114 KACHAL AND OTHER ISLANDS 



ately lost their balance and fell off. The feet, although very- 

 large and strong, are not adapted for grasping, and the tail 

 is far too short to be of any use as a balance. 



Several birds seem to occur somewhat locally : it was on 

 this side of the bay only that we obtained Spilornis minivms, 

 while the little forest hawk seemed confined to the northern 

 shore. 



We were unable to reach the hills in the centre of the island 

 from the harbour, as the swamp at its head stretches out long 

 arms to right and left, cutting off the land bordering the coast 

 from the interior. 



Kachal is the most northerly of the Nicobars in which monkeys 

 are present, and, taking into account the scarcity of other 

 mammalian fauna and the absence of this genus from the 

 Andamans, it seems certain that they have been introduced. 

 Their non - occurrence in Tilanchong — an island eminently 

 suited to their requirements — goes to bear out this statement ; 

 for, so far as we know, it has never been permanently inhabited, 

 and thus, unlike the other islands, offers no reason for monkeys 

 being brought there. 



The people of 01-kolo-kwak told us these animals were 

 very numerous in the jungle round the village, but several 

 days passed before we met with them. On the first occasion, 

 we each obtained a specimen from the same herd. They turned 

 out to be macaques — one was a fine old male, weighing 21 lbs., 

 an unusually large size — with fur so dark as to be almost 

 black, but greyish-white on the under parts. Having regard 

 to the colour, the species has since been named Macaais 

 unibrosus. 



We saw them only once again, and then I found myself 

 within a few yards of an immense male who was on the ground. 

 My cartridge missed fire, and, immediately the click of the 

 falling hammer caught his ear, he bolted. This proved to be 

 our last chance of obtaining another example from Kachal. 

 That one always loses the best specimens, is proverbial : this 

 monkey was the biggest macaque I had ever seen. 



