MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 395 



seeking for them as the birds build during the heaviest rains, always In very 

 retired places iu thick jungle, generally choosing some steep nalla. The nest 

 is always placed in a conspicuous position, at least it is conspicuous when once 

 discovered, but is easily overlooked and generally in a terminal fork of a 

 branch of a thinnish tree, anywhere from 15' to 30' from the ground, I 

 have always found the tops of the hills the surest place for a find and, 

 generally, at the coinrnencement of a nalla ; the birds seem to prefer to have 

 a bit of flat, open ground under the nest, but never build them exposed to the 

 sky; the nest being invariably overshadowed by the foliage of a high tree. 

 I have never heard the bird utter any sort of cry. It is certainly not ex- 

 clusively nocturnal in its habits as stated by Gates in his "Birds" (Fauna of 

 British India), if indeed it is nocturnal at all ; for I have often found it feed- 

 ing in the day time by the shady pools in the hill nallas as well as on the tops 

 of hills ranges in the damp evergreen jungles. I have put up some dozen 

 birds at different times in such places, sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs 

 during my rambles in the jungles from May to November, When flushed the 

 birds generally take to trees and can then be shot ; but they are very wary 

 and require careful stalking. The number of eggs laid is generally three, 

 often four, rarely five. The egg is white with a slight greenish shade of 

 chalky texture, nearly without gloss and measures about 1*90" X 1'60", one eo-g 

 of a clutch of four we have, measures 2'20" x 1*50," All the eggs are oval with 

 a decided tendency to a point at one end. The birds are very regular in their 

 time of laying, which is always the end of July or the very commencement of 

 August. Like the Banded Crake, this Bittern does not seem to stay in the 

 district during the months of December to April. I have ceitainly never 

 seen one in those months. 



T. R, BELL. 

 Karwar. 9ih March 1902. 



No. XVII.— CANNIBALISM IN SNAKES. 



It is of course a well-known fact that the King Cobra or Hamadrj'ad {^Naia 

 hungarus) feeds on other snakes, and the last specimen we had alive in our 

 Museum, ate 13 live snakes almost all of which were Dhamans (_Zamems 

 mucosus), each measuring from 4 feet to 9 feet in length. The Common 

 Kvaits{Bungarus caerideus) also whenever we have kept them alive have refused 

 all food except other snakes and apparently h9,d no preference for one 

 species more than another. 



About two years ago, however, one of the live Pythons (Python molurus) in 

 our collection quarrelled with his companion in one of the cages, the bone of 

 contention being a partridge which had been put in the cage as food, and 

 after swallowing the other Python, measuring about 9 feet in length, he 

 ate the partridge. 



The most recent instance of cannibalism was amongst the Cobras {Naia 

 tripudians) a few days ago. There were 3 cobras in the cage, a black one and 



