THE BIRDS OF A DROUGHT. 67 



803. — Pavo cristatus. — Like the blue pigeon this species is 

 sacred in Rajpootana and never shot, and in some parts it 

 swarms to a degree almost incredible. Here, despite of drought 

 and famine, a few were still to be seen. 



822. — Ortygornis ponticeriana. 837. — Honiara macqueeni; 

 very scarce. 840. — Cursorius coromandelicus. 840 bis. — 

 Cur sorius g alliens ; a few of each. 



To these I must add one species, which, although a shore bird, 

 deserves special mention. 



About every hamlet one or more pairs of 855. — Lobivanellus 

 indicus were to be observed. In normal seasons there is out- 

 side each village one or more tiny ponds, at which the cattle 

 drink, and it is on the banks of these that L. indicus is then 

 as a rule to be found. But at the time I refer to, not one of 

 these contained, or had contained for the last nine months, one 

 drop of water. 



Strange to say the Lapwings had taken up their quarters 

 like the mad men of old (and mad they must have been to 

 cling to such a place as Jodhpo^r was when I was there) ; 

 " amongst the tombs/' Outside each village is a bovine Golgotha 

 to which all the carcases of the cattle that die are, after beinc 

 skinned, dragged, firstly apparently to ensure a pleasant smell 

 (from a native point of view) in the suburbs, and, secondly, for 

 the delectation of the village dogs, the jackals and vultures. 

 Now at this time of drought it was invariably amongst the 

 skeletons, generally inside the ribs of some hapless and recently 

 deceased bullock, that I found L. indicus, (a veritable diso-race, 

 as I remarked to several of them, to their genus) feedino- on 

 fly maggots, and small fragments of putrid flesh. 



Of shore and water birds we procured the following at the 

 small tanks and reservoirs above alluded to: — 



848. — JEgialitis cantianus. 849. — jEgialitis curonicus. 871— 

 Gallinago scolopacinus. 88A.—»Tringa minuta. 894. — Totanus 

 glottis. 897. — Totanus calidris. 898. — Himantopus candidus. 

 899. — Recurvirostra avocetta. 903. — Fidica atra. 917. — Xenor- 

 hynckus asiaticus. 923. — Ardea cinerea. 930. — Ardeola grayi ; 

 937. — Platalea lemorodia. 957. — Spatula clypeata. 958. — Anas 

 boschas. 959. — Anas poecilorhyncha. 961. — Chaulelasmus stre- 

 perus. 964. — Querquedida crecca. 967. — Fuligula rufina. 

 975. — Podiceps minor. 1,005. — Phalacrocorax carlo. 



Now, of course, this must not be supposed to exhaust the 

 avifauna of the environs of Jodhpoor, in ordinary years, but it 

 does, I believe, absolutely exhaust the avifauna of the 250 to 

 260 square miles of country that we worked, at this particular 

 season of drought, aud I may add that, from what I saw in 



