A BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
peroodon, a large whale of the North Atlantic, and Inia, a porpoise or 
dolphin of similar habits which is found in the great rivers of South 
America. 
When we know moro of those of China, it seems not unlikely that 
we may find something of the sort there. 
It is by no means evenly distributed; indeed, nothing is on the 
Indus. Where there are towns, their rubbish and sewage probably 
attract fish; at any rate these and the “ Bullans” are most common 
in such places. The water-fowl, on the other hand, are most common 
on undisturbed reaches, and the crocodilia are very locally distributed, 
whereof more anon. Some parts of the great river seem absolutely 
desert in every way. 
Amongst aquatic birds the great Sarus Crane, essentially a tropical 
form, is rare. The White Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus) is 
recorded, in my opinion, very doubtfully, as a rare straggler from 
the north. The Grey Crane (Grus cinerea) is common enough in 
winter, but the Demoiselle Crane rare. We have here all the 
southern plovers, and the Chettusiz are abundant, and the Huropean 
Lapwing occurs pretty frequently. Hsacus recurvirostris is said to 
be known as the “ Chota Taltir” or ‘small sort of Houbara’’ (Otis 
macqueent), but this is probably the result of a confusion between it 
and Uidicnemus crepitans, the Lesser Stone Plover or BastardFlorican, 
which certainly does bear that name, and deserves it by its habits, 
which the former bird does not. Two swallow plovers, Glareola 
orientalis and torqwata, breed here, and G, lactea occurs in consider- 
able numbers, and may breed. Squatarola helvetica, the Grey 
Plover proper, is abundant in places in the cold weather, chiefly on 
the sea shore, and so on throughout their tribe. We have all 
the black-and-white marine plovers, and probably most of them 
breed. 
Of the Raptores (which might fairly have claimed precedence), we 
have the White-tailed Sea-eagle, or Brne (Haliwtus albicilla), the 
trey-backed Sea Hagle, as on the Konkan coast (this latter breeds 
near Sakkar), and the Ring-tailed Sea Hagle, also breeding, This 
last bird has one old-established eyrie in a sacred pipal tree near 
Bori Bunder Railway station, where the birds do not seem to care 
twopence for the continual throng of men and noise and steam of 
the engines. The Osprey is common, and said to breed. Syilornis 
cheela is reported, but I have not seen it, and the Peregrine Falcon 
hunts ducks so constantly that it may almost be called a bird of the 
