788 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



No. I.— NOTES ON WKOUGHTON'S FREE-TAILED BAT 

 {OTOMOPS WROUGSTONI). 



These bats were found at Talewadi in the Belgaum District, some 20 

 miles North of Castle Rock. They occupied a large cave which is locally- 

 known as the Bara Pede (12 caves) and is reported as being a favourite 

 haunt of bears. The entrance is completely screened by vegetation, the 

 interior is very roomy and the sides and upper surface are scarred with 

 deep hollows and ridges. The cave contained 2 different kinds of bats, 

 Megaderma spasma and the present species. The Vampires seemed to 

 favour the innermost portion of the cave, where it was extremely dark, 

 while the Otomops sought shelter in the hollows about the entrance. Deep 

 within these holes both males and females cluster in masses and single 

 shot fired into one of these hollows secured some 30 specimens. As 

 a rule, they hang by their hind feet, head downwards, but I saw two speci- 

 mens clinging flat against the surface of the roof, using the claw at the 

 end of the wing for support. Last December, Mr. J. B, Anding, who 

 secured several specimens for the Society, found a female with a young 

 one clinging one in front of it. Out of the same lot we secured 3 or 4 

 fsetal specimens, but never more than one from each bat. These bats utter 

 a very sharp cry when alarmed, which they prolong for some time. The 

 year I was fortunate enough to obtain a specimen alive. It lived in 

 captivity for about 6 days, and used to spend the greater part of its time 

 hanging by the legs from a ' game carrier' which was suspended on the 

 wall, thoTigh occasionally it climbed up and lay flat on it. From what I 

 observed this species seemed to prefer a fruit diet and invariably spat 

 out any flies I oft'ered him : at first he would not eat by itself, but showed 

 no reluctance in swallowing pieces of banana put into its mouth, latterly 

 it fed itself and while in the museum ate a couple of figs that were put 

 into the cage. 



S. H. PRATER. 



Bombay Natural History Society's Museum, 

 20«A October 1913. 



No. II.— POSSIBLE OCCURRENCE OF A BLACK TIGER 

 {FELIS TIGRIS). 



I say possible, as the animal was not bagged. My son, who has shot 

 several tigers and who knows what a black leopard is, writes as follows : — 



" Have you ever heard of such a thing as a black tiger, not leopard ? 

 While up the Kaukkwe in the Bhamo District, I went out to the ' Lwins ' 

 (open grassy spaces in the forest) for Tsine, but on returning about 10 a.m. 

 near the edge of a Lwin we heard a grunting at intervals of about 10 or 

 15 seconds. I insisted that it was a pig wallowing, but my shikari said 

 he thought it was a Tsine about to calve. We followed up the sound and 

 then hearing a deep guttural grunt, we knew it was a tiger. I told the 

 shikari I was off home and put up my hand to show him a road out of the 

 Lwin when from about 10 yards in front of us a big black mass made two 

 bounds and was away. I let off my "577 at it at about 15 yards range, 

 and I think, hit it in the stomach. The animal being quite black I 

 turned to the shikari and told him it (vas a pig, while he insisted it was 

 a bear, but on tracking up we found enormous pug marks (they measured 

 l'-8" round). After the shot it went on for some 5 or 6 yards, stopped 



