NOTBS ON A COLLEOriNG TRIP IN THE BALAGHAT. 1161 



very evening came across a pig lying down. I pointed it out to the forest 

 guard who was with me at the time but he insisted on its being a log of 

 wood till piggy took to his heels. We secured for ourselves a Chestnut- 

 bellied Nuthatch and a pair of Scarlet Minivets (Peiicrocotus speciosus) ; 

 the cock is a scarlet and black bird while the hen is yellow and grey. 

 Strange to saj"-, the cock minivet, the moment he saw me, flew to a tree with 

 red leaves and I have often noticed on the Himalayas P. brevirostris, a bird 

 similarly coloured, do the same. Can this be an instance of protective 

 coloration ? 



Our last day at Tikari was almost a blank ; only a Pale Harrier was 

 collected, but a bird resembling the Nilgiri Thrush was seen in the forest 

 country. 



Leaving Pipartola, a move was made to Somnapur, passing Laughur 

 en route. Laughur is on the hills at an altitude of 1 ,933 feet ; it is a great 

 place for big game shooting. After we had passed Laughur, we saw 

 Peafowl, Jungle Fowl and Spotted Deer on the road. Once we heard the 

 screeches of birds resembling the call of the Malabar Pied Hornbill and 

 attempts were made to secure them, but they were not seen. Along the 

 roadsides lizards of the families Agamidce and Scincidce were plentiful and 

 I recognised Mabuia carinata and M. viacularia amongst them. The 

 Southern Eed-whiskered Bulbul, Sunbirds, White-eyes, Paradise and 

 Grrey-headed Flycatchers were very common at Laughur. 



We reached Somnapur at night and next morning the forests near 

 the bungalow were visited. Some sambhar and monkej^s were seen but 

 nothing of special interest in the bird line. In the afternoon we had 

 better luck, a jheel was visited and an Egret, some Whistling Teal 

 and a pair of Little Ringed vers secured. A Redshank and some 



Jacanas were seen. 



On visiting the jheel the next day an Adjutant and a Heron were seen 

 seated on a tree. On my approach the Stork took to his wings but I 

 secured the Heron which proved to be the Common Heron (Ardea cinerea). 

 The Jacanas were again seen and to my delight I shot one which rolled 

 over apparently hard hit. The Chaprassi waded for it while I moved on 

 towards the end of the jheel after some other birds and on my return he 

 declared the Jacana could not be found. On my way home a Pale 

 Harrier was shot ; it was observed following a pariah dog and 

 sitting down near it whenever the dog sat down. When about two miles 

 from the bungalow, a large Stork suddenly flew up from a ditch and sat 

 on a tree. It was shot and turned out to be the Lesser Adjutant 

 {LeptoptUus javanicus) . Somr apur is a great place for small birds, the trees 

 round the bungalow simply swarmed with them, Bhimrajas ( Rackettailed 

 Drongos) Mynas, Babblers, Hornbills, Koopoes, Barbets, Woodpeckers, 

 Parakeets, Bee-eaters, Doves, Flycatchers, Wagtails, Bulbuls, Tits, Mini- 



