NOTES. 
195 
its perch until the coach was within a few feet of it, and then 
shift its position by a few yards only. It is a striking object- 
lesson in protective coloration to see a bird which looks con¬ 
spicuously and almost wholly white when flying become a dull 
grayish-brown object when the wings are closed. When one of 
these birds pitched, though within a few yards of the observer, 
it became practically lost to view, and required careful scrutiny 
before its position and form could be made out. But from the 
protective point of view, why does it make itself so conspicuous 
when on the wing ? What are its enemies'? Presumably hawks 
and eagles. It has a slow and somewhat heavy flight, and could 
not hope to escape from the rapid tactics of a bird of prey. 
Possibly its apparent unwillingness to take extended flights 
results from an intuition that it would thus more certainly expose 
itself to attack. By flashing out brilliantly white at one moment 
and disappearing the next it would probably confuse its enemy. 
Wanderoo monkeys (Semnopithecus priamus) were frequently 
seen seated unconcernedly on the trees by the roadside, watching 
the passage of the coach. 
At Bambakulam resthouse I was amused to see an ingenious 
self-supporting aquarium. In the outer globe of a large cocoanut 
oil lamp the resthouse-keeper had confined half a dozen tank-fish, 
the small receptacle for the oil being suspended almost level with 
the surface of the water. I noticed that the fish looked very 
plump and well fed, and was told that they lived upon the bodies 
of the many insects that fell into the water when the lamp was 
lit each evening. 
At night the approach to swampy ground was heralded by a 
chorus of harsh notes, presumably the call of Hand tigrina . 
Another more isolated frog-call was something like the initial 
yelp of a jackal. 
The first bird-call noticed about dawn was the well-known 
“ Jock Joyce ” of the J ungle Fowl, followed shortly by the musical 
cry of the Oriole. As I was walking ahead of the cart in the still 
early morning a pair of Hornbills ( Lophoceros gingalensis) crossed 
above the road with their peculiar undulating flight. Three half- 
grown Jungle Hens scratched for food in the ditch close by, re¬ 
gardless of my presence. 
As we neared Elephant Pass I caught sight of a queer creature 
shambling off into the scrub, which, for the moment, I mistook 
for a gigantic tortoise, but then recognized it as a Scaly Ant-eater 
or Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla). I had never before seen one 
of these beasts in its natural haunts, and regretted that it was on 
view for such a short time. 
