240 FIRST LIST OF THE BIRDS OF 



swimming about with the dead body, in his mouth. I took a shot 

 at the beast, and by a marvellous fluke hit him in the head with 

 a Snider bullet, when he disappeared. Six days after he was 

 found dead, and stranded on a chur 8 miles below where he was 

 shot, with the body still in his jaws ; his total length was 18 feet. 



Reptiles abound, and from the extent of paddy fields, bugs 

 and other nocturnal insects are in myriads. These insect 

 pests are so troublesome that during the rains the windows of 

 houses have to be closed, or with lights burning inside life would 

 be unbearable. 



All my birds were collected round about the Soodepore Than- 

 nah in the western part of the district. On a former occa- 

 sion I had seen all the eastern part of the district, but did not 

 secure any specimens from there ; and future observers will, 

 no doubt, be able to increase materially, perhaps nearly double, 

 the number of species included in this present list. 



I could not get a shikaree to shoot and collect eggs, &c, for 

 me, so had to do all this myself. Every bird has been measured 

 in the flesh according to the directions given in the Ornitho- 

 logical Collectors' Fade Mecum.* The birds were collected 

 between June 1877 and June 1878. Altogether 199 species have 

 been noticed. 



Of all the species, except those to which a star is prefixed, 

 specimens have been sent to, and identified by, the Editor. 



2.— *Otogyps calvus, Scop. 



Pretty common and a permanent resident. I have seen 

 about half a dozen nests, all of which were placed high up in 

 " peepul " trees. In one instance there was a nest of the next 

 species on the same tree with a pair of this bird. Both were 

 sitting in the nest and probably had eggs (23rd December 1877), 

 but as I was travelling I did not send my syce up. All birds met 

 with in March and April have the naked skin of the head a dusky 

 purple ; these and the next species may often be seen feeding on 

 the same carcase. 



5.— *Gyps bengalensis, Lath. 



Excessively common. They are to be found about their nests 

 from December to March. I have seen fully-fledged young 

 in a nest in the first week in March. The nests are gene- 

 rally placed on Peepul trees, but even the toddy palm tree is 

 sometimes chosen. One nest, which I saw in the Bhootan Dooars, 

 was placed in the fork of a main branch of some jungly tree and 



* When I say " Bill at front" I mean from margin of feathers, not from frontal 

 bone to tip. 



