750 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX. 



the hot weather in the south and why ? ! and if they breed here. The month 

 of March is considered the most trying, so that they had survived the worst. 

 I turned up 15 or 16, but there must be more in other places near. 



G. W. GILES. 



Madras, 2bth July 1909. 



No, XII.— PINTAIL {DAFILA ACUTA) IN BALTISTAN IN JULY. 



On July 2nd I was encamped on the Shingo River which flows across the 

 Deosai Plateau, Baltistan. At about 8 p m. I was surprised to see a fine drake 

 Pintail in full plumage fly swiftly overhead up stream to a small marsh near 

 the river Is this not rather far south for this duck to breed ? as I suppose it 

 must be, here at this time of the year. My shikari, who also saw it, tells n e he 

 has often seen duck (though of course he does not know the species) on and 

 about the rivers and small jhils of this district, viz., Shemoskith Plains and 

 Deosai Plateau at this time and earlier. 



W. M. LOGAN HOME, Lt., 



112th Infantry. 

 BoRZiL, ON GiLGiT RoAD, ^th July 1909, 



No, XIII.— DUCK SHOOTING IN RAJPUTANA. 



The famous Bharatpur Jhil is about 2\ miles in length and is situated in the 

 middle of the forest preserve near the City of Bharatpur. It is filled at the end 

 of the rains by a canal from a large irrigation tank, and being very shallow and 

 covered with grass ferns and excellent feeding ground for duck. Usually it is 

 quite dry by the end of March, but this year White-eyed Pochard and Blue- 

 wing Teal were shot there as late as the 12th April. 



This year the birds have been usually abundant. The first arrivals noticed 

 were Blue-winged Teal on the 15th August. By the middle of September very 

 large flights of these Teal were to be seen on the Jhil. No shooting, however, 

 was allowed till the 3(ith November, and by this time the Blue-wing had dis- 

 appeared being replaced by the Common Teal. In the big shoots in November, 

 December and January very few Blue-wing Teal were killed. They re-appear- 

 ed in considerable numbers in February, and as noted above were shot in April. 

 The following notes of some of the bags obtained during the past cold 

 weather en this Jhil may prove of interest : — 



SOtli November 1908 2,237 (33 guns) 



12th December „ 1,085 (16 „ ) 



19lh February 11)09 603 (11 „ ) 



2nd March „ 582(12 „ ) 



The bag at the first shoot was a record for the Jhil both as regards total and 

 verage per gun, the former recoiding only 1970, 



