_COLLECTING WAYS AND COLLECTING DAYS. 351 | 
a seven or eight foot tunnel dug obliquely into the bank of a 
stream, the side of a road or other cutting. I have no doubt that 
the eggs of NV. amicta, like those of NV. athertonz, are globular and 
glossy white. 
H. and I stalked the birds very carefully, but succeeded in only getting 
one. After putting this up we slowly wandered on, adding rapidly 
to our collections. The profusion of bird and insect life was simply 
marvellous. Among birds, bulbuls of many kinds were conspicuous, 
Chloropss, Tole, Pycnonotus, Criniger, twittering, flitting and fighting 
among the tree-tops. The beautiful male of the fairy-blue-bird (Irena 
puella) with its glistening cobalt-blue wings was uttering its sharp 
“ be quick,” *‘ be quick”, while from the lower bushes by the road-side 
came the plaintive monotonous call of Turdinus abbotiz, and further in 
from the depths the hoarse “Hoot,” “ Hoot” of a Pomatorhinus. 
Every now and then too a trogon (Harpactes oreskios) with its bril- 
liant colouring, or a party of that rare hornbill (Anorrhinus tickell2) fol~ 
lowing each other at intervals in single file and uttering their curious 
cackling shout, would cross the road. Above all sounds, however, 
from the hill sides rose the melancholy howlings of the black 
gibbon (Hylobates lar). Butterflies abounded at every crossing of 
the stream. Among them Huplwas with their biue-shot wings, mi- 
micking Papzilios, difficult to distinguish from Euplea and Danais, 
delicate whites Huphina, Terias, Hebomoia, strong-winged Charazes, 
brilliant Arhopalas, and jerky-flighted brown skippers all swarmed to- 
gether on the bare hot sands. Mixed up among the butterflies were 
swarms of hymenopterous insects; of Megachile (leaf-cutter bees) 
alone I caught eleven species, of Humenes (solitary wasps) four species, 
and numerous species of Anthophora, Nomia, Ceratina, Halictus, and 
Trigona. I collected too various Coleoptera and Diptera, which were 
almost, if not quite, as abundantly represented as the other orders 
of insects with which I am better acquainted. The jungle on either 
side of the road is, as I have already stated, covered with dense ever- 
green vegetation, and hunting about among the undergrowth, I was 
overjoyed to chance on the whisker plant (Tacca levis) growing in 
great numbers. I had always considered this plant as somewhat rare, 
but here it was to be found literally in hundreds. It is a most curious 
