338 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XI. 



the 3rd volume. Till lately I supposed that these pests were secured against 

 the common enemies of insects by their armour of venomous hairs ; but I was 

 mistaken. Last week a portly toad found its way into my verandah, and 

 after eyeing one of them for some time, bowed to it, and it disappeared 

 in that magical way in which insects do disappear when toads are feeding. 

 After this the toad " studied " for a time, as Uncle Eemus says, but seemed 

 to be pleased with the result, for it proceeded to make the rest of the cater- 

 pillars about it disappear in like manner. So it is evident that tbe lining of a 

 toad is proof against even the hairs of Nepita conferta. Had I known this 

 sooner I would have taken steps to import a regiment of toads. 



E. H. AITKEN. 

 Ratnagiri, August, 1897. 



No. XXVI.— NOTES ON " HUME AND MARSHALL." 



It seems time for us to try to put together a series of notes on Hume and 

 Marshall's "Game Birds," as McMaster did with Jerdon many years ago. 

 No doubt many men have marginal notes in their copies of the " Game Birds," 

 and though each individual's notes may be few, a considerable body of useful 

 comment might be got together by united action. As a specimen of what 

 I mean, I will take Hume's account of the Sarus (Vol. Ill, p. 2). Dr. 

 Anderson is quoted in a note as having been of opinion that he saw huge 

 flocks of the Sarus flying overhead in Yunan. It is probable that he was 

 mistaken, and that what he did see was a flock of the Demoiselle cranes. 

 I know that last cold-weather at the Null a friend and I blazed into a flock 

 of Kullum (A. virgo) at 25 yards flying, and both selected, for our first barrel, 

 a fine specimen, which turned out to be a Sarus ! ; shows the danger to Sarus 

 of bad company ; also the difficulty of distinguishing the species in a flock. 



Hume (p. 4) says he does not believe that Sarus ever, in India, rise high 

 in air, and circle round as other cranes do. I have seen the Sarus do this 

 repeatedly at over 100 yards up, in the hot-weather, near Muwal tank north 

 of Baroda. Also at other places, during the middle of the day. Hume says 

 that the Sarus eats frogs. I had a tame pair that would not do so. Their 

 call, Hume says (p. 5), is loud and sonorous. This is true, but it does not 

 bring cut the point that it is generally a duet, which gives volume to the 

 sound. The male starts off with a scream, and the female chimes in with 

 her staccato notes. The Sarus gather in large fleets near Baroda in March. 

 I once saw 200 in one flock when at Alindra. Generally one can see 50 or so 

 together at Muwal. 



Possibly we might be able to get a sufficient body of notes in this way to 



ma^e a useful supplement to the " Game Birds." Someday I shall continue 



my own notes, such as they are. 



H. LITTLEDALE. 

 Baroda, August, 1897, 



