Notice of the Mammals and Birds Inhabiting Kachh

1872.J NOTICE ol!' TlIE MAMMALS .AND BIRDS iNli.A.BITING KA.cmr, by DR. F. STOLICZKA.. [Received. 28th May, read. 3rd. July, 18'72,] 211 The study of local faunas must, for some time at least, continue one of the most important means of leading to a full understanding of Indian Zoology. India combines such an enormous variety of physical conditions, namely, differences in level, climate and vegetation, all of which have to be studied in connection with the animal life, that one is almost lost in the chaos of information required, and is very apt to overlook conditions, which may be essential for the explanation not only of peculiarities as regards dis tinctions of species, but also of those relating to geographical distribution. Researches limited to single districts are not necessarily liable to these disadvantages, because they can more easily command the smaller amount of observations, and obtain an acquaintance with the physical conditions which may lead to their explanation. It is with this view that I have ventured to place on record what little I observed of the Zoology of Kachh. I scarcely need to add that I greatly regret the incompleteness of the lists, but as the duties of the geologist are entirely different from those of a zoologist, he can hardly pretend to give satisfaction to both. During my rather hurried visit, my attention was chiefly directed towards the Vertebrata,* and in this branch I attempted to • Invertebrata are also by comparatively small numbers represented., as may be ind.icated by the following notice : Of Crustacea I have obtained only two. species in the streams, a small Palcemon which is tolerably common, and. a Oltirocepho,7;us ( = Branchdpus, apud Milne Ed.ward.s) ; the latter only occurred. in a slightly braokish stream west of Bhuj. Mr. Wood-Mason who examined the two species tells me that the latter presents a remark able mod.iflcation of the antennoo.-The Arachnoid.a, which were specially looked after, did. not yield more than twenty species, chiefly of the families Epeiridt11 and LtJcosid<i, and a few Saiticidt11. Of Scorpions I got four species; Scolopeno,ra, three I J'uU two or three. 'l'he Ooleopte'l'a commonly seen mostly belong to the B74Psidce, which form an importnnt article of food to the hedgehog ; S.carabceida, and Oarabidce are comparatively few, and still rarer other kind of beetles. Butterflies, on account of' the almost con stant strong winds, are very rarely seen, indeed with the exception of a, few small PieridtB and Lyccenidce, and a number of Microlepidoptera, I Iiave scarcely seen any other species. The Hymeiwptera are mostly represented by Ichniewmonidce. Ants aro a real pest in houses and in the camp, in spite of the dryness of the climate. Of Rhynchota my collection barely contains a dozen species, including the Nepce and Oicadce, but they must be more numerous during the wet season. Of Libel/;ulida, I obtained abmi.t ten species, and not many more are, I think, procurable in winter. Blattidte I have seen three, the most common is Periplwneta germaniica,. Of Acrididce &o., about a dozen or more species occurred. 28 212 P. Stoliczka-Mammals and Birds inlwbiting Kachl1. [No. 3, note down and to collect what was possible, without interfering with my other more important work. The list of the mammals and birds will be given in the following pages ; on the reptiles and amphibians I have �lre�dy reported, (sec Proc. A. S. B., for May, 1872, p. 71); and the exammation of the fshes was kindly undertaken by Surgeon Major Day, whose paper on the subject follows the present one. _ . However, before entering upon any details, it will be probably desll'a ble to say a few words regarding the principal physical �eatures of the c�un try, particularly in connection with the mammals and birds to be met with ; only adding here that my remarks solely apply to the aspect of the country durin"' the cold and dry seaspn between November and February. The province of Kachh extends for about 150 m�es alo�g the Tropic �f Cancer, having a breadth of about 40 miles on either side of it, and the Meri dian of 70° eastern longitude passes through it a little eastward of the centre. The main land stretches · along the seacoast from the most eastern branch of the Indus to Kathivar, from which it is separated by the Gulf of Kachh; to the North and East it is entirely isolated from Sind and the ea;tern Rajputana states by the so-called Ran, which was no do�bt formerly an arm of the sea, but is now very much silted in. It has a varied breadth from 40 to nearly 100 miles. During the dry ancl hot weath�r some P?r tions of it are under water and others are so thickly covered with a salme deposit, or almost pure salt, that the ground becomes unft for the support of animal life. · A wild ass may be seen in the distance, or a· desert-lark (Certliilauda desertorum) running along the trodden. track, but s?arcely any other animal exists, unless a bird may accidentally migrate from one place to another. During the rainy season by far the greatest portion of the Ran is inundated, and a good number of the larger water birds are. sai�l to be seei� on it. The slightly elevated ground, which locally fori.µs strips 11 the Ran· proper, supports a very scanty vegetation of rough grasses (C!f perac�aJ), an� of a few scattered bushes of tamarisk &c. ; this part is called the Bum and, if the monsoons are not heavy, it affords rich pasture for cattle clmfo?' that time, but in the dry season even the nomadic Sindees are often obliged to Of freshwater shells which, however, also occur in slightly brackish streams, I met with the followinno : Planorbis eroustiis; Plan. n. sp., allied to Cantoris ; Lymn<Ea Ttuteola, and amygdalus, tl;:, latter closely allied to acmninata; Paltdina dissi1ni'.is: ( nielanastoma) exactly identical with South Indian and Ceylon specimens;. Bythinia pulchelU:, and two other species of the same genus; lllelania tuberculata; Umo creruleiis and leioina; and a small !forbiciila, apparently very rare. Of landshells I found Bulini-ns insiila1·is, B. abbysin-icus, B. punctafos, B. cwnopictus aud two other Bulimi, allied to the last, one slightly and the other very much, thinner, almost cylindrical; Ennea bicolo1·( cylindrical and perfectly smooth variety) ; . Steno�yra, ymcilis; Jieliro fallaciosa and Tran-quebai·ica, Macro�hlaniys 1ielli1ws, Su_ccmca vitrea and crassiusrnla. With the exception of Biil, insulcwis none of the shells is oommon. 1872.] F. Stoliczka-Mammals ancl lJircls inkahiting .Kaclzk, 218 : leave it for want of water. Wherever intercalations-of clayey beds between sandy layers make a slight accumulation of fresh water possible, Kunda treelets (Prosopis) grow rather abundantly and form little forests sometimes of one or two miles in length, but generally very narrow in breadth. How. ever, little life animates these isolated tracts. Among the Kunda S!flvia cur1·uca, .Pk!Jlloscopus tristis Lanius laktora and vittatus, Saxicola desertorum (= atrogularis), Pwrt:W Oamba!Jensis, lTpupa Oe!flonensis, Atlwne brama and perhaps a few of the smaller hawks and the ubiquitous Sciui·us palmarum are almost all the birds and mammal� to be observed, in addition to the usual camp followers, kites, crows, pigeons, &c.. . The herds of cattle and sheep are invariably accompanied by JJicrurus albznctus, and m,lves, hyrenre, and generally also a leopard are not far off. On the woodless portions of the Buni, almost the only birds to be seen are Spizalautla tleva, Alautla t1·ibo1·k!Jncka, .Pteroeles exustus, Oursorius Jamesoni ( =? gallicus), Oketti1,Sia gregaria, and one or two others of the cursorial tribe. The little islands in the Ran, called Beyts, are nearly quite unin habited, and on the slightly larger ones a harrier and a stonechat ( Oircus Swainsoni and Saxicola picata), or perhaps locally a stray dove, the pur suer and the pursued are all that an ordinary observer would notice of animal life. The more elevated ground can be physically divided into three, ( or pel11aps four) nearly parallel ranges, extending almost due east and west. Each of these ranges has an abrupt declivity on the northern and a very gradual slope on the southern side. Thus the greatest elevation in. each range lies near the northern edge, where precipitous cliffs and mo derately hilly tracts occur ; but as the greatest height of any of the hills in Kac�h d�es not exceed 1500 feet, and as the entire breadth of the hilly portions 1s rarely more than three or four miles, they are not capable of producing any essential effect upon, or change in, the general climatal conditions. The hills are as a rule only thinly covered with brushwood mostly consisting of leafess and thorny bushes, and oftener they are almost entirely bare. The frst of the ranges occupies Pacham, Karir, Bela and a few adjoin ing small islands in the Ran ; their northern declivities are for want of water entirely uninhabited, but each has a long and gradual, though very thinly po pulated, Slope to the south. On the eastern and western sides, the ridge ra ther abruptly disappears under the Ran, to the south the slope gradually passes into the Buni, and Bela is scarcely separated from Wagur, which is the most eastern district, moderately but very in-egularly hilly, composed of short ranges and a few isolated basalt hills ; and towards the west connected by low, mostly cultivated, ground with Kachh proper. The second (the Jora-Hula man) range stretches · along the northern edge'. and the third, the Charvar F. Stoliczka-11:fammals and Birds inhabiting Kacltk. and Katrol range, nearly through the centre of the mainland of Kachh. These two ranges more gradually decrease.in height towards their ends and join each other near the western extremities, but diverge on t1ie eastern sid?, the former passing in its prolongation through ·w agur. The fourth range is _ the lowest, lying south only a short distance from tl�e C�iarva�-Katrol :'ange, · and is sometimes not very distinctly separated from it ; it cntll'cly consists of basaltic trap and is locally rather thickly covered with bushes an� �unda .. As the confiO'uration of the grouncl very much c1cpemls upon its lithologi cal structure, I i:ay notice that sandy or shalcy limestones only occur �n the axes of the first and second ranges, but far more prevalent are sandston?s and shales. Solid basalt and quartzitic roclrs occur in isolated hills, or m dykes, ancl thei·e are also a few shorter ancllonger ri�ges consis�ing of va�iec\ trap-rocks which easily break up in fragments and, if any moisture e:x::.s�s, readily decompose. Decomposition goes on, however, at a much mc-te rapid pace in the softer rocks, namely, the sandy limestones, sandstones and shales. It is indeed often not easy to meet for days with a rock, . that would not crumble almost uncler the fngers, unless it be accidentally hardened, by a neighbouring basalt dyke,-or some other causes producing dislocations of strata, &c. On account of this rapidity with which the disintegration of �he rocks has been going on from time immemorial, all the depression_s between t?e hi?s, the ravines and river courses, had been deeply filled up with sand, which with equal facility also spread into tlie longitudinal valleys separating the princi pal ran(l'cs. Thus insteac1 of fertile valleys, we meet with extensive sandy plains, �vhich are capable of supporting only a very_ scanty vcgetati?n, and the monotony of which is merely interrupted by an iso:ated basalt hill, �r a trap or quartz dJke of a few miles in length. There exists so�e. geological evidence which indicates, that at least along the northern pi:ecipitous slopes of tl1e ranges locally a very large accumulation of wate� had taken p�ace in comparatively recent geological time, and then. moisture, vegetat10n and animal life might no doubt have in equal proportion been greater and more . prosperous. It was probably ·also at that somewh�t remote ti�e, w�en the great and deep ravines had locally been cut, the exi�e�ce of whi�h, wi!h the present comparatively insignificant water supply, it is almost impossible to explain. ]3ut now the fine water sheets ha�e given w�y to desert ground, 011 which the sand is shifted about at the will of the agitated atmosphere. The prevailing, and usually heavy, winds within the greater part of the year, appear tq come from South--West or West, although_ during the �old season North-east winds are by no means uncommon. But mstead of brmg ing any moisture from the sea side, they seem to take away the little which exists. The grounc1 is so dreadfully heated under tlrn powerful glare of a rnrely covered sky, that it seems entirely to prevent even the approach of 1872.] F. St01iczka-.Mammals ood Birds inhabiting Kackk. 215 moisture, unless the atmosphere be near the point of saturation • and this seems indeed to be of very rare occurrence. ' ¥r, Wynne, in whose Memoir on the Geology ofKachh* the physical geogra1,hy of the province is briefly referred to, states that the average rain fall for tl1e last twenty-one years up to 1809 was only 14·3 inches ; within the three past years the annual fall scarcely exceeded ten inches. Some tracts of the country had actually barely _a drop of rain during the whole year, and these had to be deserted during the dry season by the inhabitants, who generally on such occasions betake themselves with tl1eir cattle to Sind returning to their homes during the following rainy season. ' This state of affairs is not in any way mitigated by a marked change in the general temperature of the air. Ice is apparently quite unknown in Kachh. On very cold mornings in December and January, I occasionally saw tlie thermometer as low as 35,0 but it never sank to freezin"' point and • that c_omparat�vely low temperature was observed only along the Ran, �here the wind blowmg across the wet Ran was cooled down. Even in those two months the_ thennomete� was mrely under 80° or 90° after midday in the shade, and m February, it generally rose · to about 100.0 In the sun I have not seen it a single day under 100 degrees. In consequence of this scarcity of rain, on account of the great heat, �d further �n account of the abundance of superficial sandy deposits, large nvers are ent1rely unknown, at least during the greater part of the year. The �ttle water, which is supplied by a few springs in the hills, is generally lost m the sand before it reaches the desert plain, or it accumulates into small pools �nd hollows in suitable places, where clayey beds retard or stop the percolation through the sand. But in slowly passing through the sand, the water becomes more or less saturated with various salts, the consequence being that, if any running water at all is t"o be met with in a stream, it is in nine cases out of ten brackish,-not wholesome for beasts and deadly for men. But even in the wells, which the people sink for purposes of raisin"' water, for irrigation, this is often brackish, and it is sometimes with th: greatest difficulty that perfectly fresh water can at all be obtained near a village. '.l'he simple recollection of the . foul and dirty fuid, that one is oc casionally obliged t9 accept in order to quench his thirst, is enough to make one shudder. All these elements of physical condition, to which I have briefly refer red, tend towards making the country a terra lwspitibus fm·ox, an expression often repeated for want of a more suitable one, or, as an early traveller ex pressed himself, a country fit only for a geologist to travel in. The general result of those unfavourable physical conditions is, that we have before us a few ranges of low hills of 80 or 100 miles in length, varying in height from • Mem. Geel. Survey of India, vol. IX, p. 12 et seq • 21G F. Stoliczlm-Mammals and Bi1·ils i'nluibiting E.ackk. [No. 8, about 300 to 1400 feet, either bare, or covered with scanty grass or low thorny bushes, anc intersected by clry ravines fllecl with clebris and sand. Except along their edges these hilly tracts are scarcely at all inhabited. 'fhe <lepre�sions separating the lon6ritudinal ranges more resemble in the average time of the year a cesert than a hahitable country. The ground is mostly very sandy, ancl although naturally not unproductive, it is sterile for want of moisture. Enormous bushes of E1tplwi·bia neriifolia take the place of what elsewhere might be a forest, or at least a thick jungle. A few fig-trees near the villages is all that may cleserve ti1e name of a tree, ancl even these are by no means plentiful. During a tolerably good rainy season, the felds generally yield a crop of either barley or wheat, or other seasonal fruits ; during the cold weather, however, scarcely anything but a very inferior crop of cotton can l)c earnecl ; and tl1is only locally. A fair crop is, however, generally possible, wherever the people are able to obtain a sufficient quantity of water from the wells for irrigation. In this they often succeed best in those localities which lie along, or not far from, a fault·in the rocks, because this usually stops the escape of water. "Whatever mischief the numerous trap-dykes and basaltic eruptions might have producecl at no very distant geological period, it is very fortunate for the country, that they are so numerous ; for I would scarcely hesitate to say that without them by far the greater part of Kachh woulcl long ago have become a perfect desert. Each village h_as, it is true, its small tank, but unless the retention of water is facilitatecl by some na tural cause, it is sure to have· dried out about the middle of the colcl season. 1Vhcrever a tank with good cleep water exists by the end of February, it is almost certain to have been washecl out in a hollow of clayey beds, or it rests towards a fault of the rocks, or a quartzite or trap-dyke. . In some cases men might have taken advantage of the natural situation; ancl assisted the reservoir by an embankment, but as a rule, the Kachh people seem to be rather indifferent to this necessity of human and animal comfort, and in this special ease, one might justly say, the necessity of life. Out of the great number of tanks, which are, strictly speaking, the only water reservoirs, fve or sir average a mile, or a little more, in length,. and mio•ht deserve the name of small lakes. In other parts of India they would 0 probably be little thought of, but in a dry country, such as Kachh is, they are of no small importance. In the monsoon time they are of course of greater extent, but eYen at the greatest height of the water supply, the low situation of these reservoirs, sometimes in deep hollows, preclucles the use of the water for purposes of irrigation ; they are, however, during the cold season the only places to which a large number of waterfowl of all kinds resort. Ifavipg thus become aequnintecl with an outline of the physical features of Kachh, we may better be able to understand tl1e association of the mam- F. Stoliezka-Mammals and Birds inhabiting Kacli!,,. 217 mals and birds which I shall enumerate in the following pages. Of cours� judging from both the uniformity, as well as the scarcity, of favourable natural oonditions, one could a pi·ioi·i only expect a very poor fauna and flora. The veget:i,tion of the country in general, setting aside that of the cultivated tracts, may indeed be regarded as a picture of sterility. Very few flowering plants are to be seen in the clry season. Among the herbaceous plants* those growing ·on sandy or saline ,ground naturally .prevail over others, and their leaves are often leathery and thick, or sometimes recluced to spines and thorns. Among saline plants the most common are 8tatice 8toclcsii, 8olanu11i trilobatum, and a Pluchea. Of other more common species of herbaceous plants I may notice : Priehodesina indieiem, Heliotropiw111, supinum and strigoswm, 8olanum nigrmn, Orotalaria Burkia, 01'/fgia decumbens, Pkalan gium graminifoliwm, Valtlia viscosa, Salvia <Bf!!fptiaca, Oonvolvuluspluricaulis, Oressa Oretica, Pol!Jgala Vakliana, Glinus mollugo, Pol!Jgonum plebejum, Euplioi·bia tkymifolia and E. ilraeuneuloides, Evolvulus alsinoides, .A.ristida depi·essa, .iErva Javanica, Vernonia einerea, Priantkemum crystallinum and T.decandrtwn, ancl others. Mr. Kurz . determined about one hunclred species out of a small collection I made ; a few appear to be new. The low j;ungles barely cleserve this name, for they are almost entirely composed of thorny bushes (Oapparis apliylla) with little or scarcely any foliage. Among others I may mention Painm-ia: orientalis, Oelastrus senegalensis, two species of Grewia, ancl Oratieva Roxburghii, the last growing into a tree, also Kunda (P1·osopis spicigm·a,) is locally numerous, but scarcely more generally distributecl than the Cactus like Eupltorbia neriifolia, which often for miles suppresses all other semiarboreal vegetation. The only fine trees to be occa sionally seen are Ficus 1·eligiosa and 1f. Bengalensis, in the neighbour hood of villages or near wells, where they are planted as a shelter againsti the heat of the day. Extensive forests are, as already observed, unknown, and, naturally, we woulcl look in vain for any of the large Carnivora, (except as mere stragglers), and the existence of large Pachyderms or Ruminants is inade entirely impossible. Equally so we almost entirely miss the true forest denizens of the featherecl tribe, such as the Bucm·otidm, Picidm, Oer thiidm, 8i�tidm,Pliasianid<B; a few of the Eastern type of birds like the Eu1Y laimidm or 'l!reronid((} are also entirely absent, their geographical distribu tiont being rather limited. But other families, which might be expected to * I am indebted to llfr. S. Knrz for the names of the plants. t Too much import0noe is, I think, occasionally attributed to the §O-called laws of geographical distribution, independently of other agencies, as if these IawB were innate to the animal. When speaking of the geographical distribution of a species, one is apt to forget, that these geographical limits are mainl,y dependent upon the physical conditions, required for, and suitable to, the existence of a certain species. 218 }'. Stoliczka-Mamnials and Birds inhabiting Kachli. [No. 8, o�ur, likewise shew very few representants, such as the lliuseieapidce, Am� pellidm, JJ'ringillidm, Co1•viclm, &c. Among the brushwoocls the common birds are Pgenonotus ehrysorrhoides Otoeampsa leueotis, Lanius vittatus, Iora Zeglaniea, Sglvia eurl'uea, Munia ]Ialabai·iea, &c., less numerous are Pl1yllopneuste rama, Pericroeofits pere .'fl'inus, Orthoclomzts longicauclus, Drgmoipus Jerdoni, Phglloseopus tristis, :l'eph1'0Clornis, Pondiceriana ancl a.few others, while Panes nuel1alis or Leu coeerea aureola are great· rarities. Hunting between the bushes on the grom1el, we meet with Tltamnobia Cambayensis, Citrinella Huttoni and Oka tod1ea caudata, always in company with Franklinia Buehanani, and on still more open ground Saxieola pieata and deserti ( = atrogularis). The above are �ctually the only very common birds, and five of each may at any· time be Geen for every one of any other kind .. In the sandy plains we meet with a great number of Gn.ALL.iE, particu larly OtitidceandOharadriilce. Among these Oursorius Jamesoni (?= gallieus), Chettusia gregai·ia, Lobivanellus indicus, Sareiophonts bilobus, Grus cinerea, IIoubara JJiacquenii, are characteristic of the country ; several of these de part clm-ing the summer, but are replaced during the rains by the ilorikan, Sypkeo tides auritus, which is said to arrivce in large numbers in the raii�y season. The starlings, grey partridges, pigeons, and doves keep, naturally enough, near the villages. In the fields few other larger birds except Gerontieus papillosus ancl Buplms eorommullts, and occasionally Gi·us antigone, are to be seen ; of smaller bii·ds .tlgrodroma eampestris and several species of larks are common. Both Grallatores ancl N atatores are abundant on the small lakes ancl tanks. Indeed scarcely a pool of water, if only thirty or forty feet in length, will be met with without some species of .tletitis or Totanus, • but particularly common are Hiinantopus intermedius, Spatula elypeata and Querquedula creeea. On the somewhat larger tanks one is certain to meet besides these with the gad wall ( Cliaulelasmus strepenes), the pintail (Dafila acuta), the little grebe (Podieeps minor), ancl also Liinosa cego cepltala ancl one or the other of the white Herodias. Naturally in an open country, where sport is comparatively easy, birds of prey would not be want ii1g, and amongst these Fclco fugger, Hypotriorcltis cltiquera, Ag_itila fulvesA change in the physical conditions of a country Will be rapidly followed by a corro sponding change in the fauna, either decreasing or increasing, and thus the geogra phical limits of a species become mainly dependent %pon physical con,litions. To give an example, I mean, that if for instance one of tb.e low hill' ranges of Kachh, averaging a height of a few hundred feet, was replaced by one of similar mineralogical character and of an average height of 5000 feet, we would very soon find it wooded, and then inhabited by an abundance of Malabar forms, although these would be absent in the intervening desert country, An actual example of thia may be seen on Mount Aboo, as known from Dr. King's liat of birds. 1872.] F. Stoliczka,-.Mammals anrl Birils inhabiting Kacl,,1,,, 219 c(Jns and Buteo fm·ox arel;o be seen almost everywhere • many others are more local. ' . Perhaps a better general idea of the character of the vertebrate fauna �rnght · be formed, when we inquire what the country is capable of support111� all the year �ound, �nd �t the same time exclude those animals, the exiSte�ce 0: w�ich mamly, or entirely, depends upon the presence of man and lns habitat10ns. �mong th� mammals we find the Rodents most prevalent,-Gerbillits erytli1 ourus, Seiurus palinaruin, Lepus rifficaudus,-th� first being by far the most common, and next come the Indian antelope and gazelle·. thus all vegetable feeders. ' If we exclude from the 160 species of birds, whi�h I obtained, the socalled camp-followers, we find that about half the remaind · t th . fi 1 . . . er are migra ory, e1e_ ore mere y wmter v1S1tors. And although some of the migratory birds may m a favourable hot season remain in the country others wh' h 11 • , 1c are genera y considered as permanent settlers often partially migrate to ·t bi 1 liti • I more su1 • a _e _oca es m �dia. :Among these I may mention for instance Ceryle, P1atz�eola, Ooraeias, Ptzonoprogne, Oaprimulgus, Oitrinella; Therefore, in an ordmary summer season I certainly do not expect that more than ab t one hundred species of birds are to be met with in Kachh, really a very s;:u number, ':'hen compared with what one is used to observe on a similar! large area m many other parts of India. y Of Reptilia and Amphibia I have observed thlrt · . d alth h thi b . y species ' an , oug s num er 1s decidedly larger during the rains, not more than half a dozen of them are really of common occurrence. (Comp p A S B., May, 1sn, p. 7;t). · roe. · • The fresh-water fshes, which I collected belong· according·t D D t . ht , ' ' o r. ay o e1g een species ; there is only one Siluroid among them most of th' others belong to the 09prinidm, and one is a OlJprinodon the 'first • e of th k • I d' f: , species e genus nown m n 1an resh-waters. However small the number ma a?pear to b1e, I almost doubt if it could be much increased; for whe! nvers ��e a most unknow�, and where half of the tanks are liab]e to disap pe�r for tSeveral months durmg each year, and where besides such a number of skilful fspers* are eagerly employed during a time when the water is lowest �sh have not much chance to prosper. 1 *About forty species of Grallatores and Natatores, 29 226 F. Stoliczka-.Mammals ana Bfrils inhabiting Kackk. (No. 3, E?-inaceus (Hemiechir11us} albulus, n. sp. Snout vory long and pointed, oars modorato, ovate at tip; spines irregularly placed, much as in picfos, but comparatively longer and thickor ; each of them is dusky at the base, then up to half its length purely white, followed by a blackish brown ring, its breadth being only about one ffth of the total length, tip largely white and rather abruptly pointed, the result being a prevalence of white colour on the upper surface of the body. There is no perceptible nude space between the ears, and the spines begin immediately on the hind neck, and the largest on the back are fully one inch long. Each spine is surrounded by 24 to 26 fine longitudinal furrows, separated by minutely tubercnlated ridges, scarcely wider than the furrows. The tail is almost as short as in picttts. Read entirely rnfescent above and at the sides, except upper mandible towards the angle of the month, this being w,ite; base of ears also white, as well as the entire underside, which is thickly set with long hairs, passing into a slight rufescent shade on the sides of the belly. Ears, lower portions of front and hind feet and tail dusky brownish, being thickly intermixed with short, white hairs; moustache brown, whitish towards the tip. Claws strong, five on each foot, very pale brownish. The only specimen measures very nearly seven inches ; the eo,r slightly exceeds one inch; distance from tip of snout to the angle of the mouth not quite one, to the ear slightly more than one and a half inch. Dr. Henderson gives the locality, 'Langnr near Sanju; Yarkand,' and the native name ' Keepa.' The only known form to which the present species is closely allied is E. !ybicus, Ehrenb., which has similarly grooved and similarly coloured spines, but they are decidcdly shorter, and the coloration of the other parts of the body is different. From all the above noted species which, as I stated, are referable to the section Hemiechinus, E. albiventris, Wagn., differs by having only four toe·s on the hind feet, and the spines sulcated and smoothly ridged. The type specimen, which is 6·5 inches long, is believed to have come from the East Indies, but its precise locality is unknown; it js in the Berlin J\.Iusenm., The distinctive characters noticed also occur in the 1Egyptien E. Pruneri, and Fitzinger separates both as ' Peroiichin1is.' The true Erinacei have five toes on each foot ancl smoothly striated spines. Of the fi"."e species known only E. eitropat'8, namely the Siberian variety, may be found in the Himalayas. Carnivora. Ursus labiatus occasionally occurs in the Wagur district, and I was told of a specimen having been shot on Bela, but it is evidently only a very rare straggler. I have not on a single occasion seen either a marten (.Martes) or a weasel (Jlfustella), though I was told that at least one species of each does occur. Of the Felidm, both the lion ( F. leo) and the tiger ( 1J'. tigris) extremely . rarely occur as. stragglers from Kathivar, they had been formerly shot in Kachh territory, and a century ago they might have been more common. The larger variety of the pard (F.pardus), usually called panther, is up to the present time not uncommon in some districts. It keeps to the thinly wooded and rocky parts of the country, and its favourite sport constitutes a monopoly with the present Rao of Kachh. :1.872.] F. Stoliczka-.Mammals ana Ilirtls in'/ealJi'tln9 Kacli,l,,. 227 The common jungle cat ( F. chaus) is the only representant of the small er Felid(lJ, and though not abundant it is met with occasionally throughout the country. ' The red lynx (Jf. caracal) is, however, certainly rare, as it likewise is in · otp.er parts of India. I have only s!)en one animal shot some years ago by the Rao of Kacl1h, but I heard of it in different parts of the country. Like the pard, it seems to be very fond of digging after Uromastix Hwrdwickii, which in common with some of the inhabitants it appears to find a very tasty meal. lf. jubata, the hunting leopard, was seen by me only on one occasion in the Wagur district (north of Chitrore), but I could not obtain any in formation as. to its further occurrence. It seems to be scarcely known in the western and southern pa1·ts of Kachh. The striped hyrena (H. striata) also occasionally occurs in the eastern parts of Kachh, and about the Rann islands. I have, however, nowhere heard of a single Viverra or a Paradoa:urus, which no doubt prefer forest to open country. 132. Herpestes gi·iseus, called by Jerdon the' :Madras ::Mangoos,' is the only species of this genus, and generally distributed, though not very common. Body of a male 18", tail 15" ; a female which I shot was somewhat larger. The.general colour of the fur above is (in winter) brown, grizzled with white ; the longer hairs are adpresscd and very long, particularly at the sides, each with four to five dark brown rings, separated by pale white, the two colours passing into each other by a rufous brown tint, which, during the summer, in some individuals at least, appears to prevail gver the dark brown, and when in older skins the brown fades, the rings may be described as rufous, but they certainly ttre not so in fresh skins. The white rings generally have barely a tinge of.yellow, in some spectmens they may be said to be pale fawn colour. The elongated hairs at the lower side are broadly tipped with fulvous fawn, and those at the end of the tail are mostly of that colour, which in so far may be said to be concolorous with the body. The sides of the snout, particularly in front and about the eyes, are distinctly . rufous, more so in the male than in the female, and the entire head is also tinged with more rufous, than any other part of the body. Ears light brown, thickly set with short hair, more mixed with white in front than behind. General colour below fawn, the rings on the hair being pale brown and on many nearly obsolete. Feet in front rufous brown, speckled with white ; claws brown, pale towards the tips ; soles dark fleshy brown ; muzzle reddish brown. The Indian Wolf ( Oaiiis palUpes) is tolerably common in the W �"'Ur district and on the Rann, but less so in Western Kachh, while the jackal (0. awreus) abounds everywhere. Pariah dogs are, as may be imagined-0om30 228 F. Stoliczka-Mamnzals and Birds inl1abiti1ig KacM. [No. 8, mon enough, and some very much resemble in structure and colour the wild dog ( Cuon 1·utilans), but I have not heard of the occurrence of this latter in a wild state. Both the Indian and the desert fox, Vulpes bengalensis and leucopus, the latter generally called the silver-tailed fox, occur; the former I have shot only in the north-eastern districts, but the latter appears to be more generally distributed, though not very common. Rodentia. The homely Sciurus pabnm·um is the only species of squirrels to be met with both about habitations and in the Kundu jungles. 1 The ground is claimed by the desert J erboa�rat, which Jerdon identified with (No. 171) Gerbillus* 01yth1·ourus, •Gray.t I do not �hi� that there is any other animal equally common throughout E:achh, as 1s this rat ; it does of course not frequent stony and hilly ground, but is most abundant in the sandy districts between bushes, as well as between fields and on grassy plains ; its barrows sometimes extent over hundreds of square feet �th�ut interruption. The size and colour of Kachh specimens perfectly talhe� with Jerclon's description. Near habitations it usually comes out only m the morning ·and evening to feed, but far away from them it is to be seen out of its hole at all hours of the day. As a rule, it feeds, I believe, on roots of various herbaceous plants, and mpre rarely on seeds. I hardly need to mention the occurrence of the brown rat (Mus decu manus) and of the common Indian mouse (M. urbanus). H lJsfrix Zeucura is the common porcupine of the country ; it is usually found on higher undulating desert ground, thinly covered with jungle, or on more elevated plateaus where brushwood occurs. Lepus ruji,caudatus is very abundant throughout Kachh. There is, (at least in younger specimens) a conspicuous white band from the nostril through the eye; the ears are lined internally with dull_white: �nd externally towards the tips with blackish brown or black ; the tail has m the young only a slight rufous tinge above. Ungulata. · Eqims onager, the wild ass, is entirely confined to the most uninhabita- · ble and desert parts of the country near the Rann, or the Rann itself with its small islands. I have seen it on two or three occasions in crossing the Rann; but an approach to it even within half a mile was out of question. Sus indicus is generally distributed, and fine sport may be had in suit� able, temporarily swampy, localities, mostly near the Rann. Occasionally, *l\Iost naturalists aooept for the Africa-Asiatic species the name Merio1ies. t Comp. Jerdon, Mamm. Appendix, p. III. 1872.] F. Stoliczka-Mammals anti Birds inkabifinfl Ka�hk. 229 I also met with solitary specimens, or small families of young, within the hi.Us, as at J ora. The common Indian antelope, .A.ntilope bezoartica, is only found in the eastern parts of Kachh, towards Rajputa.na, while the Indian gazelle, ·Gazella Bennetti, occurs abundantly throughout the country. Jerdon (Ind. Mamm. p. 281) says that' Gazella Christii, Gray, from Sind and Kachh, is said to be paler, and with the horns more slender, and smaller than in the Indian gazelle, and with the tips abruptly bent inwards.' I have seen a great number of animals shot in difFerent parts of Kachh, and preserved also a few skins, but they do not exhibit the least difference from the ' Chinkara' of Central and N orthem India. AVES. In the subjoined list I have included only those species of which I procured specimens, and of the identity of which I had been able to satisfy myself. In addition to thes� I observed a small number of, others, and although the identity of some of them appeared to me at that time toler ably certain, I shall note them separately ; for with the numbei; of very closely allied forms one cannot be cautious enough in avoiding mistakes in determination. Among the species which I have not procured are : .A.stui· palwmbarius which I saw on several occasions kept by falconers, but I could not obtain information that the specimens were procured in Kacl1h. At the beginning of November, I noticed on the Jora hills a solitary speci men of a Oentropus, it was either rufipennis or viriais. Both, .A.lateaa gulgula and cristata, do, I believe, occur, and I was under the impres sion that my shika1i secured specimens, but on examination none were re presented, Oarpoaacus erlftlerinus was seen on two occasions in January. I am also tolerably· certain of the occurrence of Trin9a minuta, Nume nius arquata, Heroaias alba, .A.nas boschas, Mergus castor, Casarca rutil la, Poaiceps cristatus, .A.nser inaicus and cinereus ; all these, besides a great number of other water-fowl, were seen on the large lake at Bhimsir near the _Denodur hill, and also S. W. of Barasir in the Charvar range. At the former locality I also observed one or two species of Gallinula, and a small Porzana. On two occasions I saw i� the western part of Kachh what at the time I took for solitary specimens of Ciconia alba, and on one occasion a solitary Cic. n�rra. When crossing the Rann from Kachh to Pacham early in November, I noticed several swan's, but at too a great distance for it to be possible to form an idea as to the species the birds belonged to ; a large Curso1·ial bird was also rather common, but I could not get a shot at him.' It had the appearance of a gigantic Ohettusia, being about double the size of Ok. g1·ega1'ia1 and somewhat similar in coloration. 25G F. Stoliczka-Mammals and Birds inltabiting Kaalik. [No. 8, 971. Fuux* CRISTATA.. Not common. 975. PomcEPS MiN0R? = PrrILIPPENsrs, Bonn. = minor, var. /3., Gm. Very common. Wing 4 to 4·25; tarsus 1·8 to 1·4, mid toe with claw 2, bill at front 0·7 to 0·8, from gape 1·1 to 1·2 inch. 980. L.rnus (CJinorcocEPIIALus) llRUNICEPHA.LUs.t Not common, except along the coast and locally in the Rann. Th_e respective measurements of two specimens are: wing 12·3 and 13·4,_ tail 4·4 and 4·8 • tarsus 2 and 2·22; mid toe with claw l·G5 and 1·8; bill at front 1·3 and 1·5; from gape 2·2 and 2·6 inch. The iris is cho_colate brown, bill yellowish, black towards tip; feet yellowish brown. The qmlls are black; except towards the base, and beginning with the fourt!1 all have a small white tip, gradually increasing in extent on the succeedmg fe�thers. B_oth specimens, although somewhat small in size, �gree perfectly m c_ol01:�t10n, which does not appear to differ from the wmter plumage , of tlus bud, as usually recorded. 983. GELICIIELIDO:SNILOTICA, Hasselq., = angliaa, Mont. Local, and not common, except on or along the Rann. Average measure ments of three birds, with the loreal region blackish, the occiput and top of head ashy white, and the grey primaries externally tipped darker an bo:h webs : win"' 11·2 to 11·8 • tail 4·5 to 4·8.; tarsus 1·3 to 1·35; mid toe with claw 1 ·15; bill at front i •35 to 1 ·5 inch. Iris, feet and bill entirely black. 984. HYDROCIIELIDON INDICA.. . I saw a considerable number of these birds on the tanks m the Rann islands, Pacham and Kharir, but scarcely any on the tan�s. in Kachh proper. Iris and bill in, fresh specimens blackt ; feet blackish brown. 1005. GRA.CULUS CARDO. Not uncommon on the larger lakes. 1007. GR.A.CULUS (MICROCA.RBO) MELAN0GNA.TIIUS, Brandt. G. R. Gray (Handl., III, 129) gives javaniaus of Hor_sfield as _a syno nym of the above, but he allows niger, Vieillot, as a distmct species from 'S. Asia.' 1008. PLOl'US MELAN0GA.STER . I met with only solitary specimens of both this and the preceding species. * Fulix, Sundev., 1835 = Fuligula,, Seph., ex parte; vide G. R. Gray, Hand!., III, 86. . . t Goulc1 has besic1es this and riclib1mdus a new spe�ies, _named Tibeto.nus. :t In c1riec1 specimens the bill has distinctly a reclclrnh tmge. , 1872.J F. Stoliczka-Mammals and Bit-as inhabiting Kackk. 257 Postscri pt. While the preceding pages were passing through the press, I received from Dr. W. de Tatham at· Bh(tj a few additional specimens of mammals and tortoises, of which I had not been able to obtain examples at the time of my visit. 'Jlhey are:-,- . Ptm·opus 1nedius, mentioned at p. 228. The specimen sent. agrees in all essential points of sti-ucture and coloration with those from other parts of India ; it has a total length of about 11 ;5 inches, which is very nearly the length of the middle finger; the ears are 1·2 inch long and only 0·7 inch broad, while in other specimens foom India the ears generally have a greater breadth. Most of the Indian specimens also have a considerably longer middle finger. E1·inaaeus piatus, see p. 223. ·An adult specimen of this species is 6·5 inches long; in coloration it exactly agrees with the half grown one from which my description was taken, except that the lower belly is less brown, the white extending to nearly within .the interfemoral space, In the younger specimen the dentition is normal, agreeing ( according �o Owen's Comparative Anat. and Phys., III, P: 308) with that of E. eu1·op<.eus, the 3·3 l·l 8 3 8·3 for�ula being i. 3.3 + c. O·O + p. 2'2 + m. 3 3 = 86. The two anterior incisors are very far apart and have the form of canines of Oarnivora, the third on each side is very much larger than the second, which again is con siderably sm;iller in the upper than in the lower jaw. What is considered as a canine in the upper jaw, is by other Osteologists often accepted as .the first premolar. The true frst premolar in the upper jaw is smaller than the canine, the second premolar is minute, and in the adult specimen it is altogether absent, it has probably become obsolete; the last premolar is tricuspid in upper and bicuspid in lower jaw ; the formula of the adult 8·3 l·l 2'2 3·3 dentition would, therefore, appear to be 88 + o-o + 2"2 + 8.8 = 84, but there is a short space visible between the two premolars in the upper jaw, while the first premolar is very close to the canine. Of tortoises Dr. Tatham sent me a specimen of the Testuao, mentioned in my notice* on the Reptiles of Kachh ; it proved to be T. elegans, Schoef, as recorded by Gunther, or Peltastes ·stellatus, (Schweig.), according to Gray. (Suppl. to Cat. of Shield Rept., 1870, p. 8). The Emgrla referred to in the same notice is, Dr. Anderson informs me, * Proceedings for May, p. 72. By an error, I stated that the species, which was described to me by a native, is like T. Gmyi, which specific name should be Leithii of Gunther. 208 F. DiLy-Notca on ll'iskfrom I{aclik. [No. 8, most probably vittata of Peters. He sent a drawing of a middle-aged specimen to Prof. Peters, who says that there is Iio distinction traceable between the figure of the Kachh specimen and the type of vittata. The head, above, is spotted with dark, ancl the entire carapace is marked with very numerous irregularly radiating dark streaks. The granulation .:.of the carapace becomes apparent after the epidermis has dried up, in fresh specimens no trace of it is to be seen. Young specim�ns are rather flat, but in old ones the convexity of the carapace is very oonsiclorablo, aml the shell is somewhat depressed along the centre. The species is common both in rivers and tanks, and is often met with crawling from one pool of water to another ; I have seen specimens up to a length of 15 inches. One, recently received, has the carapace 10·5 inches long, and 7·7 broad across the abdomen; and the total height is nearly 3·5 inches. The, odd osseous antero-central plate of the sternum is broadly rounded, somewhat narrower in front than behind, 1·3 inch long and 1·5 inch broad; the two posterior plates form a suture, 2·3 inch long, they are perfectly unitecl, as in E. Oe!llonensis, which has a quite similar ooloration, and to which vittata is un�ted by Gray in Shield Hcpt., 1870, p. 117.