PROCEEDINGS. 



o37 



Minor Contributions. — Mrs. Dimmock, Miss Goldney, Mrs. Swinhoe, Dr. 

 Deane, Majors Girvin and O. A. Smith, Lt. Jenkins, R.G.A., Messrs. 

 C. E. Durnford, L. H. Savile, C. Hudson, I.C.S., H. S. Wise, A. H. 

 Marshall, P. Briscoe, J. Clarke and Messrs. Murray Brothers. 



EXHIBITS. 



The Secretary drew the attention of Members to the valuable contribution 

 which Capt. A. H. Mosse had made to the Society consisting of 9 heads of 

 gazelles, etc., from Somaliland. These heads having been mounted by one 

 of the leading taxidermists in England were a great acquisition to the 

 Museum and it was to be desired that other Members would follow Captain 

 Mosse's example and provide the Society with a good specimen of the male 

 and female of each of the Indian game animals. 



Col. W. B. Bannerman, I.M.S., exhibited a brood of young live Phoorsas 

 (Echis carinata) which were born in the Bacteriological Laboratory at Parel 

 on I5th June 1910. The cage was one which contained 8 adult Phoorsas. 



THE PIED-CRESTED CUCKOO. 



Mr. Kinnear exhibited some skins and eggs of the Pied-Crested Cuckoo 

 (Coocystes jacobinus) and remarked that every year in the latter part of the 

 hot weather there appears to be a large influx of Pied-Crested Cuckoos into 

 Bombay and the surrounding district. They generally made themselves 

 noticeable about the first week in June and were not in evidence after the 

 end of the rains. He mentioned that this Cuckoo was found all over India, 

 but in many places it was according to Blanford " either met with only 

 during the rains or more abundantly at that period."' 



During the last three weeks quite a number of examples had been 

 brought into the Museum, which for the most part had been rescued from 

 the attacks of crows, who seem to have a special dislike to this bird. He 

 asked why should crows be so persistent in their attacks on this apparently 

 to them harmless cuckoo ? It could not surely be from any fear of the 

 cukcoo laying in their nests since there is no record of an egg being found 

 in the crow's nest, that of the larger Babblers Argya and Crateropus, as a rule 



