FAUNA OF ASEAN 01. 95 



and snipe abounded. Flocks of Ihis carunculata con- 

 sorted with the Egyptian geese on the meadows around 

 the lake, but both had become very wild, owing to 

 their being so frequently fired at. The spur-winged 

 plover (Hoplopterus spinosus) was met with occasionally 

 in the same places or along the shore. 



Amongst the high grass which grew in places near 

 the lake I found, rather to my surprise, large flocks 

 of the black and yellow weaver-bird {Euplectes xantho- 

 melas), which elsewhere I had only seen at much greater 

 elevations. On the stunted trees, the beautiful long-tailed 

 roller (Coracias abyssinica) was far from rare, and the 

 iridescent starling {Lamprocolkis chalybceus) was fre- 

 quently met with. Amongst the other birds here col- 

 lected were Prabincola semitorquata, Heug., Turdus 

 olivacinus, Bp., Bradyornis chocolatina, Cotyle cincta, 

 and C. minor. I also obtained a single specimen of the 

 secretary bird. 



The meadow in which the camp stood was dotted over 

 by heaps of earth, exactly like mole-hills, thrown up by 

 Bathyergus splendens, a burrowing short-tailed rodent, 

 the size of a large Norway rat, but resembling in appear- 

 ance the bamboo rats {Rhizomys) of the Himalayas and 

 Burmese countries. I kept one alive for two or three 

 days, feeding it on roots of grass, but it finally escaped. 

 There were unusually few jackals and hygenas. A few 

 koodoo were said to occur in the neighbouring hills, and 

 I found the tracks of pigs and otters along the shore of the 

 lake. There were a few land-shells to be found, Bulimus 

 Olivieri, a species of Vitrina, and an Ennea, the two 



