1G4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIV. 



It was in this range of hills that the fossil skeleton of the Sivatherinm (now 

 in the British Museum) was found, a gigantic bovine animal of extraordinary- 

 form and stature. 



Starting from the left bank of the river. Beas, near Talwarra, and following 

 the Sewaliks along to the Jumna, and again across the valley of tbe Dehra 

 Dhun to the Ganges, there are many known places in the hills where these 

 fossil deposits are found, and as I stood near the quarries I have described, 

 watching the immense bones that were exhumed, my mind became lost in a 

 maze of speculation as to what sudden catastrophe it could have been, which 

 overwhelmed and buried such a large concourse of now extinct creatures in 

 this sub-Himalaj an region. For the part I am now writing of, is not more 

 than thirty or forty miles from the main range of the Himalayas, 



As I have already mentioned, the fossil bones were not far from the surface, 

 the soil of the bills is throughout the Hoshiarpur Sewaliks composed of sand, 

 here and there indurated into a soft sandstone, and the range was probably 

 created by the same tremendous agency which involved all these now extinct 

 monsters in one sudden and common destruction. 



The most prominent of all the points presented by this mere cursory 



examination of one of the phenomena of this hill range, interesting alike to 



geologist and naturalist, are, first, might not a more thorough search for 



fossils than has already been made, reveal fresh discoveries to science. And 



secondly, bearing in mind the poverty of the soil in most parts of the Punjab 



and adjacent provinces, would it not be possible, as well as profitable, to turn 



these valuable phosphate deposits to their proper use as fertilizers, and 



prevent their being wasted, as they are now, on the production of inferior 



lime, 



W. OSBORN, Lieut.-Generai, I.S.C. 



JUGATSICK KULLU — PUNJAB, 



June 2Uh, 1901, 



No, XVII.— HABITS OF THE INDIAN TREE MAGPIE. 



{DendrcBitta rufa.) 



This bird, like the English Magpie, is a great destroyer of the eggs of other 

 birds, and, though I have not seen it do so, I have no doubt that it captures 

 and devours young nestlings, for this Magpie seems to be of a well developed 

 carnivorous habit, and to have a special liking for flesh. 



Last year while 1 was encamped at the foot of the Hoshiarpur Sewaliks, on 

 a shooting trip, I had some joints of a Black Buck hung up to a tree close to 

 my tent. A pair of Tree Magpies at once took possession of one of the joints 

 tearing off pieces of meat with their strong bills, I would not allow them to 

 be disturbed, and remained watching them from time to time. They were at 

 work on the meat, with intervals, nearly the whole day, and the quantity of 

 flesh these two small birds managed to dispose of quite surprised me, Probably 

 they had a nest of young ones in the vicinity, 



