THE RESIDENT BIRDS OF THE SAUGOR AND 

 DAMOH DISTRICTS, CENTRAL PROVINCES. 



BY 



R. C. H. Moss King, I. C. S. 



This is my first attempt at writing on Natural History matters 

 and I hasten to disclaim all pretentions whatsoever to being an 

 ornithologist ; I am only very interested in birds. From what I have 

 read I gather that the apparently most common observations, if 

 only accurate and reliable, apart, from interesting bird-lovers, can 

 serve to extend general scientific knowledge of the subject. 



All that I lay claim to is that what I have observed I have done 

 accurately and such information as I give is reliable and a fact. 

 That my list is incomplete I know and admit ; he would be a bold 

 man who for even the most circumscribed locality would not admit 

 the possibility of an omission ; but I guarantee every bird in the 

 list is a permanent resident of the Saugor and Damoh districts, to 

 be found, by those clever enough and with sufficient time to spare, 

 breeding there. Most of them I have been able to find myself. 

 Some have eluded, and a few will doubtless continue to elude, my 

 search, and I have a strong suspicion that the Button-Quails, for 

 example, will be among the latter. But I am perfectly satisfied 

 that every bird mentioned does actually breed here. 



I should have preferred to restrict this note to my own district 

 of Saugor, but I have included Damoh for the sake of the water 

 birds and accurac)^ The fact is, and I do not attempt to explain 

 it, that all the water-birds and waders seem to prefer, while some 

 appear to restrict themselves to, the Damoh district for breeding. 

 I call this odd, and, like Naaman, exclaim " Are not Chandrapur 

 and Dhamoni, lakelets of Saugor, better than all the waters of 

 Damoh?" Nevertheless does the fact remain that, in the three 

 years watching on which -this note is based, I have been totally 

 unable to discover any nesting colony of Egrets, Herons, Snake- 

 birds, etc., in the Saugor district. That they do not breed here is 

 practically inconceivable ; on the other hand their nesting is not 

 unobtrusive and oiTght to be discoverable, and having failed to 



