THE BIRDS OF THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS, 145 
I never met with it, 
1421. Dromas arproua, Paykull, Blanf., IV, p. 208; “Str, Feath.,” 
pp. 58 and 293, 
The Crab Plover is a winter visitant, occurring in both groups. Though 
far from common it is generally in large numbers when one does meet with it. 
Mr, Hume gives a humorous account of the difficulties he had in getting four 
specimens from a large flock at Macpherson’s Straits, the only locality in 
which he met with it, Davison never saw it in the islands at all. They are 
as a rule extremely wild, but Wardlaw Ramsay must have come across some 
unusually confiding individuals, as Mr. Hume says he met with a small party 
at Haddo, Port Blair, and shot the whole of them, 
- Mr, Hume found them feeding on the coral reefs at low tide, the flock col- 
lecting in a closely packed crowd at high water on an isolated rock rising only, 
just above sea level, 
-T only met with these birds once, on August 6th, at Car Nicobar, where a 
flock of sixty or seventy were feeding on along low reef exposed by the low 
tide, Never having shot the bird before I went after them at once, though I 
bad only No, 8 shot and was by no means hopeful of getting a specimen as they 
were so wild, Directly I was within 200 yards they rose, and flying along the 
surf-fringed edge of the rocks, alighted again half a mile further on, This 
was repeated three or four times, and the chances of getting even a long shot 
seemed hopeless, when I caught sight of another large flock approaching from 
behind me, I crouched down flat—in about 8 inches of water—and as they 
passed i in a densely packed crowd at about 89 yards fired the choke barrel into 
the thick of them, One dropped at once, winged, (and a lively runner he 
proved), another dropped into the surf 200 yards further on and was recover- 
ed,and a third remained unable to rise when I put the flock up again further 
on, I got another long shot and killed a fourth specimen. Car Nicobarese 
“ cummermelmova,” 
1425, GLAREOLA ORIENTALIS, Leach. Blanf., IV, p, 214 ; “Str, Feath.,” 
II, p. 284. 
A migrant to the islands, but apparently far from common. Davison 
obtained them inthe Andamans, Nicobars, and Cocos during March and April, 
frequenting gardens, ploughed fields, hill-sides, etc, He adds that they are 
said to breed in the Andamans, 
I never saw this bird in the islands at all, but then I was not 
there during March and April, the only months in which Davison met 
with it, 
1430, SrREPSILAS INTERPRES, Linn, Blanf., IV, p. 223; “ Str. Feath,,” 
II, p, 292. 
Very common on all the islands of the Bay of Bengal in winter, Mr, 
Hume says ii was, during his visit, ‘nowhere numerically abundant, It 
certainly was so in the Nicobars in September ; along the coasts of Car 
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