370 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVI. 



I sent 5 specimens (3 red and 2 yellow) to Mr. E. P. Stebbing, F. E. S., who 

 confirmed the identification, so there is no error as to the species. 



CECIL E. C. FISCHER, I.F.S. 

 Chatrapur, Ganjam District, 

 January bth, 1905. 



No. XI— THE HABITS OF THE LEAF BUTTERFLY. 



The Resting Position of Kallima. 



In Mr. Aitken's note on " The Enemies of Butterflies " (Journal, Bombay 

 Natural History Society, Vol. XVI, No. 1, p. 157) is the following passage : — 

 " Kallima, when at rest on the trunk of a tree, always turns its head down- 

 wards, though this somewhat spoils its resemblance to a leaf." The author 

 goes on to suggest that this position is assumed for the purpose of facing an 

 enemy that may be ascending the trunk. He adds that the principal enemies 

 would be lizards. 



I cannot help thinking that Mr. Aitken is mistaken — both in his estimate of 

 the resemblance and in his explanation of the position adopted by this butterfly. 



I maintain that the inverted position of the butterfly by no means detracts 

 from its resemblance to a leaf. The colouration and pattern of the underside 

 of Kallima is such as to very closely simulate a dead leaf. Dead leaves do not 

 naturally retain an erect position: nor do leaves— living or dead' — commonly 

 grow direct from the trunk of a tree. But it is no unusual thing to see a with- 

 ered leaf arrested in its fall and accidentally attached to a tree-trunk by the 

 strands of some spider's web. It is just such a semi-detached leaf that Kallima 

 resembles when resting in its customary position. To add to the deceptive 

 appearance, the butterfly sways itself slowly from side to side, just as a 

 detached leaf would be moved by a current of air. 



As for the idea that a lizard would necessarily approach its prey from below, 

 it seems to me that a tree-haunting lizard is just as likely to attack from above 

 or from one side. The direction will depend entirely upon the relative position 

 of the lizard and the butterfly at the time. Lizards of the genus Calotes (sys- 

 tematic butterfly-eaters) generally affect the extremity of a spray or end of a 

 branch. When they do take up a position on the trunk of a tree, it is usually an 

 inverted position, like that of the Kallima itself. A Gecko, seeing a large insect 

 pitch on the trunk, would probably gain the level from the opposite side of the 

 tree, then stalk its prey round the corner. 



E. ERNEST GREEN. 



Peradeniya, 



Ceylon, IQth January, 1905. 



No. XII— BREEDING SEASONS OF BIG GAME IN INDIA. 



Having read with interest Mr. Comber's note No. XXV in the last issue of 

 the Journal, I beg to bring to your notice a few facta which have come to 

 my notice during the Christmas holidays and to make the suggestion that if a 



