1334 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXI. 



common. This year owing to the failure of rain in other places I suppose 

 these birds have been seen in large numbers throughout the Prant. In all 

 I have seen over fifty close to my headquarters alone. In one morning I 

 camo across two distinct groups of 9 and 10 together. At the time of the 

 bajri harvest they could be easily bagged with a shot gun, being feeding 

 so busily as to be quite off their guard, and I once got two fine cock birds 

 18 and 20 lbs. in weight, left and right. After the crops were cut they 

 could only be bagged with a rifle. One male bird of 16 lbs., I had shot 

 with a '310 rifle and on picking him up by the legs to feel his weight a 

 long red thing dropped from his mouth. On examining it closely I found 

 it to be the partially digested body of a snake about 2 ft. long. In the 

 stomach of the same bird I found another snake, "a phoorsa," evidently 

 recently swallowed, and two stones measuring \\ inches by 1 inch. I 

 have got the snakes and stones in spirits and will send them to you on the 

 first opportunity. As the hot weather advanced the Bustard disappeared 

 and I have not seen one since early in April. 



J. E. CARTER, Majok, 

 Bombay Political Department. 

 Camp Vekaval, 7th June 1912. 



No. XIX.— THE GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD {EUFODOTIS 

 EDWARDSI). 

 During a shoot in February 1906 in the Bikaner State near Bhatinda, 

 with a party of four guns, Mr. R. Sale Bruise, Punjab Police of Karnal, 

 shot a male bustard. The neck of the bird was pure white, its length 

 from tip of wing to tip of wing was exactly 98 inches and the weight 

 241b8. The food bag contained, whole ears of barley; some (blister ?) 

 beetles, and a snake about 9 inches long. 



Two females were also shot close by, but they weighed only 8 and 9 lbs. 

 They had afeo been feeding on barley and beetles, but had been unfortu- 

 nate in their hunt for reptiles. 



A. B. AITKEN. 

 QuETTA, 20th August 1912. 

 [We are g-lad to welcome this note from Mr. A. B. Aitken, the son of the late 

 Mr. E. H- Aitken, one of the founders of this Society.— Eds.] 



No. XX.— THE MASKED BOOBY {SULA CYANOFS) 

 IN BOMBAY HARBOUR. 



Through the kindness of Mr. E. R. H. Jackson of the Bombay Port Trust, 

 the Society has received a fine specimen of the Masked Booby, which 

 was captured in an exhausted condition on a dredger near the new 



