BIRDS OF EASTERN AND SOUTHERN ASIA, 



iivity, when a pair was allowed the range of a 

 large walled garde:i (protected from Jackals) 

 containing shallow inuiiiiated enclosures for the 

 growtli of lice: in these the nest was commenced 

 under water, and raised for s( me inches above 

 the snifiice ; the eggs were tno in number, 

 about 3| inclii-s long by 2J inches broad, of a 

 bliiisli-white, with a few disiantly placed rufous 

 specks and blotches. The nest of the European 

 Crane {Grus cinerea), also a common Indian 

 bird, is thus described by Major Lloyd, as ob- . 

 served by himself in Scandinavia. " It usually 

 breeds in extended morasses, far away from the 

 haunts of men. It makes its nest, consisting 

 of .stalks of plants and the like, on a tussock, 

 and often amongst willow and other bushes. 

 The female lavs two eggs," &c. Again, Major 

 Cunningham, in his ' Ladnk,' &c., remarks that 

 " the water- fowl swarm on the lakes and on the 

 still waters of the Upper Indus, I have, he says 

 shot the wild Goose on the Thogji, Chanmo and 

 Chomoiiri lake at 15,000 feet; and Col. Bates 

 and I shot three Teal on the Suraj Dal, a small 

 lake at the head of the Bhaga river, at an eleva- 

 tion of upwards of 16,000 feet :" but the time 

 of the year is not mentioned by this anihor. 

 Those birds which are common to India and the 

 polar circle appertain for the most part, as might 

 be supposed, to the wading and web-footed or- 

 ders ; and a few of them are of very general dis- 

 tribution over the world, as, especially, the com- 

 mon Turnstone (Strejjsilas mterpres\ which 

 seems to be found on every sea-coast. The 

 Jjohipes liyperhoreus is a little arciic bird, of 

 rare occurrence even in the north of Scotland, 

 Orkney and Shetland : but a specimen was not 

 long ago procured near Madras, which is now 

 in the Calcutta museum ; and there also may 

 be seen an example of the nearly related T'hala- 

 ropus fulicarius, obtained in the Calcutta provi- 

 sion-bazar so late in the year as May 11, 1846. 

 The well-known naturalist of the Madras Presi- 

 dency, Dr. T. C. Jerdon, obtained in Southern 

 India a single example of a little Australian 

 Plover, Eiaticula nigrifrons, which figures in 

 his catalogue as a supposed new species by the 

 synonyme II russata- The Tibetan Haven is 

 considered as a peculiar species by Mr. Hodg- 

 son, an opinion to which the Prince of Canino 

 seems to incline : it may be presumed to inha- 

 bit the lofty mountains of Butan to the north, 

 but the smaller crow of Southern Asia is the 

 C. splendens ; while the common black crow of 

 all India, C. culminatus, would seem to stand 

 here alike for the ' Raven,' the ' Carrion Crow,' 

 and the * Eook !' The true Eook {Gorvus 

 frugiletjiis) however, is known to inhabit or 

 visit the Peshawur valley, Afghanistan, and 

 Kashmir. The Rook of China and Japan is 

 considered a distinct species, C. pastinator of 

 Gould ; and the Jackdaw (C. monedula) accom- 



7 



panics it in those countries, while the true nor- 

 thern Raven Corvus corax is met with not 

 only there, but also over a great portion of the 

 Punjab. In other parts of India the compara- 

 tively small C culminatus is popularly known 

 to Europeans as " the Raven but the northern 

 Raven would make a meal of one and not feel 

 mucli the worse for it. Dr. Francis Buchanan 

 Hamilton, remarking upon the hawking or fal- 

 conry observed by him in the Shahabad dis- 

 . trict, mentions that " the only pursuit worth 

 notice that he saw in several days' hawk- 

 ing was from a large bird of prey named Ji- 

 mach, which attacked a very strong Falcon as 

 it was hovering over a bush into which it had 

 driven a Panridge. The moment the Falcon 

 spied the Jimach it gave a scream, and flew off 

 with the utmost velocity, while the Jimach 

 equally pursued. They were instantly followed 

 by the whole party, foot, horse, and elephants, 

 perhaps 200 persons, shouting and firing with 

 all their might , and the Falcon was saved, but 

 not without severe wounds, the Jimach having 

 struck her to the ground ; but a horsemau 

 came up in time to prevent her from being de- 

 voured." The WoMiah or TJhab, as it is also 

 termed, is a small Eagle, very abundant in the 

 plains of Upper India, the Dukhun, &c., bear- 

 irig many systematic names, the earliest of 

 which is Aquila fulvescens ; for it is a different 

 bird, not quite so large and robust, as the Aq. 

 ncevioides of Africa, with which it has been 

 supposed identical. The Hon'ble Walter Elliot, 

 of the Madras C. S., remarks that — " the Woh- 

 hah is very troublesome in hawking, after the 

 sun becomes hot, mistaking the jesses for some 

 kind of prey, and pouncing on the Falcon to 

 seize it. He had once or twice nearly lost 

 ' Shahins' {Falco peregrinator) in consequence, 

 they flying to great distances for fear of the 

 " Wohhah," i. e. the Jimach. The principal 

 species employed in Indian falconry are iden- 

 tical with those of Europe j namely, the Bauri 

 of India, which is the Peregrine Falcon of the 

 West ; and the Baz of India, which is the Gos- 

 shawk or ' Gentil Falcon' of Britain. In a 

 curious Fersian treatise on the subject, by the 

 head falconer of the Mogul emperor Akbar, 

 the various species used are enumerated, and 

 may be recognised with precision : among them 

 is the Shangar, which is clearly the Jer Falcon 

 of the north ; represented as extremely rare 

 and valuable, taken perhaps once or twice only 

 in a century, and then generally in the Punjab. 

 The Shahin {Falco peregrinator), another fa- 

 vorite Indian Falcon, does not inhabit Europe, 

 but is clearly the Falco ruber indicus of Aldro- 

 vand, rather than the small hobby-like Indian 

 species {F. sevens), on which Teniminck be- 

 stowed the name F. Jldrovandi. With five 

 or six exceptions only, the whole of the Euro- 



