532 JOURNAL, BOMBA Y NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX. 



first for the future. I prefer to think that the latter has happened, that reason 

 has triumphed over instinct. Many of your readers will remember the case ot 

 the broken legged stray dog who was treated in a London hospital (between 

 twenty and thirty years ago, I think) and who subsequent to his discharge 

 therefrom reappeared one day at the hospital with a broken legged canine 

 friend. The incident gave rise to considerable discussion and correspondence 

 at the time under the head of " Reason or Instinct. " 



As regards Mr. Dewar's experience with his Babbler, undoubtedly the birds 

 did not reason correctly, but that they attempted to reason seems to me no 

 more unlikely than that Darwin's historical retriever did. Had the Babbler 

 been actuated only by instinct it surely would have gone on feeding its young, 

 the primary instinct of all creation to its progeny, I am only endeavouring to 

 give a possible explanation of the bird's behaviour and have no intention of 

 dogmatising. The train of thought may have been something like this,— 

 ^' Here's an intruder ! Better wait a bit and give him time to go on, before 

 I expose the whereabouts of the nest. I might try a little scolding too ; it is 

 so successful with mongooses, snakes, and other avian annoyances. He does 

 not seem to mind the scolding, and shows no disposition to move on, and 

 I simply cannot let the children starve, so I'll risk it." Up to this point it 

 appears to me that reason is a possible explanation. That the subsequent 

 action betokened a fault in the logic of the bird does not actually disprove the 

 previous attempts to reason. The babblers may have put down Mr. Dewar's 

 merciful restoration of their fledgling to " funk " induced by their threatenings 

 and scoldings, and have flattered themselves that a pursuance of their former 

 successful tactics was all that was required to save their young ! 



I am not suggesting all this so much with the view of attacking Mr. Dewar's 

 theories, as with the idea of defending my own. His may be the most likely 

 explanation, but it is not the only possible one. I had only wavered between 

 instinct and reason ; he has introduced a third explanation which might 

 almost be termed hysteria. 



ARUNDEL BEGBIE. 

 February 1909. Majuk. 



No. XVIII .—EXTENSION OF THB HABITAT OF THE 

 COMMON KUKRI SNAKE {SUfOTES ARNENSJS.) 



Through the courtesy of Major H. A. F. Magrath I have recently examined 

 two specimens — one adult, one very young — of Simoies arnensis from Bannu on 

 the North-West Frontier. Though this species is fairly common in the 

 Plains of Peninsular India up to the low foot hills of the Himalayas, it has only 

 once been reported outside the Oriental Region, a specimen from Deesa being in 

 the British Museum. Although it has never been reported from the Basin of 

 the Indus it must occur there, since it is now known to extend to the North- 

 West Frontier, this locality very largely increasing its previously known range 



