47 
by the Chinese; and it is to supply them that the sharks are 
captured. 
Enclosed is a curious little bird which I shot on the sea-shore. 
What is its name *? It frequents the low salt marsh plants that 
grow at the edge of and even in the water. It is extremely difficult 
to shoot, and when shot, equally hard to find; it runs among the 
roots, and occasionally perches on a twig, gives forth a wheezy feeble 
song, and instantly drops into the thicket. The eye is dark. 
Ghiznee, Oct. 5, 1854. 
The warm weather has given life to numbers of the dragon-fly 
family, but their short life is cut still shorter by the numbers of 
birds that come, self-invited, to the feast; shrikes, bee-eaters, 
hoopoes, stone-chats, wheatears, willow-wrens, and many other 
species, have now appeared about the rocks, where, a month since, 
nothing but a lark was to be seen. Terns, that before could only be 
found at sea, now come wandering over the land, and, hunting up 
and down, soon fill their stomachs with the delicious morsels; even 
the very cheels (kites) have given up their carrion-feeding propen- 
sities. The consequence of this good feeding is very distressing to 
the collector, for the birds become so fat that it is almost impossible 
to skin or preserve them: my servant is in despair, and brings me a 
mass of oily feathers as the result of an hour’s labour. Is there any 
remedy? Large flocks of cranes are continually passing over my 
tent, “en route’ to the Indus. Geese have been seen, and I myself 
have fired at ducks, all which are indications of approaching winter ; 
wading-birds of all kinds are now exceedingly common, but very 
difficult to procure, for they congregate on large open flats left at low 
water, and cannot be approached. The salt-water creeks too, in 
which they are to be found at certain stages of the tide, are quite 
exposed and without cover on their banks ; so that if by dint of great 
care and caution you can manage to get within 300 yards of the 
water, you are then sure to hear some small plover or sanderling set 
up his shrill piping, to which that wariest of birds, the curlew, im- 
mediately responds, and away scuds every feather in the creek, leaving 
you to expend your vexation and charges upon the crabs and mud. 
There is one crane in particular that I have been after many times ; 
he is a very cunning old gentleman, and evidently fond of a joke ; he 
knows exactly how far a gun will carry, allows me to approach, by 
dint of much knee-grazing and elbow work, to within 100 yards of 
him, and then, rightly imagining that a nearer proximity would be 
dangerous, gives a hoarse chuckling laugh, and, after four flaps of 
his enormous wings, is hopelessly gone; but I will be even with him 
some day. 
Enclosed you will find a rough sketch of a thrush-like bird killed by 
me yesterday ; it is the only one I have seen, but my servants know it 
well, and state that it is a beautiful songster. If you can make out 
the species from my drawing, I should like to know its namet. 
* Suya lepida, an extremely rare bird in the collections of Europe. 
+ Certhilauda bifasciata, or an allied species. 
