18 WANDERINGS OF A 



At their residence near Poonah the ex-Amirs of Scinde 

 had several fine goshawks, trained for falconry ; the species 

 has been shot on the Nepal mountains and Neilgherries. 

 Trained Bhyri falcons {Falco jugger) are sold at Poonah by the 

 natives, and fetch high prices. They say these birds inhabit 

 the mountains and woody parts of the district ; but there is 

 no more handsome falcon than the teesa (Poliornis teesa) ; its 

 fine, clear, light-coloured eye, and in fact the whole appear- 

 ance of the bird, indicates grace and strength of wing. In 

 the stomach of a female I found a lizard 4 inches in 

 length. 



Among the many discomforts Europeans have to endure in 

 the East are myriads of fieas, mosquitoes, snakes, centipedes, 

 scorpions, etc. etc., which not only infest gardens, but pene- 

 trate into the interior of houses, especially at night. No 

 sooner is the cloth spread than hundreds of beetles, attracted 

 by the light of the candles, dash recklessly into the flame, 

 and fall disabled on the table, intruding themselves into every 

 dish ; crickets chirp among the beams overhead, and the 

 whole apartment resounds with the noise and buzz of insect- 

 life. Nor is the scene without very different, though occasion- 

 ally more attractive ; for swarms of fire-flies assemble round 

 the bushes, and with the lucid beam of their tiny lamps 

 illumine the gloom of the tropical night. 



On one occasion I was awoke by my servant pursuing a 

 snake across my bedroom-floor ; he killed it at my bed-side. 

 It was a species very common about Poonah, of a greenish- 

 black colour, and about 2 feet in length, with numerous 

 white spots on its upper surface. 



Snake- skins (so entire that even the covering of the eye 

 is retained) were often found under the floor-matting ; and 

 a species, white-spotted on the back and sides of the body 



