports in the Valley of the Indus. 2
ve Mase Vol. 1; pp. 218-233. Training Hawks, Vol. II; pp.
124-128.
Fishing
(1) References asin text.
(2! Codrington, K, deB. (1946) : Notes on the Indian Mahseers. J.B.N.A.S.,
46 ; 236-344.
(3) Hora, Sunder Lal (1937-1948) : The Game Fishes of India. J.B.N.H.S.,
Vols. 39-44. (Anillustrated and descriptive scientific series comprising
seventeen articles.)
(4) Jones, S. (1946) : Breeding and development of Indian Freshwater and
Brackish water Fishes. J.B.N.H.S., 463 317-355 and 437-472.
(5) Jones, S. (1946): Destructive methods of Fishing in the Hill Ranges of
Travancore J.B.N.H.S., 46; 332-345.
(6) Spence, R. A. and Prater, S. H. (1932) : Game Fishes of Bombay, the
Deccan and the Neighbouring Districts of the Bombay Presidency
J.B.N.H.S., 36; 29-60. 19 plates (14 coloured). Notes on Mosquito-
destroying fishes, and on plants suitable for improving margins of
lakes. Two fiShes added. Suter (1942): 43; 663.
Photography. (Big Game).
(1) Champion, F. W. (1927): With a Camera in Tiger Land.
(2) Champion, F. W. (1930): ‘The Jungle in Sunlight and Shadow.’
(3) Hubback, Theodore (1938) : Malayan Gaur or Selangdang. J.B.N.H.S.,
40 ; 8-19.
(4) Hubback, Theodore (1939): The Two-Horned Asiatic Rhinoceres
(Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). J.B.N.A.S., 49; 594-617, with Additional
Notes by S. H. Prater (pp. 618-627).
(5) Hubback, Theodore, (1939): Wild Life Photography in the Malayan
Jungle. J.B.N.H.S., 41; 48-63.
(6) Peacock, E. H. (1934) : Stalking a Herd of Saing. J.8.N.H.S.,
XXXVIII_ ; 278-280.
(7) Peacock, E. H. (1934) : In Ambush for Bison. J.B.N.A.S., XXXVIL
528-531.
(8) Peaccck, E. H. (1935) : Where Big Game Takes the Waters. J.B.N.A.S.,
XXXVII; 780-785.
(9) Stockley, Major C. H. (1923) : 'The Measurement and Photography of
specimens of Big Game. J.L.N.A.S., XXIX ; 209-213.
(10) Thom, W.S. (1933) : Some Experiences amongst Elephant and other
_ Big Game of Burma (from 1887-1931). J.B.N.AL.S., XXXVI; 321-333.
(11) Thom, W.S. (1934) : Some Notes on Bison. (4760s gaurus) in Burma.
J.B.N.A.S., XXXVI; 106-123.
The Sporting Rifle
(1) Burgess, Captain F. H. (1884) : Sporting Firearms in Bush and Jungle.
(2) Burrard, Major Gerald (1925) : Notes on Sporting Rifles for Use in
India and elsewhere. Second edition.
(3) Forsyth, Captain James (1867) : The Sporting Rifle and its Projectile.
New edition.
(4) Rice, William. Tiger Shooting in India—Rajputana 1850-1854. (1857)
and ‘Indian Game’ by Gen. ‘William Rice, p. 85, (1884).
:
a HISTORY OF SHIKAR IN INDIFA. ~~ 869
(5) ‘ The Little Old Bear’ (1899): Useful Hints on the Gun and Rifle. 2nd
edition.
Preservation of Game
References as in text: also other references in addition to the 56 at pp. 620-622
of Vol, 47.
(1) Protection of Wild Life: Honorary Secretary’s Report, 1949. J.B.N.A.S.,
48; 617 and 623-624.
(2) Educational activities and Nature Education. J.BA.N.HZ/.S., 48 ; 621-623.
(3) Nature Education Scheme sponsored by the Bombay Government.
J.B.N.H.S., 50; 440 (1951),
(4) Burton, R. W. (1950) : Wild Life Reserves in India: Uttar Pradesh,
J.BN.HS., 49; 749-754. Atp. 752, delete the word ‘ Kansrau’.
(5) Burton, R. W. (1950) : Game Sanctuaries in Burma (pre 1942) with present
status of Rhinoceros and Thamin. (Withlist of references). .B.N.H.S.,
49; 729-737.
(6) Burton, R. W. (1951) : Protection of World Resources: Wild Life and
the Soil. J.B.N.A.S,, 50 ; 371-379.
(7) Burton, R. W. (1948): Wild Life Preservation: Birds. JB.NW.H.S., 47;
778-780.
(8) Burton, R. W. (1948): Wild Life Preservation: Animals. J.B.N.A.S.,
47; 780-781.
(9) Burton, R. W. (1950) : The International Union for the Protection of
Nature. 1950. /.B.N.A.S., 49; 809-814.
(10) The Bombay Wild Birds and Wild Animals Protection Act, 1951. Passed
by the Legislature. Society represented on the Advisory Boards. ‘l'ext
of the Act. Vol. 49: pp. 815-832 (1950).
Editors. ‘Obvious that legislation is but the first step, and the laws
require public support to make them effective. Centre is now alive to
the fact that wild life protection and national] parks are in need of
immediate action.’
(11) The Bombay National Parks Act, 1950. Provides for nominee of the
Society on the Advisory Committee. /.B.N.H.S., 50; 441 (1951).
(12) Daver, S. R. (1950); A Novel method of destroying man-eaters and
cattle-lifters without firearms. J.B.N.A.S., 49; 52-65. Comments by
R.W.B. at pp. 65-66.
(13))Gee, B.. PR. (1950), - Wild. Life Reserves in India: Assam. J.B.NV.A.S.,
49; 81-89. :
(14) Jamal Ara (1949): Wild Life Reserves in India: Bihar Province.
J BUNETL DS ., 49.5.2283-287,.
(15) Weatherbe, D’Arcy (1939) : Memorandum on the Kahilu Sanctuary. With
an introduction by Theodore Hubback. J.B.N.H/.S., 41; 146-160.
(16) Weatherbe, D’Arcy (1940) : Burma’s Decreasing Wild Life. J. B.NM.A.S.,
42; 150-160.
17) For articles by Hubback and Peacock see references under Photography of
Big Game.
NOTES ON THE GENUS SALICORNIA LINN.
(CHENOPODIACEAE)
BY
CHARLES McCann, F.L.S.
(With two plates)
Some years ago, when studying coastal vegetation in the field, I
experienced some difficulties regarding the floral construction of
Salicornia. My observations did not agree entirely with the descrip-
tions in authoritative works. My main difficulty was the correct
number of stamens. The species under observation, at that
time, was the Asiatic Salicornia brachiata Roxb. Since then, I have
had the opportunity of extending my studies to the New Zealand S.
australis Solander. Here again, I was confronted with the same
difficulties. Under the circumstances, I feel that I am now in a
position to discuss the point more confidently, and, at the same time,
to draw a comparison between the two species and record other field
and morphological characters. ,
The floral structures of Salicornia are so minute and difficult to
dissect that it 1s no wonder their true construction has not been
correctly recorded. Added to this is the hitherto unnoticed manner in
which the stamens are extruded.
Most of the genera of the family Chenopodiaceae are described as
having 3 to 5 stamens. Salicornia ‘appears’ to be the exception.
It is described as having one or one to two stamens. After my ex-
perience in the field I did not feel very happy about these statements
and so determined to investigate the matter further. After an ex-
amination of a very large number of flowers at different stages of
development, I found in some instances what appeared to be the
dried filaments protruding through the ‘floral pore’. The number of
such filaments varied from one to four, in addition to the remains of
the bifid style. This number seemed to be more in keeping with the
family characteristics. Not being quite satisfied with my results, I
pursued the subject further and eventually found the fifth stamen in
a very young floret (in S. australis).
In the fresh flower, field observations indicated that only one
stamen is extruded at a time through the floral: pore, but that this
one is succeeded by the others. This behaviour, no doubt, accounts
lor the oft-repeated statement, ‘stamens one’. Besides the number
of stamens, there are a few other details which need to be dealt with
from a field point of view, and these will be referred to under their
respective heads.
Habit: Salicornia brachiata is an erect annual, growing chiefly
in a substratum of a mixture of mud and sand. S. australis is a
perennial growing in rocky situations amongst shingle—or at least
with an underlying substratum of such material—where it is deeply
anchored. The former (brachiata) develops after the monsoon rains,
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Prate I
Salicornia brachiata Roxb.
1. Entire plant ; 2. flowering nodes ; 3. pistil ; 4. embryo; 5. anther ;
6. pollen grain; 7. seed.
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PratE IT
Salicornia australis Soland.
1. Portion of plant; 2. flowering nodes; 3 and 4. anthers; 5. pistil; 6. pollen grain ;
7. seed ; 8. floral lobe with 3 stamens ; 9. floral lobes round ovary.
THE GENUS SALICORNIA LINN. (CHENOPODIACEAE) 871
and continues to flourish throughout the dry season, maturing its seed
before the advent of the following monsoon. The old stems remain
standing till they are beaten down by wind and waves, or succumb
to decay. The latter (australis) flourishes throughout the year, but
the old succulent tissue dries up leaving a wiry, yet living stem,
.surmounted by fleshy tissue towards its extremity—the vegetative
growth of the last season. The period of greatest vegetative activity
(in australis) is during the spring of each year, followed by the new
inflorescences. At the extremity of each succulent ‘finger’ the topmost
segments. are confined to the production of flowers and fruit—‘in-
florescences terminal’. During the winter months growth is. con-
siderably retarded. Incidentally, most rain in New Zealand falls
during the winter period.
We have already observed that S. brachiuta is killed off with the
advent of each monsoon season, a period when the rains neutralise
the salinity of the inshore waters. Perhaps this factor inhibits the
growth of new plants. It is of interest to note that, in the case of
S. australis, growth is also retarded at a time when there is an in-
crease in the rainfall, apart from the factor of low temperature at
the same period. However, I am fully aware that no one factor,
alone, is responsible for the reduction of vegetative growth, but that
several factors come into operation in unison.
Stem: An interesting question about Salicornia is, What actually
constitutes the stem and branches? Outwardly, the stem and branches
appear as succulent structures, but a cross-section reveals a hard
wiry core surrounded by succulent tissue. This question appears to
be partly answered by the perennial species, S$. australis. In _ that
species the fleshy tissue dries up on the older portions leaving a wiry,
yet living, structure capable of producing one or twe new succulent
shoots at each node. Another point worthy of note in S. australis is
that the fructifying region disintegrates after maturation, leaving a
truncated section. This extremity is capable of producing two new
shoots, suggesting dichotomous branching. If we restrict the term
stem to the wiry core within the succulent tissue, we are then faced
with the problem, What is the origin of the succulent tissue and how
are we to designate it? Is it to be regarded as part. of the foliar
structure? With these questions I must pass on to the leaves them-
selves.
Leaves: At one time the Salicornia were described as leafless.
However, the subject has given rise to much discussion, and the
opinions have been varied. Duval-Jouve (1868) regarded the succulent
outer tissue of stem and branches as of foliar origin. Babington
(1904), Bentham (1858) and Hooker (1884) considered the Salicornia
to be leafless, and that the succulent tissue represented stem cortex-
De Bary (1884) expressed the view that the free extremities of the
fleshy internodes constituted the scale-like leaves arranged in a
decussate pattern. De Fraine (1913), after a careful study of the
anatomy of the genus Salicornia, agrees with Duval-Jouve in treating
the succulent tissue as foliar in origin. After careful observation in
the field of both S. brachiata and S. australis I arrived at an inde-
pendent, but similar conclusion (I was not aware of the papers quoted
872 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
above at the time of my own studies). My conclusions were based
largely on the comparison of the two species in the field, and rough
transverse sections.
De Fraine (1913) has proved beyond doubt that the succulent tissue
surrounding the internodes is foliar and that it is formed by the con-
genital fusion of two opposing leaf-sheaths. ‘he leaf tips constitute
the membranous collar at each node. De Fraine (1913) speaks of.
periodic shedding of the succulent tissue (after desiccation) in the
perennial species, and that the annual species shed their foliar
structures towards the close of the flowering period. ‘As far as my
observations go, I must confess that I have not observed leaf-fall in
either S. brachiata or in S. australis. On maturity the succulent
tissue dries, but remains adherent to the stem until it is rotted off
by repeated wetting or removed by friction.
Flowers: The number of florets in each leaf-axil is variable
but there seems to be some uniformity within the species; this may
form an useful accessory taxonomic character. In S§. brachiata the
number in each axil varies from 1 to 3, but 3 appears to be the more
frequent number; in S. australis the number varies from 5 to 10, but
an odd number is more frequent.
Each floret is somewhat urceolate or obpyramidal, depending much
on its position in the axil; 3 to 5 minute teeth or lobes border the
floral opening (very suggestive of calyx teeth); its walls are much
thickened. Within the ‘calyx cup’ I discovered two minute orbicular,
deeply concaved, membranous floral lobes, pl. 2, figs. 8 & 9 (perhaps
corresponding to a corolla) embracing the ovary. Within these lobes
I was more than surprised to find the young stamens, two ia one
lobe and three in the other. Thus in the case of S. brachiata I
found four stamens and five in S. australis. This was final confirmation
that the normal number of stamens in Salicornia is 4-5. (It is ex-
tremely difficult to tease out these minute parts.)
The stigma is bifid, the arms minutely papillate. Usually, the
stigma is extruded after the first stamen.
Authoritative works define the number of stamens in Salicornia
as 1, or 1 to 2. The usual number for the family Chenopodiaceae is
5. Why did Salicornia alone appear to deviate frem the usual family
character of 5 stamens? The question puzzled me and aroused my
curiosity. I determined to find the solution. After an examination
of very many florets in the fresh state, I discovered in some the
remains of the filaments of more than one stamen, in addition to the
remains of the style. Further dissection finally revealed that there
were actually five. The next thing was to observe the anthers them-
selves. On examining immature florets it was found that only one
anther matures at a time. This occupies all available space till it
emerges through the ‘floral pore’. The extrusion of the first anther
is followed by the style, the remaining anthers appearing later. This
mode of succession evidently has something to do with pollination.
The pollen in both species is very similar; it is spherical and
pitted. Apparently, the pits are responsible for the somewhat adherent
quality of the pollen, for, although some of the pollen may be wind
borne, much of it remains adhering to the surface of the plant and
tends to ‘roll’ along it. Few insects visit the flowers, but I have
eens eee
THE GENUS SALICORNIA LINN. (CHENOPODIACEAE) 873
observed a minute thrips moving over the tissue. There is a possibi-
lity that these insects may play a part in pollination (?). However, it
appears to me that both cross- and self-pollination is provided for.
Cross-pollination by the movement of pollen from a freshly opened
flower, with the anther dehisced, to a flower below, in which a freshly
expanded stigma is mature; self-pollination by the stigma contacting
the second anther from the same flower.
Sercaiss: imesbotm species the seeds, are, very similar: they are
compressed and provided with minute hooks.
Economics: In India, S. brachiata is frequently eaten as a
pot herb by some of the poorer classes. It is boiled in much the
same way as spinach. Accordingly, it is occasionally seen, on sale,
in some of the local vegetable shops. I can find no reference to
S. australis being used as a food in New Zealand.
Ett Er REA TU ORE
Babington, (1904): Manual of British Botany, 9th edition, p. 350.
Bentham, G. (1858): Handbook of British Flora, p. 436.
Cheeseman, T. F. (1925): Manual of the New Zealand Flora, p. 410.
Cooke, T. (1908): The Flora of the Presidency of Bombay, Vol. II, p. 504.
De Bary, (1884): Comparative Anatomy, of Phanerogams & Ferns, English
Translation, p. 297.
De, brane. B31 913) Jour Linn Soc. Lond. Sil, (4) p..2317:
Duval-Jouve, (1868): Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. XV, p. 182.
Hooker, J. D. (1884): Students Flora of the British Isles, pp. 335 and 341.
“Roxburgh, W. (1832): Flora Indica, I, p. 84
MOSQUITO WORK IN INDIA
BY
SIR GORDON COVELL, M.D., D.P.H.,
(Irormerly Director, Malaria Institute of India)
For a ‘proper appreciation of the development of mosquito work
in India, it is useful to review the events which led up to the discovery
of the mosquito transmission of malaria by Ronald Ross, then a
Major in the Indian Medical Service, in 1897. Sir Patrick "Manson,
having shown by his researches in China that the development of
the filarial embryo takes place in the mosquito, had become convinced
that this insect also played an essential part in the transmission of
malaria. He imparted this conviction to Ross, and thus inspired the
brilliant series of investigations which culminated in the discovery of
malarial oocysts on the stomach wall of an ‘Anopheles mosquito at
Secunderabad on August 20, 1897. Ross’s knowledge of mosquitoes
at that time was extremely limited, and he was unaware of the identity
of the species dissected, but it was almost certainly that subsequently
named by Liston Anopheles stephensi. In the following year, in
Calcutta, Ross turned his attention to bird malaria and succeeded in
following out the complete life cycle of the parasite, the mosquito:
used being presumably Culex fatigans.
How little was known of the mosquitoes of India at this time is.
well illustrated in the following passage from a paper by Colonel G. M.
Giles, 1.M.s., read before the Bombay Natural History Society in 1900:
‘Two years ago, when I took up the task of collecting the history of |
the Culicidae’, it is an actual fact that no more than four speciés were
recorded as having been found in all India. There was in fact hardly
any known country with such scanty records of the subject. The
subjoined list includes 32 species, and I have little doubt that the final
total of species will be found to be not far off a hundred, as new
species are constantly turning up.’
By 1934, when P. J. Barraud published his volume on _ the
Culicidae in the Fauna of British India series, the number of species:
in the sub-family Culicinae, including 43 Anophelini, had reached #
total of 288, excluding named varieties. :
Of the’ 43 species of Anopheles, only 7 are of major importance
as malaria carriers in India: A. culicifacies, noted for its associatiom
with widespread regional epidemics of great severity, A. stephensi,.
the only vector capable of adapting itself to built-up city conditions,.
' A. superpictus, the chief carrier in Baluchistan, A. fluviatilis and A.
minimus, the notorious foothill vectors of southern and eastern India
respectively, A. philippinensis, the chief vector of deltaic Bengal and
A. sundaicus, the brackish water breeder of the Bengal and Orissa
coastal areas.
1 Giles’s Handbook of the Gnats or Mosquitoes was first published in 1900.
tebe Rie Bsn, hie ae
‘be 3 i
ogi Bh ro fee
aia ee Rea eA aA ot
no higaiprven iene tingle tases aug
#
4
oa
a.
a
a ates
Par ne
MOSQUITO WORK IN INDIA 875-
~ One of:the most distinguished of the early workers on mosquitoes.
in India was S. P. James, who joined the Indian Medical Service in
1896. In 1898 he was posted to Quilon, in Travancore State, where
his attention was directed to the study of mosquitoes chiefly on
account of his interest in filariasis, which is extremely common in
that part of India. Following up the researches of Manson, James
succeeded in demonstrating filarial embryos in the head and proboscis.
of Culex sitiens, Aedes albopictus and Anopheles subpictus, and
arrived at the conclusion that filariasis was transmitted by mosquito
bite. These observations were made entirely independently of those
of G. C. Low, whose paper recording his findings was, however,
published a few weeks earlier than that of James.
In 1901, James was placed on special duty with the Malaria Com-
mission of the Royal Society, two of whose members, J. W. W.
Stephens and S. R. Christophers, had recently arrived in India after
working for two years in Central and West Africa. Investigations
were conducted in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, in the course of
which for the first time the selective breeding habits of mosquitoes
were recognised—the foundation of what is now known as species
sanitation. Later in the same year the Commission moved to Lahore,.
where they initiated an experimental trial of malaria control by the
obliteration or treatment of mosquito breeding places in the canton-
ment of Mian Mir. The result of this experiment, which extended
over 3 years, showed that the control of malaria by antilarval opera-
tions was by no means as easy and simple as had. originally been:
supposed, and that above all it required thoroughly organised action
and constant strict supervision. In January 1902 the members of
the Commission attended a Malaria Conference at Nagpur, and it
was here that James formed the association with W. G. Liston, I.M.s.,
which bore fruit two years later in the first edition of their classic
memoir on ‘The Anopheline Mosquitoes of India’. Other names
associated with these early investigations are those of Cogill, Aitken
and Patton, all of whom contributed articles on mosquitoes in this.
Journal.
In 1908 Christophers (now an officer of the I.M.S.} and C. A.
Bentley conducted an inquiry into the problems of malaria and black-
water fever in the planting districts of north-east India, particularly
the Bengal Duars. In the same year there occurred a devastating
regional malaria epidemic in north-west India, in the course of which
more than 300,000 persons died in the Punjab alone. In one sense
this proved a blessing in disguise, for it led to the calling of an Imperial
Malaria Conference at Simla in the following year which recommended
the formation of an organisation for the study and prevention of
malaria in India, comprising a Central Scientific Committee and a
Local Malaria Committee for each province. There was appointed in
each province an officer trained in malaria research, to carry out
investigations which would form. the basis of preventive measures,
and the study of mosquitoes throughout the Indian sub-continent was
greatly extended. In the years 1909-10 Bentley made a detailed
survey of malarial conditions in Bombay City and in 1911 Christophers
conducted an inquiry into the causes of malaria in the Andaman
Islands. Similar surveys of malarious tracts were undertaken in other
876 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 350
parts of India’ by Fry, Graham, ‘Kendrick, Adie, Permy, Gill tS:
Ross, Horne, Hodgson and others. The Central Malaria Bureau,
under the direction of Christophers, was founded at Kasauli, where
were started thie collections which have formed the basis of most of
the systematic work since carried out on the mosquitoes of India.
The first world war had a disastrous effect on mosquito work in
India, but after the cessation of hostilities interest in the subject
began to revive. Christophers, who had served during the war in
Mesopotamia, returned to the Central Malaria Bureau and resumed
his intensive study of Anopheles, and Barraud took up the study of
culicine mosquitoes on similar lines. In 1927 a permanent malaria
organisation, the Malaria Survey of India, now known as the Malaria
Institute of India, was established. Its headquarters was originally
at Kasauli, but was transferred to Delhi in 1938. Much detailed
‘study of the mosquitoes of India from both systematic and biological
aspects has been carried out by the staff of the institute both in its
central laboratories and through special research units operating in
various parts of the country. Among the more important works on
mosquitoes published between the first and second world wars were
Christophers’s ‘Provisional List and Reference Catalogue of the
Anophelini’ and the same author’s volume on the Anophelini in the
Fauna of British India series, Barraud’s volume on the Megarhinin1
and Culicini in the same series, Covell’s ‘Distribution of Anopheline
Mosquitoes in India’ and ‘A critical review of the data recorded re-—
garding the transmission of malaria by the different species of
‘Anopheles’ and Puri’s ‘Larvae of Anopheline Mosquitoes, with full
‘description of the Indian Species’. 7
The Rockefeller Foundation has also made a notable contribution
to the study of Indian mosquitoes. From 1927 to 1433 W. C. Sweet
conducted a series of epidemiological investigations in Mysore State,
which formed the basis of the antimalartal campaign which has been
in (progress there in’ recent years: Dr: P, . “Russell canrred pone
similar work in south-eastern Madras from 1936 to 1942, with
particular reference to the problems of irrigation malaria. In both
these investigations many important mosquito studies were included,
particularly in regard to bionomics.
The Ross Institute of Tropicai Hygiene established a branch in
India in 1930, with centres in Assam and the Bengai Duars, and later
in southern India also. The prevention of malaria has been a major
feature of its activities, and this has involved an intensive study of
mosquitoes and their habits. Much attention has been directed to the
biological control of mosquito breeding by the growing of dense shade
‘over water channels and by the flushing of streams by means of
automatic sluices. Important researches on mosquito behaviour in
Assam were also undertaken by R. C. Muirhead-Thomson under the
auspices of the Royal Society and the London School of Hygiene and
‘Tropical Medicine from 1938 to 1941.
In Bengal notable contributions to our knowledge of mosquitoes
have been made by M. O. T. Iyengar, for many years Entomologist
to the Bengal Health Department, and by C. Strickland and other
workers at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine. Mention must
‘also be made of the work of R. A. Senior White, who was for 20 years
PENI ie 2 BR He
MOSQUITO. WORK IN INDIA 877
Malariologist to the Bengal Nagpur Railway. During this period
he carried out a series of intensive studies of the mosquito fauna of
Bengal and Orissa and published a number of articles on the subject
in various scientific journals.
-®
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIMOSQUITO MEASURES
Reference has already been made to the disappointing results of
the first attempts in India to control malaria by antilarval measures.
It became obvious that such methods were far too costly for applica-
tion in rural areas, in which oo per cent of the population of India
is located. They were economically practicable only in circumstances
where large numbers of persons were congregated in limited areas and
where considerable financial interests were involved. During the next
35 years there were many examples where malaria was successfully
controlled by antilarval measures in urban areas such as Bombay,
Bangalore, Lucknow and Delhi, and among labour forces employed
on tea, coffee and rubber estates or other industrial concerns. But in
the villages of India the only procedure attempted was the provision
of treatment for the sick—a palliative rather than a control measure.
In 1936, however, the publication of results achieved in South
Africa by the spray-killing of adult mosquitoes in human dwellings
with pyrethrum insecticide at a moderate cost encouraged the hope
that here at last was a weapon which might prove practicable for use
in rural India. Just at this time a comprehensive scheme of malaria
control was being planned for the Delhi urban area, which covers
approximately 60 square miles. The quarters occupied by government
employees in particularly malarious sections of the area were sprayed
throughout the malaria season with remarkably good results. In
one set of quarters the malaria rate was reduced to 1.4 per cent,
whilst a figure of 45 per cent was recorded in adjacent quarters which
were left unsprayed during the same period. The WCihod was there-
upon recommended for use throughout India for personnel such as
police, railway, forest or other government employees and_ labour
forces in estates, mills and other industrial enterprises when housed
in permanent quarters. It was at first thought that its usefulness
would be limited to such conditions, but in 1937 it was applied with
success in several villages wh) Delhi Province. Further experimental
work on similar lines was carried out by the Rockefeller Foundation
Malaria Unit in southern India from 1938 to 1941, and about the
same time the measure was adopted on a large scale in rural areas of
Mysore State.
During the early stages of the second world war, antilarval
measures combined with the spray-killing of adult mosquitoes with
pyrethrum insecticide proved inadequate for the conditions obtaining
on the Burma front. With the introduction of DDT in 1944 a
dramatic change occurred and in the two following malaria seasons
the disease was reduced to such a low level that it was no longer of
any military significance. Unfortunately, however, a system of rigid
mass drug prophylaxis was put in fos at the same time, and it is
impossible to assess with any degree of accuracy the relative part
4
878 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Veis 30
played by each of the two measures. The destruction of adult
mosquitoes with residual insecticides has however been the chief
feature of all antimalarial campaigns carried out among civil popula-
tions during the post-war years, and in India, as elsewhere, the results
achieved have been most striking. :
Mosquito control measures in Delhi have now been extended
throughout the rural area of the State. In Bombay State an organi-
sation established in 1942 is now operating one of the largest and
most successful DDT spray-killing campaigns in the world. Over
g million persons are already under protection and it is expected that
the number will reach 16 millions within the next two years. In
Madras State there are 33 schemes in operation, protecting a popula-
tion of 2 millions. In Mysore State 500,000 people are under
protection. In West Bengal 97 antimalarial units are now operating
and more than 3 millions are already protected. In Uttar Pradesh
~)
7 schemes are in operation, protecting 2 million persons. In Coorg
the destruction of mosquitoes with residual sprays has been extremely
successful, with great benefit to the coffee planting industry. Four
control schemes under the auspices of the World Health Organisation
are operating in foothill tracts in Mysore State, Uttar Pradesh,
Orissa and Madras for the past two years. Antimosquito measures
are also in force throughout the coalfields of India and on most of
the railways, and there are other schemes in operation in association
with various engineering projects such as the Damodar Valley,
Hirakud Dam and Tungabhadra. The most striking reduction in
the malaria rate brought about by the application of residual sprays
has been in the foothills of southern India where the chief vector is
Anopheles fluviatilis, a house-haunting mosquito with a marked pre--
ference for human blood, and one of the most efficient malaria carriers
in the world.
It is encouraging to note that the importance of antimosquito
work is now fasdigs recognised by the Government of India, and that
plans are on foot to extend such operations until the entire population
of areas where malaria is still rife are effectively protected from
infection.
A list of publications relating to mosquitoes which have appeared
from time to time in the Journal is given below. rey
Giles, G. M. (1901): A plea for the collective investigation of
the Culicidae. 13; 592.
Aitken, E. H. (1901): Notes on Anopheles or malaria mosquito.
13; 601. : 3 |
Cogill, H. (1903): The Anopheles of Karwar (North Kanara).
1d: 327.
ea W. S. (1905): The Culicid fauna of the Aden Hinterland.
16; 623. | :
ann H. (1907): Destruction of mosquitoes and their larvae
by fish and lime. 17; 823.
Liston, W--G. <(1908):-— The — present. epidemic gine thesseort <1
Bombay. 18; 872. | |
Bentley, C. ‘A. (1910): The natural history of Bombay malaria.
20; 3092.
Lloyd, R. E. (1910): Mosquitoes and fish. 20; 1165..
7
eae TRE SSS ORAL TON. AAS ean CO
Soa!
MOSQUITO WORK IN INDIA S79
Wnichine Wee e( lols). bite distance mosquitoeg, can fly. — Za;
=» Cavell, Gr2(1930):. ‘Che malaria problem in Bombay. 34; 735.
* * * * *
a Ar tulls list ‘of (the; species of’ mosquitoes, hitherto. recorded ‘in
India will be found in the two volumes on Culicidae by Christophers
and Barraud.in the Fauna of British India series, the former on
Anophelinae, the latter on Megarhinini and Culicini.—Ebs. |
FUNCTIONAL DIVERGENCE, STRUCTURAL CONVERGENCE
AND PRE-ADAPTATION EXHIBITED BY THE FISHES
OF THE CYPRINOID FAMILY PSILORHYNCHIDAB HORA
BY
SUNDER: LAL HORA, D.SC.;, F.R:S:2.,° C;M,Z.S,,. Mel-BIOl.,. F.Z.S.b5
F.A.S., F.N.I.5
Director, Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum, Calcutta
(With two text figures)
The family Psilorhynchidae, as defined at present, consists of a
single genus Pszlorhynchus McClelland which comprises three species,.
namely, P. sucatio (Ham.), P. balitora (Ham.) and P. homaloptera Hora
& Mukerji. Hamilton’s two species were originally described from
the north-eastern parts of Bengal (Eastern Himalayas), and have since
been very frequently collected from the small streams below the
Darjeeling Himalayas. The range of P. sucatio has now been extended
to the Gandak drainage by Menon (seen in MS.) and to the Damodar
River basin by David (seen in MS.), while /?. dalitora has since been
found in the Assam Hills (Hora 1921a), Upper Burma (Mukerji, 1933),
and as far west along the Himalayas as Delhi (Majumdar, 1952),
P. homalopiera is known so far only from the Naga Hills, Assam (Hora
& Mukerji, 1935). It will thus be seen that Psilorhynchidae is a
small family of peculiar fishes with a comparatively restricted distribu-
tion. The distributional pattern of the family, when compared with
that of the Homalopteridae or the Glyptosternoid group of the family
Sisoridae, indicates its evolution during the Pleistocene and its dispersal
and speciation during the late orogenic movements of the Himalayas.
(Menon, op. cit., MS.). It seems to have crossed over the Garo-
Rajmahal Gap during the last glacial epoch about 20,000 tc 10,000
years ago when the height of the gap relative to the then sea-level was
probably 500 to 600 feet (Hora, 1951).
These remarkable fishes have been variously assigned to the families
Cyprinidae, Cobitidae and Homalopteridae by the earlier ichthyologists
and some fishes from China and Indo-China had erroneously been
_ referred to Psdlorhynchus owing to certain superficial similarities in
structure and form with the Indian species. In 1925, the writer (Hora,
pp. 457-60) discussed the systematic position of this genus and created
a separate family for its reception. Since then, Mukerji (loc. cit.) and
Ramaswami (1952) have shown from more detailed morphological
studies that its separation into a new family was justified. The salient
features of the Psilorhynchidae are :—
1. Absence of barbels and peculiar shape of mouth and of the
associated structures (text fig. 1 d-f).
2. Presence of a number of unbranched rays in the paired fins
(text fig. 1 d-f) as in the Homalopteridae.
3. A free air-bladder in the abdominal cavity (text fig. I a-c)as
in the Cyprinidae.
pie SMe Ry
Te! eye hr
FUNCTIONAL DIVERGENCE ETC. OF PSILORHYNCHIDAE HORA 85r
4. A siender pharyngeal bone with teeth (four) arranged in a
single row as in the Cobitidae and the Homalopteridae.
5. A plate-like, well-developed and broad basipterygium (text.
fig. 1g, #and/7) for the attachment of muscles as in the
Homalopteridae.
In characters 2, 4 and 5, there is a close parallelism between the
families Psilorhynchidae and Homalopteridae, but the structural
modifications 2 and 5, though due to the more vigorous use of the paired.
fins and the muscles associated with them, are correlated with the
performance of different functions, as will be shown below.
Fig. 1
Hora & Mukerji (loc. cit.) have already referred to the differences
in the habitats of the three species and shown how these are correlated
with their structural features. For instance, P. sucatio is usually met
Within sandy parts of a brook where it lies partly buried in sand which
882 FOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50° — ;
3
it displaces with the vigorous action of its paired fins. It is thus not
affected by the swiftness of the current to any appreciable extent. Asa
result of this ground habit of life, the air-bladder (text fig. la) has
deviated from the normal shape and is represented by a laterally ex-
tended anterior chamber only. When it lies at the bottom, partly
buried in sand, its dorsal streamlined profile offers little resistance to
the current and the flattened ventral surface broadly rests on a sandy ~
substratum. There seems little doubt that the unbranched rays in the
ot
— CJ
=I —r sy
ri
\
paired fins of P. sucatio (text fig. 2d) are used for digging in sandy
bottom. Similar structural. modifications in the paired fins of the
Homalopteridae (text fig. 2a) have taken place but for a different
~ purpose—enabling them to cling to rocks. ‘To obviate any damage to
the fins, either- when used for digging or for adhesion, the unbranched
rays are completely segmented to ensure, during operation, pliability
with strength. Thus the convergence of structure is carried a step
further. Inthe case of the Homalopteridae, the skin on the ventral
surface of these rays becomes padded (text fig. 2a) for effective
adhesion and the first ray (text fig. 26 &c.) becomes broader by the
development ofa series of cartilaginous processes as are characteristic
of the Glyptosternoid fishes (Hora & Silas, 1952) of the family:
FUNCTIONAL DIVERGENCE ETC. OF PSILORHYNCHIDAE HORA 883
Sisoridz. In view of the fact that the pectoral fins of Psilorhynchus
sucatco are used for quite a different purpose, no adhesive pads of skin are
developed on their ventral surface. In an aquarium, however, the
-fish was noticed to cling to the sides by means of the fins and the
flattened ventral surface.
Pstlorhynchus balitora (text fig. le) is cylindrical and loach-like in
appearance and I have often collected it from rocky streams. Mukerji
(op. cit., p. 830) observed that
‘P.bakitora is found in the fast streams and shallow rivers of Northern Bengal
and Assam, especially where the bottom is rocky. 1 have never found the fish
living in any sluggish stream with a muddy bottom. In the Sevoke Stream and in
the shallow, clear and rocky parts of the Mahanadi river, 1 have observed series of
P. balitora adhering tightly to the rocky substratum with the expanded paired fins
and the chest appliedto the rocks. Like other torrential fishes, it always points its
head against the flow of the current.’
On the other hand, Kaushiva (1951, p. 164) found specimens of
P. batitora at Lucknow on a sandy bottom where the water was flowing
with some force owing to a weir. There are more unbranched rays in
the pectoral fins of this species than in P. sucatéo and the air-bladder |
(text fig. 10) is, though somewhat reduced, of the usual Cyprinid type,
showing thereby that this species has not yet fuliy taken to a ground
habit of life, though for clinging to rocks or digging in sand it seems to
have more efficient pectoral fins than those of P. sucatio,
From the observations recorded above, it will be seen that 2. éali-
fora is equally at home both in rocky as well as in sandy streams. It
is, therefore, a more generalised species of the genus. Specimens
collected from the rocky streams usually possess skin pads on the
ventral surface of the unbranched rays. ‘The paired fins, originally
modified for clinging to rocks have secondarily become equally effici-
ent for digging in sand. ‘Thus, this is a case of pre-adaptation, where
structures modified for one purpose have turned out to be suitable for
another purpose also.
Psilorhynchus homaloptera (text fig. If), as is implied in the speci-
fic name, has become absolutely Homaltopiera-like in form and struc-
tural modifications. There is an increase in the number of unbranched
rays to 8 in the pectoral fins and the air-bladder (text fig. 1c) is fibrous
and reduced. Though no direct observations on its mode of life are
recorded, the development of skin-pads on the ventral surface of the
unbranched rays of the pectoral fins shows its adaptiveness to cling to
rocks in swift currents.
The present-day modes of life of the three species referred to above
indicate that P, dalitova is the central form which can live in sand, as its
specific name indicates, but is equally at home on rocks, as observed
by Mukerji. Itis not yet known which Cyprinoid genus gave rise to
Pstlorhynchus nor is there any indication about the evolution of the type
of mouth characteristic of these fishes. The coalescence of the branch-
ed rays in the paired fins would seem to have been induced by digging
in sand and later found useful for clinging to rocks also. The modifi-
cations of P. sucatio seem to be directed towards burrowing in sand
while those of P. homaloptera for clinging to rocks. Thus in these three
Species we have a remarkable instance of functional divergence
associated with structural convergence.
13
884. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
REFERENCES ts
David, A. (1952) : New Records of Himalayan Fishes from the Damodar and
Mahanadi river systems. Scz. & Cult. (In press).
Hora, S. L. (1921 a): Fish and Fisheries of Manipur with sore observations.
on those of the Naga Hills. ec. Ind. Mus.22; 165-214.
— — — (19216): On some new or rare species of fish from the Eastern
Himalayas. ec. Ind. Mus.22 3 731-744.
— — — (1925): Notes on fishesin the Indian Museum, XI[—The systematic
position of the Cyprinoid genus /’silorhynchus McClelland. Jbid., 27 ; 457-460.
— — — (1951): Some observations on the palaeogeography of the Garo-
Rajmahal Gap as evidenced by the distribution of Malayan fauna and flora to
Peninsular India, Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India, 17 (6) ; 437-444.
Hora, S. L.; & Mukerji, D. D. (1935): Fishes of the Naga Hills, Assam.
Rec. Ind. Mus., 37 ; 381-404.
Hora, S. L., and Silas, E. G. (1952) : Evolution and distribution of Glyptos-
ternoid fishes of the family Sisoridae (order Siluroidea). Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India.
(In press).
Kaushiva, B. S. (1951): Extension of geographical range of Psilorhynchus
balitora (Ham,). Curr, Sci., 20; 164.
Majumdar, N.N. (1952) : Notes on Delhi Fishes. II—On the occurrence of
the fish Pstlorhynchus balitora (Hamilton) in the Jumna river at Delhi. J. Zool.
Soc. India, 3 (2) ; 243-247.
Menon, A. G. K. (1952) : Further studies regarding Hora’s Satpura Hypothe-
sis. I1—The distribution of torrential fishes of the Himalayas and its palaeogeogra-
phical significance (Under preparation). ’
Mukerji, D. D. (1933): Report on Burmese fishes collected by Lt.-Col. R. W.
Burton from the tributary streams of the Mali Hka river of the Myitkyina district
(Upper Burma). Journ. Bomb. Nat Hist. Soc., 36 ; 812-831.
Ramaswami, L. 8. (1952): Skeleton of Cyprinoid fishes in relation to phylo-
genetic studies. 2. ‘the skull and other skeletal structures of Pszlorhynchus
McClelland. Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India.
EXPLANATION OF TEXT FIGURES
Text fig. 1. Air-bladder, ventral surface of anterior part of body and
basipterygium in the three species of Psilorhynchus McClelland.
a. Air-bladder of P. sucatio (Ham.) x 13; 6. Air-bladder of P. dbalitora
(Ham.) x 5 (After Mukerji, 1933); c. Air-bladder of P. homaloptera Hora &
Mukerji, x5 (After Hora & Mukerji, 1955); d. Ventral surface of anterior part
of body of P. sucatio (Ham.) x ¢.1 (After Hora 1921); e. Same of P. dalitora
(Ham.) x ¢. 1(After Mukerji, (1933); f. Same of P. homaloplera (Hora &
Mukerji, 1935). ¢.x1; g. Basipterygium of P. sucatio (Ham.). x ¢ca.8;h. Same
of P. balitora (Ham.), x c. 44 (After Mukerji, (1933) ;z. Sameof P. homaloptera
Hora & Mukerji x ¢.3. (Atter Hora & Mukerji, 1935).
Text fig. 2. Pectora! fins of Balitora brucei Gray and Psilorhynchus sucatio
(Hamilton). ;
a. Balitora brucei: ventral surface to show the adhesive pads on the
unbranched rays, x 24; 6. Six anterior rays of &. dbrucez dissected out to show
their segmented nature and wing-like cartilaginous extensions on the exposed
portions of these rays, x 4; ¢. Proximal portions of the anterior two rays of
B. brucet to show the well-developed cartilaginous extension of the first ray,,
x 643; da. Psilorhynchus sucatio.
BUTTERFLY COLLECTING IN INDIA
BY
M. A. WyntTer-BLYTH, F.R.E.S.
(With a coloured plate)
Perhaps few articles have been begun under conditions more
unsuitable to the subject than this. I am camping in a side nala of
the Wardwan Valley in Kishtwar and, although it is May 15th, I am,
for the third consecutive day, confined to my tent by foul weather.
It is snowing heavily, it is bitterly cold, and no conditions less con-
ducive to writing on butterflies can be imagined! However, this is
the date upon which the article is due. Conscience, not inspiration,
is the spur.
My object is to show that butterfly collecting is no mere childish
hobby, but a study of absorbing and deep scientific interest.
Much remains to be discovered about the early stages, distribution,
migration, and habits of Indan butterflies, and it is still in the power
of the enthusiastic collector to be a pioneer, for it is no exaggeration
to state that every collector, no matter where he collects, will after
collecting for a few months, have some piece of information or some
specimen of value to science.
The naturalist is usually depicted as a bearded old fossil down
on his knees peering at something through a magnifying glass, whilst
the butterfly collector in particular, an even greater figure of fun,
is a be-spectacled professor, head in air, wildly chasing a butterfly,
unobservant of the yawning chasm in front of him.
Such pictures should not deter the embryo collector, for though
they are no doubt humorous, they are somewhat unjust. If the
reader is prepared to undertake a little simple research, he will find
that the majority of distinguished naturalists in India, and she has
had many, have also made their mark in the services or professions.
At first it will undoubtedly be the beauty, and, to a lesser extent,
the variety and abundance, of Indian butterflies that will attract the
collector, for there are few Indian butterflies that are not beautiful,
and among the 1,400 or so species to be found within the Indian
Region! are some of the most beautiful in the world.
An interesting experiment that I once carried out on the relative
beauty of Indian butterflies may serve as an illustration to this state-
ment. I chose some 4o of what I considered to be the most beautiful
of them all, selected with an eye to suit all tastes. - I then asked
1r of the inhabitants of the place in which I was stationed, people
of various nationalities, occupations, social standing and levels of
intelligence, to choose in order what they thought to be the six most
beautiful—first choice receiving 6 points, second 5 points and
+ That is India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma, Nicobars & Andamans.
386 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOGIETY> Vor Ge
so on. Amongst these butterflies was Prothoe calydonia, the Glori-
ous Begum (see plate), an extremely rare butterfly from Burma that
is often referred to as the most beautiful butterfly in the world. . In
the final count the interesting fact was that this butterfly only gained
6th place. . The final placings were as follows :—
(1) The Blue Peacocks [Papilio polyctor, P. arcturus (see
plate), P. paris and P. krishna, of which the favourite was P. polyctor].
) The Kaisar-i-Hind (Teinopalpus imperialis).
) The Banded Peacocks (Papilio crino and P. buddha).
) The Orange Oakleaf (Ivallima inachus).
) The Birdwings (Troides).
) The Gisnace! Begum (Prothoe calydonia).
(7). The Clipper (Parthenos sylvia virens),
and thereafter in order the Bhutan Glory (Armandia lidderdalei),
the Yellow Gorgon (Meandrusa payeni), and the Large Oakblue
(Amblypodia amantes) as representing the numerous Oakblue genus.
The Blue Peacocks gained first place very comfortably, seven of
the eleven’ selectors placing them airst, | The “favourite, (Ps cpolyeior,
the Common Peacock, is an abundant butterfly at Himalayan hill
stations and very much a feature of gardens during the ‘spring and
rains. Papilio arcturus, the Blue Peacock, is my own particular
favourite in this group, perhaps because of its association with the
higher hills, for the differences between it and polyctor are very minor.
When the collector has caught and named the majority of the
common butterfiies of his locality and has attained some proficiency
in identifying the scarcer species, he will begin to Sfinderthat ithe
study of butterflies is absorbing in many ways in addition to the
mere novelty of catching new species and taking pleasure in the
appearance of those that he has caught, though these pleasures
will always remain. One of the iirst things to intrigue him must be
the’ variation that so many butterflies display—-between individuals
of the same sex, between the two sexes, .and, especially, between the
dry season and wet season broods.
For example, the undersides of no two Kallima, or Oakleaf Butter-
flies, are ever identical, and the variation in marking's on the upper-
sides of Catopsilia pomona, the Lemon Emigrant, a very common
garden buttertly, is great. The males and females of most butter-
flies show some difference in marking, colouration or shape of the
wings, though in a number of species the wing markings are identi-
cal and sex can only be determined by examination of ies genitalia or
the structure of the legs. Where the sexes differ considerably—and
the rule is that the male is the brighter in colour whilst the female
has the drabber or more confusing peeing eal selection in the
males has proved stronger than natural selection which has given the
lemale her protective markings. Usually it is easy enough to re-
cognise that such males ate females belong to the same species,
but there are numerous butterflies that have a female form or forms
that are. entirely. different , from the male, for instance—once again
choosing a very common garden butterfly—the male of Hypolimnas
misippus, the Danaid Beis is a vhandsome black insect
with
a white egg-shaped blue- -edged marking on each wing,
while the
aan
BUTTE REE VYGOLLEGTING iINUINDIA
@
BD
S|
female is brick red with black and white markings bearing at first
sight no resemblance at all to the male.
More interesting still is seasonal variation caused by the effects
of different conditions of moisture and temperature on the caterpillars
and their foodstuffs. As a general rule butterflies reared during the
rainy season when plant growth is at its richest are smaller, darker
and less protectively marked—the struggle for existence being at a
lower ebb during this season of plenty. Butterflies reared during
the dry season are larger, paler and more obscurely marked, and
their wing contours are often angular.
Most of the genus Ypthima, the Rings, common little brown
butterflies which hop about close to the grass, are richly marked with
rings, or ‘eyes’ (ocelli), and fine streaking, or ‘striations’, on the under-
sides in the wet forms, whereas these markings are reduced to mere
silver specks in the dry forms and the striations disappear. Again,
Melanitis leda, the Common Evening Brown, an abundant butterfly
that dances briskly about as dusk falls and often comes in to verandah
lights, has a finely striated underside with ocelli in the wet form,
which markings entirely disappear in the brood reared during the
dry season, to be replaced, often richly, by brown, yellow and black
blotches or bands like the patterns on old leaves lying on the ground.
To add to the resemblance the contour of the wings becomes much
more angular and the insect bends the wings over sideways when:
settling.
There are two more interesting examples worthy of mention.
Terias laeta, the Spotless Grass Yellow, and its wet season form
venata, were long classed as different species, so dissimilar were
they in appearance, until Colonel Mosse proved them to be the same
by breeding laeta from eggs laid by venata.
Catopsilia .pyranthe, the Mottled Emigrant, and Catopsilia flor-
ella, the African Emigrant, are two extremely common greenish-white
medium-sized garden butterflies, the former flying in the monsoon
and early autumn, the latter at the other seasons. They do not
differ greatly but are easily recognised the one from the other. Now,
though circumstantial evidence is very strongly in favour of their
being two forms of the one species, this has never been proved. As
the foodplant is known, one would think it would be an easy matter
to secure the necessary proof by capturing a female, keeping ker with
her foodplant and seeing what the eggs bring forth. Unfortunately
many butterflies are unwilling to lay eggs in captivity.
Another matter that must quickly claim the interest of the collector
is the patterns on butterflies’ wings and the reasons for them. These
patterns may roughly be divided into three categories: protective,
warning and attractive. Almost all butterflies are protectively marked
on the undersides; many on the uppersides as well. The aim of such
markings is to make it hard for their enemies to see them. On the
undersides they may resemble some specific object, such as MKallima’s
wonderful imitation of a leaf, or as the silver-spotted Fritillaries
(Argynnis) resemble the sparkling morning dew, for early morning is the
time that these ligh altitude butterflies are numbed with cold and find it
hard to fly. But the majority have cryptic patterns that blend with the
background against which they settle. It will be noticed that such
888 JOURNAL, (BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SSOGIEAIR ole
markings on the underwing’s invariably cover the whole of the hind-
wings but very frequently only the tips of the forewings, for when
many butterflies settle the forewings are folded back into the hindwings
so that only their tips remain uncovered?.
Certain butterflies carry warning colours, usually combinations of
red, yellow and black. ‘These are either butterflies that are actively
protected by a taste (derived from the plants on which their caterpillars
fed) that is offensive to their enemies (birds and lizards), or butterflies
that by a process of natural selection have come to imitate, or ‘mimic’,
the evil-tasting species for their own protection. In the first group,
amongst others, is the genus Danais (which contains the brick-red,
black and white Plain Tiger, D. chrysippus, perhaps the commonest
of garden butterflies on the plains). The butterflies of this genus
display the warning colours on the upperside, for when they settle to
sip the nectar of plants they do so with their wings spread. But
another genus, Delias, the Jezebels, which settles at such times with
wings closed, bears brilliant black, red, and yellow markings on the
underside. In the second group perhaps the commonest is the female
of the aforementioned Hypolimnas misippus which mimics D. chrysip-
pus. Chilasa agestor, the Tawny Mime, a mimic of Danais tytia, the
Chestnut Tiger, is shown on the plate. These two are butterflies
that can be seen at Himalayan hill stations.
In passing, perhaps it is of interest to notice that ‘protected’
butterflies fly slowly to give their potential enemies time to see and
recognise that they are distasteful species, and furthermore they are
always very tough and tenacious of life (as the collector will learn
when he tries to kill them), so that if a-bird does make a mistake
and rejects the insect in disgust, little damage may result !
The upperwings of butterflies show an almost endless variety ot
colours and patterns. The faster flying species such as Eriboea
dolon, the Stately Nawab, (figured. on the plate) make little
attempt at protection, but the majority bear some sort of confusing,
concealing or disruptive pattern suited to their type of habitat—for
instance the basic colour of almost all forest haunting butterflies is
drab brown (genera such as Lethe, the Treebrowns, and Mycalesis,
the Bushbrowns), and favourite patterns for those that love patchy
‘sunlight and shade are horizontal bands of black and white, or black
or brown and yellow (e.g. genera such as Neptis, the Sailers, and
Pantoporia, the Sergeants), obviously a successful pattern as it is
mimicked by a butterfly, Apatura chevana, the Sergeant Emperor, a
member of a genus whose general pattern bears no relationship to it
at all. This is, I believe, the only case of mimicry among Indian
butterflies where the pattern, or object of imitation, is not a ‘pro-
tected’ butterfly—that is one protected by unpleasant taste.
In the third category—butterflies with attractive colours or mark-
ings—the uppersides of the males show no attempt at protection; in-
deed, quite the reverse, for every attempt is made to render them
conspicuous on the wing. This is apparently the result of sexual
‘selection, the importance of attracting the female being paramount
and more powerful than the influences of natural selection that would
* Almost all butterflies go to rest with the wings in this position.
JOURN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.
SCALE:
ONE INCH
I. The Banded Apollo, Parnassius stoliczkanus, race nova, male
2. The Glorious Begum, Prothoe calydonia belisama, male UP UN
3. The Blue Peacock, Papilio arcturus arius, male
4. The Tawny Mime, Chilasa agestor govindra, male
5. The Painted Courtesan, Euripus consimilis, form nova, female UP UN
6. The Stately Nawab, Eriboea dolon centralis, male
BUTE REIEY “COPENCLING ‘BN INDIA 589
produce some protective colour pattern. Such butterflies gain pro-
tection in other ways, such as by fast flight or, in the case of many
‘blues’ (Lycaenidae), by strongly contrasting colours on the upper
and lower sides, so that, though in flight they present one appearance,
immediately they settle with their wings closed they present an
entirely different one, thereby utterly confusing their pursuers.
The Blue Sapphire, Heliophorus oda, a beautiful little butterfly that
is not rare in the N.W. Himalaya, serves as an excellent example
of both sexual selection and contrasting coloration. In the male of
this species the upperside is of a brilliant deep silky blue with black
borders to the forewing and red borders to the hindwings, a colour
scheme that flashes in the sunlight and makes the butterfly very
obvious in flight, but the underside is of a rich orange brown. The
female is the same below but orange and black above. :
Mimicry has already been mentioned in relation to colour schemes,
and so much has been written about this fascinating subject
that I do not intend to say more than a word or two about it.
Mimicry, to state the obvious, is where a species of butterfly by a
process of natural selection has grown to resemble another
for its own protection—a protection in the case of mature butterflies
that is almost entirely against birds and lizards. How does this
mimicry deceive the human eye? Speaking as a collector my answer
is that it does so very seldom. Wonderful though most examples of
mimicry may be, after a litthe experience it is usually easy to pick
out the mimic in flight from its pattern. Perhaps the most perfect
example of mimicry among Indian butterflies is that of the Danaid
Egefly, Hypolimnas misippus, the female of which mimics the Plain
Tiger, Danais chrysippus. In this case considerable experience is
required to tell the butterflies apart in flight—and even so one is
often deceived.
It should, perhaps, be stressed that mimicry and_ protective
resemblance are measures against birds and lizards, and to a lesser
extent against frogs and toads, but not against insect enemies. The
sight of insects is entirely different from that of ourselves, birds,
reptiles and amphibians, and as insects rely mainly on other senses
for finding their prey, mimicry and protective resemblance are
no defence against them. Other measures have to be adopted.
Though in the imago—final, or butterfly, stage—insect enemies are
of small importance (chiefly dragonflies, robberflies or 'Asilidae, and
Mantids), in the earlier stages, as I shall mention shortly, they are
many.
Perhaps one problem of mimicry should be mentioned. To gain
the needed protection one would obviously assume that the mimic and
the pattern should fly together. Yet this is not always the case.
The vomulus form of the female of the Common Mormon (Papilio
polytes) that mimics Polydorus hector, the Crimson Rose, is found
north of the range of the latter in both Kathiawar and the Simla
Hills. However, as these areas are not so very far north of ‘the
habitat of hector this can probably be explained by local migration.
The case of Valeria valeria hippia, female form philomela, the Com-
mon Wanderer, a species found in S. India, that mimics Danais
aspasia, a butterfly that can be met with no nearer than Burma, is
soo JOURNAL, ‘BOMBAY, NATURAL HIST?S SOCIRTY, Vel 250
much more difficult to explain. One distinguished naturalist put
forward a theory that the selective agent is some species of wagtail
that migrates between India and Burma. Sdlim Ali, however, thinks
nothing of this theory as he knows of no such wagtail and further-
more considers that a wagtail is a most unlikely kind of bird to
serve as a selective agent for a fast flying butterfly such as Valeria.
More Hes solutions are that Valeria is a persistently migrant
butterfly (though I have no evidence of this except that its trivial
name, the Common Wanderer, leaves a suspicion that it may be
a migrant) or that its pattern and its mimic originally flew together
in the south (and other parts of India, for it is also found in Bengal,
M.P., and Assam) but some change of climate or other condition
eliminated aspasia from that region but left philomela.
One of the most attractive things to my mind about butterfly
collecting—but this applies mainly to the north of India and espe-
cially to the N.W. Himalaya where the seasons are pronounced-—is
the discovering, in the case of single or double-brooded butterflies, of
the dates on which the broods may be expected to appear, for they
are often most remarkably regular in appearance. When this applies
to butterflies that can only be found in certain very particular locali-
ties their pursuit becomes even more intriguing. Two such butterflies
are featured on the plate—Chilasa agestor, ‘the Tawny Mime, and
Eriboea dolon, the Stately Nawab. Indeed, it was the first-mentioned
that induced me to take up butterfly collecting. Shortly after arriv-
ing m Simla, that fine naturalist A. E. Jones showed me a picture of
it and said that it was the earliest of the ‘good’ butterflies to be
caught in Simla. It could be found for a fortnight, from the last
week of March, in a very small number of select localities—one of
which, I remember, was near the then Japanese Consulate. Al-
though it took me two years to come across it and to catch it, never-
theless this was the butterfly that started me off on butterfly collect-
ing in India.
Eriboga, the genus to which the Stately Nawab belongs, the
closely allied genus Charaxes, the Rajahs, and one or two others,
may be regarded as the ‘big game’ of the Indian butterfly world.
Their capture is a matter of experience, knowledge and strategy.
To catch this particular butterfly a knowledge of the precise
locality, exact season, and particular time of day that it flies is
needed. A further complication is that it flies very fast indeed and
seldom approaches within 12 or 15 feet of the ground, but this can be
overcome by the fact that its range is very restricted and if the collector
climbs a tree within this small area he will) have an excellent chance
of catching not one, but two‘or three at once, for they are extremely
quarrelsome butterflies and fight in two’s and three’s, at which time
they are oblivious to their surroundings and pay no attention to the
collector and his net.
The collector will probably. wish to know what are his prospects
of catching a new species—and so fulfilling the dream of every
naturalist. In India the chances are almost nil.. In Assam and
Burma they are very, very remote. In a paper collection from Burma
bought by me in Ooty T was fortunate enough to discover the new
ne form of Euripus consimilis, the Painted Courtesan, that is
sp ay
ehien a eee
BUDLERE LY COLLECTING VIN ENDIA SOE
shown on the plate. This parallels one ct the female forms of the
very closely related Euripus halitherses, the Courtesan (Q form
cinnamoneus). Such discoverics as this are nowadays very rare.
If, on the other hand, the collector cares to investigate carefully some
of the high valleys of the Himalayas he has a very good chance indeed
ot discovering new races of certain species—and by races we mean
butterflies that in a certain locality show slight but constant differences
from others of their own species in an adjacent locality. The valleys
there are so isolated from one another that species can follow their
own line of development with little infiltration of fresh blood from
outside to interfere with them. The three species to which these
remarks mainly apply are Parnassius delphius, P. stoliczkanus (inhabi-
tants of above about 13,000 ft.), and the Lycaenid, Polyommatus:
eros, found above about 8,500 ft., all of which run to a large number
of races. A new race of Parnassits stolicskanus is shown on the plate.
This flies on the Shiring La, the pass that is one stage beyond Shipki.
‘A. E. Jones and I had an arrangement with a trader who went
vearly over the passes to Gartok by which his men collected butter-
flles for us. Opening the. parcels of butterflies he sent to us was
most exciting. Many were the good buttertiies he brought back—
Parnassus stohcekanus -spiiensis,. P...acco, P.. simo, P: charlionius,
‘P. ephaphus. Baltia butleri, Pieris callidice, P. chloridice, P. deota,
P, krueperi, high elevation Polyommatus and Satyrids, and on one
occasion a very long series of this new race of Parnassius stolicskanus.
vs Vv Vv.
*K ay Fe *. *
So far I have touched, and touched but lightly, on a very few
points of interest regarding the imago, or final stage of butterfly life ;
but it should not be thought that the early- stages are without
interest. Far from it, for it is in this field that many discoveries.
can be made. The early stages of few Indian butterflies have been
described—and the vast majority of those that have been described
were described by one pioneer, T. R. Bell of Kanara, whose researches
were published in this journal under the title of ‘The Common Butter-
flies of the Plains of India’.
As well as the discovery of the caterpillars and foodplants of
butterflies whose early stages have hitherto remained undescribed,
there is a multitude of other things of interest about the ege’s, cater-
pillars and chrysalids. The study of the association between ants
and the caterpillars of many Lycaenids is of absorbing interest. In
its most highly developed form ants take complete charge of the
development of the butterfly from the egg stage until the emergence
of the perfect insect, all of which care is administered in return for
a sweet secretion that these caterpillars exude from segment 11 of
their bodies.
Most Lycaenid larvae also have two small organs on segment 12,
one on each side, in the form of pillars, which can be erected at will.
In the larvae of Curetis, the Sunbeams, however, these pillars are
large and permanently erected. When one of these larvae is touched
or frightened, from-each of the pillars is protruded a long tentacle
furnished at its head with a brush of parti-coloured hairs which opens
out into a rosette. The tentacle is whirled around with immense
rapidity producing a curious effect. This contrivance is undoubtedly
B92 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL sHIST]*SOOIEE YO eV oly a0
an apparatus for frightening away enemies. Now the Sunbeams do
not possess the gland on segment 11 and therefore are afforded no
protection by ants. Consequently it seems probable that the organ
on 11 was developed later than that on 12 and that on most larvae
the organ on 12 is only a relic of an old form of defence, and since it
has ceased to be of use for its original purpose it has become aborted.
There is a theory that in its present degenerate condition it is used
as_a signal to ants that the sweet liquid from the gland in 11 is
ready for the taking, but I do not think that this need be considered
seriously.
Generally larvae are very particular about their choice of food-
plants, often feeding on only one particular species of plant: . But
this does not apply to butterflies constantly attended by ants for more
often than not they are found to feed on a large variety, attention
by ants apparently being of more importance than the type of food.
Such caterpillars cannot be reared away from the ants that usually
attend them.
On the other hand, there is the caterpillar of the very rare Moth
Butterfly, Liphyra brassolis, that, clothed in impenetrable armour,
also lives in ants’ nests, not to be ministered to by them but to feed
on the ant larvae. This species also pupates in the ants’ nests—still
in his armour plate—and emerges there. This surely is the moment
when he may well be vulnerable to the attacks of ants? But no; the
young imago is covered with detachable and adhesive scales in which
the attacking ants become entangled and so are rendered impotent.
The study of the numerous enemies and parasites that the early
stages of butterflies are heir to is a subject of great scope. To men-
tion but a few, spiders and cockroaches eat their eggs, ichneumon
flies, mason wasps and a host of others lay their own eggs within the
caterpillars, the chrysalids are far from safe from birds and lizards,
and frogs and toads will eat greedily the eggs, caterpillars or chrysalids
when they find them. What then are their measures of protection?
Unlike the imago the early stages are more or less static, and so
protection against the more slowly moving insect enemies becomes
of great importance. Although butterflies’ eggs are minutely sculp-
tured to look like tiny plant galls the main method of protection of
the species in this stage lies in the laying of very large numbers in
the hope that at, least a few will survive. In the caterpillar stage
the methods of protection are many. Some, like the perfect insects,
are protected by unpleasant taste and smell and bear warning mark-
ings and feed openly for all to see. Others, the Papilios, or Swallow-
tails, feed on citrus plants, whose essential oils are generally con-
‘sidered to be a deterrent to insects—nevertheless the early stages of
some of these butterflies are far from free from insect parasites.
But the larvae of the Charaxes-Apatura group of the Nymphalids
and those of the Danaids, employ more direct methods in dealing
with them, for the former have fleshy processes on their heads, and
the latter on segments 3 and 12, which are probably used for brushing
them off. Many Nymphalids have spined larvae, and often these,
and those too that are protected by unpleasant taste or smell, live
in colonies, on the assumption, perhaps, that though one hairy or
unpleasant tasting caterpillar may not be a too unpleasant mouthful,
BULLERELY “COLLECTING IN “IN DIA 893
several will certainly be so and something no bird will wish to repeat !
Many caterpillars only feed by night, most feed on the undersurface
ot leaves, and the majority, like the perfect insects, bear protective
colour patterns or processes. To mention one or two: Euthalia (a
very large genus of the Nymphalidae) carry fern-like processes that
make them resemble the midrib and veins of a leaf, some Swallow-
tail (Papilio) larvae resemble birds’ droppings, and the larva ot
Limenitis procris, the Commander, builds up a rampart of its own
droppings and perfectly resembles these. Skippers (Hesperiidae) live
in cells made from leaves or blades of grass.
Chrysalids mainly depend on the protected position in which they
are placed, on their obscure markings, on their shapes and, especially,
on their hard chitinous coverings that guard them from most of their
insect enemies.
* * * * *
But, perhaps, after all, one of the greatest charms of butterfly collect-
ing lies in the beauty of real butterfly country—the high meadows and
passes of the Himalayas in July. where the labour of attaining such
‘places is richly rewarded by the gardens of flowers in which fly
Parnassius and other prizes of the butterfly world; the lovely nalas
above the Himalayan hill stations in May and June; and, throughout
the year, the South Indian jungles at the foot of the hills where
insect life is unbelievably rich.
Above all, butterfly collecting is a hobby for those who seek peace
of mind, solitude, and beauty.
NEW FINDS OF INDIAN CUCURBITACEAE
BY
H. L. CHAKRAVARTY D.Sc. (Edin.), F.L.S.
Protessor of Botany, Presidency College, Caicutla
(With five plates and a text figure)
During the preparation of a monographic work on Indian Cucurbi-
taceae in Great Britain, attached to the University of Edinburgh, I came
across nine new species and one new genus of the family. The new
finds together with those recorded by Clarke in Hooker's Flora of.
British India will now come to a total of 108 species which mean an
iricrease of 37 species from Clarke’s list. Thirty-four genera have
been included in the Monograph, while in F. B. I. we find only 29. The
new genus Weoluffa has been discovered from Sikkim Himalaya. It
approaches towards Luffa in certain aspects but differs in having
(i) leaves entire and tomentose without punctation, (ii) petals constricted
at the apex and (ili) stamens all free but four arising closer as if in two
pairs. The monograph is being published elsewhere.
Trichosanthes tomentosa Chakravarty, sp. nov.
Ab omnibus speciebus hujus generis adhuc descriptis propter folia
subtus dense tomentosa valde distincta; affinis speciei infra notatae esse
videtur.
Caulis robustus, elongatus, angulato-sulcatus, fulvo-hirsutus, Folia
magna; lamina supra atro-viridis, sparsim atque breviter hirsuta, subtus
densissime coacto-tomentosa, glandulis cupularibus paucis conspersa,
ovato-lanceolata, truncata vel paulo cordata, margine integerrima vel
remote et obscure serrata, 10-20 cm. longa, 5-10 cm. lata, apice longe
acuminata, ad basim nervis ornata 3-5, petiolo robusto, tomentoso,
95 cm. longo praedita. Cirrhi robusti, hirsuti, simplices vel basi 4-5-—
fidi, 5-15 cm. longi. Pedunculus femineus — robustus, axillaris, solita-
rius, uniflorus, tomentosus, 2-4 cm. longus. Calycis tubus tomentosus,
8-12 mm. longus, 4-6 mm. latus, 5-lobatus; lobi lineares extra tomen-
tosi, 10-12 mm. longi, 1-5-3 mm. lati. Petala 5, spathulata, unguicu-
lata, ad marginem fimbriata, 10-15 mm. longa et lata. Ovarium
oblongum, dense molliter tomentosum, apice basique + contractum,
Stylus crassus, niger in sicco, 1-5-2 mm. longus, 1-1°5 mm. latus ;
stigma 3-lobatum, lobis linearibus 2-3 mm. longis. Flores masculi
ignoti. Fructus deest.
Assam: Kohimato Nerhema 4,500 ft. (Watt. No. 11640 type:
22nd May 1895, Herb. Cal.); Naga Hulls, Mongsendi 5,000 ft.
(Watt. No. 1129, May 1895, Herb. Cal.).
Four sheets of this species are in the Calcutta Herbarium, three
collected from Kohima and one from Naga Hills. This species can be
easily distinguished from its allies by its densely tomentose leaves.
Prats |
fourn., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
Sy
~~
.
Dt Baa
O74
eas oe
Seas Py Cae
ons ee
~~ CS
oe
ae a os, ~
woe we SA let ae Oot A aon
eo” pea set Sx
= oo ff See
: Jo fy ae é
oe Be. : Se
ees a, aa x
- a
ai J . es ‘a
hah 2
Trichosanthes tomentosa Chakr.
Journ.. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. , ean Pirate II
\{
ANY
Trichosanthes listeri Chakr.
NEW FINDS OF INDIAN CUCURBITACEAE 895
Trichosanthes listeri Chakravarty, sp. nov.
Haec species cum 77yichosanthe tomentosa Chakravarty quoad faciem
econegruit sed follis multo minoribus, supra scabrido- hirsutis, floribus
multo majoribus, tubo calycis longissimo discrepat. .
_ Caulis satis robustus, elongatus, angulatus, longe hirsutus. Lamina
crassa, indivisa, ovata vel ovato-lanceolata, alte cordata, apice acuto,
margine minute denticulato, supra dense scabrido-hirsuta, subtus
densissime et molliter tomentosa, 6-8 cm. longa, 4-5 cm. lata; lobi ad
basim cordatam = rotundi, 1-2 cm. lati; petiolus cylindricus, hirsutus,
3-6 cm. longus. Flores masculi ebracteati, axillares, magni; pedunculus
hirsutus, uniflorus, 1-5-2 cm. longus. Calycis tubus breviter tomentosus,
8-12 cm. longus, linearis, apice latior et campanulatim expansus,
regione angusta 2-3 mm. lata, regione expansa 2~2:5 cm. lata; lobi
5,2 5 mm. longi, acuti. Corolla expansa ad basim partita, longe fim=
briata ; Jobi oblongo-ovati, glabri, 4-5 cm. longi, 1°5-2 cm. lati. Stamina
3, unum uniloculare, duo bilocularia, ori tubi calycini inserta; filamenta
1-1-2 cm. longa; antherae sinuatae; connectiva lata, rugulosa, undulata
4-5 mm. longa et lata. Flores feminei et fructus ignoti.
Bengal: Chittagong Hill Tracts, Burkul (Zister, No. 349, 4th
Marchel$76:," Elerb.Calj>7y2e).
This species can easily be distinguished by its very thick tomentose
and deeply cordate leaves and large flowers with very long calyx tube.
Neoluffa Chakravarty, gen. nov.
Genus afline /uffae, a quo foliis integerrimis haud scabro-punctatis
infra tomentosis, petalis ovatis, apice angustatis nec rotundatis, stamini-
bus aliter dispositis, uno libero, quatuor per paria insertis imprimis
divergit.
Herba scandens. Cirrhi plerumaue bifidi. Folia cordata eglandu-
losa. Flores fere certe dioici, flavi, in fasciculis plurifloris ad cacumina
ramulorum longorum dispositi. Bracteae parvae, foliaceae, eglandu-
losae. Calycis tubus (receptaculum) campanulatus, non-turbinatus,
patulus. Petala libera, patula, ovata. Stamina 5, filamentis liberis
hoc modo collocata (1+1]) + (1+1) + 1 omnia ad tubi calycini
basim inserta; antherae 5, libe Tae, exsertae, 1-loculares, loculis sigmoi-
deo-flexuosis, connectivis crassis granulatis.
Species one. Habitat in Eastern Himalaya.
The genus approaches Luffa in certain features but differs in having
(i) leaves entire without punctation on the upper surface and tomentose
lower surface, (ii) petals constricted at the apex, (ill) stamens one free
and the rest four arising in two pairs.
Neoluffa sikkimensis Chakravarty, sp. nov.
Herba annua. Caulis 5-angulosus ferrugineo-tomentosus. Petiolus
5-8cm. longus, breviter tomentosus; lamina cordata, supra glabra,
subtus minute coacto-tomentosa, 7-15 cm. longa et lata, margine inte-
gerrimo, nervis duobus infimis secundum marginem loborum basalium
currentibus. Flores masculi flavidi, racemis fasciculatis ad apices
pedunculorum longorum axillarium dispositis; pars florifera 3-5 cm.
longa; flores 20-35 in singulis racemis, pedicelli 1-2 cm. longi;
S96 JOURNAL; BOMBAY “NATURALS AIST: SOC YeeaVcl- 170
bracteae foliaceae 7-15 mm. longae, pedunculo infra per circ.
8-14 cm. nudo. Reeptaculum campanulatum 1-1°5 cm. diametro,
tomentosum, alternatim nigrum et fuscum; calycis lobi acuti 3-5mm.
longi incisi. Petala oblongo-ovata, integerrima, ad apicem + constricta,
acuta, 8-10 mm. ionga, 3-4 mm. lata. Stamina libera, tubo calycis ad
basim inserta, 1-2 mm. longa, filamentis 0°5-1 mm. longis; antherae
leloculares, sinuatae, connectivo lato granulari. Pollen globosum.
Flores feminei et fructus ignoti.
Sikkim Himalaya: near Sittong 1,500 ft. (Aing, 12.5.76
Type at Calcutta Herbarium.)
This is aninteresting species of Cucurbitaceae. Three sheets of the
specimen were collected by George King as far back as 1876 from
Sittong in the Eastern Himalaya near Mongpu. No specimen of the
female plant is available. The general appearance of the plant parti-
cularly of the leaves gives an illusive resemblance to Argyveia (Convol-
vulaceae). It shows a near approach to Luffa, hence the name /Veoluffa,
but certain dominant features like the inflorescence, the stamens and
the leaves are at variance with Luffa. The female plant when procured
will throw further light on its affinity. C. B. Clarke in 1895 seems
to have examined the flowers and remarked on its affinity with Luffa
amara (2?) but he expressed doubt of its generic position.
Cucumis hystrix Chakravarty, sp. nov.
Species affinis Cucumt propbhetarum Linn. a quo foliis majoribus
haud alte trilobis, fructibus oblongis nec globosis differt.
Caulis repens, elongatus, ramosus, angulato-sulcatus, pallido-viridis,
sparse hirsutus. Foliorum petiolus dense atque breviter cinereo-
hirsutus, 2-4 cm. longus; lamina ovata, aliquando leviter trilobata,
utrinque + dense hirsuta, supra intense viridis, subtus pallidior, margine
minute denticulato, basi cordata vel truncata, apice acuto, 4-7 cm,
longa, 3:5-6°5 cm. lata. Cirrhi simplices, breviter hirsuti. Flores
ignoti. Fructus oblongus, aculeis 1-2 mm, longis, multis, munitus, 3-3°5
cm. longus, 1-1:7 cm. latus. Semina obovata, haud marginata, 3:5—4:5
mm. longa, - 2 mm. lata, - 0:2 mm. crassa, pallido-flavescentia.
Assam: Garo Hills, Tura Mountain 3,000 ft.(V.Z. Parry, No.
859 Herb. Kew, type, November 1929); Mishmee Hills (Griffith
No. 2554 Herb. Kew, 1862-3 ex Herb. East India Company).
This species is distinct from the rest of its Indian allies except
Cucumis probhetarum Linn. which is principally a species of the arid
part of the Mediterranean region although it extends to Western India.
Both have a prickly fruit but C. propbhetarum has much smaller leaves
usually deeply lobed and also a globose fruit—-not elongate as in
CORYSINIX,
Cucumis muriculatus Chakravarty, sp. nov.
Species haec fructibus muriculatis est valde conspicua; proxima est
Cucumt prophetarum Linn., a quo caulibus flavido-brunneis, foliis ©
denisus pubescentibus, petiolo gracili haud fragili, fructibus minoribus
obovatis nec obiongis vix 1 mm. crassis differt. 7
Herba monoica scandens. Caulis gracilis, elongatus, sparsim
ramosus, angulato-sulcatus, scaber. Foliorum petiolus gracilis dense
Piate II]
fourn., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
Neoluffa sikkimensis Chakr.
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Sec. Pirate IV
Cucumis muriculatus Chakr.
NEW EIMDS “OFMNINDIAN CUCURBITACEAE 897
hirsutus, 2-4 cm, longus; lamina utrinque dense atque breviter hirsuta,
cordato-ovata, plus minus 3-—5-lobata, ad apicem acuminata, margine
sparsim serrulato, 5—7 cm. longa et lata; nervi subtus valde prominentes
et reticulati; cirrhi simplices, 4-6 cm, longi, breviter villoso-hirsuti.
Flores masculi solitarii vel fasciculati; pedunculus brevissimus vel fere
obsoletus. Receptaculum cylindricum pubescens 1-6 cm. longum, + 2
mm. latum. Sepala linearia 1-2 mm. longa. Corolla sparse villosa,
3-5 mm. longa, segmentis ovatoeoblongis subacutis. Staminum
filamenta filiformia, breviter villosa, — 1 mm. longa; antherae condu-
plicatae, fere 2 mm. longae, una unilocularis, ceterae biloculares;
appendix connectivi hyalina, glabra, 0°5-0°7 mm. longa. Flores feminei
solitarii; pedunculus fere 5 mm. longus; receptaculum et calyx et
corolla ut in floribus masculis; corolla 6-10 mm. longa. Ovarium
oblongo-ovatum, dense hirsutum. Stylus 2-3 mm. longus. Stigmata
carnosa trilobata fere 3 mm. longa et ad medium fere 1 mm. lata.
Pedunculus fructifer -+ robustus, 0°5-1 cm. longus, rarius ultra 1 cm.
Fructus oblongo-globosus, echinato-muriculatus, Momordicae fructui
fere similis, 2-3 cm. longus, ad medium 1-1°5 cm. latus. Semina
_plurima, fusca, laevia, ovata, 3-4 mm. longa, ad medium fere 2 mm.
lata, fere 0-5 mm. crassa.
This species differs distinctly from its allies in having muriculate
Momordica-like fruit, densely pubescent leaves and shortly pedunculate
flowers and fruits. It hascertain similarities with Cucumzs prophetarune
Linn., but differs from it in the following characters :—(i) fruit small
echinate-muriculate, (ii) leaves more densely pubescent, (iii) stem
yellowish brown and not whitish as in C. prophetarum, (iv) petiole
slender but not brittle, (v) seeds ovate and not oblong and thickness.
less than 1 mm,
Burma: Ruby Mines District (J. H. Lace, No. 6315, October 1912.
Herb. Edin. Type).
Melothria assamica Chakravarty, sp. nov.
Species affinis Melothriae maderaspatanae (L.) Cogn., a qua fructu
longius pedunculato, oblongo nec globoso, atque seminibus complana-
tis, basi haud apiculatis, marginibus prominentibus differt.
Caulis scandens, gracilis, hispidus. Foliorum petiolus gracilis,
breviter hispidus, 2-2°5 cm. longus; lamina membranacea, ovato-cor-
data, 5-lobata, obtusa vel acuta, margine denticulato, utrinque breviter
hispida, 2-3 cm. longa, 3-5 cm. lata; sinus basilaris saepius anguste
rotundus, 10-15 mm. profundus. Cirrhi simplices, gracillimi, minute
hirsuti, 3-4 cm. longi. Flores monoici. Pedunculus communis brevis.
Flores masculi et feminei saepius ex dissimilibus axillis orientes vel
interdum mixti. Pedicellii masculi 2-3 mm. longi. Receptaculum
sparse villoso-hirsutum, basi acutum, 2~2°5 mm. longum, — 1:5 mm.
latum. Sepala erecta, subulata, 1-1'5 mm. longa. Corolla flavescens,
extus villoso-hirsuta, segmentis ovato-oblongis, apice -+ rotundatis,
2--2'5 mm. longis, + 1 mm. latis. Stamina 3, inclusa, tubo receptaculi
inserta; filamenta breviter pilosa, 0°3-0°5 mm, longa; antherae
oblongae, ciliatae, basi hispidae una unilocularis, ceterae biloculares,
distincte appendiculatae, -+ 1:55 mm. longae. Quoad sepala et petala
flores feminei sunt similes. Ovarium oblongum, fusiforme, sparse
hirsutum, demum glabrum; stylus 1:2-1:'4 mm. longus; stigma triparti-
898 JOURNAL, BOMBAY ‘NATURALY AIST. SOCTET Vai ol s50
tum +04 mm. longum; styli discus albus, cupuliformis, margine
undulatus, + 0°8 mm. diam. Pedunculus fructifer -: filiformis, 8-15
mm. longus. Fructus oblongus, carnosus, 10-12 mm. longus, 6-8 mm.
latus. Semina obovato-oblonga, utrinque scrobiculata, haud apiculata,
+ 4:5] mm. longa, — 2:5 mm. lata, marginibus prominentibus.
Assam: Cachar (R.L. Keenan, June 1874. Herb. Kew Type).
Melothria assamica var. scabra Chakravarty, var. nov.
Varietas haec foliis rigidis scabris distinguitur. The variety differs
from the type in having scabrid and rigid leaves,
Assam: Goalpara, Chirang Duar Duar (King’s collector, No. 1890
Herb:-C€al:’ Type).
Melothria ritchiei Chakravarty, sp. nov.
Affinis 14. zeylanicae Clarke a qua foliis pentagonis brevioribus
hirsutis, floribus laxe fasciculatis, pedicellis forum masculorum minori-
bus dense villosis, receptaculo longiore quam latiore; fructu breviore
Jineari haud costato, seminibus minoribus recedit.
Caules graciles, elongati, ramosi, angulati, breviter sparse pilosi,
Foliorum petioli graciles, breviter villosi, 4-7 cm. longi; lamina mem.
branacea, cordata, 5-angularis, 2-4 cm. Jonga et lata vel aliquantum
Fig. MWelothria ritchiet Chakravarty.
A— patt ofastem witha leaf and a tendril x 2/3; B—
leaf showing hairs on (i) upper surface, (ii) lower surface x 4/3; C— part of
apical portion of a
the stem with 2 male flower buds ca. x 5
female flower x 2/3; F — ovary x 4;G
dise and trilobed stigma ca.
different views ca. x 5; J
;(D — amale-tloweri-cwisxii3/- 2H =
— female flower showing ovary, stylar
x 9; H —calyx tube split openca. x 5; I— stamens
a fruit x 1; K — seeds ca. x 5.
Jatior quam longa, apice acuta, basi late emarginata, margine + undu-
lato, denticulato, utrinque intense viridis villoso-hirsuta. Cirrhi sim-
plices, filiformes, breves, subglabri. Flores monoici. Pedunculi
NEW FINDS OF INDIAN CUCURBITACEAE 899
masculi brevissimi, 1-2 mm. longi, floribus paucis pedicellatis fasci-
culatis; flores superiores saepe caduci; pedicelli filiformes, patuli,
dense hirsuti, 2-10 cm. longi. Receptaculum campanulatum breviter et
sparse villosum, -—: 2 mm. longum et circa 1 mm. latum. Sepala 5,
subulata, +0°5 mm. longa. Petala fusca, patula, oblongo-ovata, acuta,
sparse villosa, -- 3 mm. longa; staminum filamenta glabra, + 0°5 mm.
longa; antherae connatae, una unilocularis, ceterae biloculares, rectae,
aliquantum curvatae, circa 1 mm. longa, connectivo latiusculo apice
brevissime producto. Flores feminei solitarii vel pauci masculis
similes ; pedunculi 4-5 mm.longi. Ovarium elongato-lineare; stylus
brevis, disco cupuliformi albo, stigmate 3-lobato. Fructus elongato-
linearis fuscus, rostratus, apice basique attenuatus sparse hirsutus, fere
glaber. Semina pauca fusca, ovato-oblonga, haud marginata, 2-3 mm.
longa, circa 1 mm. lata.
Peninsular India: Bombay Presidency, Savantvadi State,
Ram Ghat (Aitchze, No. 67 Herb, Edin. Type); in grass ona
hill near Devarayi, 1,800 ft. M.S.M. Ry. (Sedgwick and Bell,
No. 4103, July 1918, Herb. Cal.); moist, clefts of rocks on hillside,
Pullival Ridges, Kanan Devan Hills, Devicolam Taluk, N. Tra-
vancore (Szuzclair, No 3589, Ist July 1944, Herb. Edin.).
This species is allied to Melothria zeylanica Clarke but can be
distinguished from it by (i) shorter angular leaves with long petioles,
(ii) flowers in lax fascicles, (iii) smaller male pedicels, (iv) receptacle
longer than broad, (v) fruit shorter, linear, not ribbed, (vi) seeds smaller.
Melothria angulata Chakravarty, sp. nov.
Species haec est affinis A/. heterophyllae (Lour.) Cogn. a qua fructo
9-angulato, seminibus late marginatis valde rugosis differt.
Dioica. Caulis scandens. Rami graciles, elongati, sulcati, glabri.
Foliorum petiolus, 0°5-1 cm. longus, brevissime villosus, lamina 6-20
cm. longa, coriacea, rigidiuscula, polymorpha, plerumque hastata vel
sagittata, margine minute atque remote denticulato vel interdum fere
integerrimo, supra squamis scabro-punctata, pallide viridis in sicco,
subtus pallidior, squamosa, glandulis paucis ad basim notata. Cirrhi
graciles, longissimi, glabri. Flores masculi subumbellati; pedunculus
communis gracilis, apice 7-25-florus, 0:'5-5 mm. longus; pedicelli
erecto-patuli filiformes, fere glabri, 2-8 mm. longi. Receptaculum
campanulato-subcylindricum, basirotundum, glabrum, + 5mm, longum,
+ 3mm.latum. Sepala subulata, 0:2-0:3 mm. longa. Corolla flaves-
cens, brevissime puberula, segmentis patulis triangularibus acutis -- 1°5
mm. longis. Stamina 3; filamenta gracillima, glabra, + 3 mm. longa ;
antherae suborbiculares. Flores feminei solitarii; pedunculus 0-5-1
cm. longus. Ovarium angulatum, glabrum. Fructus in sicco flavescenti-
ruber, obtuse 9-angulatus, polyspermus, 4-7 cm. longus, 2-2:5 cm. latus;
semina oblonga, turgida, valde marginata, balteo distincto munita, 7-7°5
mm. longa, 5—5'5 mm. lata, 3-3°5 mm. crassa.
S. India: Gomata (Malcolmpeth, No. 81 Herb. Cal. Type); Perumal
5,500 ft. (Sauliére, Nos. 70, 71 Herb. Cal.).
This species is close to MM. heterophylla (Lour.) Cogn. in many
respects, but can be easily distinguished by its ,9-angular fruits and
strongly margined rugose seeds.
14
900 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Sheet No. 1398 Herb. Cal., collected by M. S. Ramaswami from
Velligonda Hills (Block B), District Nellore, seems to be a variety (?) of
M. angulata. The fruit is somewhat smaller and _leaf-punctations
minuter. Till further materials are available it is provisionally kept
under the type.
Gynostemma burmanica King ex Chakravarty, Jud. Journ. Agric.
Se. XVI. 1 (1946) 85.
A rather stout climber. Stem pubescent more so on the tender
parts. Leaves trifoliate, petiole shortly and densely rusty pubescent,
sulcate, 3°5-4:5. cm. long; petiolules 3-4 mm. long; lamina rusty
tomentose on both surfaces denser on the veins of lower surface: middle
leaflet lanceolate attenuate at base apex acute or slightly acuminate,
margin crenulate-dentate, 6-8 cm. long, 3-4 cm. broad ; lateral leaflets
somewhat shorter and oblique at base. Tendril simple elongate, sul-
cate, glabrous. Male peduncles slender, pubescent 10-30 cm. long or still
longer ; pedicels capillary 1-2 mm. long, at base bracteolate ; bracteoles
subulate about 1 mm. long. Calyx segments acute about 1-1°5 mm.
long. Petals one nerved 1-2 mm. long. Stamens 5, minute, about
-5 mm. long. Female flowers and fruits not seen.
Burma: Upper Burma, Maymyo (Badal Khan, No. 153 Herb.
Cal.); 5. Shan States, Toungyi (Addul Khalil, Herb. Cal.);
Thamakhan (Addul Khalil, Herb. Cal.).
Schizopepon wardii Chakravarty, sp, nov.
Species affinis Schizopepont macrantho Haud.-Mzt. a quo lamina
haud lobata, pedicellis longioribus, connectivo conico ultra loculum
producto differt.
Caulis scandens, gracilis, debilis, ramosus, sulcatus, glaber. Folio-
rum petiolus gracilis, sulcatus, glaber vel breviter villosus, 2—4°5 cm.
longus ; lamina membranecea, ovato-cordata, undulata veil aliquantum
angulata, 7-8°5 cm. longa, 4-5 cm. ad basim lata, acuminata, remote
mucronulato-denticulata, supra breviter et sparse hirsuto-scabra, subtus
glabra nisi ad nervos minute et remote hirsuta; nervi palmato-pedati.
Cirrhi plus minusve graciles, 2-vel 3-fidi, glabri. Flores dioici (2 ignoti)
in racemis axillaribus solitariis. Racemi masculi, 4-7 cm. longi,
8-15-flori, ebracteati; pedicelli patuli, filiformes, 7-12 mm. longi.
Receptaculum late campanulatum 5-6 mm. profundum, intus minute
glanduloso-papillosum. Sepala linearia, lanceolato-subulata, 2—-2°5 mm.
longa, 0°3-04 mm. lata. Corolla subrotata, flavida, utrinque sparsim
glanduloso papillosa; petala 6-nervia, linearia-lanceolata, 7-9 mm.
longa, 1-2 mm. lata, acuta. Stamina’3, monadelpha, inclusa; filamenta
ad receptaculi basim inserta, plus minusve 1 mm. longa, glabra;
antherae 3-3-5 mm. longae (connectivo incluso), connatae, una uniloe
cularis, ceterae biloculares ; loculi erecti ; connectivum lineare conicum,
productum, minute papillosum, 15-2 mm. longum.
Assam: Delei Valley 11,000 ft. 28° 15’ N. 96° 35’ E, in Rhodo«=
dendron-Conifer Forest, open gullies facing north (4. Azzgdom
Ward, No. 8567 Herb. Kew. Type, 23. 8. 1928). —
“IyVyd xuysty swunang (gq) ‘Iyeygg upsve uodadoziyssg (vy)
“MMVHO XIMLSAW stwnona a & oh :
Oe mye ICN M NOdadOect? ae
A SIVIg
i "00S "JSIE] "JUN Avquog ‘‘usnor
NEW FINDS OF INDIAN CUCURBITACEAE 901
The species has affinity towards S. macranthus Haud.-Mzt., but
differs in the following characters: (i) leaves not lobed, (ii) pedicels
longer and (iii) connective produced beyond the loculus.
In conclusion I offer my sincerest thanks to my Professor Sir
Willam Wright Smith, F.R.s., for his untiring help and encouragement
during the preparation of this work.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES
I. Trichosanthes tomentosa Chakravarty. A—a part of the stem with a
flower and a simple tendril x 1; B—a portion of the stem showing 4-lobed
tendril x 1; C—a portion of the upper surface of the leaf showing tomenta and
glands x 2; D—a female flowerx 1; K—a female flower showing style and
trilobed stigma x 2.
Il. TVrichosanthes listeyt Chakravarty. A—a portion of the stem; B—a
flower bud ca. x 4/3; C—a flower ca, x 1; D—a part of the calyx tube split
open to show the stamens ca. x 4/3.
Ill. Neoluffa sikkimensis Chakravarty. A—a portion of the stem with
inflorescence ca. x 1/3; B—a part of the leafca. x 3/2; C—a bract; D& E—
flower buds ca. x 4 and 5; F — back view of flower ca. x 1 ; (; —dorsal view of
the calyx tube of a male flower ca. x 1; H — front view of a flower, petals 5;
stamens 2+ 2+ 1 ca. x 1; 1—a part of the Mower showing a petal and two
stamens ca. x 5; J — male flower, perianth removed showing stamens; K & L—
anther with loculus, front view ¢a. x 5; M,N, O—anthers showing granular
connective.
IV. Cucumis muriculatus Chakravarty. A— part of the stem with a male
flower x 1; B—a leaf x 1; C, D— part of the upper and lower surfaces of a leaf
showing hairs x 8; E—a female flower x 1; F —a simple and a compound
stamen showing connective appendages and anther loculi x 8; G—trilobed
stigma x 5; H — ovary with style and stigma x 1; [— a fruit x 1; J—L.S. of a
truit x I.
V. (A). Schizopepon wardii Chakravarty. A — general appearance ca. x 1/4;
B— part of the stem showing two male flowers ca. x 3/2; C—a male flower
ca. x 3/4, D—a partof the papillose petal ca. x 5/2 ; & — a flower dissected to
show manadelphous stamens and coneshaped papillose appendage ca. x 2; F —
stamens with appendage, one 1-locular, two bi-locular ca. x 2; G — dorsal view
of the single bi-locular stamen ca. x 5/2.
V. (B). Cucumis hystrix Chakravarty. ca. x 1/4.
VANISHING AND EXTINCT BIRD SPECIES OF INDIA
BY
S. DILLon RIPLEY
(With two coloured plates)
Human history is full of memorials both to its greatness and to
its powers of destruction. On the negative side of our historical
ledger many sad records are listed of waste, neglect, and wanton
abuse of our natural heritage. Human beings tend to have the
presumptuous feeling that the world and all its marvellous works are
their ‘oyster’—their own personal inheritance. This careless waste
of the gifts of nature extends to species of living animals and birds
as well as to the forests and to the soil on which we depend for our
very existence. Recently two interesting books have been published
on man’s ability to destroy his natural environment, and on the great
need for conservation of our dwindling resources. These books,
Our Plundered Planet by Fairfield Osborn, and Road to Survival by
William Vogt, paint a dreary picture of human thoughtlessness, and
point up the tremendous, really strategic need for conservation of our
soils and water tables, on which, far more than the atomic bomb,
the future of the human race depends.
The aesthetic and cultural side of conservation is of great impor-
tance to our race as well. There is a responsibility to the future
vested in all of us to protect and preserve vanishing species. Indeed
a Buddhist might well argue that we could store up merit for the
future of our own race by attempting to preserve the races of the
animal kingdom.
Among the birds of India, there are four species which are either
now extinct, or so seriously threatened that their future is highly
problematical. What has caused these species to become so sadly ~
depleted is not entirely clear. Two facts at least stand out. One
is that all four species are large birds, of game-bird status, and have
undoubtedly been the target of sportsmen with guns, snares or other
fowling devices for many generations. Another parallel fact is that
three of the species are birds of the Ganges basin or Peninsular India
so that their movements as large, conspicuous birds have become
increasingly circumscribed by the destruction of jungle and open
parkland which must have been their favored habitat, and the gradual
transformation into closely held agricultural land. There is a further
fact which probably has biological significance, but which is. now not
sufficiently understood by students of ecoiogy or animal distribution.
The three species found in the Gangetic basin or Peninsular India
now or in former times are all what might be termed ‘relict’ species ;
forms whose near relatives are widely dispersed, in the African or
European regions. These species have become isolated from their
close relatives, possibly during the earliest Tertiary times when
the disappearance of the Sea of Tethys and the mountain
.
ot sh
. see
eee
.
Cee
e
piesa
se
0s:
aS
ays
RO
a
ee
=
oe
—
fouRN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc.
eNait0
Ser
ReSeER
‘
Bo
0
Se
Se
Rena se ee
SRN
Jerdon’s Courser, Rhinoptilus bitorquatus Blyth
Pinkheaded Duck, Rhodonessa caryophyllacea (Latham), male
VANISHING AND EXTINCT BIRD SPECIES OF INDIA 903
building developments in northern India and central Asia must have
caused vast changes with alternate bridging and isolation of the
peninsular area of the Indian ‘subcontinent. However, perhaps we
need not look so far back in the case of some of these species, for
their relationship to the present fauna of Africa seems close enough
to postulate that they are the end remnants of a former continuous
distribution from Africa across Arabia and Mesopotamia dating back
to the pluvial epochs of Recent times, which, parallelling the glacial
periods extended a vegetation belt across the intervening area.
Whatever the cause of the disappearance of these species, every
effort should_now be bent by conservation-minded citizens to protect
and preserve the remnant population that may still exist. It is the
duty of all who are interested in this subject and informed upon it,
to disseminate their interest and information to others, and to attempt
to find out any further relevant facts about the existence and the possible
protection of these forlorn and lovely birds.
Rhodonessa caryophyflacea (Latham): Pinkheaded Duck.
Hindi: Gulab Sir.
This beautiful and curious bird once had a range which extended
as far north as Punjab and U.P., as far south as Madras, and east
to Assam and Burma. No certain record of its existence has come
to light since the mid-nineteen thirties. The last reliable record I
know of is June 1935 in Darbhanga District, Bihar (C. M. Inglis).
I say reliable because the resemblance between this species and the
Redcrested Pochard (Netta rufina) is great enough to make casual
identification difficult. A key to the more obvious differences between
the two species might be as follows:
Head Upper Surtace Underparis Outer edge
of Secondaries
co Pinkhead pink dark dark brown light buff
brown
do Redcrest reddish light black, creamy-white
with brown, white flanks
golden- white
orange patch on
area on shoulders
top
2 Pinkhead palish, dull brown dull brown pale brow-
pink nish-buff
only
on top
2 Redcrest grayish- dull brown grayish ochre gray
brown, to whitish
crown
dark
brown
904 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Both species have bright pinkish or reddish bills in the male.
Both species are much the same in size, although the Pinkhead would
never weigh over two and a half pounds, and both are likely to be
isolated from the main flocks of migratory duck, although the Red-
crested Pochard being a diving duck is somewhat more likely to be
in areas of large open water.
No recent record of the shooting of a Pinkheaded Duck by a
sportsman, presumably we hope by accident, should be credited’ unless
accompanied by a recognizable specimen, or at least the head and
bill, preserved for study in a museum such as the Prince of Wales
Museum at Bombay or the Indian Museum at Calcutta.
The spate of correspondence about the occurrence of the Pink-
headed Duck during July, August, and September 1950 in the daily
Statesman of Calcutta appear to refer, as far as recent records are
concerned, to the Redcrested Pochard, even though these records
came from the very area where one should be on the lookout for this
long-lost and beautiful species. This area consists of southern Bihar
and northern Orissa. The area near the Sankh River would seem to
be a natural winter home for the species as well as in northern Bihar,
in Darbhanga where the last records have occurred. There is no
recent information of the occurrence of the species at all in eastern
‘Assam, Manipur, and northwestern Burma, where the untouched
state of the forest and remote ‘jheels’ or ‘bhils’ might be such as to
favor the continued existence of the species, which by nature is a
forest-pool inhabitant. I have been told that the last trapped speci-
mens secured by the late Sir David Ezra in the thirties and kept in
captivity for some time, came from southern Goalpara and eastern
Rangpur, near the confluence of the Tista and the Brahmaputra
Rivers, but there has been no subsequent trapping or information to
bear out the further occurrence of these birds.
As to relationship, there has been much speculation about the
Pinkheaded Duck. The most ornithologists can contrive to say about
it is that it is an ‘aberrant’ species without close relatives. In the
past it has been considered related to the perching ducks such as
the Comb-duck or ‘Nukhta’. The egg is said to be rather rounded
(Mr. Inglis has one in his collection'), and reports have been made
that the ducks have been seen to perch in trees. On the other hand in
colour pattern, and reduced display and behaviour postures, it re-
sembled distantly the Redcrested Pochard, which some authors have
likened to a link between the river ducks and the diving ducks. Per-
haps the Pinkhead, an old isolated ‘relict’ species, points back to some
such transitional generalized form of duck—an ancestral stock which
evolved eventually into the two main streams of evolution of the river
and diving ducks, the Mallard-like forms and the Pochard-like forms.
Ophrysia superciliosa (Gray): Mountain Quail.
No more is known about the occurrence of this small quail to-day
than many years ago. All the five specimens in the British Museum
came from Mussoorie and Naini Tal at altitudes from 5,000 to 6,000
ao
1 Laid in captivity ; measuring 47x43 mm.—Ens.
II divig
aeut “(Aeixn) vsozpiasadns viskiydg
‘Tren(d) ureyunoyq oy
‘“O0CG ‘“LSIHT “LVNT AVAaWOR “NNO
VANISHING AND EXTINCT BIRD SPECIES OF INDIA 905
feet. The bird, which has been classified as a small partridge, related
on the one hand to the Blood-pheasants (Ithaginis) and on the other
to the Spurfowl (Galloperdix) is an inhabitant of very long grass,
and apparently is primarily a runner, not a flyer. It would be vir-
tually impossible to secure a specimen without a capable dog.
During my visit in west Nepal I attempted to gain any information
that I could about this species, but no news was forthcoming. I
was told that the species was known in the Dailekh District, and that
its local name was ‘sano kalo titra’, a purely descriptive name indeed.
Recently reports have come that a specimen has been shot in
East Kumaon during the last five years, not far from a village called
Lohaghat. Unfortunately attempts to corroborate this did not meet
with success, so that at present we are as much in the dark as ever
about the fate of the Mountain Quailt.
Choriotis nigriceps (Vigors): Great Indian Bustard.
Once found from the Punjab and Sind right across to southern
Madras, this great bustard, relative of several African and one
Australian species, seems doomed to extinction. Isolated pairs may
still linger in Rajasthan, perhaps in Gwalior, in Berar and Hyderabad.
No specimens have been recorded from Hyderabad since 1924, or from
Madras (near Trichinopoly) since the same year. At least no other
specimens have been recorded for science. This magnificent bird,
standing nearly four feet high and weighing at least over 1c pounds,
is of all India’s vanishing species the one most needing protection,
as it is a mark for the hunter or sportsman of almost irresistible
attraction. It is to be hoped that Government will take pains to
publicize the need to protect this rare and magnificent bird?.
Rhinoptilus bitorquatus Blyth: Jerdon’s Courser.
This courser is a close relative of a group of coursers now found
in Africa. No new information has come to light since the original
specimens were taken in 1871, although it has been recorded from
several localities. It apparently frequented light forested areas, in
contrast to its more open plain-loving relatives in Africa, and has
been seen on both sides of the Godavary River near Borgampad in
Hyderabad, and in Madras, Cuddapah and Nellore. Not man, but
a
' A full description of the bird and all the meagre information we possess con-
cerning it will be found on pp. 22-24 of Vol XXVII of the Journal, in the serial
‘The Game Birds of India, Burma and Ceylon’ by E. C. Stuart Baker.—Ebs.
* For a coloured plate and full description of habits and former status, see
Journal B.N.H.S., Vol. XXI, pp. 304-324 (under Eupodotis edwardsi, by E. C.
Stuart Baker).
Although persecution has squeezed the Great Indian Bustard alarmingly close
to the edge of extinction, happily enough it can not as yet be placed in the same
category of rarity or mnear-extinction as the other three species mentioned in
this article. There is still hope for its continued existence provided no more
time is lost in initiating and enforcing suitable protective measures. That no
recent published records of its occurrence exist from areas of its former abundance
is not in itself of great significance since the species has as yet not become rare
enough to warrant the publication of every individual specimen shot. However,
there is certainly no room at all for complacency.—Ebs.
906 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol: 50
some environmental factor must have been responsible for the dis-
appearance of this fine bird?.
There are other rare birds in India to-day. No one has any
recent information on Athene blewitti, the Forest Spotted Owlet,
known only from near Sambalpur and Karial. However, the fact
that no new information has come to light about this species since
1872, is not evidence that the owlet™is extinct. The forests of central
India have fortunately not yet disappeared, and cover a large area.
It is not unusual among ‘shy or skulking bird species for information
about them to be lacking for a generation or more. They lead their
own lives, unknown to the eyes and ears of humankind. But the
larger species, such as the ducks, pheasants, and other game birds,
and especially the Great Bustard are prey for everyone, and much.
needs to be done to protect them from the permanent fate of extinction.
EE
* For another coloured plate, description, habits and history, etc., see Jour.
B.N.H.S. Vol. XXXIV, pp. 5-6 (Stuart Baker).—Eps.
* ‘wp
THE HISTORY OF HERPETOLOGY IN INDIA
BY
MALCOLM A. SMITH, M.R.C.S,, L.R.C.P. (London)
The history of herpetology in India begins at the end of the eighteenth.
century, when Patrick Russell and Thomas Hardwicke came to the
Country in the service of the East India Company. They lived and
worked independently, but they were contemporaries and they may be
considered together. Dr. Russell’s life in India began in 1781 when at
the age of 55, after some 20 years in the near Bast, he joined his.
younger brother who was returning to India, and lived at Vizagapatam.
in the Madras Presidency, Four years later he was appointed botanist
and naturalist to the East India Company and for the remainder of his.
stay inthe country was indefatigable in his researches, not only in
botany, but in collecting, figuring and describing the fishes and snakes.
of the country. He was particularly interested in the poisonous snakes.
He was the first person in India to distinguish the harmless from the:
poisonous species and his treatise, ‘On the Peculiar Organs in the.
Mouth of Poisonous Snakes’ illustrated with figures was published by
the Government of India in 1787 and circulated in the settlements and.
military stations. He experimented widely with the common species
of poisonous snakes making them bite animals and birds so that he
could observe the symptoms, discover. the varying degrees of toxicity
and with that knowledge devise treatment to save human life. Nothing
very novel, however, resulted from his experiments which were based.
largely upon an already reputed remedy known as the Tanjore Pill, a.
combination of mercury, arsenic, pepper and the extracts of certain.
herbs. His two volumes ‘ An account of Indian Serpents collected
on the coast of Coromandel’ and ‘A continuation of an account of
Indian Serpents’ containing brief descriptions and carefully executed.
colour plates were published in 1786 and 1801 to 1809 respectively.
Only the vernacular names of the snakes are given. A good account of
Russell’s life, with a portrait, is in the second volume of this work which.
was not completed until after his death.
Major-General Thomas Hardwicke spent his life in India in the.
army. As a young man of 21 he landed in the country in 1778 and
there he spent the next 25 years. Hardwicke was an assiduous collector,
not only of specimens in all branches of natural history but also of
drawings and water-colour sketches of plants and animals. Most of
these were drawn by native artists whom he employed for the purpose..
The total number of his sketches fill 32 volumes and are now in the
British Museum (Natural History). Two of the volumes contain the
sketches of the reptiles (mainly snakes) and amphibians. Hardwicke
did not contribute anything to the literature of herpetology, but his
sketches and preserved specimens were used extensively by the systema-
tists of his time and in that way our knowledge of the herpetology of
India was enriched.
908 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Other names connected with the early history of herpetology in
India are Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, also a collector of water-colour
sketches, Brian Hodgson who spent his life chiefly in Nepal, James Emer-
son Tennant, whose book the ‘ Natural History of Ceylon’ was the first
to deal with the natural history of the Island, Edward Blyth, the first
curator of the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Dr W. T. Blan-
ford who, in his work on the geological survey of India, travelled and
collected widely, and Col. R. H. Beddome to whom herpetology is in-
debted in particular for our knowledge of the Uropelts.
With the arrival of Dr. J. Fayrer in India a new era in the study of
ophiology commenced. Fayrer devoted himself particularly to the
poisonous snakes and his ‘‘lhanatophidia of India’ published in 1874
was a notable contribution. He made a careful study of the poison
apparatus. By experimenting with animals and birds which he caused
to be bitten by snakes, by a study of the symptoms of those people who
had been bitten and brought to him for treatment he greatly advanced
our knowledge of snake bite. He was the first to recognize that the
venom of the elapine snakes was different in its effects upon the body
from that of the viperine species. He made many advances in treat-
ment. He advocated ligature and incision of the wound, suction under
certain conditions, and destruction of the tissues at the seat of injury
both by caustics and by the cautery. He tried amputation when it was
possible. He was the originator of the treatment by potassium perman-
ganate.
In 1860 the entire collection of preserved specimens of reptiles in
the possession of the East India Company was presented to the British
Museum and it was the atrival of this valuable material in England
that led Dr. Albert Giinther to compile his volume ‘ The Reptiles of
British India’. This was published by the Ray Society in 1864. It
was the first complete monograph to deal with the herpetology of the
country. Dr. Ginther never visited India and had no knowledge of the
animals in the wild state. Nevertheless his volume was a valuable contri-
bution to the subject and was for many years the standard work of
reference. The volume is well illustrated, the source of many of the
pictures being the collection of drawings made by Sir Walter Blliot
during his long residence in the Madras Presidency.
Other workers of note on herpetology at the latter end of the last
century and the beginning of the present one are Dr. John Anderson
who made two expeditions to Yunnan, Lt.-Col. Henry Godwin-Austen
who spent most of his service in India in Assam, Ferdinand Stoliczka
who travelied extensively in the Himalayas and was the first naturalist
to study the natural history of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and
Harold Ferguson who enriched our knowledge in particular of the
district of ‘I'ravancore.
Above all others, however, stands George Albert Boulenger, not only
for his ‘ Reptilia and Batrachia’ inthe Fauna of.British India series,
but for the very large number of papers and articles on herpetological
subjects which he wrote at that time. Like Gunther, Boulenger never
visited India and his work was mainly on systematics. But the classifi-
cation adopted by him in his treatment of the subject was a great
advance on that of his predecessors and his major arrangement of the
families has not been disputed since. For 40 years his volume remained
the standard work on the subject.
THE HISTORY OF HERPETOLOGY IN INDIA 909
To Colonel Frank Wall we are indebted more than any other man
for our knowledge of the habits of the Indian snakes. As a member of
the Indian Medical Service he arrived in the country in 1894. There
he was to spend most of the next 30 years of his life and in the course
of his duties was stationed in most parts of the Peninsula including
Ceylon and Burma. Wherever Wall went he collected and studied his
material, and by his enthusiasm induced others to collect for him. He
was not a museum worker. His interest was in the living creatures
and his voluminous writings deal almost entirely with their habits and
structure. His larger works include ‘The Snakes of Ceylon’, ‘The
Poisonous Snakes of our British Indian Dominions’ and 'A Popular
Treatise on the Common Indian Snakes’.
The writer’s contribution to Indian herpetology is the three volurnes
on the reptiles inthe Fauna of British India series published during
1931-1943. The classification adopted is with some small alterations that
used by Boulenger, but in addition to the descriptions given, an attempt
has been made to include an account of the life histories of those species
that are known. Itis unfortunate that the volume on the snakes is now
out of print, all the unbound copies of the book having been destroyed
by fire during one of the air raids on London. The volume on the
amphibia is not yet written.
In recent years an intensive study of the reptiles of Ceylon has been
made by Dr. P. E, P. Deraniyagala. He has devoted himself specially
to the Chelonians, and his volume ‘Tetrapod Reptiles of Ceylon’
published in 1939 covers the group very completely. His account of the
development of the species is an aspect of the subject that has not been
undertaken before. In his introduction to the volume Dr. Deraniyagala
has given also a brief account of the chief workers on herpetology
connected with the Island. It is impossible, in a brief survey of the
history of herpetology of India, such as has been attempted here, to
mention every one who has contributed to the subject. Notes and short
articles on habits, structure and distribution dealing with individual
species are constantly appearing, the majority of themin the pages of
this journal.
OBITUARIES
W. S. MILLARD
(Plate)
By the death of W. S. Millard at Tunbridge Wells on March 24
the Society has lost not only its oldest member, but the last link
with the original founders.
Walter Samuel Millard, the seventh son of the Rev. J. H. Millard
was born at Hungtingdon in 1864. After working for some time with
Messrs. Frank Bailey & Co., wine importers in London he went to
Bombay in 1884 as assistant to Herbert Phipson, who some years
previously had started a wine business in that city. Phipson was a
very remarkable man with a great interest in natural history, and
though not one of the original founders, had been the mainstay of the
Society from its beginning. Since 1886 he had held the offices of
Honorary Secretary and editor of the Journal, and moreover had
accommodated the Society in his original office in Forbes Street. But
by the time Millard arrived he had moved to more commodious quarters
at 6 (now 114), Apollo Street, the residence in former times of ‘the
Chief Justice of Bombay, and rented to the Society several rooms.
It was impossible to work with Phipson without becoming interested
in natural history. To reach his office it was necessary to pass
through the Society’s museum which, in addition to various stuffed
Janimals and jars containing fish and reptiles, generally housed a
live cobra or two and a large python. Not long after his arrival
Millard joined the Society, and in 1893 was made assistant editor of
the Journal though he had doubtless been helping Phipson with the
work of the Society for some time previous.
In 1906 Phipson retired from business and Millard was elected
to fill his place in the Society. He continued to give it of his best
til he left India in 1920. Under the editorship of Phipson and
Millard the Journal had become the most important scientific publica-
tion east of Suez. By the time Millard took over, other scientific
journals had sprung up all over the East but the Society’s journal
remained unique since it not only published important scientific papers
but also natural.history articles of more general interest, suitable for
the majority of members. It was at this time also that the Society
began to publish in book form serial articles from its journal, and the
first thus to appear was Major Wall’s small guide to poisonous
snakes which, before long, was in every dispensary from the Bolan
Pass to the Chinese frontier. The greatest success in this line was
the ‘Duck Book’ containing Stuart Baker’s papers on ‘Indian Ducks
and their ‘Allies’ started as long ago as 1897. Millard took a great
pride in this book, and when at home on leave personally saw to the
printing and binding so that the volume would be a credit to the
Society. He did not, however, realize what a demand there would
be for the book and it was in no time out of print. To fill the place
of the articles on ducks, Millard persuaded Stuart Baker to write a
IoyJMOT “N ‘HL YsSeUuIq PIETTIN *S FOUEM
err ~~
~
‘90S ‘LSIFT ‘LVN Avawog “Nunof
OBITUARIES 911
new series on snipe, bustards, sandgrouse and other game birds which
in due course were published in two volumes but were never as popular
as the first venture. Though Millard took interest in natural history
generally, his particular hobby was gardening especially the cultivation
of flowering trees and shrubs. A tree, moreover, did not necessarily
have to have a beautiful flower to interest him, and it was at his
suggestion that Father Blatter wrote the articles on ‘The Palms of
India’. This was followed a few years later by a series on ‘Beautiful
Indian Trees’ of which Millard and Blatter were the joint authors.
For many years Millard had been collecting paintings of flowering
trees from all over India and studying the best ways of propagating
and growing them. The title of this series was slightly misleading
since a number of the trees were not Indian but had been introduced
either by Millard himself or by his friend H. V. Kemball of the
Improvement Trust.
Among the trees introduced in Bombay by Millard the Burmese
Cassia renigera is the most outstanding, and indeed it vies with
Amherstia nobilis as the most beautiful flowering tree in the city.
Other introductions include Pterocarpus indicus with yellow fragrant
flowers, which in spite of its name is also a native of Burma, and
Glivicidia maculata a delightful South American tree raised from seed
sent from Ceylon which first flowered in Millard’s garden in 1916.
After Millard married he lived in a bungalow in Winter Road,
Malabar Hill, and about 1910 moved to another on ‘The Ridge’ with
much more ground which was soon developed into a beautiful garden
with trees and shrubs and a large fernery full of foliage plants,
orchids and other tropical flowers. This was the most important
private garden in Bombay, and guests staying at Government house
were frequently sent to inspect its treasures. On several occasions
different governors sought Millard’s advice in regard to improving
the grounds of Malabar Point, and at Lord Willingdon’s request he
undertook to supervise the laying out of the grounds at the Willingdon
Club.
The study of birds has always been the most popular branch of
natural history among members of the Society, but there had been
little advance in the knowledge of mammals, other than the big game
animals, since Blanford wrote his volume in 1888. R. C. Wroughton,
after he retired from the Indian Forest Service took up the study of
mammals at the British museum and was continually writing to
Millard about this lamentable state of affairs and urging the Society
to employ a collector to collect small mammals. Millard, however,
could only point out that no collector was available in India and that
the finances of the Society did not permit of employing one.
Then one morning in r910 C. A. Crump suddenly walked into the
office. He had just arrived from England and offered his services
as a collector or taxidermist. Here was a chance not to be missed,
and Millard hastily calling a committee meeting persuaded the
members to agree to employ Crump for several months and at the
same time to launch an appeal for a Mammal Survey Fund. This
appeal was so successful that within a year four collectors were at
work and the Mammal Survey firmly established. The collections
a
912 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAE “HIST. SOCIETY, Vol) 50
provided adequate material on which to base the two new volumes
of the ‘Fauna’ by R. I. Pocock, as well as other important publications.
The starting and the success of the Mammal Survey was entirely
due to Millard, and only those who were in close association with him
at the time have any idea of the amount of time and work he spent
in the raising of the money and organising of the survey. All this
was done in addition to attending to the Society’s other business and
editing the Journal, to say nothing of looking after his own business
of Messrs. Phipson & Co.
Millard’s honorary work was not entirely confined to the offices he
held in the Society. He was also Secretary of the Countess of
Dufferin Fund and the Cama & Albless Hospital, and entirely res-
ponsible for the running of the Peachy-Phipson Sanatorium at Nasik.
When Phipson left India Millard took his place on the Committee of
the Prince of Wales Museum, but in spite of all his efforts the building
was not completed till after the outbreak of the 1914 war, when it
was turned into a hospital for Indian soldiers, and by the time he left
India the building had not yet reverted to the original purpose for
which it was built.
It is difficult in a few words to tell of all Millard’s activities on
behalf of the Society, how he pressed the Government to enquire into
the inshore fisheries and indeed if it had not been for the first world
war he would have taken up the whole question of the fishing industry
in Bombay with the Government. Through his efforts a close time
was established for certain birds, while other species were given
additional protection. When he finally left Bombay he became the
Society’s representative in London and undertook the arrangements
for the reproduction of plates, printing of books, etc.
Every visitor to the Society’s room in Apollo Street will remember the
great Indian Hornbill, better known as the ‘office canary’ which lived
in a cage behind Millard’s chair in Phipson & Co.’s office for 26 years
and died in 1920. It is said its death was caused by swallowing
a piece of wire, but in the past ‘William’ had swallowed a lighted
cigar without ill effects and I for my part think that the loss of his
old friend was the principal cause.
By nature Millard was of rather a shy and retiring disposition,
but all that vanished when he had anything to do on behalf of the
Society. He was a keen sportsman and loved a day after quail or
snipe in the Thana district. While at home, on leave, he always
spent part of 'August grouse shooting in Perthshire and after he_
retired he rented a shooting lodge in the Rannoch district for several
years. After finally leaving India Millard settled in Tunbridge
Wells, within easy reach of London, which enabled him to run up for
the day to attend to business or visit the fortnightly shows of the
Horticultural Society. Attached to his house was a small garden
which he soon filled with interesting plants and shrubs, and it 1s
doubtful if there was ever any garden of the same size with as many
rare and interesting plants! It was a veritable multum in parvo.
Millard married Sybil daughter of James Mackinlay of Edinburgh,
and seldom has there been a happier marriage. Mrs. Millard assisted
her husband in many ways and her presence at the meetings of the
Society was always welcome, where her charming personality made
OBITUARIES J13
the shy visitor feel at ease. Later when she became crippled with
arthritis no husband could have attended his wife in a more unselfish
way.
To Mrs. Millard, and her family Mrs. Kirk Green and Dr. Antony
Millard, all members of the Society send their deepest sympathy.
And now before closing this inadequate notice I must add a
personal note. It was through Millard that I had the chance of
going to Bombay and working for the Society which had great influ-
ences on my later career. It is difficult to describe the man himself,
but we who worked under him in the old days, whether in the Society
or Phipson & Co., Sir Reginald Spence, P. M. D. Sanderson and
S. H. Prater all received innumerable kindnesses from him which
cannot be told here. We all loved and admired him and now that he
is gone we treasure the memory of his friendship,
NORMAN B. KINNEAR
it NA LOW THER
(Plate)
Ernest Herbert Newton Lowther, universally known to his friends.
and intimates as Bob Lowther, died suddenly on April 28th at his
home at Burgess Hili in Sussex. He was born in India, being
educated first in Simla and later in England at Bedford and Tonbridge
schools. It was at the latter that his great love of nature first became
evident and there, too, he was weaned by the great naturalist and
photographer, Richard Kearton, from that usual boyhood pastime of
egg-collecting to replace in its stead a passion for bird-photography.
In ro11, after his return to India, where he followed in his father’s
footsteps in the service of the East Indian Railway, he took up with
enthusiasm the photography of India’s birds, an enthusiasm which
later became a ruling force in his life, resulting in the fine work which
for several years graced the pages of the Journal as well as the walls
at a number of Exhibitions, and culminated in the publication of
‘A Bird Photographer in India’ and, in conjunction with the writer of
this notice, of ‘The Breeding Birds of Kashmir’. On his retirement
from the railway in 1945 he had risen to be Divisional Superintendent
at Lucknow, but it was while stationed at Allahabad and earlier in
the Dhanbad area that he did much of what is probably his best work,
making the most of his opportunities to photograph the birds of
those districts made famous by Allan Octavian Hume. Bob Lowther
had a great capacity for making friends and all who met him at
once came under his spell. He was kindness and generosity personified
and had a delightful sense of humour which was quite infectious.
A story which he used to tell almost against himself was how the
chairman at one of his nature lectures in India—who in fact was his
_chief—humorously introduced him to his audience with the words, ‘I
believe Mr. Lowther in his spare time is a railwayman’. ‘Although he
retired from India with impaired health after 34 years’ service, his
914 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
love for bird-photography did not wane. He at once threw himseif
into the study and portrayal of British birds in which pursuit he was
already making his influence felt. In June 1951 he visited the Isle of
Fetlar in the Shetlands where he obtained many outstanding photo-
graphs of some of Britain’s rarer birds, and up to the very day of
his death, although his health was far from good, he was planning
a second trip for this year. All who knew and loved him will feel
relieved that at the last he was spared lingering pain and that inacti-
vity which would have been so irksome to him. His wife took a
great interest in his bird work and accompanied him on many of his
trips in Kashmir and elsewhere. It goes without saying that all
members would wish to join with me in recording here our deepest
sympathy with Mrs, Lowther in her grievous loss.
ROS sear
REVIEWS
n.°/MY INDIA. . By Jim Corbett. Twelve chapters... Pp. 190
igi” x 64"). Sketch map, front and end inside-cover maps. Bombay
1952, (Oxford University Press). Price Rs. 6-12.
The India of this book is that portion of the Lower Himalayas
between Hardwar and Nepal made known to readers of the author’s
two previous publications, ‘Man-eaters of Kumaon’ and ‘The Man-
eating Leopard of Rudraprayag’ reviewed in this Journal [ Vol. 45
(1), 1945 and Vol.-:47 (4), 1948]. The end-maps also include the
country below the foothills exploited for three years by the notorious
robber and plunderer of the well-to-do—Sultana, dacoit of the Bhantu
criminal tribe (in present political parlance ‘Scheduled Tribe’) as related in
chapter VII.
The Introduction gives a quite admirable description of the Lower
Himalayas, and how good it is will be realised by the ordinary reader
and even more by those who, lke your reviewer, wandered during
some years of work and sport among those delectable hills and
valleys. The sketch map opposite p. 190 shows where Mokameh
Ghat is on the south bank of the mighty Ganges east of Patna in
North Bihar and scene of the narrative in chapters VIII to XII.
Those who have read Corbett’s two shikar ‘thrillers’ will re-
member his gift of writing simple yet dramatic prose which has an
air of verisimilitude. That is what you also find in these tales of
the hill people. You sense that this is what happened, this is the
scene word-pictured before your eyes. Here, in this small book, you
have a true picture of the lives and manner of living of ‘The stout-
hearted people, who with infinite labour have made these terraced
fields, live in a row of stone houses with slate roofs bordering the
rough and narrow road that runs from the Bhabar, and the plains
beyond, to the Lower Himalayas.’
The killing of helpless women by man-eating tigers is a very
sad and gruesome business, and the story around the life of ‘The
Queen of the Village’ grips one’s attention in every line. In con-
nexion ‘with this beast Corbett makes the dogmatic remark that:
‘tigers have no sense’ of smell’. The habits of the tiger do not
require that he should have a keen sense of smell, but there are
related instances in the Society’s journal, and happenings within the
personal experience of the writer, that the tiger can sometimes show
he has both a hound nose—though a poor one—and a winding nose
too. In his narrative there is demonstrated the great harm an inex-
perienced sportsman can bring about.
Kunwar Singh (Ch. II) was quite right: those who shoof in
jungles should be able to climb trees. In the matter of K.S.’s later
days’ near-fatal illness there are perhaps none of us who would have
ventured to act against religious observances as did Corbett, and by
which he saved the life of his friend. That indicates his intimate know-
ledge of the people and the influence he had through unfailing sympathy
tS)
916 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
and understanding. In the stories around the life of Mothi (Ch. III)
is another instance of lamentable action—or want of action—on the
part of three tiger-hunting ‘sportsmen’. Fortunately, in those days
so well known to your reviewer, such occurrences can have been
very few. In the narrative woven around the life of Mothi is much
of interest. There is, for instance, the very true remark that wounded
wild boars have to be treated with very great respect. Again we
meet Robin of uncertain lineage but treasured memory who was so
‘valiant’ yet so brave. Perhaps among his ancestors was the spaniel
of Williamson’s day who, trained to ‘point’ marauding forest leopards,
was killed at his fiftieth success,
“In pre-red-tape days we have a vivid insight into the time when
district officers in some parts of this country used effectively to carry
out their manifold duties while moving from camp to camp. Among
his varied official experiences your reviewer ofttimes settled cases of
many kinds while on the march. The people liked such methods, for
they were not called away from their homes for days on end, and
the open air settlements being seen and heard, not only by the parties
themselves but by the villagers also, few dared to speak false witness
in such surroundings.
Many are the deeds of unthinking heroism performed by the jungle
dwelling peoples of India. A number are personally known to the writer
but none to equal the tale of the ‘brothers’ Narwa and Haria related
in Ch. VI and pictured on the cover-wrapping of-this book. The
story of the two lost children woven into the Law of the Jungle is
a peignant tale.
It is the present-day custom in the public press to accord the
legendary name of ‘Robin Hood’ as a kind of honorific title to dacoits
and robbers some of whom by no means deserve it. Sultana of
Chapter VII was apparently somewhat deserving of the appellation,
though his many deeds did eventually earn him the dishonour of a
hempen rope. Your reviewer happened to be at Lalkua Junction on
the afternoon of 23rd March 1923 on the way to Ramnagar when he
met the redoubtable Young of the police all set to lead his special
police force on a night march through the forests. to surprise the
elusive Sultana and his gang. That venture failed owing, we heard
later, to the accidental (?) discharge of a rifle. We had not previous-
ly met Mr. Young, but being told there was some doubt as to
whether the hoped for shikar elephant would be available at Ramnagar
he at once offered the loan of his own animal. That it was not found
to be necessary did not detract from the prompt kindness of his
generous action. The tale of his further doings and his final capture
of Sultana-is well related by our author. Yes! that very able and
physically active police officer did look as if weighed around 280 lbs.
Chapters VIII to XII are concerned with twenty-one years of work
at Mokameh Ghat. They were years of hard and anxious toil in
a climate very different from the salubrious hills of his home near
Naini Tal. These fifty-eight pages give the reader much that is
interesting and informative regarding the character of the author and
the lives of the people with whom he lived and worked all those years.
Those of us who have acquired knowledge of the peoples of India
REVIEWS 917
through long residence in this country will know how true is Corbett’s
narrative of his days and doings at Mokameh Ghat. Some will think
he was of a too generous nature.
This book should attain a very wide circulation, and all w ho have
the fortune to read it will look forward to more from the author’s
pleasingly descriptive pen.
R. W.B
20H PHEASANTS OF, THE WORLD: Byjean: Delacour:
Pp. 347 (112" x 82”). Mlustrated with 16 coloured and 16 monochrome
plates by J. C. Harrison, 21 maps and diagrams. London (Country
Life Ltd.), New York (Charles. Scribner’s Sons), 1951. Price £47-7sh.
—$ 35.00.
Between the years 1918 and 1922 Dr. William Beebe published
the four lavishly illustrated but somewhat unwieldy volumes of his
monumental ‘Monograph of the Pheasants’. Before commencing the
task he undertook expeditions to almost every part of the world
where pheasants are found in the wild state, including the homes of
some of the rarest species, observing and studying their habits and
recording meticulous data concerning their habitats and ecology. Small
wonder, then, that his book on this fascinating group of game birds
should be what it is universally acknowledged—the most complete
natural history of the pheasants ever produced.
Beebe’s ‘Monograph’, however, apart from its size and weight
which render it somewhat formidable for constant reference, has long
been out of print. In the years since its publication, also, a good
deal of additional knowledge has accumulated, and several new forms
of pheasants have been described. Therefore the need for a new
work on this group of birds was evident. Equally evident was the
fact that no living ornithologist was better qualified for undertaking
the task than Mons. Jean Delacour. His field researches and ex-
perience with pheasants in the Indo-Chinese countries and over 40 years.
of pheasant keeping and breeding in his far-famed aviaries in France
(completely destroyed twice in each of the World Wars, but now
again in the course of rebuilding), and his eminence as a systematic
ornithologist are sufficient guarantee for the quality of this pro-
duction.
The plan of the book is simple and rational. It opens with a
general account of the pheasants as a group. This is followed by
a chapter on their acclimatization in the aviaries of the world, and:
then comes the treatment of each species and sub-species separately
headed by a concise description of the bird and its general habits:
and behaviour, particularly from the aviculturist’s angle. Accounts
of habits of most species in the wild state are reduced to a minimum
since these have been fully treated in Beebe’s Monograph and its
subsequent one-volume abridgement, ‘Pheasants, their Lives and
Homes’. Only one new genus and 4 new species have been discovered
during the present century including the peacock-Iike Afropavo from
the Belgian Congo in Africa, a continent hitherto considered devoid
of the true pheasants and as possessing only Guinea Fowts, Francolins.
918 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. AIST. SOCIETY, Vol, 50
and Quails in this family. The real home of the pheasants of course
is Asia, particularly south-east Asia.
On a critical evaluation of the various classes of characteristics
possessed by the pheasants, Mons. Delacour maintains 16 natural
genera in place of the 22 or so hitherto recognized. It is refreshing to find
that in keeping with the excellent review of the family Anatidae
(Ducks, Geese & Swans) published by him some years ago in con-
junction with Dr. Ernst Mayr of the New York Museum, here also
the importance of display and behaviour patterns, and bionomics in
determining natural relationships and grouping is emphasised as
against the purely morphological characters evinced in dead museum
material. Thus the lumping of seven genera with laterally compressed
roof-shaped tails under the single genus Lophura (e.g. Kaleej, Silver
Pheasant and Fireback)—termed by the author Gallopheasants—all
characterized by a whirring of wings during display, as in Syrmaticus,
seems a thoroughly rational arrangement with which perhaps few
ornithologists with field experience of these birds will be inclined to
quarrel.
But what precise value to place on each morphological character
still seems largely to be a matter of individual taste and fancy, and
it continues to amaze (or amuse !) and mystify what one may call the non-
systematist onlooker. For instance, while some systematists lay great
store by the number of feathers in the tail, basing even genera on
this character, others treat it as of no consequence. Thus the genus
Lophura as here recognized encompasses birds with 14, 16 and up
to 32 tail feathers. Moreover, it contains species that are crested
and others without a crest; two species possessing blue face wattles
while all the rest have them red; in some species the rectrices are
blunt, short and straight, whereas others have them long, pointed
and curved.
More mystifying still is the great importance sometimes given
by the same ornithologist to such a feature as the bill, its size
and shape, in one instance, while its significance is epored) 10%
explained away in another. As a case in point, on p. 25 shape
and size of bill is included among the main morphological characters
separating the various genera of pheasants; on p. 184 the similarity
in bill between Crossoptilon (Horned Pheasant) and Catreus and
Lophophorus (the Cheer and Monals) in nonchalantly dismissed with
‘But such late acquired functional characteristics are of little meaning
as an indication of affinity.’ Well may the aforesaid onlooker wonder !
Gaps in existing knowledge are usefully indicated; the precise
geographical ranges of many pheasants, and even the provenance of
some seen in aviaries, are unknown. A few species are known only
from captive specimens and have never been observed in a wild state ;
‘One incomplete feather is all the information we possess of a certain
striking species of Argus’. The eggs and chicks. of several species
still remain undescribed. Thus the vast amount of work still to be done
by field ornithologists is here made manifest.
As a result of mature experience of pheasant keeping and breed-
ing, hints are offered on practical problems such as acclimatization,
housing, feeding and rearing of the different species—their procure-
ment, transport, establishment and diseases. The notes on the feed-
REVIEWS 919
ing and care of chicks should be of special value to zoos and pheasant
breeders. ‘Pheasants which eat grain only soon become too fat and
produce infertile eggs. Variety in food and green food are essential.
Oystershell and grit should be available at all times.’
In the main section of the book that follows, a good description
of each genus and its taxonomic position, general habits and captivity
heads the account. Its various species and sub-species are next dealt
with individually, male, female, immature and downy chick being des-
cribed, together with eggs and distribution. Historical accounts of the
introduction and acclimatization of the different species in Europe aid
America add considerably to the interest of the general reader.
It is gratifying to find that—thanks to the whirligig of time—
Ceriornis has reverted to the more familiar, onomatopoeic Pucras.a.
The crow of the cock Koklass is given as ‘Ah-croaak! croaak-croaak !
crok!, the last note very low.’ The reviewer feels that the more
usual rendering of the call ‘Kok-kok-kok—kokras’ or ‘Pok-pok-pok—
pokras’ is as good as any. It is responsible for the Hindustani name
Kkoklass as well as for the Latin Pucrasia. |
Several of the named races of the Koklass pheasant, for example
bethelae Fleming and biddulphi Marshall, would seem to be little more
than stages in a continuous cline, therefore without precisely definable
boundaries. As such the reviewer is not entirely convinced that any
useful purpose is served by naming the populations. One of the con-
ditions that have been authoritatively laid down for the recognizability
of a sub-species is that the differences should be sufficiently ‘taxonomic’
to be recognizable in museum specimens. It may be that this con-
dition is fulfilled to a greater degree in Pucrasia macrolopha than im
many other species of birds so treated, but the usefulness of nomen-
clatorial sub-specific recognition in many cases is certainly questionable.
Instead of simplifying taxonomy, it does little more than confuse
issues and clutter up synonymy, since it is often rejected by the next
reviser who covers the same ground.
In the abounding merits of this work there is little that any one car
seriously criticize, but attention may be drawn to a few minor slips
which might easily have been avoided. To readers familiar with India
it will seem that a little more care in the orthography of Indian names
would have been of advantage. For instance, on page 113 Jubbulpore
is spelt ‘Jubhulpore’; on p. 131 Khasia (Hills) appear as ‘Kashia’,
while on p. 204 Gandak (River) is printed as ‘Gandal’.
The westernmost distribution of the Satyr Tragopan is given as the
Kattar Valley somewhat west of the Alaknanda valley in Kumaon.
It is therefore unlikely that there are ‘Afghans’ among the other
hill natives who bring them down to Calcutta every year, as stated.
Kumaon is entirely out of the distributional range of the Afghan!
Absence of any indication in the text of where to turn for a parti-
cular illustration will cause some inconvenience to users; likewise a
cross-reference on a plate to the relative page of the text would have
been appreciated. Between pages 235 and 240 the name ‘Kozlova”
appears variously as ‘Kozlowa’ as well as ‘Koslova’!
It might be mentioned that the correct Hindustani pronunciation
for the word here spelt Kalij (p. 120) is ‘kaleej’/—the ‘a’ shortened
iike the ‘u’ in ‘cut’. The plural consistently written here as ‘kaliys’
920 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
is both odd and difficult to pronounce. Perhaps it would have. been
better to drop the final ‘s’ altogether and use kalij as a collective
noun.
The story of the finding of the peacock-like African bird Afropavo
in the late ’30s is surely one of the most romantic epics of ornitholo-
gical investigation. The initial clue, supplied by a single feather
worn in the hat of a native Congoan in 1913, and 2 dilapidated moth-
eaten specimens supposed to be the yqung of the Common Peafowl,
in the neglected corridor of a Belgian museum, led to a special ex-
pedition to central Congo in search, resulting in the dramatic discovery
of the -bird.
As regards the general excellence of the book—text as well as
plates—there can hardly be two opinions. Ornithologists are fortu-
nate in getting the benefit of Mons. Delacour’s unparalleled experience
and intimate knowledge of this group of birds. The book will rank
as a classic in its own class.
Spawee
~
3. PHARMACOGNOSY OF AYURVEDIC DRUGS OF. TRA-
VANGORE-COCHIN.. Series. I... 25x19 cms., Pp. vii-+ 41,. tt. IX;
tables’ nos. I; IV,.. VII & VHI are in::colour; ‘the rest, in black and
white. (Published by the Central Research Institute, Trivandrum,
1951.)
This is an interesting series that is now being started by the
University of Travancore on Ayurvedic Drug plants. To begin with,
the number of tables and their presentation make the little volume an
attractive one, the plates are very clear, and even those representing
the anatomical structure of the plants are very artistically drawn. The
booklet deals with but a few plants, and in each case after a short
introduction, the following data are given: the local name of the
plant, its distribution and habitat, external morphology, officinal part
of the plant, histology, distinguishing features of the root, etc.. Both
the external morphology and the histology are well illustrated in the
plates.’
On the negative side I have but a few remarks to offer. Accord-
ing to the practice of the latest edition of the International Rules of
Botanical Nomenclature, no comma should be used between the name
(generic or specific) of a plant and the name of the author who named
the plant. Thus in the booklet under review, it should be Cyclea
peltata Diels, and not Cyclea peltata, Diels, etc.
The question of the name of Cyclea peltata Diels is a complicated
‘one, and not easy to solve; one thing is clear: the name Cyclea
peltata Dieis is definitely illegitimate, and cannot be used, even though
Gamble in his Flora of Madras, and Blatter in this journal (31: 556,
1926) use the name in the same sense as in the booklet under review.
Diels published his Cyclea peltata in 1910; prior to this there were
two other authors who had used the same name for different plants:
Hook f. & Thoms. in Flora Indica 201, 1855 and Miers, in Contrib.
Bot. 3: 236, 1874. Cvwclea peltata Diels is 4 later homonym: in the
sense of Art. 61 of the Rules, and must be saledics!
—a- !
REVIEWS ; g2
“Subsequent numbers in this series will be eagerly awaited both
by botanists and by pharmacologists in India and elsewhere.
EH SAN EAPAW S27
fo HEAD AND THORAX OF STENOBRACON-DEESAE. . Ty
S. Mashhood Alam. Part I of Skeleto-muscular mechanism... Ediced
by Prof. M, B. Mirza. Pp. 74, 9 plates. (Aligarh Muslim University
Publication,. [1l; 1951.) -Price Rs: 5-8.
While the first publication of the series, previously noticed in this
journal Vol. 49 (1); I09, represented the average type of work done
in an Indian University this one shows a great advance over it. Jt is
better to take a simple problem and make a good job of it, as in
the present case, than to attack a difficult one complaining of want
of facilities, shortage of apparatus and even of cooperation. The present
publication represents such excellent work that we hope Prof. Mirza,
as the Director of Research, will try and maintain this standard. Only
the bibliographical references seem to be incomplete. Of some 50
references none represents a paper of German origin. This scems strange
knowing that Prof. Mirza himself has had a thorough German train-
ing. «As in the case of the previous publication ordinary pen and ink
drawings have been reproduced on excellent art paper. Although we
appreciate the taste, choice of a less costly paper would probably have
reduced the price which has been fixed at Rs. 5-8. We note with
pleasure that the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Zakir Husain, has generously
financed the publication. It is to be hoped that others in -a sim lar
position will follow his noble example. |
S. MAHDIHASSAN
So. LER BUA TERE EY FAUNA-OF CEYEON.”' By tr. GO.
Woodhouse. 2nd (Abridged) Edition. Pp. xvi+133 (121" x92").
37 coloured and 12 uncoloured plates. Colombo (The Ceyion Govt.
Press) 1950. Price Rs. 25.
This 2nd (Abridged) Edition is based on a ist Edition published
in 1942 and incorporates details of the then unknown early stages of
an additional 41 species of Ceylon butterflies, leaving now only 42
out of 242 known species undescribed in this respect. This edition has
a very complete set of coloured plates which permit purely visual
identification: written descriptions in the text are therefore practically
eliminated, the letterpress being confined almost solely to other inform-
ation essential to the collector.
Apart from the financial assistance afforded by an enlightened State
Government, this wealth of coloured plates was made possible to a
great extent by the economy involved in the use of the author’s
‘Wax-cum-Gum’ method of producing accurate wing-pictures; this is
done by transfer to paper of the actual scales themselves, and ts, in
effect, a double-transfer system. The scales are first removed from
the wings by pressing them on to waxed paper; the image thus formed,
which is of course composed of inverted scales, is then brought into
contact under pressure with gummed paper: when dry it is ‘placed in a
922 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL UIST, SOCIETY, Vol. 50
bath of petrol which dissolves the wax but leaves the dried gum un-
affected. This method obviates the lengthy, expensive and often
inaccurate work of painting pictures from which to prepare blocks.
The plates are produced by the 3-colour process; as the author himself
admits, the results are somewhat ‘muddy’ and fall far short of the live
brilliance of the image. They are, however, very adequate for their
purpose, namely identification, and he is most fortunate in being able
to produce a book so completely illustrated in colour at so low a price.
Whilst realising that first things must come first one sighs, as a
worker in India, for a State which has the vision and means to support
so complete a work of reference ;-it must be considered invaluable to
anyone studying the butterflies of Ceylon and, for that matter, of
South India itself.
To criticise, adversely, a number of points which do not how-
ever seriously detract from the real value of the book:
The systematic sequence of Families (page 8 et seq.) follows the
popular, if illogical, arrangement whereby a commencement is made with
the most highly specialised types, and a conclusion with the most
primitive. In the work under review however, this sequence is
broken by placing the Pieridae before the Papilionidae, whereas the
reverse is the accepted order. The author does not explain this
departure from system.
A Map is indexed to appear after Appendix 2, but is not in fact
included in the copy sent for review.
As regards format this is a superficially attractive volume bound
in scarlet leather with gilt lettering and is thus of a style, and also
of a size, more essentially suited to a place of honour in the parlour
than to the collector’s den or to his camp in the field.
The print lacks clarity and is very tiring to the eyes.
choice of print-types and their arrangement are very poor; the reviewer
refers for example to the index at page (ix) which, incidentally, should
immediately follow the title page and should not appear in the middle
of text to which it is a guide.
The frontispiece is unusually placed, as it faces the wrong way
by conventional standards. It would in any case better have faced
the description which immediately follows it.
The Reviews with which the volume commences savour rather of
advertisement and do not embellish the opening pages. They seem out
of place in a scientific work of this nature, but might have been
printed with advantage on the dust-cover.
The fact that pages 1 to 96 are printed on paper noticeably inferior
to those which precede and follow it, does not make for uniformity
of presentation.
Turning to the plates, interleaving with flimsy paper is pre-
sumably essential for their protection, although it has not apparently
been thought necessary thus to protect the frontispiece. There could
otherwise be no possible justification for the use of this infuriating
material particularly, as in the Tropics, where one has frequently to
work under a fan. Avoidance of damage to the plates was also,
presumably, the reason why the plate descriptions are printed on
the outside of each flimsy. Had each description faced the plate the
reader would have been saved much time and fuss, and would
In places the
REVIEWS 923.
have had two hands free when comparing a _ specimen’ with
the illustrations. If flimsies are indeed essential, it should surely
be possible to print in reverse on the outside of the flimsy so that the
descriptions could be read by transparency at one opening ? Alternatively
to print on the reverse. side of the preceding plate, interleaving with
blank flimsies for protection?
More careful editing might have eliminated spelling mistakes, e.g.
pp. (xiv) and 57: ‘epeus’ for ‘epius’; p. 89: ‘Euremas’ for ‘Eurema’;
pp. (xii) and ee ‘Orsotriaena’ for ‘Orsotrioena’; p. (xiv): ‘Petrela’
for ‘Petrelaea’; pp. {xiv) and 71: ‘Catapaecilma’ for ‘Catapoecilma’ ;
pp. (xv) and 82 ‘iarbus’ for ‘jarbas’ etc. etc. Vide pp. ou) and
27/29: ‘Danaus’ is more usually spelt ‘Danais’.
The page heading indicators to numbers of paragraphs are, ‘correct-
ly, at the outside top corners of pages 65 to 123. On pages 27 to
64 they appear, however, at the inside top corners and need full open-
ing to be seen.
It should be noted that two additional 2nd Editions are also avail-
able with the publishers as follows :—
(i) The ‘Complete’ 2nd Edition: This is as described above
but has a more complete letterpress and includes 7 addi-
tional plates depicting genitalia.
(1) The ‘Popular’, or ‘Atlas’, 2nd Edition: This is an abridg-
ment of the ‘Abridged’ 2nd Edition. The letterpress is cut
to an absolute minimum and some of the uncoloured plates
are excluded.
M. J. HACKNEY
6. THE STORY OF ANIMAL LIFE. By Maurice Burton, p.sc.
Vol. I: The Framework of Animal Life; Invertebrates. Pp. xii+ 381.
Vol. 11: Vertebrates. Pp. viii+ 423. Illustrated. (London: Elesvier
Publishing Co. Ltd., 1949). Price 63sh.
Dr. Maurice Burton here tells the uninitiated something about
animal behaviour, beginning with elementary animal forms and work-
ine: wp) to thes more highly evolved. The subject chosen postulates.
a knowledge of animals in their natural surroundings and the help
of naturalists in all parts of the world has been enlisted for the
task.
The first question which presents itself to the reader is how life
originated. One of Dr. Burton’s collaborators makes as illuminating
a guess as any I have come across. FT ollowing the course of evolution
backwards to a time when there was no life, he imagines a_ back-
ground of sea, a heavy atmosphere rich in gases, and a cooling earth.
Some catalyst set off ‘the primary chemical experiment’ and a froth
was formed, a tenuous coherent blob permeable by fluid, air and
sunshine. This was the first living matter. It grew and from the
physics of its shape divided, and continued to divide as it grew.
In the course of a thousand million years it developed into the simplest
forms of life that we know.
Fabre has familiarised us with wives who eat their husbands.
It is refreshing to learn that women do not always get their own
way. Ina species of marine bristle worm (Nereis dumerilit) the male
924 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL EIST. “SSOCLE IW: Vol a0
devours the female and then, to make things even, becomes a female
and is eaten in his.turn.. When we read of the ability of certain
animals to cast off an organ and regenerate a new one, we may well
ask ourselves. whether evolution has done as much for us as is
claimed for it. What would we not give for the brittle-star’s
capacity of growing a new stomach in place of a defective one?
A. fascinating. account of echinoderms gives an insight into the
diverse ways in which creatures propagate their kind. Some _ shed
eggs and sperms direct into the water, fertilisation taking place
outside the body and the eggs developing into various types of free-
swimming larvae. The body of the larva is generally absorbed by
the developing echinoderm, but in one species a portion of the larva
separates and grows into the adult animal while the remaining portion
swims off, lives for some time and perishes. In some forms the
eggs are collected round the mouth of the mother, who raises her-
self on her arms and forms a brood-chamber in which the young
develop. During the time, extending for some weeks, the mother
takes no food. Other forms are viviparous, the young developing
in the bursae, which are pouches normally used for respiratory pur-
poses. An amazing case is that of an Antarctic brittle-star in which
the eggs hatch in the ovaries, only one egg developing in each ovary
and using others as food. Native does not appear to have been
es careful in this instance as in that of the Lace-wing, described in
the portion devoted to insects, the eggs of which are placed on long
stalks to prevent the larvae which first hatch out from eating their
brothers and_ sisters.
Aphides or plant lice illustrate one of the ways in which Nature
maintains a species in spite of the inroads of numerous enemies. In
autumn the females lay one egg each and the adults, male and female,
die by the following year. In spring the eggs hatch out and only
females emerge. During spring and summer these females reproduce
without the intervention of a male. The rate of reproduction is pheno-
menal, a female under the best conditions producing a young one
every half hour. The young ones mature within a::few hours and
proceed to reproduce at the same rate.
The results of man’s interference with nature make sad and _ in-
structive reading. The Moas of New Zealand are no more and the
Dodo of Mauritius is known only because of Alice in JVonderland.
The fer-de-lance introduced to deter slaves from escaping, and the
mongoose brought in later to kill the fer-de-lance have both become
pests of the sugar plantations. Yet this interference provides a
striking example, if verified, of the adaptation of an instinctive func-
tion to a change in Sierendine circumstances. The tooth-billed
pigeon of Samoa used to nest on the ground. After the introduction
into the island of rats and cats it took to nesting in trees.
I have given only a few samples of the many interesting facts
related. The illustrations in the book have been chosen with an
eye to their artistic value. Even a tape worm: is invested with
beauty and the picture of a chicken-embryo is reminiscent of an
Italian medallion. The size of the two volumes makes for ease in
handling. :
REVIEWS 925
~ In a book so well got up it is so annoying to find misprints and mis-
takes in spelling, but they are not so many as to interfere with the
enjoyment of the text. There is also an occasional mistake in a refe-
rence, for instance in the last sentence ‘at page 94 of Volume I. And
I would like to see more references in the text to the illustrations.
Thas, the reader’s enjoyment of the first reference to the beauty
of: Venus’ Flower Basket. would be enhanced by a reference to the
superb illustration at page 144 of Volume I.
PD To atns
The following books have been added to the Society’s library since
January 1952:—
Tt. THE Brrps OF THE Matay PENINSULA, SINGAPORE: & PENANG.
An account of all the Malayan species with a note of their occurrence
in Sumatra, Borneo & Java and a list of the birds of those islands.
By A. G. Glenister (Oxford University Press, 1951) (A Review copy).
2. GRONLANDS FuGLE—The Birds of Greenland, Parts II and III.
By Finn Salomonsen & Gitz Johansen (Ejnar Munks-Gaard Koben-
havn, 1950).
3. Inp1an Motiuscs. By James Hornell (Bombay Natural History
Society, 1951):
4. Brrps or CeyLon. By W. W. A. Phillips (Ceylon Daily News
Press, Colombo, 1949) (A Review copy).
5. Bra Game or Mataya: ‘Their types, distribution and habits.
By E. C. Foenander (The Batchworth Press, 1952) (A Review copy)
6. ANIMALS STRANGE AND RARE. By Richard Ogle {G. Bell & Sons,
1951) (A Review copy).
7. CATALOGUE OF THE GENUS FELIS. By R. I. Pocock | British
Museum (Natural History), 1952].
8. NAME THIS INsEcT. By Eric Fitch Daglish (J. M. Dent & Sons
Ltd., 1952) (A Review copy).
g. A CENTENARY CHRONICLE OF THE OOTACAMUND HUNT, 1845-1945.
By J. F. Smail (presented by Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton).
10. ELEMENTS OF PLANT PROTECTION. By Louis L. Pyenson.
(Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1951).
The following books were presented by Mr. Humayun Abdulali
to the Society’s library on 14-3-1952:
1. THE WorLp or AniMAL LiFe. By Fred Smith. 1923.
2. SHOOTING WITH RIFLE AND CAMERA: Filming the FOUR
fe EES ON bie-eaime ‘Uatiller. « By A..J|. Siggins. 1931.
3. BomBay Ducks—An account of some of the every-day birds and
beasts found in a Naturalist’s Eldorado. By Douglas Dewar. 1906.
4. Brrps OF THE PLatins. By Douglas Dewar. 1g09.
5. THE Gun: Afield and Afloat. By Henry Sharp. 1904.
6. THE TicGeR Hunters. Brig.-Genl. R. G. Burton. 1936.
7. Bic Game SHootinc. Vol. I. By Clive Phillips-Wolley. 1894.
8. Tue Ways or Man ann Beast in INpria. By D. King Martin.
2935:
9. JUNGLE By-ways IN INpIA. By E. P. Stebbing. torr.
926 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
10. W1TH A CaMERA IN TIGER-Lanp. By F. W. Champion. 1928.
11. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MAMMALIA OF BriTISH INDIA AND
CEYLON. By Robert A. Sterndale. 1884.
12. INDIAN JUNGLE LORE AND THE RIFLE: Being notes on shikar and
wild animal life. By ‘Silver Hackle’. 1929.
13. Common INDIAN TREES & How to Know Tuem (Forty trees
common in India). By R. N. Parker (Forest Research Institute,
Dehra Dun, Government of India Publication, 1933).
14. THE AUK—A quarterly journal of ornithology published by the
American Ornithologists’ Union, Vols. 61-64 and 66, No. 1.
35 maps of districts and forest areas within Indian limits, were
presented to the Society by Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton of Bangalore, and
15 back numbers of various periodicals, viz. the Journal of Mammalogy,
The Auk, Bird-banding and Ebba News by Dr. C. Brooke Worth of
Bangalore.
WISCELVANEOUS NOTES
1. SOME TIGER INCIDENTS
Having read with interest the article ‘Leopards in daylight’ in a
recent issue of the /*ield I thought the following incidents concerning
a family of tigers on a tea estate in Cachar, Assam, might interest
readers, |
In April last this family, the parents and two cubs were reported to
be appearing in daylight near the factory and coolie lines of the
estate next-door to me, and despite the fact that numbers of people
would congregate to watch them they seemed quite unperturbed by
the crowds, even when efforts were made to move them by shouting,
beating of tins, etc.
The family were taking toll of the coolies’ cattle (not altogether
frowned upon on a tea estate where a manager is usually worried by cattle
trespass!) and as I usually received news of their doings too late to
enable me to do anything about it I decided finally to go and waylay
them in the hope of getting a shot in daylight.
I went out at about 6 p.m. one evening and having been shown
where the family were likely to appear for their evening perambulation
I sat myself down behind a bush on the side of a low ‘teela’ (hillock)
about 30 yds. from the path which the tigers were supposed to take.
The country hereabouts, apart from the actual tea areas, consists
almost entirely of ‘teelas’, covered by jungle of varying density, with
paddy-fields on the level ground between the ‘teelas’.
I had not been sitting for more than twenty minutes when some-
one up the ‘teela’ behind me gave a low whistle and pointed away to
the paddy-field on my right.
The ‘teela’, at the end of which I was sitting, formed a ridge
about 200 yds. long overlooking this field, and by now most of the
jabour-force had congregated along this ridge.
I realised as soon as I heard the whistle that something was on
the move away to the right; so clambering down over a bamboo
fence into the field, I ran across it to a deepish nullah about 12 ft.
wide which ran down the centre of the field, parallel to the ridge
and about 50 yds. from it. Along the edge of the nullah there were
odd clumps of cover and having reached these my boy and I spent
the next few minutes racing up and down, peering through the gaps,
trying to locate a tiger but unable to do so despite the pointings and
gesticulations of the people on the ridge whom we could still just see
in the rapidly failing light.
There were apparently two tigers walking along the base of the
‘teela’ on the opposite side of the nullah but just inside the scrub
jungle on the edge of it; the crowd on the ridge could see them but
we down on the level could not.
928 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
On reaching the end of the ‘teela’ one of the two turned out of
the scrub into the field, right into the open, and started to cross it dia-
gonally towards the nullah. It was only then that we saw him, but for
a few moments in the bad light I thought it might be a cow home-
ward-bound a trifle later than its companions. I soon realised that
this was no home-coming cow and accordingly ‘froze’ behind the
nearest bush on the edge of the nullah, at the same time bringing
my rifle very slowly up to the aim. The tiger proceeded straight
towards where I was standing never once giving the crowd on the ridge
a glance, although to him they must have been clearly visible. On
reaching the edge of the nullah almost opposite me he stopped and
looked up, whether at me or the crowd I cannot say, but by, then
he was looking straight up the muzzle of my rifle from 18 ft. away;
I measured the distance afterwards. The outline of his face was.
just discernible though the light had gone and I could not make out
my sights clearly so I let him have it. This proved to be one of the
cubs, a male, 8 ft. between pegs and in very fine condition.
The remainder of the family stayed in the vicinity for sometime
making a lot of noise both by day and by night, but although I saw
them on several occasions in broad daylight I never succeeded in
getting a shot at them. I spent four hours one’ Sunday afternoon
playing what amounted almost to hide-and-seek with one of them,
but this time the spectators in the distance did upset the beast or .
I would have bagged him at a range of a few feet quite early in the
afternoon. J had dragged his kill, out of the scrub jungle where he
had hidden it, into the open, and a few minutes later he came along -
to recover it. This he tried four times during the afternoon, but
went back each time, popping out at a different spot on each occasion
whilst I popped behind a different bit of cover. At the fifth attempt
he came up from behind me right to the bush behind which I was.
sitting. I had put my boy on a ‘teela’ some way away. to signal
quietly to me if this should happen and it was not till he started
dancing like a dervish smacking his behind that I realised the tiger
must be very near my posterior. There was actually just the small
bush between us. He skulked after this and as it was starting to
get dark I called it a day. } .
Eventually a coolie was killed, the only remains recovered being
half an arm, and the following morning at about 11 o’clock I was.
informed that a bullock had been killed half an hour before. I went
and collected my rifle and my lad Ramadhor and went out to the
spot but found only a badly mauled calf, still alive, and no definite
information regarding the bullock so I decided to look around the
place where the cattle had been grazing.
I was taken into a bottle-necked clearing surrounded by ‘teelas’,
and after searching for a short while found a freshly killed bullock.
I was examining the poor beast when Ramadhor in a very audible
Nei. said, ‘There’s a tiger looking at you from the base of the
‘‘teela’’ opposite’.
Four of us had entered the clearing in full view of these beasts.
(there were two of them) and yet they had taken not the slightest
notice of us.
MISCELLANEOUS. NOTES 929
Two members of the party suddenly remembered urgent business
elsewhere and removed themselves hastiy leaving Ramadhor and
myself, Neither of us could make out how exactly the tigers were
sitting as they were on a slope and we could only see their bodies
through a gap in the foliage, neither of their heads being visible.
However, atter we had been arguing for a full ten minutes in per-
fectly normal voices 25 yds. from them, without the tigers resenting
our. presence at all, one of them yawned. This gave me a line on
a nose, the upper half of the face being obscured by two large leaves.
As neither beast appeared to have the slightest intention of moving
{ made Ramadhor stoop in front of me and resting the rifle across
the back of his shoulders fired at the centre of the visible nose. One
tiger bounded away through the jungle up the ‘teela’ but the owner
of the nose merely keeled over and after one or two twitches I heard
a gasping gurgle and then silence. I fired a second shot into the
underside of the chest, which was now visible, to make certain the
beast was dead.
It was then exactly 12.20, so that from the time when I had first
arrived on the scene and found the mauled calf a mere forty minutes.
had elapsed. ;
The bullet I found afterwards had gone in at the centre of the
nose, broken the Jower jaw, almost torn out the tongue completely
and then proceeded through the back of the throat and into the
vitals.
I was disappointed to find that this was the other cub, also a
male and exactly the same length as the first.
Two evenings later I stalked to within a few yards of one of the
parents trying to remove a kill which I had had pegged down; this.
time however, my presence was resented and after a couple of snarls
the beast went off roaring and presumably rather hungry. The same
night at 10.30 I went after the two of them, clad in my pyjamas, as one
of the estate lorries returning late had passed them sitting just below
the road not far. from where the pegged-down kill was, but although
I saw them both I was unable to have a shot.
I haven’t seen anything further of this pair for a while now and
I] would like to think that a new family is afoot in which case they
will pass with my blessing if we meet again.
c/o GRINDLAY’S BANK L1b.,
54, PARLIAMENT STREET, AR D. ROBEY
LONDON, ©. VV ./1,
March 17; 1952.
POST-SCRIPT ON ‘RABIES IN. TIGER’
to
In continuation of the discussion on rabies in the tiger and vulture,
the following quotations and comments are proferred.
1. ‘The vampire bat is the only known host that can act as a
true carrier of rabies over an extended period without exhibiting
evident illness. The majority of vampire bats that contract rabies
30 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIEERY Vols 50
evidently die of the disease, but some have been shown to be capable
of transmitting the disease over a period of five months, without show-
ing symptoms of rabies’. Harald N. Johnson, 1947. Rabies. Annals
of the New. ,.York »Academy of Sevences: Nol. XUN INI Agi.
P- 373:
2. ‘With rare exceptions, intracerebral injection of concentrated
virus suspensions is fatal to animals. Young birds are generally
susceptible to intracerebral inoculation, while older birds are often
refractory.’ ibid., p. 366. Comment: The word, ‘animals’, in the
above passage is presumably used in the lay sense to mean ‘mammals’,
‘as suggested by the immediately following reference to birds. Hence
since vultures attending carcases are scarcely fledgelings, it is diff-
cult to imagine that they would even occasionally be carrying rabies
virus as true hosts. Furthermore if a carcase were that of a victim
of rabies, there is no reason why carrion-eaters at the same feast °
need to be inoculated by a mechanicaily contaminated vulture’s beak
-—they could just as easily contaminate the mucous membranes of their
own mouths directly from the carcase. However:
3. ‘ .... the virus in the brains of animals dead of rabies is
inactivated rapidly in hot weather.’ ibid., p. 365. Comment: This
would probably apply to virus in other organs also, (Virus has been
found in ‘lactating breast tissue, stomach mucosa, pancreas, kidney
and adrenal tissue,’ but not in ‘spleen, liver, lymph nodes, bone
marrow and sex glands.’ ibid., p. 367. Comment: Presumably
vultures are not sufficiently expert anatomists to distinguish among
these several organs and tissues. General contamination of carrion-
eaters may logically be inferred from the foregoing information.
4. In the United States, where rabies is common in many wild
mammals, I witnessed the bite of a vulture in the case of a human
being. I can think of no reason why American vultures should be
less rabid than Indian ones. The bitten man happened to be my
uncle who was obligingly restraining a Black Vulture, Coragyps
atratus, as I prepared to photograph it and its fledgelings. Suddenly
the bird reached around and gave one of the knuckles of his middle finger
a ragged cut with its foul beak (it had disgorged when I pounced on
it a few moments previously, just as it darted from one of the
entrances to its nest beneath a pile of boulders). We were far afield
and were unable to treat the cut with anything better than a bit
of seventy per cent. alcohol that had been taken along for preserving
specimens (not uncles). There was no subsequent cauterization or anti-
rabic treatment, for we did not then think of rabies. This was more
than twenty years ago, and my uncle is living and well today, still
enthusiastic about vultures’.
Incidentally I have the photographs that I took. In the first picture
my uncle is holding the vulture with its wings out-stretched, but
in the second—after being bitten——he has a firm grip with his uninjured
hand about the bird’s neck. The bird was ringed and liberated; its
psychological scar may have exceeded the physical one of my uncle’s
finger, but not that of our individual memories. In any case, we
* Of course Mr. Daver never suggested that every individual vulture carried the
rabies virus, so that the case cited is, by itself, no criterion.—Eps.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 931
concluded unscientifically that vultures, far from propagating viruses
and bacteria in their saliva, gastric juice, or other body fluids, may
have virustatic or bacteriostatic substances in these media that are
consequences of Natura] Selection through aeons of carrion-eating.
THE ROCKFELLER FOUNDATION,
BANGALORE, Mysore, C. BROOKE WORTH
April 10, 1952.
3. A RECORD OF THE CHEETAH (ACINONYX JUBATUS
ERXLEBEN) IN CHITOOR DISTRICT, MADRAS STATE
During the night of March 28/29, I had occasion to travel between
this place and Bangalore, the route I use being via Renigunta,
Tirupati, Chandragiri and Chitoor. Whilst passing through the hilly
section of country, through which the road winds, between Chandragiri
and Puthalkonda, at about 1.30 a.m., the headlights picked out the
gleam of eyes and on drawing closer, we saw what we thought was
a small leopard, sitting well erect on the left side of the road gazing
toward the car. I slowed down immediately and when the car was
some fifteen yards from the animal it stood up and walked across the
brilliant beam of the headlights and, after standing on the right side
of the road for some five to ten seconds looking at the now stationary
car, it went down the embankment. Having no torch I could not
either follow it or make any further observation ; although I did turn the
car across the road the light beam did not light up the ground below
the embankment.
However, the cheetah gave us ample time to watch it as it liesure-
ly walked across the road and stood on the right-hand side. The
slender build, domed head and long limbs together with a very heavily
spotted coat were too distinguishable to classify it as anything else,
night or no night. The roadside was too loosely dusty to give a
clear pug mark, but what pugs there were were smaller than one would
expect of a leopard of corresponding size. By rule of thumb, I should
judge the animal to have been some 5 feet in length, inclusive of the
tail. i
The country at the point of observation consists of a semi-culti-
vated valley, the crops being for the most part sugar-cane and
orchards of mango, interspersed with the bush-covered flanks of the
hills on either side. These hills are for the most part huge sheets
of stone and tumbled masses of boulder and scree, in, the fissured
gullies of which there is a struggling growth of thorn bush and cactus.
I have driven through this stretch at least a dozen times at all hours
of the night and day within the past year and although I am told
that Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) and ‘Wild goats’ (Muntjac ?)
occur together with wild pig I have not seen any signs of them along
the road mentioned, although since I do know that these animals,
together with Chital (Axis axis) occur along the very narrow belt of
secondary jungle at the immediate foot of the most eastern range of
the Eastern Ghats and that the animals within the Eastern Ghats
16
932 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
in Cuddapah have ample forest within which to move, it is very
probable that the species mentioned do occur. However, by far the
commonest animal throughout the area is the Blacknaped Hare (Lepus
nigricollis), which occurs in profusion. I have gone into this at
length as I am interested in placing a finger on a reliable source of
food supply to attract carnivora, apart from the village herds of
goats and cows, upon which they also may possibly prey.
This is the second occasion in my life that I have seen the Cheetah
in its wild state, or more closely, the second time in some fifteen
years of intelligent observation in the forests of Bihar, Orissa, Central
India and Burma for the most part.
Regarding an animal such as this, which is fast becoming extinct
in India, one is very reluctant to report the exact localities of occurrence
out of fear of those trigger-happy gentlemen who do not understand
the fine line between sport and slaughter. However, I think the
Chandragiri Cheetah will be safe as the local population is not given
so much to shikar.
c/o POSTMASTER,
P.O. GupuR, NELLORE DISsrT., K. M. KIRKPATRICK
April 11, 1952.
4.- THE “DIPPING, HABIT. OF THE TAPIRe (dieeeos
INDICUS CUV.)
Blanford’s Fauna (p. 479) states that the tapir is fond of water, and
is said to plunge in and walk along the bottom, instead of swimming.
There appears to be little further information on record, and it might
be interesting to draw attention to a note included in ‘The Story of
a Tapir’ by J. A. Hislop in the Malayan Nature Journal, Vol. V, No. 2,
June 1950 (pages 92 to 95) in which he relates the experience of a
Mr. C. E. Jackson :—
‘While discussing the tapir with some Sakai I remarked that I
could not understand how this animal managed to survive and
flourish . . . . particularly against tigers. The Sakai replied that the
senses of sight, hearing and smell were most acutely Geveloped in
the tapir, and that it also had the ability to remain under water for
fairly long periods. In fact, when harassed by a tiger, tapirs had
been known to enter a river and walk downstream on the bed of the
river for a considerable distance in order to put the tiger off the
scent. I was not aware of the tapir possessing all these powers.
attributed to it and was very sceptical about its sub-aqueous abilities.
It was, however, not very long after this conversation took place:
that the following incident occurred.’
He then goes on to relate how he received an urgent telephone
call from the Assistant Engineer, Waterworks, Kuala Lumpur, inform-.
ing him that a tiger had attacked a tapir at the Ampang Reservoir
and that both animals had fallen into the ‘intake well’. Mr. Jackson
visited the place with Mr. H. M. Pendlebury of the Museums Depart-
MEN.
MISCELLANEOUS !} NOTESVAOG SLi AN 932
The intake well was a concrete structure some twelve feet; square’
and about the same in depth and a fully grown male tapir was stand-.
ing in the bottom of the well which was dry. There was no sign
of the tiger, but there was however evidence to show that it -had
_been in the well and had sprung out and ‘made off into the jungle.
‘Fhe problem then was how to get the unfortunate animal/ out
of its predicament. We first of all flooded the well, thinking that
the tapir might swim or float to the surface, but when it failed to
appear after a few minutes we speedily emptied the. well, thinking
that it might have drowned. He was there, still in his original
position and seemingly quite unperturbed and none the worse for the
immersion. We thereupon repeated the performance, leaving the water
in for a much longer period, but with exactly the same result.
Other means ied to be resorted to, and it was,.with some ‘mis-
givings that I allowed myself to be lowered on a rope in-order to
make a second rope fast round the tapir’s middle, and that accom-
plished I made a rapid exit. With some twenty labourers heaving
on the rope and the well again flooded, the tapir was brought to the
top and levered out on to dry land.
The proceedings took over two hours and during that time ; the
tapir made’no sound nor showed any sign of aggressiveness. whatso-
ever. It was however found to be badly mauled and was destroyed.’
c/o Faiz’ & “Co.,.. an
75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET, HUMAYUN ABDULALI
Bompay, | = eer e ie
June 16, 1952.
5. AN ELEPHANTS STRIDE
I saw 3 elephants (tuskers) stride, without apparent difficulty, across
an elephant trench round a ragi field, in the moonlight on the night
of the 11th instant. The width of the trench was 34 feet; the stride
measured in each case 8 ft. 2 in. from centre to centre of the foot-
prints. Had I not myself seen this occur I would have considered the
feat incredible. : . : 4
HoNNAMETTI ESTATE, |
|
ATTIKAN ’ P.O.,
via Mysore (S. Inp1a), RANDOLPH C. MORRIS.
|
December 15, 1951.
6. MEASUREMENTS OF AN INDIAN BISON HEAD
(BIBOS GAURUS)
With reference to Miscellaneous Note No. 5 in your journal of
April 1942, Vol. XLIII, No. 1, I give below measurements of the first
ten heads of bison shot in Burma and recorded in Appendix I of the.
934
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
Burma‘ Game Manual 1929, which do not appear to have been con-
sidered for the world’s record claimed by Mr. S. C. H. Robinson.
Horn measurements
Tip to
tip
(9)
Inches
313
16
|
|
Widest. Remarks
| outside ©
(6) (7)
Inches
46 | (L.F.S.B.) Owner :—
D.H. Allan. Shot
in Upper Chind-
win.
40 |(LF.S.B.) Shot by
W. S. Thom,
Myitk yina.
463 A. Hazlewood, Bas-
sein Forest Divi-
sion.
447 | (CR. W.) Owner :—
J. McF. Petters.
394 Shot by L. D. Ed-
ee mondston, Upper
Chindwin, 1926.
Shot by E. F. Bat-
ten, Bombay-Bur-
ma Trading Cor-
poration, Limited,
Matu Reserve,
Upper Chindwin,
40914, |
405 | Shot by A.L. Bacon,
Mogok.
39 Shot by F. R. Dic-
kins, Magwe For-
est Division on
22nd June 1928.
40 (R. W.) Owner:—
A. E. English.
Found in the house
of Myothugyz at
i Yinmabin, Lower,
| Chindwin District.
No. Length | Girth
Q} @) | @ | @)
Inches Inches
1. |Right| 363 | a28)
Left 33g | 224
2. | 38 19
3. ee 344 195 }
| Left 34 193 |
4, 333 21
5. |Right| 343 204
Left 33 214
6. | Right 33 208
Left 32 | 201
|
7. 325 20
8. Right} 323 19
| Left | 323 20
9. | | 32 194
10. |Right 348 174)
Left 344 1738
‘
MAWLAIK,
UPPER CHINDWIN/MyitTrHa Division,
February 26, 1952.
H. G. HUNDLEY
Divisional Forest Officer
St i AE ae
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 935
[In Rowland Ward’s ‘Records of Big Game’ (1928) the largest
head of the Malayan Bison is widest outside 38” and circumference
at base 163”. Foenander in his recent book ‘Big Game of Malaya’
p. 61 records one shot by Da Prah at Kuala Jelai in Negri Sembilan
as 46” outside width and circumference at base 203”. Length from
tip to tip across the forehead (sweep) 783”.—Ebs. |
7. THE RECORD SPREAD OF GAUR HORNS
(BIBOS GAURUS)
(With a photo)
On 27th November, 1951, my friend, Mr. Maruthasala Gownder
Landlord, Saravanapatti Village, Coimbatore District, shot a huge
solitary bull bison in the Talamalai Range of North Coimbatore Divi-
sion.
The left horn is blunt and worn out to nearly one-third of its.
length (photo). Had it been full, the spread would have measured
another three or four inches. As it is, it measures 48 inches. I was
ae spot and took down the measurements carefully. They are as.
ollows :
rt. Length of right horn ae eeOa!
2. Length of left horn ee oye
3. Girth of right horn ... 203"
4. Girth of left horn a. Logt
5. Spread. Widest outside se 48?
6. Span. Tip to tip in straight line oer)
7. Sweep across forehead poe a!
8. Girth round body (behind shoulder) eee LO Et:
936 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
g. Height at shoulder pis. 7Gbbb sh"
‘1o.. Total length over curves from nose tip to end .
of tail i 1 A3 fieGuog!
15/15, PERUMAL KoIL STREET,
FORT, COIMBATORE, B. SUBBIAH PILLAY,
January 4, 1952.
| Messrs. Van Ingen & Van Ingen, taxidermists of Mysore, to whom
the head was sent for mounting, wrote to us: ‘The bison head received
from Mr. Maruthasala Gownder cannot be measured in its present
condition as the horns are severed at the base and for some reason
a greater part of the core remains firmly inside of the horn. Whether
the boiling has caused this or disease we cannot say. Bison heads
with horns should never be boiled.’
In a subsequent letter they indicate the following measurements :—
Widest outside ... 47”
Girth ae Oe!
The letter adds ‘it is unfortunate that one horn is_ broken
off at the end and 10” missing, spoiling its symmetry and a beautiful
trophy. .
‘These measurements are likely to have differed from the original
taken when the bison was shot in view of the fact that the skull
of this bison appeared to be very porous and the bone was soft and
light. The cores of the horns were each four inches in length and
hollow, whereas the horns themselves were solid nearly as far as
the cavity allowed for the core.’
This certainly appears to jbe the Gaur head with the largest
spread so far recorded. Rowland Ward’s ‘Records of Big Game’
(1928) gives the widest outside as 44?” and circumference at the base
20” (Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley, Siam). :
The largest head from South India is: widest outside 432”; circum-
ference at base 173”. It was shot at Parambikolam (Cochin State) by
G. Elliot Browning—Ebs. |
8. CATTLE DISEASES AND WILD LIFE
Between 15 and 20 bison have died recently from foot and mouth
disease, and several more are affected, in the Kollegal Division of
the Coimbatore District, having caught that disease from the village
cattle penned in the hill forests owing to the lack of grazing down
below.
Had these cattle introduced rinderpest as well, a tragedy similar
to that of 1929 would have overwhelmed the large number of bison
nee:
HONNAMETTI ESTATE,
ATTIKAN P.O., RANDOLPH C. MORRIS
via Mysore (S. Inpia),
June 7, 1952.--
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 937
g A ‘RED’ PORCUPINE
o
About six years ago I was staying on the Bababudan Hills in
Mysore. I was sitting on the hill-side one afternoon watching for
animals. A small red animal came up the ridge towards me, in and
out of the rocks, much of the colour of a British fox. Eventually
it saw me when about 20 yards off and dived into the rocks, by
which time I had made certain it was a porcupine.
This in itself would not be conclusive, but later, in another place
I found ‘some porcupine quills on which a bright rusty red replaced
the white bars, partially or entirely. This was proof positive.
Col. Phythian-Adams, with his. extensive experience, tells me he
has never heard of a red porcupine, so it might be worth looking for a
specimen.
‘STOCKBRIDGE’, HAROLD COLAM
OOTACAMUND,
August I, 1951.
{In 1863 Francis Day, a Fellow of the Zoological Society of
London and of H. M. Madras Medical Service, in his work on Cochin
entitled ‘The Land of the Perumals’ pp. 446-447, refers to the Orange
Porcupine (Hystrix malabaricus). He states that during his residence
in Cochin he was informed by the natives that ‘a species or orange-
coloured Porcupine was found in the neighbouring hills and its flesh
was more highly esteemed for food than that of the common variety.
It was said to be a smaller species, and that the two never lived in
the same locality. They were also found at various places along the
Ghats of Cochin and Travancore. At Trichooe (Trichur ?) about 4o
miles north-east of Cochin there was a colony of these animals. They
had formed their burrows in the laterite rock... . The native sports-
men declare that aroma from these burrows is quite sufficient to
distinguish this species. . . . In captivity they lose much of their
orange colour; and their vividness greatly decreases when they are ill.’
Sclater in the P.Z.S. 1865, pp. 352-356, described this as a new
species under the name of Hystrix malabarica. Later in the P.Z.S.
1871, pp. 233-234, he refers to a specimen in the Zoological Gardens
in London which ‘after sometime gradually lost the splendid orange
colour in the quills and became undistinguishable in external appear-
ance from other Indian specimens. Under these circumstances,
I cannot doubt that the colour of the quills is merely due to some
local variation, probably to some particular food which they consume;
and I have therefore reduced Hystrix malabarica to a synonym with
HT, leucura.’
Further information concerning this colour phase in the Porcupine
would be interesting.—Eps. |
938 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
10. THE DIARY AND SPORTING JOURNAL OF
W. P. OKEDEN, 1821-1841
There are some entries which attract attention in this somewhat
bare recital of the shooting of elephants, of about 285 tigers, 19 bears,
13 buffaloes, and many deer during nineteen years shoots in the jungles.
of the Himalayan tera: from Moradabad to Kheri-Lakhimpur in the
present Uttar Pradesh.
All through the Diary it is evident—and also stated—that the main
object was not to kill the tigers too soon but bring them to the charge.
An aid to this was the rather inefficient muzzle-loading rifle of those
days, with its small charge of 14 drs. of powder to propel the 18
bore spherical bullet of hardened lead. Okeden gives no details of
the rifles used; but we know from General William Rice that this.
was the weapon in use at that time. Some of the tigers, says the
Diary, endured a number of bullets—16, 15, 13 are mentioned—before
they succumbed.
FIGHTING TIGERS
There were many gallant tigers:
p. 102. ‘. . . on coming up the tiger showed good fight, and
took a number of shots ere he yielded. 1 hind leg broke, 1 fore ditto,
a shot through the back which had gone through and let his guts
out, one eye knocked out, and yet he sat on his rump and roared
at us, his sound eye sparkling like a fire-ball, and the very picture of
savage fury.’
One of the latest entries:
12th April 1841. ‘. . . He was a large, powerful male and
proved himself worthy of his notoriety. (He had lately fought and
killed another tiger, and killed on an average two bullocks a day.)
His ferocity, with his eye out, his mouth filled with blood, and still
coming on roaring up to the mukna, was magnificent. Alas, I fear
I have not many such a sight to see again, for a Dorsetshire coppice
holds nothing but a hare.’
STAUNCH HowpbAuH ELEPHANTS
His mukna was staunch, and his other howdah elephant ex-.
ceedingly brave for she faced many fiercely attacking tigers, though
a number of times clawed or bitten.
The Emperor Shah Jehan gave orders for the head and trunk of
elephants used or tiger-shooting to be protected down to the end
of the. trunk with a covering of thick leather studded with sharp
nails. Sir Samuel Baker, in his book ‘Wild Beasts and their Ways’
Pp. 35-36, says that elephants used against tigers should have pro-
tection of the face and trunk provided in the way designed and
described by him. (No mention of sharp nails, and he had probably
not read of Shah Jehan’s order !).
This sensible idea does not seem to have caught on, for there is-
no mention of it in subsequent shikar books.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 939:
SomME TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS
‘
p- 41. (and elsewhere). . at last she (tigress) stopped in a
large tope of semallow bushes.’
Perhaps a Forest Officer of the area will be able to give scientific
name of this plant? It is not in Gamble’s Indian Timbers,
p. 49. ‘. .. we then fired a ball or two, skimming the petellahs.’
They were shooting near a swamp. What is petellahs? May be
petals of the lotus flowers?
p. 56. ‘The elephant went down in what I know not, but I
suspect an old obhee.’ Perhaps a disused well?
: p. 63. ‘Beat the jheel full of tantagrass.’
What is this grass?
p- 74. Okeden shot ‘I stinker’. From the context, perhaps a
deer, but what deer? A stag of swamp deer with immature horn?
On several occasions he shot a stinker.
p. 108. 16th February 1835. ‘Shot a choukur, or dindseoo, the
only one I ever killed. Rode to Moradabad the next morn.’
What creature may this have been? Bird or animal? There is
no mention of it in ‘Hobson Jobson’, and it woud seem that Yule and
Burnell had not seen this Diary which was not published but privately
printed, where is not apparent in the copy in the Society’s Library.
BANGALORE, R. W. BURTON
January 1, 1952. Ist Cols. Lop CNet.) @
ir STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF A HOUSE-CROW
(CORVUS SPLENDENS)
Recently during the last week of May a curious behaviour of a
crow attracted my attention.
Just outside the window from which I was watching him (or her)
there is a row of rough flat stones, each stone about eight inches
high, meant to hold up earth for a flower bed.
When I first noticed the crow he was trying to pull out a pebble
wedged in the vertical interstice between two of the stones. The
interstice had a very irregular width ranging from an inch to a quarter
of an inch.
The bird succeeded in pulling out the pebble and placed it on
the ground at his feet. He next picked up another pebble and inserted
it in place of the one he had just removed.
The bird now took a piece of broken Mangalore tile (about the
correct size for the purpose) and tried to lodge it a little above his.
first effort, where the fissure widened to about an inch. The tile,
however, dropped off. He made another effort, trying to push it
in with small jerky, rather insistent movements of his head and
neck; changing position slightly with occasional short hops. |
The behaviour of the bird gave the impression that he was trying
to accomplish some urgent and necessary task. He was aware that
I was watching him and obviously uncomfortable ; but still he carried:
on, keeping one wary eye on me.
940 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
He made about three or four unsuccessful efforts trying every time
to wedge in the same piece of tile and which would not stay put, but
kept slipping off. He might have succeeded if he had chanced to get
the tile into place longitudinally,
A quarter of a minute after I first noticed the bird, the disappoint-
ment of repeated failure, and discomfort at ‘my proximity probably
got the better of his perseverance and he quit.
Has similar behaviour been commonly noted and is there any
explanation for it?
ADEN HALL,
NEPEAN SEA Roap, DINSHA J. PANDAY
BOMBAY,
HONEA TS, alOG2.
i2. THE MATING HABITS OF THE HOUSE-CROW (CORVUS
SPLENDENS) AND PIED MYNA (STURNUS CONTRA)
These notes relate to random and fortuitous observations on the
sexual behaviour of birds, and are merely objective records.
(1) At the back of the Forest Rest House at Ranchi on the afternoon
of 28th May, 1951, I observed a House Crow on the ground under a
Bougainvillea bush standing with its wings crossed over its back fanning
and elevating its tail slightly. The head was bent down, and a soft
white feather was held crosswise in its beak. Keeping fixed at one
spot, it began going round and round ‘shimmying’ its body conti-
nuously. This ‘invitation’ display continued for very nearly 3 minutes.
Another crow (later proved to be a male) who had been watching this
intently from one of the tamarind trees closeby, flew down to the first
bird (subsequently proved female) calling loudly, and settled a few
steps behind her with wings half drooped, but his body also shimmy-
ing like hers. He was calling with a loud harsh, throaty caw-caw.
He then advanced slowly towards her keeping up his body movements
and call. When close to her, he pecked at her rump with his bill,
and then mated after getting on her back. As soon as the male got
on her back she dropped the white feather. The act of mating lasted
hardly a few seconds, after which the birds separated and flew away.
Although the male kept cawing all through the act the female was
comparatively quiet, and only called out occasionally after dropping
the white feather in a low voice very similar to a young crow’s while
being fed.
(2) The behaviour of a pair in another instance was very different.
On 28th March, 1951, at about 8 a.m., I suddenly heard House
Crows making a loud commotion on a tree in a corner of the Rest
House compound. This tree carried many nests of both the Pied and
Common Mynas as well as two of the House Crow, all incomplete
and in various stages of construction. Investigation revealed that
two House Crows were apparently fighting tooth and nail on a branch
of the same tree, close to one of the nests. While locked in combat
they lost their perch, but continued grappling with each other in the
air till they reached the ground. On the ground one threw the other on
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 941
its back, and sitting almost on its chest pecked furiously at the
breast feathers of its ‘adversary’. This went on for a few minutes,
the prostrate one struggling hard to free itself. The crow on top
then forced the other to its feet, mounted its back and mated with it.
This clarified the sexes of the two. The fight was innocuous and
appeared to be some sort of sex play, for no feathers flew while it
lasted and none were found littering the spot later.
(3) At about 6.30 a.m., on oth April, 1951, two Pied Mynas. were
seen feeding on the ground in.the compound of the Forest Office separat-
ed from each other by a distance of some 2 yards and calling occa-
sionally. Suddenly one of the birds crouched down low spreading its
right wing fully, the head held at an angle, and the wing tip almost
touching the ground; the feathers of the crown were slightly raised,
and the tail fanned out a bit. It then called out twice in a low voice,
probably to attract the attention of the male which was still busy
feeding, unaware of this invitation display. He looked at once in the
direction of the call, came running, and treaded her, the operation
lasting only a few seconds. The male was calling during the actual
mating, but the female was silent. Feeding was resumed by both
immediately they separated from each other.
ForEstT REstT HOusgE,
P.O. HINoo, (MRS.) JAMAL ARA
RANCHI,
Pebruary, 20, 1952.
13. POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE LARGE
YELLOWNAPED WOODPECKER (PICUS FLAVINUCHA)
AND THE LARGE RACKET-TAILED DRONGO
(DISSEMURUS PARADISEUS)
Mr. Biswamoy Biswas’s interesting study of the species Picus flavi-
nucha in the current Ibis recalls a small problem which exercised my mind
towards the end of the war when I had occasion to ‘Jeep’ between
Chittagong and Rangamati at the foot of the Lushai Hills.
I found this fine woodpecker to be far from uncommon from the
moment one got into the better wooded areas. During a halt on my
first journey I was watching one of these birds in some open forest
about fifty yards from the road when I caught sight of a Racket-
tailed Drongo mounting from branch to branch, first of an adjacent
tree and then in the same one, keeping pace with the ascent of the
woodpecker. When the latter flew off through the trees the drongo
immediately followed it. A couple of miles further on I had an
almost identical experience.
About a month later, shortly after Christmas, I spent a night in a
forest-hut about’ halfway to Rangamati. Nearby were two rather
isolated clumps of tall trees bordering a strip of cultivation beyond
which the heavy forest recommenced. I soon noticed a Yellownaped
Woodpecker in the farther clump. Remembering the previous
occasions, I found myself quite disappointed that no drongo appeared
942 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
to be in attendance. However, after watching the woodpecker for
some minutes, it flew off across the fields to the forest beyond. It was
immediately followed by a drongo, till then hidden in the nearer
clump, which reached the shelter of the forest close behind the wood-
pecker.
Is there by any chance some association between these species, or
were these three consecutive episodes pure coincidence?
‘SPRINGS’
BARLAVINGTON, is R..S., 2. BALES.
SUSSEX, Lieut.-Colonel, t.a.
April 6, 1952.
{Mr. Salim Ali has noted a somewhat parallel instance in the
Surat Dangs in March, 1948, but with tree pies replacing the woodpecker.
A pair of Racket-tailed Drongos were observed ‘shadowing’ a pair of
tree pies (Dendrocitta vagabunda), following them about closely from
tree to tree and up and down among the branches mimicking their
various calls immediately they were uttered—in echo as it were—as.
if deliberately to mock the birds. This went on for quite a number
of minutes and appeared to be some sort of game. After a while
one’ of the Racket-tails, seeming to have had his fill of the fun,
flew off. It was now the tree pies’ turn; one of the pair promptly
gave chase and closely followed the drongo into another tree some
distance away where the game was resumed in the form of ‘singles’.
It is difficult to explain these proceedings as other than sheer play-
fulness. There was no malice or ulterior motive noticeable on either
side.—EDs. |
14. A CANARY’S CURIOUS REACTION. TOTYELLOW
Mr. E. D. Avari from Darjeeling sent us the following report of
the curious reaction of a German Warbler Canary (mottled yellowish)
which was bred in captivity and which has been associated with other
canaries pure yellow in colour.
‘(a) A yellow jersey was held up close to the cage and as soon as
the canary saw it he became very agitated and flew quickly around
the cage, obviously frightened and would not approach in the direc-
tion of the yellow jersey. He then perched, and his breathing was.
abnormally fast. As soon as the jersey was removed he. behaved
normally once more.
(b) A mirror was put in the cage close to the plate containing
bird seed. After a while, the canary flew down from his perch and’
caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He appeared very in-
terested, but not frightened and kept looking at his reflection and then.
away again, stretching his neck and looking around the cages ie:
then flew off for a while and returned to his plate, proceeding to
eat quite unconcernedly in front of the mirror, occasionally looking
at his reflection.
(c) The yellow jersey was paced in the cage and as soon as he
saw it he commenced to flutter around the cage. When he perched.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 943
his respiration was again noticed to be very rapid. Whilst on his
perch he avoided looking towards the jersey, still breathing very
rapidly. The jersey was left in the cage for about a minute.
This canary is an offspring of “German Warblers’’, imported
from Germany. His age is 13 years, and he is mule colour. For
the last three years, he has lived entirely on his own. For your
information the length, breadth and height of his cage are as follows :—
8’ x 33’ x a
Subsequent to this Mr. Avari inserted a small ball of yellow wool
into the cage assuming that it was perhaps the size of the yellow
jersey responsible for the perturbation, but the canary’s behaviour
again changed immediately from normal to marked agitation. Though
the quickening of the respiration was not so pronounced as in the case of
the jersey there was nevertheless a certain amount of fright and nervous-
ness clearly perceptible. A little later a bowl of seed was introduced
by Mr. Avari which was also a comparative stranger to the canary,
but the bird promptly hopped down to it.
Dr. N. Tinbergen, the expert on bird behaviour at the Edward
Grey Institute of Ornithology, Oxford, at our request gave the follow-
ing comment :
‘The observations seem to suggest that it was yellow colour
which frightened the bird. To make sure, it would be necessary to
present similar objects of a different colour. If the response were
really confined to yellow objects it could be either an inborn response
to the male plumage of the species (in which case the abnormal size
of the objects could perhaps explain why the bird fled instead of
attacked), or a result of conditioning, which would not be impossible
if the bird during its association with purely yellow canaries had
been seriously hen-pecked by them.’
Dr. David Lack, F.R.s., Director of the above institute, considers
the canary’s reaction comparable to the Robins attacking red objects
{colour of male Robin’s breast) as described in his book—‘The Life of
the Robin’. London, 1943. |
BomBAy NATURAL HIsTORY SOCIETY,
114, APOLLO STREET, EDITORS
BOMBAY,
December 20, 1951.
15. KOELS (EUDYNAMIS SCOLOPACEUS) EATING THE
POISONOUS FRUIT OF THE YELLOW OLEANDER
The Exile or Yellow Oleander, Thevetia neriifolia, cultivated in
gardens for its abundant golden flowers and decorative foliage, is
highly poisonous. The poison, found in the milky juice that exudes
from every part of the little tree, is the glucoside Thevetin, similar
in action to digitalin but having a convulsant effect as well. The
fruit of this tree, in particular, is used as a cattle poison, and has had
lethal effects on human beings. There are several of these trees in
and around my garden, and the place (Mylapore, Madras) is singularly
rich in Koels.
944 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
In 1940 I first recorded the partiality of Koels to this bushy tree;
and their habit of pecking at its squat, green drupes. However, I
did not actually observe them eating the fruit then, and I left Madras
soon afterwards, In December 1951 I observed Koels actually eat-
ing the pulp (mesocarp) of the drupes. Subsequently I have observed
this many times, from nearer than two yards.
The bird sidles up to a fruit and stabs it with its bill, excavating
and removing a piece of the mesocarp that it swallows with an upward
toss of the head. After two or three pieces have been gouged out
and eaten in this manner, the fruit gets detached from its stalk by
dint of the repeated pecks, and falls to the ground. There is a definite
preference for the riper (bigger) fruits. The Koel then proceeds to
another fruit, taking no notice of the one it has sent earthwards, and
after eating from 3 or 4 fruits {every one of which falls down after
a few pieces have been pecked out) it flies away. A furtive, im-
petuous haste characterises its fruit eating, and tender green branches
are frequently broken in its avid hurry to get at the fruit, (I have
noticed the same, literal ‘tearing hurry’ in Koels consuming the crim-
son fruit of Cephalandra indica). At each visit to the tree, an
undisturbed Koel eats about threequarters of the mesocarp of a
Thevetia drupe (from all its drupes).
This poison-eating by Koels seems most common from late winter
to early summer (November to March or April). From April onwards,
when Koels here get vocal, their visits to the Thevetia trees seem
infrequent, but this is a point that requires further observation and
verification.
It is to be noted that the pulp of the fruits, consumed by Koels, .
is known to be definitely poisonous to mammals. The fruits they
eat are not so ripe that they are turning dry and brown—they are
green and latex can be seen oozing out of the deep, beak-gouged
holes that go right down to the stone, in freshly fallen fruits.
Koels are the only birds, above a certain size, that seem partial to
the Yellow Oleander. Other birds I have seen on these trees are
common mynahs, crows and whiteheaded babblers, all in obvious
casual passage and a pair of tailor birds that visit the trees in the
evenings. None of these birds, nor the squirrels that pass that way,
have the slightest interest in the drupes, nor have I seen any other
animal eating the fallen fruit on the ground below. I may add that
the bird population of my garden, though varied, is notable for some
absentees, the common sparrow in particular.
No certain explanation of the addiction of Koels to this. poisonous
fruit occurs to me, but it seems possible that the habit conditions
them in some way for the breeding season. It is obvious that they
are immune to the poison in doses that would, taken in the same pro-
portion to body weight, undoubtedly kill a man or a cow.
PERUNKULAM HOousE,
Epwarp ELLiot Roap, M. KRISHNAN
MYyLAPORE, MADRAS,
June 8, 1952.
[In ‘The Birds of Bombay and Salsette’ []J.B.N.H.S xxxix,
(t); 94] Sdlim Ali and Humayun Abdulali record a Tree Pie feeding
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 945,
on the ripe fruit of ‘Kaundal’ (Trichosanthes palmata). According
to Roxburgh, quoted by Kirtikar and Basu (‘Indian Medicinal Plants’,
I, 580) the fruit is poisonous, and mixed with rice is employed for
destroying crows. It seems curious that it should be eaten by
such a close relation of the crow and apparently with no untoward
effects. —EDsS. |
160, DOKS LHE ADULT CUCKOO: EVER ‘ASSIST IN FEEDING
ITS OF ESPRING?-.
On 7th July, at an altitude of about 13,500 ft., an adult cuckoo
settled in a juniper tree within five yards of me carrying in its beak
-a larger caterpillar. 1 stopped to watch and to make sure that it
was not carrying an egg or eggshell, but there is no doubt that what
it carried was a caterpillar. Before it finally moved off it was joined
by a second adult bird. I cannot say for certain whether the bird
with the caterpillar was a cock or a hen but believe that it was a hen.
Some short while previously I had heard a cuckoo calling—Cuculus
canorus,
Some two hours later, Major J. O. M. Roberts, who is in charge
of our bird collecting activities, passed the same way and in approxi-
mately the same spot close to the path, saw a young fully fledged
cuckoo being fed by a_ redstart—probably Phoenicurus ochrurus—
which he watched for some time. He did not, however, see an adult
cuckoo in the vicinity.
There seems to be at least some reason to assume that the adult
bird that I saw was in fact engaged in feeding the young one in the
absence of its foster-parent.
MANANGBHAT, D. G. LOWNDES.
NEPAL-TIBET TF RONTIER, Colonel
July 14, 1950.
{It is not easy to tell the sex of a cuckoo in the field except by
its call notes; there would seem insufficient grounds for Col. Lowndes’s.
conjecture that the one he saw with a caterpillar might be a hen.
The feeding of a fledgling cuckoo by its real parents is, as far as
we are aware, unknown as indeed is their showing any interest in
their offspring in any other way. What is more likely in the present
case is that the caterpillar was being carried for courtship feeding
by one bird (o ?) to another (o ?) as has been observed recently in
the case of the plaintive cuckoo. More evidence on this is, however,
desirable.—Ebs. |
17. OCCURRENCE OF THE CINEREOUS VULTURE
(AEGYPIUS MONACHUS LINNAEUS) IN
KAIRA DISTRICT, GUJARAT
On 26th December 1951 and ist January 1952, in the same area
near the village of Mitli, formerly in Cambay State, but now a part
of Kaira District, we saw a single cinereous vulture, possibly the
same bird in both instances. The first time that it was seen, it was.
‘946 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 56
the first to arrive at the remains of a recently shot blue bull. It kept
all other vultures at a distance until it had eaten its fill, after which
it flew off and the other vultures moved in for their share. Five.
days later at about the same spot, it was seen in the company of
two king vultures, drinking from a puddle of water near a shallow .
well. Both times the bird was seen from a distance of about 50
yards and examined carefully with the aid of a powerful binocular.
Its large size, very dark colour, peculiar feathering of the head,
and the mauve coloured cere were clearly identified.
Hari Narayan G. Acharya, under a note dated April 16, 1950,
in Vol. 49, No. 2 of the Journal, writes concerning the finding
of a dead specimen of this vulture near Ahmedabad on December
25, 1949. Previous to this, according to this note of Acharya’s, the
cinereous vulture had been reported only once before in Gujarat in
the winter of 1870 by Capt. A. E. Butler. Mi§tli, where we identified
this vulture on the two occasions, is about 4o miles due south of
Ahmedabad.
NADIAD, |
KatrRA DISTRICT, HERSCHEL C. ALDRICH, M.p.
February 18, 1952.
18. REAPPEARANCE OF THE LITTLE INDIAN RED
TURTLE-DOVE (STREPTOPELIA TRANQUEBARICA
TRANQUEBARICA HERMANN) IN CEYLON
Hitherto there has been but one record of the occurrence in Ceylon
of the pretty little Indian Red Turtle-Dove. Almost exactly a hun-
dred years ago, Edgar Layard, of the Ceylon Civil Service, discovered
a small colony nesting, during the hot weather, in palmyra palms in
the arid country between Point Pedro and Jaffna in the Jaffna Penin-
sula, Northern Province. Layard tells us that he collected six speci-
mens and could have killed as many more. His graphic description
of his discovery is recorded on page 709 of Legge’s ‘Birds of Ceylon’
1880).
Since then, this dove does not appear to have been identified in
Ceylon. However, on 24th November last year (1951), while I was
motoring to the south of the Naval Area, between Pottuvil and Panama
on the south-east coast of the Eastern Province, I observed one of
these doves feeding on the ground beside the road in an open grassy
glade in low jungle country. It was quite solitary and easily approach-
ed; it proved to be ad S. tranquebarica tranquebarica, in full and
perfect adult plumage with the gonads undeveloped.
As a ‘red’ dove, answering more or less to the description of this
species, was seen near Panama in June, 1948 by Mr. and Mrs. D.
Boyd-Moss, it is possible that a small colony exists in this neigh-
bourhood, although it is more likely that the bird procured was merely
a casual vagrant from the Indian mainland.
‘TONACOMBE,
NAMUNUKULA, W. W. A. PHILLIPS
CEYLON,
April 11, 1952.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 947
| 19. OCCURRENCE OF THE AVOCET (RECURVIROSTRA
AVOSETTA LINN.) IN ASSAM
On March 11, my husband went duck shooting across the Brahma-
putra near Charkhalia Island and shot an Avocet. With its upturned
bill there is no mistaking this bird, yet four of the various books
on birds that we consulted, stated that this bird is not to be found
in Assam.
c/o JAMES WarREN & Co. LTD.,
DrBruGarH, (MRS.) D. SENDALL
Upper ASSAM,
March 15, 1952..
{Except for a specimen recorded from Godlpara by Primrose
{]/.B.N.H.S., xviti, 683) there appears to be no previous record of
this species from Assam. Smythies in ‘The Birds of Burma’ states
that it is a vagrant to Burma, the only records being from
Eps i
20. THE WHITETAILED LAPWING (CHETTUSIA
LEUCURA) NEAR BOMBAY
Br. Navarro of St. Xavier’s High School brought in the skin of
a Whitetailed Lapwing (Chettusia leucura) shot on 3rd February,
1952 at a tank a few miles from Kalyan near Bombay. The bird was
alone.
Stuart Baker (Faunaevi; S84 and: feb N 7 )S.. 35) a12\Poives” its
range as extending to Mysore, but I have been unable to trace any
Indian record from south of Bombay.
_ Whitehead recorded the species as common from 7th October to
zoth March, at Sehore, Bhopal, Central! India, (J.B.N. H. Sep My. eae
Salim Ali records it as uncommon in Kutch (first seen 5th August,
1943) while Barnes'in ‘The Birds of the Bombay Presidency’, p. 332,
mentions it is an uncommon winter visitor throughout the region, 1.e.
Sind and Rajputana including Gujarat, Kutch and portions of Central
India.
ClOmeAlzre, CON, ;
75, ABDUL REHMAN STREET, HUMAYUN ABDULALI
BomMBay,
February 15, 1952.
21. OCCURRENCE OF THE PHEASANT-TAILED JACANA
(HYDROPHASIANUS CHIRURGUS SCOP.) IN
NELLORE DISTRICT, MADRAS
In Volume 50, No. 2, of the Journal the editors publish a note
remarking on the occurrence of the Pheasant- tailed jacana in Madras.
I therefore list the following recording
OneMarch25,, at 3:30 p.m, whilst watching birds on the semi-
dry reservoir at Sarvepalli (80’0” East by 14’20"” North) a village
17
948 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
on the Venkatachalamchatram-Krishnapatnam road, south of Nellore
town, my wading through the shallow water, choked with a heavy
growing weed, disturbed a flock of some twenty to twenty-four Pheasant-
failed nee The flock flew at my approach and settled again some
twenty yards away, watching me with suspicion but allowing me to
draw within some five yards of them.
Most of the birds were in the winter plumage, but at least six
were in transitional plumage and three in almost complete summer
dress except for the tail feathers.
Other birds noted on the tank that afternoon were Biilatbey
Kites, Pariah Kites, a solitary Lagger which stooped at a flock of
Little Ringed Plover, several small flocks of Little Stint, a group
of five Blackwinged Stilt, Egrets, Indian Wiskered Terns, Wiretailed
Swallows and Palm Swifts. Also a single Redwattled Lapwing.
c/o POSTMASTER,
GubuR, NELLORE, K. M, KIRKPATRICK
Api ie ate 2.
22. BIRDS ATTACKING THEIR REFLECTIONS
In previous issues of the Journal I have read correspondence about
Jungle Babblers attacking the shining hub caps and other chromium
parts of motor cars (and have frequently observed this myself in
Delhi). During the last few weeks I have been watching an Eastern
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea caspica) regularly attacking the hub
caps of a small car parked in a busy Calcutta compound. The bird
would flit against the hub cap pecking sharply at the surface. It
would often repeat this action on all the hub caps in turn. The only
sound it uttered was if it was disturbed and flew away. It appeared
always to be alone. Water standing in a nearby drain provided the
only faint reminder of a wagtail’s preferred natural habitat. The
delicate tapping noise became a familiar sound in the quiet of the
early mornings or during the hot afternoons.
20, RAJA SANTOSH ROAD,
ALIPORE,
CALCUTTA, (MRS.) MARGARET RIVERS
April 8, 1952.
[We have also observed this propensity in a wagtail of the same
species in Bombay. With the help of a shaving mirror and _horse-
hair nooses spread around it on a lawn, the bird was captured for
ringing purposes. It escaped while being handled, but so great was
the attraction of the mirror that the bird returned to the attack in less.
than five minutes and this time was successfully ringed. By means.
of the ring it was recognized-as the identical individual that appro-
priated this particular patch of lawn during 6 successive seasons.
It was observed that the fighting instinct was present only on first
arrival in September each year and then quickly wore off. It may
be due to territorial jealousy of a supposed rival for the feeding
ground.—EpDs, |
eee se
949
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
ZS6L ‘9 yrevpy ‘AVANOY
SYOLIAGa ‘LUO ‘LAGALS OTIOdY ‘FIl
(098 X ) (a ,0T
N 0S2) seul | o9Z_ X N’ ,0€
YON ‘3o17} : ofS) ourdny
-sIq esueyq | uoneys AGA
=-1 eq and |-[er Jo ysom
-Iseuleg jol. 94} 0} S19}
yynos soyTU -sWO[IY OR |
l A[9} eu dITqnday |
-xoidde jaoul JSI[BIDOG J9IA |
rid Tet MOOSO[N| OS yyezey| (vxup
ur 8 AeMIIe yy ‘neoing seIqQ pei| -anbssnb |
‘L‘O 9} Jo | sulpueg -3O]ARg ‘UOIS| svup)
AuowY “IJ | pleuopoeW parq | “ot AOTSUATA Teo. aHcZ980l
&q 10U§ TIS WV TS6I-c-S¢) [etjUusD qpeuleg | Ur oye, ayy, | Aauvsiey 6P61-L-02 /VMXSOW
|
(sunod
10 }|Npe)
SYIVUI9Y
SUll
JO ‘ON
porsAodel Aq AIQAO09I | 9 JOBUIT
pasulr paiq
hil done SIOYM SOR[g | payIoday | jo ajeq | jo sWweN
a19yM s0¥[g | Jo oweN “ed
—! MOOSOJ UI eIpU] Jo Assequiqy 94} Jo Saoyjo poos oY} YSsnoiy} ‘pliq poxuls uvIssny ve JO ATOAOD91 9IOW BUO
SUIUIOOUOD PaAII001 Useq SEU UOTeUIIOJUT SUIMOT[OJ 94} ‘Z/T ‘4 ‘OS [OA Ul plooaI Jsel OY} SuTYsI[qnd souIGg
VIGNI NI NOILVYSIN GUId ‘Ee
950 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
24. LARGE STONE IN STOMACH OF CROCODILE
I am sending you a fairly large stone weighing 5 Ib. 8 oz. (220
tolas) which was found in the empty stomach of a 10 ft.-3 ins. croco-
dile I recently shot at Jasdan. : ne
Though pebbles, small stones and other hard substances are common-
ly found in the maws of crocodiles I have never so far found such a
large stone though I have examined over a hundred stomachs.
Dit Banar,
BHAVNAGAR, K. S. DHARMAKUMARSINHYJI
January 21, 1952.
| [As has been remarked by the editors previously (Vol. 30, 703)
the stones and pebbles are presumably swallowed as an aid to diges-
tion, but we cannot trace any record of one as large as this taken
from a crocodile before.—Eps. |
LOCALIZATION OF THE STRIPED VARIETY OF THE
ROUGHTAILED EARTHSNAKE—UROPELTIS
MACROLEPIS (PETERS)—TO
MAHABLESHWAR
a ed
<—9))°
An earth-snake recently collected at Mahableshwar (4,000 ft., Western
Ghats) agrees with Uropeltis macrolepis (Peters) except that the sub-
caudals are 13 in number instead of 7 to 10 (Malcolm Smith’s Fauna,
Vol. III, p. 79) though Wali in ‘The Handlist of the Snakes of the Indian
Empire’ refers to specimens between Lonavli (lat. 18° 70’) and Igatpuri
(lat. 19° 7o') and records the sub-caudals as 7 to 12. The Fauna
also refers to a specimen which agrees with the one from Mahableshwar
in the presence of a brownish yellow stripe (extending to 3 scale rows)
along each flank throughout the length of the body, as compared
with a broken line of spots in others.
12 specimens have been examined, 9 in the Society’s collections
from Lonavla, Khandala, Igatpuri and Matheran—and_ without
locality—and 3 from Khandala in the St. Xavier’s Cottege collection.
All of them ‘have 10 sub-caudals, and none the unbroken stripe on
the sides. . '
At Dr. Malcolm Smith’s suggestion the striped variety is hereby
localized to Mahableshwar.
Mr. Humayun Abdulali who obtained this specimen states that it
was caught alive, placed in a cardboard box and left in the boot of
- his car for a few hours and then found dead. In life it had a bright
red. tongue. eee :
Mr. McCann (J.B.N.H.S., 29, 1062, and in episola) also obtained
several specimens at Mahableshwar, but these are not now traceable.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES — 95]
The overall length of the specimen—head to tip of tail—is 250 mm.
(in spirit).
LEPIDOSIS
I. Costals.
1. Two headlengths behind the head ... 15
2. Mid-body aie Ws
3.. Two headlengths before the vent ... 15
EL. Ventrals . Side oe
Ill. Anal divided. fe
IV. Sub-Caudals Se cae PG
Bomsay, V. K. CHARI
December 17, 1951. _ Assistant Curator .
26. APOSEMATIC BUTTERFLIES PROTECTED BY THE
POISONOUS QUALITIES OF THEIR LARVAL
FOOD-PLANTS
With reference to Mr. Wynter Blyth’s remarks on this subject
(1951, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., 50, 354), the late professor
Poulton commented on this hypothesis, originally propounded by Haase,
before the Entomological Society of London in 1916.
The late Professor, stated that the hypothesis did not satisfy
him and that whilst he thought it possible {but never definitely proved)
that the distasteful and poisonous properties of the food plant might
be utilised by the larva and retained in the imago, it was also possible
for the insect itself to produce distasteful or poisonous juices in the
laboratory of its own body.
He went on to say that whilst, amongst the examples quoted by
Haase, the Danaidae feeding on Asclepiads and the Pharmacophagus
(now Polydorus) Swallowtails feeding on Aristolochias were probably
cases of the utilisation of this ready-made protection, the Heliconinae
were not as the Passifloraceae, their food-plants, had been said to be
without any poisonous properties by Dr. O. Stapf, F.R.s. A number
of Acraeidae feed on Passifloraceae in the larval stage, and this is
another well-protected group. Dr. Stapf was also quoted as saying
that the Loranthaceae, the food-plants of Delias and Mylothris, had .
no acrid or poisonous qualities.
A little thought will bring to mind many examples of both poisonous.
and non-poisonous plants that are the common’ food-plant of the
larvae of both aposematic and procryptic species, I use the term here
with reference to the imago. A few examples will suffice. Oleander
is eaten by Euploea (Danaidae and protected) and A gathia (Goemetridae
and procryptic) and by Deilephila nerii (Sphingidae and procryptic).
Loranthus spp. by Delias and Mylothris (both aposematic Pieridae),
by several Lycaenids and by a number of procryptic Geometers. Castor
by Pericallia ricint (aposematic Arctiidae) and by numerous pro-
cryptic. Noctuidae and Geometridae. Strangely enough, although the
Passifloraceae is stated to be non-poisonous, the three main groups
feeding on it—the American Heliconines,; the Oriental Cethosia and
952 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
the Acraeidae—are all well-known aposematic groups and form, in
many cases, the centre of both Batesian and Mullerian mimetic asso-
ciations. |
KAMPALA, D. @. SEVASTOPULO SF -Rik:s.
March 3, 1952.
27. NOTES ON THE LEPIDOPTERA OF ASSAM—I
1. LARVAL AND PUPAL STAGES OF Eriboea arja FELDER.
I found three nearly fully grown larvae feeding on wild saplings
of Sau (Albizzia sp:) during October, in thick jungle at plains level.
These hatched into 2 ¢ ¢ and 1 Q, the latter taking from 23rd
October until 2nd November in the pupal stage. A fourth larva,
found on Sau in a cultivated area, was heavily parasitised by a small
~ Hymenopteron.
Comouflage is so remarkably good that in the first case, when
I saw a Sau sapling completely stripped of leaflets excepting two
terminal areas of an inch or so, it was some seconds before I realised
that these areas were, in fact, larvae.
The head. of the larva is broad and flat, dark green, and with
darker green longitudinal stripes. An inner and an outer pair of
horns project backwards from the posterior part of the head, which
is edged with orange between the horns. The outer horns are about
half the length of the inner ones, are slightly and evenly curved, and
each bears 6 downward projecting yellow. combs. The inner horns
each have 2 curves, and are tipped with black. The ground colour
of the body is bluish green, the legs yellow. The first 11 segments
bear half moons of light green, convex backwards, and edged with
yellow and then black, this edging being most marked on the convexity.
There is a yellow dot above each of the legs (but not the first pair)
and claspers. <A yellow lateral streak is interrupted from the first to
the ninth segment of the body, and thereafter continuous. On each of the
first 9 segments this streak consists of 2 yellow dashes going obliquely
upwards and backwards to end just in front of the horn of the half
moon.
Though the larva conforms to the usual Eriboeid shape, I am
not prepared to conform to tradition and describe this as ‘slug like’.
The pupa is of the usual Eriboeid shape, squat and smooth. The
ground colour is pale green, with 2 broad milky-white dorsal raphae, and
another lateral one above the spiracles. The wing cases are milky,
with 3 oblique pale green raphae.
The cremasteric apparatus consists of a projecting spine (2 mm.)
attached to the pupa by a brown plaque on which; at each side, are
3 pale Brown knobs, the size and shape of raspberry pips.
2. LARVAL AND PUPAL STAGES OF Cirrochroa aoris aoris DOUBLEDAY.
Two fully grown larvae were found, in early November, on the
under surfaces of the leaves of secondary growth from the stump
a
th se OD ee en
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 953
of a large tree in ‘jhumed’ forest. It was not possible to identify
the food-plant from such insufficient data.
The head of the larva is pale yellow and shiny, and has 2 pairs
of black spots. The ground colour of the body is pale yellow, with
a row of dark brown spots down the back. On each side there are
3 rows of spines, each spine being 5 mm. long, and bearing lateral
hairs. As the length of the fully grown larva itself is only 25 mm.
‘the spines appear to be out of all proportion to its size. The spines
of the lowest row, 9 in number, arise from a series of tubercles of
the ground colour, ‘the spines being somewhat paler. The second
row, It in number, are black, with the middle 2 mm. of the half
dozen central ones coloured white. The third row has 12 black spines,
and both this and the previous row arise from a series of black
tubercles. The legs are dark and light banded, and the suckers are
of the ground colour. ; ee
The pupa is large.for the size of the larva. The head is moder-
ately bifid, ending in 2 points, and with 2 ventrolaterally projecting
spines. The ground colour is white, with a conspicuous black marking
in the centre of each wing cover. The abdomen is acutely flexed,
with a row of dark markings down the ventral surface. The spiracles
are yellowish; dorsal to them is a row of reddish black markings,
and a similar row is placed mid-dorsally. The pupa bears the follow-
ing bristles: a pair on the dorsal hump and another pair just behind
this, 2 rows of 8 bristles each on the dorsal surface of the abdomen,
and 2 lateral pairs on each side of the apex of the wing cases. These
pupal bristles are dark at the.tip and reddish ochre at the base.
3. A FURTHER OCCURRENCE OF Prothoe franckii regalis BUTLER.
The capture of a very old and worn specimen of this exceedingly
rare species in the forest bordering the Naga Hills in Sibsagar District,
on 2-12-1951, seems worth recording. Though there must be
others, I can only find 4 previous records. These are :—
(a) The type specimen from Manipur.
(b) Another from ‘Sadiya, near Margharita, in Upper Assam’
mentioned in Seitz’s monumental work.
(c) Two caught by Mr. C. B. Antram at Loharband in Cachar,
on the Lushai border, June 1912.
All specimens so far recorded have been males.
SELENG TT: E.,
SELENG Har P.O., T. NORMAN
Upper ASSAM,
January 5, 1952.
28. MATURE LARVA OF PALES TOWNSENDI BARANOFF
(DIPDERA:~ HACHINIDAB)
(With a_ plate)
A dull mature larva of Phytometra.orichalcea Fabricius (Lepi-
doptera: Noctuidae) was captured on 3rd March, 1949, on Litsaea
polyantha at New Forest, Dehra Dun, harbouring maggots of Pales
954, JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. (50
townsend: Baranott. On 4th March, 3 maggots came out by ruptur-
ing the skin of the host. Two maggots were preserved for study
and one was allowed to pupate. The tachinid fly emerged on rath
March after a puparial period of 10 days. Its puparium is des-
cribed by Gardner in the Indian Forest Records, 6 (7); 246, 1940.
Mature maggot (Fig. A) Dull-white, opaque, containing a large
amount of fat. Size variable, measuring from 9.5 mm. to 11.0 mm.
in Jength and 3.0 mm..to 4.2 mm. wide, broadest across the
ninth segment and tapering gradually toward the anterior end, and
bluntly at the posterior extremity. Cuticle colourless, armed with
minute sharp spines (Fig, D) arranged in small lineal groups.
Pseudocephalon unarmed, bearing two pairs of large, prominent
sensory organs. Segments 1 to 4 with anterior bands of spines,
segments 5 to 9 with both anterior and posterior bands of spines.
Spines present on the dorsal aspect of segments 4 to 9 finer than of
the ventral side. Spines in the lateral region greatly less and more
finer. Ventral spines on the anterior border of segments 6 to tIo-
plentiful, while on the posterior borders they become less numerous.
On segment 1o the band on the posterior border is complete and
moderately thick throughout. Segment 11 bears the posterior
spiracles on its upper caudal aspect. Spiracles are completely
encircled by curved lineal groups of spines. Spines on the anterior
borders of segments point backward, while those on the posterior
margins point forward. Spines of segment 11 point outward. On
each side, near the posterior margin of segment 4, a small round
pit is present, probably tactile in function. Anal opening (a) is situated
mid-ventrally on tenth segment, having a transverse cleft.
Buccopharyngeal armature (Figs. B, C) well developed and about
0.75 mm. long. It consists of a pair of deeply curved anterior or
oral hooks (o h) which are broad basally and articulate dorsally with
the hypostomal sclerites. Hypostomal sclerites (h s) are joined ventrally
by the infrahypostomal bridge (ih .b) and articulate posteriorly with
the pharyngeal sclerites (ph s). Lying free below the posterior margin
of the anterior hooks, are two very small labial sclerites (lb s) which
support the labium. Pharyngeal sclerites consist of two dorsal cornua
(d c) and a fused ventral cornu (z c). .
Anterior spiracles (Fig. E) (a s) are located near the posterior
border of segment 1 in the pleural region, each containing four res-
piratory papillae (pap). Each papilla with a silt-like aperture open-
ing posteriorly into a wide atrium (atv) connecting the tracheal tube.
Posterior spiracles (Fig. 1 F) (p s) are surrounded by the highly
sclerotized black peritremes and open on the dorsopleural portion of
eleventh segment. Peritremes slightly longer than wide, and sepa-
rated by less than half the width of one of them. Each spiracle
consists of three slits, having the upper and middle slits nearly vertical
and the lower slit horizontal. Button prominent, circular and away
from the centre.
DEHRA Duy, R. N. MATHUR, :sc., Ph.p., F.E.S.1.,
JUNC wars AITO 2. . Systematic Entomologist,
Forest Research Institute.
s )
Sat ot ye ell ote aS mA fa
Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soe.
as
e
crrry
e
pe ose
Sgt SDR ln
yest? 900? aye ee, %@
e o
fe, 8 °
leew oo” yr? 200, seetes “ %o, -asee,
~
ores Seay “eo eek 6
he |
se Oat
is
2¥ = 5 3
REtES,
% %: f
tii tt,
Veil
@000%8 G06
“Sa06 eee?
PALES TOWNSENDI BARANOFF
A, lateral view of mature larva; B, lateral view of cephalopharyngeal sclerites ;
C, dorsal view of same; D, cuticular spines ; E, anterior spiracle; F, posterior view of
larva, showing posterior spiracles. a, anus; a s, anterior spiracle; atr, atrium ; dc, dorsal
cornu; hk s, hypostomal sclerites; i h b, infrahypostomal bridge; 16s, labial sclerites ;
o h, oral hooks; pap, respiratory papillae; phs, pharyngeal sclerites; p s, posterior
spiracles; vc. ventral cornu.
4
ere
Z
seit
ee
, Fal
«
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | 955.
29. PROBABLE ODOUR TRAILS IN TERMITES (ISOPTERA)
In January last I happened to collect a part of a carton nest of
Microcerotermes ‘heimi with a large number of diving individuals.
(workers, soldiers and nymphs) in it, and kept it in the laboratory on
a slab of stone. It was noticed, after a few hours, that the termites
started coming out of the nest and wandered about on the slab in
different directions. It was left like this overnight and next morning
it was seen that the termites were moving on a definite trail- between
the nest and a hole in the wooden frame of a nearby window. Some
individuals were going away from the nest while others were return-
ing back to it. They kept rigidly to the track thus established and
the whole scene looked very much as in the typical ants (Formicinae).
Some obstructions (a piece of chalk or stone etc.) were put across the
track and it was found that these confused the termites and deflected
them in various directions at the place of obstruction. In trying to
get round the obstacle they almost completely lost their way unless
they accidently struck the trail again when the file was resumed. If
they retouched the track on this side of the obstruction they followed
it mechanically back to the starting point; if by chance on the other
side of the obstacle then the journey was. completed. Similar dis-
organisation took place when the track was rubbed out with a finger
tip at some point.
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI, H. S. VISHNOI
DELHI, 8. Lecturer in Zoology
April 3, 1952.
{According to T. E. Snyder (1935), ‘Our Enemy the Termite’,
p. 51, body odour, as well as contact stimuli, aid blind worker and
soldier termites to maintain a single file formation outside of the main
nest. This can be observed by watching termites under an upturned
log or stone. Either one or the other of these stimuli, or possibly
both, enables termites to run a straight course to a source of food
and might account for other activities, sometimes grouped under the
heading of the mysterious ‘spirit of the colony’.—Eps. |
30. ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE FRESHWATER
MEDUSA IN THE KRISHNARAJASAGAR
ON, THE -CAUVERY
In a recent note regarding the distribution of the Indian fresh-
water medusa, Limnocnida indica Annandale, in the April 1951 issue
of this Journal (49, 799-801) Jones pointed out the present range of
its distribution and stated that a systematic survey of the distribution
of the medusa and a study of its life-history should yield interesting
results. In this connection it may be of interest to record here the
os f
.
956 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
occurrence of the freshwater medusd, in the Krishnarajasagar Reservoir
on the Cauvery River in Mysore.
While collecting fish specimens in the morning (between 7 a.m.
and 9 a.m.) on 27-4-1949, on the right bank of the Reservoir near
the village of Sagarkatte about 7 miles above the dam and below the
confluence of the Laxmanthirtha River, one of the tributaries of the
Cauvery, the disturbance caused by the cast-net brought up several
medusa, presumably Limnocnida indica Annandale, to the surface.
They were seen bobbing up and down in the turbid water and about
half a dozen specimens were collected which were subsequently handed
over to Shri M. S. R. Rao of the Zoological Department, Science
College, Mysore. The depth of water at the place of collection was
about 5 feet and the bed was rocky. About a week previously there
were a few showers but the weather on the above date was bright.
The presence of the freshwater medusa in the Krishnarajasagar
extends its distribution on the western side of the Sahyadris, from
the Krishna to the Cauvery system.- On the western slopes of the
Sahyadris it is known from the Periyar and the Sharavati Rivers.
The medusa in all probability has a wider distribution than hitherto
recorded both on the eastern as well as western drainages of penin- ~
sular India.
BARRACKPORE, D. R. KRISHNAMURTHY, B.sc.
October 30, 1951.
[This medusa had so far been recorded only from the Krishna
drainage. Dr. S. Jones, pD.sc., in communicating the above note
expresses the opinion that its occurrence in the Cauvery system,
which is south of the Krishna system, is of significant zoogeogra-
phical interest since it extends its distribution in peninsular India so
much further southward. Its apparent absence north of the Krishna
drainage seems curious. He thinks that the occurrence of fresh-
water medusa also in Africa provides an instance of the sort of
discontinuous distribution that might lend support to the view of
the existence of a former land connection between Africa and penin-
sular India. Dr. Jones points out that practically nothing is so far
known about the life-history of this remarkable organism.—EDs. |
at. NOTES ON THE GENUS LUDWIGIA_LINN. —
e)
THE NUMBER OF STAMENS
The separation of the two genera, Jussiaea Linn. and Ludwigia
Linn., apparently rests mainly on the (supposed) difference in the
number of stamens. According to authoritative works, the number
of stamens in each genus is stated to be: Jussiaea 8 and Ludwigia 4.
Members of both genera are very similar, not only inhabit but
also in habitat. When making field sketches of the floral details
a
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ‘957
of L. parviflora Roxb. I noticed that between the bases of the four
stamens there were four scars. These naturally aroused my curiosity.
On checking up with the literature, I found I was correct with regard
to the number of stamens I had depicted, four, but I could not
account for the four scars—they suggested that something had fallen
away. I went back to the field and examined numerous freshly
opened flowers; all had four stamens and four scars. I took some
of the plants home and kept them under close observation, paying
particular attention to the time of opening. On examining flowers
that were just about to open, I noticed that each one had eight
stamens, and a little later on, four and four scars. Here then was
the clue—four stamens are caducous on opening. The examination
of buds only confirmed my previous observations; there were eight
stamens to each flower. Further observation in the field indicated
that four of the eight anthers matured and dehisced at the time
of opening, but by the time the flowers opened fully, they dropped.
Such curious behaviour probably has some relation to the mode of
pollination, for the remaining four anthers mature only after the
maturation of the stigma. Such behaviour suggest a provision. for
both cross- and self-pollination by visiting insects. Fruit is abundantly
produced by the species. Under the circumstances I feel that the
two genera should be united.
Let me turn now to some other aspects of ‘L. parviflora. Although,
usually a small herb of from a few inches to two feet, it not un-
commonly attains twice that height. When growing in very boggy
situations, especially near water of some depth, it will often produce
long, thick, white, spongy roots which often float at the surface of
the water. It seems possible that these roots may serve as aerating
organs, but only further study will provide the proof. ike
The floral parts are normally tetramerous, but slight deviations |
may occur under abnormal circumstances. The petals and stamens
are particularly fragile and fall readily. The eight stamens are
arranged in two groups, 4 long and 4 short; a few hairs are to be
found at the base of the filaments. The stamens are very readily de-
tached, even in fresh flowers. Arising from the centre of the disc
‘is the pistil which overtops the longest anthers, slightly. The stigma
is obpyriform with a shallow depression above. The pollen grains
are round, minutely spinulose and operculate.
| The beetle Haltica cyanea is a common pest of this species,
feeding largely on the leaves and occasionally covering the plants. in
great numbers. This beetle appears to be partial to many aquatic
plants, particularly Ammania and Rotala. :
DoMINION Museum,
WELLINGTON, CHARLES McCANN, F.-.s.
NEW ZEALAND, |
january 15: 1952.
[The separation of the two genera, Jussiaea and Ludwigia, seems
to have been based on defective observation and may have to be
a
dl
— 958 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, -Vol. 50
modified. McCann has noted his observations on Ludwigia; one of
us (H.S.) has written on the subject of Jussiaea: ‘Stamens ‘variable
in number; on April 13th, 1946, I examined 16 flowers and counted
their floral parts: all had 4 sepals, 4 petals; as for the stamens,
1 flower had only 4, 2 had 5, 6 had 7, 7 had 8; all these flowers
came from only two plants, and in most cases unopened buds were
selected for these counts.’ In all the cases where the number of
stamens was less than 8, there was no scar visible to show that some of
the missing stamens could have fallen off. It is clear, therefore, that
at least sometimes, Jussiaea has fewer than 8 stamens, and Ludwigia
has more than 4. Further details on the subject will be wel-
come.—EpDs. | |
32.- LONGEVITY OF SUCCULENTS IN HERBARIA
Referring to Mr, Natarajan’s note on this subject, published in
the Journal (Vol. 49, p. 134) and the Editorial comment, I would like
to add a few remarks.
The longevity of improperly killed specimens in herbaria is not an
uncommon occurrence, and is well-known to most botanists who have
built up an herbarium. Members of the Portulacaceae, Chenopodia-
ceae, Euphorbiaceae, Liliaceae, Araceae, and a few other orders are
particularly troublesome if not properly killed before pressing. On
this account I adopted the method of either soaking or painting most of
my specimens in or with a concentrated solution of corrosive sub-
limate in alcohol before consigning them to the press. If necessary,
the treatment was repeated when changing papers. This proved the
most effective method, and what is more, it also fixed the leaflets.
- of such species which usually disintigrate in the process of preser-
vation—Acacia, Cassia and their ilk. Even the otherwise trouble-
some Loranthaceae respond well to this treatment.
The reference by the Editors to the longevity of an Euphorbia and
its ‘ill treatment’ by me needs some clarification as the plant submitted
to boiling was in fact Commiphora mukul Engl. Before erecting
the original Desert Case in the Prince of Wales Museum, I went
to Sind and collected all the material there, and among the specimens
was a small bush of the species in question. After some months in
the workshop, the plant did not show any signs of drying, so, in an
effort to hasten its death, I decided to boil it. Not having a pot
big enough to take the whole specimen, I submerged the cut end in
the vessel and boiled it for several hours. Deeming this sufficient,
I left it. To my great surprise, the next morning when I arrived
at the office, I found that the plant had sent out new shoots! It
was again subjected to boiling, and to cut a long story short, it
produced fresh leaves and flowers! However, it did die in the end,
and was in the case in the Museum when IJ left in 1947.
Euphorbia: Specimens of Euphorbia neriifolia and E. ligularia ¥
have known to survive for several months on a shelf, but the prize
for longevity certainly goes to the tuberous species, E. khandalensis. I
oe se Se ee
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 959
have kept tubers of this species for several years on a shelf, and they
annually produced an anaemic crop of leaves and flowers at each
season. - |
A few other records will not be out of place:
Sauromatum guttatum Scht.: Some years ago I collected a corm
in flower; it was at the time about three and a half inches across.
After it flowered it produced a leaf during the monsoon. The follow-
ing February it flowered again, and then leafed during the monsoon.
After each leaf a new and smaller corm was formed. After this the
corm produced a leaf each monsoon, but never flowered again. Both
the corm and leaf became smaller each year, till finally, when I
threw it out after eight years, the corm was no bigger than a small
marble. It must be pointed out that the leaf became smaller and
smaller and very anaemic, and more often than not did not unfold.
Urginea indica Kunth: In 1932 I collected a number of these bulbs
and kept them on a shelf. The first two or three years they produced ©
leaves and flowering scapes; then for another couple of years flower-
ing scapes only. After this the bulbs gradually decreased in size annually,
and were still alive when I threw them out in 1947. When the
bulbs were obtained they were healthy specimens, some measuring
about an inch and a half in diameter, and when I disposed of them
15 years later they were no longer than a ‘scale’ of garlic!
I have known many of the Liliaceous plants to survive several
years in the herbarium—i.e. the bulbs. Likewise species of Aerides,
Dendrobtum and some other epiphytes.
. Dominion Museum, C. McCANN
WELLINGTON, ;
NEw ZEALAND,
{ULVS 10, 1952"
33- WILD LIFE PRESERVATION
SOME LESSONS FROM AFRICA AND ELSEWHERE
In the Journal of the Fauna Preservation Society, ‘Oryx’, Vol. 1,
No. 5, April 1952, are Notes and Reports which contain lessons for
India. -
HaiemeGratecens Neatiomale: Par k..* Editorial. Notes,
p. 216:—
‘Annual grass burning has been part of the ecology of vast areas
of Africa, including that of the Kruger National Park, from time
immemorial and has been one of the factors which has given rise to the
wonderful array of wild animals which live there. If it is now stopped
there is littlke doubt that a marked change in the fauna will take
place.’
960. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
It would seem that just now there is too much theorizing by
experts in Government offices, who have ordained that there shall
be no grass burning, because grass burning constitutes interference
with nature, and upon the lack of control in the numbers of carnivores,
especially lions. ‘Probably the larger antelope which dislike long
grass will leave the park’. ... The carnivores did not prevent the
rapid increase in the numbers of antelope when the park was first
formed. Why should they now suddenly cause a great decrease?’
The above is pertinent to India for there are already two opinions
in this country in regard to management of National Parks. One ts
that management should include ordinary forest operations, while the
other would have the parks left entirely to nature to work out the
destiny of the fauna and flora without human interference.
West Africa. ‘There can be no doubt that in recent years ba-
boons and other monkeys have enormously increased in West Africa.
Among the reasons given for this . . . is the increased killing of
leopards and other cats for their skins.’
In India also the balance of nature in this respect is being dis-
turbed through too much destruction of the tigers and panthers in
the reserved and other forests.
Arabia. ‘But the last decade has witnessed’ the advent of a
shocking predator, namely the ‘‘Mighty Jeep’’. It cannot be long now
before motorized hunting parties will sweep Arabia’s fauna into utter-
most corners, where a subsequent drought will whiten its bones.’
This same predator and its many motor-car relatives are at work
in many parts of India. The Excise Law provides for the confiscation
by convicting magistrates of motor vehicles used to contravene the
excise laws and rules. The game laws should do the same.
‘In Arabia the Ostrich is extinct. These birds existed in some
numbers in North-Western Saudi Arabia until about twenty years
ago. Then during the 1930’s there was a big massacre in order to
obtain plumes, but a few survivors lingered on until about 1944 when
the last were killed.” (Desmond Foster-Vesey-Fitzgerald.)
In India the Great Indian Bustard is being rapidly reduced to
the vanishing ‘point by the trappers and snarers and the next decade
may well see final extermination of the species. The birds are cons-
picuous, and only one egg is laid.
Jamaica. ‘Another factor leading to the depletion of bird life
is the small, sometimes not so small, boy with his slingshot or
catapult. The importation of catapult elastic has been prohibited for
many years but unfortunately strips of old inner tubes serve the same
purpose. The handling of this menace is entirely in the hands of
parents and teachers.’
The writer relates that in an area where caterpillars were destroy-
ing crops it happened that every small boy was armed with a
catapult.
‘A few years ago most of our inland waters were in danger
of losing all their fishy inhabitants, thanks to uncontrolled netting,
dynamiting and poisoning.’
——
a ee! ee ee
.
— <7 7
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES, 96%
‘As a result of this (cited) protection and propaganda work,.
the stock of fish in most of our rivers is once more on the increase.’
(E. W. March, Conservator of Forests.)
Kenya. ‘Only in national parks is there any certainty of per-
manent wild life conservation. . . . In the reserves the demands of
man override the requirements of nature and will gradually absorb
them. The parks within their present boundaries are insufficient alone
to preserve even a typical remnant of Kenya’s game.
(Royal National Parks of Kenya. Report 1946-50. C.L.B.)
BANGALORE, R. W. BURTON
May 1, 1952. ii-C ol aia (etd).
NOTES & NEWS .
THE CENTRAL WILp LIFE Boarp
A press note dated New Delhi, April 11, 1952, announced as
follows:
‘To preserve the fauna of India, prevent the extinction of any
species and preserve wild life, the Government of India has appointed
a Central Board for Wild Life. .
The Rajpramukh of Mysore will be Chairman of the Board, and
Sri K. S, Dharmakumarsinhji of Bhavnagar and the Inspector-General
of Forests, its Vice-Chairmen, a
Other members of the Board will be a representative each of
the Geological Survey of India, the Zoological Survey of India, the
Botanical Survey of India, the Bombay Natural History Society, the
Bengal Natural History Society, the National Institute of. Sciences,
the Natural Resources and Scientific Research Ministry, the Trans-
port Ministry, State Forest Departments, State Zoological Gardens
and Fisheries Development Adviser.
An officer ‘of the Central Food and Agriculture Meese will
be the Board’s Secretary.
The functions of the Board will include devising ways and means
of conservation and control of wild life through coordinated legis-
lative and practical measures with particular reference to seasonal
and regional closures, and declaration of certain species of animals
as protected animals, and prevention. of indiscriminate killing ;
Sponsoring and setting up of national parks, sanctuaries and
zoological gardens ;
Promoting public interest in wild life and the need for its
preservation in harmony with natural and human environment ;
Advising the Government on policy in respect of export of living
animals, trophies, skins, furs, feathers and other wild life products ;
and ;
Preventing cruelty to birds and beasts caught alive, with or
without injury.’
This step by the Government of India is a momentous and im-
portant one. It should have far-reaching and lasting results.
* * % *
WHAT THEY THINK OF THE WILD LIFE CALENDAR FOR 1952
Without comment :
better Noe x
‘At long last I received my 12 copies of the so called ‘‘Wild
Life’? Calendar last night, and I am most disappointed and astounded
at the subjects chosen to illustrate it. Surely, you could have done —
better than this. To those who know India, as well as those who
do not,’ Indian ‘Wild Life’? conjures up pictures of the Tiger,
Leopard, Elephant, the magnificent Bull Gaur and Barasingha, the
wild mountain sheep and goat tribes—none of which have been
given a place in the calendar—not—repeat not—scorpions, robber
crabs, Praying Mantis and Common swallows! Most of the latter
Oe ee ee ee et
er ee Tee EP aa Te Pe
NOTES @ NEWS 963
may be classified as ‘‘Domesticated’’ since found in the houses in
towns, etc! Further, since from the cover page this calendar is
apparently meant to be a mild form of propaganda for the preser-
vation of wild life, nobody is really interested in the preservation of
vermin such as the scorpion!!! But everybody interested in wild life
is keen to see adequate steps taken to preserve all Game animals
and other wild life which are not vermin.
The photograph of the ‘‘Indian Wild Ass’’ may easily be that
of the village dhobi’s donkey off on a spree! to those who do not
know the animal. Of what earthly use is a black and white photograph
of the Sunbird wherein its marvellous colours are not shown?
With such books like Champion’s ‘‘The Jungle in Sunlight
and Shadow’’ etc. available, there can be no excuse made that good
photographs of Tiger; Leopard; Elephant; Gaur etc, could not be
obtained. Even a picture of a Tiger taken in a Zoo would have been
better than that of the scorpion. What surprises me is that the com-
mon field rat and bandicoot were not given a place in the calendar !
Ye Gods and little fishes! ! !
Had I only known how you proposed to illustrate the calendar,
I would not have wasted my money in placing my order. As it
‘ stands, I do not consider that it is worth the paper it is printed on
or the expense of postage to my friends. I can well imagine my
friends abroad, especially in Africa, exclaiming “‘is this all they
can show us of wild life in India?’? WHAT a flop!
If you would be prepared to print this letter in the next issue
of the Journal it would be interesting to read the views of other
members on the subject.’
Metter No. 2
2. 4 In my opinion and that of my many friends it is the
best which has appeared for many years. The photos are excellent
and the lighter type used for the dates harmonises better with the
illustrations than did the heavier type previously in use. The only
comment I have is that the name of our Society is omitted at the
bottom of each page—it would serve as a good advertisement.’
Better, Nox) 3
‘.... 1 have had warm praises from those. 1 sent them to.
I certainly think they are very good in spite of the absence of tiger
or panther which everyone seems to expect in any publication deal-
ing with India.’
Letter No. 4
; . I congratulate you on the excellent calendars that you
have produced.’
* % %* %
To commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the first contribution to
science made by that doyen of Indian zoologists, Dr. Sunder Lal
Hora, and as a mark of their appreciation of the long and meritorious
services he has rendered, particularly in the cause of ichthyology and
fisheries research in India, his numerous pupils, admirers and friends
decided to publish a souvenir. Happily this has taken the form of
a brochure entitled ‘Bibliography of the Publications of Sunder Lal
TIOGA .
964 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 50
Hora’s name enjoys a unique distinction among contemporary
Indian scientists, and his researches and achievements in many fields,
especially in ichthyology, have won him international fame. The biblio-
graphy lists all the papers published by him each year between 1920
and 1950, aggregating to the imposing total of 337. The majority
of them deal with fishes and fisheries and for a student of Indian
ichthyology these references are indispensable.
Copies of the Bibliography can be obtained from the Honorary
Secretary, Bombay Natural History Society, on request. The price
fixed by the Silver Jubilee Committee is Rs. 4 per copy.
x % & %
NATURAL History AWARD
At a meeting of the Society’s Executive Committee held on 3rd
July 1951, it was decided to revive the scheme of the Natural History
Award which had lapsed for some time due to lack of suitable res-
ponse. A grant of Rs. 600 is being set aside every year to be
awarded to one or more students, preferably between the ages of
18 and 25 years interested in the pursuit of some specific piece of
field work in any branch of botany or zoology, the purpose being to
encourage field work among students. A circular to this effect was. -
sent out jast year to all science colleges in Bombay State and 7
applications were received.
A sub-committee consisting of the Honorary Secretary, Rev. Fr.
H. Santapau and Dr. S. B. Setna was formed to scrutinize the
applications and make the selection. Two candidates were finally
awarded the grant of Rs. 300 each for the year 1952, payable im
3 instalments of Rs. 100 each every 4 months.
The recipients. are- Miss|A:,.J. Randetia; 78.Se5, jor otpexaviers
College, Bombay, working on the Monopetalous Phanerogams of the
Krishnagiri National Park at Borivli, and Mr. M. K. Thakur of the
Institute of Science, Bombay, who has the ecology and bionomics
of Arachnid animals (spiders, etc.) as his subject.
The conditions of the grant are that students submit reports of
their work to the Society every 4 months and that on completion,
their results be first offered to the Society for publication in the
Journal.
FORTHCOMING SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION
Our latest Vice-Patron, Mr. W. T. .Loke of. Singapore, has:
generously offered to finance an ornithological expedition to Sikkim
in the coming winter to carry out a comprehensive bird survey and
study the life conditions of high altitude Himalayan birds. It will
he led by Mr. Salim Ali and is to be known as ‘The Loke-Sdlim Ali
Sikkim Expedition’. Field work is expected to commence in late
November. The Sikkim State authorities have kindly agreed to co-
operate by extending the necessary facilities to the expedition.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY V. M. PHILIP AT THE DIOCESAN PRI3S
18 CHURCH ROAD, VEPERY, MANRAS—23-8-1952. C6302
FDITORS: SALIM ALI, S. B. SETNA AND H. SANTAPAU
114 APOLLO STREET, FORT, BOMBAY
ace tA } } j
La re alee eee a
i Sea,
| ee ie.
mae ANT EE ae
Bs sie
me requested bee assist, the: ti)
or: is 1%
‘ iPS 7 ; hh
on
e been offered for ae blica-
numbered. ‘
a, ne the initial ‘ * f
c and sub-specific names
4 Wie ae .
aca if they refer to a person or a bs, 4 a,
rs he ; : oo)’ aie
Mes ay r Streptopelia chinensis SUTGIENSION Ee,
4 abe , nh Gas
af, ny Id only, be er wchcel Bo
omy d by comparison of
Bee r BNE ES or where identification — ae Wan
SATA Sy s ry eg }
! Bin ss | must re ae and yee eae Mn «
a ae ot smaller er than 34x at inches
< paper. - ‘ er?
: and ig should be i in taaias ink, aio
mre be placed at the fic of ihe
Bh ls Kel Ns hor’s name with the abridged
hiss ed Sony a titles of books
et
Fi ‘ ‘ay if
ray, Trans. ent,
ie . ae Pa fi % et . ae
Ri The Book of Indian Animals, Bombay.
wt ie
i ee underlined.
ae n the text. aaa be made by quoting
if lication, thus ; _ (Roepke, 1949).
y the Royal Society Scientific In-
the editors consider it desirable that
by a synopsis appearing at the
__The synopsis should be factual
ntent of the paper ; draw attention to_
} ‘hor's s main tonelasiogs, It should
. thod and conclusions of an
| points of any new finding,
ee e concise and ——, not exceed
OME aN? } ,
rie x es a i
aie ete it Schealll be carefully revised ie
i) and further compressed wherever
usefulness. | .
4 y4 ae ;
: vie | a a _ Eprrons,
Ce Ra
i, ‘ge i ASTRO e's i EAMES He, a
THE SO CIETY 5 PUBLICATIONS, Ss.
a ‘Mammals. RB cigs he aM
Book of Indian Animals, by s. H. Prater, with many coloured and black An
dices vcieae i Nh Rs. 16.
Rh ee | (Price, to Members Rs. 13). ‘.
ee "Birds. 2 Seah a aah
Gare Birds of Tdi, by i c Stuart Poker Vol. U1. Pheasants, 1st Baition.
rues (Price | to Members Rs. 24). }
. Book of Indian Birds; by Salen’ Ali, with “many colour and black and whi
pilates, 4th edition, revised and enlarged. i Rs. 16.
(Price to Members Rs. 12-8). |
Set of 12 Coloured Picture Postcards of Common Indian Birds. Rea 2-4 1 net. . , ;
i aap ae
Bish. 0) SSG Ge eee
Circumventing the Mahseer and Other Sporting Fish | in . India and Se tet
Burma, by A. St. J. Macdonald, with coloured and black and white plates. —
. (Price to Members Rs. aa). ie
Snakes. gah hat 6 Ca te ‘sade ee
Identification of Poisonous Snakes— | WN a I OR ae
pees. Chart. bys - pee § = 28. ie
1 3 Miscellaneous. _ Na acinar Ha
Indian Mbilascs: by James Hornell, with 2 coloured Lies and text figures.
. (Price to Members Be 4-8).
Wall Chart to distinguish a Wild Dog from a Domestic 3 or Jacks:
etc. ney Rs. 2-8.
Back Numbers of ne Journal, a
Back numbers of the Society’s Journal. Rates naa aioe.
Obtainable from: a Pa a ae ant ie a
The Honorary Secretary, Bearer fal am Beran”
Bombay Natural History Society, D1 state MR sh Ke Sh
| 114 Apollo Street, Bombay |, CY SMS IR
London Agents: 3 BN a a Vy aR RCD le
Messrs. Wheldon & Wesley Ltd., yh As Caen Ra re
Dacia Berwick Street, _ se Rey)
London, Ww. AS es a are
“TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP, rie ie cap 4
Life Members pay an entrance fee = Rs. 25 and a Life ‘Membership fee of
Rs. 500.
Ordinary Members pay an entrance fee of Rs. 25 and ae annual ‘subserip-
tion of Rs. 30. ,
The subscription of members. elected in Ocubees Navethes eed December
covers the period from the date of their election up till the end of the following. ;
year. ! Z
"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. 31-14-0 to the Society i An 4)
Bombay on the 1st January in each year. If this cannot be done, then the sum
of £2-8-o should be paid annually to the Society’s London ete ath
National Bank of India, ee) ree sider E. C. a eat fs
4 - rN hey Albee?
: , 5, 3 . , Pita cer ye td ae
. 7 ¢ r ? Whiten A ( 4 : Sees
: E ; ie mye Una, “ae “
Ee ‘ : f f
« . f :) * bh ry
7
Ral P ye Ae, ie f a) eT :
1 { “ ieee ’ aire we >
i : eh Clee tS a x ‘e eens
a, “hy 2 oN ie At . i A } 4 ‘ E see
yi A pith i ee : : “i i " f si
r s “ 1 a) ‘ ni i i * is ie v, ee yl
: : Fat Po A EAS
Rs. ae i n E :
OA), 60m
Mae j
i iy nau
Bg
pe Wale
iF
Rey,
eo ae
ord
leaan ry
i G
Soar at
A ne
a ee
et wee
i
rd ats
ia.
in,
ie
Me OS NR
‘ti
iy a
hie en
Na,
‘Aa
‘a
ho
Wy
Gp
i
ith
om)
5 sh |
Pa ean
Fie) Maree
iy ay
i eal
slat
We Cia: }
1 he n i:
b +)
Ra
Nae
a
Lien
ay
We He eneheney Whine b tye pnt wea te led , hiyad i j bet ” ! , Nee &
bee) eVaviniee Cfade ob We lieh CEU BIE Qe vel Hd uy hey ‘ , ‘ ‘
ye Berk at yA SMeV OTRO ARE TAR HEA din f Mine BiAls FI Wwe cei Nt He het Why ve Cpa SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES
Seat eA GREWAY EAE Bw Vie elie pfrcue pe bathe RHEE Niet hed i ‘ viii ns yi é
Hie lwione det pyrabrenth ahh haeetice ( Hovey ener 1 oalies ve 1 ' ye ( ‘ i { J ' " { ) a
Se Ta a tae Le) ae t ‘ edict ilet ht Wet yy wt Tetley { ‘ i
Hoe Li eeleted eh ewe ered i wen? al all rhyohle ) eonoyet ih ‘ pul wt fe ‘
ew el Brey Neda tate TaN Hen evel PETES Venton ) Avie figugted '
NeHeneh ne enhhet nee ret ee degey ine ee Fees phe : ' yevebyy ied 4 ‘ ' i \
Si nynadeALte 4 can end Nees sted Meyer Maye He peo top pebetene vis fli {
Webb eal HL ae emetic tyacatin & { t hed iy 9 yest Tha) ' ' ty ‘ Lf ‘ 4
Wit Hey) ‘ Ape (Re GE RE Lebel babrerh ates et ae ' ( ‘hy ' |
WeqPbeVaralie Ae Pe Gent ade he HEMCHEUE Pet tava (eats Paes f ; et yo { \
r See eBne Abyss Yet el Wate ata we hetbetbe \ 1 Meh 1 i ‘
sel PHATE SMS RS UEDSNAT AMEE MP ST PEN Rb Tere! PDs Abu e ave { Al ened Hines i ' i i
Nohenkvens tehefantenenehepe her evel bE ft HP wepeperover pwr i a t a ' ‘
vel Ai hasene hes bso fed ae weory Vepel (eeiph benny we whet ‘ ' ‘ ' wud { trate
sHeng bbe delistien Mean hE we le 1) Weve wea whch hte heteenia tet ' Vi yueties ‘ 1
PeLePHeMeelpne dene peter wEUl EF Fedo defi da dena nhbaebetph poe ie we Vey ty Wel ey poy yew ' , ' 1
figs) Hae e tone a nel ‘pega b ye! ' Wry b re teayiyin \ \ eqep ‘
Cuhheecae pad etietiege Dene Dente qeatt Re ntatit a at i 4 4 , 1 ‘
satiAnete i ay WnmeGea 1 Wihy ‘ feed i rif i
Viguhiy qed de LEEW We Hee a Woveney ' wr han ' ‘ 1 y
H ABA Wey Gidb we yey neve fed Weaette ted pepe ' ‘
Mea Ea nee EAST LUE a Mera §ebnbes hatte py CpET ELT Yopet ii vit ‘ ‘ H
ied bY Uae WiC da eae Pe 1 (os ‘ 1; ,
fowler i Wh pin "i tioned f me get hi H | \
Wally Vovatct a yetaleak bed Cire thptows peyben cena ' ' ‘
veiie? renen Beiiheh mand j het ra
erate aha we ese ep ese mete te nenee eyes 4 eokee prayer ‘ wena ‘ i
Lae neuer Hi petpeheb Re AL feet Tbe Wet 4.1 ward ‘ A f
Hehe i Yad nareber ip eer ae Petpet i ‘ ‘ ; ,
MARE RS ATE ATR TONEN DE ARTE EST in lOO Phe Te TE MPRA HE hen NED ART Obe ha Meer ' i f
Nee ye db fe eae MEET ade oleted cpap aees het Hues ae mye i
HY te ee eit anes ts ae Pevene wd PEDANTIC OEE MS App OOE bel apy ;
Weal ye t ‘ wey towe) 14 Hi hag t vist ' ;
AT ALTA LADD ai i Cie yy PR i ‘ ' \
HOW PED feb € peheb eh chee cil f vet % nie ! i { ‘
Ws havig edly eee wt teed Avs { ‘ yohes '
» Copinger CACAP HD ERAS A Hay EEE OT tyege iw sh yt he
Movet tibet TWh GeV eH EE EOLED De hat Peis ey tay ‘ ‘ 1 { i
1 i ele! i ok } ‘ wi! '
¥ } HNPE ea Pith) 5 ;
; sy Peal Tye | i
; * DMiaq oA? '
H Sof § x
ue ; Bie 3 2 : if '
ahbsata eae Mh, #uli rust \ ‘
Vb PR tad eh PRR YALE HP VEL EM were , ) I
Te, s { n wis i} 5 ‘ \ isa H erin? ar actyts ve, het a, ' , ‘
be aaa! Tries BP ee eh weie ‘ \ ' H
‘ wsid . teat ee nthe te payece \
ey ‘ De UReSueed op | H bys unk i j wee htayye \ i i (ee i
wiyre eke gr Fa Le tye ‘ eerie ledéut i i i iV Wey ii , ‘ ' j '
. Hynve pin oarueieuee Wepe ehyeg ea é Phalieayy ten wien { f ;
ats why viet ‘ ' las wet ‘ r i ‘ : ) i \
eum eylastey es gph hw hadley ‘ ta: Hevea \ ‘ bee i
Airy jie yes wen era ku abe eos i i
PV CH CA AU Ure ee Bal a PAM gb vette ab vne Laue! iy ene yi Waele eit \ i ' f ‘
2 dale es VEDENEL \ Hepebn Aw ANe OE PED) Jiu bd hal i nel Hitt tie( i ‘ H 5 :
fei t (ela H i ‘ i hed ‘ jing a thi
Ni tte ta tania soe a va Veyeut ane 4 i viel Woawa bln ighet n \ vey ‘
atte 1 , Levinevsuehes bee i ) fF uy vie) eee y i ,
wraiF wes ‘ ‘ H ane ! Wedebthe het Vd ‘ q } an VAL bat Pa 1 1 ‘ ' '
ASME yer gyi’ i eae ) ehuehentullseore pene \ \ yet ; " ‘ i Win ‘ ' ;
ted bed ( q Mati) weed H : ’ \ ' 1 i 4
PH Hehpooie peeve’ \ botehe dit i ‘| i) ben ve) j H H ' dpb , Wa ale ! }
‘ hea any , ' 6a $) teatan i ahlelt t ,
NOT thet id (Ms Ue aly petra’ i) ‘ ( boy ie pele wee ea ‘ ‘ ‘ 1 ave ' we ) ‘ " i
MeV § at | fe ; 4 ‘ oo Wiehe iy ‘ ve hol 4 1 i "
i Poe | \
EUR ate eM POU eee bole de ped Le braid) \ i wey i reed n \ 4 ‘ vei 4 } ' 7 t
wine whbtara ue Ta0d ha H ei i i t 4 ‘ ' f U ' 1 i
sheers Piyh eer ouk dea OU ep biel pad i way d bei alt ‘ h ' Vey n \ heur ‘ t | 1 [r? ' i
eae) i Piourarges i H bes i H ef ' ‘ t \
PHep nt j arth wih eek) } ‘ ‘ yt \ ]
wed { i ‘ MN Ube ved Y , 4 t 1 1 ’ wt /
tel \ rT ley ys Del ‘ { z
+4 , i VP : i ' ' ‘ poyeoeet Nir | ae eee \ i yeuce ut \ ’ : { fh i '
wepoofttlaleé Velwe ger hiepe cre hee Libaled H ji He i i ini tit ( ” fa fl uo Y £$
Seba bE ne ben ene URIE HEU ENCE LW WP ae ey lie al : eur Oar dean \ { ieyew ) ' (
wee Matt rake Ve badled Be ' { \ bh ie ‘ PT | Via H , 4 \ f
Rey ea) RU RSE AR SDT APR LY i ; Li ATS) : 48:3)
i eG Phmer cue peer re hyweaed en) ' welos } i ‘
ivi i wen Vey ee nce i dye Wend wn dey Wel ea i i
84) ei shilur veveLes } t (tat i é Whe 1 4 4 ; i
Fat ubdiabneaey bret \ send ual i \ i
i aay ta] \ i uF 4 That Pan t yeaey bei } 1 ‘ .
yr * WE Ebay tee bes i fu i i uhh ‘ 4 ie ' U , i '
be Gey) ¥ : \ Fug Lai a ’ 4 SOP Lea CD rey ‘ thehot ‘ ! Me ‘
eae ‘
eur Al , aed urbereyet wu H i ’ ' ‘ \ !
ue 4 Al pees ‘ vel ae eee hee ‘ f) Li
Pereay 4 \
hein ies i i ' \ ;
ryadta { ty H ee) t i A i
» \ , \ ‘ i ‘
penny A ‘ \ A H By wea \ i a i
ruters ‘ ‘ 7 ) i ees ) R
rhe wall : '
spare | H j i i tat { i
cata : i i
: ‘ vei hetiaee { har | H ;
Sa aRe eT ae SaELS vat hea i bat 1 '
1b ab ye fj etes 5 soyey ( vied i i ‘ , ’ wv
yc iat ; ; ‘ ‘
Weary Felis \
an) ‘ ) l * \ , ‘
\ \ wn i '
ertnts J
wn ahs ou er weve), ai 1 .
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11