134 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV. 



agrees with the description of C. cclerio in Hampson's book, and is certainly 

 the moth labelled as " celerio " in the Society's collection. It is, except C. 

 theylia, about the commonest of the genus in the Poona District and in Guzerat. 

 5. Protoparce convolvuli. — In Poona, October 1898, I obtained 4 larvas 

 feeding on a species of wild convolvulus in which the ground colour was a dull 

 grey-green thickly covered with brown strigce : a broad lateral white line, the 

 oblique stripes indistinct. Head brown with black markings, horn shining 

 black above, yellowish below. Resulting pupa and imago typical " convol- 

 vuli." I also found the normal green form on the same food-plant in the 



neighbourhood. 



A. H. MOSSE, Lieut., I.S.C. 

 Sadea, December 1902. 



No. IV.— NUMBER OF EGGS OF THE DABOIA {VIPERA 



RUSSELLI). 

 On the 5th March last, at Mahisa, in the south of this Agency, I killed a 

 female daboia rather more than 4 feet in length which contained 55 eggs. I 

 opened several of them, but in none was there any trace of the embryo. 



I regret that I did not make fuller notes at the time, but so far as my re- 

 collection, goes, all except 3 or 4 of the eggs which 1 counted were fully formed. 

 In this part of Guzerat the local name for this snake is " Chitar." 



A. H. MOSSE, Lieut., I.S.C. 

 Sadra, Mahi Kantha, December 1902. 



No. V.— THE INCUBATION OF A CUCKOO'S EGG. 



At the end of August last year I found in Baroda a nest of the Large Bab- 

 bler containing 4 eggs of its own, and a fifth of the Pied Cuckoo (Coccystes 

 Jacobinus). When I blew these eggs the former proved to be comparatively 

 fresh, one of them, only, containing just a tinge of blood, whereas the 

 Cuckoo's egg seemed to have been sat upon much longer, the embryo being 

 considerably advanced towards development and the eye-balls formed. 



Now it is hardly likely that the intended foster-parents would take no notice 

 of an egg deposited in the nest before any of their own had been laid ; where- 

 fore it must be presumed, I think, that at least one or two of the Babbler's eggs 

 had been longer in the nest than that of the Cuckoo. The inference then is 

 that the Cuckoo's egg incubates more quickly. If this is so, the object may be 

 to enable the young Cuckoo to hatch before the others and either turn them 

 out or from its superior age and strength obtain more than its fair share 

 of food. Or the idea may be to give the Cuckoo a chance to make up for lost 

 time if its mother is late in depositing her egg in the nest. These may be fanci- 

 ful speculations on an isolated case, but I should very much lika to know 

 if anything of the kind has ;been noticed before ? I have not heard of a 



similar instance. 



A. H. MOSSE, Lieut., I.S.C, 



Assist. Political Agent, Mahi Kantha. 



Sauka, December 1902. 



