^ miscellam:ous notes. iry^ 



Ft. ins. 

 African Open-bill, Anastomua laynpllif/erux, Abu, Zeit, Sudan, 



March 1900.. 4 9 



Brahminy Kite, Maliastur indus, Harrowali, India, Doc. 1894 . . 4 1 



Do. do. On Ganges, do. do. . . 4 1 



GizA, EfiYPT. S. S. FLOWEll, Capt. 



13th December 1917. 



No. XIV.— CAPTURING TIGERS WITH BIRD-LIME. 



At page 493, Vol. XXV of our Journal, there is a note by Colonel 

 Burton on the method of capturing tigers with hay smeared with 

 " glue," in the days of the Emperor Akbar. Ho enquires whether the 

 plan is practical. 



Whether practical or not, the practice seems to have survived in the 

 Central Provinces. In 1890-91, 1 was stationed at Sambalpur in the 

 Chattisghar division of that province, and was told that the jungle people 

 there were in the habit of getting at tigers by laying down leaves smeared 

 with bird-lime on paths frequented by the tiger they were after. It was 

 mostly in the hot weather they did this in the neighbourhood of water pools, 

 but probably thej^ did it round a kill as well. 



They told me that the tiger was annoyed by the leaves sticking to his 

 paws, and tried to rub the leaves oft' on his head. The leaves then stuck 

 to the face in such numbers as to blind the tiger, which could with safety 

 be approached and speared, while in this helpless state. 



W. B. BANNERMAN, 



Surgeon-General, I. M.S. 

 Madras, 13^^ March 1918. 



Xo. XV.— OXAN UNDESCRIBED COLOUR VARIETY OF THE 

 SNAKE {ZAOCYSMUCOSUS) FROM THE CENTRAL PROVINCES. 



This snake, which I am inclined to regard in the light of an albino, 

 difl'ers from the usual colours displayed by the species and forcibly brings 

 to mind the variety atriceps of Zamenis diadcma. 



Dorsally the prevailing hue is a very pale brown, slightly darker poste- 

 riorly and on the top of the head ; but paler, almo.st whitish anteriorly, and 

 at first sight I took it to be an exceedingly pale coloured Z.fai^ciolatus. 

 The under parts are white or pinkish white and practically without mark- 

 ings, though in some places the scales are somewhat clouded in the centre 

 with paler margins. The line of demarcation between the pale brown of 

 the upper parts and the white of the under parts is fairly even anteriorly 

 but posteriorly it becomes very irregular and follows the margins of the 

 scales. The tip of the snout from the prtefrontals is intensely white and in 

 strong contrast with the brown of the head. Several dark brown patches 

 are disposed irregularly along the dorsum and sides of the body. Most of 

 these patches are small, covering, sometimes part of a scale only, sometimes 

 the complete scale, or a group of scales. The largest patch covers a group 

 of about 21 scales. In addition to these patches of colour there are 

 red patches also irregularly disposed, though fewer in number than the 

 brown. In most cases the red colour is distributed over but a single 

 scale. 



Half of a ventral and a group of three subcaudals are also red. 

 30 



