144 Contributions to the Ornithology of India, Sfc. 



getting in amongst others and our then following the wrong 

 birds^ which of course were quite fresh. One bird^ certainly 

 wounded^ disappeared ; it dived and never again rose to the sur- 

 ftice before or behind^ or one side or the other^ and I can only con- 

 ceive that some shark of which there are great numbers here 

 (indeed sharks fins exported to China are the most important 

 staple of the G wader trade) must have picked it up. 



No kind of sport probably requires such undivided attention, 

 such quickness of eye, and such rapidity of firing, and though 

 I bagged only eight birds in several hours of hard fagging, I 

 must have fired at least eighty shots, and as any one of at 

 least half of these might have been successful, the excitement 

 was maintained throughout, the more so that the moment one 

 bird was secured, another was at hand, turn on whichever side 

 3^ou would, and when to this is added, the bright sun, the clear 

 water, the delicious sea-air, the constant rapid pursuit, and all 

 the surroundings of " sea and cliff and silver strands," I submit 

 that I have said enough to justify my penchant for grebe hunts.. 



20^i. — Started for Muscat. Before leaving, had another turn 

 at the grebes, getting three in two hours, besides two magnificent 

 great black-headed gulls, in full breeding plumage. At Grwader 

 itself, I mean on land, I saw no common crows or mynahs, only 

 neophrons, white tailed sea-eagles, an enormous dark eagle, pro- 

 babl}^ chrysaetus, a few ravens, similar to our Punjaub ones, and 

 in the pretence for a garden which surrounds the Resident's 

 bungalow, a blue throat, (exactly similar to our Indian ones 

 and which I should identify with suecica, Linn., tho' Gray sepa- 

 rates them as cmrnlecula, Pal.,) and a black-breasted thrush. 



%\st. — En route to Muscat ; in the open sea, saw numbers of 

 flocks, some of four or five, some of several hundreds of P. full- 

 carius. They swim as well as ducks : are shy, fly well and rapid- 

 ly, but they cannot dive ; a winged bird that made frantic 

 efforts to escape capture never attempted to dive. I notice that 

 Jerdon's desciiption of the soft parts does not at all agree with 

 my bird. We also saw several shearwaters. The one I killed 

 is about the size of Fuffinus anglorum, but the wings are con- 

 siderably shorter than the tail, there are no crescentic marks on 

 the side of the neck, and the feet are interiorly a delicate laven- 

 der, pinky white ; margin of webs, exterior of outer toe, and 

 ridge of mid toe and claws, black, in which respect it is nearest 

 to yelkowan, while except as to size and colour of feet, it is 

 nearest to P. ohscurus. Comparison is required."^ 



%%nd, '^^th. — At Muscat. Nothing to be seen but the dark 



* Described as Puffinus persicus, " Stray Feathers," No. 1, p. 5. 



