70 NATURAL HISTORY. 



the borders of the Shahabad and Mirzapore districts. He says the greater 

 portions of the bear's body was grey, and a light grey too. The Native Shikaris 

 called it a sufaid bhal. Unfortunately neither of these two bears was 

 secured. We have, however, ample proof of albinoism in " M.'s" lining cub 

 and the Midnapore skin. 



ON THE FLYING SQUIRREL OF WESTERN INDIA. 

 There is no doubt the flying squirrel of this Presidency is Pleromys Oral, 

 but the prevailing colour is grey, whereas Pteromys Oral is a dusky maroon 

 black grizzled with white. I am inclined to think that it is the same as 

 Pteromys cinceraceus, which is in all essential points identical with Pteromys 

 Oral. The Society lately received two living specimens from General WatsoD, 

 which were made over to me for examination. During the night they managed 

 to gnaw a hole through their cage, and escaped. One was re-captured, but the 

 other, I regret to say, has disappeared. Fortunately we retain the finer speci- 

 men. Wonderful stories are told concerning the flight of these animalp, 

 though flight is a misnomer. They cannot fly as birds and bats do : they 

 merely spring from a considerable height, and the extended skin between 

 their limbs acts as a parachute and floats them along, letting them down 

 easily. Thus they can skim over a space of 50 to 60 yards. Early on the 

 morning of their escape one was observed sitting on a cornice near a window 

 at the northern corner of the Currency Office, where I live. On a servant try- 

 ing to catch it sprang off in the direction of the Bombay Club and alighted near 

 the Club-door. The distance was sixty-nine paces. These animals are quite 

 nocturnal in their habits, sleeping all day rolled up in a ball with the head 

 tucked in between their fore legs and the tail coiled round the body. At night 

 they are very active. 



ON A SPECIES OF PIGMY SHREW. 

 I would call the attention of Naturalists to the existence of a Pigmy Shrew 

 in the low lands of this Presidency, as more specimens are wanted, and it is 

 possible that on such being found, they are thrown aside under the impression 

 that they are the young of the ordinary species of Musk-rat. The pigmy 

 Shrews are a dwarf race, generally found in the hilly parts of India, 

 Ceylon and Burmah, and they vary in size from 1£ to nearly two inches, 

 exclusive of tail, which is about another inch. They are true Shrews with all 

 the characteristics of the genus, and a Burmese species, Sorex nudipes, has the 

 musk glands strongly developed. The Society has received one lately from 

 Mr. Littledale, which he found at Baroda swimming about in a flower-pot 

 during the rains of 1884. He writes : " I kept it alive 3 or 4 days, giving 

 it crickets and flies. It liked to get under a bit of cotton wool, in the shade, 

 and used to make a sudden dash at the cricket if it came near, crunching its 

 back and hind legs first. It has not shrunk at all. It was mouse colour, 

 and the snout pale fleshy. The eyes seemed greyish blue." I have been 

 unable to determine the species as yet ; the nearest approach to it is Sorex 

 perroteii from the Nilgherries, but it does not agree in colour. S. perroteti 

 being blackish brown, whereas this is a pale inouss colour, rather silvery when 

 taken out of the spirit and dried. 



R. A. STERNDALE. 



