242 
Birds of the Jhclum District. 
came to a very large paddock surrounded by| a wall. There 
the ground was very hard and dry with nearly all the grasp 
worn away. Several Sandgrousc were flying about and 
settling to feed, and in one place I saw three Indian Cour- 
sers (Cursorius coromandeUcus) . I accordingly left the 
trap and went towards the Coursers which of course started 
running away from me in their usual fashion. Meanwhile 
I noticed a hen Sand Grouse (Ptvroclurus cxustus) which 
was moving away from me on the ground in a very leisurely 
manner, feeding as she went. Something in her demeanour 
made me suspect that she might have a nest near by and 
it did not take long to find it. There were three eggs 
lying on the ground in a hollow, which appeared to have 
been slightly improved by the bird ; there were a few pieces 
of dried grass stems under the eggs, but they looked as if 
they had been there original I3' and not introduced by the 
bird . The eggs were fresh . 
A Pied Mynah (^H tur no panto r contra ) noted ; was the first 
I have met with. This must be its extreme north-westerly 
limit in these parts. 
May 2b . — A Pied Mynah and a pair of Green Pigeons seen in my 
compound . 
May 28. — The hottest day of the month, the thermometer recording 
119.2 degrees in the shade. On an irrigated field in the 
Cattle Farm were collected a number of White Ibis {Ibis 
mcJunocuphdla), Black Ibis {Inocotis piipillosus), and White- 
necked Storks : A small dingy-looking Stork that was with 
them was certainly an Open-bill {Anastomus oscitans) ; a 
Cattle Egret {Bubidcus coroniandus) in breeding plumage 
seen flying. At a small pond surrounded by dense grass 
jungle (the chosen haunt of a Sounder of Pig) I noted 
a pair of Pygmy Cormorant {Phalacrocorax javunicu's). 
May 30. — Found four nests of the Common Babbler (Argya caudata), 
three of which contained three eggs ; in the other there were 
four. All the nests were placed some three or four feet 
above the ground in small thorny bushes and the birds sat 
close. The nests were all rather deep cups but varied 
as to their foundations from a neat structure to a some- 
what straggly mass. The foundation consists of grass, 
roots, bents, and small twigs, and the cup is made of a 
cotton-like fibre, mixed with fine roots ; an occasional horse 
hair and a few tiny Mimosa leaves serve as lining. 
I visited some paddocks belonging to the Cattle Farm 
where about a dozen Black Ibis (hiocotis papilfosus) were feed- 
ing busily in company with Myuahs, Doves, and a few Pin- 
tail Sand Grouse {Ptcroclurus cxustus). Amongst ihem 
stood a White-necked Stork hunched up in solitary medi- 
tation. These Ibis have a very plaintive cry reminding 
