122 LITTLE NICOBAR AND PULO MILO 



cried, while, running up and down the branches, we saw, for 

 the first time, the Nicobar tupai or tree-shrew, a little insecti- 

 vorous animal, which, at a casual glance, might be taken for a 

 squirrel. They were very common ; but, unlike their repre- 

 sentatives in the Malay Peninsula, etc., which are ground animals, 

 we saw them only in the trees.* 



It was soon evident that we had no cause to regret not 

 having obtained more monkeys at Kachal, for here they 

 abounded ; and after discovering how common they were we 

 would cold-bloodedly arrange every morning as to who should 

 murder the specimen for the day. 



Here a new bird was added to the islands' fauna (and to 

 science) in the shape of a little Rhinomyias, quietly clothed in 

 dull-brown plumage, which frequented the undergrowth of dense 

 jungle and possessed a rather sweet note. 



A momentary glance of a pitta gave for a few days (until 

 we obtained a series of specimens) a fresh zest to collecting ; 

 this bird also was hitherto unrecorded from the locality, and 

 proved to be a new species, although closely resembling P. 

 cucullata. 



A short distance from the shore, some immense banian trees 

 grew so high that the pigeons and parrots which swarmed in 

 their branches for the fruit were often completely beyond 

 reach of the gun. The trees possessed, moreover, some wonderful 

 aereal roots (70 feet high), and, standing on the edge of an 

 open space within the jungle, offered an opportunity for photo- 

 graphy too good to be passed by. While the plate was being 

 exposed — an operation of some minutes — a diminutive pig, 

 bearing a striking resemblance to the Andaman species, trotted 

 out from the surrounding foliage and leisurely inspected the 

 camera. It was the first of the kind we had seen, and I had 

 to reproach myself with leaving my gun at the boat. 



* The tupai of Little Nicobar, which differs somewhat from that of 

 Great Nicobar — principally the light areas of the pelage are less yellow and 

 less contrasted with dark areas — is considered a sub-species by Mr Gerrit 

 D. Miller, who has named it Ttipaia nicobarica surda. 



