18 INDIAN DICKS. 



The next hinls Hume ;^ot were a \mr of young lairds received from 

 Captain Unwin in 1^71. These birds were for some time tliouglit to 

 be a new species, and were called Cijijuus unicini, after ('ajitain Unwin 

 who shot them, and wlio wrote to Hume about them in the letter here 

 given : — 



"To-day. while duck-shooting on tlie Jubbee stream on the border of 

 the Hazara and Eawalpindi districts, during a short halt for breakfast on 

 the banks of the nuHah, I was attracted by seeing two large white Ijirds 

 flying over the stream, some 250 yards lower down. The Jubbee here 

 has a wide stony bed, witli a small >tream in the centi'e forming 

 occasional })Ools, in one of which the birds seemed inclined to alight. 

 Changing their intention, however, they came flying up, and passed me at 

 a distance of about 60 yards : to m}^ surprise and delight, I recognized in 

 them most undoubted wild -wan-. Firing with loose -hot at that di.-tance 

 was useless, so I watched in the hope that they would settle in some of the 

 pools higher up in the stream and thereby afford a stalk, but they con- 

 tinued their slow heavy flight until I lost sight of them in the distance. 

 Concluding that they would not -to]) until they reached the Indus some 

 20 miles off, I was returning to my breakfast, a sadder and wiser man, 

 when, in taking a last look in this direction. I saw them returnin<i'. I 

 hastily got into the centre of the nullah, in their line of flight, and as they 

 arose slightly, to avoid me, fired both Ijarrels, Xo. ?> shot, at the leader. 

 She (for it proved to be the femalej staggered but went on, slowly sinking, 

 until she settled in a large pool about 400 yards off, accompanied by her 

 mate, who alighted close behind her. 



" The pool, being commanded by a high bank, offered an easy stalk, 

 and getting round into a favourable position, I found the swans about 

 20 yards from me. A ei-owd of Gadwall (C .'<tfejjenu<), which was close by, 

 took flight on seeing me, but the swan nobly stuck by his mate, and paid 

 dearly for his fidelity, and shortly I had the satisfaction of landing them 

 Ijoth. 



" The villagers, who collected the birds, gave the local name as ' Peur " 

 (pronounced with a nasal n). and told me that the birds came there occa- 

 sionally once in every three or four years." 



In 187<^ other three swan- were oljtained in the Sewan district, »Scind, 

 somewhere neai- the Mauchur Lake, by Mr. E. H. Watson, after he had 

 previously seen some birds of the same species in the lake itself, doubtless 

 the same flock, from which he afterwards obtained specimens. 



Besides these, a good number seem to have been seen, and in four cases 



