686 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXI. 



word for a goose, distinguishing it from the Grey Lag, which they called 

 '* Lalu Hanj"; the distinction suggests that the Nukhta is the commoner 

 of the two at this dhand. Two years ago at the same dhand I saw a 

 number of birds which I now believe to have been Nukhta, though at the 

 time I could not identify them as I failed to shoot a specimen. 



Hyderabad, Sind, M. WEBB, i.c.s. 



January 5th, 1912. 



[The Society has just received the skin of a female Nukhta from Mr. R. L. Mc- 

 Culloch, who shot the bird near Sujawal, Sind, on the 12th February 1912. Mr 

 McCulloch writes that the Sindhi name for this duck appears to be " Kiiro hanjh" 

 ( = Black goose). — Eds.] 



No. XXXV.— THE BREEDING OF THE FALSE HIMALAYAN 

 VIPER (PSAMMODYNASTES PULVERULENTUS). 



In my article on this Snake in the Popular Series appearing in this 

 Journal (Vol. XX, p 73), I could mention but little of the breeding. Two 

 gravid females lately received from Shillong, both killed in August, throw 

 further light on the subject. One measured 1 foot 10 inches and contained 

 three foetus (1 c? , 1 $ , and 1 ?), the largest of which measured 6^ inches. 

 I captured a hatchling in Rangoon only 4| inches long, so that the length 

 of the young at birth is very variable. The second specimen measured 

 1 foot 6g inches, and contained 4 embryos (2 J, 2 $ ). These were 

 nearly the same length as in the last. I noticed that the S claspers are 

 bifid. In both cases the development of the young left no doubt that they 

 would very shortly have been born. The fact that my hatchling in 

 Rangoon was captured in June shows that the breeding season in the 

 Hills is later than in the Plains, as I find the case in so many snakes. 



F, WALL, Majok, i.m.s., c.m.z.s. 

 Almora, 31si August 1911. 



No. XXXVI.— FOOD OF THE SNAKE RHABDOPS BICOLOR. 



Among other Snakes recently received from Shillong I have had six 

 specimens of Rhabdops bicolor. I find that their food consists of earth- 

 worms. The stomach contained a great deal of mud mixed with which 

 were fragments of various lengths of worms of substantial calibre. The 

 intestine too was loaded with mud, probably derived from their Oligochsete 

 diet. 



P. WALL, Major, i.m.s., c.m.z.s. 

 Almora, 31s* July 1911. 



