MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 815 



expect in all animals which have to endure intense cold for many months. I 

 found the two varieties in respect to colour in separate nullas, though not far 

 apart. The one I have, takes its imprisonment most contentedly, eats well and 

 sleeps a good deal with its eyes open. It is most active and greatly delights in 

 jumping over and circling a small bar that I fastened across the cage. When 

 sleeping it often lies stretched out on its side. It appears to sleep more by 

 day than at night. It is most cleanly in its habits, and keeps its cage free from 

 all dirt. When eating it often places one foot down on the food. It frequent- 

 ly cleans its face with its fore feet, moving them rapidly up and down. 

 Although I have often placed dry grass in the cage it has never attempted to 

 make a " form" or nest. It appears to dislike strong sunshine, always retreating 

 from it to the covered part of the cage. In size it was about seven inches in 

 length when first caught, but has grown a little since then. The largest I 

 obtained was eight-and-a-half inches in length ; it was of the bay coloured 

 variety. 



The young, usually four in number, are born towards the end of August and 

 early in September. There is little difference in size between the adults of 

 both sexes. 



Chamba, Punjab, July 1906. G-. S. RODON, Major. 



No. IX— LOCUSTS, BEARS AND DOGS. 



While shooting in Chamba, in the spring of this year, the district I was in 

 was visited by immense swarms of locusts, which apparently came from the 

 South- West. They remained for over a month. Although I constantly watch- 

 ed, I never saw them eating anything. During the day they flew continuously 

 up and down the valleys. I noticed them as high as 13,000 feet. Every now 

 and then some would fly to the ground and remain motionless for a consider- 

 able time apparently resting, afterwards rising and resuming their to and 

 fro flight. Towards evening all would settle down on bushes, grass, open stony 

 slopes in numbers, strange to see, on snow slopes. I saw none settle on trees. 

 The nights were then very cold, the thermometer often registering frost, and 

 numbers of locusts were found dead in the mornings ; especially all those 

 which had settled for the night on snow. Those on bushes and grass appear- 

 ed benumbed, but as the sun rose and warmed them they revived and. again 

 started on their daily flight. On several occasions in the early morning, I saw 

 through a glass brown bears, eagerly hunting up and down the snow slopes for 

 the bodies of the locusts, and apparently eating all they found. Shepherd dogs 

 also appeared to hunt up and eat the dead locusts. Sometimes slight snow fell 

 during the night which covered the locusts and the bears scratched them up. 

 My shikari, who lived in the village not far off, assured me that both bears and 

 dogs died from eating locusts ; he further said that on previous occasions when 

 locusts had come to the district he had afterwards found the remains of bears 

 which had died and he personally knew of several dogs which after eating locusts 



