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MANUAL OF THE NILAGIPJ DISTRICT. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

 ZOOLOGY. 



PART I.— MAMMALS, BIRDS AND FISHES. 

 PART II.— LIZARDS, SNAKES AND FROGS. 

 PART III.— LAND AND FRESH-WATER SHELLS. 



Zoology. 

 General. 



PART I. 



Mammals, Birds and Fishes. 



{By Surgeon-Major G. Bidie, m.b., Supt. of the Central Museum, Madras.) 



General. — Mammals. — Birds. — Fishes. — Introduction of Fish from low country 

 and from England. 



CHAP. VIII, There has never been any attempt to give a complete description 

 PART I. of the fauna of the Nilagiris/ such as was drawn up by the late 

 Dr. Wight on the flora of this region. Indeed, the only available 

 information on the subject consists of scattered notices in various 

 general works, such as those of Jerdon, and these have reference 

 chiefly to mammals and birds. As regards the reptiles and fish of 

 the Blue Mountains not much is known, but there is even less 

 recorded regarding the molluscs and hardly anything at all with 

 reference to the rich insect fauna. There is not, therefore, much 

 to be learned from books regarding the zoology of the Nilagiris, 

 but fortunately there are in the Madras Museum a fair collection of 

 birds from the district and specimens of the more remarkable 

 mammals, together with a few reptiles and fish. These and the 

 incidental notices already referred to have therefore supplied 

 material for the present memoir. 



Mammals. 

 — Monkeys. 



MAMMALS.^ 



Monheys. — The most common and best known of this family 

 on the hills is the Nilagiri langur, Preshytis juhatus of Jerdon, 

 which inhabits retired sholas on the upper parts of the slopes and 

 never descends to low elevations. It is covered throughout with 

 a black glossy fur, except on the head and nape which have long 



^ Many interesting notes on the habits of wild animals on the Hilla will be 

 found in " Game, by Hawkeye." Ootacamand, 1876. — Ed. 



- For facility of reference, the nomenclature of Jerdou has been used in the 

 notices and lists of mammals and birds. 



