MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. hTr 



A single, shivering, helpless, little kitten was the sole occupant of the nest, 

 and no parent could be found in the immediate vicinity though searched for. 

 One could not refrain from marvelling at the extreme helplessness of a crea- 

 ture brought into the world like this. The eyes were open. I argue from the 

 well beaten-down tracks and lair that the kitten had been born some days, and 

 vet beyond exerting its claws, and making feeble attempts to stick them into my 

 hands as I carried it, it was quite powerless to offer resistance, or make an 

 attempt at scape. 



I brought it home with me, and as it was unable to lap, have had it fed with 

 a spoon, and am pleased to find it thriving well. It very soon took kindly to its 

 altered conditions of life, and now follows the servants about the house and 

 allows itself to be handled by anyone without fear or remonstrance, — in fact has 

 become quite a welcome addition to the household. It utters a rather piercing 

 monosyllabic cry reminding one closely of the call of a chick much accentuated.. 

 I notice Blanford in the Mammalian Volume of " the Fauna of British India " 

 makes no mention of the young of this species. 



I am surprised to notice in this connection that no mention of the state of 

 the eyes at birth of the Felidas is made in Blanford's work on Mammalia, nor 

 is any allusion to this made in an excellent article on the Felidse in Chambers' 

 Encyclopaedia. 



F. WALL, Captain, I. M. S. 

 Cannanore, 2ith November 1903. 



No. XV —THE MANIPUR BUSH-QUAIL, OR HUME'S BUSH-QUAIL 

 (MICROPERDIX MAN1PURENS1S), 



The specimen mentioned by Oates and by Blanford (Fauna of British India, 

 Vol. IV, pages 122-3) is evidently the quail shot by me in the cold weather of 

 1885-86 at Alipur Duar. 



On more than one occasion I put up a couple of quail when tracking a tiger 

 in long grass, and realized that they were new to me. The male was a lovely 

 little bird, resembling a miniature black partridge it seemed to me, and both 

 birds had a habit of flinging themselves headlong into the tall grass, in an ap- 

 parently reckless manner, possibly with the object of forcing away to the ground 

 through the grass. After I had got the tiger, I went after the quail. I missed 

 the male, but dropped the hen bird, I could not get the cock to rise again 

 and feared I had wounded him. 



I sent the skin to Mr. Wood Mason, who was unable to identify it, but agreed 

 with me that it was a bird not mentioned in " Hume and Marshall's " book. 

 He told me he had sent the specimen home to Mr. Bowdler Sharp, of the 

 British Museum. 



The birds lived within a mile or so of the Rest House, and were found in the 



long grass to the north-east of the Sub-Divisional Officer's house. I heard 



nothing more about my specimen, and could get no trace of it until I read the 



description in Oates' book. As the bird is so rare I think you may consider it 



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