Bakloh Aviary 'Notes, 191 6. 283 



doing foi me. as I was just crawling after a bad go of fever, 

 and a snake has not tlic most soothing effect on me at the 

 best of times. But I got it! Honestly, D.R. would never 

 have done it even if he'd seen it. 



(Note: D.R. would certainly never have seen it, though 

 the birds give away the presence off a, snake in a most unmis- 

 takeable way, and of course the young Chasts' at least would 

 have vanished. My wife's " usual " consists of putting the 

 muzzle of the gun into the snake hole and pulling the trigger, 

 a most dangerous game. She's done this several times before 

 and about which I've spoken to her, apparently without effect. 

 This snake was evidently a dhamin (rat snake), and harmless 

 as regards poison, the others were very deadly snakes, Rus- 

 sell's V'ipers, and one willingly takes a risk if one tinds them 

 close to the house. Even the wriggling of a worm makes my 

 wife uneasy, so I don't wonder at her bolting after hnishing 

 the job.— G. A. P.) 



The birds seem to have survived the snake fight all 

 right, but every bird has shrieked for an hotir and the nurs- 

 ing mothers had hysterics, and it's just pandemonium ; my legs 

 arc water and my bead's going round like a teetotum. Hope you 

 can read this. I'm sitting out with the birds (ought to have 

 been in bed. — G.A.P.) and have given some soothing meal- 

 worms, and things are gradually quietening down. The P. 

 Chats will nest again; I fancy, at least the lady intends to, 

 ek dun: (at once if not sooner), hope she won't stop feeding, 

 the cock seems more intent on going on feeding. 



June 28th. — Two young P. Chats quite well, being fed 

 so fai. Only i youngi and i 0,%%, in Tailor Birds' nest, there 

 were 2 young on 24th, no trace of corpse, but I was rather 

 shaky and grass was long I D.R. reports one Red-billed 

 Babbler missing in far aviary, suggests snake, don't believe 

 it (nor do I, a snake takes some time to catch a bird by 

 daylight unless in a box. — G.A.P.) 



^ June 29th. — Saw long grass snake in far aviary at 6 



p.m., an hour at which it is hard to find servants. W'e had 

 a thorougli search without any result. This was a real one, 



