ynSCELLANEOtJS NOTES. 353, 



things were ever on the alert and were safe under water before their enemy 

 reached them. The old birds showed great indignation and rushed to and 

 fro with ruffled feathers, hisi-ing and flapping their wings. 



W. HOWARD CAMPBELL, 

 GooTY, Madras, 2ith. March, 1892. 



No. XV.-OCCURRENCE OF THE SHELDRAKE (T. CORNUTA) 



AND THE GOOSANDER (J/. CASTOR) IN THE DARBHANGA 



DISTRICT, TIEHUT. 



I have received males of both species got by Mr. Edgell on the Suwasingpur 

 chaur near Sbahpur oondie, in this District. He ?ays they were got about 

 'Xmas time; and that once before he saw three Sheldrake on another large 

 chaur called the Baraila. 



CHAS. M. INGLIS, 

 Baghownie Factory, 

 Qth March, 1902, 



No, XVI.-NOTE ON THE HABITS OF RALLINA SDPERCILIARIS, 

 SHARPS, AND GORSACHIVS MELANOLOPHVS, BLYTH, 

 Seeing a note on the Banded Crake by Major Betham in the last number 

 of the Journal (Vol. XIV, No 1, p. 180) has reminded me of the fact that 

 we have made a discovery here in Kanara which is sure to be of interest to 

 ornithological readers. H. L. Hervey and I discovered the nest and eggs of 

 Rallina superciliaris in the month of August 1898 ; to be precise, on the 8th 

 of August 1898. 



A '• kunbi, " or aborigine of the place, brought H, the news that there was 

 a nest with large white eggs in a bush at a place called Binghy, within a few 

 miles of our head-quarter station. We both went out and were much exer- 

 cised in our minds at the sight of the nest : a more or less round, untidy 

 structure of dead leaves and a thin twig or two, with a slight concavity in the 

 centre, placed in a low bush in scrub jungle on flat ground, surrounded by 

 high hills on three sides, within a mile of the sands of the seashore. The nest 

 was well hidden by the foliage of the bush and was placed on the thin inter- 

 laced branches about two and-a-half feet from the ground ; there were six 

 white eggs in it of a slightly creamy shade, with a slight gloss and fine texture. 

 We had provided ourselves with a gun and cartridges each and sat down, 

 one on each side of the bush in hiding, to wait for the bird, which had left 

 the nest immediately it caught sight of us coming. We had not waited long 

 before we were rewarded with the sight of a Banded Crake that came sneak- 

 ing out with much circumspection from some thick jungle close by. The 

 bird spotted H. the first time and disappeared in a second. We changed our 

 places slightly and shot it the second time it appeared. It was a female in 

 full male plumage. 



