520 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV ll. 



No. IX.— FASCINATION BY LIZAEDS. 



I see that Major Rogers, lecturing on snake poisons at Calcutta, is reported 

 to have said that the idea that birds were fascinated by snakes was due to the 

 fact that the bird had already been bitten and the snake was merely waiting 

 for its collapse. 



This recalls to my mind an incident which came under my observation many 

 years ago. I was encamped at Raiwala on the bank of the Ganges in the 

 Dehra Dun district. One day while sitting near my tent under the shade of 

 the mango trees, my eye was attracted by a hoopoe which was going through 

 the most extraordinary antics. It would run forward, apparently peck at 

 something and then run back again ; this it kept on repeating. I got up to 

 go nearer and see what was happening. I took my eye off the bird and 

 walked up to within some 20 yards of where it had been. It had now moved 

 into a slight hollow a few yards from the base of one of the old mango trees 

 and was then in a most extraordinary attitude. It was standing, but appar- 

 ently leaning back on its tail, and moving its head up and down opening and 

 closing its bill as if it was gasping for breath. Unfortunately it never occur- 

 red to me to see if there was any external cause for this, and thinking that the 

 bird had a fit I walked up to it. When I got close to it, away bolted a 

 large monitor (?) lizard into the hollow mango tree. The lizard, apparently 

 some 3 ft. long, must have been lying within 3 or 4 feet of the hoopoe. The 

 moment the lizard bolted, the bird flew off apparently none the worse. It was 

 clearly fascinated by the monitor. Naturally I have never ceased regretting 

 that I did not see the monitor in time. 



St. GEORGE GORE, Col., r.e. 

 Cawnpobe, 3rd April 1906. 



No. X.— OCCURRENCE OF THE INDIAN RED-BREASTED 

 FLYCATCHER (SIPHJA HYPERYTHRA) IN BENGAL. 



To-day one of my men brought me in a fine male of this species, which he 

 shot near here. Oates in Vol. II, Birds, Fauna of British India— gives the fol- 

 lowing account of the distribution of this bird :— " Summers in Kashmir and 

 winters in Ceylon. This species has not yet been procured in the intervening 

 countries during the periods of migration." I send this note as I consider 

 it interesting and of scientific value. 



CHAS. M. INGLIS. 



Baghownie Fty., Darbhanga, 5th April 1906. 



No. XI.— A NOTE ON THE MIGRATION OF THE COMMON 

 INDIAN BEE-EATER (MEROPS VIRIDIS). 



Until I went to Lahore I was accustomed to look upon the common Indian 

 bee-eater as a permanent resident in most parts of the plains, with the excep- 

 tion of such places as Bombay and Calcutta, where there are not many suitable 



