MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 375 



No. IV.—THE OCCURRENCE OF THE WHITE-FACED 

 STIFF TAIL DUCK AT MARDAN. 



On 7th December after shooting some duck at one end of a long pond near 

 here, (the one mentioned by Capt. Macnab, I. M. S., in his account of a pre- 

 vious occurrence of Erismatura leucocepliala in the Society's Journal for April 

 1900), I saw a single bird swimming and diving in the open part of the pond. 

 Waiting until it dived I ran up close to the edge. The bird came up within 

 20 yards of me only showing its head and neck, diving again immediately. 

 I saw that it was a stiff-tailed duck at once. The manner of diving was 

 most peculiar, very like the way a porpoise rolls over in the water, or a head 

 and tail rise of a salmon. The bird tucked its head in and turned over show- 

 ing the whole line of its back tail and legs in succession as it went down. 

 The tail was bent downwards with the legs showing below and the tail, legs, 

 and feet were the last part of the bird seen, showing very clearly as it dis- 

 appeared. It came up several times only showing its head and neck, the 

 body and tail remaining under water. I remained quite still and as it got a 

 little further away it showed more of its body on coming to the surface, and 

 also its tail which was carried at an angle of about 45 degrees to the surface 

 of the water. After watching it for some time I shot the duck. The skin is 

 forwarded for acceptance for the Bird Collection of the Society. 



F. J. H. BARTON, Major, 

 Q. 0. Corps of Guides. 



Mardan, lOth December 1901. 



p. S._The bird on dissection proved to be a male. Its length from point 

 of bill to tail was 15| inches, from point of bill to end of the legs 16^ inches, 

 both measures between uprights. Colour of bill dull olive green, feet and 

 claws lighter bluish green, webs black. Iridis brown. 



No. v.— EXTRAORDINARY MAGNITUDE OF A SNAKE'S MEAL. 



(^With a Plate.) 



On the morning of the 27th July, when out snake-hunting in the pine 

 clad hills surrounding this charming little Japanese resort I encountered a 

 snake (ElapMs virgatus) in the act of swallowing a leveret {Lepus brachiurus). 



Wonderful as the magnitude of some snake's meals sometimes are, the dis- 

 proportion between the size of the captor and its quarry in this case is bo 

 remarkable, that had I not witnessed the circumstance I would not have 

 believed the feat within the wildest dreams of possibility. When I disturbed 

 the snake in the jungle the head of the leveret was fast engaged in its jaws 

 distending them and the neck enormously. Handicapped by its excessive 

 burden the snake fell an easy victim to a blow from my bamboo, which 

 caused it to relinquish and disgorge its prey. The leveret had a wound on the 

 near hind limb near the trunk, which I took to be the point of initial seizure. 

 The whole head and this only was covered with saliva secreted during the act 



