104 Contributions to the Ondtkology of India, 8fe; 



very pale on the rumps. This and suhsoccata (which appfear^- 

 to me to be a very doubtful species) are the only true sand- 

 martins 1 have yet procured in India. 



The almost entire absence of the small plovers on these rivers^ 

 surprises me. Of the larg-e Esacus recurvirostris , I saw two 

 parties today^ one of about seven^ the other of at least ten birds, 

 but they have hitherto been rare^ and of Hoplopierns malahari- 

 CHS, so very abundant on the Jumna and Ganges in the North- 

 West Provinces, I have not yet seen a sing-le specimen. 



'ind. — Reached Shere Shah, the port (if 1 may \ise the phrase) 

 of Mooltan, early in the morning-. Onty one train goes in daily, 

 so drove into Mooltan 14 miles. En route noticed two Saxicola 

 Kingi, always distinguishable by the rufous tail, in the fallow 

 fields. 



?)rd and ^fJi. — Hemained at Mooltan. Yisited the fort and the 

 shrines of Rookun Alum and Bhawul Huq. The latter wa& 

 rebuilt by us after the siege of Mooltan which followed on the 

 murder of Vans Agnew and Anderson, by Moolraj. It had been, 

 selected by Moolraj as a magazine ; a chance shell of ours blew 

 it up, and this so discouraged the enemy, who thought it a proof 

 of our excellence in gunnery, that the siege was virtually over 

 from that time. As Moolraj and party, the offenders, were Sikhs, 

 while the shrine was a Mahomedan one, we rebuilt it. Neither 

 possesses any architectural merits, but the Rookun Alum is plenti- 

 fully adorned with highly glazed encaustic tiles and slabs, 

 which have, ever since the thirteenth centmy, been much in use 

 by the Mahoraedans west of the Jumna. 



hth. — Returned to Shere Shah early by rail, and embarked, 

 killing a beautiful pair of Chiqnera ti/pus, Bp. About ten miles 

 down passed the steamer that started on the 3rd. Presently this 

 caught us up again. Then later it stuck again and we passed 

 it. The consequence of this was that nothing was to be shot. 

 The steamer groaned and grunted like a legion of devil-possess- 

 ed swine, while the waves generated by the paddles kept the 

 banks falling for a quarter of an hour after the vessel had passed, 

 each little bit of bank coming down with a crack like a musket, 

 so with Yerj hard work all I got was one Brahminy, three 

 mallard, three grey duck, and a brace of shovellers. I made one 

 curious shot. Five green shanks were sitting on a point ; one of my 

 barrels had missed fire — as they rose I fired at them and knocked 

 all five down, and that although the first and last must have 

 been two j^ards apart and flying across me at about 45 yards. I 

 saw thiee Ardea cinerea, and I may mention that I had previously 

 seen single individuals, on several occasions, since leaving Jhelum. 

 Also saw several grey curlew and shot one. 



