106 NATURAL HISTORY. 



The common and Demoiselle cranes do not touch fish or spawn. 

 and the large Saras crane, which is accused of doing so, is very 

 rare in the Decean and Khandesh- It is not likely that any 

 Plover can interfere much wilh fish or spawn, though I once 

 saw a common "Did ye do it" (Lobivanellus goensis) catch and 

 eat a small fish. It is, indeed, the only Plover which haunts the 

 waters of our present province in important numbers. Esacus 

 recurvirostris, the great Stoneplover, is found here and there in the 

 beds of large rivers, and perhaps may eat spawn, or even fry 

 occasionally, but its main dependence is on insects and Crustacea, 

 with a few shellfish. 



Of the Longirostres, the snipes and their allies we have, 

 though in no great numbers ; the "full" snipe, " painted Jack," 

 and " pin-tail" snipe ; the greenshank, ssveral sandpipers, and 

 stints ; curlews and whimbrels (both rare) and the stilt (Himantopus 

 candldus). This bird and its tribe would probably devour fish and 

 spawn, but I do not know of any positive evidence against them ; 

 and most of them can plead alibi here, being cold-weather visitors 

 only. The stilt and greenshank, though not very sporting birds, 

 are very good for the table. 



The coots, waterhens and rails are chiefly represented here by 

 the bald coot, the European waterhen, and the white-breasted 

 waterhen, Gallinula phamieura. The second of these is much ac- 

 cused in England of eating fish spawn ; the first nowhere, I think, 

 and the last seldom enters the water of its own accord, though 

 usually living near it. It is, in fact, a bird rather of the bank than 

 of the river, and I have shot one 20 miles from any bigger water 

 than a well. All three breed within this region. 



The next tribe, however, the Cultirostres : Storks, Ibises and 

 Herons are mostly very much dependent on the water. Their 

 chief, the Adjutant, can, indeed, do well enough without it. He is 

 rare in the Decean, much less so in Khandesh ; but he fishes rarely or 

 not at all. The fine black-necked stork (Mycteria anstralis) is 

 rare, and so are the black and the white stork ( Ckonia nigra and 

 alba), both of which are northern birds that hardly get so far south 

 as the Decean, even in the cold weather. Even the name of the 

 former is here appropriated by the resident white-necked stork 

 (Ciconia leucocephala), which breeds here in trees in the rains, and 

 is very common, foraging both on land and water, but chiefly on 

 the edge of the latter. It eats plenty of fish, still more frogs, 



