the Pink-headed Duck. 373 



somewhere else when made an object of special pursuit. In 

 default of this tiger we shot buffaloes^ deer^ Florikenj and 

 Partridges^ and shouted at hogs^ which were reserved for the 

 spear. Whilst going on I marked a small party of Pink- 

 headed Ducks into one of the pools I liaA^e described^ and 

 immediately told Jerdon that if he would leave the party and 

 come with me I thought I could get a nice shot at his 

 long-coveted birds. So we took four elephants and started. 



Of course^ with noisy splashing animals^ any approach to 

 Ducks was impossible; on the other hand the pool was full 

 of huge crocodiles. We could see them with our glasses. 

 However I agreed to go on foot^ the elephants to come to 

 me the moment the shots were fired. I passed through the 

 tall bamboo-grass in water deepening till it was nearly up 

 to my waist as 1 came to the edge, and found myself about 

 twenty yards from ten or a dozen of the Ducks. They were 

 not sitting close together, so I shot the finest with one barrel 

 and another as they rose, and I made off to the elephants 

 as hard as I could. 



Once safe on Behemoth I surveyed with Jerdon the sight, 

 familiar to every Indian ornithologist, but always enjoyable 

 and never to be forgotten, of the wonderful variety of bird- 

 life to be seen in a spot like this. The crocodiles just slowly 

 sank, with scarcely a ripple on the water. Various Rails ran 

 into the grass where the Purple Gallinules, which Jerdon 

 called Purple Coots, were making most wonderful noises. 

 Jacanas ran round and about on the broad lotus-leaves. 

 The lovely Hydrophasianus chirurgus flew mewing round the 

 pool. Two huge and graceful Sayrus Cranes rose from the 

 shallow end, where they had been in company with a large 

 flock of clumsy Pelicans, who flopped in long line slowly 

 away, perhaps towards the district of Rajshahye, where I 

 knew of a favourite roosting-place. A flock of Pigmy 

 Cotton-Teal flew rapidly round, uttering their peculiar notes. 

 A large flock of Whistling Teal made off" to the next pool. 

 The Long-necked Snake-birds, with their beautiful scapular 

 plumes, dropped quietly ofl" the branches of the hidgel trees, 

 dived, came up at a distance, shook themselves, and flew off 



