NATURALIST IN INDIA. 221 



mal," and so it is. The horns, which are present in both sexes, 

 vary from 10 to 15 inches, and from 3 to 4 inches in their great- 

 est circumference ; they are annulated at the base, and taper 

 backwards to sharp points. The hide is very thick, and almost 

 ball-proof, especially at long ranges. The hair on the neck 

 and back is long, stiff, and straight, and the general colour 

 black, with bright rufous splashes on the sides of the body, in- 

 clining to white below. The serou is said to fight desperately ; 

 it has been known, when wounded or brought to bay, to have 

 kept off a pack of wild dogs, and killed several by its sharp- 

 pointed horns. A few are met with on the Cashmere ranges, 

 and in favourable situations eastward to Nepal On the abrupt 

 sides of the kirawas, or ancient lacustrine deposits in the 

 valley, the beautiful wall-creeper may be frequently seen. 

 Its gray plumage and the bright crimson patches on the wing 

 serve to recognise it at once ; it is more plentiful, however, 

 by the sides of streams, and in the more rocky and precipitous 

 places towards the mountains. The gray-capped bunting is 

 common in bushy places. Beside the roller, the gray-headed 

 Indian jackdaw is occasionally seen about the larger towns, but 

 it is nowhere common. A snake is often observed hunting 

 after frogs in damp situations ; the largest I have seen measured 

 5i feet in length. This species is evidently the same as Mr. 

 Vigne mentions in his Travels ; it is known to the natives by 

 the name of ajda, and it is a true python, and not the boa con- 

 strictor, as some travellers have named it, which it is needless 

 to remark is not a native of Asia. A small adder like the 

 common British viper infests the mountain pastures, and was 

 very often observed coiled on footpaths ; the shickarees allege 

 that it is very venomous. A small water-snake, about a foot 

 in length, is common on the Wulur and other lakes. 



We left Islamabad on the 22d of May by way of Martund 



