224 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. IX. 



No. III.— NOTES AS TO HOW TIGEES KILL. 



Perusing the interesting notes on the tiger by Mr. J. D. Inverarity, published 

 at page 143, Vol. Ill, No. 3, of the Society's Journal, on the points as to 

 how tigers kill their prey, I beg to add my experiences on this subject. 



I have on several occasions sat over the live bait, a young buffalo, and 

 seen the tiger kill. 



I will give two instances. In each case the tiger rushed and sprang with a 

 roar, in broad daylight ; one paw was brought down on the snout and up went 

 the horns, and the other paw over the humps, and with the mouth the back 

 of the neck was seized. In each case I was too excited to wait longer, and 

 I fired at the head. The tiger was with his back towards me. In one case I 

 killed, in the other I missed, and could not account for it. I found my shell in 

 the buffalo's skull between the horns. 



In another case when it was too dark to see what actually occurred, I have 

 heard and indistinctly seen the same process, and then all was quiet for 

 about ten minutes ; I presume the tiger was sucking the blood. He then 

 walked off without eating at all. Later on he returned to make a meal. The 

 moon was up ; I shot the tiger ; the kill was untouched. Tigers always begin 

 feeding at the rump. 



FRED. WRIGHT. 



Eilichpue, 28th June, 1894. 



No. IV.— A CURIOUS INSTANCE OF MELANISM. 



I send you the following note regarding a specimen of the common Madras 

 bulbul (Pycnonotus haemorrhous), now in my possession, as it may not be 

 uninteresting to some of the members of the Society. 



At the beginning of March this year a bulbul was found in the fernery of 

 my garden which, it was noticed, differed somewhat from the ordinary Madras 

 bulbul in its plumage. The bird appeared to be a young one, and the plumage 

 resembled that of a young bulbul, except in being several shades darker and in 

 having no red or crimson feathers in the under tail-coverts, these being glossy- 

 black. The black of the head and face shaded into very dark brown on the 

 neck, and the white feathers on the rump and vent were replaced by brown 

 ones, so that the bird on the whole looked almost black. 



The bird has now almost completed moulting and the new plumage resem- 

 bles that of an adult bird, the feathers on the rump and vent being white and 

 the black of the head and face more defined, but the under tail-coverts 

 are still glossy-black. I have two other specimens of this bulbul, and on com- 

 paring it with them find it still looks slightly darker than they do. I have 

 not been able to ascertain if this peculiarity of the plumage has been noticed 

 before, but some members of the Society may perhaps be able to throw some 

 light on the subject. 



Madras, 8th August, 1894. P. BERRY. 



