212 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XII. 



time I had two yonng hunting cheetahs loose m the compound and was afraid 

 they might bring the little strangers to grief, and as the latter were only mine 

 on trust, I thought it safer to keep them in a spare room, where they seemed 

 quite happy. Before they left for Calcutta they got to know me and my wife 

 quite well and whenever we walked past the window or opened the door 

 they would run up to greet us and see if we had anything to give them, 

 their dainty little feet clicking like small castanets along the cemented floor. 

 They arrived safely at the Calcutta Zoo, but I am grieved to hear from the 

 Secretary that after thriving there for 5 months they succumbed to the 

 climate, as did the several other specimens of Somali Mammalia that I sent 

 at the same time. Two Giant Tortoises are the only present survivors of 

 the shipment. 



P. Z. COX, CArx. 

 Bakoda, August, 1898. 



No. III.— SOME NOTES ON THE NARCONDAM HORNBILL, ETC. 

 ( RHYTIDOCEROS NARCONDAMI). 



During one of our cruises round the Andaman Islands with the present 

 Chief Commissioner, that gentleman expressed a wish to go to the Island of 

 Narcondam with the object of seeing the island, and also to obtain some 

 specimens of the Hornbills {^Rhytidoceros narconclami) which are found there 

 and which a-re quite distinct from any of the Hornbills of India ; the only 

 specimens recorded up to now having been a pair obtained on the island by 

 Mr. Hume as far back as 1873. The Island of Narcondam is quite isolated 

 from the Andaman Islands, and is in a direct line between Port Blair and Ran- 

 goon. It is 140 miles from Port Blair, and although some authorities have 

 stated that it is an extinct volcano, it has since been proved that the island is 

 not volcanic, and it is supposed that the above authorities confused it with 

 Barren Island, which Is about 75 miles further south, and which is a distinct 

 volcano. The highest part of Narcondam Island is 2,330 feet above the sea- 

 level, and as there is very deep water close up to the shore, it does not 

 provide any anchorage for ships, with the exception of a very small and 

 unsafe anchorage. to the north-west of the island. It is only on the rarest 

 occasions that :landing is possible on this island, as the seas break heavily 

 even in a light breeze. This difficulty of landing, and the fact of the island 

 being so isolated, has probably been the reason that the Narcondam Hornbill 

 is so rare a bird. No mercantile steamers ever call at the island ; men-of-war 

 seldom go near it ; and the Indian Marine station ships at Port Blair only 

 visit it once a year. 



We proceeded to the eastern side of the island, and as we were unable to 

 anchor, the ship was taken in as close as possible, and our party, consisting of 



