850 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



the Ganges while cutting grass. 1 intended to keep it alive but it escaped 

 during the night. Blanford states {Fauna of British India — Mammalia) 

 that it is found as far east as Fatehgarh. As this specimen was obtained 

 across the Ganges it is probable that it ranges further east. Members in 

 the Hardoi district should keep a lookout for it. 



H. FULTON, Major. 

 Dehra Dun, 1st November' 1910. 



No. V.— KING CROWS AND BUTTERFLIES. 



On the 14th instant I was with Mr. C. B. Antram in a very small patch of 

 wood surrounded by grass downs within a few miles of Ootacamund. 

 Running through this wood was a footpath, and this path was in one place 

 a few feet long thickly strewn with the wings of butterflies ; and on either 

 side of this for some yards along the path, were scattered wings. Just 

 above this place three drongos (Dicrurus) were to be seen on the trees. 

 The weather was during my visit misty, cold and rainy, and hardly any 

 butterflies were on the wing ; consequently I had not the opportunity of 

 seeing the birds hawking them. Dragonflies were abundant, and the 

 drongos made frequent excursions after them, all unsuccessful so far as I 

 saw. On examination the wings were found to belong to the following 

 species: — Danais limniace (or septentrionis, or both), Danais at/lea, Danais 

 ehrysippus, Euplcea core, Euplcea coreta, Hypolimnas bolina § , and Catopsilia 

 crocale. At least 90 per cent, of the wings belonged to D. limniace or 

 septentrionis. There were several wings of Euplcea, amongst which I found 

 those of the males of both core and coreta. The remaining species were 

 each represented by only one or two wings. These Danainae are common 

 in those parts, and in sunny weather would be passing in numbers through 

 and over the wood, and the most common would almost certainly be 

 limniace, septentrionis, core and coreta. D. ehrysippus would be commoner 

 probably on the outskirts of the wood. The only other butterflies about in 

 any numbers when I was there, were Argynnis castetsi and Colias nilgiriensis, 

 both eminently insects frequenting the open country, and they would 

 seldom or never be found in anything heavier than scrub-jungle. Some of 

 the wings were obviously quite fresh, others had been beaten on the ground 

 by rain. The three drongos were almost the only birds about, and no other 

 birds that we saw were likely to be capable of capturing these butterflies. 

 It appears to me that the drongos were certainly the cause of this exten- 

 sive shower of wings ; the only other possibility is a lizard or mantid ; but 

 no lizard, I should imagine, has either the activity or voracity to make 

 away with such a great number of butterflies, even assuming that they 

 settled within its reach. A mantid is even less probable, and I much 





