PAcenicoptems Minor. 33 



ranged in the shade from 100 to 108 degrees^ it is somewhat 

 dijESculfc to imagine what tempted them to remain in the lake- 

 bed dm-iug the fierce heat of the sun^ and what they found to 

 eat there. The stomachs of six of those which I examined were 

 filled with brownish sand mixed with a greenish watery sub- 

 stance. I could discover no traces of animal or vegetable life 

 mixed With the contents of the stomachs. From the 21st to 

 the 33rd of May, we had several severe storms accompanied by 

 rain, and for a day or two after this, I observed large flocks of 

 these birds flying about the lake. They again disappeared, but 

 on the 13th of June, I observed four of them flying overhead, and 

 the last time I observed them was on the 2nd of July, when I 

 saw only one fly overhead. It is somewhat remarkable that none 

 of these birds frequented the freshwater ponds or tanks which 

 exist in the neighbourhood of the lake. All these were care- 

 fully watched, but no birds ever visited them. Altogether seven 

 specimens of the bird were obtained, of which four were males. 

 The dimensions of the six birds which were measured varied a 

 good deal, as will be seen from the subjoined figures. 



" Dim.ensions. — Male; length, 33 to 34 inches; tail from vent, 

 4"5 to 4" 75 inches; expanse, 52 to 56-25 inches; wing, 13'5 

 to 13'75 inches; bill from gape to point straight, 3*5 to 3"6 

 inches ; tarsus, 8*5 to 9*25 inches. 



'' Female ; length, 30*25 to 30*5 inches ; tail from vent, 4 to 4' 5 

 inches; expanse, 50 to 52 inches; wing, 12*5 to 12-6 inches; bill 

 from gape straight, 3"1 to 3'6 inches ; tarsus, 7 to 8'4 inches." 



The first thing that strikes one is when and where do these 

 birds breed. The first bird which I obtained, was caught late in 

 December, or early in January. Mr. Adam saw specimens at 

 the end of January, in February, March, April, May, June, and 

 July, and Captain Fielden procured his specimens in July. They 

 occur, as I have ascertained, in Goojerat and in Sindh during the 

 early part of the hot weather, but only as stragglers. They are 

 well known, however, to the fishermen. During my visit to Sindh 

 I saw countless multitudes of Flamingoes, but only of the larger 

 species, but the boatmen themselves volunteered the information 

 that a much smaller bright-red bird of the same kind was seen 

 occasionally in the hot weather. In the Nujjufgurh Jheel, near 

 Delhi, my friend, Mr. Robert Blewitt, informs me that he has 

 occasionally seen a single specimen in the spring. Lastly, I 

 know of a single specimen having been killed in April out of a 

 huge flock of the common ones in a salt lake in the salt range 

 which lies between the Jhelum and the Indns, in the North- 

 West Punjab. It would seem, therefore, that the birds remain 

 with us from January to July ; and my impression is, from the 



