70 SPOLIA ZBYLANICA. 



9. Notes on the Food of the Jackal {" Canis aureus ") and that of 

 the Talagoya {"Varamis bengalensis''). — ^During the inspection of 

 Lake Tamblegam in August last a jackal was shot in the jungle on 

 the shore of the lake, about 2 miles from Niroddumunai, along the 

 Trincomalee road. Its stomach was distended with what turned 

 out to be a huge mass of winged termites. This mass was taken, 

 at first, to be a quantity of weed, and was deposited in the compound 

 as such, but on examining it when dry it was seen to be nothing but 

 termites. There had been a lot of rain two or three days previously, 

 and numbers of termites were to be seen flying about in consequence. 



A specimen of Varanus bengalensis was captured and opened. Its 

 stomach contained a large quantity of scorpion-spiders, termites, 

 and a single black scorpion of rather small dimensions. There were 

 a number of nematodes in the gut. q YI HENRY 



10. Spur Fowls breeding in Captivity. — There appears to have 

 been a little surprise among a few persons who are interested in 

 keeping birds that I should have been able to keep a pair of 

 spur fowls in captivity for over three years, and further, that they 

 should breed in captivity. Some letters appeared in the " Ceylon 

 Independent " about this, and I think the circumstances are of 

 sufficient interest to be put on record in Spolia Zeylanica. 



The birds were given to me by Mr. L. B. Goonatilleke of Wattala 

 over three years ago (since the letters appeared in the papers I 

 have seen Mr. Goonatilleke, and he tells me it is more than four 

 years ago). As I had no exact dates I put three years, knowing 

 I had had them over that time. The hen bird has laid three eggs 

 in all — ^the first egg I took no notice of ; the second egg I put under 

 a bantam fowl to hatch , and this was killed by the hen when partly 

 out of the shell ; the third egg was laid about seven or eight days 

 before the hen sat. This was hatched out, and the chicken lived 

 five days, when it unfortunately got into a tin of water and was 

 drowned. The birds have been caged up in a place 4 feet by 2 

 feet on sandy ground. I have never once cleaned them out, and I 

 attribute this in some measure to the birds getting their natural 

 food from under the garden weeds, mixed up as they are with mixed 

 canary seed and paddy. I think the whole place must be alive with 

 small insects. j^ STEVENTON. 



Note. — I have made inquiries and find that no one seems to know 

 of any instances of spur fowls breeding in captivity. Mr. Fernando, 

 the Museum Taxidermist, says : " We had a pair of these birds in the 

 Museum aviary for over two and a half years , and they were very 

 tame. I have seen the pair courting, and very likely eggs would 

 have been laid had it not been that a rusty spotted cat got in and 

 killed the hen bird and three teal. The male bird died a few days 

 later." This particular rusty spotted cat now helps to adorn the 

 Mammalian Oallf^ry of the Museum !— [EdI 



