138 Contnhutions to the Ornithology of India, Sj^c. 



pns. The river from Sell wan seemed to be deserted. 



2>rd. — Went across the river to Hyderabad. Saw nothing 

 noticeable. The Meers' tombs are not worth looking at^ though 

 the encaustic tiles are pretty good. The fort is trumpery. The 

 whole city seems to be built of mud. I did not notice a single 

 bird worth shooting or recording. In the evening came by rail 

 to Kurrachee. 



4<th. — The only thing that particularly strikes one here is 

 that every man who wants to raise water^ works his own tread- 

 mill. A small Persian-wheel drum with steps, up which the 

 man walks^ turning the wheel, and with it the chain of buckets. 

 I couldn't help recalling the penitent convict's lay, and his 

 remark — 



" And when the good folks turn me out, 



}3ecause I'm better grown 

 Blow me, if I don't mean to have 

 A treadmill of my own !" 



To all such humble and contrite sinners, Kurrachee may be es- 

 pecially recommended. 



Kurrachee itself is bare and dismal. Drove in the afternoon to 

 the Pier. There saw numbers of gulls, terns,. &c., and on the 

 flats of mud, Demiegretta gularis and other birds, Sqiiatarola 

 helvetica, and I think some others. 



^th. — Went down early to where the fish are first brought in 

 by the fishermen and sold. Numbers of gulls about, apparently, 

 chiefly of one species. I shot seven, and think that all young and 

 old are the same, I should guess borealis, Brandt, of Bon. Con- 

 spectus, the only book I have at hand. We saw S. picata, 

 which is pretty common here. In the afternoon, about the har- 

 bour, shot Cirrepidesmtis Geoffroiji and ^. ccCntianus, Tringa cin- 

 clus, Strepsilas interpres, and Demiegretta gularis. 



Qth. — Went down again to the fish auction. Saw as before, 

 hundreds of the large gull which I take to be borealis and shot 

 14. This was almost the only gull I saw there, except two argen- 

 ■tatus, distinguishable at once by their paler hue. After breakfast 

 went across the harbour to Munora, and during the day shot 

 about the harbour. Of a small slender long-gonys billed, very 

 rosy breasted gull, without any blackish patch near the ears, which 

 I take to be Gelastes Lamhnischini, Bon., I observed innumerable 

 birds and shot some 16. I also got amongst them several 

 ridibundtis in the winter garb. Just at the end of the mole 

 and at the mouth of the harbour, Thalasseus cantiacus 

 and bengalensis were very abundant, and I shot three of 

 the former and five of the latter at one shot, out of a party 

 huddled together on a heap of stones which terminates the 



