AVIFAUNA OF THE DECCAN. 71 



delicate manner, others packed as closely and nicely, as if some 

 tidy neat sort of devil had attempted to pack them in the small- 

 est possible space ! 



These rugged masses are all more or less covered with scrub 

 jungle, whilst the valleys are tolerably well wooded aud watered, 

 and we are convinced that a more thorough search through 

 this rauge would add largely to our list of birds. The jungles 

 contain a few tigers and bears, numerous panthers and a sprink- 

 ling of sambur and cheetul, and on the plains we have seen a few 

 herds of black buck and chinkara. But it is heart-breaking 

 work hunting them ; bruin and his feline friends are pretty 

 secure in the thousands of dens, afforded by the tossed-up 

 granite, and the deer tribe is scarce at the best. 



The temperature increases as we leave Poona, journeying 

 south until it is as hot at Raichore as in the central Provinces, 

 without the advantage of any bracing cold season. The rainfall 

 varies but little between Poona and Raichore. The average fall 

 for a period of 8 years was as follows : — 



Barsi ... ... ... 2562. 



Mareh ... ... ... 20'47. 



Sholapoor ... ... ... 23-49. 



Pundharpur ... ... ... 17-86. 



Beyond Sholapoor, we have no records, but experience teaches 

 us that the fall between that station and Raichore ranges between 

 20 and 25 inches. At Indapur, a taluka in the Sholapoor 

 Collectorate, the average for 7 years, from 1866 to 1872 is given 

 as 1659", but for five years, 1862 to 1867, the average is said to 

 have been only 5'85 v . "Where, in our list we have used the term 

 collectorate, we allude to Sholapoor. The taluka of Sholapoor 

 does not deserve any very special mention. Its general ap- 

 pearance is similar to that which we have endeavoured to des- 

 cribe as existing between Poona and Goolburga. The Revenue 

 Commissioner's report says of this taluka : u Its chief feature is 

 the Ekrook Tank, formed by damming up a valley three miles 

 north of the city of Sholapoor. Three aqueducts sally forth from 

 this magnificent reservoir, carrying prosperity to the more en- 

 lightened of the cultivators who, leaving the groove of their 

 forefathers, pay for water wherewith to irrigate their fields." 

 Next to the fact that their fathers had not used water, their 

 greatest objection to it is that it is too cold! Then in the station 

 of Sholapoor itself there are two fine tanks which seldom or ever 

 dry up. One under the Avails of the noble old fort, and one in 

 "camp/' and there is the Motee Bagb, a perfect oasis in the 

 desert, with a magnificent grove of trees, its " Lily Tank " and 

 a nullah which flows during the hottest seasons. It was in this 

 place that we collected some of our rarest migrants. 



