MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 995 



No. XXIII.— OCCURRENCE OF THE LESTER FLORICAN OR 

 LIKH (SiPUEOTlS A URITA) OUT OF SEASON. 



On reading Miscellaneous Note (XII) in Volume XIX, No. 1, of the Society's 

 Journal, I have been led to record this note about the occurrence of florican, 

 which, I did not at first think worth mentioning, as there is nothing very un. 

 usual in finding florican — stragglers of course — at other times than in the rains. 



Last year I stopped at Wadhwan in Kathiavad on my way to Mahableshvar 

 and on the Ist November Mr. Strip, the Principal of the Girasia School, 

 Wadhwan, very kindly took me out black-buck shooting. I was stalking a 

 Chinkara- which had sat down in a cotton field and could not be seen and, 

 was walking alongside a bnllock-cart going in the usual narmwing circle, while 

 my son Vijayarajji was walking through the next cotton field. Just as he got 

 to the end of the field, to a patch of long green grass growing in a little 

 depression in the ground, he put up three florican, a female and two young 

 birds. We marked them down where they settled and then, with some beat- 

 ers, walked very carefully several times over this ground, but the florican 

 would not get up again. On returning to the spot where the birds had been 

 flushed originally, I put up the female again and shot it but could not find the 

 two smaller birds anywhere. We therefore gave up the search for them and 

 went on after black-buck. After going about three miles we came across 

 another florican, also a young bird, which I got, so that we saw on that day 

 four florican and bagged two. 



I shot also a female florican at Kas in the Satara district on the 21st 

 November 19<)8 quite close to the Kas Buiigalow oveilookirig the Lake. 



When florican are met without of season, tht-y are generally taktn to be 

 females. This, I think, is due to the change in the plumage of the cock birds, 

 which exactly resembles that of the hens, when the cocks have cast oif their 

 wedding co-tume, which they only put on m the breeding season. 



Bhuj, 2:></t Seple'iiber lb'09. R. K. 



No. XXIV.— LATE BREEDING OF THE INDIAN LITTLE 



GREBE {PODICJFES ALBIPI NMS). 



To-day I took a nest of the Indian Little Grebe which contained four 



perfectly fresh eggs. The female which was on the n<'st was in breeding 



plumage but other birds in the same piece of water had assumed the cold 



weather garb. 



CHAS. M. INGLIS. 



Bagdownie Factory, Laheria Serai P.O., 



23r(Z Gcto.tr 1909. 



* •' Chinktirii" ( T'^'^.Kl ) is I be.ieve a misnomer for " ( hhinkani ' ( lis'^in ) as the 

 little (jazelle is called in iLese pans, the latter name being derived from the sneeze like 



sound which it liters wiien alarmed; 'chLink" ( 115^ ) meanin;; a sneeze. It is also 

 caled •* Kul puncbhii Haran " or black- tailed deer and "llatadia Haran '* or red deer on 

 accoaot of its fawn colour. 



