J HEELS OF DACCA AND SYLHET. 



155 



Friday, loth. — In the midst of jheels : the whole face of the country 

 is covered with water several feet deep. Vast quantities of Oplismenus 

 stagninus still occur. 



Saturday, 16th. — Still in jheels. The same features continue. The 

 country is still very populous, all the more elevated spots having 

 villages. Oplismenus stagninus still prevails in vast quantities. 



Sunday, 1 7th. — Jheels in every direction : — nothing indeed seen but 

 water, with occasional grassy or reedy, and elevated spots occupied 

 by villages : — here and there a round-headed tree springing apparently 

 out of the water. Hills visible to the east. Cormorants, Ciconia 

 nudiceps, paddy -birds, the common white ones with black feet, are 

 abundant, and associate in flocks : there is one very nearly allied to 

 this, which is solitary, having black feet with yellow toes. The boats 

 of this district are very simple, something like a Bengal dingy rever- 

 sed, but they are sharp in the bows and ought to be fast ; their only 

 mode of progression is to be pushed along by means of poles. There 

 appears to be a great number of Mussulmans, who would here seem 

 to form the majority of the population. Strong winds from the south 

 interrupt our progress. 



Monday, 18th. — Delayed by bad weather. 



Tuesday, 19M. — Continued to pass through same kind of country, 

 but less jheelly. The Cook boat was left behind on the 17th in a 

 squall, and has not come up yet, so that I dine with the boatmen. 



The black and white long- toed water-hen continues plentiful: when 

 alarmed by kites, etc. it pursues them uttering a low mournful scream, 

 until it has succeeded in getting its enemy off to some distance ; it 

 then returns, I suppose to its young ; otherwise its cry is something 

 like the mewing of a cat, or rather a low hollow moan. The hills are 

 plainly visible to-day, lying towards the north. 



The males of the white and black water-hen have tails something 

 like those of a pheasant. There are two other species : one that is 

 found on the Tenasserim coast ; the other is much larger, — the size, of 

 a large domestic fowl : one of the sexes, has red wattles on its head. 

 The white and black one is far the most common ; it feeds apparently, 

 in flocks : the Maulmain one is the least common. These with Ardea 

 Indica, the white, black- toed, yellow- beaked Ardea, Ciconia nudiceps 

 a small brown chat ?, Pica vagabunda, are the birds of the jheels or 

 rather the dry spots in them. I saw yesterday a flock of the black Ibis, 

 flying in a triangle (A) without a base, the party was headed by one of 

 the white paddy-birds ! Villages have become very numerous, and 



