538 ANNUAL EEPOET SMITHSONIAN" INSTITUTION, 19 2 8 



tures in which they were the assailants, I am inclined to believe that 

 with ordinary precautions one may approach them without danger 

 either from the shores of a tidal river or, more intimatel}^, in a boat 

 launched on any of their haunts in the larger tanks. In the estuaries 

 of the low country one commonly finds the Indian crocodile {Crocodi- 

 lus porosus). Some individuals of this species attain a length of 

 16 feet, or more. The full-grown Marsh crocodile {C. palustris) 

 is rarely seen of greater length than 13 or 14 feet, and it is found 

 almost exclusively in the fresh water tanks of the central and north- 

 ern Provinces. 



Although the Indian crocodile will undoubtedly attack human 

 beings if driven by hunger, yet both species have learned to respect 

 the man with the gun, and are likely to sink below water and swim 

 silently away at his approach. 



At Giant's Tank — an immense artificial lake or irrigation reser- 

 voir covering more than a hundred square miles and built five cen- 

 turies ago by a Sinhalese king — ^I spent several days studying the 

 aquatic and shore life of that marvelous construction. It was in- 

 fested by thousands of crocodiles, most of them C. palustris, although 

 I remarked some of the apparently larger examples of the Indian 

 species that may have wandered in from the Gulf of Manaar close by. 

 They lived on the waterfowl, tortoises, fish, etc., that abound in the 

 waters of this great tank. 



Constant warfare is w^aged on these saurians, partly because they 

 form a good target for "sportsmen" (who rarely kill them by a 

 singje shot), partly for their skins, and to some extent because 

 they are " vermin," preying on dogs and other domestic animals 

 that bathe or swim in waters frequented by the reptiles. Hunters 

 claim that fowl shot and falling into the water are likely to be seized 

 and devoured by crocodiles. 



One day, while studying the biology of the lovejy jungle about the 

 Minneriya (or Minery) Tank — one of the largest artificial lakes in 

 Ceylon — I was told by a first-hand observer that quite recently a 

 planter, out shooting in a boat, lost a valuable retriever who with 

 a duck in his mouth was seized, dragged beneath the waters of the 

 lake, and never seen again. 



In times of drought the smaller tanks often become dry, and 

 then the Marsh crocodile leaves his usual dwelling and wanders 

 over the country in search of water or mud, in which he may 

 immerse himself untij the coming of the rains. This fact explains 

 the discovery of individual saurians sometimes miles away from 

 the nearest water tank. 



The larger tanks are the resort of many birds that are not exclu- 

 sively aquatic. One of the most interesting of these is the Indian 

 pied kingfisher. His activities may well occupy one's attention for 



