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− | [[File: headogs.png |Hedgehogs |frame|500px]]
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− | [[File: heena.png |Hyena |frame|500px]] | + | [[File: yak.png |yak |frame|500px]] |
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| {| class="wikitable" | | {| class="wikitable" |
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| During scanning spelling mistakes are bound to occur and words get shifted. Readers might also like to correct these. | | During scanning spelling mistakes are bound to occur and words get shifted. Readers might also like to correct these. |
− | [[File: loris.png | Loris |frame|500px]] | + | [[File: loris.png | Loris |frame|500px]] |
| + | [[File: leapord .png| Leopards or panthers |frame|500px]] |
| [[File: mammals.png | Mammals Primates |frame|500px]] | | [[File: mammals.png | Mammals Primates |frame|500px]] |
− | [[File: yak.png |yak |frame|500px]] | + | [[File: headogs.png |Hedgehogs |frame|500px]] |
| + | [[File: heena.png |Hyena |frame|500px]] |
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| + | [[File: elephant.png|Indian Elephant |frame|500px]] |
| + | |
| + | |
| + | |
| + | [[File: india jackal .png| india jackal |frame|500px]] |
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| + | [[File: crnivora.png| crnivora |frame|500px]] |
| + | |
| + | |
| + | =Zoology: India= |
| ==Introduction== | | ==Introduction== |
| Animal life is not only abundant in British India, but it is Richness | | Animal life is not only abundant in British India, but it is Richness |
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| worthy estimate to be made. Of moths alone 5,618 species | | worthy estimate to be made. Of moths alone 5,618 species |
| were described by Sir G. Hampson as having been discovered | | were described by Sir G. Hampson as having been discovered |
− | up to 1896, and some hundreds have since been added. | + | up to 1896, and some hundreds have since been added. |
| + | |
| ===Distribution=== | | ===Distribution=== |
| + | |
| Nearly the whole Indian area is included within the zoolo- - | | Nearly the whole Indian area is included within the zoolo- - |
| gical region known as Indo-Malay, Oriental, or Indian, which | | gical region known as Indo-Malay, Oriental, or Indian, which |
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| remains of animals closely related to the Chimpanzee of Africa | | remains of animals closely related to the Chimpanzee of Africa |
| and the Orang-utan f the Malay Archipelago occur in the | | and the Orang-utan f the Malay Archipelago occur in the |
− | Pliocene Siwalik beds at the base of the Western Himalayas. | + | Pliocene Siwalik beds at the base of the Western Himalayas. |
| + | |
| But two species of Gibbon (Hylobates\ which, although much | | But two species of Gibbon (Hylobates\ which, although much |
| smaller, resemble man in some details of structure as much as | | smaller, resemble man in some details of structure as much as |
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| a fox terrier, and generally are about as big as a domestic cat, | | a fox terrier, and generally are about as big as a domestic cat, |
| but old males greatly exceed ordinary members of the flock in | | but old males greatly exceed ordinary members of the flock in |
− | dimensions. They live chiefly on fruit, grain, seeds, &c., but | + | dimensions. |
| + | |
| + | They live chiefly on fruit, grain, seeds, &c., but |
| all eat insects as well ; one kind subsists largely on crabs and | | all eat insects as well ; one kind subsists largely on crabs and |
| other Crustacea, and individuals have been seen devouring | | other Crustacea, and individuals have been seen devouring |
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| One of these (S. joh ////), which is quite black, occurs on the plateau of the Nilgins and in the Anaimalai and Travanrore ranges; another kind, the Purple-faced Monkey (.V. Kphalo- pterus\ is met with throughout Ceylon at low or moderate elevations. It is to these Ceylon Langurs that the name Wanderoo, wrongly applied to the Malabar Lion-tailed Macaque by European naturalists, properly belongs. A large kind of Langur (S. schistaceus) is found in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan, at elevations of from 5,000 to 12,000 feet, and has been observed sporting amongst fir-trees loaded with snow. Five more species are met with in parts of Assam and Burma. | | One of these (S. joh ////), which is quite black, occurs on the plateau of the Nilgins and in the Anaimalai and Travanrore ranges; another kind, the Purple-faced Monkey (.V. Kphalo- pterus\ is met with throughout Ceylon at low or moderate elevations. It is to these Ceylon Langurs that the name Wanderoo, wrongly applied to the Malabar Lion-tailed Macaque by European naturalists, properly belongs. A large kind of Langur (S. schistaceus) is found in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan, at elevations of from 5,000 to 12,000 feet, and has been observed sporting amongst fir-trees loaded with snow. Five more species are met with in parts of Assam and Burma. |
| | | |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
| ==Loris== | | ==Loris== |
| The majority of the living forms of Lemurs are peculiar to | | The majority of the living forms of Lemurs are peculiar to |
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| and the Higher Himalayas, while the Lion, now almost extinct | | and the Higher Himalayas, while the Lion, now almost extinct |
| in India, and the Indian Desert Cat (F. ornata) inhabit only | | in India, and the Indian Desert Cat (F. ornata) inhabit only |
− | the drier north-western parts of the country. The Caracal | + | the drier north-western parts of the country. |
| + | |
| + | The Caracal |
| (F. caracal) and the Hunting Leopard ( Cynaditrus jubatus) | | (F. caracal) and the Hunting Leopard ( Cynaditrus jubatus) |
| have, like the Lion, a wide range in Western Asia and in | | have, like the Lion, a wide range in Western Asia and in |
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| Marbled Cat (F. marmorata^ and the Golden Cat (F. tem- | | Marbled Cat (F. marmorata^ and the Golden Cat (F. tem- |
| mincki) occur in the Eastern Himalayas and range through | | mincki) occur in the Eastern Himalayas and range through |
− | Burma to the Malay countries. The remaining Indian cats, | + | Burma to the Malay countries. |
| + | |
| + | The remaining Indian cats, |
| five in number (neglecting the doubtful F. ton/uafa) the Tiger, | | five in number (neglecting the doubtful F. ton/uafa) the Tiger, |
| Leopard or Panther, Fishing Cat (F. vivcrrina\ Leopard Cat | | Leopard or Panther, Fishing Cat (F. vivcrrina\ Leopard Cat |
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| which may indicate that the tiger is a comparatively modern | | which may indicate that the tiger is a comparatively modern |
| immigrant into Southern India, and did not exist there when | | immigrant into Southern India, and did not exist there when |
− | Ceylon formed part of the continent. Tigers ascend the Hima- | + | Ceylon formed part of the continent. |
| + | |
| + | Tigers ascend the Hima- |
| layas occasionally to a height of 6,000 or 7,000 feet, though | | layas occasionally to a height of 6,000 or 7,000 feet, though |
| they generally keep to the base of the range. The lion is an | | they generally keep to the base of the range. The lion is an |
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| Both attack human beings occasionally ; but the destruction | | Both attack human beings occasionally ; but the destruction |
| of human life by tigers in India is mainly, if not entirely, | | of human life by tigers in India is mainly, if not entirely, |
− | due to a small minority of these animals. Ordinary tigers | + | due to a small minority of these animals. |
| + | |
| + | Ordinary tigers |
| never kill men for food ; the terrible man-eater is a tiger, or | | never kill men for food ; the terrible man-eater is a tiger, or |
| perhaps more often a tigress, which, owing to age or partial | | perhaps more often a tigress, which, owing to age or partial |
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| to 400 pounds ; but in Southern India the weights appear to | | to 400 pounds ; but in Southern India the weights appear to |
| be rather less. | | be rather less. |
| + | |
| ==Leopards or panthers== | | ==Leopards or panthers== |
| Leopards or panthers are more widely distributed than | | Leopards or panthers are more widely distributed than |
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| different kinds in India ; and in some parts of the country, as | | different kinds in India ; and in some parts of the country, as |
| in the Central Provinces, there appear to be two distinguish- | | in the Central Provinces, there appear to be two distinguish- |
− | able varieties, one much larger than the other. But when | + | able varieties, one much larger than the other. |
| + | |
| + | But when |
| many are compared it is impossible to find any constant | | many are compared it is impossible to find any constant |
| distinctions. Black individuals occur not unfrequcntly in | | distinctions. Black individuals occur not unfrequcntly in |
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| and the Malay countries ; and the small Indian Civet | | and the Malay countries ; and the small Indian Civet |
| ( Viverricula mahucensis], inhabiting nearly the whole of India | | ( Viverricula mahucensis], inhabiting nearly the whole of India |
− | and Burma, with Southern China, Siam, &c. All are some- | + | and Burma, with Southern China, Siam, &c. |
| + | |
| + | All are some- |
| what arboreal in their habits, and live partly on small animals | | what arboreal in their habits, and live partly on small animals |
| and birds, partly on fruits and roots. The drug known as | | and birds, partly on fruits and roots. The drug known as |
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| Eastern Himalayas and Burma, and by a larger form (Z. macu- | | Eastern Himalayas and Burma, and by a larger form (Z. macu- |
| losus) in Tenasserim ; and the Palm Civets (Paradoxurus\ | | losus) in Tenasserim ; and the Palm Civets (Paradoxurus\ |
− | often called in India toddy-cats. The latter are common in | + | often called in India toddy-cats. |
| + | |
| + | The latter are common in |
| all wooded parts of India and Burma, but owing to their | | all wooded parts of India and Burma, but owing to their |
| nocturnal habits are but rarely seen. They have long tails, | | nocturnal habits are but rarely seen. They have long tails, |
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| binturofig), called the Monkey Tiger (myouk-kya) in Burma, | | binturofig), called the Monkey Tiger (myouk-kya) in Burma, |
| is larger than the Paradox uri^ and measures about 2\ feet | | is larger than the Paradox uri^ and measures about 2\ feet |
− | from nose to insertion of tail. It is a forest dweller, and is | + | from nose to insertion of tail. |
| + | |
| + | It is a forest dweller, and is |
| found east of the Bay of Bengal from Assam to Sumatra and | | found east of the Bay of Bengal from Assam to Sumatra and |
| Java. The colour is black. The most remarkable peculiarity | | Java. The colour is black. The most remarkable peculiarity |
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| and famous in Indian folk-lore for its reputed acquaintance | | and famous in Indian folk-lore for its reputed acquaintance |
| with an antidote to the poison of the cobra, a herb or | | with an antidote to the poison of the cobra, a herb or |
− | root known as mungusuvl. The story is apocryphal : the | + | root known as mungusuvl. |
| + | |
| + | The story is apocryphal : the |
| mungoose is so quick and agile that it generally avoids the | | mungoose is so quick and agile that it generally avoids the |
| snake's fangs and seizes its adversary by the head ; but if | | snake's fangs and seizes its adversary by the head ; but if |
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| Indian Wolf (C. palhpes), chiefly distinguished by smaller size, | | Indian Wolf (C. palhpes), chiefly distinguished by smaller size, |
| is met with throughout the Peninsula. Neither wolves nor | | is met with throughout the Peninsula. Neither wolves nor |
− | foxes are known to occur in Ceylon or Burma. The Indian | + | foxes are known to occur in Ceylon or Burma. |
| + | |
| + | The Indian |
| wolves, despite their smaller size, are dangerous animals, and | | wolves, despite their smaller size, are dangerous animals, and |
| in parts of the country carry away many children, besides | | in parts of the country carry away many children, besides |
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| and have never been known to assail men. Throughout India | | and have never been known to assail men. Throughout India |
| there is a general belief that wild dogs hunt and kill tigers, but | | there is a general belief that wild dogs hunt and kill tigers, but |
− | it is still an open question whether the story is credible. | + | it is still an open question whether the story is credible. |
| | | |
| ==Indian foxes== | | ==Indian foxes== |
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| in the higher ranges of Burma and the Malay Peninsula. A dark | | in the higher ranges of Burma and the Malay Peninsula. A dark |
| form occurring on the hills of Southern India is by some | | form occurring on the hills of Southern India is by some |
− | authorities regarded as a distinct species (Af.gwatkinsi). | + | authorities regarded as a distinct species (Af.gwatkinsi). The |
− | | + | |
− | The | + | |
| European Beech Marten (M. foind) is met with in Afghanistan, | | European Beech Marten (M. foind) is met with in Afghanistan, |
| Ladakh, and Kumaun. A polecat (Putorius larvatus) has been | | Ladakh, and Kumaun. A polecat (Putorius larvatus) has been |
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| parts of Western Asia ; and by two species of Hog-badger | | parts of Western Asia ; and by two species of Hog-badger |
| (Arctonyx\ which are met with in the Eastern Himalayas, | | (Arctonyx\ which are met with in the Eastern Himalayas, |
− | Assam, Burma, and the countries to the east and south-east. | + | Assam, Burma, and the countries to the east and south-east. |
− | | + | |
| ==Otter== | | ==Otter== |
| Three kinds of otter are known from India. One of | | Three kinds of otter are known from India. One of |
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| as the Bengal Sundarbans and Sind, being used to drive fish | | as the Bengal Sundarbans and Sind, being used to drive fish |
| into nets. | | into nets. |
| + | |
| ==Cat-bear== | | ==Cat-bear== |
| One of the most interesting members of the Indian Fauna | | One of the most interesting members of the Indian Fauna |
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| forest form, with especially arboreal habits, ranges from the | | forest form, with especially arboreal habits, ranges from the |
| Malay countries through Burma to the Eastern Himalayas, and | | Malay countries through Burma to the Eastern Himalayas, and |
− | has quite recently been found in Sikkim. The bear of the | + | has quite recently been found in Sikkim. |
| + | |
| + | The bear of the |
| Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, commonly called the Sloth Bear | | Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, commonly called the Sloth Bear |
| (Mc/ursus ursinus), belongs to a different genus, having much | | (Mc/ursus ursinus), belongs to a different genus, having much |
| smaller and rather fewer teeth and more powerful claws than | | smaller and rather fewer teeth and more powerful claws than |
| the typical bears. It is a smaller animal than the European | | the typical bears. It is a smaller animal than the European |
− | bear, and is even more uncouth and clumsy. It is black and | + | bear, and is even more uncouth and clumsy. |
| + | |
| + | It is black and |
| covered with long coarse hair, but appears nevertheless not to | | covered with long coarse hair, but appears nevertheless not to |
| be very sensitive to heat, for it inhabits some of the hottest | | be very sensitive to heat, for it inhabits some of the hottest |
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| genera Ptcromys and Sciuropterus are generally distributed in | | genera Ptcromys and Sciuropterus are generally distributed in |
| all well-wooded parts of India ; the majority of them, however, | | all well-wooded parts of India ; the majority of them, however, |
− | inhabit the Himalayas or Burma. The ordinary squirrels are | + | inhabit the Himalayas or Burma. |
| + | |
| + | The ordinary squirrels are |
| now divided into three groups, one of which, constituting | | now divided into three groups, one of which, constituting |
| the genus or sub-genus Ratufa, is represented in the | | the genus or sub-genus Ratufa, is represented in the |
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| Palmarum), which is a familiar inhabitant of gardens and | | Palmarum), which is a familiar inhabitant of gardens and |
| groves near human habitations, and is often seen feeding | | groves near human habitations, and is often seen feeding |
− | on the ground under trees. The name ' palm-squirrel' is | + | on the ground under trees. |
| + | |
| + | The name ' palm-squirrel' is |
| misleading, as this animal is far more frequently seen about | | misleading, as this animal is far more frequently seen about |
| mangoes, banyan, or pipal trees than on palms. The mem- | | mangoes, banyan, or pipal trees than on palms. The mem- |
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| (S. macdellandi) are common in the forests of the Himalayas | | (S. macdellandi) are common in the forests of the Himalayas |
| and Burma. | | and Burma. |
| + | |
| ===Marmots=== | | ===Marmots=== |
| Of marmots, which are nearly allied to squirrels, three | | Of marmots, which are nearly allied to squirrels, three |
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| has a comparatively long tail, hence its name (A. caudatus). | | has a comparatively long tail, hence its name (A. caudatus). |
| It is large, measuring about three feet, ot which the tail forms | | It is large, measuring about three feet, ot which the tail forms |
− | a third. | + | a third. |
| | | |
| ==Jerboa== | | ==Jerboa== |
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| but the fur is mixed with spines. It lives on trees in the | | but the fur is mixed with spines. It lives on trees in the |
| Anaimalai and Travancore hills. | | Anaimalai and Travancore hills. |
| + | |
| ==rats and mice== | | ==rats and mice== |
| The rats and mice (Muridae) comprise in India three sub- | | The rats and mice (Muridae) comprise in India three sub- |
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| the most important are the common Indian Rat (Afus rattus}^ | | the most important are the common Indian Rat (Afus rattus}^ |
| of which the European Black Rat is a variety ; the Brown Rat | | of which the European Black Rat is a variety ; the Brown Rat |
− | (M. decumanus), and the domestic mice. The Common Rat | + | (M. decumanus), and the domestic mice. |
| + | |
| + | The Common Rat |
| (M. rattus) is clearly indigenous, and is found everywhere in | | (M. rattus) is clearly indigenous, and is found everywhere in |
| forest and cultivated ground, as well as about houses; while | | forest and cultivated ground, as well as about houses; while |
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| like some species of vole in Europe, a pest on account of its | | like some species of vole in Europe, a pest on account of its |
| numbers and the destruction it causes to the crops. | | numbers and the destruction it causes to the crops. |
| + | |
| ===Mole-rats=== | | ===Mole-rats=== |
| The Indian Mole-rats and Bandicoots form the genus | | The Indian Mole-rats and Bandicoots form the genus |
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| JV. bengalensis) are about as long as a black rat, but stouter, | | JV. bengalensis) are about as long as a black rat, but stouter, |
| and they throw up, beside the holes they make in fields and | | and they throw up, beside the holes they make in fields and |
− |
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− |
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− |
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− |
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− |
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| banks, small heaps of earth, which have erroneously been | | banks, small heaps of earth, which have erroneously been |
| attributed to moles; while the Bandicoots (N. bandicota of | | attributed to moles; while the Bandicoots (N. bandicota of |
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| Eastern Himalayas, and Burma) are very large rats, N. bandi- | | Eastern Himalayas, and Burma) are very large rats, N. bandi- |
| cota weighing as much as 2^ to 3 Ib. and measuring 12 to 15 | | cota weighing as much as 2^ to 3 Ib. and measuring 12 to 15 |
− | inches without the tail, which is nearly as long. The name | + | inches without the tail, which is nearly as long. |
| + | |
| + | The name |
| bandicoot is a corruption of the Telegu pandi-koku or ' pig | | bandicoot is a corruption of the Telegu pandi-koku or ' pig |
| rat/ a term conferred because this rat is said to grunt like | | rat/ a term conferred because this rat is said to grunt like |
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| headed yellowish brown bush rat with coarse hair (Golunda | | headed yellowish brown bush rat with coarse hair (Golunda |
| clliotti] is found throughout the Peninsula and Ceylon, where | | clliotti] is found throughout the Peninsula and Ceylon, where |
− | it proved at one time very destructive to coffee trees. | + | it proved at one time very destructive to coffee trees. |
| + | |
| ===Vole=== | | ===Vole=== |
| About a dozen kinds of Vole (Microtus or Arvicold) are | | About a dozen kinds of Vole (Microtus or Arvicold) are |
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| however for instance species of giraffe and hippopotamus | | however for instance species of giraffe and hippopotamus |
| inhabited the country in past times. All the most valuable | | inhabited the country in past times. All the most valuable |
− | domestic animals are Ungulates. | + | domestic animals are Ungulates. |
− |
| + | |
| == Indian Elephant== | | == Indian Elephant== |
| The Indian Elephant, one of only two existing species of | | The Indian Elephant, one of only two existing species of |
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| are driven, a few are caught in pitfalls, others are run down | | are driven, a few are caught in pitfalls, others are run down |
| and noosed by men riding fast tame animals. | | and noosed by men riding fast tame animals. |
− | | + | |
| ==Wild horses== | | ==Wild horses== |
| Wild horses, rhinoceros, and tapirs are not widely distributed | | Wild horses, rhinoceros, and tapirs are not widely distributed |
| in India and Burma. They form the group of odd-toed | | in India and Burma. They form the group of odd-toed |
| + | |
| + | |
| | | |
| or Perissodactyle Ungulates. The only wild horses or asses are | | or Perissodactyle Ungulates. The only wild horses or asses are |
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| Malay Tapir is only found within our limits in Southern | | Malay Tapir is only found within our limits in Southern |
| Tenasserim south of about 15 N. lat. | | Tenasserim south of about 15 N. lat. |
− | ==Wild Yak==
| |
− | The even-toed or Artiodactyle Ungulates are much more
| |
− | numerous. Of wild cattle alone no fewer than five species are
| |
− | met with in different parts of the area. Of these, one, the
| |
− | Wild Yak (Bos grunniens\ is peculiar to the Tibetan plateau,
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− | and only just comes within Indian limits in the Kashmir
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− | territories, but tame yaks are kept throughout the Higher
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− | Himalayas. The Wild Buffalo (Bos bubalus) is met with in
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− | Assam, Bengal, and Orissa, and here and there in the forest
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− | country to the westward as far south as the Kistna river ; it
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− | is also common in the lower parts of Ceylon, being chiefly
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− | found in grassy plains near water and often in marshes.
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− |
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− | The
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− | Gaur (Bos gaurus), the Gayal (. frontalis\ and the Tsine or
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− | Banteng (/y. sondaicus) form a particular group of typical oxen,
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− | distinguished by flattened horns, a high dorsal ridge terminating
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− | about half-way down the back, and peculiar coloration, very
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− | dark and often almost black on the upper parts, with the legs
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− | white from above the knees and hocks. In the Tsine the
| |
− | cows and young are reddish, in the other kinds dark-brown ;
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− | the white too extends in the Tsine up the inside of the legs
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− | and to the buttocks. The Gaur (bison of Anglo-Indian sports-
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− | men) is a magnificent animal, almost the finest, if not actually
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− | the grandest, of living bovines. Large bulls sometimes measure
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− | over six feet in height at the withers, whilst their horns are
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− | occasionally each three feet long and as much as eighteen to
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− | twenty inches round the base. Cows are smaller.
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− |
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− | This noble
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− | wild bovine is found in all the great hilly forest tracts of India,
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− | Burma, and the Malay Peninsula; but owing to the extension
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− | of cultivation and the more general use of guns its numbers in
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− | India are rapidly diminishing, and in many places it must soon,
| |
− | unless preserved, completely disappear. The Gayal or Mithan
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− | is known only in a domesticated or semi-domesticated state.
| |
− | It is thus kept by several tribes north and south of the Upper
| |
− | Assam valley, but the original wild animal has never been
| |
− | satisfactorily identified. Some writers regard the Gayal as a
| |
− | domesticated race of the Gaur, which inhabits the same tract,
| |
− | but the differences in the form of the skull and horns are
| |
− | opposed to this view.
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− |
| |
− | The Tsine or Banteng is smaller, of
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− | rather slighter build than the Gaur, and appears to be less of
| |
− | a hill animal, being found chiefly in grassy plains. It is met
| |
− | with locally throughout Burma and to the southward as far as
| |
− | Java and Borneo, but the Burmese race is said to differ some-
| |
− | what in coloration from the Malay. This animal is domesti-
| |
− | cated in Java. Both the Yak and the Buffalo are domesticated.
| |
− | Tame yaks are kept only at considerable altitudes in the
| |
− | Himalayas and in Tibet; tame buffaloes are common through-
| |
− | out the plains of India and Burma. They are chiefly kept in
| |
− | India as milch cattle, though they are also used for draught
| |
− | and for the plough, and in some cases as baggage animals. In
| |
− | Burma, where milk is not used, a very fine race of buffaloes
| |
− | exists, especially in Pegu. Another very fine breed is that
| |
− | owned by the people of the Toda tribe on the top of the
| |
− | Nilgiri Hills in Southern India.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==cattle of India==
| |
− | The common humped cattle of India (B. indicus) belong to
| |
− | a perfectly distinct species from European cattle (. taurus).
| |
− | The two kinds differ in structure, coloration, markings, habits,
| |
− | and voice. The prevailing colour of B. indicus is a pearly grey
| |
− | with a few black markings, especially on the fetlocks. The
| |
− | origin of the humped cattle is quite unknown ; no similar
| |
− | animal exists now or is known to have existed in former times
| |
− | in a wild state, although common cattle, in India as elsewhere,
| |
− | have run wild occasionally. Humped cattle are found domesti-
| |
− | cated throughout Southern Asia and in Tropical Africa. The
| |
− | two species of cattle breed together, or with the yak and the
| |
− | gayal, never with the buffalo.
| |
− | ==Wild sheep==
| |
− | Wild sheep are found within Indian limits in the Himalayas,
| |
− |
| |
− | and In hilly parts of the Punjab and Sind. The Great Tibetan
| |
− | Sheep (Ovis hodgsoni\ an animal standing from 3^ to 4 feet
| |
− | high at the shoulder, and with very massive horns in the male,
| |
− | and the Great Pamir Sheep (O. poll), which, although slighter
| |
− | and smaller than its Tibetan ally, carries huge spiral horns
| |
− | sometimes measuring more than six feet apiece round the
| |
− | curve, only just appear within the boundary of British India.
| |
− | The Tibetan sheep has long been called Ovis ammon, but
| |
− | that name properly belongs to an even larger kind inhabiting
| |
− | the Altai Mountains in Siberia. The remaining two species,
| |
− | the urial or sha (Ovis vignei) and the bharal (O. nahura\
| |
− | have stronger claims to be included in the Indian list.
| |
− |
| |
− | In
| |
− | O. vignei two varieties are comprised : the typical upland form or
| |
− | sha } which is larger, has slightly thicker horns, and is found in
| |
− | the Upper Indus Valley and parts of Afghanistan ; aad the
| |
− | urial of the Punjab Salt Range, and koch or gad of the
| |
− | Sulaiman Range and Sind hills. By some the two are regarded
| |
− | as distinct, but they differ very little and pass into each other,
| |
− | although the Sind sheep is met with close to the sea-level and
| |
− | the Ladakh sha at 12,000 to 14,000 feet above the sea. The
| |
− | bharal is met with throughout the Higher Himalayas above
| |
− | the forest limit, and is in both structure and habits a link
| |
− | between sheep and goats. Like the latter it often takes refuge
| |
− | in cliffs and rocky scarps, while the true sheep keep to plains
| |
− | or moderate slopes.
| |
− | ===Wild Goats===
| |
− | The Indian wild goats are five in number, of which three
| |
− | belong to the genus Capra and two to Hemitragus. Like the
| |
− | sheep they are chiefly but not exclusively Himalayan, one
| |
− | species of Ifcmitragus inhabiting Southern India. The members
| |
− | of the genus Capra are the Asiatic Ibex (Capra sibirica)^ the
| |
− | Markhor (C.falio?ieri\ and the Persian Wild Goat (C. acgagrus).
| |
− |
| |
− | The Asiatic Ibex is widely distributed on the mountains of
| |
− | Central Asia, and is found in the Higher Himalayas as far east
| |
− | as Gathwal, but not, it is said, east of the Sutlej drainage area.
| |
− | The Asiatic differs from the European ibex by the shape of the
| |
− | horns and the presence of a distinct beard in the male; but there
| |
− | is some variation in the horns and more in the coloration of
| |
− | the fur in different Asiatic ranges. The colour varies also
| |
− | with the time of year, age, and sex. The Persian Wild Goat
| |
− | is found throughout South-western Asia, its eastern limit being,
| |
− | in the Sind hills, where it is often called the 'Sind ibex. 1 It
| |
− | has the horns compressed and sharply keeled in front. This
| |
− | animal is the wild stock, from which tame goats are principally
| |
− | derived.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Markhor, the finest of all wild goats, is found
| |
− | in the hill ranges north and south of Kashmir, in parts of
| |
− | Afghanistan, and in the Sulaiman and neighbouring ranges
| |
− | west of the Punjab as far south as Quetta, where it meets the
| |
− | Persian wild goat. It inhabits steep hill slopes at a moderate
| |
− | elevation, below those on which ibex are found. MSrkhor
| |
− | vary greatly, and the shape of the horns is very different in
| |
− | Kashmir from what it is in the Sulaiman range. In the Plr
| |
− | Panjal, south of Kashmir, the spiral is open, and even more
| |
− | so in Astor; while in the range to the west of the Punjab,
| |
− | the horns are straight with their anterior and posterior keels
| |
− | wound spirally around them. Heads from the neighbourhood
| |
− | of Kabul are intermediate in character.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | The two species of
| |
− | Hemitragus, which possess much smaller horns than Capra^
| |
− | are the Tahr (//. jemlaicits\ found throughout the Himalayas,
| |
− | and the Nilgiri Wild Goat, or 4 ibex ' of European sportsmen
| |
− | (H. hylocrius), found on the ranges of Southern India in the
| |
− | neighbourhood of the west coast, froro the Nilgiris to Cape
| |
− | Comorin. The only other species of the genus that is known
| |
− | occurs in Southern Arabia. All these goats occur in small
| |
− | herds, the males being frequently solitary, and they keep chiefly
| |
− | to crags and precipitous cliffs.
| |
− |
| |
− | The goat antelopes are nearly allied to the true goats, from
| |
− | which they are distinguished by more rounded horns and by
| |
− | the absence of the peculiar strong odour characteristic of male
| |
− | goats. They have a very different distribution, for they are
| |
− | wanting in Europe, Western Asia, and the Indian Peninsula,
| |
− | but represented in the Himalayas, Burma, China, Japan, the
| |
− | Malay countries, and in North America. The Himalayan
| |
− | Serow (Nemorhaedus bubalinus] and the Gural (Cemas gorat)
| |
− | are members of this group. The Serow inhabits the Hima-
| |
− | layan forests from Kashmir to the Mishmi Hills at moderate
| |
− | elevations; it is also found in the Assamese and Burmese hills.
| |
− | It is, as a rule, a solitary animal. Several races have been
| |
− | distinguished, varying in colour from rufous brown to black,
| |
− | but it is doubtful whether there is any constant difference. The
| |
− | Gural is a much smaller animal than the Serow, being about
| |
− | the size of a roe-deer, and it inhabits rugged grassy slopes in
| |
− | the forest area, usually in small parties not exceeding six or
| |
− | eight in number. It is found throughout the Himalayas, has
| |
− | been reported from the ranges south of Assam, and quite
| |
− | recently has been discovered in Upper Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Indian Mammalia==
| |
− | The true antelopes form a very important portion of the
| |
− | Indian Mammalia, because three genera out of the four
| |
− | occurring in the Peninsula are peculiar to the area and no
| |
− | antelopes are found elsewhere in the Indo-Malay region. These
| |
− | three Indian antelopes are the Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus\
| |
− | the Four-horned Antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), and the
| |
− | Indian Antelope or * black buck 1 (Antelope cervicaprd). All these
| |
− | inhabit a large part of India, and the Hindus themselves some-
| |
− | times define their country (Hindustan) as corresponding with
| |
− | the range of the Indian antelope. This antelope is found in suit-
| |
− | able localities, chiefly open plains with grass of moderate height,
| |
− | from the Indus to Assam, and from the base of the Himalayas to
| |
− | the neighbourhood of Trichinopoly.
| |
− |
| |
− | Formerly it was far more
| |
− | abundant, and in the first half of the nineteenth century it was
| |
− | seen occasionally in vast herds 8,000 to 10,000 in number ; but
| |
− | its numbers have been greatly reduced since rifles have become
| |
− | common. The Nilgai is an inhabitant of open forest more often
| |
− | than of grassy plains, though in places it haunts cultivated tracts,
| |
− | and when numerous it is met with in herds ; while the Four-
| |
− | horned Antelope is chiefly found in hilly countries covered with
| |
− | brushwood or forest, and is usually solitary or in pairs. A variety
| |
− | with only two horns, the anterior pair not being developed, is
| |
− | said to be common locally in the Madras Presidency, and
| |
− | certainly adult two-horned individuals are occasionally found, but
| |
− | all young males possess only the posterior pair. In the Nilgai,
| |
− | Four-horned, and Indian Antelopes the females are hornless.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni), with fine sub-lyrate
| |
− | horns, is found only on the higher Tibetan plateaus, and is said
| |
− | never to descend much below about 15,000 feet. It occurs
| |
− | in the higher portions of Ladakh. Three true gazelles are met
| |
− | with within Indian limits, but two of these only just come
| |
− | within the boundary. These are the Tibetan Gazelle (Gazella
| |
− | picticaudata), peculiar to the Tibetan plateau ; and the Persian
| |
− | Gazelle (G. suf>gutturosa\ which has a wide range in Persia and
| |
− | Turkistan, but is known within Indian limits only about Pishm,
| |
− | north of Quetta.
| |
− |
| |
− | It probably inhabits the higher parts of
| |
− | Baluchistan. Both these species, like Pantholops and Antelope,
| |
− | have hornless females, but in the Indian Gazelle (G.bennetti)
| |
− | the females have small horns. The Indian Gazelle is found
| |
− | in North-western, Western, and Central India, as far east as
| |
− | PalSmau and as far south as western Mysore. It usually
| |
− | occurs singly or in small parties, and is called chinkara in
| |
− | Hindi, while the antelope is hiran^ a name often applied
| |
− | loosely, like the English ' deer,' to various ruminants.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Deer==
| |
− | The deer family (Cervidae), though less numerous than the
| |
− | hovines, are abundantly represented. The first to be men-
| |
− | tioned is the Muntjac or Barking-deer (Cervulus muntjac\ a
| |
− | small kind, deep-chestnut in colour, the males bearing short
| |
− | horns on bony pedicels as long as the horns themselves or
| |
− | longer. This is an animal of hill forest, found in suitable
| |
− | places throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma, and on the slopes
| |
− | of the Himalayas up to 5,000 or 6,000 feet. Its name of
| |
− | * barking-deer ' is derived from its call, which resembles the
| |
− | bark of a dog. A second species (C.ftac) has been obtained
| |
− | on Muleyit mountain, west of Moulmein.
| |
− |
| |
− | The genus Ccruus
| |
− | is represented by six different species. One of these belongs,
| |
− | like the European Red Deer and the American Wapiti, to the
| |
− | Klaphine group, distinguished among other characters by
| |
− | having two tines, the brow and bez tines, near the base of each
| |
− | horn. This fine deer, the hcingal QI Kashmir Stag (C.cashmiria-
| |
− | nus), inhabits the pine forests of Kashmir between 9,000 and
| |
− | 12,000 feet above the sea in summer, coming lower in winter.
| |
− | The other Indian deer belong to the Rusine section, and have
| |
− | a brow but no bez tine. The barasingha or Swamp Deer
| |
− | (C. duvauccli) has, when full-grown, five or six tines on each
| |
− | antler, all but one on the terminal bifurcated portion.
| |
− |
| |
− | It
| |
− | inhabits open grass plains in Northern India, from Upper
| |
− | Assam to Sind, and as far south as the Godavari, but is
| |
− | very locally distributed. The Brow-antlered Deer or thamin^
| |
− | which replaces the barasingha in Manipur and Burma, has a
| |
− | peculiarly curved long brow tine : it is chiefly found on flat
| |
− | alluvial ground in the Irrawaddy Valley and to the eastward in
| |
− | Cambodia and Hainan. The finest of Indian deer, with ex-
| |
− | ception of the Kashmir stag, is the sambar oijarau ( C. unicolor),
| |
− | which is found almost throughout the Indo-Malay region
| |
− | wherever there is hilly or undulating country covered with
| |
− | forest. It occurs on all the hill groups of India, ascends the
| |
− | Himalayas in places to 9,000 or 10,000 feet, and is met with
| |
− | up to the summits of the ranges in Southern India and Ceylon.
| |
− |
| |
− | The next species to be mentioned, the Spotted Deer (C. axis),
| |
− | is certainly the most beautiful of Indian deer and perhaps of
| |
− | the whole family. It is smaller than the four species already
| |
− | noticed, and rufous-fawn in colour spotted with white. It
| |
− | retains its white spots throughout the year, in this differing from
| |
− | the Hog Deer. The Spotted Deer is met with at 'the base of
| |
− | the Himalayas but does not ascend the hills like the satnbar,
| |
− | and it ranges throughout the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon but
| |
− | is not found east of the Bay of Bengal.
| |
− |
| |
− | Its usual haunts are
| |
− | brushwood and thin forest, and especially bamboo jungles in the
| |
− | neighbourhood of water. Spotted Deer are more gregarious
| |
− | than other Indian species, and occasionally associate in large
| |
− | numbers. The last deer on the list is also the smallest of the
| |
− | genus, and it bears the smallest horns. This is the Hog Deer
| |
− | (C. porcinus), which inhabits the alluvial flats of the Indo-
| |
− | Gangetic plain from Sind to Assam, and is also found abun-
| |
− | dantly in similar localities in Burma. It does not occur in the
| |
− | Indian Peninsula generally ; and, though it is found in part of
| |
− | south-western Ceylon, its presence there is due to its having
| |
− | been introduced by man. It is a brown animal, spotted in
| |
− | summer but not in winter, and is not gregarious.
| |
− |
| |
− | ===Cervidae===
| |
− | The only other Indian representative of the Cervidae, if it
| |
− | belongs to the family, is the hornless Musk Deer (Moschus
| |
− | moschiferus), which is common in the Higher Himalayas and in
| |
− | parts of Central Asia. It is a dark-brown animal, about the
| |
− | size of a roe-deer, with coarse brittle hair, and is chiefly known
| |
− | as the source of musk, which is the secretion formed in a
| |
− | glandular sac on the abdomen of the male. In winter about
| |
− | an ounce of musk is obtained from each male animal. The
| |
− | flesh has no musky flavour.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Chevrotains (Tragulidae) differ greatly from true deer
| |
− | in structure, but resemble them in form, and like the Musk
| |
− | Deer are hornless. All are small, some very small. One
| |
− | species, the Indian Chevrotain or Mouse Deer (Tragulus
| |
− | meminnd], inhabits Ceylon and the Indian Peninsula, but is not
| |
− | known north of the Narbada ; while two species (T.javanicus
| |
− | and T. napu} occur in Southern Tenasserim and range into
| |
− | Malaysia. The Indian Chevrotain and T. napu are about a
| |
− | foot high at the shoulder, T. napu being the larger ; the little
| |
− | T.javanicus is considerably less. All inhabit dense thickets in
| |
− | forest country.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Pigs==
| |
− | Three different pigs belong to the Indian Fauna. The
| |
− | Indian Wild Boar (Sus cristafus) stands higher on its legs than
| |
− | the European animal, and is much less shaggy ; it has a more
| |
− | developed crest or mane, and the molar teeth exhibit well-
| |
− | marked differences. The common tame pig of India is doubt-
| |
− | less descended from the wild animal and certainly breeds with
| |
− | it. Wild swine occur everywhere in India and Burma, and are
| |
− | often as common in cultivated land as in wild forest. No
| |
− | animals do more damage to crops. Spearing wild hog from
| |
− | horseback, or 'pig-sticking/ as it is called in India, is the favourite
| |
− | sport of the country, and owes its attraction to the extraordinary
| |
− | courage of the wild boar. The Andaman Pig (5. andamanensi^
| |
− | is a much smaller kind, peculiar to the Andaman Islands ; and
| |
− | a still smaller species, not more than a foot high, known as the
| |
− | Pigmy Hog (5. saivanius\ is only known from the grass jungles of
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | the tarai at the base of the Himalayas in Nepal, Sikkim, and
| |
− | Bhutan. A wild pig found in the Nicobars has just been named
| |
− | S. nicobaricuS) but is probably a variety of the Andaman species.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Cetacea==
| |
− | Several kinds of whales and porpoises inhabit the seas around
| |
− | India, and two species are found in some of the larger rivers.
| |
− | Though no Right Whale (Balaena) has been seen in Indian
| |
− | waters, four kinds of Fin Whale (Balaenopterd) have been
| |
− | more or less clearly indicated, although none of them has been
| |
− | thoroughly identified. One of these, which has received the
| |
− | name of B. indica, is 80 or 90 feet in length, or as large as the
| |
− | B.sibbaldi of Northern seas, which exceeds in size any other
| |
− | known animal, extant or fossil. This great whale is not rare
| |
− | off the Baluchistan coast.
| |
− |
| |
− | A kind of hump-backed whale
| |
− | (Megaptcra) also appears to have been seen near the coast of
| |
− | India on more than one occasion. The Sperm Whale (Physettr
| |
− | macrtKephalus) has been hunted in the Bay of Bengal, and the
| |
− | Small Sperm Whale (Cogia), the size of a porpoise, was obtained
| |
− | by Elliot at Vizagapatam. Porpoises and dolphins abound, and
| |
− | fifteen species have been recorded from Indian seas, varying in
| |
− | size from the little Indian Porpoise about four feet in length to
| |
− | the Indian Pilot W T hale, a representative of the Caing Whale of
| |
− | European seas, measuring over fourteen feet. The two forms
| |
− | that particularly deserve notice are those inhabiting the rivers.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the Irrawaddy from below Prome to above Bhamo there is
| |
− | found a blunt-nosed porpoise (One/la fluminalis\ about seven
| |
− | to eight feet long, closely allied to a species ( 0. brevirostris)
| |
− | that inhabits the Bay of Bengal. This Cetacean is not known
| |
− | to occur in any other river. A far more interesting kind is the
| |
− | Gangetic Dolphin or susii (P/atanista gangetica >, living in the
| |
− | Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra and their tributaries ; for the
| |
− | family to which it belongs (Platanistidae), once probably widely
| |
− | spread, has only three surviving representatives : one (Into) in
| |
− | the River Amazon, a second (Pontoporia) in the Rio de la Plata
| |
− | estuary, and the Indian type. This last is provided with a long
| |
− | compressed beak-like rostrum, and is blind, having only minute
| |
− | rudimentary eyes without a crystalline lens. It is quite confined
| |
− | to the rivers, never, so far as is known, entering the sea.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Dugong==
| |
− | The Dugong {Halicore dugong) inhabits the shores of the
| |
− | Indian Ocean from East Africa to Australia, and has been
| |
− | found on the coasts of Malabar, Ceylon, the Andaman Islands,
| |
− | and the Mergui Archipelago. Formerly it was more common ;
| |
− | but as it yields excellent meat and a valuable oil, and is also,
| |
− | by all accounts, tame, stupid, and easily killed, it is approach-
| |
− | ing extermination in Indian seas.
| |
− |
| |
− | The last Order of Mammals is represented in the eastern Edentata.
| |
− | tropics by the Pangolins (Manis), of which three species occur
| |
− | within Indian limits. These are the Indian Pangolin (Af.penta-
| |
− | dactyla\ in the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon ; the Chinese
| |
− | Pangolin (M. aurita\ in the Himalayas; and the Malay
| |
− | Pangolin (A/, javanica), in Burma and other countries to the
| |
− | south-eastward. All are covered with large imbricate horny
| |
− | scales, and resemble a reptile rather than a mammal. They
| |
− | are toothless and live chiefly on ants. The Indian species is
| |
− | popularly regarded as a fish, and one of its vernacular names,
| |
− | ban-whit^ means * jungle carp.'
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Birds ==
| |
− |
| |
− | The birds of India have been more extensively collected
| |
− | and better observed than any other group of animals, and the
| |
− | number of kinds is so large that only the most conspicuous
| |
− | and important can be noticed here. Of the 1,617 species
| |
− | enumerated in the Fauna, 936, or considerably more than
| |
− | half, belong to the Order of Passeres, and of about thirty
| |
− | species added since the Bird-volumes of the Fauna were
| |
− | published a large majority are Passerine. No two authors
| |
− | agree as to the classification of the Passerine Order; the
| |
− | system used in the Fauna is here followed.
| |
− | ==Corvidae==
| |
− | The first family (Corvidae) has been divided into three Passeres.
| |
− | sub-families ; one (Corvinae) comprising the crows, magpies,
| |
− | jays, nutcrackers, and choughs ; the second (Parinae), the tit-
| |
− | mice and their relations ; the third, Paradoxornithinac* By many
| |
− | writers these three groups are regarded as distinct families.
| |
− |
| |
− | The common crows, which are ubiquitous in India, are the
| |
− | grey and black Indian House Crow (Corvus spltndens\ which
| |
− | is the common scavenger of the country, abundant in every
| |
− | town and village; and the black Jungle Crow (C. macro-
| |
− | rhynchus\ which keeps chiefly to forests and wild tracts. The
| |
− | former is represented by an allied form, rather darker in colour
| |
− | (C. insolcns), in Burma. Of the Raven (C. corax), one very
| |
− | large race inhabits the Higher Himalayas, and a smaller form,
| |
− | by some regarded as distinct and named C. laivrcncii, is found
| |
− | in the Punjab, Sind, and Western Rajputana.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Carrion
| |
− | and Hooded Crows, the Rook and Jackdaw are met with in
| |
− | the North-western Punjab and parts of Kashmir, but are for
| |
− | the most part winter visitors. The Common Magpie (Pica
| |
− | rustica) is found in Kashmir, in Baluchistan, and also in
| |
− | Upper Burma, while a black-rumped species (P. bottancnsis)
| |
− | has been obtained in Upper Sikkim and Bhutan. Long-tailed
| |
− | Blue Magpies (Urocissd) and the Racket-tailed Magpies
| |
− | (Crypsirhind) inhabit the Himalayas and Burma; Green
| |
− | Magpies (Cissa) occur in the same countries and in Ceylon ;
| |
− | while the Tree-pies (Dendroritta) are generally distributed.
| |
− | Jays (Garrulus] of different species occur in the Himalayas
| |
− | and Burma ; two kinds of Nutcrackers (Nucifraga) are
| |
− | Himalayan; and in the higher ranges of that chain both the
| |
− | Cornish Chough and the Alpine Chough are found.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Titmice==
| |
− | Among the Titmice, members of the typical genus Parus
| |
− | and of the much handsomer yellow and black Machlolophus
| |
− | are found almost throughout the Empire ; while species of the
| |
− | Long-tailed Titmouse (Atgithaliscus] occur in the Himalayas
| |
− | and in the hill tracts of Burma ; and Crested Tits (Lophophanes)
| |
− | are common in the Himalayas, chiefly above 6,000 feet
| |
− | elevation. One genus (Silviparus) is restricted to the
| |
− | Himalayas and Assam ranges.
| |
− | ==Paradoxornithinae==
| |
− | The Paradoxornithinae are classed among the Corvidae in the
| |
− | Fauna, but are by many ornithologists regarded as a section
| |
− | of the next family (Crateropodidae). They are birds varying
| |
− | from the size of a sparrow to that of a thrush, having copious
| |
− | soft plumage, strong legs, and a stout bill resembling a finch's.
| |
− | They are an interesting group on account of their peculiar
| |
− | structure and their distribution, for they are confined to the
| |
− | Himalayas with the hills of Northern Burma and Southern
| |
− | China. The principal genera are Paradoxornis and Suthora.
| |
− | ===Crateropodidae===
| |
− | The family Crateropodidae (or Timaliidae) is an exceedingly
| |
− | large and varied group, to which eighty-six genera of Indian
| |
− | birds, comprising 253 species, have been referred. Very few,
| |
− | if any, are migratory. About the position and relationships of
| |
− | some of the sub-families, six in number, there is much question,
| |
− | but the typical forms belong to the first two sub-families. Of
| |
− | these the first (Crateropodinat) contains the Laughing Thrushes
| |
− | and Babblers or Babbling Thrushes, of which the larger
| |
− | number, including the genera Garrulax, Trochalopterum^ and
| |
− | PomatorhinuS) are hill birds chiefly occurring in the Himalayas
| |
− | and Burma, but with representatives in the hills of Southern
| |
− | India and Ceylon ; while a smaller section, consisting of the
| |
− | true Babblers, belonging to the genera Argya and Crateropus^
| |
− | inhabits the Peninsula of India and Ceylon, with a few repre-
| |
− | sentatives in Burma, Assam, and the neighbouring countries.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | All these birds are excessively noisy chatterers; they are
| |
− | found in small flocks, and keep to bushes or the ground.
| |
− | They are about the size of a thrush, with strong legs, small
| |
− | wings, and rather long tails. One of the best known species is
| |
− | Crateropits canorus^ the sat-bhai (' seven brothers ') of Bengal.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Timeliinae are smaller and rather quieter, but their
| |
− | structure and habits are similar. The majority are but little
| |
− | known. By far the larger number are Himalayan, Assamese,
| |
− | and Burmese ; and only one species, the Yellow-eyed Babbler
| |
− | (Pyctorhis sinensis), is commonly found throughout the greater
| |
− | part of India and Burma.
| |
− | ===Brachypteryginae===
| |
− | The Brachypteryginae are less characteristic forms, for some
| |
− | of them resemble thrushes, whilst others are nearer in appear-
| |
− | ance to wrens. The most important genus referred to the
| |
− | group is Myiophoncus, containing the Whistling Thrushes, very
| |
− | dark-coloured birds with the plumage strongly tinged with rich
| |
− | blue. They have a peculiar whistling note, and inhabit the
| |
− | Himalayas and the hill tracts of India and Burma.
| |
− | ===Sibiinat===
| |
− | The Sibiinat are forest birds, often with bright plumage and
| |
− | of small size, and with one exception they are absent from
| |
− | India proper and Ceylon. The exception is the genus
| |
− | Zosterofs, comprising the White-eye or White-eyed Tits, yellow-
| |
− | ish or olive green birds, which range almost throughout the
| |
− | tropics of the Old World from Africa to Australia, and are very
| |
− | doubtful members of the present sub-family. Sibiinac are
| |
− | abundant in the Eastern Himalayas and Assam ranges.
| |
− |
| |
− | The l.iotrichinac chiefly differ from the Sibiinae by having
| |
− | the sexes differently coloured. The typical forms (Liothrix,
| |
− | Cutia y FtcruthiuS) Jlfesia, and Alinla) are found within our
| |
− | limits only in the Himalayas and the Burmese hills ; but the
| |
− | common lora (Acgithina tiphia\ and various species of
| |
− | ChloropsiS) commonly known as ' green bulbuls,' are common
| |
− | birds throughout the Empire. The Fairy Blue-bird (Irena
| |
− | puclla\ of which the male is clad in gorgeous ultramarine
| |
− | plumage (the female is less brilliant), inhabits the evergreen
| |
− | forests of Ceylon, Malabar, the Eastern Himalayas, the Assam
| |
− | ranges, and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | The last Crateropodidine sub-family,
| |
− | are short-legged birds, in general about the size of a nightingale
| |
− | or rather larger. Some of them are familiar types, frequenting
| |
− | gardens. The majority of the seventeen genera found within
| |
− | Indian limits are Himalayan or Burmese ; but members of the
| |
− | genera Molpastes^ Ofocompsa, and Pycnotwtus y distinguished by
| |
− | having the under tail coverts either crimson or bright yellow,
| |
− | are the common bulbuls of India. Another genus deserving
| |
− | notice is Hypsipetes y dark-coloured, hill-forest birds, with red
| |
− | bills and forked tails, found in the Himalayas and the hills of
| |
− | Burma and South India.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Nuthatches (Sittidae), small bluish or slatey-blue birds,
| |
− | which climb up the stems of trees or occasionally the surface
| |
− | of rocks, are represented in India by eleven species, which are
| |
− | non-migratory and for the most part of limited distribution ;
| |
− | but one or more of them are to be found wherever there are
| |
− | trees, and one species (Sitta ttphronota) even where there are
| |
− | none, in Baluchistan.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Drongos (l)icruridae), of which the more common
| |
− | species are generally called * king-crows ' in India, form a well-
| |
− | marked family, having with few exceptions glossy black plumage
| |
− | and long forked tails. There are several genera, the common
| |
− | and familiar ' king-crows/ found in almost every garden, being
| |
− | members of the typical genus Dicrurus. Two species, the
| |
− | Larger and Smaller Racket-tailed Drongos ( Disscmurus paradi-
| |
− | seus and Bhringa remifer^ are handsome birds, with the outer
| |
− | tail leathers greatly prolonged and their shafts bare for some
| |
− | distance, though webbed near the ends. All Drongos hawk
| |
− | insects in the air, and have musical voices ; all, moreover, are
| |
− | given to imitating the notes of other birds.
| |
− |
| |
− | Of the Tree-Creepers (Certhiidae), six species of the typical
| |
− | genus (Certhia) occur in the Himalayas, Assam hills, and
| |
− | Northern Burma, and a species of Salfornis is found in the
| |
− | forests of the Indian Peninsula. The latter is remarkable,
| |
− | because the only other known species of the genus, a vety
| |
− | near ally, is African. The European Wall-Creeper (Tichodroma
| |
− | muraria) is a winter visitor to the Himalayas, and occasionally
| |
− | to the plains of Northern India.
| |
− |
| |
− | Wrens, generally placed in a distinct family (Troglodytidae),
| |
− | are represented by several species belonging to four or five
| |
− | genera in the Himalayas and Burma, but not in the Indian
| |
− | Peninsula. The European Goldcrest (Rcgulus cristatus\
| |
− | which belongs to a separate family (Regulidae), is also Hima-
| |
− | layan.
| |
− |
| |
− | Warblers (Sylviidae) comprise a great number of very small
| |
− | birds, usually with plain plumage; many of them are migratory.
| |
− | Among those generally distributed are Grasshopper Warblers
| |
− | (Locustella^ Reed Warblers (Acrocephalu$\ Tailor Birds (Or-
| |
− | tJiotomus\ Fantail Warblers (Cisticola) % Wren Warblers (Frank-
| |
− | linia and Prinia\ and Willow Warblers (Phylloscopus and
| |
− | (Acanthopneuste). Members of the genera Ifyfolais and Sylvia,
| |
− |
| |
− | allies of the European Whitethroat, Blackcap, and Icterine
| |
− | Warbler, are common in the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon,
| |
− | but wanting to the eastward. The Tailor-birds are well-known
| |
− | from their habit of sewing two leaves together with a piece of
| |
− | grass as a receptacle for their nest Shrikes (Laniidae) are common throughout the Empire.
| |
− | Besides the true Shrikes (Lanius), the Pied Shrikes (Ilemipus),
| |
− | Wood Shrikes (Tephrodornis\ Minivets (Pericrocotus), and
| |
− | Cuckoo Shrikes (Campophaga and Graucalus) are distributed
| |
− | throughout the better-wooded tracts. Some of the Minivets are
| |
− | brilliantly coloured, the males being crimson and black, and the
| |
− | females yellow and black. The Swallow Shrikes (Artamus\
| |
− | dull-coloured birds with a peculiar flight slightly resembling a
| |
− | swallow's, are found all over India and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | There are no less than eight species of Golden or Yellow
| |
− | Orioles (Oriolidae) found within Indian limits, many of them
| |
− | local, but some widely diffused. A ninth species (Oriolus
| |
− | traillii\ inhabiting the Himalayas and Burma, has black and
| |
− | chestnut plumage instead of black and yellow.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Crackles, Talking Mainas, or Hill Mainas (Eulabetidae),
| |
− | glossy black in colour with rich yellow cheek lappets, are well-
| |
− | known cage-birds with wonderful powers of imitating the human
| |
− | voice. Though often classed with the starlings, they are ap-
| |
− | parently distinct. Four representative species occur in the hill
| |
− | forests of the Himalayas, India, Ceylon, and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Starling family (Sturnidae) contains the true Starlings,
| |
− | the Rosy Pastors, and the Mainas. Of true Starlings {Sturnus\
| |
− | six closely allied species are found in Northern India, most of
| |
− | them being migratory. The Rosy Pastor (Pastor roseus) is
| |
− | also migratory, but it abounds throughout a great part of the
| |
− | Indian Peninsula in winter, and is notoriously destructive to
| |
− | grain crops, especially to millet. The Mainas are resident and
| |
− | numerous. The Common or House Maina (Acriciothercs tristis)
| |
− | is a familiar bird around human habitations almost throughout
| |
− | the Empire. The Bank Maina (A. ginginianus)^ the Black-
| |
− | headed Maina (Tcmcnuchus pagodarum\ the Jungle Maina
| |
− | (Acthiopsar fuscus), and the Pied Maina (Sturnopastor contra)
| |
− | are all common.
| |
− |
| |
− | The next family, that of the Flycatchers (Muscicapidae),
| |
− | comprises rather more than fifty Indian species of small size.
| |
− | Though generally distributed, these birds are not of much
| |
− | importance. Perhaps the best-known kind is the Paradise
| |
− | Flycatcher (Tcrpsipkonc paradi$i\ of which the immature birds
| |
− | and females are black and chestnut, while the mature male
| |
− |
| |
− | it 2
| |
− |
| |
− | has the chestnut replaced by white. The tail in the male is
| |
− | very long, sometimes exceeding a foot in length.
| |
− |
| |
− | Thrushes and their allies form the family Turdidae, divided
| |
− | into several sub-families. Of these the first is that of the Saxi-
| |
− | colinae^ comprising the Bush-chats or Whin-chats, Stone-chats,
| |
− | and Wheatears, mostly migratory birds, of which several species
| |
− | are winter visitors to Northern India, and a few are more gene-
| |
− | rally distributed. The Redstarts and their allies (Rutirillinae)
| |
− | are more numerous, but are chiefly hill birds. The Indian
| |
− | Robins (Thamnobia) are, however, common throughout the
| |
− | Indian Peninsula, whilst the Indian Magpie Robin or Dayal
| |
− | (Copsychus sauhiris), and that well-known songster, the Shama
| |
− | (Cittocincia macnini), range throughout the greater portion of
| |
− | the Empire, and the Indian Redstart (Rtitirilla rufiventris) is
| |
− | a winter visitor to almost the whole of India with Assam and
| |
− | Manipur. Other forms are the Forktails (ffenicurus) and their
| |
− | allies, black and \\hite birds haunting banks of streams in the
| |
− | Himalayas and Burma ; the nvgratory Blue Throats (Cyanecula)^
| |
− | Ruby Throats (Calliope), and several others.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Turdinac comprise the Thrushes and Blackbirds, which
| |
− | are in India almost confined to the hill ranges, the only forms
| |
− | found in the plains being the Migratory Blue Rock Thrushes
| |
− | (Petrophiln), and some equally migratory Ground Thrushes
| |
− | (Geocichld). Of the other two sub-families belonging to the
| |
− | Turdine family, the Dippers (Cinclinac) and the Accentors
| |
− | (Acccntorinae), none of the members range south of the
| |
− | Himalayas, and but few are found away from the higher
| |
− | mountains.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Ploceidae comprise two sub-families, the Ploccinae or
| |
− | Weaver Birds, and the Viduinae or Munias, both found
| |
− | throughout the Indian Empire. The Weaver Birds are finch-
| |
− | like, and generally the males are more or less yellow in the
| |
− | breeding season ; they make curious flask-shaped grass nests,
| |
− | which may often be seen hanging from trees or bushes, some
| |
− | of them having long tubular entrances. The Munias and
| |
− | Avadavats are even smaller, and comprise several common
| |
− | cage-birds.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Finch family (Fringillidae) are divided into the Haw-
| |
− | finches (Coccothrau$tinae\ True Finches (Fringillinae)^ and
| |
− | Buntings (Emberizinae). The Hawfinches or Grossbeaks are
| |
− | scarcely Indian; five species are known from the Himalayas,
| |
− | chiefly from the higher forests ; but one of these ranges as far
| |
− | as Manipur and the Burmese Shan States. Among the True
| |
− | Finches the great majority are Himalayan. Bullfinches, a Cross-
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | bill, Rose Finches of several genera and many of them beauti-
| |
− | fully coloured, a Goldfinch, two Linnets, a Siskin, a Greenfinch,
| |
− | and several Mountain Finches inhabit parts of the higher ranges,
| |
− | while a single migratory Rose Finch (Carpodacus erythrinus)
| |
− | visits India and Northern Burma in the winter. The Yellow-
| |
− | throated Sparrow (Gymnorhis), a bird with African affinities,
| |
− | inhabits the Indian Peninsula, and the House Sparrow is found
| |
− | wherever there are human habitations. Three more species of
| |
− | Sparrow are found in Burma; and two others, with the Bram-
| |
− | bling (Fringi/la montift ingilla) and the Desert Finch (Ery-
| |
− | throspiza githaginca), are met with in the Punjab or Sind.
| |
− | The Buntings arc mostly migratory. Of the fifteen species
| |
− | found within Indian limits the majority are winter visitors to
| |
− | the Himalayas or to North-western India or to both ; five are
| |
− | found in the Eastern Himalayas and Burma ; one (Emberiza
| |
− | striolatd) is resident in North-western India; and two mi-
| |
− | gratory birds, the Corn Buntings (E. mclanocephala and E.
| |
− | lutcold], are common winter visitors to India, the first being
| |
− | notorious for the ravages it commits in corn-fields. The
| |
− | Crested Bunting (Melophus melanictcnts), of which the male
| |
− | is a rather handsome bird, black and chestnut, is resident in
| |
− | many parts of India and Bui ma.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the Swallow family (Hirundinidae) are included, besides
| |
− | the true Swallows, the Martins (Chelidoti), Sand Martins (Cotile\
| |
− | and Crag Martins (1'tyonoprognt). The House Martins are
| |
− | chiefly Himalayan, though stragglers have been found in
| |
− | various parts of the Empire. Sand Martins of two closely
| |
− | allied species are very \\idely distributed. Crag Martins are
| |
− | met with about cliffs in the Peninsula of India and the Hima-
| |
− | layas, but are not known with certainty from Burma. Ten
| |
− | species of true Swallows occur within Indian limits, some of
| |
− | them migratory but the greater number resident. Among
| |
− | them are the common European Swallow (ff. rustica), a winter
| |
− | visitor everywhere ; the Wire-tailed Swallow (H. smitkit), with
| |
− | the shafts of the outer tail feathers produced beyond the webs;
| |
− | the Indian Cliff Swallow, which breeds on the high banks of
| |
− | rivers in large societies ; and several forms of Striated Swallow,
| |
− | with the lower surface streaked.
| |
− |
| |
− | Pipits and Wagtails combine to form the family Motacillidae,
| |
− | and both comprise many species, and are found almost every-
| |
− | where. The Larks (Alaudidae) are represented by no less than
| |
− | ten genera, but several of these are very restricted in range.
| |
− | Thus the Desert Lark (Alaemon desertorum\ an African species,
| |
− | is met with 'in India only on the deserts of the Indus plain.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Calendra Lark (Mtlanocoryphii) does not occur much
| |
− | farther to the eastward, while the Crested Larks (Galeritd)
| |
− | and the Finch Larks (Ammomanes and Pyrrhulauda\ com-
| |
− | mon in India, are unknown east of the Bay of Bengal.
| |
− | The Eared Larks (Otocorys) are Himalayan. Skylarks (Alau-
| |
− | da} and Bush Larks (Ulirafrd) are met with throughout the
| |
− | Empire.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Sun-birds (Nectariniidae) are of small size and have
| |
− | long narrow bills. The males of one sub-family (Nectariniinae)
| |
− | almost rival the Humming-birds of America in the brilliancy of
| |
− | their plumage, and they are occasionally, though wrongly, called
| |
− | 'humming-birds*. Some of the species are found throughout
| |
− | India and Burma, but more kinds are peculiar to the hill
| |
− | forests. The other sub-family, known as Spider-hunters (Araeh-
| |
− | notJicrinac), are rather larger and of a dull olive colour ; their
| |
− | bill is longer. They inhabit the Himalayas, Burma, and the
| |
− | hills of Southern India.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Flower-peckers (Dicaeidae) are small forest birds with
| |
− | a short triangular bill and the edges of both mandibles minutely
| |
− | serrated, as are also those of the Sun-birds. They are pretty
| |
− | generally distributed throughout India, but are more common
| |
− | in the Himalayas and Burma. Some of them have brilliantly
| |
− | coloured males.
| |
− | ==Passeres==
| |
− |
| |
− | The last Passerine family is that of the Pittidae, handsome
| |
− | birds about the size of a large thrush, living on the ground in
| |
− | woods and forests. One species (Pitta brachyura) inhabits
| |
− | Peninsular India and Ceylon ; three are met with in the Eastern
| |
− | Himalayas ; and the number of species increases in Burma, and
| |
− | especially to the southward in Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Eurylaemi==
| |
− |
| |
− | The Broadbills, although nearly allied to the Passeres, are
| |
− | distinguished by anatomical characters. The geographical dis-
| |
− | tribution of the Order is restricted, none being found outside
| |
− | the Indo-Malayan or Oriental region, while within that
| |
− | region species occur in the Himalayas, Burma, Siam and
| |
− | Cambodia, the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago as far as
| |
− | Borneo and the Philippines, but not in the Indian Peninsula
| |
− | or Ceylon. The Broadbills are small forest birds, living in
| |
− | little flocks among high trees and feeding as a rule on insects.
| |
− | Some are very beautifully coloured. Among the most notice-
| |
− | able are the Ix>ng-tailed Broadhill (Psarisomus dalhousiat\
| |
− | which ranges from Mussoorie in the Western Himalayas to
| |
− | Borneo ; two kinds of Eurylaemus^ found in Burma ; the Dusky
| |
− | Broadbill (Corydon sumatranus), met with in Tenasserim and
| |
− | the Malay countries ; and the grass-green frugivorous Calypto-
| |
− |
| |
− | mena, with the bill almost concealed by the loral feathers, having
| |
− | the same distribution.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Pici ==
| |
− |
| |
− | Woodpeckers are very common and conspicuous throughout PicU
| |
− | the Empire, no less than eighteen genera and fifty-five species
| |
− | of true Woodpeckers being found, besides two ' Piculets '
| |
− | (Picumnus and Sasia) and the common Wryneck (lynx tor-
| |
− | quil/a\ which is a winter visitor. The Woodpeckers and
| |
− | Piculets are not migratory. A large proportion of the genera are
| |
− | found, within the area, only in the Eastern Himalayas, Assam,
| |
− | and Burma; others are represented in the hills of Southern
| |
− | India; but the kinds generally distributed throughout India
| |
− | and Burma are not numerous. The two commonest in India
| |
− | are the Golden-backed Woodpecker (Brachypternus aurantius)
| |
− | and the Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker (Liopicus mahratten-
| |
− | sis\ Several species of Green Woodpeckers (Gednu/us\ Pied
| |
− | Woodpeckers (Dendrocopus\ and Pigmy Woodpeckers (fyngi-
| |
− | picus] are found in the hill tracts. Among other interest-
| |
− | ing forms are the Great Slaty Woodpecker (Hemilophi4s
| |
− | pulverulentus] of the Himalayas and Burma; the Black Wood-
| |
− | peckers (Thriponax\ represented within our limits only in
| |
− | Burma and Malabar ; and the three-toed Tiga, which is
| |
− | similarly distributed, but also represented in the Himalayas.
| |
− | ==Zygodactyli ==
| |
− |
| |
− | This Order, which resembles the Woodpeckers in having two Zygo-
| |
− | toes, the first and fourth, directed backwards, but differs in acty l "
| |
− | several structural characters as well as in appearance and
| |
− | habits, comprises two families represented in India, the Honey
| |
− | Guides (Indicatoridae) and the Barbets (Capitonidae). Only one
| |
− | species belongs to the first, and that is a very rare Himalayan
| |
− | bird (Indicator xanthonotus) ; but it and a Malayan species
| |
− | are closely allied to the African birds so well known for the
| |
− | assistance they afford in the discovery of bees* nests. Barbets
| |
− | are fruit-eating birds ; and all Indian and Burmese species,
| |
− | with one exception, are more or less grass-green in colour.
| |
− | The exception is a Malayan bird (Calorhamphus hayi], found
| |
− | in Tenasserim. Among the other Indian Barbets are birds
| |
− | as large as a jay belonging to the genus Mega/aema, with one
| |
− | Himalayan and one Burmese and Chinese species, and smaller
| |
− | forms representing the genera Thcreiceryx^ Cyanops y and Xan-
| |
− | tholacma^ some of which are found in all well-wooded parts of
| |
− | the Empire. These Barbets have peculiar calls of one, two, or
| |
− | three syllables repeated in a monotonous manner for some
| |
− | minutes ; the best-known species being the little * Coppersmith '
| |
− | (Xantholatma haematocephald), found in most Indian gardens,
| |
− | and recognized by its monosyllabic metallic call
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Ansiodactyli==
| |
− |
| |
− | Next we have a somewhat heterogeneous group, comprising the Rollers (Coraciat\ Bee-eaters (M r f ropes), Kingfishers (Hafcyones), Hornbills (Bucerotes), and Hoopoes (Upupae).
| |
− | All are well represented throughout India. The Indian Roller (Corarias indica), commonly called the
| |
− | 'blue jay' (it is not related to the true Jays), is resident
| |
− | throughout India and Ceylon, being replaced by a nearly allied
| |
− | species (C. affinis) in Burma. It is a familiar bird, conspicuous
| |
− | by its blue plumage, and is often seen in gardens and orchards,
| |
− | where it hawks insects, and sometimes feeds on lizards or mice.
| |
− |
| |
− | It is associated with the worship of Siva. The European Roller
| |
− | (C. gam<la) 3 a migratory species, visits North-western India
| |
− | during migration and breeds in Kashmir and Central Asia.
| |
− | The Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus oricntalis), a forest type,
| |
− | is found in the Himalayas, Burma, the Malabar forests, and
| |
− | Ceylon.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Macrochires==
| |
− |
| |
− | The Bee-eaters are slender-billed birds with, for the most
| |
− | part, green plumage. One of the smallest species (Mcrops
| |
− | viridis) is common almost throughout the Empire, except in
| |
− | the Himalayas. Besides several other species of Merops, the
| |
− | two kinds of Nyctiornis, rather larger forms, known as the
| |
− | Blue-bearded and Red-bearded Bee-eaters, should be men-
| |
− | tioned : the former occurring ;n the Himalayas, Burma, the
| |
− | Malabar forests, and near Sambalpur in the Central Provinces;
| |
− | the latter in Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | Of Kingfishers eighteen species are recorded within Indian
| |
− | limits. The principal are the Common Kingfisher (A/cedo
| |
− | ispidd), a small variety of the European bird, which is generally
| |
− | distributed ; the Indian Pied Kingfisher (Ccryle varia)^ a black
| |
− | and white species closely allied to the South European and
| |
− | African C. rudis, also met with throughout the Empire ; a
| |
− | large form of Ceryle, found in the Himalayas; and the equally
| |
− | large blue and buff Pelargopsis, three species of which occur
| |
− | on the sea-coast and along estuaries and large rivers. The
| |
− | White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), which is
| |
− | chiefly insectivorous, is common throughout India, Ceylon,
| |
− | and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | Hornbills, sometimes wrongly called Toucans, are rather
| |
− | typical Indian birds, although the only kind found generally
| |
− | in the Peninsula is the Common Grey Hornbill (Lophoccros
| |
− | birostris), a small species. Two other forms of the same genus
| |
− | are met with in Malabar and Ceylon and others in Africa, but
| |
− | none occur in the Himalayas or in Burma, where, however,
| |
− | there are numerous kinds of the great Black and White Hornbills, belonging to the gtnet&Dichoceros, Rhytidoctros, and Aceros,
| |
− | birds 3 \ to 4 feet in length ; and other genera again are found in
| |
− | Southern Burma. The largest of all (Dichoceros bicornis), the
| |
− | garuda of many Hindus, with a broad concave casque, is also
| |
− | met with in the forests of the Western Ghats ; and the smaller
| |
− | Pied Hornbills of the genus Anthracococeros are represented in
| |
− | the forests of South-western Bengal, as well as those of Malabar
| |
− | and Ceylon, and in the Himalayas and Burma. All are mainly
| |
− | frugivorous, and have a remarkable habit of the female remain-
| |
− | ing built into a hollow tree during incubation, and being fed
| |
− | through a small cleft by the male. The larger kinds attract
| |
− | attention by the extraordinary noise they make when flying.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | The common European Hoopoe (Upupa cpops) visits India
| |
− | in winter; the Indian Hoopoe (U. indicci), which is only just
| |
− | distinguishable from the European species, is a resident and
| |
− | found almost throughout the Empire.
| |
− | ==Macrochires==
| |
− |
| |
− | The next group includes the Swifts (Cypseli), Nightjars Macro-
| |
− | (Caprimu/gi), and Frogmouths (Podargi). The relationship of chue *-
| |
− | these forms is an open question.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Swifts comprise several species of Cypselus, among
| |
− | which is the Common Indian Swift (C. affinis), resident in
| |
− | the larger towns and breeding upon old buildings. It is
| |
− | replaced east of the Bay of Bengal by the Malay House Swift
| |
− | (C. subfitrcatus). The European Swift (C. apus] and the
| |
− | Alpine Swift (C. melba) are winter visitors to India. The
| |
− | little Palm Swifts (Tac/iornis\ common about fan-palms, in
| |
− | which they breed, are also represented by distinct species east
| |
− | and west of the Bay of Bengal. To the genus Chaetura, com-
| |
− | prising the Spinetail Swifts, belong two large species, one
| |
− | Himalayan only, the other Indian and Burmese; they are
| |
− | probably the swiftest of all birds and the most powerful flyers.
| |
− | There are also two smaller species; one (C. sylvatica) occurring
| |
− | in some of the larger Indian forests, and the other (C. Ituco-
| |
− | pygialis) in Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula. The
| |
− | genus Collocalia consists of the small species sometimes called
| |
− | 'swiftlets,' chiefly inhabiting the sea-coast, and famous as the
| |
− | producers of the edible nests prized by the Chinese. One
| |
− | species, however, is common in the Himalayas. Last come
| |
− | the Crested Swifts (Macroptcryx}^ with the sexes differing in
| |
− | colour. One species inhabits well-wooded tracts and forests
| |
− | almost throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma; two others are
| |
− | found in Southern Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | The Nightjars or Goatsuckers (Capri mulgus) are represented
| |
− | by seven species, all widely distributed. They are nocturnal,
| |
− | and have peculiar reiterated notes, chiefly uttered in the earlier
| |
− | and later parts of the night, and resembling strokes by a
| |
− | hammer on a plank, or a stone striking ice. The Large-eared
| |
− | Nightjar (Lyncornis cerviniceps) is found in Burma, the Eastern
| |
− | Himalayas, and Travancore.
| |
− |
| |
− | Three species of Batrachostomus or Frogmouth, the Asiatic
| |
− | representative of the Australian Fodargus, occur within Indian
| |
− | limits : one in Ceylon and Travancore ; a second in the
| |
− | Eastern Himalayas, Assam, and Burma ; and the third in
| |
− | Tenasserim. They are shy nocturnal birds, and appear to be
| |
− | rare, but they resemble nightjars in appearance and habit.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Trogones==
| |
− | Distinguished by the structure of their feet, the
| |
− | first and second toes being directed backwards (not the first
| |
− | and fourth as in Woodpeckers, Barbets, Cuckoos, and Parrots),
| |
− | and by their peculiarly soft and often beautifully coloured
| |
− | plumage, are found in the tropical forests of America, Africa,
| |
− | and the Indo-Malay region. Three species of Pyrotrogon or
| |
− | HarpacteS) the Asiatic representative of the Order, occur in
| |
− | Burma, one ranging to the Eastern Himalayas ; and a fourth
| |
− | is found in the forests between the Ganges and the Godavari,
| |
− | those near the western coasts of India, and in Ceylon.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Coccyges==
| |
− |
| |
− | Indian Cuckoos belong to one family (Cuculidae), and
| |
− | comprise fifteen genera and thirty species, divided into two
| |
− | sub-families not very easily distinguished. All members of
| |
− | the first family (Cuculinae) are parasitic, laying their eggs in
| |
− | the nests of other birds, while the majority of the second
| |
− | sub-family (Phoenicophatnae) build their own nests.
| |
− |
| |
− | To the
| |
− | first family belong four species of true Cuckoo, one of which,
| |
− | the Common Cuckoo of Europe (Cuculus canorus), is widely
| |
− | distributed throughout India, and breeds in the Himalayas,
| |
− | and apparently also in Chota Nagpur and some other tracts,
| |
− | where its well-known call is frequently heard in April and
| |
− | May. There are also four Indian or Burmese species of
| |
− | Hawk-cuckoo {Hierococcyx\ which resemble birds of prey
| |
− | even more than the common Cuckoo does. One of these
| |
− | (// varius\ found throughout India and Ceylon but not in
| |
− | Burma, has received the name of * brain-fever bird ' from its
| |
− | monotonous repetition of its call-note in the hot season.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Crested Cuckoos (Coccystes) and several smaller genera
| |
− | also belong to the sub-family ; one of these (Surnicu/us) is
| |
− | remarkable as being an almost exact imitation in form and
| |
− | plumage of the common 'king-crow 1 or Drongo, and thus
| |
− | affording one of the best examples of what is known as
| |
− | 'mimicry' in the animal kingdom. Another small genus
| |
− | (Chry>sococcyx) has glossy metallic plumage, bright-green in the
| |
− | male in one species, violet in another.
| |
− |
| |
− | Amongst the Phoenicophainae two well-known birds are
| |
− | found throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma. One of these
| |
− | is the Koel (Eudynamis honorata)> a frugivorous cuckoo, with
| |
− | the male glossy-black and the female brown and spotted.
| |
− | The loud note of this cuckoo may be heard from March to
| |
− | July in almost every grove in India, especially about dawn.
| |
− |
| |
− | Unlike most of the Phoenicophamac, the female Koel is parasitic
| |
− | and lays its eggs in the nests of crows. The other familiar
| |
− | member of this sub-family is the Coucal (Centropus sinensts),
| |
− | often called 'crow-pheasant' in India. The genus Centropus^
| |
− | of which there are several species, is distinguished by having
| |
− | a long hind claw. The remaining members of the sub-family
| |
− | are long-tailed ground cuckoos of feeble flight, living in scrub,
| |
− | and belonging to several genera.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Psittaci==
| |
− |
| |
− | The majority of the Indian Parrots, including all the Psittaci.
| |
− | common forms, are Paroquets belonging to the genus
| |
− | PalaeorniS) distinguished by its long tail and prevailing green
| |
− | colour. Of this no less than fifteen species occur within
| |
− | Indian limits, but this number includes one species peculiar
| |
− | to the Andamans and two to the Nicobar Islands. The
| |
− | best-known kinds are the Large Paroquet, of which four
| |
− | different races inhabit Ceylon, India, Burma, and the Andaman
| |
− | Islands respectively ; the Blossom-headed Paroquets, of which
| |
− | one race (P. cyanocephalus) is found west and the other
| |
− | (P. rosa) east of the Bay of Bengal ; and, commonest of all,
| |
− | the Rose-ring Paroquet (P. torquatus). The only Indian
| |
− | parrots not included in Pa/acornis are two members of the
| |
− | small, short-tailed Loriculus, birds not larger than a starling,
| |
− | one inhabiting Ceylon, the other the Malabar forests, the
| |
− | Eastern Himalayas, and Burma; and the little Malayan Parrot
| |
− | (PsitttNus inccrtus), which is found in Southern Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | Thirty-seven species of owls have been recorded within Striges.
| |
− | Indian limits, belonging to eight genera. Foremost among
| |
− | these is the Barn Owl {Strix flammea), of almost world-wide
| |
− | distribution. Other Indian owls are : (i) two species of
| |
− | PhotodiluS) small Screech Owls, one inhabiting the Himalayas
| |
− | and Burma, the other Ceylon ; (2) the Long-eared Owl (Asia
| |
− | otu$\ an occasional visitor to Northern India, and the Short-
| |
− | eared Owl (A. accipitrinus\ found throughout the area;
| |
− | (3) several Wood Owls belonging to the genus Syrnium, very
| |
− | handsome birds, of moderate size, without aigrettes but with
| |
− | feathered tarsi ; (4) three kinds of Fish Owl (Kctufa), larger
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | birds with naked tarsi, usually found near water and living
| |
− | chiefly on fish and Crustacea ; (5) Eagle Owls, belonging to
| |
− | the genera Bubo and Huhua, all of large size, with aigrettes
| |
− | and feathered tarsi ; (6) several small owls belonging to the
| |
− | genera Scops, Athene, and Glaucidium ; and (7) the Brown
| |
− | Hawk Owls (Ninox), one of which is said to be the 'devil-bird 1
| |
− | of Ceylon, so named from the extraordinary sounds it makes.
| |
− | Of these the commonest and best-known forms are the Brown
| |
− | Fish Owl (Ketupa zeyhnensis) \ the Rock Horned Owl (Bubo
| |
− | tenga/ensis)y so often seen sitting on rocks or trees in hilly
| |
− | country throughout the Peninsula of India ; the variable
| |
− | Scops Owl (Scofs giu), one form or another of which may
| |
− | be met with almost everywhere in India and Burma ; and
| |
− | the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama), which is even more
| |
− | widely spread, and, being less purely nocturnal, is much more
| |
− | frequently seen.
| |
− |
| |
− | =Accipitres=
| |
− | Indian birds of prey belong to three families, one
| |
− | containing the O^prey alone, the second the Vultures, the
| |
− | third Eagles, Kites, Harriers, Buzzards, Hawks, and Falcons.
| |
− | The number and variety of diurnal birds of prey in India
| |
− | are very great, no less than eighty-two species having been
| |
− | recognized, representing thirty-five genera.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Osprey is a winter visitor throughout India and Burma,
| |
− | and may be seen about large rivers and the sea-coast where
| |
− | fish, on which it lives, are numerous.
| |
− |
| |
− | Vultures abound throughout India and Northern Burma ;
| |
− | they are less common in Tenasscrim, and wanting in Ceylon.
| |
− | The Cinereous Vulture (Vultur monachus) and the Griffon
| |
− | (Gyps fulvus) are met with only in Northern India ; but the
| |
− | Black Vulture (Otogyps sa/vus) 9 the Indian Long-billed Vulture
| |
− | (Gyps indicus), and the White-backed Vulture (Pseudogyps
| |
− | bengalensis) are everywhere seen the first, however, being by
| |
− | no means abundant, while the last is extremely common.
| |
− | Two other species of Gyps also occur in the Himalayas.
| |
− |
| |
− | The White Scavenger Vulture (Neophron ginginianus) is
| |
− | ubiquitous in India, and haunts the neighbourhood of human
| |
− | habitations ; but it is very rare in Ceylon, and unknown in
| |
− | Burma or even in Lower Bengal.
| |
− |
| |
− | First among the Falconidae comes the Bearded Vulture
| |
− | or Lammergeyer (Gypaetus barbatus\ supposed in the Alps
| |
− | to live upon lambs and occasionally upon children, but found
| |
− | in the Himalayas, where it is common, to subsist upon carrion
| |
− | and to have a particular preference for bones. Besides the
| |
− | Himalayas, this great bird haunts the higher ranges in the
| |
− | Punjab and Sind, Of the true eagles, the Golden Eagle
| |
− | (Aquila chrysaetus) is found in the Himalayas, and the
| |
− | Imperial Eagle (A. heliacd) is far from rare throughout
| |
− | Northern India, chiefly, however, as a winter visitor. The
| |
− | Steppe Eagle (A. bifasciata) is another North Indian migrant.
| |
− |
| |
− | The small Tawny Eagle (A. vindhiana) is common throughout
| |
− | the greater part of India and in Upper Burma, while the
| |
− | Spotted Eagles (A. maculata and A. hastata\ the latter
| |
− | peculiar to the Indian Peninsula, inhabit the neighbourhood
| |
− | of marshes. Bonelli's Eagle (Hieraetus fascia/us) and the
| |
− | Booted Eagle (//. pennatus) are also Indian, but the latter
| |
− | only is Burmese. The various Hawk Eagles (Lophotriorchis >
| |
− | Ictinaetus, and Spizaetus] are woodland birds, one or the
| |
− | other of which is found in all Indian forests ; while the
| |
− | European Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus ga/licus) is found through-
| |
− | out India but not farther east, and the Crested Serpent Eagle
| |
− | (Spitornis cfaelci) is to be met with almost throughout the
| |
− | Empire, and is easily recognized when soaring by its strongly
| |
− | banded wings and tail.
| |
− |
| |
− | It varies greatly in size and somewhat
| |
− | in colour. Two other species of the same genus occur in the
| |
− | Nicobars and Andamans. Next to the true eagles come the
| |
− | small Buzzard Eagles (Butas1ur\ with three species ; five kinds
| |
− | of Fishing Eagles or Sea Eagles (Haliaetus and Polioaetus), all
| |
− | of large size ; and the Brahmani Kite (Haliastur indus),
| |
− | associated with the Hindu deity, Vishnu. This handsome
| |
− | bird, with a maroon back and the head and lower parts white,
| |
− | lives chiefly on fish ; and is found commonly in the neighbour-
| |
− | hood of water.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Common Indian Kite (Afilvits govinda] swarms about
| |
− | towns and villages throughout the Empire, and its peculiar
| |
− | squealing call is almost as well known as the call of the Indian
| |
− | crow. A larger kite also occurs, but is rare. Six or seven
| |
− | different Harriers are winter visitors to the country ; among
| |
− | these the commonest is the Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus],
| |
− | of which the handsome adult, so rare in Europe, is frequently
| |
− | seen in India.
| |
− |
| |
− | Two other species, the Pale Harrier (C. macrurus)
| |
− | and Montagu's Harrier (C. cineraccus\ are commonly noticed
| |
− | hawking over open, grassy plains ; and to the eastward the pied
| |
− | Harrier (C. nitlanoleucus) is found, especially in flat marshy
| |
− | tracts. Buzzards are represented by the Indian race of the
| |
− | Common Buzzard (Butco dcsertoruni) y widely distributed but
| |
− | rare; by the Long-legged Buzzard (B.ferox) in the Himalayas
| |
− | and North-western India, where it is common in winter ; and
| |
− | by two kinds, both rare, one of them a Rough-legged Buzzard,
| |
− | in the Himalayas only. The Goshawk (Astur palumbariui) is
| |
− | also Himalayan and is largely tamed for hawking, while the
| |
− | Shikra (A. badius), a much smaller form, is common arid
| |
− | resident all over India and Burma. It too is tamed and trained
| |
− | to be flown at quails, partridges, and especially crows.
| |
− |
| |
− | The
| |
− | Crested Goshawk (Lophospizias trivirgatus) is a rare forest
| |
− | bird. The common Sparrow-hawk (Aca'fiter nisus) is a winter
| |
− | visitor, and the resident Besra Sparrow-hawk (A. virgatos) is
| |
− | rather locally distributed. The Honey Buzzard (Pernis crista-
| |
− | tus), easily recognized by the closely feathered sides of the
| |
− | head, is not uncommon.
| |
− |
| |
− | Passing over the rare genera, Baza and Machaeramphns,
| |
− | the next birds requiring notice are the true falcons. The
| |
− | Peregrine (Fako pcrcgrinus) is a winter visitor, while the more
| |
− | deeply coloured Shahin Falcon (F. peregrinator) is resident in
| |
− | the Indian forests ; the Barbary Falcon (F. barbarus) and the
| |
− | Saker or Cherrug (F. cherrug) inhabit North-western India ;
| |
− | and the Laggar (F.jugger) occurs throughout the Peninsula in
| |
− | open and cultivated country. All these birds are occasionally
| |
− | reclaimed for hawking, but the sport has greatly declined in
| |
− | India during the course of the last century.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Hobby and
| |
− | Merlin are winter visitors, almost confined to Northern India.
| |
− | The Indian Hobby (Falco severus) is found in the Himalayas
| |
− | and scattered over India and Burma, while the turumti or
| |
− | Red-headed Merlin (Aesalon chicqncra) is common and resident
| |
− | in many parts of the Indian Peninsula. Kestrels (Tinnun-
| |
− | culus alaudarius) are generally distributed ; the majority are
| |
− | winter visitors, but a few breed in India. The Smaller Kestrel
| |
− | (T. ctnchris) and the Eastern Red-legged Falcon (Erythropus
| |
− | amurensis) are rare migratory forms, only occasionally seen.
| |
− |
| |
− | The only other members of the Falcon tribe requiring notice
| |
− | are the Pigmy Falcons or Falconets (Aficrohierax), small birds
| |
− | scarcely larger than a lark, feeding on insects, inhabiting open
| |
− | tracts in forests, and differing from all other Accipitrine birds
| |
− | by laying their eggs in holes in trees, like owls and parrots.
| |
− | One species (M. eutolmus), with much rufous beneath, is found
| |
− | in the Himalayas and Burma ; a second (M. melanoleucus)^ pure
| |
− | white beneath, in Assam; and a third ( M, fringillarius^ in
| |
− | Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Columbae==
| |
− | Pigeons and Doves are common birds in all parts of India
| |
− | and Burma, and no less than six different groups, families, or
| |
− | sub-families are represented. The first of these, the Green
| |
− | Pigeons (Trcroninat)> are birds of yellowish-green plumage,
| |
− | often with patches of chestnut or lilac on the upper surface.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | All have feet adapted for perching ; they live in flocks among
| |
− | the trees, and feed on fruit. The commonest forms are species
| |
− | belonging to the genus Crocopus, which are often met with
| |
− | near towns and villages, and which haunt the Banyan and
| |
− | Pipal when those trees are in fruit. The other species are
| |
− | forest birds, and are not found in the cleared and cultivated
| |
− | parts of the country.
| |
− |
| |
− | The second group is composed of the large Imperial Carpo-
| |
− | Pigeons, most of which are dark-green or coppery-brown on p a inac *
| |
− | the back and grey below. They keep to the forest tracts, such
| |
− | as the Himalayas, Burma, Orissa, and the Malabar coastlands,
| |
− | and feed on fruit. One black and white bird, the Pied Imperial
| |
− | Pigeon, inhabits the Malay Archipelago and extends its range
| |
− | to the Andamans and Nicobars. The same area is inhabited
| |
− | by the only member of the third group, the beautiful Nicobar
| |
− | Pigeon (Caloenas nicobaricd], which has long neck-hackles and
| |
− | a prevailing coloration of metallic green with bronze reflections,
| |
− | it breeds in enormous numbers on Batti Malv, an uninhabited
| |
− | island of the Nicobars. The fourth sub-family is also repre-
| |
− | sented in India by a single species, the Bronze-winged Dove
| |
− | (CJuilcofhaps indica], which haunts damp and thickly wooded
| |
− | tracts and, like the Nicobar Pigeon, feeds on the ground.
| |
− |
| |
− | The
| |
− | True Pigeons (Columlnnae) comprise the Indian Blue Rock
| |
− | Pigeon, a very near ally of the Blue Rock of Europe, and
| |
− | found, like that bird, breeding on rocks or buildings, and, very
| |
− | commonly in India, in the sides of wells, and also eastern
| |
− | races of the Stock Pigeon or Stock Dove and Wood Pigeon ;
| |
− | but while the first-named species is widely spread, the two
| |
− | latter are found only in North-western India. Several kinds,
| |
− | allied to the Wood Pigeon but belonging to distinct genera
| |
− | (Dendrotreron and Alsocornus\ are met with in the forests of
| |
− | the Himalayas, Burma, Southern India, and Ceylon ; but they
| |
− | are rare forms, whilst the Doves, of which eight species occur
| |
− | in India, furnish some of the commonest birds in the country.
| |
− | The only remaining group (Geopeliinae) is represented by
| |
− | a single Malay species, iound within our limits only in Southern
| |
− | Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Sand-grouse are intermediate in structure between Pterocletes.
| |
− | Pigeons and the true Game Birds. They are chiefly found
| |
− | in open country, being most abundant in the dry semi-desert
| |
− | tracts of Sind and the Punjab. They are as a rule about the
| |
− | size of a pigeon a few being larger and of a yellowish-brown
| |
− | colour ; they are swift of flight, they always rest and feed on
| |
− | the ground, and they fly to water at particular hours in the
| |
− | morning and evening. Seven species occur in India, but none
| |
− | are known in the countries east of the Bay of Bengal, and only
| |
− | two of the seven are met with elsewhere in India than in the
| |
− | Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, and the United Provinces, while
| |
− | one species, belonging to a different genus (Syrrliaptes
| |
− | tibetanus), is peculiar to Tibet.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Gallinae==
| |
− | The Game Birds proper, Peafowl, Jungle-fowl, Pheasants,
| |
− | Partridges, Quails, &c., include fifty-eight species enumerated
| |
− | in the Fauna, a number raised to seventy-one in Mr. Oates's
| |
− | Game Birds of India. The difference depends partly upon the
| |
− | limits assigned to the area, and partly on the question whether
| |
− | certain pheasants should be regarded as species or varieties ;
| |
− | but some of Mr. Oates's additions are recent discoveries within
| |
− | Indian limits.
| |
− |
| |
− | Peafowl are met with throughout the greater part of India,
| |
− | Ceylon, and Burma ; but the Burmese and Malay species
| |
− | (Pavo muticus) is distinct from the Common Peacock of India
| |
− | and Ceylon (P. cristotus), having the neck green instead of
| |
− | blue, and a different crest. In some parts of India peafowl
| |
− | are considered sacred by Hindus, and they live in a semi-
| |
− | domesticated state around villages in Gujarat, Rajputana, and
| |
− | Sind.
| |
− |
| |
− | The great Argus Pheasant (Argusianus ar&us\ a Malay
| |
− | species, is known within Indian limits only in Southern
| |
− | Tenasserim. The Grey Peacock Pheasant (Polyplcctrum
| |
− | ehinquis) inhabits the forests of the Lower Himalayas east of
| |
− | Sikkim, and the hill ranges of Assam and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Indian Jungle-fowls are three in number. The Red
| |
− | Jungle-fowl (Callus ftrrugineus), from which all domestic fowls
| |
− | are derived, inhabits a large part of South-eastern Asia,
| |
− | including Burma, Assam, the Lower Himalayas throughout, and
| |
− | the Peninsula as far south as the Godavari to the eastward, but
| |
− | not west of about 80 E. long. The remainder of the Indian
| |
− | Peninsula is inhabited by the Grey Jungle-fowl (G. sonnerati)^
| |
− | easily recognized by yellow and white spots of peculiar struc
| |
− | ture on the neck-hackles of the male ; while a third species
| |
− | (G.lafayetth) is peculiar to Ceylon. Each has its own peculiar
| |
− | call-note or crow. The Burmese race of Red Jungle-fowl
| |
− | differs from the Indian by having a red instead of a white
| |
− | ear-lappet, and it is said to be more easily tamed.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Jungle==
| |
− |
| |
− | fowls are very nearly allied to Pheasants, of which
| |
− | however, using the name as generally understood, none inhabit
| |
− | India proper or Ceylon, while four Himalayan genera are
| |
− | unknown in any other part of the Empire. These are the
| |
− | Chlr Pheasant (Catreus wallichi), the Koklas or Pucras
| |
− | (Pucrasia macrolopha\ the Monals (Lophophorus refulgens and
| |
− | L. imptyanus), and the Blood Pheasant (Ithagenes cruentus).
| |
− | The Horned Pheasants or Tragopans, sometimes wrongly
| |
− | called Argus Pheasants, are represented by two species in the
| |
− | Himalayas, one (Tragopan melanocephalus) to the westward,
| |
− | and the Crimson Horned Pheasant (T. satyra\ in Nepal, Sikkim,
| |
− | and Bhutan, while a third species (T. blythi) is found in some
| |
− | of the higher hill ranges south of Assam. All of these genera
| |
− | are Central Asiatic and are represented in parts of China.
| |
− |
| |
− | The true pheasants of the genus Phasianus, occurring through-
| |
− | out temperate Asia, are represented by two species (P. humiae
| |
− | and P. elegans] in Northern Burma and Manipur; while the
| |
− | beautiful Amherst Pheasant (Callophasis amhcrstiae] has been
| |
− | met with on the frontier between Burma and Yunnan, and one
| |
− | species of the Malayan Fire-backed Pheasants (Lofhura rufa \
| |
− | ranges into Southern Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | The genus Gennaeus^ con-
| |
− | taining the Silver Pheasants of China and the Hinicllayan Kalij,
| |
− | comprises four species in the Lower Himalayas (one of them
| |
− | also inhabiting the ranges south of Assam), and several Burmese
| |
− | kinds, the precise number being rather uncertain, as they show
| |
− | a tendency to pass into each other. To the eastward these
| |
− | birds approach the Chinese Silver Pheasant in plumage and
| |
− | size ; to the westward they resemble more nearly the Hima-
| |
− | layan Kalij. They are known as Silver Pheasants in Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | The Spur-fowls (Gallopcrdix) are about the size of a
| |
− | partridge. They keep to forests and are found only in India
| |
− | and Ceylon, being unknown east of the Bay of Bengal and
| |
− | west of the Indus river, though one species occurs at the base
| |
− | of the Himalayas in Oudh. Their name is derived from the
| |
− | presence of two or more spurs on each tarsus in the male, and
| |
− | sometimes in the female. Two kinds inhabit the Indian
| |
− | Peninsula, and one is peculiar to Ceylon. A bird known as
| |
− | the Western Bamboo Partridge {Bambusicola fytchii\ found
| |
− | in the hills of Northern Burma and Assam, and congeneric
| |
− | with species inhabiting Southern China and Formosa, may
| |
− | represent the Spur-fowls of India.
| |
− |
| |
− | A considerable number of small Indian gallinaceous birds
| |
− | not having any very definite relations to each other may for con-
| |
− | venience be classed collectively as Quails. The most important
| |
− | are the Common or Grey Quail (Coturnix com munis), a winter
| |
− | visitor to India and Burma, and the Black-breasted or Rain
| |
− | Quail (C. coromandclica), a resident species.
| |
− |
| |
− | To the eastward
| |
− | a few individuals of the Japanese race of the Grey Quail
| |
− | (C.jafonica) are said to have been obtained. Next in impor-
| |
− | tance are five species of Bush Quail : two of Perdicula^ peculiar
| |
− | to the Indian Peninsula, except that one of them occurs in
| |
− | Northern Ceylon; and three of Microperdix^ two of which
| |
− | inhabit the Indian Peninsula, while the third has recently
| |
− | been discovered in Manipur. Then there is the Blue-breasted
| |
− | Quail (Excalfactoria ehinensis\ resident in swampy country
| |
− | throughout the Empire ; and two species which only just come
| |
− | within our limits the Mountain Quail (Ophrysia suptrcilio$a\
| |
− | of which a very few specimens have been obtained at Mussoorie
| |
− | and Nainl Tal; and the Green Wood Quail (Rollulus roulrout),
| |
− | a Malay bird found in Southern Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | Another group may be classed as Partridges. This includes
| |
− | in the first place five species of Francotinus, beginning with the
| |
− | Black Partridge or Common Francolin of the Mediterranean
| |
− | countries (F. ru/garis), found throughout Northern India, but
| |
− | replaced in the Bombay and Madras Presidencies generally
| |
− | by the Painted Partridge (/". fief us) t and in Northern Burma
| |
− | by the Chinese Francolin (F. chinensis).
| |
− |
| |
− | Two other Indian
| |
− | partridges, by many arranged in a different genus (Ortygiornis\
| |
− | are the common Grey Partridge, found throughout India and
| |
− | Northern Ceylon, and also westward as far as the Persian
| |
− | Gulf, but not east of the Bay of Bengal ; and the Kyah or
| |
− | Swamp Partridge, which inhabits the high grass jungles of the
| |
− | Ganges and Brahmaputra plains. The remaining partridges
| |
− | are not found in the Indian Peninsula. They are the Chikor
| |
− | (Caccabis chucar] and the Sfsf (Ammoptrdix bonhami\
| |
− | Western Asiatic types, both found in the hills of the Punjab
| |
− | and Sind, and the Chukor also throughout the Western
| |
− | Himalayas; a species of true Partridge (Perdix hodgsoniac\
| |
− | allied to the European bird but inhabiting Tibet; and the
| |
− | Hill Partridges (Arboricola, Tropicoperdix, and Caloperdix\
| |
− | three of which, belonging to Arboricola, are Himalayan, and
| |
− | five more Assamese or Burmese. All are about the same size
| |
− | as the common partridge, and they are rather handsome birds,
| |
− | inhabiting forest.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the Higher Himalayas are found the Snow Partridge
| |
− | (Lerwa nivicold), a bird much resembling Red Grouse in size
| |
− | and appearance ; and two species of Snow Cocks (Tetraoga!lu$\
| |
− | fine birds about the size of a Capercaillie.
| |
− |
| |
− | Lastly, in the Nicobar Islands, a species occurs of the family
| |
− | Megapodiidae, the other members of which family inhabit the
| |
− | Philippines, Celebes, Papuasia, and Australia. Like their allies,
| |
− | the Nicobar Mcgapodes lay their eggs in mounds of decaying
| |
− | egetable matter built by themselves and supplying the heat
| |
− | necessary for incubation.
| |
− |
| |
− | Although differing in several important anatomical characters, HcmipodiL
| |
− | the five species of Hemipodes (Turnix) found in the Indian
| |
− | Empire much resemble quails in size, appearance, and plumage,
| |
− | but are distinguished by having no hind toe. Females are
| |
− | larger than males, and while the latter sit on the eggs and
| |
− | guard the young brood, the females challenge and fight each
| |
− | other. These birds are generally found singly in grass.
| |
− |
| |
− | The next Order consists of Rails, Finfeet, Cranes, and Bustards. Grallae.
| |
− | The Rails (Rallidae) comprise nineteen species belonging to
| |
− | ten genera. Several are Water-rails, belonging to the genera
| |
− | Rallus, Hypotacnidia, and Porzana ; there are three kinds of
| |
− | banded Crakes (Rallina)^ and other Crakes, Water-hens, and
| |
− | Moor-hens, referred to Amaurornis and Gallinula. These are
| |
− | seldom seen, as they hide in grassy swamps ; the only birds
| |
− | at all commonly observed are the White-breasted Water-hen
| |
− | (Amaurornis photnicurus) and the common Moor-hen (Gallinula
| |
− | cfdorofus), both of which are widely distributed throughout India
| |
− | and Burma. The Kora or Water Cock (Gallicrex cinered)
| |
− | inhabits warm swampy plains, especially in Bengal and Assam,
| |
− | and is often kept tame by natives. The Purple Moor-hen
| |
− | (Porphyrio poliocephalus) is common among high reeds
| |
− | around large marshes, and climbs about the reeds like a
| |
− | gigantic Grass-warbler; and the Common Coot (Fulica atra\
| |
− | though very locally distributed, is found on many of the larger
| |
− | pieces of inland water.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Masked Finfoot (Hcliopais personatd)^ the toes of which
| |
− | are lobed like a Coot's, is the only Asiatic representative of
| |
− | the family Heliornithidae, the few other existing members of
| |
− | which are African or American. It is found on the coast, or on
| |
− | rivers, from Assam through Burma to Malacca and Sumatra.
| |
− |
| |
− | Six kinds of Cranes (Gruidae) are met with in India or
| |
− | Burma. Of these the Demoiselle (Anthropoidts virgo), the
| |
− | Common Crane (Grus communis)^ and the Great White Crane
| |
− | (G. leucogeranus) are winter visitors to Northern India, the
| |
− | Demoiselle and Common Crane being found as far south as
| |
− | the Deccan, often in large numbers. The Saras Crane (G.
| |
− | antigonc} and its Burmese representative (G. sharpii) are
| |
− | resident species, large and beautiful birds, generally protected
| |
− | and seldom or never molested by the inhabitants of the country.
| |
− | They are consequently very tame. Another Crane (G.
| |
− | monachus], a species of North-eastern Asia, has recently been
| |
− | obtained in Assam.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Bustards are six in number. None of them occur in
| |
− | Burma or in Ceylon. The Great Bustard and Little Bustard
| |
− | of Europe have been occasionally obtained in the extreme
| |
− | North-west of the Punjab only. The Great Indian Bustard
| |
− | (Eupodotis edwardsi), males of which often weigh 25 to
| |
− | 30 lb., is resident ; it haunts open plains in North-western
| |
− | India and the Deccan as far south as Mysore. The Houbara
| |
− | (Houbara macquefni}^ a much smaller bird, is a winter visitor
| |
− | to the Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, and Northern Gujarat. The
| |
− | two Floricans (Sypheotis) are peculiar to India and breed in
| |
− | the country ; the smaller of them (S. auritci) being found
| |
− | throughout the Peninsula, while the larger species (S. bengakn-
| |
− | sis) is met with only in the plain of the Ganges and Brahma-
| |
− | putra. In both the male becomes black in the breeding
| |
− | season.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==LLmicolae==
| |
− | The next Order contains, besides the Plovers and Snipes,
| |
− | several families of wading-birds of small or moderate size.
| |
− |
| |
− | The first of these families contains the Stone Curlews or
| |
− | Stone Plovers (Oedicnemidae)^ represented by the Common
| |
− | Stone Curlew, often called the Bastard Florican in India
| |
− | (Oedicntmus scoiopiix), an inhabitant of stony plains, and also
| |
− | two species of Esacus, the Great Stone Plo\er (7T. rccurvi-
| |
− | rostris)) found on the banks of rivers, and the Australian Stone
| |
− | Plover (E. magnirostris), which lives on the shores of the
| |
− | Andaman Islands. The next family (I)romadidae) contains
| |
− | a single species, the Crab Plover (Dramas ardeola)^ a white
| |
− | bird the size of a pigeon, found locally on the shores of the
| |
− | Indian Ocean. The third family (Glareolidae) comprises the
| |
− | Coursers and Pratincoles. The Coursers or Courier Plovers
| |
− | include two species of Cursorius (C. coromandtlicHS), peculiar
| |
− | to India, and a European bird (C. gal/icus), found in the
| |
− | Punjab, Sind, and Rajputana. These birds inhabit open
| |
− | plains ; but the third Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus}> a
| |
− | member of a genus that is with this exception purely African,
| |
− | is found in thin forests from the Godavari valley to the
| |
− | neighbourhood of Madras. Of Pratincoles or Swallow Plovers
| |
− | (Gtareota), three species are Indian, two being widely dis-
| |
− | tributed and breeding, whilst the third is the European
| |
− | Collared Pratincole, which has been found in Sind. A fourth
| |
− | family (Parridae) consists of the Ja^anas, marsh birds with
| |
− | enormously long toes and claws, by means of which they can
| |
− | run over floating leaves of water-lilies and other plants. Two
| |
− | species are Indian, the Bronze-winged Ja^ani (Metopidius
| |
− | indicus) and the Pheasant-tailed Jar;ana (ffydrophasianus
| |
− | chirurgu3\ both found throughout India and Burma in suitable
| |
− | localities.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Plover family (Charadriidae) includes, besides Plovers
| |
− | and Snipes, a considerable number of waders, many of which
| |
− | are migratory, and it may be divided into four sub-families.
| |
− | The first of these (Charadriinae) contains, besides the Plovers
| |
− | proper, the Turnstone, a rare winter visitor to the sea-coast.
| |
− |
| |
− | Then come several birds more or less allied to the Lapwing
| |
− | (Vanel/us vulgaris)^ itself a winter visitor to North-western
| |
− | India. These are the Red-wattled (Sarcogrammus) and
| |
− | Yellow-wattled lapwing (Sarciophoms), common Indian types,
| |
− | known by their peculiar cries, that of the former being
| |
− | anglicized as ' Uid-you-do-it ' (' Pity -to-do-it ' is nearer the
| |
− | bird's cry).
| |
− |
| |
− | A species of Sarcogrammus occurs in Burma,
| |
− | but no Sarciophorus ranges east of the Bay of Bengal. Another
| |
− | allied form is the Indian Spur-winged Plover (Hoplopterus
| |
− | ventra/is), found on the banks of rivers, usually singly, in
| |
− | Central and North-eastern India and Burma. Here also
| |
− | belong some migratory birds included in the genera Micro-
| |
− | sarcops and C/iettusia y which visit parts of Northern India in
| |
− | winter. The typical migratory plovers are the Eastern Golden
| |
− | Plover (Charadriusfulvus), found in open country throughout
| |
− | the Empire in winter; the European Golden Plover (C.
| |
− |
| |
− | pluvialis), occasionally obtained in North-western India ; the
| |
− | Grey Plover (Squatarola hc!vctica\ not common but widely
| |
− | distributed ; and several species of Afgialitis or Sand and
| |
− | Ring Plovers, one of which, the Little Ringed Plover (Ac.
| |
− | duAia\ common throughout the Empire, breeds in large
| |
− | numbers in India, although even in this case the majority of
| |
− | the birds seen in winter are migratory. The Kentish Plover
| |
− | (Ac. alexandrina) also breeds at times in the Indian Peninsula.
| |
− |
| |
− | The next sub-family (Ilaematopodinae} contains the Sea-Pie
| |
− | or Oyster-catcher (//aematofits ostra/egus\ a winter visitor to
| |
− | the Indian coast; the Black-winged Stilt (Ilhnantofus cattdidus\
| |
− | a common, and the Avocet (Rccurvirvstris aroccfta\ a rare
| |
− | winter visitor, the former alone extending its range to Burma ;
| |
− | and the Ibis-bill (Ibidorhynchus $truthcrsi\ formerly known as
| |
− | the Red-billed Curlew, a Central Asiatic bird, found resident
| |
− | on the Higher Himalayas and the Naga Hills in Assam.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Totaninac contain the Curlews, Godwits, Sandpipers,
| |
− | and Stints. Both the Curlew (Numcnius arquata} and the
| |
− | Whimbrel (N. fhaeofus) are winter visitors, and so is the
| |
− | Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa dclgica\ while the Bar-tailed
| |
− | Godwit (L* /tifltomca) has hitherto been obtained within Indian
| |
− | limits only in Sind. Sandpipers and Stints are found every-
| |
− | where, the commonest forms in India being the Wood Sandpiper
| |
− | (Totanus glareola) and the Green Sandpiper (7! ochropus),
| |
− | both known as ' snippets ' by Indian sportsmen. Redshanks,
| |
− | Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Ruffs and Reeves, Sander-
| |
− | lings, Little Stints, and other kinds of Tringa % Dunlins, and
| |
− | Red-necked Phalaropes are among the migratory waders that
| |
− | visit India in winter, while some other forms, as the Grey
| |
− | Phalarope, have been obtained occasionally. The Red-necked
| |
− | Phalarope is common on the Baluchistan coast, where it spends
| |
− | the day in flocks on the sea, often several miles from land.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Woodcocks and Snipes, with long, soft sensitive bills,
| |
− | form the last sub-family (Scolopadnae). The Woodcock breeds
| |
− | on the Himalayas, and in winter visits the Nilgiris and other
| |
− | hill ranges of Southern India in considerable numbers. The
| |
− | Snipes found generally in India belong to two species : the
| |
− | Common Snipe, or Fantail (Gallinago coclcstis), identical with
| |
− | the European bird; and the Pintail Snipe (G. stenura\ an
| |
− | eastern species, distinguished by having twenty-six tail-feathers
| |
− | instead of fourteen or sixteen, the outer eight on each side
| |
− | being narrow and stiff, and by some slight differences of
| |
− | plumage, especially by the wing-lining and axillaries being
| |
− | richly barred with blackish-brown.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Common Snipe is the
| |
− | more abundant to the westward in India, the Pintail is the
| |
− | prevalent form in Burma. The Jack Snipe (G. galtinula)
| |
− | is rare, except occasionally in Northern India. Two large
| |
− | snipes, the Wood Snipe (G. nemoricold) and the Himalayan
| |
− | Solitary Snipe (G. solitaria), inhabit the Himalayan and Assam
| |
− | hills, and the former is also found in the hills of Southern
| |
− | India. The Painted Snipe (Rostratula capensis),& non-migratory
| |
− | bird of weak flight, with the sexes differing in plumage, is found
| |
− | throughout India, Burma, and Southern Asia, and also in Africa
| |
− | and Madagascar.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Gavbe==
| |
− |
| |
− | Gulls and Terns form an Order by themselves, nearly allied
| |
− | to the Plovers, as might be inferred from the similarity between
| |
− | the eggs.
| |
− |
| |
− | Seven kinds of Gull are found on the coasts of Sind and
| |
− | Baluchistan ; of these only four are known from the Bay of
| |
− | Bengal, and only two in Ceylon, there being a considerable
| |
− | diminution in the numbers to the eastward and southward.
| |
− | The commonest kinds in India are the Laughing Gull (Larus
| |
− | ridibundus), the Brown-headed Gull (Z. brunneictphalus\ and
| |
− | the Yellow-legged Herring-gull (Z, cachinnans)^ with, to the
| |
− | westward, the Sooty Gull (Z. hemfrichi\ the Slender-billed
| |
− | Gull (Z. gcla$tes\ and the Dark-backed Herring Gull (Z. affinis).
| |
− | The first three are often seen about rivers and large marshes
| |
− | inland. None breed in the Indian Peninsula.
| |
− |
| |
− | Terns are more numerous in India than gulls, there being
| |
− | twenty-one species known, including two kinds of Noddy
| |
− | (Anous\ only found on the open sea, and three other oceanic
| |
− | terns. The common terns found inland about rivers and
| |
− | marshes are the Whiskered Tern (Hydroc/ielidon hybrida\ the
| |
− | Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia), the Gull-billed Tern (Sterna
| |
− | anglica\ the Indian River Tern (S. seenci), and the Black-billed
| |
− | Tern (S. mdanogaster), the last being one of the commonest of
| |
− | Indian water-birds. The Indian Skimmer, or Scissors-bill
| |
− | (Rhynchops albicollis\ with both mandibles of the bill com-
| |
− | pressed and the upper the shorter, is very tern-like in
| |
− | appearance, but differs in many respects. It keeps to rivers
| |
− | and large pieces of fresh water.
| |
− |
| |
− | Richardson's Skua (Stcrcorarius crepidattts} occurs in winter
| |
− | on the Maknin and Sind coasts, and individuals of two other
| |
− | species of Skua have been recorded within Indian limits.
| |
− |
| |
− | Pelicans, Frigate-birds, Cormorants, Gannets or Boobies, Stegano-
| |
− | and Tropic-birds, all distinguished by having the four toes P ^-
| |
− | united by a web, form the next Order. Only the Pelicans
| |
− | and Cormorants are found inland ; members of the other three
| |
− | families are oceanic; two kinds of Frigate birds, three Boobies,
| |
− | and three Tropic-birds have been observed in the Indian seas.
| |
− |
| |
− | Four kinds of Pelicans occur in India ; but of these the
| |
− | Dalmatian Pelican (Pelicanus erispits) is only found in winter
| |
− | in the north-western part of the country, and P. onocrotalus is
| |
− | rare as an Indian bird. The other two species, the Eastern
| |
− | White Pelican (P. roseus) and the Spotted-billed Pelican
| |
− | (P. philippensis\ are more generally distributed, the latter being
| |
− | the commonest, and breeding in the country.
| |
− |
| |
− | Three Cormorants are among the resident Indian water-
| |
− | birds : the I^arge Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), the Indian
| |
− | Shag (P. fuscicollis), and the Little Cormorant (P.javanicus\
| |
− | the latter being by far the commonest. The Indian Darter or
| |
− | Snake-bird (P lotus melanogas(er) is also generally distributed.
| |
− | Of the four Indian members of the Cormorant family, the
| |
− | Large Cormorant alone is met with on the sea.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Petrels are oceanic' birds. Five species have been Tubinares.
| |
− | recorded in the seas around India, and others indicated.
| |
− | Small Stormy Petrels are not rare, and probably two or three
| |
− | species are represented, but very few specimens have been
| |
− | obtained. A Shearwater (Pujfinus fenicus) is met with off
| |
− |
| |
− | Bombay and Sind, and another species (P. chlororhynchus) has
| |
− | been occasionally recorded from Ceylon and Makr^n.
| |
− | llcrodioncs. The Ibises, Spoonbills, Storks, and Herons form a far
| |
− | more important part of Indian bird life. The Ibises are the
| |
− | White Ibis (Ibis melanocephahi), a near relative of the Egyptian
| |
− | Sacred Ibis; two kinds of Black Ibis (Inocotis papillosus of
| |
− | Northern India, and /. davisoni of Southern Burma); and the
| |
− | Glossy Ibis. All except the last are resident, and even the
| |
− | Glossy Ibis breeds in Sind and in Ceylon. Spoonbills (Platalea
| |
− | Uucorodia) are somewhat local, but they occur and breed in
| |
− | several parts of India, though not in Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | Among Storks, the common White Stork (Ciconia alba]
| |
− | and the Black Stork (C. nigra] are winter visitors to Northern
| |
− | India, while the White-necked Stork (Disst4ra <piscopus\ a
| |
− | common Indian bird, the great Black-necked Stork (Xenorhyn-
| |
− | chus asiaticus\ two kinds of Adjutant (Leptoptilus dubius and
| |
− | L. javanitus}, the Painted Stork (Pstudotantalus kucocephahts\
| |
− | and the curious Open-bill (Anastomus osritans) are resident.
| |
− | The Larger Adjutant (Z. dubius) was formerly common in
| |
− | Calcutta from March to October, being attracted by the
| |
− | heaps of refuse ; but improved sanitary regulations have
| |
− | banished both offal and Adjutants from the city. All the
| |
− | storks named are widely distributed, but Anastomus is par-
| |
− | ticularly common in the great plain of Northern India.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Heron family (ArdeiJae) is represented by eleven
| |
− | genera and twenty-one species. The principal of these are
| |
− | the Common Heron (Ardea dnerea\ the Eastern Purple Heron
| |
− | (A. manillensis\ and the three White Egrets (Herodia alba,
| |
− | large; //. intermedia, smaller; and //. garzctta, smaller still),
| |
− | with the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus}, which is white
| |
− | in winter, but becomes buff-coloured in the summer. All of
| |
− | these are common and widely distributed. The Reef Herons
| |
− | (Leptcrodius) keep to the coasts, and present the remarkable
| |
− | peculiarity of some individuals being pure white, others slaty
| |
− | grey. The small Pond Herons, or * paddy-birds ' as they are
| |
− | commonly called in India, belong to the genus Ardcola. One
| |
− | of them (A. grayi) occurs throughout the Empire and is very
| |
− | common ; it is dull greyish-brown when sitting, but makes a
| |
− | startling display of its white body and wings when it flies away.
| |
− | A second species (A. bacchus) inhabits Burma. The Little
| |
− | Green Heron (Butoridcs javanicd) and the Night Heron
| |
− | (Nycticorax griseus) are crepuscular in their habits, as are the
| |
− | Malay Bittern (Gorsachius), several species of Little Bitterns
| |
− | (Ardttta\ the Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis), and the
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | European Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), the latter alone being
| |
− | migratory. None of the Bitterns are common ; all hide in long
| |
− | grass and reeds during the day.
| |
− |
| |
− | Two Flamingoes are found in India and Ceylon, none being Phoeni-
| |
− | known to the east of the Bay of Bengal. The Common c P tcri -
| |
− | Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rosens) is locally common, especially
| |
− | in the north-west of India. The Lesser Flamingo (P. miner)
| |
− | is a rare bird.
| |
− |
| |
− | Two kinds of swan, the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) and the Anseres.
| |
− | Whooper (C. tnusicns), have been obtained as rare stragglers in
| |
− | North-western India. Of geese, five species visit the country
| |
− | in winter, but only two are anywhere common. These are the
| |
− | Grey Lag (Anser ferus\ which is a visitor to Northern India
| |
− | and Northern Burma, and especially to North-western India ;
| |
− | and the Barred headed Goose (A. indicus), which is common
| |
− | in winter in Northern India and Burma, and rarer, though
| |
− | occasionally met with, as far south as Mysore.
| |
− |
| |
− | Ducks are numerous, most of the common European kinds
| |
− | visiting India, and there are several resident species as well.
| |
− | Altogether twenty-one genera are represented, or, including
| |
− | Smews and Mergansers, twenty three. The majority are winter
| |
− | visitors ; and of these the Sheldrake, Mallard, Widgeon, and
| |
− | Marbled Duck, as well as some occasional visitors, such as
| |
− | Falcated Teal, Baikal Teal, Eastern (or Baer's) White-eyed
| |
− | Duck, Scaup, and Golden-eye, appear only in the northern part
| |
− | of the country ; others, like the Gadwall, Shoveller, Pochard,
| |
− | Red-crested Pochard, White-eyed and Tufted Ducks, range
| |
− | about as far south as Mysore in India and Ava in Burma, but
| |
− | arc rare or wanting farther to the southward. A few, however,
| |
− | of which the principal are the Ruddy Sheldrake or Brahmani
| |
− | Duck, commonly seen in pairs on the banks of rivers, the
| |
− | Pintail, Common Teal, and Blue winged Teal or Garganey, are
| |
− | found almost throughout the Empire in winter. The Mallard
| |
− | and White-eyed Duck breed in large numbers m Kashmir.
| |
− |
| |
− | The resident Ducks, which breed in tropical India, are the
| |
− | following : the Comb Duck or Nukta (Sarcidiornis\ widely
| |
− | distributed ; the rare White-winged Wood Duck of Assam,
| |
− | Burma, and the Malay countries ; the Pink-headed Duck
| |
− | (Rhodonessa), almost peculiar to Upper Bengal ; the two
| |
− | Whistling Teals (Dendro<ygna\ found generally throughout
| |
− | the Empire, the smaller kind (D. javanicd) being very
| |
− | common ; the little Cotton Teal (Nettopus coromandeliamis\
| |
− | with similar distribution ; the Spotted-billed Duck (Anas
| |
− | foccilorhyncha)) common in India and Northern Burma,
| |
− | but replaced in parts of the Shan States by the allied Chinese
| |
− | species (A. zonorhynchd) ; and the Andaman Teal, almost pecu-
| |
− | liar to the Andaman Islands, though it has been obtained
| |
− | in Pegu.
| |
− |
| |
− | Smews visit Northern India in winter, and the Goosander
| |
− | (Merganser castor) is common along the base of the Himalayas
| |
− | at the same season. The Goosander has also been found in
| |
− | parts of Bengal and in Northern Burma, and it breeds in the
| |
− | interior of the Himalayas. The Red-breasted Merganser is a
| |
− | rare visitor in winter to the coasts of Sind and Bombay,
| |
− | Fygo- The Indian Little Grebe (Podicepes captnsis> v. albipcnnis) is a
| |
− |
| |
− | podcs. permanent resident generally distributed in India and Burma.
| |
− | The Great Crested Grebe (P. cristatus) visits Northern India
| |
− | and Burma in winter ; and the Eared Grebe (P. nigru'ollis) is
| |
− | of much rarer occurrence.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Reptiles ==
| |
− |
| |
− | The Reptiles of India are far more numerous than the
| |
− | Mammals, and more destructive to human life ; snake-bites alone
| |
− | cause more deaths than all the wild beasts together. As
| |
− | already stated, 146 genera and 534 species of Reptiles were
| |
− | described in the Fauna in 1890; but a fresh enumeration
| |
− | made ten years later, in 1900, shows an increase in the num-
| |
− | bers to 153 genera, containing 558 species. These belong to
| |
− | three Orders: (i) Emydosauria^ or Crocodiles; (2) Chelonia>
| |
− | or Tortoises and Turtles ; and (3) Squamata^ or Lizards and
| |
− | Snakes.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Crocodiles==
| |
− | Three kinds of Crocodile inhabit India, two with broad
| |
− | snouts belonging to the genus Crocodilus, and one with an
| |
− | elongate snout belonging to the genus Gaviaiis or Ghariyll.
| |
− | The former are often called ' alligators ' in India ; but no repre-
| |
− | sentative of the American crocodries, to which the name
| |
− | 'alligator* properly applies, is Indian, although one is Chinese.
| |
− |
| |
− | The common fresh-water Crocodile of India, Ceylon, and
| |
− | Burma, found in almost every river and marsh and often
| |
− | in ponds, is C. palustris, the magar of Northern India, a
| |
− | species that seldom, if ever, exceeds 12 feet in length.
| |
− |
| |
− | The
| |
− | large crocodiles found in Indian and Burmese estuaries and in
| |
− | some of the larger rivers, and occasionally seen in the sea,
| |
− | belong to another species (C. porosus\ which attains much
| |
− | greater dimensions and has even been known to measure more
| |
− | than thirty feet long. This large crocodile is found in suitable
| |
− | localities all round the Bay of Bengal, and also west of Cape
| |
− | Comorin in Travancore and Cannanore, but it has not been
| |
− | positively identified farther to the north-west.
| |
− |
| |
− | It is still un-
| |
− | certain which species inhabits the delta of the Indus, but
| |
− | C.palustris is found at Magar Plr, west of Karachi, and in
| |
− | Baluchistan. C. porosus is distinguished from C. palustris by
| |
− | having a snout more than \\ times as long as it is broad, and
| |
− | generally by wanting the two pairs of small anterior nuchal
| |
− | shields just behind the occiput and considerably in front of the
| |
− | four large shields, with two or four smaller scutes at the side, at
| |
− | the back of the neck, which are found in both species. In
| |
− | C.palustris the snout is less than \\ times as long as it is
| |
− | broad.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Ghariyal has had its name converted into * Gavial/ pro-
| |
− | bably through a blunder or a misprint. It is purely a fish-
| |
− | eating river crocodile, never found in ponds or marshes, nor (so
| |
− | far as is known) in tidal estuaries. It inhabits the rivers Indus,
| |
− | Ganges, and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. It is also found
| |
− | in the Mahanadi river in Orissa, and the Kaladan in Arakan ;
| |
− | and as the Ghariyal never crosses the land as C. palustris does,
| |
− | nor enters the sea as C. porosus is in the habit of doing, its
| |
− | presence in the Mahanadi and Kaladan may indicate that
| |
− | these rivers were at one time tributaries of the Ganges. The
| |
− | Ghariyal is a species of considerable antiquity, and its remains
| |
− | are found abundantly in the Pliocene beds of the Siwalik hills.
| |
− |
| |
− | The few species of land tortoises properly so called that are Chelonia.
| |
− | found in India and Burma are of no particular interest. The
| |
− | commonest, Testudo e/egans in India and T. playtynota in
| |
− | Burma, have prettily marked shells with radiating yellow streaks
| |
− | on a black ground. The ordinary fresh-water tortoises inhabit*
| |
− | ing rivers and marshes are numerous and belong to various
| |
− | genera ; more are found in Burma than in India, but eight
| |
− | species are recorded from the Gangetic area. Among these
| |
− | are the comparatively large Batagur baska and one or two
| |
− | allied species, of which the carapace is often i \ to 2 feet long.
| |
− | These are herbivorous and edible.
| |
− |
| |
− | The river turtles of the genus Trionyx and its allies are
| |
− | generally depressed in form and have the carapace covered by
| |
− | a soft skin. Some grow to a considerable size, exceeding the
| |
− | measurements usually given in books ; thus Chitra indica is
| |
− | said by Theobald to have a carapace three feet long. These
| |
− | turtles are carnivorous and aggressive. The genus Emyda,
| |
− | belonging to the same family, is smaller and more globose. All
| |
− | are widely distributed.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the seas around India are found the Green Turtle
| |
− | (Chclonc mydas\ the Hawk's-bill Turtle (C. imbricatd), both
| |
− | with four pairs of lateral or costal shields above, the Logger-
| |
− | head {Thalassochelys caretta} with five pairs, and the great
| |
− | Leathery Turtle (Dermoc/ie/ys coriacea). The Green Turtle
| |
− | alone is herbivorous and edible. The Hawk's-bill Turtle
| |
− | yields the tortoise-shell of commerce.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Squamata==
| |
− |
| |
− | Lizards and snakes are remarkably numerous, the former
| |
− | being represented in India, Ceylon, and Burma by 55 genera
| |
− | and 225 species, besides a Chameleon ; and the latter by no
| |
− | less than 78 genera and 286 species. The distribution within
| |
− | the Indian area of these two groups, of which only a few types
| |
− | are fluviatile or marine, is different from that of the crocodiles,
| |
− | which are entirely aquatic, and the tortoises, which are mainly
| |
− | aquatic. Among the land Reptiles there is a greater distinction
| |
− | between the genera inhabiting different parts of the area than
| |
− | is the case with the Mammals and Birds.
| |
− |
| |
− | Eight different families of Lizards are represented in the
| |
− | Indian Empire, but three of them furnish the bulk of the
| |
− | genera and species. These three are the Geckoes (Geckon-
| |
− | idae), Agamoids (Agamidae\ and Scinques (Scincidae),
| |
− | comprising between them thirty-five genera and 200 species.
| |
− | Geckoes are the most familiar of all, because several speries,
| |
− | belonging to the genus Ilemidactylus, are found in houses, and
| |
− | are well-known by the facility with which they cling to walls and
| |
− | ceilings by means of the peculiar plates with which the lower
| |
− | surface of their digits is furnished. Besides the small House
| |
− | Geckoes found commonly in India, a larger species, often
| |
− | a foot long (Gecko Tertidllatus) y enters human habitations
| |
− | in Eastern Bengal and Burma, where it goes by the name of
| |
− | touk-tai, a name derived from its loud call. Other Geckoes
| |
− | also have calls, though generally less loud. The great majority
| |
− | of the Geckoes are nocturnal ; they are found on rocks, stems
| |
− | of trees, or the ground.
| |
− |
| |
− | Several of the agamoid lizards are forest-dwellers, among
| |
− | these being the so-called Flying Lizards belonging to the
| |
− | genus Draco, represented by several species in Assam and
| |
− | Burma, and by one species isolated in Malabar. Most of the
| |
− | agamoids are, however, ground lizards. Two kinds, Uromastix
| |
− | of North-western India and Liolepis inhabiting Burma and
| |
− | Travancore, live in holes in the ground made by themselves.
| |
− | Both are herbivorous, whilst other agamoids are insectivorous.
| |
− |
| |
− | By far the commonest agamoid lizard is Calotes vtrsicolor,
| |
− | found all over the Empire, and known as the 'bloodsucker' in
| |
− | Southern India. Males of this lizard assume brilliant colours
| |
− | in the breeding season, red and black predominating. Scinques
| |
− | are ground lizards, usually of small size, with short limbs
| |
− | (occasionally rudimentary or wanting), and a more or less
| |
− | anguiform mode of progression. In their movements, and in
| |
− | their being clad in small and generally polished scales, they
| |
− | approach the snakes. The other families that require notice
| |
− | are the Lacertidae or true lizards, of which fifteen species are
| |
− | known in various parts of India, and the Varanidae or
| |
− | Monitors, called goh-samp in Hindi.
| |
− |
| |
− | These last are much
| |
− | larger than other lizards ; one species ( Varanus salvator)
| |
− | grows to a length of over six feet, and is found about rivers,
| |
− | estuaries, and marshes, often in the water. Other species of
| |
− | smaller dimensions inhabit drier localities ; one ( V. griseus)
| |
− | is found in the desert regions of North-western India. A
| |
− | single species of Chameleon inhabits the wooded regions of
| |
− | the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon ; but no representative of
| |
− | this typically African group is found to the east of the Bay
| |
− | of Bengal, nor even, so far as is known, in the Himalayas.
| |
− |
| |
− | Snakes constitute more than half of the Indian Reptiles. Snakes.
| |
− | In many, perhaps in most, parts of India it would nevertheless
| |
− | be difficult to find more than about a dozen species, and these
| |
− | would need some searching for ; the large total is made up by
| |
− | a great number of local forms inhabiting particular localities.
| |
− | Thus, one whole family of small snakes, the Rough Tails
| |
− | (Uropeltidae), comprising seven genera and forty-two species,
| |
− | is peculiar to Southern India and Ceylon, and almost confined
| |
− | to the hill tracts. This is the only instance known of a family
| |
− | of snakes having so small a range. In fact, India is the only
| |
− | country in the world inhabited by all the known families of
| |
− | living snakes.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Typhlopidae, thirteen species, are still smaller than the
| |
− | Uropeltidae, some of them almost resembling worms in
| |
− | appearance. One species (Typhlops braminus\ 7 inches long
| |
− | and \ to \ inch in diameter, is common, and is occasionally
| |
− | met with in large numbers in decayed wood. Passing over
| |
− | one or two other small groups, the next that deserves notice
| |
− | contains the largest living snakes. This is the Boidae, to
| |
− | which Pythons and Boas belong. One species of Python
| |
− | (P. molurus] is found in parts of India, another (P. reticulatus}
| |
− | inhabits Burma and the Malay countries.
| |
− |
| |
− | The latter is the
| |
− | larger, and is said to grow to 30 feet in length ; P. molurus
| |
− | rarely exceeds 12 feet, though individuals up to 20 feet long
| |
− | have been recorded. Allied to the Boas are the genera
| |
− | Gongyhphis and Eryx % none of which much exceed 3 feet in
| |
− | length. They have very blunt tails, and one species (Eryx
| |
− | johnii) is commonly carried about by snake-charmers and
| |
− | exhibited as a two-headed snake, the tail being occasionally
| |
− | manipulated and furnished with glass eyes to assist in the
| |
− | delusion.
| |
− |
| |
− | The great majority of Indian snakes, however 57 genera
| |
− | out of 78 and 200 species out of 286 belong to the family
| |
− | Colubridae, divided into three sections, the first comprising
| |
− | forms with solid teeth, the second including those with one
| |
− | or more of the posterior maxillary teeth grooved, and the third
| |
− | with the anterior maxillary teeth grooved or perforated.
| |
− | Snakes of the first section are harmless ; those of the second
| |
− | division are probably all slightly poisonous, but they are in
| |
− | no case dangerous to human life ; the third section includes
| |
− | some of the most poisonous snakes known. It should be
| |
− | added here that k is extremely difficult to distinguish a
| |
− | venomous snake from a harmless one except by the examina-
| |
− | tion of its teeth. All dangerous venomous snakes, whether
| |
− | belonging to the Colubrine family or not, have a perforated or
| |
− | grooved fang in front of all the other teeth on each side of
| |
− | the upper jaw, and this fang is almost always considerably
| |
− | elongate.
| |
− |
| |
− | To the first section of Colubrine snakes and the sub-family
| |
− | Colubrinae belong a very large number of Indian species, of
| |
− | which the best known and commonest are the following.
| |
− | Lycodon aulicus, sometimes called the * carpet snake/ rarely
| |
− | exceeds 2 feet in length ; it is dark brown or blackish with,
| |
− | in general, whitish reticulation. This snake is often mistaken
| |
− | for the venomous karait, which is similarly marked, but which
| |
− | grows to a considerably larger size. The dhdman or Rat
| |
− | Snake (Zamenis mucosus\ the largest of the common snakes,
| |
− | often measures between 6 and 7 feet in length. This snake
| |
− | lives on small mammals, lizards and frogs, and is found
| |
− | throughout the Empire, while an allied species (Z. korros)
| |
− | inhabits Burma and the Eastern Indo-Malay region. Another
| |
− | and smaller Zamenis (Z. vtntrimaculatus] is perhaps the
| |
− | commonest snake in the dry regions of North-western India.
| |
− | Some of the species of Tropidonotus are also common, es-
| |
− | pecially the pretty little T. stolatus, which is particularly
| |
− | abundant in Bengal and Burma, and the larger T. piscator>
| |
− | generally found in or near water.
| |
− |
| |
− | The second section of the Colubrine snakes, having one or
| |
− | more of the posterior maxillary teeth grooved, comprises three
| |
− | sub-families all represented in India. One of these, however,
| |
− | distinguished by the possession of gular teeth, contains a single
| |
− | rare species (Elachistodon westermanni)> of which hitherto
| |
− | only two specimens, both from Bengal, have been recorded.
| |
− | Of the other two sub-families, one, the Homalopsinae^ consists
| |
− | of water snakes, chiefly inhabiting estuaries, though some are
| |
− | found in large rivers and others in the sea. They are easily
| |
− | recognized by the position of their nostrils on the upper surface
| |
− | of the snout. The commonest kind is Cerberus rkynchops,
| |
− | which lives in the mud of estuaries and the coast, and feeds
| |
− | on fish. The other sub-family (Dipsadinae) contains several
| |
− | Indian snakes belonging to the genera Dipsadomorphus (Dipsas],
| |
− | Psammophis, Dryophis, Chrysopelea, and others, some of which
| |
− | are locally common. One of those most frequently seen
| |
− | is the very slender Dryophis mycterizans, sometimes called
| |
− | 'whip snake,' which is found in grass or bushes, twined
| |
− | among the stems.
| |
− |
| |
− | The poisonous Colubrine snakes belong to two sub-families,
| |
− | the Hydrophiinae and the E/apinae. The Hydrophiinae are
| |
− | sea snakes, and are commonly seen swimming in the sea near
| |
− | the coast ; they abound all round India, and some kinds enter
| |
− | tidal streams. Some twenty-seven Indian species are known,
| |
− | but most of them are rare. The Elapinae include the Cobra
| |
− | (Naia tripudians), one of the commonest and most deadly of
| |
− | Indian snakes ; the larger Cobra or Hamadryas (N. bungarus) ;
| |
− | the karait (Bungarus candidus or caerulcus} ; and the raj-samp
| |
− | (JS. fasciatus). Cobras are found almost throughout the
| |
− | Empire, and are commonly three to four feet long, though
| |
− | individuals have been measured between five and six feet in
| |
− | length.
| |
− |
| |
− | The hood, formed by the expansion of the neck-skin,
| |
− | is characteristic of the species. The markings on the hood
| |
− | vary. In India generally the ' spectacle-mark/ two ocelli
| |
− | connected by a curved line, is the commonest ornament ; but
| |
− | in Bengal and Burma a single large ocellus, often imperfect,
| |
− | is the prevalent marking. Many individuals have the hood
| |
− | unmarked. A black variety of the cobra is common in parts
| |
− | of the Himalayas and in the Malay Peninsula, but the colour
| |
− | is generally greyish-brown above, paler below. The Great
| |
− | Cobra, Hamadryas or Ophiophagus (N. bu?tgarus\ is a compara-
| |
− | tively rare snake, but more common in Burma than in India.
| |
− | It is often found twelve feet in length, sometimes even thirteen.
| |
− | The colour is olive-brown with darker or paler cross-bands ;
| |
− | the young are black with yellow rings.
| |
− |
| |
− | This cobra feeds
| |
− | principally upon other snakes, and has the reputation of being
| |
− | excessively fierce and aggressive. The karait grows to about
| |
− | 4^ feet in length ; it is dark-brown or bluish-black above,
| |
− | reticulated with white streaks. The raj-samp or King-snake
| |
− | is larger, being frequently six feet or more in length, and is
| |
− | a very handsome snake banded alternately black and yellow.
| |
− | It, like the Great Cobra, lives upon other snakes. The karait
| |
− | is common in most parts of India but rare in Burma ;
| |
− | the raj-samp is met with very rarely in Southern India,
| |
− | more frequently in Bengal and Burma. Four other species
| |
− | of Bungarus are found in parts of India or Burma, and a few
| |
− | more venomous Colubrines are locally distributed.
| |
− |
| |
− | These, however, are not the only poisonous Indian serpents,
| |
− | for there are also the Viperine snakes to be mentioned. These
| |
− | are the typical venomous forms with, as a rule, broad flat
| |
− | heads, and large canaliculate erectile fangs in front of the upper
| |
− | jaw. Representatives are found in India of the true Vipers
| |
− | (Vipcrinae) and also the Pit Vipers (Crotalinac).
| |
− |
| |
− | Among the
| |
− | former, Russell's Viper (I'ipera russellii}, known also as Chain-
| |
− | viper and Cobra monil in Southern India, and as tic-pplonga
| |
− | in Ceylon, is the most important and dangerous ; it grows to
| |
− | about 4 feet in length, but it is considerably thicker than
| |
− | a cobra, and is handsomely marked with rows of large ocelli
| |
− | down the back and sides. It is a snake of very ^luggi.sh habits.
| |
− | The only other species of importance is Echis cannata, a small
| |
− | snake, rarely exceeding 2 feet in length, but very fierce and
| |
− | venomous. It is common in North-western India, where it is
| |
− | known as the Kappa, and in the Konkan ; less common in
| |
− | other parts of the Peninsula, and not found east of the Bay of
| |
− | Bengal.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Crotaline sub-family or Pit Vipers, to which the American
| |
− | rattlesnakes belong, are distinguished by having a deep loreal
| |
− | pit between the nostril and the eye. The Indian representatives
| |
− | are two species of Ancistrodon (///>$), one found in the Hima-
| |
− | layas, the other in the Western Ghats and Ceylon, and ten
| |
− | species of Lachesis ( Trimcresurus), mostly confined to the hill
| |
− | fotests. Several of the latter are of a green colour and are
| |
− | arboreal in habit. Although they attain a length in some
| |
− | cases of 3 to 4 feet, none of them appears to cause death in
| |
− | man by their bite.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Batrachians==
| |
− |
| |
− | The Batrachians are divided into three Orders : (i) Ecaudata,
| |
− | or Frogs and Toads; (2) Caudata, or Newts and Salamanders;
| |
− | and (3) Apoda, or Caecilians. All are found in India, but the
| |
− | first alone is represented by numerous species.
| |
− | Not only are the frogs and toads of India numerous the Ecaudata.
| |
− | number known in 1901 was 22 genera and 134 species
| |
− | but their distribution is of considerable interest. As in the
| |
− | case of the Reptilia, the Himalayan genera are few in number,
| |
− | only 6 being found in those mountains, and only one of these
| |
− | is peculiar to the area, while 14 genera occur in Peninsular
| |
− | India and Ceylon, and of these one half are not known to exist
| |
− | elsewhere. All of the peculiar forms inhabit the Malabar and
| |
− | Ceylon hills, which have perhaps the richest Ecaudate Batrachian
| |
− | Fauna in the world. In Burma with Assam 14 genera also
| |
− | occur, of which 7 are not found in Peninsular India or Ceylon.
| |
− |
| |
− | The majority of the species belonging to the various genera
| |
− | are small and rare ; the number of kinds often met with
| |
− | is not great. Among the commonest is a small species of
| |
− | frog which is found all over the country about ponds and
| |
− | marshes, and which attracts attention by its peculiar habit,
| |
− | when alarmed, of jumping along the surface of the water. In
| |
− | books of natural history this habit is wrongly attributed to
| |
− | Rana tigrina^ a large frog with rather short webs to the toes ;
| |
− | but the jumper is really a much smaller species (R. cyano-
| |
− | phlyctis\ the body of which is from 2 to 2\ inches long and
| |
− | the toes fully webbed. Another common small species, with
| |
− | half-webbed toes, and less aquatic than R. cyanophlyctis, is
| |
− | R. limnocharis. R. tigrina is a fairly common frog, measuring
| |
− | 6 inches in length ; it is often found at some distance from
| |
− | water, and is said occasionally to devour young ducks and
| |
− | chickens. Another frog that is not uncommon in Peninsular
| |
− | India and Ceylon is the 'Chunam frog ' of Madras (Rhacophorus
| |
− | maculatus). This is one of the frogs distinguished by having
| |
− | the tips of the fingers and toes expanded, an arrangement
| |
− | which, by increasing the power of the animal to cling to
| |
− | inclined or vertical surfaces, enables it to climb trees or rocks.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | This expansion of the finger and toe-tips is also found in several
| |
− | Indian kinds of typical Rana, which is distinguished from
| |
− | Rhacophorus by wanting the intercalary ossification between
| |
− | the penultimate and distal phalanges of the digits characteristic
| |
− | of the latter. Another genus of tree-frogs well represented in
| |
− | the hills of Southern India and Ceylon, and distinguished from
| |
− | Rhacophorus by the want of vomerine teeth, is Ixalus, among
| |
− | the members of which some species, one of them occurring on
| |
− | the Nilgiris, have become well known by their * peculiar loud
| |
− | clear metallic tinkling call,' as Jerdon described it. The genus
| |
− | Ixalus is remarkable for its geographical distribution.
| |
− |
| |
− | No less
| |
− | than fourteen species out of about twenty-five recorded are
| |
− | peculiar to Southern India and Ceylon, none are known to
| |
− | occur in the Indian Peninsula north of North Kanara (about
| |
− | 15 N. lat.), in Northern India or the Himalayas; the other
| |
− | species are Chinese, Burmese, or Malayan. Another extra-
| |
− | ordinary instance of distribution is afforded by Calluella guttu-
| |
− | lata, a small peculiarly marked species inhabiting Pegu and
| |
− | Tenasserim, as the whole of the family Dyscophidae, of which
| |
− | this species is a member, with this single exception, is peculiar
| |
− | to Madagascar. The genus Rhacophorus is also represented in
| |
− | Madagascar but not in Africa.
| |
− |
| |
− | One species of true toad (Bufo mclanostictus) is common
| |
− | throughout India and Burma, and ascends the Himalayas to
| |
− | a considerable elevation. About fifteen other species of Bufo
| |
− | have been described from various parts of the Empire.
| |
− | Among the Batrachians somewhat resembling toads are the
| |
− | curious burrowing forms belonging to the genera Callula^
| |
− | Cacopus, and Glyphoglossus, with heavy bodies and short limbs.
| |
− | They are but rarely seen, being nocturnal, and they are
| |
− | imperfectly known. They are said to live on ants and termites.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Caudata==
| |
− |
| |
− | Of the tailed Batrachia, to which belong salamanders and
| |
− | newts, only a solitary representative is found within Indian
| |
− | limits. This is Tylototriton verrucosus, originally discovered
| |
− | in Yunnan, but afterwards found in the Eastern Himalayas of
| |
− | Sikkim.
| |
− |
| |
− | Apoda, The curious worm-like, burrowing, apodous Batrachia, the
| |
− |
| |
− | Caecilians, are rare, but their distribution in India is remark-
| |
− | able. The whole Order is irregularly but widely dispersed
| |
− | throughout the tropics, as is frequently the case with groups of
| |
− | animals that were formerly more fully developed and more
| |
− | generally distributed than they now are. Out of the sixteen
| |
− | genera known to exist, three genera, comprising among them
| |
− | five species, are found in British India. All of the species
| |
− | occur in the hills of Malabar, but only two of them, both
| |
− | belonging to one genus (Ichthyophis) y are found in other parts
| |
− | of the Indo-Malay region, such as Ceylon, the Eastern
| |
− | Himalayas, Burma, and Malaysia. In this case, as in some
| |
− | others, the richness of the Fauna inhabiting the Southern Indian
| |
− | hills is noteworthy.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Fishes==
| |
− |
| |
− | In Day's two volumes, published in 1889, in the Fauna of
| |
− | British India, 351 genera and 1,418 species of fishes were
| |
− | enumerated. To those, 86 genera and 200 species were added
| |
− | by Alcock from the collections made by the Marine Survey
| |
− | steamer Investigator up to 1896, the additions consisting
| |
− | chiefly of deep-sea forms. A few more species have been
| |
− | recorded since. Of the whole, 79 genera and 361 species,
| |
− | mostly carps or siluroids, are fresh-water fishes, living in rivers,
| |
− | brooks, ponds, tanks, or marshes. Another large group of
| |
− | fishes inhabit the brackish water of estuaries, creeks, and
| |
− | lagoons; but it is a difficult task to distinguish estuarine types
| |
− | from the truly marine forms on one side, and from fluviatile
| |
− | species on the other. Some fishes are migratory, like the
| |
− | salmon and the common eel in Europe, and pass part of their
| |
− | existence in the sea, part in fresh water ; but the number of
| |
− | migratory species in India is not large, though certain kinds
| |
− | are of importance for food.
| |
− |
| |
− | The fishes of India belong to two sub-classes, Chondro-
| |
− | pterygii or cartilaginous fishes, and Teleostii or bony fishes.
| |
− | Neither ganoids (Sturgeons, Dipnoans, &c.) nor Cyclostomata
| |
− | (Lampreys and Hags) inhabit Indian waters.
| |
− |
| |
− | The highest Order, comprising the cartilaginous fishes, Chondro-
| |
− | consists chiefly of sharks, dog fishes, and rays or skates. P
| |
− | These forms abound in the Indian seas, and at least one
| |
− | shark (Carcharias gangcticus) and one or more rays belonging
| |
− | to the genus Trygon ascend the larger rivers far beyond the
| |
− | limits of the tide, rays occurring some hundreds of miles from
| |
− | the sea. All the common tropical sharks and rays are found
| |
− | on the Indian coasts, the most ferocious of the former
| |
− | belonging to the genera Carcharias (which comprises the
| |
− | Gangetic Shark) and Ga/eocerdo. The Hammer-headed
| |
− | Sharks (Zygaena), with their extraordinary *T '-shaped heads,
| |
− | are also greatly dreaded, and they are in places very common.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Saw Fishes (Pristidae), with the snout produced into a
| |
− | long flat lamina armed with strong teeth on each side, are said
| |
− | to use their * saws ' as offensive weapons, and are regarded
| |
− | as equally dangerous with the true sharks ; as some of them
| |
− | attain a length of 16 feet or more, they are formidable animals.
| |
− | They are classed with the rays and skates. Of this group the
| |
− | commonest members in the Indian seas are the Sting-rays
| |
− | (Trygonidae), generally having a long whip-like tail armed
| |
− | above with one or sometimes two serrated spines. The great
| |
− | Eagle-rays, or 'devil-fish/ said to attain a breadth of 18 feet
| |
− | across, and other smaller forms, are occasionally captured on
| |
− | the Indian coast. The dried fins of both sharks and rays are
| |
− | exported to China, and the flesh of some species is eaten,
| |
− | chiefly by the poorer classes, while oil for commercial purposes
| |
− | is obtained from their livers.
| |
− |
| |
− | The great majority of living fishes, both fluviatile and marine,
| |
− | are bony fishes, distinguished from the cartilaginous fishes by
| |
− | the more perfect ossification of their skeleton, especially of the
| |
− | vertebrae. The Teleosteans, as arranged by Day in the Fauna
| |
− | of British India, comprise five Orders, Physostomi, Acantho-
| |
− | pterygii, Anacanthini^ Lophobranchii, and Plectognathi.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the first Order the fin rays are articulated and not spinose,
| |
− | with the occasional exception of the first rays in the dorsal
| |
− | and pectoral fins. The ventral fins are spineless and are
| |
− | 'abdominal,' being situated behind the pectoral fins. Several
| |
− | important families are included, and among them the two 4 to
| |
− | which most of the Indian fresh-water fishes belong.
| |
− |
| |
− | Two of the families consist of eels, the Symbranchidae and
| |
− | the Muraenidae. To the former belong three Indian species
| |
− | inhabiting fresh and brackish water ; the latter, which are
| |
− | distinguished from the former by anatomical characters, and
| |
− | which include the Common Eel of Europe, the Conger, and
| |
− | the Muraenas, are represented by one Indian fresh-water eel
| |
− | belonging to the same genus (Anguil/a) as the European
| |
− | species, and by many marine forms of several generic types.
| |
− | Some of these grow to ro feet in length or even longer, while
| |
− | several of the true Muraenas, which inhabit rocky shores, are
| |
− | beautifully coloured, being spotted or banded. The fresh-water
| |
− | fish most commonly known as an eel in India, the Alastacem-
| |
− | belus or Spiny Eel, is an Acanthopterygian.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Siluridae or Cat-fishes are represented in India by
| |
− | thirty-two genera containing 117 species. Most of these
| |
− | inhabit fresh water, and are chiefly found in muddy rivers ;
| |
− | a few, however, occur in rapid mountain streams. Several are
| |
− | found in estuaries, and species of Arius with a few other kinds
| |
− | are marine. All are scaleless fishes, and the majority have
| |
− | large heads furnished with feelers or barbels ; in very many
| |
− | forms the dorsal and pectoral fins are each preceded by a
| |
− | strong osseous spine, which is sometimes venomous. A few
| |
− | species attain a large size. Wallago attu and the gunch
| |
− | (JBagarius yarrellii) both grow to a length of 6 feet; the latter
| |
− | is sometimes spoken of as the ' fresh-water shark/ A few kinds
| |
− | are good eating, one of the best being the/a/?a or Butterfish
| |
− | (Callichrous\ but the majority are poor and coarse.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Carps (Cyprinidae) are even more numerous than the
| |
− | Siluroids, for in Day's account of the Indian fishes no fewer
| |
− | than 36 genera and 230 species are enumerated; of these
| |
− | 9 genera and 46 species belong to the Cobitidinae or Loaches.
| |
− | It is very doubtful, howevfer, whether some of the forms which
| |
− | have received names among both the carps and the cat-fishes
| |
− | are entitled to specific distinction. The Cyprinoids are
| |
− | exclusively inhabitants of fresh water. Nearly all are covered
| |
− | with scales ; the mouth in all is toothless, but pharyngeal teeth
| |
− | exist in the throat. All carps are edible, and many are well
| |
− | flavoured, although a considerable proportion are bony.
| |
− |
| |
− | Among the best-known Indian carps are the rohu or rohi
| |
− | (Labeo rohi fa) and the catla (Catla buchanani\ both common in
| |
− | Northern India but wanting in the south. Both grow to a large
| |
− | size in tanks, the catla having been known to attain a length
| |
− | of 6 feet. Other species of Labeo abound in all streams, and
| |
− | some of them may be known by their dark colour. The next
| |
− | carp to be mentioned is Barbus tor, the famous mahseer
| |
− | (?ma/hi~sir, or big head), found in all rapid streams, and grow-
| |
− | ing certainly to 60 or 70 Ib. weight, and according to some
| |
− | accounts to 90 Ib. Sonic other allied species of Barbus are
| |
− | known from parts of India, and are equally distinguished by
| |
− | the sport they afford to anglers. Other inhabitants of mountain
| |
− | streams belong to the genus Barilius ; several of the species
| |
− | are spotted and have many of the habits of trout. They are
| |
− | common in Kashmir and along the Western Ghats, and are
| |
− | often called 'trout' by sportsmen. Small carp inhabit all streams
| |
− | and rivers in great numbers; some of the best known are called
| |
− | chilwa (Chela, Aspidoparid).
| |
− |
| |
− | No Salmonidae (salmon, trout, char, grayling, smelts) are
| |
− | known in India or Burma ; the nearest locality where any
| |
− | Salmonoid occurs is north of Afghanistan in the upper
| |
− | tributaries of the Oxus.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Herring family (Clupeidae) are well represented in
| |
− | Indian seas, and to this family belongs the most important
| |
− | species of migratory Indian fish. This is the hi/sa of Bengal,
| |
− | 'Sable fish' of Southern India, and Talla' of the Indus
| |
− | (Clupta ilisha), a true shad, closely allied to the Alike Shad of
| |
− | Europe, and bearing, curiously enough, the same name, for
| |
− | there can be little question that the words Ilisha and Allice
| |
− | Shad are identical in origin. The Indian fish, it may be
| |
− | mentioned, is more finely flavoured than its European relative.
| |
− | Another species of herring (C. longiceps) is the * oil-sardine' of
| |
− | the Malabar Coast, largely used in the production of fish oil.
| |
− | Several species of Anchovy (Engraulis) also occur on the
| |
− | Indian coasts and in the estuaries, and are largely salted for
| |
− | consumption.
| |
− |
| |
− | The remaining families of Physostomi are less important.
| |
− | The Notopteridae, very compressed fish, with the anal and
| |
− | caudal fins confluent, and rudimentary ventrals, contain two
| |
− | fresh-water species only. To the Scopelidae belongs Harpodon
| |
− | neAtreus, known in the dried state as Bummaloh or * Bombay
| |
− | duck/ which abounds in parts of the Indian coast, but, as
| |
− | Giinther points out, has the appearance of a deep-sea form, like
| |
− | many other members of the family Scopelidae. A second
| |
− | species (H. squamosus} has been described from a depth of
| |
− | about 250 fathoms in the Bay of Bengal by Wood-Mason and
| |
− | Alcock, and has quite recently been obtained in the Arabian
| |
− | Sea. The Cyprinodontidae are small fishes inhabiting the sea,
| |
− | brackish and fresh water ; five species are Indian. The Scom-
| |
− | bresocidae comprise the Gar-pikes (Betone\ with six Indian
| |
− | species, one of them fluviatile; the * Half-beaks' {Htmirhamphus\
| |
− | which are Gar fish with the lower jaw elongated and the upper
| |
− | short, and include thirteen species, some of them estuarine ;
| |
− | and seven species of flying fishes (Exocotus\ which abound in
| |
− | the open sea.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Acantho==
| |
− |
| |
− | In the next Order, which comprises the large majority of
| |
− | marine fishes, part of the rays in the dorsal, anal, and ventral
| |
− | fins are spiny and not articulated. The families are numerous,
| |
− | and only the more important need be noticed.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Perch family (Percidae) is one of the largest, 30 genera
| |
− | and 1 68 species being referred to it from Indian waters. The
| |
− | fresh-water Perch of Europe is not represented, but a genus
| |
− | of small, much compressed, semi-transparent fishes called
| |
− | Ambassis is represented in Indian rivers by several species.
| |
− | One of the most valuable food fishes of this family is the
| |
− | estuarine kind called bcgti in Bengal (Lates calcarifer), which
| |
− | grows to a weight of 200 Ib. Then there are many sea perches
| |
− | of the genera Strranus, Lutjanus, and their allies, most of
| |
− | which are eaten, though they vary greatly in flavour. Some
| |
− | are beautifully coloured, but in this they are surpassed by
| |
− | members of the next family (Squamipinnes), curiously shaped
| |
− | compressed fishes as high as they are long. One of these
| |
− | {Heniochus macrolepidotus) is crossed diagonally by broad
| |
− | curved bands alternately rich-blue and orange. Of course
| |
− | these brilliant colours disappear with the life of the fish.
| |
− |
| |
− | To the Mullidae, of which the type is the Red Mullet of
| |
− | Europe (Mullus barbatus)^ are referred fourteen fishes found
| |
− | in the Indian seas; but they are held in no estimation by
| |
− | Europeans, although, as they are all near allies of the far-
| |
− | famed European fish, some of them are probably excellent
| |
− | eating. It may, however, be noted that Anglo-Indians are
| |
− | generally very imperfectly acquainted with Indian fishes and
| |
− | especially with marine species.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Sparidae, or Sea Breams,
| |
− | and Cirrhitidae comprise several edible fishes, especially the
| |
− | members of the genus Chrysophrys, one of which (C. berda) is
| |
− | known in parts of the Madras Presidency as 'Black Rock Cod.'
| |
− | The Scorpaenidae are very spiny fishes with large heads. The
| |
− | Indian forms are but little eaten ; among them are Synanceia
| |
− | and its allies, fishes of a repulsive aspect, and justly dreaded on
| |
− | account of the venomous dorsal spines, each of which is grooved
| |
− | and has a small poison-bag attached.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Nandidae are a small family with one marine genus
| |
− | (Plesiops] and three fresh-water genera (Badis, Nandus, and
| |
− | Pristolepis), small perch-shaped fishes, peculiar to India and
| |
− | South-eastern Asia. Passing over the less important Teu-
| |
− | thididae, Berycidae, and Kurtidae, the Polynemidae are the next
| |
− | family requiring notice. The Indian representatives consist
| |
− | of eight species belonging to the genus Polynemus, distinguished
| |
− | by having lengthened free rays below the pectoral fins. Several
| |
− | of the species enter estuaries, especially P. paradiseus, the
| |
− | Mango-fish or tapsi macfuhi of Bengal, one of the most
| |
− | delicious fishes known, which ascends tidal rivers in Bengal
| |
− | and Burma during the south-west monsoon. It is a small fish,
| |
− | not exceeding about 9 inches in length ; but P. indicus attains
| |
− | 4 feet and P. tttradactylus 6 feet or more. Both enter the
| |
− | mouths of rivers, and both are excellent eating. From the air-
| |
− | bladder of the former isinglass is prepared.
| |
− |
| |
− | The family Sciaenidae contains several species of the genera
| |
− | Umbrind) Sciaena, Sciaenoides, and Otolithus. Many of these
| |
− | haunt estuaries, and one or two ascend rivers above tidal
| |
− | waters ; nearly all are good to eat, and all furnish isinglass,
| |
− | which is prepared in large quantities from their air-bladders.
| |
− | Of the Xiphiidae or Sword-fishes three species of Histiophorus
| |
− | have been obtained on the Coromandel coast, where the large
| |
− | H. g/adius is common in the cold season. The Scabbard-fishes
| |
− | (Trichiuridae) and Lancet-fishes (Acanthuridae) are common,
| |
− | hut of no great importance ; but the Carangidae, containing the
| |
− | Horse-mackerels (Caranx) and their allies, are among the
| |
− | most important food fishes of the Indian seas, on account of
| |
− | their abundance and the excellence of their flesh. Besides
| |
− | twenty-six Indian species of Caranx, the Pilot-fish (Naucrates
| |
− | ductor\ well-known as an attendant on sharks, and the remark-
| |
− | able genus Platax, the members of which are known as * Sea-
| |
− | bats ' on account of their peculiar deep compressed form and
| |
− | their enormously developed and pointed dorsal and anal fins,
| |
− | belong to the Carangidae.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | The family Stromateidae contains the Pomfrets, which
| |
− |
| |
− | approach Platax in shape. The three Indian species are
| |
− |
| |
− | highly esteemed as food. The commonest species (Stromatcus
| |
− |
| |
− | anereus) is known as 'Silver Pomfret* when young and as
| |
− |
| |
− | 'Gray Pomfret* when adult. The White Pomfret (S. sintnsis]
| |
− |
| |
− | is regarded as even superior in flavour. The so-called Dolphins
| |
− |
| |
− | (Coryphaenidae) are common at times on the Coromandel
| |
− |
| |
− | coast. The Mackerel family (Scombridae) contains several
| |
− |
| |
− | well-known and valuable Indian fishes, among which are
| |
− |
| |
− | three species of true Mackerel (Scomber}, the Tunny (Thynnus\
| |
− |
| |
− | the Bonito ( 7! pelamys\ and Seer fishes (Cybium\ all excellent
| |
− |
| |
− | food either fresh or salted. The Tunny of the Indian seas is
| |
− |
| |
− | identical with the famous Mediterranean fish.
| |
− |
| |
− | Amongst the next families recorded in the Fishes of India
| |
− | the only form worthy of notice is Sillago sihama, known as
| |
− | ' Whiting ' in Madras, which is a member of the Trachinidae.
| |
− | In Calcutta the fish known as ' Whiting' is Sciaenoides pama^ a
| |
− | species of the Sciaenidae. Neither has any affinity to the whiting
| |
− | of Western Europe, which is a member of the cod family.
| |
− |
| |
− | The 'Anglers' or 'Fishing Frogs' (Pediculati) are well
| |
− | represented, and several additional species have lately been
| |
− | described from the collections of the Marine Survey steamer
| |
− | Investigator. Gobies (Gobiidae) abound on the shores of the
| |
− | sea, several occurring in fresh and brackish water. All are
| |
− | small. Among them the peculiar ' mud-skippers ' (Pcrioph-
| |
− | thalmus and I)oleophthalmus\ small fishes 3 to 8 inches long,
| |
− | with blunt heads and prominent eyes, are common in all
| |
− | estuaries, living chiefly on the mud between tidemarks, and
| |
− | moving by a series of jumps along the surface. 'Dragonets'
| |
− | (Callionymidae) and Blennies (Blenniidae) are other shore
| |
− | fishes, mostly of small size. The Rhynchobdellidae are the
| |
− | Spiny Eels (Rhynchobdtlla and Mastactmbelus\ common in the
| |
− | rivers and estuaries of India and Burma, and easily distin-
| |
− | guished from true eels by their spiny fins. They are excellent
| |
− | to eat. The Sphyraenidae are large voracious fishes, some-
| |
− | times known as ' Barracudas/ and dreaded almost as greatly
| |
− | as sharks are. The Atherinidae are small fishes resembling
| |
− | smelts ; they are often captured for food in large numbers.
| |
− | Grey Mullets /Mugilidae), of which numerous species occur in
| |
− | all Indian seas and estuaries, and even in some cases in fresh
| |
− | water, are also extensively caught and eaten.
| |
− |
| |
− | Several species of Ophiocephatus (Ophiocephalidae), called
| |
− | Murrel in Northern India, are found throughout India and
| |
− | Burma, inhabiting rivers, ponds, and marshes. All have peculiar
| |
− | flattish, snake-like heads. They take live bait, especially
| |
− | a frog, freely, and are good to eat. They have a bronchial
| |
− | cavity, by means of which the blood is oxygenated directly.
| |
− | They gain access to the air by rising to the top of the water
| |
− | if necessary, or by lying on the surface. They die if unable
| |
− | to obtain air. On the other hand they can live for a long
| |
− | time out of water ; and they form one of the kinds of fish which
| |
− | exist in dried mud throughout the hot season, and recover
| |
− | when the pond or marsh which had dried up is again flooded
| |
− | in the monsoon.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Climbing Perch (Anabas scandens] and its allies {Poly-
| |
− | acanthus and Trichogaster\ belonging to the Labyrinthici, are
| |
− | common in the lower plains of India and Burma, and possess
| |
− | the power of living without water to an even greater extent than
| |
− | the Ophioccphali, as their accessory bronchial cavity is more
| |
− | complicated and contains a peculiar laminated organ. Anabas
| |
− | and its allies are small fish. The 'Gourami' (Osphromenus
| |
− | o/fax) of the Malay Archipelago, which belongs to the same
| |
− | family and has a reputation for delicacy of flavour, attains to
| |
− | a considerable size.
| |
− |
| |
− | Glyphidodontidae and Labridae are two families of marine
| |
− | fishes found chiefly about corals and rocks. They are con-
| |
− | sequently not common on the Indian coasts, which are for the
| |
− | most part sandy or muddy ; but many species occur on the
| |
− | shores of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The general
| |
− | form is percoid, and many of the species are brilliantly
| |
− | coloured.
| |
− |
| |
− | The last Acanthopterygian family (Chromididae) consists of
| |
− | African and South American fresh water fishes, of which repre-
| |
− | sentatives are found in two Asiatic localities only, the Jordan
| |
− | Valley in Palestine and Southern India with Ceylon. In India
| |
− | three species are found, belonging to the genus Etroplus, one
| |
− | of them ranging as far north as Orissa, and being found both in
| |
− | fresh and in brackish water. A closely allied genus (farctroplus)
| |
− | occurs in Madagascar.
| |
− |
| |
− | The only important families in the next Order are the Gadidae Anacan-
| |
− | and Pleuronectidae. The first contains cod, haddock, whiting, thini -
| |
− | ling, hake, and other important food fishes of the North
| |
− | Atlantic, but is represented in the Indian Ocean only by
| |
− | a small pelagic type (Brcgmaceros macckllandi\ A nearly
| |
− | allied family (Macruridae), not recorded from Indian seas when
| |
− | Day's Fishes of India was published, is now represented by
| |
− | twenty species obtained from depths between 100 and 1,400
| |
− | iathoms. Sixteen species have also been obtained from deep
| |
− | water of another family (Ophidiidae), of which previously only
| |
− | five were known from the seas of India.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Pleuronectidae, or Flat Fishes, are numerous ; for in
| |
− | addition to the thirty-nine species enumerated by Day, no less
| |
− | than thirty additional forms have been obtained by the Investi-
| |
− | gator's researches. But although several are eaten, none of the
| |
− | species have the high repute attaching to the sole and turbot of
| |
− | the North Atlantic.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Lopho==
| |
− |
| |
− | The Pipe-fishes and Sea-horses are so unlike ordinary fishes
| |
− | brancbiL that it is not easy at first to recognize their affinities. They
| |
− | are encased in a dermal skeleton, and their gills are not
| |
− | laminated but composed of rounded tufts, while the gill open-
| |
− | ings are very small. The members of the genus Hippocampus
| |
− | have prehensile tails, and attach themselves to seaweed. All
| |
− | are very poor swimmers. Several species are found in Indian
| |
− | seas.
| |
− |
| |
− | Plecto- The ' File-fishes/ * Globe-fishes/ and their allies are also
| |
− |
| |
− | we n represented in the seas of India, and one or two species of
| |
− | Tetrodon are found in rivers. Most of the genera are more or
| |
− | less globose in form ; and Tetrodon has the power of blowing
| |
− | itself out into a ball when removed from the water, thus erect-
| |
− | ing its dermal spines. The Sea Hedgehog (Diodori] bears far
| |
− | larger and stronger spines, and adopts the same method of
| |
− | raising them. The flesh of several species, both of file-fishes
| |
− | like Batistes and of Tetrodon, is poisonous ; but certain kinds
| |
− | are eaten by the Burmese and Andamanese.
| |
− |
| |
− | In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the Lancelet
| |
− | (Branchiostoma or Amphioxus\ the lowest of fishes, without
| |
− | head or brain, and placed by many naturalists in a distinct
| |
− | class, is not uncommon in the seas around India. It is in fact
| |
− | almost cosmopolitan.
| |
− |
| |
− | or Perissodactyle Ungulates. The only wild horses or asses are
| |
− | the ghorkhar of Western India and Baluchistan, found in
| |
− | herds in the Indian desert in places from Cutch to Blkaner,
| |
− | and also west of the Indus near Mithankot ; and the kiang of
| |
− | Tibet. These appear to be merely varieties of one species
| |
− | (Equus htmionus). Of rhinoceros three kinds are met with,
| |
− | two of which are one-horned, one two-horned. Of these the
| |
− | largest is the Great Indian Rhinoceros (R, unicornis\ still
| |
− | inhabiting Assam and found in very small numbers in the
| |
− | Nepal tarai, but formerly occurring along the base of the
| |
− | Himalayas to Peshawar, where in the early part of the sixteenth
| |
− | century it was hunted by the Emperor Babar. It lives in high
| |
− | grass as a rule.
| |
− |
| |
− | The second one-horned species, often called
| |
− | the Javan Rhinoceros (R. $ondaicus\ occurs in the Bengal
| |
− | Sundarbans, in Eastern Bengal, and locally through Burma to
| |
− | the Malay countries. It is rather smaller than R. unicornis^
| |
− | and may be recognized by different markings on the epidermis
| |
− | and by the great folds of the skin being differently arranged.
| |
− | The third kind, the two-horned R. sumatrensis, is the smallest
| |
− | of the three, and has been met with from Assam, where it is
| |
− | rare, to Borneo, being rather common in Tenasserim. The
| |
− | Malay Tapir is only found within our limits in Southern
| |
− | Tenasserim south of about 15 N. lat.
| |
− |
| |
| ==Wild Yak== | | ==Wild Yak== |
| The even-toed or Artiodactyle Ungulates are much more | | The even-toed or Artiodactyle Ungulates are much more |
Line 3,857: |
Line 1,297: |
| B.sibbaldi of Northern seas, which exceeds in size any other | | B.sibbaldi of Northern seas, which exceeds in size any other |
| known animal, extant or fossil. This great whale is not rare | | known animal, extant or fossil. This great whale is not rare |
− | off the Baluchistan coast. | + | off the Baluchistan coast. A kind of hump-backed whale |
− | | + | |
− | A kind of hump-backed whale | + | |
| (Megaptcra) also appears to have been seen near the coast of | | (Megaptcra) also appears to have been seen near the coast of |
| India on more than one occasion. The Sperm Whale (Physettr | | India on more than one occasion. The Sperm Whale (Physettr |
Line 3,868: |
Line 1,306: |
| size from the little Indian Porpoise about four feet in length to | | size from the little Indian Porpoise about four feet in length to |
| the Indian Pilot W T hale, a representative of the Caing Whale of | | the Indian Pilot W T hale, a representative of the Caing Whale of |
− | European seas, measuring over fourteen feet. The two forms | + | European seas, measuring over fourteen feet. |
− | that particularly deserve notice are those inhabiting the rivers. | + | |
− |
| + | The two forms |
| + | that particularly deserve notice are those inhabiting the rivers. |
| In the Irrawaddy from below Prome to above Bhamo there is | | In the Irrawaddy from below Prome to above Bhamo there is |
| found a blunt-nosed porpoise (One/la fluminalis\ about seven | | found a blunt-nosed porpoise (One/la fluminalis\ about seven |
Line 4,356: |
Line 1,795: |
| ==Ansiodactyli== | | ==Ansiodactyli== |
| | | |
− | Next we have a somewhat heterogeneous group, comprising the Rollers (Coraciat\ Bee-eaters (M r f ropes), Kingfishers (Hafcyones), Hornbills (Bucerotes), and Hoopoes (Upupae).
| + | Next we have a somewhat heterogeneous group, comprising the Rollers (Coraciat\ Bee-eaters (M r f ropes), Kingfishers (Hafcyones), Hornbills (Bucerotes), and Hoopoes (Upupae). |
| All are well represented throughout India. The Indian Roller (Corarias indica), commonly called the | | All are well represented throughout India. The Indian Roller (Corarias indica), commonly called the |
| 'blue jay' (it is not related to the true Jays), is resident | | 'blue jay' (it is not related to the true Jays), is resident |
Line 4,368: |
Line 1,807: |
| The Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus oricntalis), a forest type, | | The Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus oricntalis), a forest type, |
| is found in the Himalayas, Burma, the Malabar forests, and | | is found in the Himalayas, Burma, the Malabar forests, and |
− | Ceylon. | + | Ceylon. |
| + | |
| ==Macrochires== | | ==Macrochires== |
| | | |
Line 4,466: |
Line 1,906: |
| | | |
| ==Trogones== | | ==Trogones== |
− | Distinguished by the structure of their feet, the
| + | Distinguished by the structure of their feet, the |
| first and second toes being directed backwards (not the first | | first and second toes being directed backwards (not the first |
| and fourth as in Woodpeckers, Barbets, Cuckoos, and Parrots), | | and fourth as in Woodpeckers, Barbets, Cuckoos, and Parrots), |
Line 4,475: |
Line 1,915: |
| Burma, one ranging to the Eastern Himalayas ; and a fourth | | Burma, one ranging to the Eastern Himalayas ; and a fourth |
| is found in the forests between the Ganges and the Godavari, | | is found in the forests between the Ganges and the Godavari, |
− | those near the western coasts of India, and in Ceylon. | + | those near the western coasts of India, and in Ceylon. |
| + | |
| ==Coccyges== | | ==Coccyges== |
| | | |
Line 4,574: |
Line 2,015: |
| the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama), which is even more | | the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama), which is even more |
| widely spread, and, being less purely nocturnal, is much more | | widely spread, and, being less purely nocturnal, is much more |
− | frequently seen. | + | frequently seen. |
| | | |
| =Accipitres= | | =Accipitres= |
− | Indian birds of prey belong to three families, one
| + | Indian birds of prey belong to three families, one |
| containing the O^prey alone, the second the Vultures, the | | containing the O^prey alone, the second the Vultures, the |
| third Eagles, Kites, Harriers, Buzzards, Hawks, and Falcons. | | third Eagles, Kites, Harriers, Buzzards, Hawks, and Falcons. |
Line 4,710: |
Line 2,151: |
| Pigeons (Trcroninat)> are birds of yellowish-green plumage, | | Pigeons (Trcroninat)> are birds of yellowish-green plumage, |
| often with patches of chestnut or lilac on the upper surface. | | often with patches of chestnut or lilac on the upper surface. |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
| | | |
| All have feet adapted for perching ; they live in flocks among | | All have feet adapted for perching ; they live in flocks among |
Line 4,734: |
Line 2,171: |
| a prevailing coloration of metallic green with bronze reflections, | | a prevailing coloration of metallic green with bronze reflections, |
| it breeds in enormous numbers on Batti Malv, an uninhabited | | it breeds in enormous numbers on Batti Malv, an uninhabited |
− | island of the Nicobars. The fourth sub-family is also repre- | + | island of the Nicobars. |
| + | |
| + | The fourth sub-family is also repre- |
| sented in India by a single species, the Bronze-winged Dove | | sented in India by a single species, the Bronze-winged Dove |
| (CJuilcofhaps indica], which haunts damp and thickly wooded | | (CJuilcofhaps indica], which haunts damp and thickly wooded |
Line 4,761: |
Line 2,200: |
| colour ; they are swift of flight, they always rest and feed on | | colour ; they are swift of flight, they always rest and feed on |
| the ground, and they fly to water at particular hours in the | | the ground, and they fly to water at particular hours in the |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
| morning and evening. Seven species occur in India, but none | | morning and evening. Seven species occur in India, but none |
| are known in the countries east of the Bay of Bengal, and only | | are known in the countries east of the Bay of Bengal, and only |
Line 4,773: |
Line 2,207: |
| tibetanus), is peculiar to Tibet. | | tibetanus), is peculiar to Tibet. |
| | | |
− | ==Gallinae==
| + | ==Gallinae== |
− | The Game Birds proper, Peafowl, Jungle-fowl, Pheasants,
| + | The Game Birds proper, Peafowl, Jungle-fowl, Pheasants, |
| Partridges, Quails, &c., include fifty-eight species enumerated | | Partridges, Quails, &c., include fifty-eight species enumerated |
| in the Fauna, a number raised to seventy-one in Mr. Oates's | | in the Fauna, a number raised to seventy-one in Mr. Oates's |
Line 4,816: |
Line 2,250: |
| India proper or Ceylon, while four Himalayan genera are | | India proper or Ceylon, while four Himalayan genera are |
| unknown in any other part of the Empire. These are the | | unknown in any other part of the Empire. These are the |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
| Chlr Pheasant (Catreus wallichi), the Koklas or Pucras | | Chlr Pheasant (Catreus wallichi), the Koklas or Pucras |
| (Pucrasia macrolopha\ the Monals (Lophophorus refulgens and | | (Pucrasia macrolopha\ the Monals (Lophophorus refulgens and |
− | L. imptyanus), and the Blood Pheasant (Ithagenes cruentus). | + | L. imptyanus), and the Blood Pheasant (Ithagenes cruentus). |
| + | |
| The Horned Pheasants or Tragopans, sometimes wrongly | | The Horned Pheasants or Tragopans, sometimes wrongly |
| called Argus Pheasants, are represented by two species in the | | called Argus Pheasants, are represented by two species in the |
Line 4,837: |
Line 2,267: |
| met with on the frontier between Burma and Yunnan, and one | | met with on the frontier between Burma and Yunnan, and one |
| species of the Malayan Fire-backed Pheasants (Lofhura rufa \ | | species of the Malayan Fire-backed Pheasants (Lofhura rufa \ |
− | ranges into Southern Tenasserim. The genus Gennaeus^ con- | + | ranges into Southern Tenasserim. |
| + | |
| + | The genus Gennaeus^ con- |
| taining the Silver Pheasants of China and the Hinicllayan Kalij, | | taining the Silver Pheasants of China and the Hinicllayan Kalij, |
| comprises four species in the Lower Himalayas (one of them | | comprises four species in the Lower Himalayas (one of them |
Line 4,866: |
Line 2,298: |
| visitor to India and Burma, and the Black-breasted or Rain | | visitor to India and Burma, and the Black-breasted or Rain |
| Quail (C. coromandclica), a resident species. To the eastward | | Quail (C. coromandclica), a resident species. To the eastward |
− | a few individuals of the Japanese race of the Grey Quail | + | a few individuals of the Japanese race of the Grey Quail are said to have been obtained. Next in impor- |
− | | + | |
− | VOL. i. S
| + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
− | (C.jafonica) are said to have been obtained. Next in impor-
| + | |
| tance are five species of Bush Quail : two of Perdicula^ peculiar | | tance are five species of Bush Quail : two of Perdicula^ peculiar |
| to the Indian Peninsula, except that one of them occurs in | | to the Indian Peninsula, except that one of them occurs in |
Line 4,900: |
Line 2,324: |
| Swamp Partridge, which inhabits the high grass jungles of the | | Swamp Partridge, which inhabits the high grass jungles of the |
| Ganges and Brahmaputra plains. The remaining partridges | | Ganges and Brahmaputra plains. The remaining partridges |
− | are not found in the Indian Peninsula. They are the Chikor | + | are not found in the Indian Peninsula. |
| + | |
| + | They are the Chikor |
| (Caccabis chucar] and the Sfsf (Ammoptrdix bonhami\ | | (Caccabis chucar] and the Sfsf (Ammoptrdix bonhami\ |
| Western Asiatic types, both found in the hills of the Punjab | | Western Asiatic types, both found in the hills of the Punjab |
Line 4,921: |
Line 2,347: |
| Philippines, Celebes, Papuasia, and Australia. Like their allies, | | Philippines, Celebes, Papuasia, and Australia. Like their allies, |
| the Nicobar Mcgapodes lay their eggs in mounds of decaying | | the Nicobar Mcgapodes lay their eggs in mounds of decaying |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 259
| |
− |
| |
| vegetable matter built by themselves and supplying the heat | | vegetable matter built by themselves and supplying the heat |
| necessary for incubation. | | necessary for incubation. |
Line 4,942: |
Line 2,363: |
| Rallus, Hypotacnidia, and Porzana ; there are three kinds of | | Rallus, Hypotacnidia, and Porzana ; there are three kinds of |
| banded Crakes (Rallina)^ and other Crakes, Water-hens, and | | banded Crakes (Rallina)^ and other Crakes, Water-hens, and |
− | Moor-hens, referred to Amaurornis and Gallinula. These are | + | Moor-hens, referred to Amaurornis and Gallinula. |
| + | |
| + | These are |
| seldom seen, as they hide in grassy swamps ; the only birds | | seldom seen, as they hide in grassy swamps ; the only birds |
| at all commonly observed are the White-breasted Water-hen | | at all commonly observed are the White-breasted Water-hen |
Line 4,974: |
Line 2,397: |
| monachus], a species of North-eastern Asia, has recently been | | monachus], a species of North-eastern Asia, has recently been |
| obtained in Assam. | | obtained in Assam. |
− |
| |
− | S 2
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 26o THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
| | | |
| The Bustards are six in number. None of them occur in | | The Bustards are six in number. None of them occur in |
Line 4,997: |
Line 2,414: |
| season. | | season. |
| | | |
− | LLmicolae. The next Order contains, besides the Plovers and Snipes,
| + | ==Lmicolae== |
| + | |
| + | The next Order contains, besides the Plovers and Snipes, |
| several families of wading-birds of small or moderate size. | | several families of wading-birds of small or moderate size. |
| | | |
Line 5,014: |
Line 2,433: |
| include two species of Cursorius (C. coromandtlicHS), peculiar | | include two species of Cursorius (C. coromandtlicHS), peculiar |
| to India, and a European bird (C. gal/icus), found in the | | to India, and a European bird (C. gal/icus), found in the |
− | Punjab, Sind, and Rajputana. These birds inhabit open | + | Punjab, Sind, and Rajputana. |
| + | |
| + | These birds inhabit open |
| plains ; but the third Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus}> a | | plains ; but the third Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus}> a |
| member of a genus that is with this exception purely African, | | member of a genus that is with this exception purely African, |
Line 5,027: |
Line 2,448: |
| species are Indian, the Bronze-winged Ja^ani (Metopidius | | species are Indian, the Bronze-winged Ja^ani (Metopidius |
| indicus) and the Pheasant-tailed Jar;ana (ffydrophasianus | | indicus) and the Pheasant-tailed Jar;ana (ffydrophasianus |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 261
| |
− |
| |
| chirurgu3\ both found throughout India and Burma in suitable | | chirurgu3\ both found throughout India and Burma in suitable |
| localities. | | localities. |
Line 5,079: |
Line 2,495: |
| Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa dclgica\ while the Bar-tailed | | Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa dclgica\ while the Bar-tailed |
| Godwit (L* /tifltomca) has hitherto been obtained within Indian | | Godwit (L* /tifltomca) has hitherto been obtained within Indian |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | a62 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | limits only in Sind. Sandpipers and Stints are found every-
| |
− | where, the commonest forms in India being the Wood Sandpiper
| |
− | (Totanus glareola) and the Green Sandpiper (7! ochropus),
| |
− | both known as ' snippets ' by Indian sportsmen. Redshanks,
| |
− | Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Ruffs and Reeves, Sander-
| |
− | lings, Little Stints, and other kinds of Tringa % Dunlins, and
| |
− | Red-necked Phalaropes are among the migratory waders that
| |
− | visit India in winter, while some other forms, as the Grey
| |
− | Phalarope, have been obtained occasionally. The Red-necked
| |
− | Phalarope is common on the Baluchistan coast, where it spends
| |
− | the day in flocks on the sea, often several miles from land.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Woodcocks and Snipes, with long, soft sensitive bills,
| |
− | form the last sub-family (Scolopadnae). The Woodcock breeds
| |
− | on the Himalayas, and in winter visits the Nilgiris and other
| |
− | hill ranges of Southern India in considerable numbers. The
| |
− | Snipes found generally in India belong to two species : the
| |
− | Common Snipe, or Fantail (Gallinago coclcstis), identical with
| |
− | the European bird; and the Pintail Snipe (G. stenura\ an
| |
− | eastern species, distinguished by having twenty-six tail-feathers
| |
− | instead of fourteen or sixteen, the outer eight on each side
| |
− | being narrow and stiff, and by some slight differences of
| |
− | plumage, especially by the wing-lining and axillaries being
| |
− | richly barred with blackish-brown. The Common Snipe is the
| |
− | more abundant to the westward in India, the Pintail is the
| |
− | prevalent form in Burma. The Jack Snipe (G. galtinula)
| |
− | is rare, except occasionally in Northern India. Two large
| |
− | snipes, the Wood Snipe (G. nemoricold) and the Himalayan
| |
− | Solitary Snipe (G. solitaria), inhabit the Himalayan and Assam
| |
− | hills, and the former is also found in the hills of Southern
| |
− | India. The Painted Snipe (Rostratula capensis),& non-migratory
| |
− | bird of weak flight, with the sexes differing in plumage, is found
| |
− | throughout India, Burma, and Southern Asia, and also in Africa
| |
− | and Madagascar.
| |
− |
| |
− | Gavbe. Gulls and Terns form an Order by themselves, nearly allied
| |
− | to the Plovers, as might be inferred from the similarity between
| |
− | the eggs.
| |
− |
| |
− | Seven kinds of Gull are found on the coasts of Sind and
| |
− | Baluchistan ; of these only four are known from the Bay of
| |
− | Bengal, and only two in Ceylon, there being a considerable
| |
− | diminution in the numbers to the eastward and southward.
| |
− | The commonest kinds in India are the Laughing Gull (Larus
| |
− | ridibundus), the Brown-headed Gull (Z. brunneictphalus\ and
| |
− | the Yellow-legged Herring-gull (Z, cachinnans)^ with, to the
| |
− | westward, the Sooty Gull (Z. hemfrichi\ the Slender-billed
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | vj ZOOLOGY 263
| |
− |
| |
− | Gull (Z. gcla$tes\ and the Dark-backed Herring Gull (Z. affinis).
| |
− | The first three are often seen about rivers and large marshes
| |
− | inland. None breed in the Indian Peninsula.
| |
− |
| |
− | Terns are more numerous in India than gulls, there being
| |
− | twenty-one species known, including two kinds of Noddy
| |
− | (Anous\ only found on the open sea, and three other oceanic
| |
− | terns. The common terns found inland about rivers and
| |
− | marshes are the Whiskered Tern (Hydroc/ielidon hybrida\ the
| |
− | Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia), the Gull-billed Tern (Sterna
| |
− | anglica\ the Indian River Tern (S. seenci), and the Black-billed
| |
− | Tern (S. mdanogaster), the last being one of the commonest of
| |
− | Indian water-birds. The Indian Skimmer, or Scissors-bill
| |
− | (Rhynchops albicollis\ with both mandibles of the bill com-
| |
− | pressed and the upper the shorter, is very tern-like in
| |
− | appearance, but differs in many respects. It keeps to rivers
| |
− | and large pieces of fresh water.
| |
− |
| |
− | Richardson's Skua (Stcrcorarius crepidattts} occurs in winter
| |
− | on the Maknin and Sind coasts, and individuals of two other
| |
− | species of Skua have been recorded within Indian limits.
| |
− |
| |
− | Pelicans, Frigate-birds, Cormorants, Gannets or Boobies, Stegano-
| |
− | and Tropic-birds, all distinguished by having the four toes P ^-
| |
− | united by a web, form the next Order. Only the Pelicans
| |
− | and Cormorants are found inland ; members of the other three
| |
− | families are oceanic; two kinds of Frigate birds, three Boobies,
| |
− | and three Tropic-birds have been observed in the Indian seas.
| |
− |
| |
− | Four kinds of Pelicans occur in India ; but of these the
| |
− | Dalmatian Pelican (Pelicanus erispits) is only found in winter
| |
− | in the north-western part of the country, and P. onocrotalus is
| |
− | rare as an Indian bird. The other two species, the Eastern
| |
− | White Pelican (P. roseus) and the Spotted-billed Pelican
| |
− | (P. philippensis\ are more generally distributed, the latter being
| |
− | the commonest, and breeding in the country.
| |
− |
| |
− | Three Cormorants are among the resident Indian water-
| |
− | birds : the I^arge Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), the Indian
| |
− | Shag (P. fuscicollis), and the Little Cormorant (P.javanicus\
| |
− | the latter being by far the commonest. The Indian Darter or
| |
− | Snake-bird (P lotus melanogas(er) is also generally distributed.
| |
− | Of the four Indian members of the Cormorant family, the
| |
− | Large Cormorant alone is met with on the sea.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Petrels are oceanic' birds. Five species have been Tubinares.
| |
− | recorded in the seas around India, and others indicated.
| |
− | Small Stormy Petrels are not rare, and probably two or three
| |
− | species are represented, but very few specimens have been
| |
− | obtained. A Shearwater (Pujfinus fenicus) is met with off
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 264 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | Bombay and Sind, and another species (P. chlororhynchus) has
| |
− | been occasionally recorded from Ceylon and Makr^n.
| |
− | llcrodioncs. The Ibises, Spoonbills, Storks, and Herons form a far
| |
− | more important part of Indian bird life. The Ibises are the
| |
− | White Ibis (Ibis melanocephahi), a near relative of the Egyptian
| |
− | Sacred Ibis; two kinds of Black Ibis (Inocotis papillosus of
| |
− | Northern India, and /. davisoni of Southern Burma); and the
| |
− | Glossy Ibis. All except the last are resident, and even the
| |
− | Glossy Ibis breeds in Sind and in Ceylon. Spoonbills (Platalea
| |
− | Uucorodia) are somewhat local, but they occur and breed in
| |
− | several parts of India, though not in Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | Among Storks, the common White Stork (Ciconia alba]
| |
− | and the Black Stork (C. nigra] are winter visitors to Northern
| |
− | India, while the White-necked Stork (Disst4ra <piscopus\ a
| |
− | common Indian bird, the great Black-necked Stork (Xenorhyn-
| |
− | chus asiaticus\ two kinds of Adjutant (Leptoptilus dubius and
| |
− | L. javanitus}, the Painted Stork (Pstudotantalus kucocephahts\
| |
− | and the curious Open-bill (Anastomus osritans) are resident.
| |
− | The Larger Adjutant (Z. dubius) was formerly common in
| |
− | Calcutta from March to October, being attracted by the
| |
− | heaps of refuse ; but improved sanitary regulations have
| |
− | banished both offal and Adjutants from the city. All the
| |
− | storks named are widely distributed, but Anastomus is par-
| |
− | ticularly common in the great plain of Northern India.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Heron family (ArdeiJae) is represented by eleven
| |
− | genera and twenty-one species. The principal of these are
| |
− | the Common Heron (Ardea dnerea\ the Eastern Purple Heron
| |
− | (A. manillensis\ and the three White Egrets (Herodia alba,
| |
− | large; //. intermedia, smaller; and //. garzctta, smaller still),
| |
− | with the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus}, which is white
| |
− | in winter, but becomes buff-coloured in the summer. All of
| |
− | these are common and widely distributed. The Reef Herons
| |
− | (Leptcrodius) keep to the coasts, and present the remarkable
| |
− | peculiarity of some individuals being pure white, others slaty
| |
− | grey. The small Pond Herons, or * paddy-birds ' as they are
| |
− | commonly called in India, belong to the genus Ardcola. One
| |
− | of them (A. grayi) occurs throughout the Empire and is very
| |
− | common ; it is dull greyish-brown when sitting, but makes a
| |
− | startling display of its white body and wings when it flies away.
| |
− | A second species (A. bacchus) inhabits Burma. The Little
| |
− | Green Heron (Butoridcs javanicd) and the Night Heron
| |
− | (Nycticorax griseus) are crepuscular in their habits, as are the
| |
− | Malay Bittern (Gorsachius), several species of Little Bitterns
| |
− | (Ardttta\ the Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis), and the
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 265
| |
− |
| |
− | European Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), the latter alone being
| |
− | migratory. None of the Bitterns are common ; all hide in long
| |
− | grass and reeds during the day.
| |
− |
| |
− | Two Flamingoes are found in India and Ceylon, none being Phoeni-
| |
− | known to the east of the Bay of Bengal. The Common c P tcri -
| |
− | Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rosens) is locally common, especially
| |
− | in the north-west of India. The Lesser Flamingo (P. miner)
| |
− | is a rare bird.
| |
− |
| |
− | Two kinds of swan, the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) and the Anseres.
| |
− | Whooper (C. tnusicns), have been obtained as rare stragglers in
| |
− | North-western India. Of geese, five species visit the country
| |
− | in winter, but only two are anywhere common. These are the
| |
− | Grey Lag (Anser ferus\ which is a visitor to Northern India
| |
− | and Northern Burma, and especially to North-western India ;
| |
− | and the Barred headed Goose (A. indicus), which is common
| |
− | in winter in Northern India and Burma, and rarer, though
| |
− | occasionally met with, as far south as Mysore.
| |
− |
| |
− | Ducks are numerous, most of the common European kinds
| |
− | visiting India, and there are several resident species as well.
| |
− | Altogether twenty-one genera are represented, or, including
| |
− | Smews and Mergansers, twenty three. The majority are winter
| |
− | visitors ; and of these the Sheldrake, Mallard, Widgeon, and
| |
− | Marbled Duck, as well as some occasional visitors, such as
| |
− | Falcated Teal, Baikal Teal, Eastern (or Baer's) White-eyed
| |
− | Duck, Scaup, and Golden-eye, appear only in the northern part
| |
− | of the country ; others, like the Gadwall, Shoveller, Pochard,
| |
− | Red-crested Pochard, White-eyed and Tufted Ducks, range
| |
− | about as far south as Mysore in India and Ava in Burma, but
| |
− | arc rare or wanting farther to the southward. A few, however,
| |
− | of which the principal are the Ruddy Sheldrake or Brahmani
| |
− | Duck, commonly seen in pairs on the banks of rivers, the
| |
− | Pintail, Common Teal, and Blue winged Teal or Garganey, are
| |
− | found almost throughout the Empire in winter. The Mallard
| |
− | and White-eyed Duck breed in large numbers m Kashmir.
| |
− |
| |
− | The resident Ducks, which breed in tropical India, are the
| |
− | following : the Comb Duck or Nukta (Sarcidiornis\ widely
| |
− | distributed ; the rare White-winged Wood Duck of Assam,
| |
− | Burma, and the Malay countries ; the Pink-headed Duck
| |
− | (Rhodonessa), almost peculiar to Upper Bengal ; the two
| |
− | Whistling Teals (Dendro<ygna\ found generally throughout
| |
− | the Empire, the smaller kind (D. javanicd) being very
| |
− | common ; the little Cotton Teal (Nettopus coromandeliamis\
| |
− | with similar distribution ; the Spotted-billed Duck (Anas
| |
− | foccilorhyncha)) common in India and Northern Burma,
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 2 66 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | but replaced in parts of the Shan States by the allied Chinese
| |
− | species (A. zonorhynchd) ; and the Andaman Teal, almost pecu-
| |
− | liar to the Andaman Islands, though it has been obtained
| |
− | in Pegu.
| |
− |
| |
− | Smews visit Northern India in winter, and the Goosander
| |
− | (Merganser castor) is common along the base of the Himalayas
| |
− | at the same season. The Goosander has also been found in
| |
− | parts of Bengal and in Northern Burma, and it breeds in the
| |
− | interior of the Himalayas. The Red-breasted Merganser is a
| |
− | rare visitor in winter to the coasts of Sind and Bombay,
| |
− | Fygo- The Indian Little Grebe (Podicepes captnsis> v. albipcnnis) is a
| |
− |
| |
− | podcs. permanent resident generally distributed in India and Burma.
| |
− | The Great Crested Grebe (P. cristatus) visits Northern India
| |
− | and Burma in winter ; and the Eared Grebe (P. nigru'ollis) is
| |
− | of much rarer occurrence.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | Reptiles
| |
− |
| |
− | The Reptiles of India are far more numerous than the
| |
− | Mammals, and more destructive to human life ; snake-bites alone
| |
− | cause more deaths than all the wild beasts together. As
| |
− | already stated, 146 genera and 534 species of Reptiles were
| |
− | described in the Fauna in 1890; but a fresh enumeration
| |
− | made ten years later, in 1900, shows an increase in the num-
| |
− | bers to 153 genera, containing 558 species. These belong to
| |
− | three Orders: (i) Emydosauria^ or Crocodiles; (2) Chelonia>
| |
− | or Tortoises and Turtles ; and (3) Squamata^ or Lizards and
| |
− | Snakes.
| |
− |
| |
− | Crocodiles. Three kinds of Crocodile inhabit India, two with broad
| |
− | snouts belonging to the genus Crocodilus, and one with an
| |
− | elongate snout belonging to the genus Gaviaiis or Ghariyll.
| |
− | The former are often called ' alligators ' in India ; but no repre-
| |
− | sentative of the American crocodries, to which the name
| |
− | 'alligator* properly applies, is Indian, although one is Chinese.
| |
− |
| |
− | The common fresh-water Crocodile of India, Ceylon, and
| |
− | Burma, found in almost every river and marsh and often
| |
− | in ponds, is C. palustris, the magar of Northern India, a
| |
− | species that seldom, if ever, exceeds 12 feet in length. The
| |
− | large crocodiles found in Indian and Burmese estuaries and in
| |
− | some of the larger rivers, and occasionally seen in the sea,
| |
− | belong to another species (C. porosus\ which attains much
| |
− | greater dimensions and has even been known to measure more
| |
− | than thirty feet long. This large crocodile is found in suitable
| |
− | localities all round the Bay of Bengal, and also west of Cape
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 267
| |
− |
| |
− | Comorin in Travancore and Cannanore, but it has not been
| |
− | positively identified farther to the north-west. It is still un-
| |
− | certain which species inhabits the delta of the Indus, but
| |
− | C.palustris is found at Magar Plr, west of Karachi, and in
| |
− | Baluchistan. C. porosus is distinguished from C. palustris by
| |
− | having a snout more than \\ times as long as it is broad, and
| |
− | generally by wanting the two pairs of small anterior nuchal
| |
− | shields just behind the occiput and considerably in front of the
| |
− | four large shields, with two or four smaller scutes at the side, at
| |
− | the back of the neck, which are found in both species. In
| |
− | C.palustris the snout is less than \\ times as long as it is
| |
− | broad.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Ghariyal has had its name converted into * Gavial/ pro-
| |
− | bably through a blunder or a misprint. It is purely a fish-
| |
− | eating river crocodile, never found in ponds or marshes, nor (so
| |
− | far as is known) in tidal estuaries. It inhabits the rivers Indus,
| |
− | Ganges, and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. It is also found
| |
− | in the Mahanadi river in Orissa, and the Kaladan in Arakan ;
| |
− | and as the Ghariyal never crosses the land as C. palustris does,
| |
− | nor enters the sea as C. porosus is in the habit of doing, its
| |
− | presence in the Mahanadi and Kaladan may indicate that
| |
− | these rivers were at one time tributaries of the Ganges. The
| |
− | Ghariyal is a species of considerable antiquity, and its remains
| |
− | are found abundantly in the Pliocene beds of the Siwalik hills.
| |
− |
| |
− | The few species of land tortoises properly so called that are Chelonia.
| |
− | found in India and Burma are of no particular interest. The
| |
− | commonest, Testudo e/egans in India and T. playtynota in
| |
− | Burma, have prettily marked shells with radiating yellow streaks
| |
− | on a black ground. The ordinary fresh-water tortoises inhabit*
| |
− | ing rivers and marshes are numerous and belong to various
| |
− | genera ; more are found in Burma than in India, but eight
| |
− | species are recorded from the Gangetic area. Among these
| |
− | are the comparatively large Batagur baska and one or two
| |
− | allied species, of which the carapace is often i \ to 2 feet long.
| |
− | These are herbivorous and edible.
| |
− |
| |
− | The river turtles of the genus Trionyx and its allies are
| |
− | generally depressed in form and have the carapace covered by
| |
− | a soft skin. Some grow to a considerable size, exceeding the
| |
− | measurements usually given in books ; thus Chitra indica is
| |
− | said by Theobald to have a carapace three feet long. These
| |
− | turtles are carnivorous and aggressive. The genus Emyda,
| |
− | belonging to the same family, is smaller and more globose. All
| |
− | are widely distributed.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the seas around India are found the Green Turtle
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 268 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | (Chclonc mydas\ the Hawk's-bill Turtle (C. imbricatd), both
| |
− | with four pairs of lateral or costal shields above, the Logger-
| |
− | head {Thalassochelys caretta} with five pairs, and the great
| |
− | Leathery Turtle (Dermoc/ie/ys coriacea). The Green Turtle
| |
− | alone is herbivorous and edible. The Hawk's-bill Turtle
| |
− | yields the tortoise-shell of commerce.
| |
− |
| |
− | Squamata. Lizards and snakes are remarkably numerous, the former
| |
− | being represented in India, Ceylon, and Burma by 55 genera
| |
− | and 225 species, besides a Chameleon ; and the latter by no
| |
− | less than 78 genera and 286 species. The distribution within
| |
− | the Indian area of these two groups, of which only a few types
| |
− | are fluviatile or marine, is different from that of the crocodiles,
| |
− | which are entirely aquatic, and the tortoises, which are mainly
| |
− | aquatic. Among the land Reptiles there is a greater distinction
| |
− | between the genera inhabiting different parts of the area than
| |
− | is the case with the Mammals and Birds.
| |
− |
| |
− | Eight different families of Lizards are represented in the
| |
− | Indian Empire, but three of them furnish the bulk of the
| |
− | genera and species. These three are the Geckoes (Geckon-
| |
− | idae), Agamoids (Agamidae\ and Scinques (Scincidae),
| |
− | comprising between them thirty-five genera and 200 species.
| |
− | Geckoes are the most familiar of all, because several speries,
| |
− | belonging to the genus Ilemidactylus, are found in houses, and
| |
− | are well-known by the facility with which they cling to walls and
| |
− | ceilings by means of the peculiar plates with which the lower
| |
− | surface of their digits is furnished. Besides the small House
| |
− | Geckoes found commonly in India, a larger species, often
| |
− | a foot long (Gecko Tertidllatus) y enters human habitations
| |
− | in Eastern Bengal and Burma, where it goes by the name of
| |
− | touk-tai, a name derived from its loud call. Other Geckoes
| |
− | also have calls, though generally less loud. The great majority
| |
− | of the Geckoes are nocturnal ; they are found on rocks, stems
| |
− | of trees, or the ground.
| |
− |
| |
− | Several of the agamoid lizards are forest-dwellers, among
| |
− | these being the so-called Flying Lizards belonging to the
| |
− | genus Draco, represented by several species in Assam and
| |
− | Burma, and by one species isolated in Malabar. Most of the
| |
− | agamoids are, however, ground lizards. Two kinds, Uromastix
| |
− | of North-western India and Liolepis inhabiting Burma and
| |
− | Travancore, live in holes in the ground made by themselves.
| |
− | Both are herbivorous, whilst other agamoids are insectivorous.
| |
− | By far the commonest agamoid lizard is Calotes vtrsicolor,
| |
− | found all over the Empire, and known as the 'bloodsucker' in
| |
− | Southern India. Males of this lizard assume brilliant colours
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 269
| |
− |
| |
− | in the breeding season, red and black predominating. Scinques
| |
− | are ground lizards, usually of small size, with short limbs
| |
− | (occasionally rudimentary or wanting), and a more or less
| |
− | anguiform mode of progression. In their movements, and in
| |
− | their being clad in small and generally polished scales, they
| |
− | approach the snakes. The other families that require notice
| |
− | are the Lacertidae or true lizards, of which fifteen species are
| |
− | known in various parts of India, and the Varanidae or
| |
− | Monitors, called goh-samp in Hindi. These last are much
| |
− | larger than other lizards ; one species ( Varanus salvator)
| |
− | grows to a length of over six feet, and is found about rivers,
| |
− | estuaries, and marshes, often in the water. Other species of
| |
− | smaller dimensions inhabit drier localities ; one ( V. griseus)
| |
− | is found in the desert regions of North-western India. A
| |
− | single species of Chameleon inhabits the wooded regions of
| |
− | the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon ; but no representative of
| |
− | this typically African group is found to the east of the Bay
| |
− | of Bengal, nor even, so far as is known, in the Himalayas.
| |
− |
| |
− | Snakes constitute more than half of the Indian Reptiles. Snakes.
| |
− | In many, perhaps in most, parts of India it would nevertheless
| |
− | be difficult to find more than about a dozen species, and these
| |
− | would need some searching for ; the large total is made up by
| |
− | a great number of local forms inhabiting particular localities.
| |
− | Thus, one whole family of small snakes, the Rough Tails
| |
− | (Uropeltidae), comprising seven genera and forty-two species,
| |
− | is peculiar to Southern India and Ceylon, and almost confined
| |
− | to the hill tracts. This is the only instance known of a family
| |
− | of snakes having so small a range. In fact, India is the only
| |
− | country in the world inhabited by all the known families of
| |
− | living snakes.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Typhlopidae, thirteen species, are still smaller than the
| |
− | Uropeltidae, some of them almost resembling worms in
| |
− | appearance. One species (Typhlops braminus\ 7 inches long
| |
− | and \ to \ inch in diameter, is common, and is occasionally
| |
− | met with in large numbers in decayed wood. Passing over
| |
− | one or two other small groups, the next that deserves notice
| |
− | contains the largest living snakes. This is the Boidae, to
| |
− | which Pythons and Boas belong. One species of Python
| |
− | (P. molurus] is found in parts of India, another (P. reticulatus}
| |
− | inhabits Burma and the Malay countries. The latter is the
| |
− | larger, and is said to grow to 30 feet in length ; P. molurus
| |
− | rarely exceeds 12 feet, though individuals up to 20 feet long
| |
− | have been recorded. Allied to the Boas are the genera
| |
− | Gongyhphis and Eryx % none of which much exceed 3 feet in
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 270 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | length. They have very blunt tails, and one species (Eryx
| |
− | johnii) is commonly carried about by snake-charmers and
| |
− | exhibited as a two-headed snake, the tail being occasionally
| |
− | manipulated and furnished with glass eyes to assist in the
| |
− | delusion.
| |
− |
| |
− | The great majority of Indian snakes, however 57 genera
| |
− | out of 78 and 200 species out of 286 belong to the family
| |
− | Colubridae, divided into three sections, the first comprising
| |
− | forms with solid teeth, the second including those with one
| |
− | or more of the posterior maxillary teeth grooved, and the third
| |
− | with the anterior maxillary teeth grooved or perforated.
| |
− | Snakes of the first section are harmless ; those of the second
| |
− | division are probably all slightly poisonous, but they are in
| |
− | no case dangerous to human life ; the third section includes
| |
− | some of the most poisonous snakes known. It should be
| |
− | added here that k is extremely difficult to distinguish a
| |
− | venomous snake from a harmless one except by the examina-
| |
− | tion of its teeth. All dangerous venomous snakes, whether
| |
− | belonging to the Colubrine family or not, have a perforated or
| |
− | grooved fang in front of all the other teeth on each side of
| |
− | the upper jaw, and this fang is almost always considerably
| |
− | elongate.
| |
− |
| |
− | To the first section of Colubrine snakes and the sub-family
| |
− | Colubrinae belong a very large number of Indian species, of
| |
− | which the best known and commonest are the following.
| |
− | Lycodon aulicus, sometimes called the * carpet snake/ rarely
| |
− | exceeds 2 feet in length ; it is dark brown or blackish with,
| |
− | in general, whitish reticulation. This snake is often mistaken
| |
− | for the venomous karait, which is similarly marked, but which
| |
− | grows to a considerably larger size. The dhdman or Rat
| |
− | Snake (Zamenis mucosus\ the largest of the common snakes,
| |
− | often measures between 6 and 7 feet in length. This snake
| |
− | lives on small mammals, lizards and frogs, and is found
| |
− | throughout the Empire, while an allied species (Z. korros)
| |
− | inhabits Burma and the Eastern Indo-Malay region. Another
| |
− | and smaller Zamenis (Z. vtntrimaculatus] is perhaps the
| |
− | commonest snake in the dry regions of North-western India.
| |
− | Some of the species of Tropidonotus are also common, es-
| |
− | pecially the pretty little T. stolatus, which is particularly
| |
− | abundant in Bengal and Burma, and the larger T. piscator>
| |
− | generally found in or near water.
| |
− |
| |
− | The second section of the Colubrine snakes, having one or
| |
− | more of the posterior maxillary teeth grooved, comprises three
| |
− | sub-families all represented in India. One of these, however,
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 271
| |
− |
| |
− | distinguished by the possession of gular teeth, contains a single
| |
− | rare species (Elachistodon westermanni)> of which hitherto
| |
− | only two specimens, both from Bengal, have been recorded.
| |
− | Of the other two sub-families, one, the Homalopsinae^ consists
| |
− | of water snakes, chiefly inhabiting estuaries, though some are
| |
− | found in large rivers and others in the sea. They are easily
| |
− | recognized by the position of their nostrils on the upper surface
| |
− | of the snout. The commonest kind is Cerberus rkynchops,
| |
− | which lives in the mud of estuaries and the coast, and feeds
| |
− | on fish. The other sub-family (Dipsadinae) contains several
| |
− | Indian snakes belonging to the genera Dipsadomorphus (Dipsas],
| |
− | Psammophis, Dryophis, Chrysopelea, and others, some of which
| |
− | are locally common. One of those most frequently seen
| |
− | is the very slender Dryophis mycterizans, sometimes called
| |
− | 'whip snake,' which is found in grass or bushes, twined
| |
− | among the stems.
| |
− |
| |
− | The poisonous Colubrine snakes belong to two sub-families,
| |
− | the Hydrophiinae and the E/apinae. The Hydrophiinae are
| |
− | sea snakes, and are commonly seen swimming in the sea near
| |
− | the coast ; they abound all round India, and some kinds enter
| |
− | tidal streams. Some twenty-seven Indian species are known,
| |
− | but most of them are rare. The Elapinae include the Cobra
| |
− | (Naia tripudians), one of the commonest and most deadly of
| |
− | Indian snakes ; the larger Cobra or Hamadryas (N. bungarus) ;
| |
− | the karait (Bungarus candidus or caerulcus} ; and the raj-samp
| |
− | (JS. fasciatus). Cobras are found almost throughout the
| |
− | Empire, and are commonly three to four feet long, though
| |
− | individuals have been measured between five and six feet in
| |
− | length. The hood, formed by the expansion of the neck-skin,
| |
− | is characteristic of the species. The markings on the hood
| |
− | vary. In India generally the ' spectacle-mark/ two ocelli
| |
− | connected by a curved line, is the commonest ornament ; but
| |
− | in Bengal and Burma a single large ocellus, often imperfect,
| |
− | is the prevalent marking. Many individuals have the hood
| |
− | unmarked. A black variety of the cobra is common in parts
| |
− | of the Himalayas and in the Malay Peninsula, but the colour
| |
− | is generally greyish-brown above, paler below. The Great
| |
− | Cobra, Hamadryas or Ophiophagus (N. bu?tgarus\ is a compara-
| |
− | tively rare snake, but more common in Burma than in India.
| |
− | It is often found twelve feet in length, sometimes even thirteen.
| |
− | The colour is olive-brown with darker or paler cross-bands ;
| |
− | the young are black with yellow rings. This cobra feeds
| |
− | principally upon other snakes, and has the reputation of being
| |
− | excessively fierce and aggressive. The karait grows to about
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 272 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | 4^ feet in length ; it is dark-brown or bluish-black above,
| |
− | reticulated with white streaks. The raj-samp or King-snake
| |
− | is larger, being frequently six feet or more in length, and is
| |
− | a very handsome snake banded alternately black and yellow.
| |
− | It, like the Great Cobra, lives upon other snakes. The karait
| |
− | is common in most parts of India but rare in Burma ;
| |
− | the raj-samp is met with very rarely in Southern India,
| |
− | more frequently in Bengal and Burma. Four other species
| |
− | of Bungarus are found in parts of India or Burma, and a few
| |
− | more venomous Colubrines are locally distributed.
| |
− |
| |
− | These, however, are not the only poisonous Indian serpents,
| |
− | for there are also the Viperine snakes to be mentioned. These
| |
− | are the typical venomous forms with, as a rule, broad flat
| |
− | heads, and large canaliculate erectile fangs in front of the upper
| |
− | jaw. Representatives are found in India of the true Vipers
| |
− | (Vipcrinae) and also the Pit Vipers (Crotalinac). Among the
| |
− | former, Russell's Viper (I'ipera russellii}, known also as Chain-
| |
− | viper and Cobra monil in Southern India, and as tic-pplonga
| |
− | in Ceylon, is the most important and dangerous ; it grows to
| |
− | about 4 feet in length, but it is considerably thicker than
| |
− | a cobra, and is handsomely marked with rows of large ocelli
| |
− | down the back and sides. It is a snake of very ^luggi.sh habits.
| |
− | The only other species of importance is Echis cannata, a small
| |
− | snake, rarely exceeding 2 feet in length, but very fierce and
| |
− | venomous. It is common in North-western India, where it is
| |
− | known as the Kappa, and in the Konkan ; less common in
| |
− | other parts of the Peninsula, and not found east of the Bay of
| |
− | Bengal.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Crotaline sub-family or Pit Vipers, to which the American
| |
− | rattlesnakes belong, are distinguished by having a deep loreal
| |
− | pit between the nostril and the eye. The Indian representatives
| |
− | are two species of Ancistrodon (///>$), one found in the Hima-
| |
− | layas, the other in the Western Ghats and Ceylon, and ten
| |
− | species of Lachesis ( Trimcresurus), mostly confined to the hill
| |
− | fotests. Several of the latter are of a green colour and are
| |
− | arboreal in habit. Although they attain a length in some
| |
− | cases of 3 to 4 feet, none of them appears to cause death in
| |
− | man by their bite.
| |
− |
| |
− | Batrachians
| |
− |
| |
− | The Batrachians are divided into three Orders : (i) Ecaudata,
| |
− | or Frogs and Toads; (2) Caudata, or Newts and Salamanders;
| |
− | and (3) Apoda, or Caecilians. All are found in India, but the
| |
− | first alone is represented by numerous species.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 273
| |
− |
| |
− | Not only are the frogs and toads of India numerous the Ecaudata.
| |
− | number known in 1901 was 22 genera and 134 species
| |
− | but their distribution is of considerable interest. As in the
| |
− | case of the Reptilia, the Himalayan genera are few in number,
| |
− | only 6 being found in those mountains, and only one of these
| |
− | is peculiar to the area, while 14 genera occur in Peninsular
| |
− | India and Ceylon, and of these one half are not known to exist
| |
− | elsewhere. All of the peculiar forms inhabit the Malabar and
| |
− | Ceylon hills, which have perhaps the richest Ecaudate Batrachian
| |
− | Fauna in the world. In Burma with Assam 14 genera also
| |
− | occur, of which 7 are not found in Peninsular India or Ceylon.
| |
− |
| |
− | The majority of the species belonging to the various genera
| |
− | are small and rare ; the number of kinds often met with
| |
− | is not great. Among the commonest is a small species of
| |
− | frog which is found all over the country about ponds and
| |
− | marshes, and which attracts attention by its peculiar habit,
| |
− | when alarmed, of jumping along the surface of the water. In
| |
− | books of natural history this habit is wrongly attributed to
| |
− | Rana tigrina^ a large frog with rather short webs to the toes ;
| |
− | but the jumper is really a much smaller species (R. cyano-
| |
− | phlyctis\ the body of which is from 2 to 2\ inches long and
| |
− | the toes fully webbed. Another common small species, with
| |
− | half-webbed toes, and less aquatic than R. cyanophlyctis, is
| |
− | R. limnocharis. R. tigrina is a fairly common frog, measuring
| |
− | 6 inches in length ; it is often found at some distance from
| |
− | water, and is said occasionally to devour young ducks and
| |
− | chickens. Another frog that is not uncommon in Peninsular
| |
− | India and Ceylon is the 'Chunam frog ' of Madras (Rhacophorus
| |
− | maculatus). This is one of the frogs distinguished by having
| |
− | the tips of the fingers and toes expanded, an arrangement
| |
− | which, by increasing the power of the animal to cling to
| |
− | inclined or vertical surfaces, enables it to climb trees or rocks.
| |
− | This expansion of the finger and toe-tips is also found in several
| |
− | Indian kinds of typical Rana, which is distinguished from
| |
− | Rhacophorus by wanting the intercalary ossification between
| |
− | the penultimate and distal phalanges of the digits characteristic
| |
− | of the latter. Another genus of tree-frogs well represented in
| |
− | the hills of Southern India and Ceylon, and distinguished from
| |
− | Rhacophorus by the want of vomerine teeth, is Ixalus, among
| |
− | the members of which some species, one of them occurring on
| |
− | the Nilgiris, have become well known by their * peculiar loud
| |
− | clear metallic tinkling call,' as Jerdon described it. The genus
| |
− | Ixalus is remarkable for its geographical distribution. No less
| |
− | than fourteen species out of about twenty-five recorded are
| |
− | VOL. i. T
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 274 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | peculiar to Southern India and Ceylon, none are known to
| |
− | occur in the Indian Peninsula north of North Kanara (about
| |
− | 15 N. lat.), in Northern India or the Himalayas; the other
| |
− | species are Chinese, Burmese, or Malayan. Another extra-
| |
− | ordinary instance of distribution is afforded by Calluella guttu-
| |
− | lata, a small peculiarly marked species inhabiting Pegu and
| |
− | Tenasserim, as the whole of the family Dyscophidae, of which
| |
− | this species is a member, with this single exception, is peculiar
| |
− | to Madagascar. The genus Rhacophorus is also represented in
| |
− | Madagascar but not in Africa.
| |
− |
| |
− | One species of true toad (Bufo mclanostictus) is common
| |
− | throughout India and Burma, and ascends the Himalayas to
| |
− | a considerable elevation. About fifteen other species of Bufo
| |
− | have been described from various parts of the Empire.
| |
− | Among the Batrachians somewhat resembling toads are the
| |
− | curious burrowing forms belonging to the genera Callula^
| |
− | Cacopus, and Glyphoglossus, with heavy bodies and short limbs.
| |
− | They are but rarely seen, being nocturnal, and they are
| |
− | imperfectly known. They are said to live on ants and termites.
| |
− |
| |
− | Caudata. Of the tailed Batrachia, to which belong salamanders and
| |
− | newts, only a solitary representative is found within Indian
| |
− | limits. This is Tylototriton verrucosus, originally discovered
| |
− | in Yunnan, but afterwards found in the Eastern Himalayas of
| |
− | Sikkim.
| |
− |
| |
− | Apoda, The curious worm-like, burrowing, apodous Batrachia, the
| |
− |
| |
− | Caecilians, are rare, but their distribution in India is remark-
| |
− | able. The whole Order is irregularly but widely dispersed
| |
− | throughout the tropics, as is frequently the case with groups of
| |
− | animals that were formerly more fully developed and more
| |
− | generally distributed than they now are. Out of the sixteen
| |
− | genera known to exist, three genera, comprising among them
| |
− | five species, are found in British India. All of the species
| |
− | occur in the hills of Malabar, but only two of them, both
| |
− | belonging to one genus (Ichthyophis) y are found in other parts
| |
− | of the Indo-Malay region, such as Ceylon, the Eastern
| |
− | Himalayas, Burma, and Malaysia. In this case, as in some
| |
− | others, the richness of the Fauna inhabiting the Southern Indian
| |
− | hills is noteworthy.
| |
− |
| |
− | Fishes
| |
− |
| |
− | In Day's two volumes, published in 1889, in the Fauna of
| |
− | British India, 351 genera and 1,418 species of fishes were
| |
− | enumerated. To those, 86 genera and 200 species were added
| |
− | by Alcock from the collections made by the Marine Survey
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 275
| |
− |
| |
− | steamer Investigator up to 1896, the additions consisting
| |
− | chiefly of deep-sea forms. A few more species have been
| |
− | recorded since. Of the whole, 79 genera and 361 species,
| |
− | mostly carps or siluroids, are fresh-water fishes, living in rivers,
| |
− | brooks, ponds, tanks, or marshes. Another large group of
| |
− | fishes inhabit the brackish water of estuaries, creeks, and
| |
− | lagoons; but it is a difficult task to distinguish estuarine types
| |
− | from the truly marine forms on one side, and from fluviatile
| |
− | species on the other. Some fishes are migratory, like the
| |
− | salmon and the common eel in Europe, and pass part of their
| |
− | existence in the sea, part in fresh water ; but the number of
| |
− | migratory species in India is not large, though certain kinds
| |
− | are of importance for food.
| |
− |
| |
− | The fishes of India belong to two sub-classes, Chondro-
| |
− | pterygii or cartilaginous fishes, and Teleostii or bony fishes.
| |
− | Neither ganoids (Sturgeons, Dipnoans, &c.) nor Cyclostomata
| |
− | (Lampreys and Hags) inhabit Indian waters.
| |
− |
| |
− | The highest Order, comprising the cartilaginous fishes, Chondro-
| |
− | consists chiefly of sharks, dog fishes, and rays or skates. P
| |
− | These forms abound in the Indian seas, and at least one
| |
− | shark (Carcharias gangcticus) and one or more rays belonging
| |
− | to the genus Trygon ascend the larger rivers far beyond the
| |
− | limits of the tide, rays occurring some hundreds of miles from
| |
− | the sea. All the common tropical sharks and rays are found
| |
− | on the Indian coasts, the most ferocious of the former
| |
− | belonging to the genera Carcharias (which comprises the
| |
− | Gangetic Shark) and Ga/eocerdo. The Hammer-headed
| |
− | Sharks (Zygaena), with their extraordinary *T '-shaped heads,
| |
− | are also greatly dreaded, and they are in places very common.
| |
− | The Saw Fishes (Pristidae), with the snout produced into a
| |
− | long flat lamina armed with strong teeth on each side, are said
| |
− | to use their * saws ' as offensive weapons, and are regarded
| |
− | as equally dangerous with the true sharks ; as some of them
| |
− | attain a length of 16 feet or more, they are formidable animals.
| |
− | They are classed with the rays and skates. Of this group the
| |
− | commonest members in the Indian seas are the Sting-rays
| |
− | (Trygonidae), generally having a long whip-like tail armed
| |
− | above with one or sometimes two serrated spines. The great
| |
− | Eagle-rays, or 'devil-fish/ said to attain a breadth of 18 feet
| |
− | across, and other smaller forms, are occasionally captured on
| |
− | the Indian coast. The dried fins of both sharks and rays are
| |
− | exported to China, and the flesh of some species is eaten,
| |
− | chiefly by the poorer classes, while oil for commercial purposes
| |
− | is obtained from their livers.
| |
− |
| |
− | T 2
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | THE INDIAN EMPIRE
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | Telcostii.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | Physo-
| |
− | stomi.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | The great majority of living fishes, both fluviatile and marine,
| |
− | are bony fishes, distinguished from the cartilaginous fishes by
| |
− | the more perfect ossification of their skeleton, especially of the
| |
− | vertebrae. The Teleosteans, as arranged by Day in the Fauna
| |
− | of British India, comprise five Orders, Physostomi, Acantho-
| |
− | pterygii, Anacanthini^ Lophobranchii, and Plectognathi.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the first Order the fin rays are articulated and not spinose,
| |
− | with the occasional exception of the first rays in the dorsal
| |
− | and pectoral fins. The ventral fins are spineless and are
| |
− | 'abdominal,' being situated behind the pectoral fins. Several
| |
− | important families are included, and among them the two 4 to
| |
− | which most of the Indian fresh-water fishes belong.
| |
− |
| |
− | Two of the families consist of eels, the Symbranchidae and
| |
− | the Muraenidae. To the former belong three Indian species
| |
− | inhabiting fresh and brackish water ; the latter, which are
| |
− | distinguished from the former by anatomical characters, and
| |
− | which include the Common Eel of Europe, the Conger, and
| |
− | the Muraenas, are represented by one Indian fresh-water eel
| |
− | belonging to the same genus (Anguil/a) as the European
| |
− | species, and by many marine forms of several generic types.
| |
− | Some of these grow to ro feet in length or even longer, while
| |
− | several of the true Muraenas, which inhabit rocky shores, are
| |
− | beautifully coloured, being spotted or banded. The fresh-water
| |
− | fish most commonly known as an eel in India, the Alastacem-
| |
− | belus or Spiny Eel, is an Acanthopterygian.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Siluridae or Cat-fishes are represented in India by
| |
− | thirty-two genera containing 117 species. Most of these
| |
− | inhabit fresh water, and are chiefly found in muddy rivers ;
| |
− | a few, however, occur in rapid mountain streams. Several are
| |
− | found in estuaries, and species of Arius with a few other kinds
| |
− | are marine. All are scaleless fishes, and the majority have
| |
− | large heads furnished with feelers or barbels ; in very many
| |
− | forms the dorsal and pectoral fins are each preceded by a
| |
− | strong osseous spine, which is sometimes venomous. A few
| |
− | species attain a large size. Wallago attu and the gunch
| |
− | (JBagarius yarrellii) both grow to a length of 6 feet; the latter
| |
− | is sometimes spoken of as the ' fresh-water shark/ A few kinds
| |
− | are good eating, one of the best being the/a/?a or Butterfish
| |
− | (Callichrous\ but the majority are poor and coarse.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Carps (Cyprinidae) are even more numerous than the
| |
− | Siluroids, for in Day's account of the Indian fishes no fewer
| |
− | than 36 genera and 230 species are enumerated; of these
| |
− | 9 genera and 46 species belong to the Cobitidinae or Loaches.
| |
− | It is very doubtful, howevfer, whether some of the forms which
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 277
| |
− |
| |
− | have received names among both the carps and the cat-fishes
| |
− | are entitled to specific distinction. The Cyprinoids are
| |
− | exclusively inhabitants of fresh water. Nearly all are covered
| |
− | with scales ; the mouth in all is toothless, but pharyngeal teeth
| |
− | exist in the throat. All carps are edible, and many are well
| |
− | flavoured, although a considerable proportion are bony.
| |
− | Among the best-known Indian carps are the rohu or rohi
| |
− | (Labeo rohi fa) and the catla (Catla buchanani\ both common in
| |
− | Northern India but wanting in the south. Both grow to a large
| |
− | size in tanks, the catla having been known to attain a length
| |
− | of 6 feet. Other species of Labeo abound in all streams, and
| |
− | some of them may be known by their dark colour. The next
| |
− | carp to be mentioned is Barbus tor, the famous mahseer
| |
− | (?ma/hi~sir, or big head), found in all rapid streams, and grow-
| |
− | ing certainly to 60 or 70 Ib. weight, and according to some
| |
− | accounts to 90 Ib. Sonic other allied species of Barbus are
| |
− | known from parts of India, and are equally distinguished by
| |
− | the sport they afford to anglers. Other inhabitants of mountain
| |
− | streams belong to the genus Barilius ; several of the species
| |
− | are spotted and have many of the habits of trout. They are
| |
− | common in Kashmir and along the Western Ghats, and are
| |
− | often called 'trout' by sportsmen. Small carp inhabit all streams
| |
− | and rivers in great numbers; some of the best known are called
| |
− | chilwa (Chela, Aspidoparid).
| |
− |
| |
− | No Salmonidae (salmon, trout, char, grayling, smelts) are
| |
− | known in India or Burma ; the nearest locality where any
| |
− | Salmonoid occurs is north of Afghanistan in the upper
| |
− | tributaries of the Oxus.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Herring family (Clupeidae) are well represented in
| |
− | Indian seas, and to this family belongs the most important
| |
− | species of migratory Indian fish. This is the hi/sa of Bengal,
| |
− | 'Sable fish' of Southern India, and Talla' of the Indus
| |
− | (Clupta ilisha), a true shad, closely allied to the Alike Shad of
| |
− | Europe, and bearing, curiously enough, the same name, for
| |
− | there can be little question that the words Ilisha and Allice
| |
− | Shad are identical in origin. The Indian fish, it may be
| |
− | mentioned, is more finely flavoured than its European relative.
| |
− | Another species of herring (C. longiceps) is the * oil-sardine' of
| |
− | the Malabar Coast, largely used in the production of fish oil.
| |
− | Several species of Anchovy (Engraulis) also occur on the
| |
− | Indian coasts and in the estuaries, and are largely salted for
| |
− | consumption.
| |
− |
| |
− | The remaining families of Physostomi are less important.
| |
− | The Notopteridae, very compressed fish, with the anal and
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 278 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | caudal fins confluent, and rudimentary ventrals, contain two
| |
− | fresh-water species only. To the Scopelidae belongs Harpodon
| |
− | neAtreus, known in the dried state as Bummaloh or * Bombay
| |
− | duck/ which abounds in parts of the Indian coast, but, as
| |
− | Giinther points out, has the appearance of a deep-sea form, like
| |
− | many other members of the family Scopelidae. A second
| |
− | species (H. squamosus} has been described from a depth of
| |
− | about 250 fathoms in the Bay of Bengal by Wood-Mason and
| |
− | Alcock, and has quite recently been obtained in the Arabian
| |
− | Sea. The Cyprinodontidae are small fishes inhabiting the sea,
| |
− | brackish and fresh water ; five species are Indian. The Scom-
| |
− | bresocidae comprise the Gar-pikes (Betone\ with six Indian
| |
− | species, one of them fluviatile; the * Half-beaks' {Htmirhamphus\
| |
− | which are Gar fish with the lower jaw elongated and the upper
| |
− | short, and include thirteen species, some of them estuarine ;
| |
− | and seven species of flying fishes (Exocotus\ which abound in
| |
− | the open sea.
| |
− |
| |
− | Acantho- In the next Order, which comprises the large majority of
| |
− | marine fishes, part of the rays in the dorsal, anal, and ventral
| |
− | fins are spiny and not articulated. The families are numerous,
| |
− | and only the more important need be noticed.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Perch family (Percidae) is one of the largest, 30 genera
| |
− | and 1 68 species being referred to it from Indian waters. The
| |
− | fresh-water Perch of Europe is not represented, but a genus
| |
− | of small, much compressed, semi-transparent fishes called
| |
− | Ambassis is represented in Indian rivers by several species.
| |
− | One of the most valuable food fishes of this family is the
| |
− | estuarine kind called bcgti in Bengal (Lates calcarifer), which
| |
− | grows to a weight of 200 Ib. Then there are many sea perches
| |
− | of the genera Strranus, Lutjanus, and their allies, most of
| |
− | which are eaten, though they vary greatly in flavour. Some
| |
− | are beautifully coloured, but in this they are surpassed by
| |
− | members of the next family (Squamipinnes), curiously shaped
| |
− | compressed fishes as high as they are long. One of these
| |
− | {Heniochus macrolepidotus) is crossed diagonally by broad
| |
− | curved bands alternately rich-blue and orange. Of course
| |
− | these brilliant colours disappear with the life of the fish.
| |
− |
| |
− | To the Mullidae, of which the type is the Red Mullet of
| |
− | Europe (Mullus barbatus)^ are referred fourteen fishes found
| |
− | in the Indian seas; but they are held in no estimation by
| |
− | Europeans, although, as they are all near allies of the far-
| |
− | famed European fish, some of them are probably excellent
| |
− | eating. It may, however, be noted that Anglo-Indians are
| |
− | generally very imperfectly acquainted with Indian fishes and
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | vj ZOOLOGY 279
| |
− |
| |
− | especially with marine species. The Sparidae, or Sea Breams,
| |
− | and Cirrhitidae comprise several edible fishes, especially the
| |
− | members of the genus Chrysophrys, one of which (C. berda) is
| |
− | known in parts of the Madras Presidency as 'Black Rock Cod.'
| |
− | The Scorpaenidae are very spiny fishes with large heads. The
| |
− | Indian forms are but little eaten ; among them are Synanceia
| |
− | and its allies, fishes of a repulsive aspect, and justly dreaded on
| |
− | account of the venomous dorsal spines, each of which is grooved
| |
− | and has a small poison-bag attached.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Nandidae are a small family with one marine genus
| |
− | (Plesiops] and three fresh-water genera (Badis, Nandus, and
| |
− | Pristolepis), small perch-shaped fishes, peculiar to India and
| |
− | South-eastern Asia. Passing over the less important Teu-
| |
− | thididae, Berycidae, and Kurtidae, the Polynemidae are the next
| |
− | family requiring notice. The Indian representatives consist
| |
− | of eight species belonging to the genus Polynemus, distinguished
| |
− | by having lengthened free rays below the pectoral fins. Several
| |
− | of the species enter estuaries, especially P. paradiseus, the
| |
− | Mango-fish or tapsi macfuhi of Bengal, one of the most
| |
− | delicious fishes known, which ascends tidal rivers in Bengal
| |
− | and Burma during the south-west monsoon. It is a small fish,
| |
− | not exceeding about 9 inches in length ; but P. indicus attains
| |
− | 4 feet and P. tttradactylus 6 feet or more. Both enter the
| |
− | mouths of rivers, and both are excellent eating. From the air-
| |
− | bladder of the former isinglass is prepared.
| |
− |
| |
− | The family Sciaenidae contains several species of the genera
| |
− | Umbrind) Sciaena, Sciaenoides, and Otolithus. Many of these
| |
− | haunt estuaries, and one or two ascend rivers above tidal
| |
− | waters ; nearly all are good to eat, and all furnish isinglass,
| |
− | which is prepared in large quantities from their air-bladders.
| |
− | Of the Xiphiidae or Sword-fishes three species of Histiophorus
| |
− | have been obtained on the Coromandel coast, where the large
| |
− | H. g/adius is common in the cold season. The Scabbard-fishes
| |
− | (Trichiuridae) and Lancet-fishes (Acanthuridae) are common,
| |
− | hut of no great importance ; but the Carangidae, containing the
| |
− | Horse-mackerels (Caranx) and their allies, are among the
| |
− | most important food fishes of the Indian seas, on account of
| |
− | their abundance and the excellence of their flesh. Besides
| |
− | twenty-six Indian species of Caranx, the Pilot-fish (Naucrates
| |
− | ductor\ well-known as an attendant on sharks, and the remark-
| |
− | able genus Platax, the members of which are known as * Sea-
| |
− | bats ' on account of their peculiar deep compressed form and
| |
− | their enormously developed and pointed dorsal and anal fins,
| |
− | belong to the Carangidae.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 2 8o THE INDIAN EAfPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
− | The family Stromateidae contains the Pomfrets, which
| |
− |
| |
− | approach Platax in shape. The three Indian species are
| |
− |
| |
− | highly esteemed as food. The commonest species (Stromatcus
| |
− |
| |
− | anereus) is known as 'Silver Pomfret* when young and as
| |
− |
| |
− | 'Gray Pomfret* when adult. The White Pomfret (S. sintnsis]
| |
− |
| |
− | is regarded as even superior in flavour. The so-called Dolphins
| |
− |
| |
− | (Coryphaenidae) are common at times on the Coromandel
| |
− |
| |
− | coast. The Mackerel family (Scombridae) contains several
| |
− |
| |
− | well-known and valuable Indian fishes, among which are
| |
− |
| |
− | three species of true Mackerel (Scomber}, the Tunny (Thynnus\
| |
− |
| |
− | the Bonito ( 7! pelamys\ and Seer fishes (Cybium\ all excellent
| |
− |
| |
− | food either fresh or salted. The Tunny of the Indian seas is
| |
− |
| |
− | identical with the famous Mediterranean fish.
| |
− |
| |
− | Amongst the next families recorded in the Fishes of India
| |
− | the only form worthy of notice is Sillago sihama, known as
| |
− | ' Whiting ' in Madras, which is a member of the Trachinidae.
| |
− | In Calcutta the fish known as ' Whiting' is Sciaenoides pama^ a
| |
− | species of the Sciaenidae. Neither has any affinity to the whiting
| |
− | of Western Europe, which is a member of the cod family.
| |
− |
| |
− | The 'Anglers' or 'Fishing Frogs' (Pediculati) are well
| |
− | represented, and several additional species have lately been
| |
− | described from the collections of the Marine Survey steamer
| |
− | Investigator. Gobies (Gobiidae) abound on the shores of the
| |
− | sea, several occurring in fresh and brackish water. All are
| |
− | small. Among them the peculiar ' mud-skippers ' (Pcrioph-
| |
− | thalmus and I)oleophthalmus\ small fishes 3 to 8 inches long,
| |
− | with blunt heads and prominent eyes, are common in all
| |
− | estuaries, living chiefly on the mud between tidemarks, and
| |
− | moving by a series of jumps along the surface. 'Dragonets'
| |
− | (Callionymidae) and Blennies (Blenniidae) are other shore
| |
− | fishes, mostly of small size. The Rhynchobdellidae are the
| |
− | Spiny Eels (Rhynchobdtlla and Mastactmbelus\ common in the
| |
− | rivers and estuaries of India and Burma, and easily distin-
| |
− | guished from true eels by their spiny fins. They are excellent
| |
− | to eat. The Sphyraenidae are large voracious fishes, some-
| |
− | times known as ' Barracudas/ and dreaded almost as greatly
| |
− | as sharks are. The Atherinidae are small fishes resembling
| |
− | smelts ; they are often captured for food in large numbers.
| |
− | Grey Mullets /Mugilidae), of which numerous species occur in
| |
− | all Indian seas and estuaries, and even in some cases in fresh
| |
− | water, are also extensively caught and eaten.
| |
− |
| |
− | Several species of Ophiocephatus (Ophiocephalidae), called
| |
− | Murrel in Northern India, are found throughout India and
| |
− | Burma, inhabiting rivers, ponds, and marshes. All have peculiar
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 281
| |
− |
| |
− | flattish, snake-like heads. They take live bait, especially
| |
− | a frog, freely, and are good to eat. They have a bronchial
| |
− | cavity, by means of which the blood is oxygenated directly.
| |
− | They gain access to the air by rising to the top of the water
| |
− | if necessary, or by lying on the surface. They die if unable
| |
− | to obtain air. On the other hand they can live for a long
| |
− | time out of water ; and they form one of the kinds of fish which
| |
− | exist in dried mud throughout the hot season, and recover
| |
− | when the pond or marsh which had dried up is again flooded
| |
− | in the monsoon.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Climbing Perch (Anabas scandens] and its allies {Poly-
| |
− | acanthus and Trichogaster\ belonging to the Labyrinthici, are
| |
− | common in the lower plains of India and Burma, and possess
| |
− | the power of living without water to an even greater extent than
| |
− | the Ophioccphali, as their accessory bronchial cavity is more
| |
− | complicated and contains a peculiar laminated organ. Anabas
| |
− | and its allies are small fish. The 'Gourami' (Osphromenus
| |
− | o/fax) of the Malay Archipelago, which belongs to the same
| |
− | family and has a reputation for delicacy of flavour, attains to
| |
− | a considerable size.
| |
− |
| |
− | Glyphidodontidae and Labridae are two families of marine
| |
− | fishes found chiefly about corals and rocks. They are con-
| |
− | sequently not common on the Indian coasts, which are for the
| |
− | most part sandy or muddy ; but many species occur on the
| |
− | shores of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The general
| |
− | form is percoid, and many of the species are brilliantly
| |
− | coloured.
| |
− |
| |
− | The last Acanthopterygian family (Chromididae) consists of
| |
− | African and South American fresh water fishes, of which repre-
| |
− | sentatives are found in two Asiatic localities only, the Jordan
| |
− | Valley in Palestine and Southern India with Ceylon. In India
| |
− | three species are found, belonging to the genus Etroplus, one
| |
− | of them ranging as far north as Orissa, and being found both in
| |
− | fresh and in brackish water. A closely allied genus (farctroplus)
| |
− | occurs in Madagascar.
| |
− |
| |
− | The only important families in the next Order are the Gadidae Anacan-
| |
− | and Pleuronectidae. The first contains cod, haddock, whiting, thini -
| |
− | ling, hake, and other important food fishes of the North
| |
− | Atlantic, but is represented in the Indian Ocean only by
| |
− | a small pelagic type (Brcgmaceros macckllandi\ A nearly
| |
− | allied family (Macruridae), not recorded from Indian seas when
| |
− | Day's Fishes of India was published, is now represented by
| |
− | twenty species obtained from depths between 100 and 1,400
| |
− | iathoms. Sixteen species have also been obtained from deep
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 282 7Y/ INDIAN EMPIRE
| |
− |
| |
− | water of another family (Ophidiidae), of which previously only
| |
− | five were known from the seas of India.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Pleuronectidae, or Flat Fishes, are numerous ; for in
| |
− | addition to the thirty-nine species enumerated by Day, no less
| |
− | than thirty additional forms have been obtained by the Investi-
| |
− | gator's researches. But although several are eaten, none of the
| |
− | species have the high repute attaching to the sole and turbot of
| |
− | the North Atlantic.
| |
− |
| |
− | Lopho- The Pipe-fishes and Sea-horses are so unlike ordinary fishes
| |
− | brancbiL that it is not easy at first to recognize their affinities. They
| |
− | are encased in a dermal skeleton, and their gills are not
| |
− | laminated but composed of rounded tufts, while the gill open-
| |
− | ings are very small. The members of the genus Hippocampus
| |
− | have prehensile tails, and attach themselves to seaweed. All
| |
− | are very poor swimmers. Several species are found in Indian
| |
− | seas.
| |
− |
| |
− | Plecto- The ' File-fishes/ * Globe-fishes/ and their allies are also
| |
− |
| |
− | we n represented in the seas of India, and one or two species of
| |
− | Tetrodon are found in rivers. Most of the genera are more or
| |
− | less globose in form ; and Tetrodon has the power of blowing
| |
− | itself out into a ball when removed from the water, thus erect-
| |
− | ing its dermal spines. The Sea Hedgehog (Diodori] bears far
| |
− | larger and stronger spines, and adopts the same method of
| |
− | raising them. The flesh of several species, both of file-fishes
| |
− | like Batistes and of Tetrodon, is poisonous ; but certain kinds
| |
− | are eaten by the Burmese and Andamanese.
| |
− |
| |
− | In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the Lancelet
| |
− | (Branchiostoma or Amphioxus\ the lowest of fishes, without
| |
− | head or brain, and placed by many naturalists in a distinct
| |
− | class, is not uncommon in the seas around India. It is in fact
| |
− | almost cosmopolitan.
| |
− |
| |
− | or Perissodactyle Ungulates. The only wild horses or asses are
| |
− | the ghorkhar of Western India and Baluchistan, found in
| |
− | herds in the Indian desert in places from Cutch to Blkaner,
| |
− | and also west of the Indus near Mithankot ; and the kiang of
| |
− | Tibet. These appear to be merely varieties of one species
| |
− | (Equus htmionus). Of rhinoceros three kinds are met with,
| |
− | two of which are one-horned, one two-horned. Of these the
| |
− | largest is the Great Indian Rhinoceros (R, unicornis\ still
| |
− | inhabiting Assam and found in very small numbers in the
| |
− | Nepal tarai, but formerly occurring along the base of the
| |
− | Himalayas to Peshawar, where in the early part of the sixteenth
| |
− | century it was hunted by the Emperor Babar. It lives in high
| |
− | grass as a rule. The second one-horned species, often called
| |
− | the Javan Rhinoceros (R. $ondaicus\ occurs in the Bengal
| |
− | Sundarbans, in Eastern Bengal, and locally through Burma to
| |
− | the Malay countries. It is rather smaller than R. unicornis^
| |
− | and may be recognized by different markings on the epidermis
| |
− | and by the great folds of the skin being differently arranged.
| |
− | The third kind, the two-horned R. sumatrensis, is the smallest
| |
− | of the three, and has been met with from Assam, where it is
| |
− | rare, to Borneo, being rather common in Tenasserim. The
| |
− | Malay Tapir is only found within our limits in Southern
| |
− | Tenasserim south of about 15 N. lat.
| |
− | ==Wild Yak==
| |
− | The even-toed or Artiodactyle Ungulates are much more
| |
− | numerous. Of wild cattle alone no fewer than five species are
| |
− | met with in different parts of the area. Of these, one, the
| |
− | Wild Yak (Bos grunniens\ is peculiar to the Tibetan plateau,
| |
− | and only just comes within Indian limits in the Kashmir
| |
− | territories, but tame yaks are kept throughout the Higher
| |
− | Himalayas. The Wild Buffalo (Bos bubalus) is met with in
| |
− | Assam, Bengal, and Orissa, and here and there in the forest
| |
− | country to the westward as far south as the Kistna river ; it
| |
− | is also common in the lower parts of Ceylon, being chiefly
| |
− | found in grassy plains near water and often in marshes. The
| |
− | Gaur (Bos gaurus), the Gayal (. frontalis\ and the Tsine or
| |
− | Banteng (/y. sondaicus) form a particular group of typical oxen,
| |
− | distinguished by flattened horns, a high dorsal ridge terminating
| |
− | about half-way down the back, and peculiar coloration, very
| |
− | dark and often almost black on the upper parts, with the legs
| |
− | white from above the knees and hocks. In the Tsine the
| |
− | cows and young are reddish, in the other kinds dark-brown ;
| |
− | the white too extends in the Tsine up the inside of the legs
| |
− | and to the buttocks. The Gaur (bison of Anglo-Indian sports-
| |
− | men) is a magnificent animal, almost the finest, if not actually
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | the grandest, of living bovines. Large bulls sometimes measure
| |
− | over six feet in height at the withers, whilst their horns are
| |
− | occasionally each three feet long and as much as eighteen to
| |
− | twenty inches round the base. Cows are smaller. This noble
| |
− | wild bovine is found in all the great hilly forest tracts of India,
| |
− | Burma, and the Malay Peninsula; but owing to the extension
| |
− | of cultivation and the more general use of guns its numbers in
| |
− | India are rapidly diminishing, and in many places it must soon,
| |
− | unless preserved, completely disappear. The Gayal or Mithan
| |
− | is known only in a domesticated or semi-domesticated state.
| |
− | It is thus kept by several tribes north and south of the Upper
| |
− | Assam valley, but the original wild animal has never been
| |
− | satisfactorily identified. Some writers regard the Gayal as a
| |
− | domesticated race of the Gaur, which inhabits the same tract,
| |
− | but the differences in the form of the skull and horns are
| |
− | opposed to this view. The Tsine or Banteng is smaller, of
| |
− | rather slighter build than the Gaur, and appears to be less of
| |
− | a hill animal, being found chiefly in grassy plains. It is met
| |
− | with locally throughout Burma and to the southward as far as
| |
− | Java and Borneo, but the Burmese race is said to differ some-
| |
− | what in coloration from the Malay. This animal is domesti-
| |
− | cated in Java. Both the Yak and the Buffalo are domesticated.
| |
− | Tame yaks are kept only at considerable altitudes in the
| |
− | Himalayas and in Tibet; tame buffaloes are common through-
| |
− | out the plains of India and Burma. They are chiefly kept in
| |
− | India as milch cattle, though they are also used for draught
| |
− | and for the plough, and in some cases as baggage animals. In
| |
− | Burma, where milk is not used, a very fine race of buffaloes
| |
− | exists, especially in Pegu. Another very fine breed is that
| |
− | owned by the people of the Toda tribe on the top of the
| |
− | Nilgiri Hills in Southern India.
| |
− | ==cattle of India==
| |
− | The common humped cattle of India (B. indicus) belong to
| |
− | a perfectly distinct species from European cattle (. taurus).
| |
− | The two kinds differ in structure, coloration, markings, habits,
| |
− | and voice. The prevailing colour of B. indicus is a pearly grey
| |
− | with a few black markings, especially on the fetlocks. The
| |
− | origin of the humped cattle is quite unknown ; no similar
| |
− | animal exists now or is known to have existed in former times
| |
− | in a wild state, although common cattle, in India as elsewhere,
| |
− | have run wild occasionally. Humped cattle are found domesti-
| |
− | cated throughout Southern Asia and in Tropical Africa. The
| |
− | two species of cattle breed together, or with the yak and the
| |
− | gayal, never with the buffalo.
| |
− | ==Wild sheep==
| |
− | Wild sheep are found within Indian limits in the Himalayas,
| |
− |
| |
− | and In hilly parts of the Punjab and Sind. The Great Tibetan
| |
− | Sheep (Ovis hodgsoni\ an animal standing from 3^ to 4 feet
| |
− | high at the shoulder, and with very massive horns in the male,
| |
− | and the Great Pamir Sheep (O. poll), which, although slighter
| |
− | and smaller than its Tibetan ally, carries huge spiral horns
| |
− | sometimes measuring more than six feet apiece round the
| |
− | curve, only just appear within the boundary of British India.
| |
− | The Tibetan sheep has long been called Ovis ammon, but
| |
− | that name properly belongs to an even larger kind inhabiting
| |
− | the Altai Mountains in Siberia. The remaining two species,
| |
− | the urial or sha (Ovis vignei) and the bharal (O. nahura\
| |
− | have stronger claims to be included in the Indian list.
| |
− |
| |
− | In
| |
− | O. vignei two varieties are comprised : the typical upland form or
| |
− | sha } which is larger, has slightly thicker horns, and is found in
| |
− | the Upper Indus Valley and parts of Afghanistan ; aad the
| |
− | urial of the Punjab Salt Range, and koch or gad of the
| |
− | Sulaiman Range and Sind hills. By some the two are regarded
| |
− | as distinct, but they differ very little and pass into each other,
| |
− | although the Sind sheep is met with close to the sea-level and
| |
− | the Ladakh sha at 12,000 to 14,000 feet above the sea. The
| |
− | bharal is met with throughout the Higher Himalayas above
| |
− | the forest limit, and is in both structure and habits a link
| |
− | between sheep and goats. Like the latter it often takes refuge
| |
− | in cliffs and rocky scarps, while the true sheep keep to plains
| |
− | or moderate slopes.
| |
− | ===Wild Goats===
| |
− | The Indian wild goats are five in number, of which three
| |
− | belong to the genus Capra and two to Hemitragus. Like the
| |
− | sheep they are chiefly but not exclusively Himalayan, one
| |
− | species of Ifcmitragus inhabiting Southern India. The members
| |
− | of the genus Capra are the Asiatic Ibex (Capra sibirica)^ the
| |
− | Markhor (C.falio?ieri\ and the Persian Wild Goat (C. acgagrus).
| |
− |
| |
− | The Asiatic Ibex is widely distributed on the mountains of
| |
− | Central Asia, and is found in the Higher Himalayas as far east
| |
− | as Gathwal, but not, it is said, east of the Sutlej drainage area.
| |
− | The Asiatic differs from the European ibex by the shape of the
| |
− | horns and the presence of a distinct beard in the male; but there
| |
− | is some variation in the horns and more in the coloration of
| |
− | the fur in different Asiatic ranges. The colour varies also
| |
− | with the time of year, age, and sex. The Persian Wild Goat
| |
− | is found throughout South-western Asia, its eastern limit being,
| |
− | in the Sind hills, where it is often called the 'Sind ibex. 1 It
| |
− | has the horns compressed and sharply keeled in front. This
| |
− | animal is the wild stock, from which tame goats are principally
| |
− | derived. The Markhor, the finest of all wild goats, is found
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | in the hill ranges north and south of Kashmir, in parts of
| |
− | Afghanistan, and in the Sulaiman and neighbouring ranges
| |
− | west of the Punjab as far south as Quetta, where it meets the
| |
− | Persian wild goat. It inhabits steep hill slopes at a moderate
| |
− | elevation, below those on which ibex are found. MSrkhor
| |
− | vary greatly, and the shape of the horns is very different in
| |
− | Kashmir from what it is in the Sulaiman range. In the Plr
| |
− | Panjal, south of Kashmir, the spiral is open, and even more
| |
− | so in Astor; while in the range to the west of the Punjab,
| |
− | the horns are straight with their anterior and posterior keels
| |
− | wound spirally around them. Heads from the neighbourhood
| |
− | of Kabul are intermediate in character. The two species of
| |
− | Hemitragus, which possess much smaller horns than Capra^
| |
− | are the Tahr (//. jemlaicits\ found throughout the Himalayas,
| |
− | and the Nilgiri Wild Goat, or 4 ibex ' of European sportsmen
| |
− | (H. hylocrius), found on the ranges of Southern India in the
| |
− | neighbourhood of the west coast, froro the Nilgiris to Cape
| |
− | Comorin. The only other species of the genus that is known
| |
− | occurs in Southern Arabia. All these goats occur in small
| |
− | herds, the males being frequently solitary, and they keep chiefly
| |
− | to crags and precipitous cliffs.
| |
− |
| |
− | The goat antelopes are nearly allied to the true goats, from
| |
− | which they are distinguished by more rounded horns and by
| |
− | the absence of the peculiar strong odour characteristic of male
| |
− | goats. They have a very different distribution, for they are
| |
− | wanting in Europe, Western Asia, and the Indian Peninsula,
| |
− | but represented in the Himalayas, Burma, China, Japan, the
| |
− | Malay countries, and in North America. The Himalayan
| |
− | Serow (Nemorhaedus bubalinus] and the Gural (Cemas gorat)
| |
− | are members of this group. The Serow inhabits the Hima-
| |
− | layan forests from Kashmir to the Mishmi Hills at moderate
| |
− | elevations; it is also found in the Assamese and Burmese hills.
| |
− | It is, as a rule, a solitary animal. Several races have been
| |
− | distinguished, varying in colour from rufous brown to black,
| |
− | but it is doubtful whether there is any constant difference. The
| |
− | Gural is a much smaller animal than the Serow, being about
| |
− | the size of a roe-deer, and it inhabits rugged grassy slopes in
| |
− | the forest area, usually in small parties not exceeding six or
| |
− | eight in number. It is found throughout the Himalayas, has
| |
− | been reported from the ranges south of Assam, and quite
| |
− | recently has been discovered in Upper Burma.
| |
− | ==Indian Mammalia==
| |
− | The true antelopes form a very important portion of the
| |
− | Indian Mammalia, because three genera out of the four
| |
− | occurring in the Peninsula are peculiar to the area and no
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | antelopes are found elsewhere in the Indo-Malay region. These
| |
− | three Indian antelopes are the Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus\
| |
− | the Four-horned Antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), and the
| |
− | Indian Antelope or * black buck 1 (Antelope cervicaprd). All these
| |
− | inhabit a large part of India, and the Hindus themselves some-
| |
− | times define their country (Hindustan) as corresponding with
| |
− | the range of the Indian antelope. This antelope is found in suit-
| |
− | able localities, chiefly open plains with grass of moderate height,
| |
− | from the Indus to Assam, and from the base of the Himalayas to
| |
− | the neighbourhood of Trichinopoly. Formerly it was far more
| |
− | abundant, and in the first half of the nineteenth century it was
| |
− | seen occasionally in vast herds 8,000 to 10,000 in number ; but
| |
− | its numbers have been greatly reduced since rifles have become
| |
− | common. The Nilgai is an inhabitant of open forest more often
| |
− | than of grassy plains, though in places it haunts cultivated tracts,
| |
− | and when numerous it is met with in herds ; while the Four-
| |
− | horned Antelope is chiefly found in hilly countries covered with
| |
− | brushwood or forest, and is usually solitary or in pairs. A variety
| |
− | with only two horns, the anterior pair not being developed, is
| |
− | said to be common locally in the Madras Presidency, and
| |
− | certainly adult two-horned individuals are occasionally found, but
| |
− | all young males possess only the posterior pair. In the Nilgai,
| |
− | Four-horned, and Indian Antelopes the females are hornless.
| |
− | The Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni), with fine sub-lyrate
| |
− | horns, is found only on the higher Tibetan plateaus, and is said
| |
− | never to descend much below about 15,000 feet. It occurs
| |
− | in the higher portions of Ladakh. Three true gazelles are met
| |
− | with within Indian limits, but two of these only just come
| |
− | within the boundary. These are the Tibetan Gazelle (Gazella
| |
− | picticaudata), peculiar to the Tibetan plateau ; and the Persian
| |
− | Gazelle (G. suf>gutturosa\ which has a wide range in Persia and
| |
− | Turkistan, but is known within Indian limits only about Pishm,
| |
− | north of Quetta. It probably inhabits the higher parts of
| |
− | Baluchistan. Both these species, like Pantholops and Antelope,
| |
− | have hornless females, but in the Indian Gazelle (G.bennetti)
| |
− | the females have small horns. The Indian Gazelle is found
| |
− | in North-western, Western, and Central India, as far east as
| |
− | PalSmau and as far south as western Mysore. It usually
| |
− | occurs singly or in small parties, and is called chinkara in
| |
− | Hindi, while the antelope is hiran^ a name often applied
| |
− | loosely, like the English ' deer,' to various ruminants.
| |
− | ==Deer==
| |
− | The deer family (Cervidae), though less numerous than the
| |
− | hovines, are abundantly represented. The first to be men-
| |
− | tioned is the Muntjac or Barking-deer (Cervulus muntjac\ a
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | small kind, deep-chestnut in colour, the males bearing short
| |
− | horns on bony pedicels as long as the horns themselves or
| |
− | longer. This is an animal of hill forest, found in suitable
| |
− | places throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma, and on the slopes
| |
− | of the Himalayas up to 5,000 or 6,000 feet. Its name of
| |
− | * barking-deer ' is derived from its call, which resembles the
| |
− | bark of a dog. A second species (C.ftac) has been obtained
| |
− | on Muleyit mountain, west of Moulmein. The genus Ccruus
| |
− | is represented by six different species. One of these belongs,
| |
− | like the European Red Deer and the American Wapiti, to the
| |
− | Klaphine group, distinguished among other characters by
| |
− | having two tines, the brow and bez tines, near the base of each
| |
− | horn. This fine deer, the hcingal QI Kashmir Stag (C.cashmiria-
| |
− | nus), inhabits the pine forests of Kashmir between 9,000 and
| |
− | 12,000 feet above the sea in summer, coming lower in winter.
| |
− | The other Indian deer belong to the Rusine section, and have
| |
− | a brow but no bez tine. The barasingha or Swamp Deer
| |
− | (C. duvauccli) has, when full-grown, five or six tines on each
| |
− | antler, all but one on the terminal bifurcated portion. It
| |
− | inhabits open grass plains in Northern India, from Upper
| |
− | Assam to Sind, and as far south as the Godavari, but is
| |
− | very locally distributed. The Brow-antlered Deer or thamin^
| |
− | which replaces the barasingha in Manipur and Burma, has a
| |
− | peculiarly curved long brow tine : it is chiefly found on flat
| |
− | alluvial ground in the Irrawaddy Valley and to the eastward in
| |
− | Cambodia and Hainan. The finest of Indian deer, with ex-
| |
− | ception of the Kashmir stag, is the sambar oijarau ( C. unicolor),
| |
− | which is found almost throughout the Indo-Malay region
| |
− | wherever there is hilly or undulating country covered with
| |
− | forest. It occurs on all the hill groups of India, ascends the
| |
− | Himalayas in places to 9,000 or 10,000 feet, and is met with
| |
− | up to the summits of the ranges in Southern India and Ceylon.
| |
− | The next species to be mentioned, the Spotted Deer (C. axis),
| |
− | is certainly the most beautiful of Indian deer and perhaps of
| |
− | the whole family. It is smaller than the four species already
| |
− | noticed, and rufous-fawn in colour spotted with white. It
| |
− | retains its white spots throughout the year, in this differing from
| |
− | the Hog Deer. The Spotted Deer is met with at 'the base of
| |
− | the Himalayas but does not ascend the hills like the satnbar,
| |
− | and it ranges throughout the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon but
| |
− | is not found east of the Bay of Bengal. Its usual haunts are
| |
− | brushwood and thin forest, and especially bamboo jungles in the
| |
− | neighbourhood of water. Spotted Deer are more gregarious
| |
− | than other Indian species, and occasionally associate in large
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | numbers. The last deer on the list is also the smallest of the
| |
− | genus, and it bears the smallest horns. This is the Hog Deer
| |
− | (C. porcinus), which inhabits the alluvial flats of the Indo-
| |
− | Gangetic plain from Sind to Assam, and is also found abun-
| |
− | dantly in similar localities in Burma. It does not occur in the
| |
− | Indian Peninsula generally ; and, though it is found in part of
| |
− | south-western Ceylon, its presence there is due to its having
| |
− | been introduced by man. It is a brown animal, spotted in
| |
− | summer but not in winter, and is not gregarious.
| |
− | ===Cervidae===
| |
− | The only other Indian representative of the Cervidae, if it
| |
− | belongs to the family, is the hornless Musk Deer (Moschus
| |
− | moschiferus), which is common in the Higher Himalayas and in
| |
− | parts of Central Asia. It is a dark-brown animal, about the
| |
− | size of a roe-deer, with coarse brittle hair, and is chiefly known
| |
− | as the source of musk, which is the secretion formed in a
| |
− | glandular sac on the abdomen of the male. In winter about
| |
− | an ounce of musk is obtained from each male animal. The
| |
− | flesh has no musky flavour.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Chevrotains (Tragulidae) differ greatly from true deer
| |
− | in structure, but resemble them in form, and like the Musk
| |
− | Deer are hornless. All are small, some very small. One
| |
− | species, the Indian Chevrotain or Mouse Deer (Tragulus
| |
− | meminnd], inhabits Ceylon and the Indian Peninsula, but is not
| |
− | known north of the Narbada ; while two species (T.javanicus
| |
− | and T. napu} occur in Southern Tenasserim and range into
| |
− | Malaysia. The Indian Chevrotain and T. napu are about a
| |
− | foot high at the shoulder, T. napu being the larger ; the little
| |
− | T.javanicus is considerably less. All inhabit dense thickets in
| |
− | forest country.
| |
− | ==Pigs==
| |
− | Three different pigs belong to the Indian Fauna. The
| |
− | Indian Wild Boar (Sus cristafus) stands higher on its legs than
| |
− | the European animal, and is much less shaggy ; it has a more
| |
− | developed crest or mane, and the molar teeth exhibit well-
| |
− | marked differences. The common tame pig of India is doubt-
| |
− | less descended from the wild animal and certainly breeds with
| |
− | it. Wild swine occur everywhere in India and Burma, and are
| |
− | often as common in cultivated land as in wild forest. No
| |
− | animals do more damage to crops. Spearing wild hog from
| |
− | horseback, or 'pig-sticking/ as it is called in India, is the favourite
| |
− | sport of the country, and owes its attraction to the extraordinary
| |
− | courage of the wild boar. The Andaman Pig (5. andamanensi^
| |
− | is a much smaller kind, peculiar to the Andaman Islands ; and
| |
− | a still smaller species, not more than a foot high, known as the
| |
− | Pigmy Hog (5. saivanius\ is only known from the grass jungles of
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | the tarai at the base of the Himalayas in Nepal, Sikkim, and
| |
− | Bhutan. A wild pig found in the Nicobars has just been named
| |
− | S. nicobaricuS) but is probably a variety of the Andaman species.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Cetacea==
| |
− | Several kinds of whales and porpoises inhabit the seas around
| |
− | India, and two species are found in some of the larger rivers.
| |
− | Though no Right Whale (Balaena) has been seen in Indian
| |
− | waters, four kinds of Fin Whale (Balaenopterd) have been
| |
− | more or less clearly indicated, although none of them has been
| |
− | thoroughly identified. One of these, which has received the
| |
− | name of B. indica, is 80 or 90 feet in length, or as large as the
| |
− | B.sibbaldi of Northern seas, which exceeds in size any other
| |
− | known animal, extant or fossil. This great whale is not rare
| |
− | off the Baluchistan coast. A kind of hump-backed whale
| |
− | (Megaptcra) also appears to have been seen near the coast of
| |
− | India on more than one occasion. The Sperm Whale (Physettr
| |
− | macrtKephalus) has been hunted in the Bay of Bengal, and the
| |
− | Small Sperm Whale (Cogia), the size of a porpoise, was obtained
| |
− | by Elliot at Vizagapatam. Porpoises and dolphins abound, and
| |
− | fifteen species have been recorded from Indian seas, varying in
| |
− | size from the little Indian Porpoise about four feet in length to
| |
− | the Indian Pilot W T hale, a representative of the Caing Whale of
| |
− | European seas, measuring over fourteen feet. The two forms
| |
− | that particularly deserve notice are those inhabiting the rivers.
| |
− | In the Irrawaddy from below Prome to above Bhamo there is
| |
− | found a blunt-nosed porpoise (One/la fluminalis\ about seven
| |
− | to eight feet long, closely allied to a species ( 0. brevirostris)
| |
− | that inhabits the Bay of Bengal. This Cetacean is not known
| |
− | to occur in any other river. A far more interesting kind is the
| |
− | Gangetic Dolphin or susii (P/atanista gangetica >, living in the
| |
− | Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra and their tributaries ; for the
| |
− | family to which it belongs (Platanistidae), once probably widely
| |
− | spread, has only three surviving representatives : one (Into) in
| |
− | the River Amazon, a second (Pontoporia) in the Rio de la Plata
| |
− | estuary, and the Indian type. This last is provided with a long
| |
− | compressed beak-like rostrum, and is blind, having only minute
| |
− | rudimentary eyes without a crystalline lens. It is quite confined
| |
− | to the rivers, never, so far as is known, entering the sea.
| |
− | ==Dugong==
| |
− | The Dugong {Halicore dugong) inhabits the shores of the
| |
− | Indian Ocean from East Africa to Australia, and has been
| |
− | found on the coasts of Malabar, Ceylon, the Andaman Islands,
| |
− | and the Mergui Archipelago. Formerly it was more common ;
| |
− | but as it yields excellent meat and a valuable oil, and is also,
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | by all accounts, tame, stupid, and easily killed, it is approach-
| |
− | ing extermination in Indian seas.
| |
− |
| |
− | The last Order of Mammals is represented in the eastern Edentata.
| |
− | tropics by the Pangolins (Manis), of which three species occur
| |
− | within Indian limits. These are the Indian Pangolin (Af.penta-
| |
− | dactyla\ in the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon ; the Chinese
| |
− | Pangolin (M. aurita\ in the Himalayas; and the Malay
| |
− | Pangolin (A/, javanica), in Burma and other countries to the
| |
− | south-eastward. All are covered with large imbricate horny
| |
− | scales, and resemble a reptile rather than a mammal. They
| |
− | are toothless and live chiefly on ants. The Indian species is
| |
− | popularly regarded as a fish, and one of its vernacular names,
| |
− | ban-whit^ means * jungle carp.'
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Birds ==
| |
− |
| |
− | The birds of India have been more extensively collected
| |
− | and better observed than any other group of animals, and the
| |
− | number of kinds is so large that only the most conspicuous
| |
− | and important can be noticed here. Of the 1,617 species
| |
− | enumerated in the Fauna, 936, or considerably more than
| |
− | half, belong to the Order of Passeres, and of about thirty
| |
− | species added since the Bird-volumes of the Fauna were
| |
− | published a large majority are Passerine. No two authors
| |
− | agree as to the classification of the Passerine Order; the
| |
− | system used in the Fauna is here followed.
| |
− | ==Corvidae==
| |
− | The first family (Corvidae) has been divided into three Passeres.
| |
− | sub-families ; one (Corvinae) comprising the crows, magpies,
| |
− | jays, nutcrackers, and choughs ; the second (Parinae), the tit-
| |
− | mice and their relations ; the third, Paradoxornithinac* By many
| |
− | writers these three groups are regarded as distinct families.
| |
− |
| |
− | The common crows, which are ubiquitous in India, are the
| |
− | grey and black Indian House Crow (Corvus spltndens\ which
| |
− | is the common scavenger of the country, abundant in every
| |
− | town and village; and the black Jungle Crow (C. macro-
| |
− | rhynchus\ which keeps chiefly to forests and wild tracts. The
| |
− | former is represented by an allied form, rather darker in colour
| |
− | (C. insolcns), in Burma. Of the Raven (C. corax), one very
| |
− | large race inhabits the Higher Himalayas, and a smaller form,
| |
− | by some regarded as distinct and named C. laivrcncii, is found
| |
− | in the Punjab, Sind, and Western Rajputana. The Carrion
| |
− | and Hooded Crows, the Rook and Jackdaw are met with in
| |
− | the North-western Punjab and parts of Kashmir, but are for
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | the most part winter visitors. The Common Magpie (Pica
| |
− | rustica) is found in Kashmir, in Baluchistan, and also in
| |
− | Upper Burma, while a black-rumped species (P. bottancnsis)
| |
− | has been obtained in Upper Sikkim and Bhutan. Long-tailed
| |
− | Blue Magpies (Urocissd) and the Racket-tailed Magpies
| |
− | (Crypsirhind) inhabit the Himalayas and Burma; Green
| |
− | Magpies (Cissa) occur in the same countries and in Ceylon ;
| |
− | while the Tree-pies (Dendroritta) are generally distributed.
| |
− | Jays (Garrulus] of different species occur in the Himalayas
| |
− | and Burma ; two kinds of Nutcrackers (Nucifraga) are
| |
− | Himalayan; and in the higher ranges of that chain both the
| |
− | Cornish Chough and the Alpine Chough are found.
| |
− | ==Titmice==
| |
− | Among the Titmice, members of the typical genus Parus
| |
− | and of the much handsomer yellow and black Machlolophus
| |
− | are found almost throughout the Empire ; while species of the
| |
− | Long-tailed Titmouse (Atgithaliscus] occur in the Himalayas
| |
− | and in the hill tracts of Burma ; and Crested Tits (Lophophanes)
| |
− | are common in the Himalayas, chiefly above 6,000 feet
| |
− | elevation. One genus (Silviparus) is restricted to the
| |
− | Himalayas and Assam ranges.
| |
− | ==Paradoxornithinae==
| |
− | The Paradoxornithinae are classed among the Corvidae in the
| |
− | Fauna, but are by many ornithologists regarded as a section
| |
− | of the next family (Crateropodidae). They are birds varying
| |
− | from the size of a sparrow to that of a thrush, having copious
| |
− | soft plumage, strong legs, and a stout bill resembling a finch's.
| |
− | They are an interesting group on account of their peculiar
| |
− | structure and their distribution, for they are confined to the
| |
− | Himalayas with the hills of Northern Burma and Southern
| |
− | China. The principal genera are Paradoxornis and Suthora.
| |
− | ===Crateropodidae===
| |
− | The family Crateropodidae (or Timaliidae) is an exceedingly
| |
− | large and varied group, to which eighty-six genera of Indian
| |
− | birds, comprising 253 species, have been referred. Very few,
| |
− | if any, are migratory. About the position and relationships of
| |
− | some of the sub-families, six in number, there is much question,
| |
− | but the typical forms belong to the first two sub-families. Of
| |
− | these the first (Crateropodinat) contains the Laughing Thrushes
| |
− | and Babblers or Babbling Thrushes, of which the larger
| |
− | number, including the genera Garrulax, Trochalopterum^ and
| |
− | PomatorhinuS) are hill birds chiefly occurring in the Himalayas
| |
− | and Burma, but with representatives in the hills of Southern
| |
− | India and Ceylon ; while a smaller section, consisting of the
| |
− | true Babblers, belonging to the genera Argya and Crateropus^
| |
− | inhabits the Peninsula of India and Ceylon, with a few repre-
| |
− | sentatives in Burma, Assam, and the neighbouring countries.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | All these birds are excessively noisy chatterers; they are
| |
− | found in small flocks, and keep to bushes or the ground.
| |
− | They are about the size of a thrush, with strong legs, small
| |
− | wings, and rather long tails. One of the best known species is
| |
− | Crateropits canorus^ the sat-bhai (' seven brothers ') of Bengal.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Timeliinae are smaller and rather quieter, but their
| |
− | structure and habits are similar. The majority are but little
| |
− | known. By far the larger number are Himalayan, Assamese,
| |
− | and Burmese ; and only one species, the Yellow-eyed Babbler
| |
− | (Pyctorhis sinensis), is commonly found throughout the greater
| |
− | part of India and Burma.
| |
− | ===Brachypteryginae===
| |
− | The Brachypteryginae are less characteristic forms, for some
| |
− | of them resemble thrushes, whilst others are nearer in appear-
| |
− | ance to wrens. The most important genus referred to the
| |
− | group is Myiophoncus, containing the Whistling Thrushes, very
| |
− | dark-coloured birds with the plumage strongly tinged with rich
| |
− | blue. They have a peculiar whistling note, and inhabit the
| |
− | Himalayas and the hill tracts of India and Burma.
| |
− | ===Sibiinat===
| |
− | The Sibiinat are forest birds, often with bright plumage and
| |
− | of small size, and with one exception they are absent from
| |
− | India proper and Ceylon. The exception is the genus
| |
− | Zosterofs, comprising the White-eye or White-eyed Tits, yellow-
| |
− | ish or olive green birds, which range almost throughout the
| |
− | tropics of the Old World from Africa to Australia, and are very
| |
− | doubtful members of the present sub-family. Sibiinac are
| |
− | abundant in the Eastern Himalayas and Assam ranges.
| |
− |
| |
− | The l.iotrichinac chiefly differ from the Sibiinae by having
| |
− | the sexes differently coloured. The typical forms (Liothrix,
| |
− | Cutia y FtcruthiuS) Jlfesia, and Alinla) are found within our
| |
− | limits only in the Himalayas and the Burmese hills ; but the
| |
− | common lora (Acgithina tiphia\ and various species of
| |
− | ChloropsiS) commonly known as ' green bulbuls,' are common
| |
− | birds throughout the Empire. The Fairy Blue-bird (Irena
| |
− | puclla\ of which the male is clad in gorgeous ultramarine
| |
− | plumage (the female is less brilliant), inhabits the evergreen
| |
− | forests of Ceylon, Malabar, the Eastern Himalayas, the Assam
| |
− | ranges, and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | The last Crateropodidine sub-family,
| |
− | are short-legged birds, in general about the size of a nightingale
| |
− | or rather larger. Some of them are familiar types, frequenting
| |
− | gardens. The majority of the seventeen genera found within
| |
− | Indian limits are Himalayan or Burmese ; but members of the
| |
− | genera Molpastes^ Ofocompsa, and Pycnotwtus y distinguished by
| |
− | having the under tail coverts either crimson or bright yellow,
| |
− | are the common bulbuls of India. Another genus deserving
| |
− | notice is Hypsipetes y dark-coloured, hill-forest birds, with red
| |
− | bills and forked tails, found in the Himalayas and the hills of
| |
− | Burma and South India.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Nuthatches (Sittidae), small bluish or slatey-blue birds,
| |
− | which climb up the stems of trees or occasionally the surface
| |
− | of rocks, are represented in India by eleven species, which are
| |
− | non-migratory and for the most part of limited distribution ;
| |
− | but one or more of them are to be found wherever there are
| |
− | trees, and one species (Sitta ttphronota) even where there are
| |
− | none, in Baluchistan.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Drongos (l)icruridae), of which the more common
| |
− | species are generally called * king-crows ' in India, form a well-
| |
− | marked family, having with few exceptions glossy black plumage
| |
− | and long forked tails. There are several genera, the common
| |
− | and familiar ' king-crows/ found in almost every garden, being
| |
− | members of the typical genus Dicrurus. Two species, the
| |
− | Larger and Smaller Racket-tailed Drongos ( Disscmurus paradi-
| |
− | seus and Bhringa remifer^ are handsome birds, with the outer
| |
− | tail leathers greatly prolonged and their shafts bare for some
| |
− | distance, though webbed near the ends. All Drongos hawk
| |
− | insects in the air, and have musical voices ; all, moreover, are
| |
− | given to imitating the notes of other birds.
| |
− |
| |
− | Of the Tree-Creepers (Certhiidae), six species of the typical
| |
− | genus (Certhia) occur in the Himalayas, Assam hills, and
| |
− | Northern Burma, and a species of Salfornis is found in the
| |
− | forests of the Indian Peninsula. The latter is remarkable,
| |
− | because the only other known species of the genus, a vety
| |
− | near ally, is African. The European Wall-Creeper (Tichodroma
| |
− | muraria) is a winter visitor to the Himalayas, and occasionally
| |
− | to the plains of Northern India.
| |
− |
| |
− | Wrens, generally placed in a distinct family (Troglodytidae),
| |
− | are represented by several species belonging to four or five
| |
− | genera in the Himalayas and Burma, but not in the Indian
| |
− | Peninsula. The European Goldcrest (Rcgulus cristatus\
| |
− | which belongs to a separate family (Regulidae), is also Hima-
| |
− | layan.
| |
− |
| |
− | Warblers (Sylviidae) comprise a great number of very small
| |
− | birds, usually with plain plumage; many of them are migratory.
| |
− | Among those generally distributed are Grasshopper Warblers
| |
− | (Locustella^ Reed Warblers (Acrocephalu$\ Tailor Birds (Or-
| |
− | tJiotomus\ Fantail Warblers (Cisticola) % Wren Warblers (Frank-
| |
− | linia and Prinia\ and Willow Warblers (Phylloscopus and
| |
− | (Acanthopneuste). Members of the genera Ifyfolais and Sylvia,
| |
− |
| |
− | allies of the European Whitethroat, Blackcap, and Icterine
| |
− | Warbler, are common in the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon,
| |
− | but wanting to the eastward. The Tailor-birds are well-known
| |
− | from their habit of sewing two leaves together with a piece of
| |
− | grass as a receptacle for their nest Shrikes (Laniidae) are common throughout the Empire.
| |
− | Besides the true Shrikes (Lanius), the Pied Shrikes (Ilemipus),
| |
− | Wood Shrikes (Tephrodornis\ Minivets (Pericrocotus), and
| |
− | Cuckoo Shrikes (Campophaga and Graucalus) are distributed
| |
− | throughout the better-wooded tracts. Some of the Minivets are
| |
− | brilliantly coloured, the males being crimson and black, and the
| |
− | females yellow and black. The Swallow Shrikes (Artamus\
| |
− | dull-coloured birds with a peculiar flight slightly resembling a
| |
− | swallow's, are found all over India and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | There are no less than eight species of Golden or Yellow
| |
− | Orioles (Oriolidae) found within Indian limits, many of them
| |
− | local, but some widely diffused. A ninth species (Oriolus
| |
− | traillii\ inhabiting the Himalayas and Burma, has black and
| |
− | chestnut plumage instead of black and yellow.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Crackles, Talking Mainas, or Hill Mainas (Eulabetidae),
| |
− | glossy black in colour with rich yellow cheek lappets, are well-
| |
− | known cage-birds with wonderful powers of imitating the human
| |
− | voice. Though often classed with the starlings, they are ap-
| |
− | parently distinct. Four representative species occur in the hill
| |
− | forests of the Himalayas, India, Ceylon, and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Starling family (Sturnidae) contains the true Starlings,
| |
− | the Rosy Pastors, and the Mainas. Of true Starlings {Sturnus\
| |
− | six closely allied species are found in Northern India, most of
| |
− | them being migratory. The Rosy Pastor (Pastor roseus) is
| |
− | also migratory, but it abounds throughout a great part of the
| |
− | Indian Peninsula in winter, and is notoriously destructive to
| |
− | grain crops, especially to millet. The Mainas are resident and
| |
− | numerous. The Common or House Maina (Acriciothercs tristis)
| |
− | is a familiar bird around human habitations almost throughout
| |
− | the Empire. The Bank Maina (A. ginginianus)^ the Black-
| |
− | headed Maina (Tcmcnuchus pagodarum\ the Jungle Maina
| |
− | (Acthiopsar fuscus), and the Pied Maina (Sturnopastor contra)
| |
− | are all common.
| |
− |
| |
− | The next family, that of the Flycatchers (Muscicapidae),
| |
− | comprises rather more than fifty Indian species of small size.
| |
− | Though generally distributed, these birds are not of much
| |
− | importance. Perhaps the best-known kind is the Paradise
| |
− | Flycatcher (Tcrpsipkonc paradi$i\ of which the immature birds
| |
− | and females are black and chestnut, while the mature male
| |
− |
| |
− | it 2
| |
− |
| |
− | has the chestnut replaced by white. The tail in the male is
| |
− | very long, sometimes exceeding a foot in length.
| |
− |
| |
− | Thrushes and their allies form the family Turdidae, divided
| |
− | into several sub-families. Of these the first is that of the Saxi-
| |
− | colinae^ comprising the Bush-chats or Whin-chats, Stone-chats,
| |
− | and Wheatears, mostly migratory birds, of which several species
| |
− | are winter visitors to Northern India, and a few are more gene-
| |
− | rally distributed. The Redstarts and their allies (Rutirillinae)
| |
− | are more numerous, but are chiefly hill birds. The Indian
| |
− | Robins (Thamnobia) are, however, common throughout the
| |
− | Indian Peninsula, whilst the Indian Magpie Robin or Dayal
| |
− | (Copsychus sauhiris), and that well-known songster, the Shama
| |
− | (Cittocincia macnini), range throughout the greater portion of
| |
− | the Empire, and the Indian Redstart (Rtitirilla rufiventris) is
| |
− | a winter visitor to almost the whole of India with Assam and
| |
− | Manipur. Other forms are the Forktails (ffenicurus) and their
| |
− | allies, black and \\hite birds haunting banks of streams in the
| |
− | Himalayas and Burma ; the nvgratory Blue Throats (Cyanecula)^
| |
− | Ruby Throats (Calliope), and several others.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Turdinac comprise the Thrushes and Blackbirds, which
| |
− | are in India almost confined to the hill ranges, the only forms
| |
− | found in the plains being the Migratory Blue Rock Thrushes
| |
− | (Petrophiln), and some equally migratory Ground Thrushes
| |
− | (Geocichld). Of the other two sub-families belonging to the
| |
− | Turdine family, the Dippers (Cinclinac) and the Accentors
| |
− | (Acccntorinae), none of the members range south of the
| |
− | Himalayas, and but few are found away from the higher
| |
− | mountains.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Ploceidae comprise two sub-families, the Ploccinae or
| |
− | Weaver Birds, and the Viduinae or Munias, both found
| |
− | throughout the Indian Empire. The Weaver Birds are finch-
| |
− | like, and generally the males are more or less yellow in the
| |
− | breeding season ; they make curious flask-shaped grass nests,
| |
− | which may often be seen hanging from trees or bushes, some
| |
− | of them having long tubular entrances. The Munias and
| |
− | Avadavats are even smaller, and comprise several common
| |
− | cage-birds.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Finch family (Fringillidae) are divided into the Haw-
| |
− | finches (Coccothrau$tinae\ True Finches (Fringillinae)^ and
| |
− | Buntings (Emberizinae). The Hawfinches or Grossbeaks are
| |
− | scarcely Indian; five species are known from the Himalayas,
| |
− | chiefly from the higher forests ; but one of these ranges as far
| |
− | as Manipur and the Burmese Shan States. Among the True
| |
− | Finches the great majority are Himalayan. Bullfinches, a Cross-
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | bill, Rose Finches of several genera and many of them beauti-
| |
− | fully coloured, a Goldfinch, two Linnets, a Siskin, a Greenfinch,
| |
− | and several Mountain Finches inhabit parts of the higher ranges,
| |
− | while a single migratory Rose Finch (Carpodacus erythrinus)
| |
− | visits India and Northern Burma in the winter. The Yellow-
| |
− | throated Sparrow (Gymnorhis), a bird with African affinities,
| |
− | inhabits the Indian Peninsula, and the House Sparrow is found
| |
− | wherever there are human habitations. Three more species of
| |
− | Sparrow are found in Burma; and two others, with the Bram-
| |
− | bling (Fringi/la montift ingilla) and the Desert Finch (Ery-
| |
− | throspiza githaginca), are met with in the Punjab or Sind.
| |
− | The Buntings arc mostly migratory. Of the fifteen species
| |
− | found within Indian limits the majority are winter visitors to
| |
− | the Himalayas or to North-western India or to both ; five are
| |
− | found in the Eastern Himalayas and Burma ; one (Emberiza
| |
− | striolatd) is resident in North-western India; and two mi-
| |
− | gratory birds, the Corn Buntings (E. mclanocephala and E.
| |
− | lutcold], are common winter visitors to India, the first being
| |
− | notorious for the ravages it commits in corn-fields. The
| |
− | Crested Bunting (Melophus melanictcnts), of which the male
| |
− | is a rather handsome bird, black and chestnut, is resident in
| |
− | many parts of India and Bui ma.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the Swallow family (Hirundinidae) are included, besides
| |
− | the true Swallows, the Martins (Chelidoti), Sand Martins (Cotile\
| |
− | and Crag Martins (1'tyonoprognt). The House Martins are
| |
− | chiefly Himalayan, though stragglers have been found in
| |
− | various parts of the Empire. Sand Martins of two closely
| |
− | allied species are very \\idely distributed. Crag Martins are
| |
− | met with about cliffs in the Peninsula of India and the Hima-
| |
− | layas, but are not known with certainty from Burma. Ten
| |
− | species of true Swallows occur within Indian limits, some of
| |
− | them migratory but the greater number resident. Among
| |
− | them are the common European Swallow (ff. rustica), a winter
| |
− | visitor everywhere ; the Wire-tailed Swallow (H. smitkit), with
| |
− | the shafts of the outer tail feathers produced beyond the webs;
| |
− | the Indian Cliff Swallow, which breeds on the high banks of
| |
− | rivers in large societies ; and several forms of Striated Swallow,
| |
− | with the lower surface streaked.
| |
− |
| |
− | Pipits and Wagtails combine to form the family Motacillidae,
| |
− | and both comprise many species, and are found almost every-
| |
− | where. The Larks (Alaudidae) are represented by no less than
| |
− | ten genera, but several of these are very restricted in range.
| |
− | Thus the Desert Lark (Alaemon desertorum\ an African species,
| |
− | is met with 'in India only on the deserts of the Indus plain.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Calendra Lark (Mtlanocoryphii) does not occur much
| |
− | farther to the eastward, while the Crested Larks (Galeritd)
| |
− | and the Finch Larks (Ammomanes and Pyrrhulauda\ com-
| |
− | mon in India, are unknown east of the Bay of Bengal.
| |
− | The Eared Larks (Otocorys) are Himalayan. Skylarks (Alau-
| |
− | da} and Bush Larks (Ulirafrd) are met with throughout the
| |
− | Empire.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Sun-birds (Nectariniidae) are of small size and have
| |
− | long narrow bills. The males of one sub-family (Nectariniinae)
| |
− | almost rival the Humming-birds of America in the brilliancy of
| |
− | their plumage, and they are occasionally, though wrongly, called
| |
− | 'humming-birds*. Some of the species are found throughout
| |
− | India and Burma, but more kinds are peculiar to the hill
| |
− | forests. The other sub-family, known as Spider-hunters (Araeh-
| |
− | notJicrinac), are rather larger and of a dull olive colour ; their
| |
− | bill is longer. They inhabit the Himalayas, Burma, and the
| |
− | hills of Southern India.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Flower-peckers (Dicaeidae) are small forest birds with
| |
− | a short triangular bill and the edges of both mandibles minutely
| |
− | serrated, as are also those of the Sun-birds. They are pretty
| |
− | generally distributed throughout India, but are more common
| |
− | in the Himalayas and Burma. Some of them have brilliantly
| |
− | coloured males.
| |
− | ==Passeres==
| |
− |
| |
− | The last Passerine family is that of the Pittidae, handsome
| |
− | birds about the size of a large thrush, living on the ground in
| |
− | woods and forests. One species (Pitta brachyura) inhabits
| |
− | Peninsular India and Ceylon ; three are met with in the Eastern
| |
− | Himalayas ; and the number of species increases in Burma, and
| |
− | especially to the southward in Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Eurylaemi==
| |
− |
| |
− | . The Broadbills, although nearly allied to the Passeres, are
| |
− | distinguished by anatomical characters. The geographical dis-
| |
− | tribution of the Order is restricted, none being found outside
| |
− | the Indo-Malayan or Oriental region, while within that
| |
− | region species occur in the Himalayas, Burma, Siam and
| |
− | Cambodia, the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago as far as
| |
− | Borneo and the Philippines, but not in the Indian Peninsula
| |
− | or Ceylon. The Broadbills are small forest birds, living in
| |
− | little flocks among high trees and feeding as a rule on insects.
| |
− | Some are very beautifully coloured. Among the most notice-
| |
− | able are the Ix>ng-tailed Broadhill (Psarisomus dalhousiat\
| |
− | which ranges from Mussoorie in the Western Himalayas to
| |
− | Borneo ; two kinds of Eurylaemus^ found in Burma ; the Dusky
| |
− | Broadbill (Corydon sumatranus), met with in Tenasserim and
| |
− | the Malay countries ; and the grass-green frugivorous Calypto-
| |
− |
| |
− | mena, with the bill almost concealed by the loral feathers, having
| |
− | the same distribution.
| |
− | ==Pici ==
| |
− |
| |
− | Woodpeckers are very common and conspicuous throughout PicU
| |
− | the Empire, no less than eighteen genera and fifty-five species
| |
− | of true Woodpeckers being found, besides two ' Piculets '
| |
− | (Picumnus and Sasia) and the common Wryneck (lynx tor-
| |
− | quil/a\ which is a winter visitor. The Woodpeckers and
| |
− | Piculets are not migratory. A large proportion of the genera are
| |
− | found, within the area, only in the Eastern Himalayas, Assam,
| |
− | and Burma; others are represented in the hills of Southern
| |
− | India; but the kinds generally distributed throughout India
| |
− | and Burma are not numerous. The two commonest in India
| |
− | are the Golden-backed Woodpecker (Brachypternus aurantius)
| |
− | and the Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker (Liopicus mahratten-
| |
− | sis\ Several species of Green Woodpeckers (Gednu/us\ Pied
| |
− | Woodpeckers (Dendrocopus\ and Pigmy Woodpeckers (fyngi-
| |
− | picus] are found in the hill tracts. Among other interest-
| |
− | ing forms are the Great Slaty Woodpecker (Hemilophi4s
| |
− | pulverulentus] of the Himalayas and Burma; the Black Wood-
| |
− | peckers (Thriponax\ represented within our limits only in
| |
− | Burma and Malabar ; and the three-toed Tiga, which is
| |
− | similarly distributed, but also represented in the Himalayas.
| |
− | ==Zygodactyli ==
| |
− |
| |
− | This Order, which resembles the Woodpeckers in having two Zygo-
| |
− | toes, the first and fourth, directed backwards, but differs in acty l "
| |
− | several structural characters as well as in appearance and
| |
− | habits, comprises two families represented in India, the Honey
| |
− | Guides (Indicatoridae) and the Barbets (Capitonidae). Only one
| |
− | species belongs to the first, and that is a very rare Himalayan
| |
− | bird (Indicator xanthonotus) ; but it and a Malayan species
| |
− | are closely allied to the African birds so well known for the
| |
− | assistance they afford in the discovery of bees* nests. Barbets
| |
− | are fruit-eating birds ; and all Indian and Burmese species,
| |
− | with one exception, are more or less grass-green in colour.
| |
− | The exception is a Malayan bird (Calorhamphus hayi], found
| |
− | in Tenasserim. Among the other Indian Barbets are birds
| |
− | as large as a jay belonging to the genus Mega/aema, with one
| |
− | Himalayan and one Burmese and Chinese species, and smaller
| |
− | forms representing the genera Thcreiceryx^ Cyanops y and Xan-
| |
− | tholacma^ some of which are found in all well-wooded parts of
| |
− | the Empire. These Barbets have peculiar calls of one, two, or
| |
− | three syllables repeated in a monotonous manner for some
| |
− | minutes ; the best-known species being the little * Coppersmith '
| |
− | (Xantholatma haematocephald), found in most Indian gardens,
| |
− | and recognized by its monosyllabic metallic call
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Ansiodactyli==
| |
− |
| |
− | Next we have a somewhat heterogeneous group, comprising the Rollers (Coraciat\ Bee-eaters (M r f ropes), Kingfishers (Hafcyones), Hornbills (Bucerotes), and Hoopoes (Upupae).
| |
− | All are well represented throughout India. The Indian Roller (Corarias indica), commonly called the
| |
− | 'blue jay' (it is not related to the true Jays), is resident
| |
− | throughout India and Ceylon, being replaced by a nearly allied
| |
− | species (C. affinis) in Burma. It is a familiar bird, conspicuous
| |
− | by its blue plumage, and is often seen in gardens and orchards,
| |
− | where it hawks insects, and sometimes feeds on lizards or mice.
| |
− | It is associated with the worship of Siva. The European Roller
| |
− | (C. gam<la) 3 a migratory species, visits North-western India
| |
− | during migration and breeds in Kashmir and Central Asia.
| |
− | The Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus oricntalis), a forest type,
| |
− | is found in the Himalayas, Burma, the Malabar forests, and
| |
− | Ceylon.
| |
− | ==Macrochires==
| |
− |
| |
− | The Bee-eaters are slender-billed birds with, for the most
| |
− | part, green plumage. One of the smallest species (Mcrops
| |
− | viridis) is common almost throughout the Empire, except in
| |
− | the Himalayas. Besides several other species of Merops, the
| |
− | two kinds of Nyctiornis, rather larger forms, known as the
| |
− | Blue-bearded and Red-bearded Bee-eaters, should be men-
| |
− | tioned : the former occurring ;n the Himalayas, Burma, the
| |
− | Malabar forests, and near Sambalpur in the Central Provinces;
| |
− | the latter in Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | Of Kingfishers eighteen species are recorded within Indian
| |
− | limits. The principal are the Common Kingfisher (A/cedo
| |
− | ispidd), a small variety of the European bird, which is generally
| |
− | distributed ; the Indian Pied Kingfisher (Ccryle varia)^ a black
| |
− | and white species closely allied to the South European and
| |
− | African C. rudis, also met with throughout the Empire ; a
| |
− | large form of Ceryle, found in the Himalayas; and the equally
| |
− | large blue and buff Pelargopsis, three species of which occur
| |
− | on the sea-coast and along estuaries and large rivers. The
| |
− | White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), which is
| |
− | chiefly insectivorous, is common throughout India, Ceylon,
| |
− | and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | Hornbills, sometimes wrongly called Toucans, are rather
| |
− | typical Indian birds, although the only kind found generally
| |
− | in the Peninsula is the Common Grey Hornbill (Lophoccros
| |
− | birostris), a small species. Two other forms of the same genus
| |
− | are met with in Malabar and Ceylon and others in Africa, but
| |
− | none occur in the Himalayas or in Burma, where, however,
| |
− | there are numerous kinds of the great Black and White Hornbills, belonging to the gtnet&Dichoceros, Rhytidoctros, and Aceros,
| |
− | birds 3 \ to 4 feet in length ; and other genera again are found in
| |
− | Southern Burma. The largest of all (Dichoceros bicornis), the
| |
− | garuda of many Hindus, with a broad concave casque, is also
| |
− | met with in the forests of the Western Ghats ; and the smaller
| |
− | Pied Hornbills of the genus Anthracococeros are represented in
| |
− | the forests of South-western Bengal, as well as those of Malabar
| |
− | and Ceylon, and in the Himalayas and Burma. All are mainly
| |
− | frugivorous, and have a remarkable habit of the female remain-
| |
− | ing built into a hollow tree during incubation, and being fed
| |
− | through a small cleft by the male. The larger kinds attract
| |
− | attention by the extraordinary noise they make when flying.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | The common European Hoopoe (Upupa cpops) visits India
| |
− | in winter; the Indian Hoopoe (U. indicci), which is only just
| |
− | distinguishable from the European species, is a resident and
| |
− | found almost throughout the Empire.
| |
− | ==Macrochires==
| |
− |
| |
− | The next group includes the Swifts (Cypseli), Nightjars Macro-
| |
− | (Caprimu/gi), and Frogmouths (Podargi). The relationship of chue *-
| |
− | these forms is an open question.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Swifts comprise several species of Cypselus, among
| |
− | which is the Common Indian Swift (C. affinis), resident in
| |
− | the larger towns and breeding upon old buildings. It is
| |
− | replaced east of the Bay of Bengal by the Malay House Swift
| |
− | (C. subfitrcatus). The European Swift (C. apus] and the
| |
− | Alpine Swift (C. melba) are winter visitors to India. The
| |
− | little Palm Swifts (Tac/iornis\ common about fan-palms, in
| |
− | which they breed, are also represented by distinct species east
| |
− | and west of the Bay of Bengal. To the genus Chaetura, com-
| |
− | prising the Spinetail Swifts, belong two large species, one
| |
− | Himalayan only, the other Indian and Burmese; they are
| |
− | probably the swiftest of all birds and the most powerful flyers.
| |
− | There are also two smaller species; one (C. sylvatica) occurring
| |
− | in some of the larger Indian forests, and the other (C. Ituco-
| |
− | pygialis) in Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula. The
| |
− | genus Collocalia consists of the small species sometimes called
| |
− | 'swiftlets,' chiefly inhabiting the sea-coast, and famous as the
| |
− | producers of the edible nests prized by the Chinese. One
| |
− | species, however, is common in the Himalayas. Last come
| |
− | the Crested Swifts (Macroptcryx}^ with the sexes differing in
| |
− | colour. One species inhabits well-wooded tracts and forests
| |
− | almost throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma; two others are
| |
− | found in Southern Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | The Nightjars or Goatsuckers (Capri mulgus) are represented
| |
− | by seven species, all widely distributed. They are nocturnal,
| |
− | and have peculiar reiterated notes, chiefly uttered in the earlier
| |
− | and later parts of the night, and resembling strokes by a
| |
− | hammer on a plank, or a stone striking ice. The Large-eared
| |
− | Nightjar (Lyncornis cerviniceps) is found in Burma, the Eastern
| |
− | Himalayas, and Travancore.
| |
− |
| |
− | Three species of Batrachostomus or Frogmouth, the Asiatic
| |
− | representative of the Australian Fodargus, occur within Indian
| |
− | limits : one in Ceylon and Travancore ; a second in the
| |
− | Eastern Himalayas, Assam, and Burma ; and the third in
| |
− | Tenasserim. They are shy nocturnal birds, and appear to be
| |
− | rare, but they resemble nightjars in appearance and habit.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Trogones==
| |
− | Distinguished by the structure of their feet, the
| |
− | first and second toes being directed backwards (not the first
| |
− | and fourth as in Woodpeckers, Barbets, Cuckoos, and Parrots),
| |
− | and by their peculiarly soft and often beautifully coloured
| |
− | plumage, are found in the tropical forests of America, Africa,
| |
− | and the Indo-Malay region. Three species of Pyrotrogon or
| |
− | HarpacteS) the Asiatic representative of the Order, occur in
| |
− | Burma, one ranging to the Eastern Himalayas ; and a fourth
| |
− | is found in the forests between the Ganges and the Godavari,
| |
− | those near the western coasts of India, and in Ceylon.
| |
− | ==Coccyges==
| |
− |
| |
− | Coccyges. Indian Cuckoos belong to one family (Cuculidae), and
| |
− | comprise fifteen genera and thirty species, divided into two
| |
− | sub-families not very easily distinguished. All members of
| |
− | the first family (Cuculinae) are parasitic, laying their eggs in
| |
− | the nests of other birds, while the majority of the second
| |
− | sub-family (Phoenicophatnae) build their own nests. To the
| |
− | first family belong four species of true Cuckoo, one of which,
| |
− | the Common Cuckoo of Europe (Cuculus canorus), is widely
| |
− | distributed throughout India, and breeds in the Himalayas,
| |
− | and apparently also in Chota Nagpur and some other tracts,
| |
− | where its well-known call is frequently heard in April and
| |
− | May. There are also four Indian or Burmese species of
| |
− | Hawk-cuckoo {Hierococcyx\ which resemble birds of prey
| |
− | even more than the common Cuckoo does. One of these
| |
− | (// varius\ found throughout India and Ceylon but not in
| |
− | Burma, has received the name of * brain-fever bird ' from its
| |
− | monotonous repetition of its call-note in the hot season.
| |
− | The Crested Cuckoos (Coccystes) and several smaller genera
| |
− | also belong to the sub-family ; one of these (Surnicu/us) is
| |
− | remarkable as being an almost exact imitation in form and
| |
− | plumage of the common 'king-crow 1 or Drongo, and thus
| |
− | affording one of the best examples of what is known as
| |
− | 'mimicry' in the animal kingdom. Another small genus
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | (Chry>sococcyx) has glossy metallic plumage, bright-green in the
| |
− | male in one species, violet in another.
| |
− |
| |
− | Amongst the Phoenicophainae two well-known birds are
| |
− | found throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma. One of these
| |
− | is the Koel (Eudynamis honorata)> a frugivorous cuckoo, with
| |
− | the male glossy-black and the female brown and spotted.
| |
− | The loud note of this cuckoo may be heard from March to
| |
− | July in almost every grove in India, especially about dawn.
| |
− | Unlike most of the Phoenicophamac, the female Koel is parasitic
| |
− | and lays its eggs in the nests of crows. The other familiar
| |
− | member of this sub-family is the Coucal (Centropus sinensts),
| |
− | often called 'crow-pheasant' in India. The genus Centropus^
| |
− | of which there are several species, is distinguished by having
| |
− | a long hind claw. The remaining members of the sub-family
| |
− | are long-tailed ground cuckoos of feeble flight, living in scrub,
| |
− | and belonging to several genera.
| |
− | ==Psittaci==
| |
− |
| |
− | The majority of the Indian Parrots, including all the Psittaci.
| |
− | common forms, are Paroquets belonging to the genus
| |
− | PalaeorniS) distinguished by its long tail and prevailing green
| |
− | colour. Of this no less than fifteen species occur within
| |
− | Indian limits, but this number includes one species peculiar
| |
− | to the Andamans and two to the Nicobar Islands. The
| |
− | best-known kinds are the Large Paroquet, of which four
| |
− | different races inhabit Ceylon, India, Burma, and the Andaman
| |
− | Islands respectively ; the Blossom-headed Paroquets, of which
| |
− | one race (P. cyanocephalus) is found west and the other
| |
− | (P. rosa) east of the Bay of Bengal ; and, commonest of all,
| |
− | the Rose-ring Paroquet (P. torquatus). The only Indian
| |
− | parrots not included in Pa/acornis are two members of the
| |
− | small, short-tailed Loriculus, birds not larger than a starling,
| |
− | one inhabiting Ceylon, the other the Malabar forests, the
| |
− | Eastern Himalayas, and Burma; and the little Malayan Parrot
| |
− | (PsitttNus inccrtus), which is found in Southern Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | Thirty-seven species of owls have been recorded within Striges.
| |
− | Indian limits, belonging to eight genera. Foremost among
| |
− | these is the Barn Owl {Strix flammea), of almost world-wide
| |
− | distribution. Other Indian owls are : (i) two species of
| |
− | PhotodiluS) small Screech Owls, one inhabiting the Himalayas
| |
− | and Burma, the other Ceylon ; (2) the Long-eared Owl (Asia
| |
− | otu$\ an occasional visitor to Northern India, and the Short-
| |
− | eared Owl (A. accipitrinus\ found throughout the area;
| |
− | (3) several Wood Owls belonging to the genus Syrnium, very
| |
− | handsome birds, of moderate size, without aigrettes but with
| |
− | feathered tarsi ; (4) three kinds of Fish Owl (Kctufa), larger
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | birds with naked tarsi, usually found near water and living
| |
− | chiefly on fish and Crustacea ; (5) Eagle Owls, belonging to
| |
− | the genera Bubo and Huhua, all of large size, with aigrettes
| |
− | and feathered tarsi ; (6) several small owls belonging to the
| |
− | genera Scops, Athene, and Glaucidium ; and (7) the Brown
| |
− | Hawk Owls (Ninox), one of which is said to be the 'devil-bird 1
| |
− | of Ceylon, so named from the extraordinary sounds it makes.
| |
− | Of these the commonest and best-known forms are the Brown
| |
− | Fish Owl (Ketupa zeyhnensis) \ the Rock Horned Owl (Bubo
| |
− | tenga/ensis)y so often seen sitting on rocks or trees in hilly
| |
− | country throughout the Peninsula of India ; the variable
| |
− | Scops Owl (Scofs giu), one form or another of which may
| |
− | be met with almost everywhere in India and Burma ; and
| |
− | the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama), which is even more
| |
− | widely spread, and, being less purely nocturnal, is much more
| |
− | frequently seen.
| |
− |
| |
− | =Accipitres=
| |
− | Indian birds of prey belong to three families, one
| |
− | containing the O^prey alone, the second the Vultures, the
| |
− | third Eagles, Kites, Harriers, Buzzards, Hawks, and Falcons.
| |
− | The number and variety of diurnal birds of prey in India
| |
− | are very great, no less than eighty-two species having been
| |
− | recognized, representing thirty-five genera.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Osprey is a winter visitor throughout India and Burma,
| |
− | and may be seen about large rivers and the sea-coast where
| |
− | fish, on which it lives, are numerous.
| |
− |
| |
− | Vultures abound throughout India and Northern Burma ;
| |
− | they are less common in Tenasscrim, and wanting in Ceylon.
| |
− | The Cinereous Vulture (Vultur monachus) and the Griffon
| |
− | (Gyps fulvus) are met with only in Northern India ; but the
| |
− | Black Vulture (Otogyps sa/vus) 9 the Indian Long-billed Vulture
| |
− | (Gyps indicus), and the White-backed Vulture (Pseudogyps
| |
− | bengalensis) are everywhere seen the first, however, being by
| |
− | no means abundant, while the last is extremely common.
| |
− | Two other species of Gyps also occur in the Himalayas.
| |
− |
| |
− | The White Scavenger Vulture (Neophron ginginianus) is
| |
− | ubiquitous in India, and haunts the neighbourhood of human
| |
− | habitations ; but it is very rare in Ceylon, and unknown in
| |
− | Burma or even in Lower Bengal.
| |
− |
| |
− | First among the Falconidae comes the Bearded Vulture
| |
− | or Lammergeyer (Gypaetus barbatus\ supposed in the Alps
| |
− | to live upon lambs and occasionally upon children, but found
| |
− | in the Himalayas, where it is common, to subsist upon carrion
| |
− | and to have a particular preference for bones. Besides the
| |
− | Himalayas, this great bird haunts the higher ranges in the
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | Punjab and Sind, Of the true eagles, the Golden Eagle
| |
− | (Aquila chrysaetus) is found in the Himalayas, and the
| |
− | Imperial Eagle (A. heliacd) is far from rare throughout
| |
− | Northern India, chiefly, however, as a winter visitor. The
| |
− | Steppe Eagle (A. bifasciata) is another North Indian migrant.
| |
− | The small Tawny Eagle (A. vindhiana) is common throughout
| |
− | the greater part of India and in Upper Burma, while the
| |
− | Spotted Eagles (A. maculata and A. hastata\ the latter
| |
− | peculiar to the Indian Peninsula, inhabit the neighbourhood
| |
− | of marshes. Bonelli's Eagle (Hieraetus fascia/us) and the
| |
− | Booted Eagle (//. pennatus) are also Indian, but the latter
| |
− | only is Burmese. The various Hawk Eagles (Lophotriorchis >
| |
− | Ictinaetus, and Spizaetus] are woodland birds, one or the
| |
− | other of which is found in all Indian forests ; while the
| |
− | European Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus ga/licus) is found through-
| |
− | out India but not farther east, and the Crested Serpent Eagle
| |
− | (Spitornis cfaelci) is to be met with almost throughout the
| |
− | Empire, and is easily recognized when soaring by its strongly
| |
− | banded wings and tail. It varies greatly in size and somewhat
| |
− | in colour. Two other species of the same genus occur in the
| |
− | Nicobars and Andamans. Next to the true eagles come the
| |
− | small Buzzard Eagles (Butas1ur\ with three species ; five kinds
| |
− | of Fishing Eagles or Sea Eagles (Haliaetus and Polioaetus), all
| |
− | of large size ; and the Brahmani Kite (Haliastur indus),
| |
− | associated with the Hindu deity, Vishnu. This handsome
| |
− | bird, with a maroon back and the head and lower parts white,
| |
− | lives chiefly on fish ; and is found commonly in the neighbour-
| |
− | hood of water.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Common Indian Kite (Afilvits govinda] swarms about
| |
− | towns and villages throughout the Empire, and its peculiar
| |
− | squealing call is almost as well known as the call of the Indian
| |
− | crow. A larger kite also occurs, but is rare. Six or seven
| |
− | different Harriers are winter visitors to the country ; among
| |
− | these the commonest is the Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus],
| |
− | of which the handsome adult, so rare in Europe, is frequently
| |
− | seen in India. Two other species, the Pale Harrier (C. macrurus)
| |
− | and Montagu's Harrier (C. cineraccus\ are commonly noticed
| |
− | hawking over open, grassy plains ; and to the eastward the pied
| |
− | Harrier (C. nitlanoleucus) is found, especially in flat marshy
| |
− | tracts. Buzzards are represented by the Indian race of the
| |
− | Common Buzzard (Butco dcsertoruni) y widely distributed but
| |
− | rare; by the Long-legged Buzzard (B.ferox) in the Himalayas
| |
− | and North-western India, where it is common in winter ; and
| |
− | by two kinds, both rare, one of them a Rough-legged Buzzard,
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | in the Himalayas only. The Goshawk (Astur palumbariui) is
| |
− | also Himalayan and is largely tamed for hawking, while the
| |
− | Shikra (A. badius), a much smaller form, is common arid
| |
− | resident all over India and Burma. It too is tamed and trained
| |
− | to be flown at quails, partridges, and especially crows. The
| |
− | Crested Goshawk (Lophospizias trivirgatus) is a rare forest
| |
− | bird. The common Sparrow-hawk (Aca'fiter nisus) is a winter
| |
− | visitor, and the resident Besra Sparrow-hawk (A. virgatos) is
| |
− | rather locally distributed. The Honey Buzzard (Pernis crista-
| |
− | tus), easily recognized by the closely feathered sides of the
| |
− | head, is not uncommon.
| |
− |
| |
− | Passing over the rare genera, Baza and Machaeramphns,
| |
− | the next birds requiring notice are the true falcons. The
| |
− | Peregrine (Fako pcrcgrinus) is a winter visitor, while the more
| |
− | deeply coloured Shahin Falcon (F. peregrinator) is resident in
| |
− | the Indian forests ; the Barbary Falcon (F. barbarus) and the
| |
− | Saker or Cherrug (F. cherrug) inhabit North-western India ;
| |
− | and the Laggar (F.jugger) occurs throughout the Peninsula in
| |
− | open and cultivated country. All these birds are occasionally
| |
− | reclaimed for hawking, but the sport has greatly declined in
| |
− | India during the course of the last century. The Hobby and
| |
− | Merlin are winter visitors, almost confined to Northern India.
| |
− | The Indian Hobby (Falco severus) is found in the Himalayas
| |
− | and scattered over India and Burma, while the turumti or
| |
− | Red-headed Merlin (Aesalon chicqncra) is common and resident
| |
− | in many parts of the Indian Peninsula. Kestrels (Tinnun-
| |
− | culus alaudarius) are generally distributed ; the majority are
| |
− | winter visitors, but a few breed in India. The Smaller Kestrel
| |
− | (T. ctnchris) and the Eastern Red-legged Falcon (Erythropus
| |
− | amurensis) are rare migratory forms, only occasionally seen.
| |
− | The only other members of the Falcon tribe requiring notice
| |
− | are the Pigmy Falcons or Falconets (Aficrohierax), small birds
| |
− | scarcely larger than a lark, feeding on insects, inhabiting open
| |
− | tracts in forests, and differing from all other Accipitrine birds
| |
− | by laying their eggs in holes in trees, like owls and parrots.
| |
− | One species (M. eutolmus), with much rufous beneath, is found
| |
− | in the Himalayas and Burma ; a second (M. melanoleucus)^ pure
| |
− | white beneath, in Assam; and a third ( M, fringillarius^ in
| |
− | Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Columbae==
| |
− |
| |
− | Pigeons and Doves are common birds in all parts of India
| |
− | and Burma, and no less than six different groups, families, or
| |
− | sub-families are represented. The first of these, the Green
| |
− | Pigeons (Trcroninat)> are birds of yellowish-green plumage,
| |
− | often with patches of chestnut or lilac on the upper surface.
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | All have feet adapted for perching ; they live in flocks among
| |
− | the trees, and feed on fruit. The commonest forms are species
| |
− | belonging to the genus Crocopus, which are often met with
| |
− | near towns and villages, and which haunt the Banyan and
| |
− | Pipal when those trees are in fruit. The other species are
| |
− | forest birds, and are not found in the cleared and cultivated
| |
− | parts of the country.
| |
− |
| |
− | The second group is composed of the large Imperial Carpo-
| |
− | Pigeons, most of which are dark-green or coppery-brown on p a inac *
| |
− | the back and grey below. They keep to the forest tracts, such
| |
− | as the Himalayas, Burma, Orissa, and the Malabar coastlands,
| |
− | and feed on fruit. One black and white bird, the Pied Imperial
| |
− | Pigeon, inhabits the Malay Archipelago and extends its range
| |
− | to the Andamans and Nicobars. The same area is inhabited
| |
− | by the only member of the third group, the beautiful Nicobar
| |
− | Pigeon (Caloenas nicobaricd], which has long neck-hackles and
| |
− | a prevailing coloration of metallic green with bronze reflections,
| |
− | it breeds in enormous numbers on Batti Malv, an uninhabited
| |
− | island of the Nicobars. The fourth sub-family is also repre-
| |
− | sented in India by a single species, the Bronze-winged Dove
| |
− | (CJuilcofhaps indica], which haunts damp and thickly wooded
| |
− | tracts and, like the Nicobar Pigeon, feeds on the ground.
| |
− |
| |
− | The
| |
− | True Pigeons (Columlnnae) comprise the Indian Blue Rock
| |
− | Pigeon, a very near ally of the Blue Rock of Europe, and
| |
− | found, like that bird, breeding on rocks or buildings, and, very
| |
− | commonly in India, in the sides of wells, and also eastern
| |
− | races of the Stock Pigeon or Stock Dove and Wood Pigeon ;
| |
− | but while the first-named species is widely spread, the two
| |
− | latter are found only in North-western India. Several kinds,
| |
− | allied to the Wood Pigeon but belonging to distinct genera
| |
− | (Dendrotreron and Alsocornus\ are met with in the forests of
| |
− | the Himalayas, Burma, Southern India, and Ceylon ; but they
| |
− | are rare forms, whilst the Doves, of which eight species occur
| |
− | in India, furnish some of the commonest birds in the country.
| |
− | The only remaining group (Geopeliinae) is represented by
| |
− | a single Malay species, iound within our limits only in Southern
| |
− | Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Sand-grouse are intermediate in structure between Pterocletes.
| |
− | Pigeons and the true Game Birds. They are chiefly found
| |
− | in open country, being most abundant in the dry semi-desert
| |
− | tracts of Sind and the Punjab. They are as a rule about the
| |
− | size of a pigeon a few being larger and of a yellowish-brown
| |
− | colour ; they are swift of flight, they always rest and feed on
| |
− | the ground, and they fly to water at particular hours in the
| |
− | morning and evening. Seven species occur in India, but none
| |
− | are known in the countries east of the Bay of Bengal, and only
| |
− | two of the seven are met with elsewhere in India than in the
| |
− | Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, and the United Provinces, while
| |
− | one species, belonging to a different genus (Syrrliaptes
| |
− | tibetanus), is peculiar to Tibet.
| |
− |
| |
− | ==Gallinae==
| |
− | The Game Birds proper, Peafowl, Jungle-fowl, Pheasants,
| |
− | Partridges, Quails, &c., include fifty-eight species enumerated
| |
− | in the Fauna, a number raised to seventy-one in Mr. Oates's
| |
− | Game Birds of India. The difference depends partly upon the
| |
− | limits assigned to the area, and partly on the question whether
| |
− | certain pheasants should be regarded as species or varieties ;
| |
− | but some of Mr. Oates's additions are recent discoveries within
| |
− | Indian limits.
| |
− |
| |
− | Peafowl are met with throughout the greater part of India,
| |
− | Ceylon, and Burma ; but the Burmese and Malay species
| |
− | (Pavo muticus) is distinct from the Common Peacock of India
| |
− | and Ceylon (P. cristotus), having the neck green instead of
| |
− | blue, and a different crest. In some parts of India peafowl
| |
− | are considered sacred by Hindus, and they live in a semi-
| |
− | domesticated state around villages in Gujarat, Rajputana, and
| |
− | Sind.
| |
− |
| |
− | The great Argus Pheasant (Argusianus ar&us\ a Malay
| |
− | species, is known within Indian limits only in Southern
| |
− | Tenasserim. The Grey Peacock Pheasant (Polyplcctrum
| |
− | ehinquis) inhabits the forests of the Lower Himalayas east of
| |
− | Sikkim, and the hill ranges of Assam and Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Indian Jungle-fowls are three in number. The Red
| |
− | Jungle-fowl (Callus ftrrugineus), from which all domestic fowls
| |
− | are derived, inhabits a large part of South-eastern Asia,
| |
− | including Burma, Assam, the Lower Himalayas throughout, and
| |
− | the Peninsula as far south as the Godavari to the eastward, but
| |
− | not west of about 80 E. long. The remainder of the Indian
| |
− | Peninsula is inhabited by the Grey Jungle-fowl (G. sonnerati)^
| |
− | easily recognized by yellow and white spots of peculiar struc
| |
− | ture on the neck-hackles of the male ; while a third species
| |
− | (G.lafayetth) is peculiar to Ceylon. Each has its own peculiar
| |
− | call-note or crow. The Burmese race of Red Jungle-fowl
| |
− | differs from the Indian by having a red instead of a white
| |
− | ear-lappet, and it is said to be more easily tamed.
| |
− |
| |
− | Jungle- fowls are very nearly allied to Pheasants, of which
| |
− | however, using the name as generally understood, none inhabit
| |
− | India proper or Ceylon, while four Himalayan genera are
| |
− | unknown in any other part of the Empire. These are the
| |
− | Chlr Pheasant (Catreus wallichi), the Koklas or Pucras
| |
− | (Pucrasia macrolopha\ the Monals (Lophophorus refulgens and
| |
− | L. imptyanus), and the Blood Pheasant (Ithagenes cruentus).
| |
− | The Horned Pheasants or Tragopans, sometimes wrongly
| |
− | called Argus Pheasants, are represented by two species in the
| |
− | Himalayas, one (Tragopan melanocephalus) to the westward,
| |
− | and the Crimson Horned Pheasant (T. satyra\ in Nepal, Sikkim,
| |
− | and Bhutan, while a third species (T. blythi) is found in some
| |
− | of the higher hill ranges south of Assam. All of these genera
| |
− | are Central Asiatic and are represented in parts of China.
| |
− |
| |
− | The true pheasants of the genus Phasianus, occurring through-
| |
− | out temperate Asia, are represented by two species (P. humiae
| |
− | and P. elegans] in Northern Burma and Manipur; while the
| |
− | beautiful Amherst Pheasant (Callophasis amhcrstiae] has been
| |
− | met with on the frontier between Burma and Yunnan, and one
| |
− | species of the Malayan Fire-backed Pheasants (Lofhura rufa \
| |
− | ranges into Southern Tenasserim. The genus Gennaeus^ con-
| |
− | taining the Silver Pheasants of China and the Hinicllayan Kalij,
| |
− | comprises four species in the Lower Himalayas (one of them
| |
− | also inhabiting the ranges south of Assam), and several Burmese
| |
− | kinds, the precise number being rather uncertain, as they show
| |
− | a tendency to pass into each other. To the eastward these
| |
− | birds approach the Chinese Silver Pheasant in plumage and
| |
− | size ; to the westward they resemble more nearly the Hima-
| |
− | layan Kalij. They are known as Silver Pheasants in Burma.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Spur-fowls (Gallopcrdix) are about the size of a
| |
− | partridge. They keep to forests and are found only in India
| |
− | and Ceylon, being unknown east of the Bay of Bengal and
| |
− | west of the Indus river, though one species occurs at the base
| |
− | of the Himalayas in Oudh. Their name is derived from the
| |
− | presence of two or more spurs on each tarsus in the male, and
| |
− | sometimes in the female. Two kinds inhabit the Indian
| |
− | Peninsula, and one is peculiar to Ceylon. A bird known as
| |
− | the Western Bamboo Partridge {Bambusicola fytchii\ found
| |
− | in the hills of Northern Burma and Assam, and congeneric
| |
− | with species inhabiting Southern China and Formosa, may
| |
− | represent the Spur-fowls of India.
| |
− |
| |
− | A considerable number of small Indian gallinaceous birds
| |
− | not having any very definite relations to each other may for con-
| |
− | venience be classed collectively as Quails. The most important
| |
− | are the Common or Grey Quail (Coturnix com munis), a winter
| |
− | visitor to India and Burma, and the Black-breasted or Rain
| |
− | Quail (C. coromandclica), a resident species. To the eastward
| |
− | a few individuals of the Japanese race of the Grey Quail
| |
− | (C.jafonica) are said to have been obtained. Next in impor-
| |
− | tance are five species of Bush Quail : two of Perdicula^ peculiar
| |
− | to the Indian Peninsula, except that one of them occurs in
| |
− | Northern Ceylon; and three of Microperdix^ two of which
| |
− | inhabit the Indian Peninsula, while the third has recently
| |
− | been discovered in Manipur.
| |
− |
| |
− | Then there is the Blue-breasted
| |
− | Quail (Excalfactoria ehinensis\ resident in swampy country
| |
− | throughout the Empire ; and two species which only just come
| |
− | within our limits the Mountain Quail (Ophrysia suptrcilio$a\
| |
− | of which a very few specimens have been obtained at Mussoorie
| |
− | and Nainl Tal; and the Green Wood Quail (Rollulus roulrout),
| |
− | a Malay bird found in Southern Tenasserim.
| |
− |
| |
− | Another group may be classed as Partridges. This includes
| |
− | in the first place five species of Francotinus, beginning with the
| |
− | Black Partridge or Common Francolin of the Mediterranean
| |
− | countries (F. ru/garis), found throughout Northern India, but
| |
− | replaced in the Bombay and Madras Presidencies generally
| |
− | by the Painted Partridge (/". fief us) t and in Northern Burma
| |
− | by the Chinese Francolin (F. chinensis).
| |
− |
| |
− | Two other Indian
| |
− | partridges, by many arranged in a different genus (Ortygiornis\
| |
− | are the common Grey Partridge, found throughout India and
| |
− | Northern Ceylon, and also westward as far as the Persian
| |
− | Gulf, but not east of the Bay of Bengal ; and the Kyah or
| |
− | Swamp Partridge, which inhabits the high grass jungles of the
| |
− | Ganges and Brahmaputra plains. The remaining partridges
| |
− | are not found in the Indian Peninsula. They are the Chikor
| |
− | (Caccabis chucar] and the Sfsf (Ammoptrdix bonhami\
| |
− | Western Asiatic types, both found in the hills of the Punjab
| |
− | and Sind, and the Chukor also throughout the Western
| |
− | Himalayas; a species of true Partridge (Perdix hodgsoniac\
| |
− | allied to the European bird but inhabiting Tibet; and the
| |
− | Hill Partridges (Arboricola, Tropicoperdix, and Caloperdix\
| |
− | three of which, belonging to Arboricola, are Himalayan, and
| |
− | five more Assamese or Burmese. All are about the same size
| |
− | as the common partridge, and they are rather handsome birds,
| |
− | inhabiting forest.
| |
− |
| |
− | In the Higher Himalayas are found the Snow Partridge
| |
− | (Lerwa nivicold), a bird much resembling Red Grouse in size
| |
− | and appearance ; and two species of Snow Cocks (Tetraoga!lu$\
| |
− | fine birds about the size of a Capercaillie.
| |
− |
| |
− | Lastly, in the Nicobar Islands, a species occurs of the family
| |
− | Megapodiidae, the other members of which family inhabit the
| |
− | Philippines, Celebes, Papuasia, and Australia. Like their allies,
| |
− | the Nicobar Mcgapodes lay their eggs in mounds of decaying
| |
− | vegetable matter built by themselves and supplying the heat
| |
− | necessary for incubation.
| |
− |
| |
− | Although differing in several important anatomical characters, HcmipodiL
| |
− | the five species of Hemipodes (Turnix) found in the Indian
| |
− | Empire much resemble quails in size, appearance, and plumage,
| |
− | but are distinguished by having no hind toe. Females are
| |
− | larger than males, and while the latter sit on the eggs and
| |
− | guard the young brood, the females challenge and fight each
| |
− | other. These birds are generally found singly in grass.
| |
− |
| |
− | The next Order consists of Rails, Finfeet, Cranes, and Bustards. Grallae.
| |
− | The Rails (Rallidae) comprise nineteen species belonging to
| |
− | ten genera. Several are Water-rails, belonging to the genera
| |
− | Rallus, Hypotacnidia, and Porzana ; there are three kinds of
| |
− | banded Crakes (Rallina)^ and other Crakes, Water-hens, and
| |
− | Moor-hens, referred to Amaurornis and Gallinula.
| |
− |
| |
− | These are
| |
− | seldom seen, as they hide in grassy swamps ; the only birds
| |
− | at all commonly observed are the White-breasted Water-hen
| |
− | (Amaurornis photnicurus) and the common Moor-hen (Gallinula
| |
− | cfdorofus), both of which are widely distributed throughout India
| |
− | and Burma. The Kora or Water Cock (Gallicrex cinered)
| |
− | inhabits warm swampy plains, especially in Bengal and Assam,
| |
− | and is often kept tame by natives. The Purple Moor-hen
| |
− | (Porphyrio poliocephalus) is common among high reeds
| |
− | around large marshes, and climbs about the reeds like a
| |
− | gigantic Grass-warbler; and the Common Coot (Fulica atra\
| |
− | though very locally distributed, is found on many of the larger
| |
− | pieces of inland water.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Masked Finfoot (Hcliopais personatd)^ the toes of which
| |
− | are lobed like a Coot's, is the only Asiatic representative of
| |
− | the family Heliornithidae, the few other existing members of
| |
− | which are African or American. It is found on the coast, or on
| |
− | rivers, from Assam through Burma to Malacca and Sumatra.
| |
− |
| |
− | Six kinds of Cranes (Gruidae) are met with in India or
| |
− | Burma. Of these the Demoiselle (Anthropoidts virgo), the
| |
− | Common Crane (Grus communis)^ and the Great White Crane
| |
− | (G. leucogeranus) are winter visitors to Northern India, the
| |
− | Demoiselle and Common Crane being found as far south as
| |
− | the Deccan, often in large numbers. The Saras Crane (G.
| |
− | antigonc} and its Burmese representative (G. sharpii) are
| |
− | resident species, large and beautiful birds, generally protected
| |
− | and seldom or never molested by the inhabitants of the country.
| |
− | They are consequently very tame. Another Crane (G.
| |
− | monachus], a species of North-eastern Asia, has recently been
| |
− | obtained in Assam.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Bustards are six in number. None of them occur in
| |
− | Burma or in Ceylon. The Great Bustard and Little Bustard
| |
− | of Europe have been occasionally obtained in the extreme
| |
− | North-west of the Punjab only. The Great Indian Bustard
| |
− | (Eupodotis edwardsi), males of which often weigh 25 to
| |
− | 30 lb., is resident ; it haunts open plains in North-western
| |
− | India and the Deccan as far south as Mysore. The Houbara
| |
− | (Houbara macquefni}^ a much smaller bird, is a winter visitor
| |
− | to the Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, and Northern Gujarat. The
| |
− | two Floricans (Sypheotis) are peculiar to India and breed in
| |
− | the country ; the smaller of them (S. auritci) being found
| |
− | throughout the Peninsula, while the larger species (S. bengakn-
| |
− | sis) is met with only in the plain of the Ganges and Brahma-
| |
− | putra. In both the male becomes black in the breeding
| |
− | season.
| |
− |
| |
− | LLmicolae. The next Order contains, besides the Plovers and Snipes,
| |
− | several families of wading-birds of small or moderate size.
| |
− |
| |
− | The first of these families contains the Stone Curlews or
| |
− | Stone Plovers (Oedicnemidae)^ represented by the Common
| |
− | Stone Curlew, often called the Bastard Florican in India
| |
− | (Oedicntmus scoiopiix), an inhabitant of stony plains, and also
| |
− | two species of Esacus, the Great Stone Plo\er (7T. rccurvi-
| |
− | rostris)) found on the banks of rivers, and the Australian Stone
| |
− | Plover (E. magnirostris), which lives on the shores of the
| |
− | Andaman Islands.
| |
− |
| |
− | The next family (I)romadidae) contains
| |
− | a single species, the Crab Plover (Dramas ardeola)^ a white
| |
− | bird the size of a pigeon, found locally on the shores of the
| |
− | Indian Ocean. The third family (Glareolidae) comprises the
| |
− | Coursers and Pratincoles. The Coursers or Courier Plovers
| |
− | include two species of Cursorius (C. coromandtlicHS), peculiar
| |
− | to India, and a European bird (C. gal/icus), found in the
| |
− | Punjab, Sind, and Rajputana. These birds inhabit open
| |
− | plains ; but the third Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus}> a
| |
− | member of a genus that is with this exception purely African,
| |
− | is found in thin forests from the Godavari valley to the
| |
− | neighbourhood of Madras. Of Pratincoles or Swallow Plovers
| |
− | (Gtareota), three species are Indian, two being widely dis-
| |
− | tributed and breeding, whilst the third is the European
| |
− | Collared Pratincole, which has been found in Sind.
| |
− |
| |
− | A fourth
| |
− | family (Parridae) consists of the Ja^anas, marsh birds with
| |
− | enormously long toes and claws, by means of which they can
| |
− | run over floating leaves of water-lilies and other plants. Two
| |
− | species are Indian, the Bronze-winged Ja^ani (Metopidius
| |
− | indicus) and the Pheasant-tailed Jar;ana (ffydrophasianus chirurgu3\ both found throughout India and Burma in suitable
| |
− | localities.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Plover family (Charadriidae) includes, besides Plovers
| |
− | and Snipes, a considerable number of waders, many of which
| |
− | are migratory, and it may be divided into four sub-families.
| |
− | The first of these (Charadriinae) contains, besides the Plovers
| |
− | proper, the Turnstone, a rare winter visitor to the sea-coast.
| |
− | Then come several birds more or less allied to the Lapwing
| |
− | (Vanel/us vulgaris)^ itself a winter visitor to North-western
| |
− | India. These are the Red-wattled (Sarcogrammus) and
| |
− | Yellow-wattled lapwing (Sarciophoms), common Indian types,
| |
− | known by their peculiar cries, that of the former being
| |
− | anglicized as ' Uid-you-do-it ' (' Pity -to-do-it ' is nearer the
| |
− | bird's cry). A species of Sarcogrammus occurs in Burma,
| |
− | but no Sarciophorus ranges east of the Bay of Bengal.
| |
− |
| |
− | Another
| |
− | allied form is the Indian Spur-winged Plover (Hoplopterus
| |
− | ventra/is), found on the banks of rivers, usually singly, in
| |
− | Central and North-eastern India and Burma. Here also
| |
− | belong some migratory birds included in the genera Micro-
| |
− | sarcops and C/iettusia y which visit parts of Northern India in
| |
− | winter. The typical migratory plovers are the Eastern Golden
| |
− | Plover (Charadriusfulvus), found in open country throughout
| |
− | the Empire in winter; the European Golden Plover (C.
| |
− | pluvialis), occasionally obtained in North-western India ; the
| |
− | Grey Plover (Squatarola hc!vctica\ not common but widely
| |
− | distributed ; and several species of Afgialitis or Sand and
| |
− | Ring Plovers, one of which, the Little Ringed Plover (Ac.
| |
− | duAia\ common throughout the Empire, breeds in large
| |
− | numbers in India, although even in this case the majority of
| |
− | the birds seen in winter are migratory. The Kentish Plover
| |
− | (Ac. alexandrina) also breeds at times in the Indian Peninsula.
| |
− |
| |
− | The next sub-family (Ilaematopodinae} contains the Sea-Pie
| |
− | or Oyster-catcher (//aematofits ostra/egus\ a winter visitor to
| |
− | the Indian coast; the Black-winged Stilt (Ilhnantofus cattdidus\
| |
− | a common, and the Avocet (Rccurvirvstris aroccfta\ a rare
| |
− | winter visitor, the former alone extending its range to Burma ;
| |
− | and the Ibis-bill (Ibidorhynchus $truthcrsi\ formerly known as
| |
− | the Red-billed Curlew, a Central Asiatic bird, found resident
| |
− | on the Higher Himalayas and the Naga Hills in Assam.
| |
− |
| |
− | The Totaninac contain the Curlews, Godwits, Sandpipers,
| |
− | and Stints. Both the Curlew (Numcnius arquata} and the
| |
− | Whimbrel (N. fhaeofus) are winter visitors, and so is the
| |
− | Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa dclgica\ while the Bar-tailed
| |
− | Godwit (L* /tifltomca) has hitherto been obtained within Indian
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
| limits only in Sind. Sandpipers and Stints are found every- | | limits only in Sind. Sandpipers and Stints are found every- |
| where, the commonest forms in India being the Wood Sandpiper | | where, the commonest forms in India being the Wood Sandpiper |
Line 7,796: |
Line 2,531: |
| throughout India, Burma, and Southern Asia, and also in Africa | | throughout India, Burma, and Southern Asia, and also in Africa |
| and Madagascar. | | and Madagascar. |
− | | + | ==Gaviae== |
− | ==Gavbe== | + | |
− | | + | |
| Gulls and Terns form an Order by themselves, nearly allied | | Gulls and Terns form an Order by themselves, nearly allied |
| to the Plovers, as might be inferred from the similarity between | | to the Plovers, as might be inferred from the similarity between |
Line 7,896: |
Line 2,629: |
| with the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus}, which is white | | with the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus}, which is white |
| in winter, but becomes buff-coloured in the summer. All of | | in winter, but becomes buff-coloured in the summer. All of |
− | these are common and widely distributed. | + | these are common and widely distributed. The Reef Herons |
− | | + | |
− | The Reef Herons | + | |
| (Leptcrodius) keep to the coasts, and present the remarkable | | (Leptcrodius) keep to the coasts, and present the remarkable |
| peculiarity of some individuals being pure white, others slaty | | peculiarity of some individuals being pure white, others slaty |
Line 7,911: |
Line 2,642: |
| Malay Bittern (Gorsachius), several species of Little Bitterns | | Malay Bittern (Gorsachius), several species of Little Bitterns |
| (Ardttta\ the Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis), and the | | (Ardttta\ the Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis), and the |
− |
| |
− |
| |
| European Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), the latter alone being | | European Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), the latter alone being |
| migratory. None of the Bitterns are common ; all hide in long | | migratory. None of the Bitterns are common ; all hide in long |
Line 7,971: |
Line 2,700: |
| parts of Bengal and in Northern Burma, and it breeds in the | | parts of Bengal and in Northern Burma, and it breeds in the |
| interior of the Himalayas. The Red-breasted Merganser is a | | interior of the Himalayas. The Red-breasted Merganser is a |
− | rare visitor in winter to the coasts of Sind and Bombay, | + | rare visitor in winter to the coasts of Sind and Bombay, |
− |
| + | |
− | f- The Indian Little Grebe (Podicepes captnsis> v. albipcnnis) is a
| + | Fygo- The Indian Little Grebe (Podicepes captnsis> v. albipcnnis) is a |
| | | |
| podcs. permanent resident generally distributed in India and Burma. | | podcs. permanent resident generally distributed in India and Burma. |
Line 7,981: |
Line 2,710: |
| | | |
| | | |
− | | + | ==Reptiles == |
− | Reptiles | + | |
| | | |
| The Reptiles of India are far more numerous than the | | The Reptiles of India are far more numerous than the |
Line 7,995: |
Line 2,723: |
| Snakes. | | Snakes. |
| | | |
− | ==Crocodiles. Three kinds of Crocodile inhabit India, two with broad | + | ==Crocodiles== |
| + | |
| + | Three kinds of Crocodile inhabit India, two with broad |
| snouts belonging to the genus Crocodilus, and one with an | | snouts belonging to the genus Crocodilus, and one with an |
| elongate snout belonging to the genus Gaviaiis or Ghariyll. | | elongate snout belonging to the genus Gaviaiis or Ghariyll. |
Line 8,010: |
Line 2,740: |
| belong to another species (C. porosus\ which attains much | | belong to another species (C. porosus\ which attains much |
| greater dimensions and has even been known to measure more | | greater dimensions and has even been known to measure more |
− | than thirty feet long. This large crocodile is found in suitable | + | than thirty feet long. |
| + | |
| + | This large crocodile is found in suitable |
| localities all round the Bay of Bengal, and also west of Cape | | localities all round the Bay of Bengal, and also west of Cape |
| Comorin in Travancore and Cannanore, but it has not been | | Comorin in Travancore and Cannanore, but it has not been |
− | positively identified farther to the north-west. | + | positively identified farther to the north-west. It is still un- |
− | | + | |
− | It is still un- | + | |
| certain which species inhabits the delta of the Indus, but | | certain which species inhabits the delta of the Indus, but |
| C.palustris is found at Magar Plr, west of Karachi, and in | | C.palustris is found at Magar Plr, west of Karachi, and in |
Line 8,068: |
Line 2,798: |
| yields the tortoise-shell of commerce. | | yields the tortoise-shell of commerce. |
| | | |
− | Squamata. | + | ==Squamata== |
− | | + | |
| Lizards and snakes are remarkably numerous, the former | | Lizards and snakes are remarkably numerous, the former |
| being represented in India, Ceylon, and Burma by 55 genera | | being represented in India, Ceylon, and Burma by 55 genera |
Line 8,130: |
Line 2,859: |
| this typically African group is found to the east of the Bay | | this typically African group is found to the east of the Bay |
| of Bengal, nor even, so far as is known, in the Himalayas. | | of Bengal, nor even, so far as is known, in the Himalayas. |
− | | + | ==Snakes== |
| Snakes constitute more than half of the Indian Reptiles. Snakes. | | Snakes constitute more than half of the Indian Reptiles. Snakes. |
| In many, perhaps in most, parts of India it would nevertheless | | In many, perhaps in most, parts of India it would nevertheless |
Line 8,150: |
Line 2,879: |
| met with in large numbers in decayed wood. Passing over | | met with in large numbers in decayed wood. Passing over |
| one or two other small groups, the next that deserves notice | | one or two other small groups, the next that deserves notice |
− | contains the largest living snakes. This is the Boidae, to | + | contains the largest living snakes. |
| + | |
| + | This is the Boidae, to |
| which Pythons and Boas belong. One species of Python | | which Pythons and Boas belong. One species of Python |
| (P. molurus] is found in parts of India, another (P. reticulatus} | | (P. molurus] is found in parts of India, another (P. reticulatus} |
Line 8,158: |
Line 2,889: |
| have been recorded. Allied to the Boas are the genera | | have been recorded. Allied to the Boas are the genera |
| Gongyhphis and Eryx % none of which much exceed 3 feet in | | Gongyhphis and Eryx % none of which much exceed 3 feet in |
− |
| |
| length. They have very blunt tails, and one species (Eryx | | length. They have very blunt tails, and one species (Eryx |
| johnii) is commonly carried about by snake-charmers and | | johnii) is commonly carried about by snake-charmers and |
Line 8,241: |
Line 2,971: |
| in Bengal and Burma a single large ocellus, often imperfect, | | in Bengal and Burma a single large ocellus, often imperfect, |
| is the prevalent marking. Many individuals have the hood | | is the prevalent marking. Many individuals have the hood |
− | unmarked. A black variety of the cobra is common in parts | + | unmarked. |
| + | |
| + | A black variety of the cobra is common in parts |
| of the Himalayas and in the Malay Peninsula, but the colour | | of the Himalayas and in the Malay Peninsula, but the colour |
| is generally greyish-brown above, paler below. The Great | | is generally greyish-brown above, paler below. The Great |
Line 8,248: |
Line 2,980: |
| It is often found twelve feet in length, sometimes even thirteen. | | It is often found twelve feet in length, sometimes even thirteen. |
| The colour is olive-brown with darker or paler cross-bands ; | | The colour is olive-brown with darker or paler cross-bands ; |
− | the young are black with yellow rings. This cobra feeds | + | the young are black with yellow rings. |
| + | |
| + | This cobra feeds |
| principally upon other snakes, and has the reputation of being | | principally upon other snakes, and has the reputation of being |
| excessively fierce and aggressive. The karait grows to about | | excessively fierce and aggressive. The karait grows to about |
Line 8,294: |
Line 3,028: |
| man by their bite. | | man by their bite. |
| | | |
− | ==Batrachians== | + | ==Batrachians == |
| | | |
| The Batrachians are divided into three Orders : (i) Ecaudata, | | The Batrachians are divided into three Orders : (i) Ecaudata, |
Line 8,300: |
Line 3,034: |
| and (3) Apoda, or Caecilians. All are found in India, but the | | and (3) Apoda, or Caecilians. All are found in India, but the |
| first alone is represented by numerous species. | | first alone is represented by numerous species. |
| + | |
| | | |
| Not only are the frogs and toads of India numerous the Ecaudata. | | Not only are the frogs and toads of India numerous the Ecaudata. |
Line 8,323: |
Line 3,058: |
| but the jumper is really a much smaller species (R. cyano- | | but the jumper is really a much smaller species (R. cyano- |
| phlyctis\ the body of which is from 2 to 2\ inches long and | | phlyctis\ the body of which is from 2 to 2\ inches long and |
− | the toes fully webbed. Another common small species, with | + | the toes fully webbed. |
| + | |
| + | Another common small species, with |
| half-webbed toes, and less aquatic than R. cyanophlyctis, is | | half-webbed toes, and less aquatic than R. cyanophlyctis, is |
| R. limnocharis. R. tigrina is a fairly common frog, measuring | | R. limnocharis. R. tigrina is a fairly common frog, measuring |
Line 8,333: |
Line 3,070: |
| the tips of the fingers and toes expanded, an arrangement | | the tips of the fingers and toes expanded, an arrangement |
| which, by increasing the power of the animal to cling to | | which, by increasing the power of the animal to cling to |
− | inclined or vertical surfaces, enables it to climb trees or rocks. | + | inclined or vertical surfaces, enables it to climb trees or rocks. |
| + | |
| + | |
| This expansion of the finger and toe-tips is also found in several | | This expansion of the finger and toe-tips is also found in several |
| Indian kinds of typical Rana, which is distinguished from | | Indian kinds of typical Rana, which is distinguished from |
Line 8,344: |
Line 3,083: |
| the Nilgiris, have become well known by their * peculiar loud | | the Nilgiris, have become well known by their * peculiar loud |
| clear metallic tinkling call,' as Jerdon described it. The genus | | clear metallic tinkling call,' as Jerdon described it. The genus |
− | Ixalus is remarkable for its geographical distribution. No less | + | Ixalus is remarkable for its geographical distribution. |
− | than fourteen species out of about twenty-five recorded are
| + | |
− |
| + | |
− | | + | |
| | | |
| + | No less |
| + | than fourteen species out of about twenty-five recorded are |
| peculiar to Southern India and Ceylon, none are known to | | peculiar to Southern India and Ceylon, none are known to |
| occur in the Indian Peninsula north of North Kanara (about | | occur in the Indian Peninsula north of North Kanara (about |
Line 8,369: |
Line 3,107: |
| They are but rarely seen, being nocturnal, and they are | | They are but rarely seen, being nocturnal, and they are |
| imperfectly known. They are said to live on ants and termites. | | imperfectly known. They are said to live on ants and termites. |
− | | + | ==Caudata== |
− | Caudata. Of the tailed Batrachia, to which belong salamanders and | + | Caudata Of the tailed Batrachia, to which belong salamanders and |
| newts, only a solitary representative is found within Indian | | newts, only a solitary representative is found within Indian |
| limits. This is Tylototriton verrucosus, originally discovered | | limits. This is Tylototriton verrucosus, originally discovered |
Line 8,392: |
Line 3,130: |
| hills is noteworthy. | | hills is noteworthy. |
| | | |
− | Fishes | + | ==Fishes== |
| | | |
| In Day's two volumes, published in 1889, in the Fauna of | | In Day's two volumes, published in 1889, in the Fauna of |
Line 8,398: |
Line 3,136: |
| enumerated. To those, 86 genera and 200 species were added | | enumerated. To those, 86 genera and 200 species were added |
| by Alcock from the collections made by the Marine Survey | | by Alcock from the collections made by the Marine Survey |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 275
| |
− |
| |
| steamer Investigator up to 1896, the additions consisting | | steamer Investigator up to 1896, the additions consisting |
| chiefly of deep-sea forms. A few more species have been | | chiefly of deep-sea forms. A few more species have been |
Line 8,438: |
Line 3,171: |
| to use their * saws ' as offensive weapons, and are regarded | | to use their * saws ' as offensive weapons, and are regarded |
| as equally dangerous with the true sharks ; as some of them | | as equally dangerous with the true sharks ; as some of them |
− | attain a length of 16 feet or more, they are formidable animals. | + | attain a length of 16 feet or more, they are formidable animals. |
| + | |
| They are classed with the rays and skates. Of this group the | | They are classed with the rays and skates. Of this group the |
| commonest members in the Indian seas are the Sting-rays | | commonest members in the Indian seas are the Sting-rays |
Line 8,450: |
Line 3,184: |
| is obtained from their livers. | | is obtained from their livers. |
| | | |
− | T 2
| + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
− | THE INDIAN EMPIRE
| + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
− | [CHAP.
| + | |
− | | + | |
| | | |
| | | |
| Telcostii. | | Telcostii. |
| | | |
− | | + | Physostomi. |
− | | + | |
− | Physo-
| + | |
− | stomi.
| + | |
− | | + | |
− | | + | |
| | | |
| The great majority of living fishes, both fluviatile and marine, | | The great majority of living fishes, both fluviatile and marine, |
Line 8,519: |
Line 3,239: |
| 9 genera and 46 species belong to the Cobitidinae or Loaches. | | 9 genera and 46 species belong to the Cobitidinae or Loaches. |
| It is very doubtful, howevfer, whether some of the forms which | | It is very doubtful, howevfer, whether some of the forms which |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 277
| |
− |
| |
| have received names among both the carps and the cat-fishes | | have received names among both the carps and the cat-fishes |
| are entitled to specific distinction. The Cyprinoids are | | are entitled to specific distinction. The Cyprinoids are |
Line 8,530: |
Line 3,245: |
| exist in the throat. All carps are edible, and many are well | | exist in the throat. All carps are edible, and many are well |
| flavoured, although a considerable proportion are bony. | | flavoured, although a considerable proportion are bony. |
| + | |
| + | |
| Among the best-known Indian carps are the rohu or rohi | | Among the best-known Indian carps are the rohu or rohi |
| (Labeo rohi fa) and the catla (Catla buchanani\ both common in | | (Labeo rohi fa) and the catla (Catla buchanani\ both common in |
Line 8,535: |
Line 3,252: |
| size in tanks, the catla having been known to attain a length | | size in tanks, the catla having been known to attain a length |
| of 6 feet. Other species of Labeo abound in all streams, and | | of 6 feet. Other species of Labeo abound in all streams, and |
− | some of them may be known by their dark colour. The next | + | some of them may be known by their dark colour. |
| + | |
| + | The next |
| carp to be mentioned is Barbus tor, the famous mahseer | | carp to be mentioned is Barbus tor, the famous mahseer |
| (?ma/hi~sir, or big head), found in all rapid streams, and grow- | | (?ma/hi~sir, or big head), found in all rapid streams, and grow- |
Line 8,571: |
Line 3,290: |
| The remaining families of Physostomi are less important. | | The remaining families of Physostomi are less important. |
| The Notopteridae, very compressed fish, with the anal and | | The Notopteridae, very compressed fish, with the anal and |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 278 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
| |
− |
| |
| caudal fins confluent, and rudimentary ventrals, contain two | | caudal fins confluent, and rudimentary ventrals, contain two |
| fresh-water species only. To the Scopelidae belongs Harpodon | | fresh-water species only. To the Scopelidae belongs Harpodon |
Line 8,581: |
Line 3,295: |
| duck/ which abounds in parts of the Indian coast, but, as | | duck/ which abounds in parts of the Indian coast, but, as |
| Giinther points out, has the appearance of a deep-sea form, like | | Giinther points out, has the appearance of a deep-sea form, like |
− | many other members of the family Scopelidae. A second | + | many other members of the family Scopelidae. |
| + | |
| + | A second |
| species (H. squamosus} has been described from a depth of | | species (H. squamosus} has been described from a depth of |
| about 250 fathoms in the Bay of Bengal by Wood-Mason and | | about 250 fathoms in the Bay of Bengal by Wood-Mason and |
Line 8,594: |
Line 3,310: |
| the open sea. | | the open sea. |
| | | |
− | Acantho- In the next Order, which comprises the large majority of
| + | ==Acanthopterygi == |
| + | In the next Order, which comprises the large majority of |
| marine fishes, part of the rays in the dorsal, anal, and ventral | | marine fishes, part of the rays in the dorsal, anal, and ventral |
| fins are spiny and not articulated. The families are numerous, | | fins are spiny and not articulated. The families are numerous, |
Line 8,623: |
Line 3,340: |
| eating. It may, however, be noted that Anglo-Indians are | | eating. It may, however, be noted that Anglo-Indians are |
| generally very imperfectly acquainted with Indian fishes and | | generally very imperfectly acquainted with Indian fishes and |
| + | especially with marine species. |
| | | |
− | | + | The Sparidae, or Sea Breams, |
− | | + | |
− | vj ZOOLOGY 279
| + | |
− | | + | |
− | especially with marine species. The Sparidae, or Sea Breams,
| + | |
| and Cirrhitidae comprise several edible fishes, especially the | | and Cirrhitidae comprise several edible fishes, especially the |
| members of the genus Chrysophrys, one of which (C. berda) is | | members of the genus Chrysophrys, one of which (C. berda) is |
Line 8,676: |
Line 3,390: |
| | | |
| | | |
− |
| |
− | 2 8o THE INDIAN EAfPIRE [CHAP.
| |
| | | |
| The family Stromateidae contains the Pomfrets, which | | The family Stromateidae contains the Pomfrets, which |
Line 8,738: |
Line 3,450: |
| Murrel in Northern India, are found throughout India and | | Murrel in Northern India, are found throughout India and |
| Burma, inhabiting rivers, ponds, and marshes. All have peculiar | | Burma, inhabiting rivers, ponds, and marshes. All have peculiar |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | v] ZOOLOGY 281
| |
− |
| |
| flattish, snake-like heads. They take live bait, especially | | flattish, snake-like heads. They take live bait, especially |
| a frog, freely, and are good to eat. They have a bronchial | | a frog, freely, and are good to eat. They have a bronchial |
Line 8,753: |
Line 3,460: |
| when the pond or marsh which had dried up is again flooded | | when the pond or marsh which had dried up is again flooded |
| in the monsoon. | | in the monsoon. |
| + | |
| | | |
| The Climbing Perch (Anabas scandens] and its allies {Poly- | | The Climbing Perch (Anabas scandens] and its allies {Poly- |
Line 8,791: |
Line 3,499: |
| twenty species obtained from depths between 100 and 1,400 | | twenty species obtained from depths between 100 and 1,400 |
| iathoms. Sixteen species have also been obtained from deep | | iathoms. Sixteen species have also been obtained from deep |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− |
| |
− | 282 7Y/ INDIAN EMPIRE
| |
− |
| |
| water of another family (Ophidiidae), of which previously only | | water of another family (Ophidiidae), of which previously only |
| five were known from the seas of India. | | five were known from the seas of India. |
Line 8,806: |
Line 3,509: |
| the North Atlantic. | | the North Atlantic. |
| | | |
− | Lopho- The Pipe-fishes and Sea-horses are so unlike ordinary fishes
| + | ==Lophobranchii== |
| + | The Pipe-fishes and Sea-horses are so unlike ordinary fishes |
| brancbiL that it is not easy at first to recognize their affinities. They | | brancbiL that it is not easy at first to recognize their affinities. They |
| are encased in a dermal skeleton, and their gills are not | | are encased in a dermal skeleton, and their gills are not |
Line 8,815: |
Line 3,519: |
| seas. | | seas. |
| | | |
− | Plecto- The ' File-fishes/ * Globe-fishes/ and their allies are also
| + | ==Plectognathi== |
| | | |
| + | The ' File-fishes/ * Globe-fishes/ and their allies are also |
| we n represented in the seas of India, and one or two species of | | we n represented in the seas of India, and one or two species of |
| Tetrodon are found in rivers. Most of the genera are more or | | Tetrodon are found in rivers. Most of the genera are more or |
Line 8,831: |
Line 3,536: |
| head or brain, and placed by many naturalists in a distinct | | head or brain, and placed by many naturalists in a distinct |
| class, is not uncommon in the seas around India. It is in fact | | class, is not uncommon in the seas around India. It is in fact |
− | almost cosmopolitan. | + | almost cosmopolitan. |
| + | |
| + | ''' W. T. BLANFORD''' |
HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HIS MAJESTY'S
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA IN COUNCIL
Secondly, kindly ignore all references to page numbers, because they refer to the physical, printed book.
During scanning spelling mistakes are bound to occur and words get shifted. Readers might also like to correct these.
Animal life is not only abundant in British India, but it is Richness
remarkably varied. The contrast between the damp, tropical, of * auna -
richly wooded hill ranges of Malabar or Tenasserim and the
cold barren islands of Ladakh in the Upper Indus drainage area
is absolute, and the difference in the animals found is as great
as in the climate. The beasts, birds, reptiles, and insects that
inhabit the dense forests east of the Bay of Bengal and the
man<.rrve swamps of the Burmese coast, where the annual
rainfall exceeds 100 inches, could not exist in the almost rain-
less deserts of Sind and the Punjab. Although the Fauna of
the dry regions is poor, that of the damp forests of Malabar,
the Eastern Himala>as, Assam, and Burma is singularly rich;
and the combined effect of local richness and of great differ-
ences of climate is that the number of kinds of animals in-
habiting India and its dependencies is very large, far surpass-
ing, for instance, that of the species found in the whole of
Europe, although the superficial area of Europe exceeds that
of the Indian Empire by about one-half.
The following figures show the number of geneia and species
of Vertebrates described in the eight volumes of the Fauna of
Jtritish India (1888-98). The lists include animals found in
Ceylon as well as those of India and Burma :
Genera. Species.
Mammals . . . 115 401
Reptiles . . . 146 534
Hatrachians . 24 130
Fishes . . . 351 1,418
A few additions have since been made, but the increase is
small except in the fishes. The number of Indian Invertebrata
is very large, but few groups are sufficiently known for a trust-
worthy estimate to be made. Of moths alone 5,618 species
were described by Sir G. Hampson as having been discovered
up to 1896, and some hundreds have since been added.
Nearly the whole Indian area is included within the zoolo- -
gical region known as Indo-Malay, Oriental, or Indian, which
comprises South-eastern Asia and the neighbouring islands.
The Punjab, Sind, and Western RiijputSna, however, have a
Fauna differing considerably from that of other parts of India,
and resembling that found in South-wes|em Asia and Northern
Africa, whilst the animals of the Higher Himalayas and the
Upper Indus Valley resemble those of Central Asia ; and both
of these areas belong to the zoological region extending over
the greater part of Asia and all Europe, and known as Hoi-
arctic or Palaearctic. After distinguishing these two areas as
the Punjab and Tibetan provinces or sub-regions, the remain-
der of the country may be divided into three well-defined
zoological areas, each characterized by marked features. These
are:
(1) The Indian Peninsula, from the base of the Himalayas
and as far east as the head of the Bay of Bengal, together
with Ceylon ;
(2) The forest-clad Himalayas, Assam, and Burma, as far
south as the neighbourhood of Mergui ; and
(3^ Southern Tenasserim, which is part of the Malay Pen-
insula, and belongs, with the greater part of the Malay
Archipelago, to the Malayan sub-region.
The first is known as the Indian or Cis-Gangetic sub-region ;
the second, which includes Southern China, Siam, and Cochin
China, as the Himalo-Burmese or Trans-Gangetic. It will
easily be understood that animal life is by no means uniform
even within these subdivisions : thus, the forests of the Kon-
kan, Malabar, and South-western Ceylon harbour a far richer
Fauna than that found in the Bombay Deccan, the Carnatic, or
Northern Ceylon; and while the animals of the Eastern Hima-
layas closely resemble those of Burma, the Burmese types die
out gradually in the Himalayas to the westward and are re-
placed by kinds inhabiting the temperate parts of Asia.
It is proposed in the present sketch to pass briefly in review
the principal Vertebrate animals of India, beginning with the
higher forms. The Mammals will therefore be first noticed,
and among them the monkeys, as being the most highly or-
ganized. To deal with the Invertebrata in a similar manner
would require more space than can be spared.
The monkeys of India are numerous, and some of them are
among the commonest wild animals of the country. The
Apes (Simiidae), distinguished by the absence of tails, are no
longer found in India itself or the Himalayas, though they may
at one time have been reckoned among the inhabitants, for
remains of animals closely related to the Chimpanzee of Africa
and the Orang-utan f the Malay Archipelago occur in the
Pliocene Siwalik beds at the base of the Western Himalayas.
But two species of Gibbon (Hylobates\ which, although much
smaller, resemble man in some details of structure as much as
do the Gorilla and Chimpanzee, are found in Assam and
Burma. One of these is the White-browed Gibbon or Hoolock,
the latter name being derived from the animal's call; the
other is the White-handed Gibbon. Both inhabit forests in
large parties, and are conspicuous by their agility and by the
speed with which they travel, holding on by their long arms
and throwing themselves from branch to branch, and from tree
to tree. They feed chiefly on fruit, but partly on insects, the
eggs of birds, and such small birds as they can capture.
Wherever they are found they make their presence known
by their loud and not unmusical calls, frequently uttered in
chorus.
The common monkeys (Macacus\ called bandar -in Northern
India, are found almost throughout the Empire. Eight or nine
species are known within Indian limits, comprising the long-
tailed Macaque or Crab-eating Monkey (Af. cynomolgus) of
Burma and the Malay countries; the similarly long-tailed
Bonnet Monkey (Af. sinicus) of Southern India, and the Toque
Monkey (Af. pileatus] of Ceylon; the shorter-tailed Bengal or
Rhesus Monkey (Af. rhesus) of Northern India, with its ally
the Himalayan Monkey (Af. assamensis\ which is found through-
out the Himalayas ; the Lion-tailed or Silenus Monkey
(Af. silenus\ often wrongly called 'Wanderoo' by European
naturalists, from the hills near the Malabar coast ; the Pig-
tailed Monkeys (AL nemestrinus and Al. leoninus) from Burma
and Malayana ; and a monkey with a very short, almost
rudimentary tail, known as the Brown Stump-tailed Monkey
(Af. arctoidcs\ also Burmese. All of these live in flocks of
considerable size, and inhabit trees, but often descend to the
ground. They are active animals, though much less so than
the next group. None are large; they rarely exceed in size
a fox terrier, and generally are about as big as a domestic cat,
but old males greatly exceed ordinary members of the flock in
dimensions.
They live chiefly on fruit, grain, seeds, &c., but
all eat insects as well ; one kind subsists largely on crabs and
other Crustacea, and individuals have been seen devouring
lizards and frogs. All are occasionally tamed and many are
very gentle and affectionate, but they are rarely docile and
often ill-tempered. Among those most commonly tamed are
the three long-tailed species, and the Rhesus, all of which are
carried about by jugglers and mountebrnks throughout India,
and taught to go through various performances. Those whc
have only seen monkeys in cages are apt to form a low idea ol
the intelligence, love of fun, and power of imitation which these
animals possess.
The last genus of Indian monkeys consists of the Langurs or Hanumans, renowned in Indian legend for having aided Rama in his expedition to Ceylon in puisuit of Rfivana, the ravisher of Sita. They are larger monkeys, with longer limbs and tails, than the Macaques ; and flocks of the common Hanuman of Northern India (Semnopithccus entcllus\ being generally protected and even regarded as sacred animals by many Hindus, are commonly found in groves near villages, or
even in the village trees, and it is not unusual to see them perched on the roofs of houses. They are purely vegetable feeders, their food consisting of the young shoots and leaves of trees, with fruit and gram. They are very active, whether
on the ground or on trees, and run, or rather bound, on all fours with great rapidity for a short distance. Their calls are loud and peculiar, the principal being a joyous, rather musical whoop, uttered when bounding or playing about ; another is a harsh guttural note, denoting alarm or anger a familiar signal
to many sportsmen, for it is the sound uttered by the Hanuman who has seen a tiger. In confinement Langurs are sedate and indolent, and sometimes morose and savage, and they are but
rarely long lived. Two grey species (S. tnttllus and S. f>namus) inhabit the Indian Peninsula, one in the north and the other in the south and in CeUon, in the more open parts of the country, while at least four other species of darker hue are found in the hills and forests of Southern India and Ceylon.
One of these (S. joh ////), which is quite black, occurs on the plateau of the Nilgins and in the Anaimalai and Travanrore ranges; another kind, the Purple-faced Monkey (.V. Kphalo- pterus\ is met with throughout Ceylon at low or moderate elevations. It is to these Ceylon Langurs that the name Wanderoo, wrongly applied to the Malabar Lion-tailed Macaque by European naturalists, properly belongs. A large kind of Langur (S. schistaceus) is found in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan, at elevations of from 5,000 to 12,000 feet, and has been observed sporting amongst fir-trees loaded with snow. Five more species are met with in parts of Assam and Burma.
The majority of the living forms of Lemurs are peculiar to
Madagascar, but two species inhabit the Indian area. One of
these, the Slender Loris (Loris gracilis), is met with in the
lowland forests of Southern India and Ceylon ; the other, the
Slow Loris (Nyctucbus tarJigmdus), occurs throughout the
countries east of the Bay of Bengal, from Assam to Borneo
and Java. No kind of Lemur is found in Northern India or
the Himalayas. Lemurs are nocturnal and arboreal animals,
and slow in movement ; they feed on leaves and shoots of
trees, fruit, inserts, birds' egg->, and young birds.
The Carnivores include the wild beasts of story, the bites Caraivora.
fanves of the French ; and comprise, in India, cats, civets,
ichneumons, hyenas, dogs, martens, weasels, badgers, otters,
and bears, while an aberrant member of the racoon family is
found in the Himalayas. Seals are the only important section
of the Older not represented in the Indian Fauna.
Of the family of cats ( Felidae) no less than seventeen species
are found within Indian limits. Three of these, however the
Ounce or Snow Leopard (FcJis uncia\ Lynx (F. /v;/.v), and
Pa lias's Cat (F. manul) are confined within our area to Tibet
and the Higher Himalayas, while the Lion, now almost extinct
in India, and the Indian Desert Cat (F. ornata) inhabit only
the drier north-western parts of the country.
The Caracal
(F. caracal) and the Hunting Leopard ( Cynaditrus jubatus)
have, like the Lion, a wide range in Western Asia and in
Africa, and both occur sparingly throughout a considerable
portion of the Indian Peninsula, but not in the southern
extremity nor in Ceylon. On the other hand, the Rusty-spotted
Cat (F. rubi&itiosa) is peculiar to Ceylon and Southern India,
while three kinds the Clouded Leopard (F. nebulosa), the
Marbled Cat (F. marmorata^ and the Golden Cat (F. tem-
mincki) occur in the Eastern Himalayas and range through
Burma to the Malay countries.
The remaining Indian cats,
five in number (neglecting the doubtful F. ton/uafa) the Tiger,
Leopard or Panther, Fishing Cat (F. vivcrrina\ Leopard Cat
(JK bcngaleHSt\') J and Chans or Jungle Cat (F. c/iaus) are more
or less generally distributed throughout India and Burma. The
distribution of the family Felidae affords a fair epitome of that
of the animal kingdom generally within the Indian Empire.
The larger cats are too formidable and important to be
passed over without special mention. The lion was formerly
found throughout the greater part of North-western and Central
India. In the early part of the nineteenth century lions
occurred in Harinna, Khandcsh, and Rewah, and as far east as
Palsmau, whilst up to 1860 or 1870 many existed in
and parts of Rajputnna. Now the last remaining Indian lions
are said to be confined to the Glr in KfithifLwflr. Tigers, though
their numbers have been greatly diminished, are still found in
all the wilder parts of India and Burma ; but none occur, or,
so far as is known, ever have occurred, in Ceylon, a circumstance
which may indicate that the tiger is a comparatively modern
immigrant into Southern India, and did not exist there when
Ceylon formed part of the continent.
Tigers ascend the Hima-
layas occasionally to a height of 6,000 or 7,000 feet, though
they generally keep to the base of the range. The lion is an
inhabitant of rocky and sandy ground with brushwood, the
tiger chiefly of forest and high grass near water. Both live
on deer, antelope, and wild hog, and when they have an
opportunity, kill cattle, horses, and even camels, for food.
Both attack human beings occasionally ; but the destruction
of human life by tigers in India is mainly, if not entirely,
due to a small minority of these animals.
Ordinary tigers
never kill men for food ; the terrible man-eater is a tiger, or
perhaps more often a tigress, which, owing to age or partial
disablement, or to the need of finding food for its young when
game is scarce, has through hunger got over its fear of man,
and has learned that he is the easiest prey to find and kill.
Owing to the steady destruction of tigers in India, the tale of
human victims has diminished, and only 866 deaths caused by
tigers were reported in 1903, whilst forty years ago 700 people
were said to be killed yearly in Bengal alone. Male tigers in
Northern India weigh about 450 to 500 pounds, tigresses 350
to 400 pounds ; but in Southern India the weights appear to
be rather less.
Leopards or panthers are more widely distributed than
tigers, and are scarcely less destructive. They are bolder and
care less for the neighbourhood of water ; hence they are often
found both in rocky hills and in gardens about villages. They
vary in size and markings so much that many people, both
Europeans and Indians, are of opinion that there are two
different kinds in India ; and in some parts of the country, as
in the Central Provinces, there appear to be two distinguish-
able varieties, one much larger than the other.
But when
many are compared it is impossible to find any constant
distinctions. Black individuals occur not unfrequcntly in
particular areas, as in Travancore, in Cachar, and again in the
Malay Peninsula. (A black tiger was once recorded in Chitta-
gong.) Leopards live upon any animals they can kill, and they
have a particular liking for dogs. Several cases are on record
of leopards that have become regular man-eaters.
Of the other cats, t!^e Fishing Cat haunts the banks of rivers
and marshes, and feeds chiefly on fish ; the Ounce inhabits
the Higher Himalayas and kills sheep and goats, wild or tame ;
the Clouded Leopard, Marbled Cat, Golden Cat, and Leopard
Cat are forest hunters, living much in trees ; and the Chaus
and Rusty-spotted Cat prefer grassy plains.
The Hunting Leopard, generally known in Europe as the
Cheetah (a name signifying i spotted/ and quite as often applied
in India to the panther), is placed in a different genus (Cyn-
aelurus) on account of its claws being only partially retractile
and of its lighter build. It is not a common animal in India,
and would attract little attention but for the circumstance that
it has from time immemorial been tamed and used for hunting
antelopes, which it catches by means of its extraordinary speed.
The Indian antelope or black buck is, for its size, one of the
swiftest animals known, yet a good observer records that he
saw one with a start of 200 yards run down by a hunting
leopard before it had traversed 400 yards more. This great
speed can be exercised by the hunting leopard for a short
distance only.
The civet family (Viverridae) is represented in India and
Burma by twenty-one species, eight of which belong to the
sub-family of ichneumons or mungooses. The true civets are
four in number: the I^arge Indian Civet (Viverra zibcthd),
found in Bengal, Onssa, Assam, Burma, &c. ; the Malabar
Civet ( V. civettina), a representative form on the Malabar
coast ; the Burmese Civet ( V. megaspila), occurring in Burma
and the Malay countries ; and the small Indian Civet
( Viverricula mahucensis], inhabiting nearly the whole of India
and Burma, with Southern China, Siam, &c.
All are some-
what arboreal in their habits, and live partly on small animals
and birds, partly on fruits and roots. The drug known as
civet is obtained from these animals, which are kept in cages
for the purpose of collecting it. Allies of the civets are the
Linsangs or Tiger-civets (Linsang or Prionodon\ represented
by one very pretty spotted species (Z. pardicolor) in the
Eastern Himalayas and Burma, and by a larger form (Z. macu-
losus) in Tenasserim ; and the Palm Civets (Paradoxurus\
often called in India toddy-cats.
The latter are common in
all wooded parts of India and Burma, but owing to their
nocturnal habits are but rarely seen. They have long tails,
and are grey and black or brown in colour; they live on
small animals, birds, lizards, and insects, and also on fruit and
vegetables. Not infrequently individuals come into houses.
The last of the sub-family, the Binlurongfor Bear Cat (Arctictis
binturofig), called the Monkey Tiger (myouk-kya) in Burma,
is larger than the Paradox uri^ and measures about 2\ feet
from nose to insertion of tail.
It is a forest dweller, and is
found east of the Bay of Bengal from Assam to Sumatra and
Java. The colour is black. The most remarkable peculiarity
about this animal is its possession of a truly prehensile tail, by
which, at all events when young, it can suspend itself. It is
the only known animal of the old continent Europe, Asia,
and Africa that has this power.
The genus Htrpestes, comprising the ichneumons, contains
ci^ht Indian or Burmese species varying in si/e and colour.
Of these the best known is the Common Indian Mungoose
(Herpestes mung>\ renowned as the deadly enemy of snakes,
and famous in Indian folk-lore for its reputed acquaintance
with an antidote to the poison of the cobra, a herb or
root known as mungusuvl.
The story is apocryphal : the
mungoose is so quick and agile that it generally avoids the
snake's fangs and seizes its adversary by the head ; but if
effectively bitten the mungoose, although apparently less
quickly aflected than other animals of a similar size, succumbs
to the poison. Besides the common mungoo&e, which weighs
about 3 lb., and is found throughout India and Ceylon, there
is a smaller species (// auropunctatus) inhabiting Northern
India and Burma, and others ocxur in Southern India and
Ceylon, one of which (//. vitticollis) is the largest Asian
ichneumon. Another large kind (//. und) inhabits the
Himalayas and Burma, and is said to haunt the neighbour-
hood of streams and to feed on crabs and frogs.
The Striped Hyena (Hyaena striata) is the only member of
the family H)acnidae now occurring in India, though remains
of the Spotted Hyena, at present confined to Africa, have been
discovered in the Pleistocene deposits of the Kurnool caves,
and several species are represented in the Pliocene Siwaliks.
Hyenas are not found in Ceylon, nor in countries east of the
Bay of Bengal ; but they are common throughout the Peninsula
of India, chiefly in fairly open country, where there are rocky
hills and ravines. The striped hyena lives chiefly on dead
animals, often on the bones which have been picked by vultures,
and which it breaks with its powerful jaws ; but it occasionally
carries off dogs, goats, and other small beasts. Its presence,
wherever it occurs, is easily recognized by its peculiar dog-like
tracks, in which the marks of the hind feet are much smaller
than those of the fore feet, and by its droppings, which are
hard, white, and not i^adily decomposed.
The dog family are represented by two wolves, a jackal, two
so-called wild dogs, and five foxes. One of the wolves appears
to be a race of the European Wolf (Cants lupus\ and is found
in the Punjab and Sind ; while another variety of the same
species, sometimes black in colour, inhabits Tibet. The
Indian Wolf (C. palhpes), chiefly distinguished by smaller size,
is met with throughout the Peninsula. Neither wolves nor
foxes are known to occur in Ceylon or Burma.
The Indian
wolves, despite their smaller size, are dangerous animals, and
in parts of the country carry away many children, besides
numerous goats and sheep. They also kill antelopes, hares,
and other small animals, such as foxes and occasionally dogs.
There is, however, in many parts of India, a great aversion to
destroying wolves, in consequence of a widespread belief that the
blood of a wolf, if shed on the lands of a village, renders them
unfruitful. Stories about children carried away and reared by
wolves are common in Northern India, but it is doubtful
whether any are authentic. The children said to have been
thus brought up appear always to have been idiots.
(C. (lureus) is one of the commonest and
most familiar animals of the country, inhabiting the whole of
India and Ceylon, but is very rare east of the Hay of Bengal.
He is the common scavenger of towns and villages, feeding on
carrion and offal of all kinds, from which he drives off the
crows and vultures ; but he also occasionally kills small animals
or poultry, and at other times lives on fruit or sugar-cane. His
cry, a long wailing howl three or four times repeated, followed
by a succession of usually three yelps, also repeated two or
three times, is well-known to all who have lived in India ; and
another rail, believed to be an alarm cry, is uttered by a jackal
when a tiger or leopard is in the neighbourhood, and probably
on other occasions. The animal producing this cry is known as
phcdl or phnew in Northern India, and as bhalu or kol bhalu
in the south ; and it is the jackal that is said in Indian folk-lore
always to accompany a tiger. There can be very little doubt
that some breeds of domestic dogs are derived from jackals, as
others are from wolves ; and jackals breed freely with dogs.
The two kinds of Wild Dog (Cyon) differ in their teeth from
wolves and jackals, having two true molars instead of three on
each side of the lower jaw ; and they are thus, in opposition to
the view not uncommonly entertained, less nearly connected
with domestic dogs than jackals and wolves are. They are
forest animals of a rusty red colour, and occur in all the well-
wooded parts of India and Burma, and/ even in the highlands
of Tibet. They hunt in packs and kill many deer, antelope,
wild sheep, hog, c. ; but they rarely attack domestic animals,
and have never been known to assail men. Throughout India
there is a general belief that wild dogs hunt and kill tigers, but
it is still an open question whether the story is credible.
Of the Indian foxes, one very small species ( Vulpes cana) is
found only in Baluchistan, another (V.ferrilatus) is Tibetan,
a third (V. kucopus\ a small animal allied to the common
European fox, is common in the dry regions of North-western
India, while a fourth is a race of the common European fox
inhabiting the Himalayas. The fifth, the Indian Fox ( V, ben-
gaknsis), a small greyish animal with a black tip to its tail, is
common in all open parts of India proper, from the Himalayas
to Cape Comorin and from Sind to Assam.
Are poorly represented, and are unknown
in the plains of India and Burma. The Indian Marten (Musttla
fiavigula) inhabits the whole of the Himalayas, and is also found
in the higher ranges of Burma and the Malay Peninsula. A dark
form occurring on the hills of Southern India is by some
authorities regarded as a distinct species (Af.gwatkinsi). The
European Beech Marten (M. foind) is met with in Afghanistan,
Ladakh, and Kumaun. A polecat (Putorius larvatus) has been
obtained in Ladakh and Tibet; and another species, the Mottled
Polecat (P. sarmaticus\ which inhabits parts of Eastern Europe
and Western Asia, is not rare about Quetta in Baluchistan.
Six species of stoats and weasels are also found in the Hima-
layas, and two of them range into the Burmese hills.
Badgers are represented by two species of the genus Helictis^
one of which is Himalayan, the other Burmese ; by the Indian
Ratel (Mellivora indica), found in the Indian Peninsula and in
parts of Western Asia ; and by two species of Hog-badger
(Arctonyx\ which are met with in the Eastern Himalayas,
Assam, Burma, and the countries to the east and south-east.
Three kinds of otter are known from India. One of
these, having a very wide distribution, appears not to be
distinguishable from the Common Otter of Europe (Lutra
vulgaris) ; a second of the same size, but with a very differently
shaped head, (Z. macrodus) is also found throughout India and
Burma; while the third (L. cinered), the Clawless Otter, is
a much smaller species, inhabiting the Himalayas, Bengal,
Assam, Burma, Southern China, and the Malay countries, but
only found in Southern India on the Nilgiris and some other
hill ranges. The habits of all are similar. Otters are easily
tamed, and are kept by fishermen in several parts of India,
as the Bengal Sundarbans and Sind, being used to drive fish
into nets.
One of the most interesting members of the Indian Fauna
is the Cat-bear or Himalayan Racoon (Aelurus fulgens\ now
generally recognized as belonging to the Racoon family (Pro-
cyonidae), the majority of which are American. The Aelurus is
a brightly rufous animal, measuring two feet from nose to tail,
with a tail of about eighteen inches. It is a forest haunter, and
is met with in Nepal, Sikkim, the Eastern Himalayas, and
Yunnan ; it is, like most Carnivora, nocturnal in its habits, but
feeds chiefly on fruits, bamboo sprouts, and roots. It is the
only living member of the genus, but within the last few years
remains of other species have been found fossil in late Tertiary
deposits both in Britain and in Hungary. A curious black and
white bear-like animal inhabiting Eastern Tibet (Aeluropus
mtlanoUucus) is now ascertained to be a second Asiatic mem-
ber of the Racoon family.
The last family of the Carnivora is that of the bears (Ursidae),
with four Indian representatives. A variety of the European
Bear (Ursus arctus), sometimes distinguished as the Isabelline
Bear, is found in the Higher Himalayas above the forests; the
Himalayan Black Bear (U. torquatus) is met with at a lower
elevation, in the higher forests, occurring not only to the
eastward in Assam, Burma, and South China, but also in parts
of Afghanistan and Baluchistan. The Malay Bear, a small
forest form, with especially arboreal habits, ranges from the
Malay countries through Burma to the Eastern Himalayas, and
has quite recently been found in Sikkim.
The bear of the
Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, commonly called the Sloth Bear
(Mc/ursus ursinus), belongs to a different genus, having much
smaller and rather fewer teeth and more powerful claws than
the typical bears. It is a smaller animal than the European
bear, and is even more uncouth and clumsy.
It is black and
covered with long coarse hair, but appears nevertheless not to
be very sensitive to heat, for it inhabits some of the hottest
parts of India. It haunts bush- and forest-jungle and hills,
and passes the day in caves, or in shady ravines, or beneath
bushes, wandering about at night for food, which consists
chiefly of fruit and insects. Among the latter are the combs
of the termites or white ants, which the bear digs out of the
ground from a depth sometimes of four to six feet. The holes made, easily recognized by the marks of the bear's claws, afford unmistakable evidence of the animal's neighbourhood.
Although generally a timid animal, the Indian bear is occasion-
ally savage and makes unprovoked attacks upon men whom it
meets, frequently injuring them about the head and face.
Bears when taken young are, as a rule, easily tamed.
Icscctivora, The next Order of Mammals comprises the tree-shrews,
hedgehogs, moles, and shrews, together with a very remarkable
animal of doubtful affinity the flying lemur. The tree-shrews
(Tupaiidae) are only known from the Indo-Malay region ; and
the typical genus Tupaia is represented by one species in the
Indian Peninsula, another in Burma and the Eastern Hima-
layas, and a third in the Nicobar Islands. They are arboreal
animals, closely resembling squirrels externally and with very
similar habits, but living on insects as well as on fruit. They
may at once be distinguished from squirrels by their differently
shaped ears, and of course by their teeth.
The hedgehogs (Erinaceidae) are represented by two groups
belonging to distinct sub-families. True hedgehogs are found
in India proper, but not in the Himalayas or Burma; four
species occur in North-western India, and one (Erinaceus
tnicropus) in the plains of the Carnatic. The other sub-
family (Gynmurinae) does not inhabit the country west of
the Bay of Bengal or the Himalayas; but one species
{Hylomys suillus) is found in Burma, and the typical form
(Gymnura rajfflesi) in Southern Tenas>erim. Both inhabit the
Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. They somewhat resemble
large rats, having a pointed head and a naked tail, but their
teeth are like those of hedgehogs.
Two moles have been reported from the Himalayas, but
the presence of one of these, which is identical with the
Common Mole of Europe, needs confirmation. The second
kind (Talpa micntra] is common in the forests of Nepal,
Sikkim, and the Assam hills, at an elevation of about 5,000
to 8,000 feet above the sea. A third species (T. lmcura\
usually brown in colour with a short white tail, inhabits the
ranges south of Assam and the Burmese hills.
Shrews are numerous and ubiquitous. A genus of brown-
toothed shrews (Soriculus), with three known species, is found
in the Eastern Himalayas and Manipur; while the white-
toothed division is represented by four genera Crocidura^ with
thirteen species, very widely distributed ; Anurosorex, with one
kind, found in Assam; and two water-shrews.
The best-known
of Indian shrews is the Grey Musk Shrew (Crocidura caeruled),
widely and unfavourably known as the Musk Rat/ It has
a peculiar, rather fetid, musky smell, due to the secretion of
large glands, one on each side of the body. Its diurnal haunts
generally retain the scent, but it does not communicate the
smell to anything it merely walks over, although it is commonly
believed to do so. It is nocturnal in its habits, and frequents
houses at night, feeding on cockroaches and other insects,
never on grain or vegetables.
Singularly enough, this large
grey shrew has not been observed far from human habitations ;
but a very similar, rather smaller animal of a brown colour
(C. murina) is common throughout the Indo-Malay region,
and Dobson has suggested that the grey shrew may, like the
cockroaches on which it feeds, be a semi-domesticated variety
a commensal, in fact, of man.
The two water-shrews live in streams, one (Chimarrogale
himalayica) in the forests of the Himalayas and Northern
Burma, the other (Nectogale sikhimensis) in Upper Sikkim
at 10,000 to 15,000 feet elevation. The latter has beautiful
deep-brown fur sprinkled with glistening white, and the soles of
its feet are furnished with suckers.
The so-called Flying Lemur (Galeopithecus volans) inhabits
the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, ranging into Siam
and Southern Tenasserim. The body is about as large as
a rabbit's, but a lateral expansion of the skin begins from the
throat, includes all the limbs to the toes, and extends to the end
of the tail. This expanded skin serves as a parachute, and
enables the animal to glide from tree to tree. The Flying
Lemur is said to be purely herbivorous, and is by many
"naturalists regarded as forming an Order distinct from the
Insectivora.
No less than ninety-five species of bats were enumerated Chiroptera.
from within Indian limits when the mammalian section of
the Fauna was published in 1891, and two or three have
since been discovered. Eleven of these belong to the
Pteropodidae or fruit-eating bats, the largest of which are
known as flying foxes. One of these {Fteropus edulis) is the
largest bat known, having an expanse of wings of fully five
feet ; it inhabits the Malayan Peninsula and Archipelago, the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of Southern Tenas-
serim. The common Flying Fox of India and Burma (P. mcdtus)
measures about four feet across the expanded wings, and is
very common in many parts of the country. These bats
remain hanging in trees during the day, many hundreds often
occupying one particular tree, and fly off singly, not in flocks,
each evening, in search of food, which consists entirely of
fruit. The other fruit-eating bats are smaller.
The insectivorous bats belong to four distinct families the
Rhinolophidae, which have a nose-leaf consisting of a peculiar
series of foliaceous skin-processes arranged more or less
in the form of a shield around the nostrils, but want the
tragus, a lengthened process arising inside the margin of the
ear; the Nycteridae, which have a small nose-leaf and also
a tragus ; and the Vespertilionidae and Emballonuridae, which
have a tragus but no nose-leaf. Most of the species are
rare, the forms most commonly met with being a yellowish
brown bat (Nycticejus or Scotophilus AW///), and a very small
species of Pipistrelle ( Vesperugo or Pipistrellus abramus) ;
and one reason why these two are so often seen is that they
appear on the wing rather early in the evening. The species
of Megadcrma, belonging to the Nycteridae, have a peculiar
dentition ; they feed on other bats, and also on frogs. The
remainder of the species are insectivorous.
This is another large Order of small animals, comprising
squirrels, marmots, rats and mice of various kinds, porcupines,
and hares, all distinguished by a peculiar dentition with two
large chisel-shaped incisors in the front of each jaw. As
many as 106 species were known from the Indian area in 1891,
and seven species have since been added, so that considerably
more than a quarter of the Mammals found in India and its
dependencies belong to the present Order.
Belong to several types. There are no
less than three different genera of flying squirrels, which
have their limbs connected by a membrane or parachute to
enable them to glide from tree to tree, and are distinguished
from other squirrels by being nocturnal. One of these, the
Woolly Flying Squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus), an inhabitant
of Tibet, is very imperfectly known; but the members of the
genera Ptcromys and Sciuropterus are generally distributed in
all well-wooded parts of India ; the majority of them, however,
inhabit the Himalayas or Burma.
The ordinary squirrels are
now divided into three groups, one of which, constituting
the genus or sub-genus Ratufa, is represented in the
forests of the Indian Peninsula by the Large Indian Squirrel
(S. indicus), a very beautiful kind, chestnut and black above
and buff beneath ; by the Large Malay Squirrel (S. bicolor\ black above and buff beneath, in the Himalayas and Burma and by a third kind, the Grizzled Indian Squirrel (S. macrurus\
in Southern India and Ceylon. All these vary much in colour.
The sub-genus Sdurus, as restricted, is wanting in India
proper and Ceylon, but is represented by a large number of
species, varying greatly in coloration, in the Eastern Himalayas
and Burma. The third section (Funambulus] consists princi-
pally of striped squirrels, less arboreal than the others, and
less restricted to high forest. Of these the best known is
the common so-called Palm-Squirrel (Sdurus vel Funambulus
Palmarum), which is a familiar inhabitant of gardens and
groves near human habitations, and is often seen feeding
on the ground under trees.
The name ' palm-squirrel' is
misleading, as this animal is far more frequently seen about
mangoes, banyan, or pipal trees than on palms. The mem-
bers of this group are not all striped ; one (S. locria), inha-
biting the Eastern Himalayas and Assam hills, so closely
resembles S. locroides, a typical squirrel found in the same
forests, that the skins of the two are not easily distinguished.
On the other hand, some very small striped typical squirrels
(S. macdellandi) are common in the forests of the Himalayas
and Burma.
Of marmots, which are nearly allied to squirrels, three
species are found in the Higher Himalayas and Tibet. Two
of these (Arctomys himalayanus and A. hodgsoni] are of a greyish
tawny colour and differ chiefly in size ; but the third, which
occurs in Northern Kashmir, is orange tawny in hue, and
has a comparatively long tail, hence its name (A. caudatus).
It is large, measuring about three feet, ot which the tail forms
a third.
The jerboa family (Dipodidae) is represented by a single
species (Alactaga indicd), belonging to a genus common in
Central Asia. Despite its name, this species is not Indian ;
it is found around Quetta in Baluchistan, but not farther to
the eastward. The next animal to be noticed, the Malabar
Spiny Mouse (Platacanthomys lasiurus), has long been regarded
as an ordinary rat, but has recently been referred by Mr.
Thomas, as it was by its original discoverer, Blyth, to the
dormouse family (Gliridae). It is not unlike a dormouse
in both coloration and form, and it has a similar bushy tail,
but the fur is mixed with spines. It lives on trees in the
Anaimalai and Travancore hills.
The rats and mice (Muridae) comprise in India three sub-
families : the gerbils, the true mice and rats, and the voles
and hamsters. The gerbils (Gerbillus) are unknown in the
Himalayas and Burma; but one species (G. indicus) occurs
throughout India and Ceylon, and four others are met with
in Sind, Baluchistan, and the Punjab. All are graceful, active
creatures, with hairy tails tufted at the end. The Indian
Gerbil, known in Northern India as harna mus or Antelope
Rat, is one of the species that occasionally increase greatly in
numbers and destroy the crops. It is nocturnal ; but another
kind (G. hurrianae}, which swarms in the Indian desert in
Sind, Rajputana, and the Punjab, is diurnal in its habits. It
is characteristic of the Aryan people inhabiting Northern
India that this animal, which is purely frugivorous, is not used
as food, although the common Indian species and other rats
are eaten by some of the tribes in Southern India, especially
by the Waddas or tank-diggers.
The mice and rats proper comprise three arboreal genera,
all of which are Burmese, while only one (Vandeleuria
oleracea) is found in India. This, a long-tailed mouse of
light chestnut-red colour, makes a grass nest in which it rears
its young on a bush, tree, or bamboo. The genus Mus com-
prises twenty-three or twenty-four Indian species. Of these
the most important are the common Indian Rat (Afus rattus}^
of which the European Black Rat is a variety ; the Brown Rat
(M. decumanus), and the domestic mice.
The Common Rat
(M. rattus) is clearly indigenous, and is found everywhere in
forest and cultivated ground, as well as about houses; while
the Brown Rat, the pest of the world, is an immigrant, for it is
confined to seaports and towns on the principal lines of traffic.
House mice are of two kinds : one, a variety of the common
M. musculusof Europe, is generally distributed throughout India
and Burma, while the rather shorter-tailed and more brightly
coloured Persian House Mouse (M. bactrianus) occurs in
North-western India. In Burma the rat commonly found
about houses is M. concolor, a smaller species than M. rattus.
One other kind, the metador Soft-furred Field Rat (M. mettadd),
peculiar to the Peninsula of India, requires notice on account
of its becoming at times, like Gerbillus indicus in India, and
like some species of vole in Europe, a pest on account of its
numbers and the destruction it causes to the crops.
The Indian Mole-rats and Bandicoots form the genus
Nesocia, distinguished by robust form and in some cases by
large size. The Common Mole-rats (N. hardwickii and
JV. bengalensis) are about as long as a black rat, but stouter,
and they throw up, beside the holes they make in fields and
banks, small heaps of earth, which have erroneously been
attributed to moles; while the Bandicoots (N. bandicota of
the Indian Peninsula and N. nemorivaga of Bengal, the
Eastern Himalayas, and Burma) are very large rats, N. bandi-
cota weighing as much as 2^ to 3 Ib. and measuring 12 to 15
inches without the tail, which is nearly as long.
The name
bandicoot is a corruption of the Telegu pandi-koku or ' pig
rat/ a term conferred because this rat is said to grunt like
a pig. The North African and Western Asian Spiny Mouse
(Acomys dimidiatus] has been obtained in Sind ; and a blunt-
headed yellowish brown bush rat with coarse hair (Golunda
clliotti] is found throughout the Peninsula and Ceylon, where
it proved at one time very destructive to coffee trees.
About a dozen kinds of Vole (Microtus or Arvicold) are
found in the Himalayas and Tibet, most of them being
inhabitants of Kashmir or Ladakh. One species only, of
a peculiar section, is met with in the Eastern Himalayas, and
one in the Kakhyen hills north of Burma. A species of
EllobiuSy a mole-like rodent allied to the Voles, has been
obtained at Quetta. Three kinds of Hamsters (Cricetus) of an
ashy grey colour have been brought from Gilgit.
The Bamboo-rats (Rh>'zomys\ are stoutly-built animals,
with cylindrical bodies, short limbs, large claws, and rudi-
mentary tails, belonging to the family Spalacidae, the members
of which are sometimes called ' rodent moles. 7 Three or four
kinds of Bamboo-rat, of which the largest is the size of
a rabbit, inhabit the Eastern Himalayas, Assam, and Burma.
Four Porcupines occur in our area. The Indian Por-
cupine (Hystrix leucurd] inhabits India with Ceylon, and
ranges into Western Asia. Two other species of Hystrix and
one of the brush-tailed porcupine Athentra (of which another
species is West African) are found in the Himalayan forests
and in Burma.
The Hares and Pikas form a group which differ considerably
in structure from other rodents. Hares are found in most of
the open parts of the Indian area, but not in forest. Two
species, one northern (Lepus ruficaudatus) and one southern
(Z. nigricollis\ inhabit the Indian Peninsula ; another (Z.
dayanus) occurs in Sind ; a fourth (Z. peguensis} in Burma ;
three kinds are found in the highlands of Tibet and on the
Himalayas above the forest; and one species, the Hispid
Hare (Z. hispidus\ is met with at the base of the Himalayas
from Gorakhpur to Upper Assam. This last is a little-known
species, and is said to burrow. The Pikas or Mouse-hares
(Lagomys] are considerably smaller than a rabbit, and are chiefly
confined to Central and Northern Asia. Of five kinds occurring
within Indian limits, four inhabit the Higher Himalayas and
Tibet, and one is found in the neighbourhood of Quetta.
Ungulata. To the next Order belong elephants, horses, rhinoceros, tapirs,
oxen, antelopes, goats, sheep, deer, camels, and swine, besides
several generic forms not now found in India. Some of these,
however for instance species of giraffe and hippopotamus
inhabited the country in past times. All the most valuable
domestic animals are Ungulates.
The Indian Elephant, one of only two existing species of
the Proboscidea, of which no less than seventeen extinct kinds
flourished in India in the later Tertiary times, differs widely
from all other Ungulates. * The beast that hath between his
eyes a serpent for a hand/ although specialized to an extra-
ordinary degree, so much so that its gait, its method of feeding,
and its dentition are quite peculiar, is nevertheless in many
respects inferior in organization to other members of the Order
to which it is assigned. The numbers of the Indian elephant
have decreased greatly in India and Ceylon during the course of
the last century, though east of the Bay of Bengal the great beast
is more common. Elephants are still found wild in places
along the base of the Himalayas, as far west as the Dehra
Dun ; a few are met with in parts of the great forest tract east
of long. 8o c E. between the Ganges and the Kistna; and a larger
number in the wild hill ranges that extend from Mysore to
Cape Comorin. They generally live in herds, the males, as
with other Ungulates, being often found solitary; and they
usually haunt forest, and live on grass and bamboos, wild
plantains (Musa\ and the leaves and bark of particular trees,
especially of kinds of Ficus. As a rule elephants are timid
inoffensive animals, but solitary males, known as 'rogues/ are
sometimes savage and cause many deaths of men and animals.
In India, elephants very rarely breed in confinement, though
they often do so in parts of Burma and Siam. The greater
number by far of the tame animals belonging to the Government
of India, to native princes, and to private individuals, have
been caught and tamed when adult. As a rule elephants are
captured in stockades (kheddas) into which whole herds
are driven, a few are caught in pitfalls, others are run down
and noosed by men riding fast tame animals.
Wild horses, rhinoceros, and tapirs are not widely distributed
in India and Burma. They form the group of odd-toed
or Perissodactyle Ungulates. The only wild horses or asses are
the ghorkhar of Western India and Baluchistan, found in
herds in the Indian desert in places from Cutch to Blkaner,
and also west of the Indus near Mithankot ; and the kiang of
Tibet. These appear to be merely varieties of one species
(Equus htmionus). Of rhinoceros three kinds are met with,
two of which are one-horned, one two-horned. Of these the
largest is the Great Indian Rhinoceros (R, unicornis\ still
inhabiting Assam and found in very small numbers in the
Nepal tarai, but formerly occurring along the base of the
Himalayas to Peshawar, where in the early part of the sixteenth
century it was hunted by the Emperor Babar. It lives in high
grass as a rule. The second one-horned species, often called
the Javan Rhinoceros (R. $ondaicus\ occurs in the Bengal
Sundarbans, in Eastern Bengal, and locally through Burma to
the Malay countries. It is rather smaller than R. unicornis^
and may be recognized by different markings on the epidermis
and by the great folds of the skin being differently arranged.
The third kind, the two-horned R. sumatrensis, is the smallest
of the three, and has been met with from Assam, where it is
rare, to Borneo, being rather common in Tenasserim. The
Malay Tapir is only found within our limits in Southern
Tenasserim south of about 15 N. lat.
The even-toed or Artiodactyle Ungulates are much more
numerous. Of wild cattle alone no fewer than five species are
met with in different parts of the area. Of these, one, the
Wild Yak (Bos grunniens\ is peculiar to the Tibetan plateau,
and only just comes within Indian limits in the Kashmir
territories, but tame yaks are kept throughout the Higher
Himalayas. The Wild Buffalo (Bos bubalus) is met with in
Assam, Bengal, and Orissa, and here and there in the forest
country to the westward as far south as the Kistna river ; it
is also common in the lower parts of Ceylon, being chiefly
found in grassy plains near water and often in marshes. The
Gaur (Bos gaurus), the Gayal (. frontalis\ and the Tsine or
Banteng (/y. sondaicus) form a particular group of typical oxen,
distinguished by flattened horns, a high dorsal ridge terminating
about half-way down the back, and peculiar coloration, very
dark and often almost black on the upper parts, with the legs
white from above the knees and hocks. In the Tsine the
cows and young are reddish, in the other kinds dark-brown ;
the white too extends in the Tsine up the inside of the legs
and to the buttocks. The Gaur (bison of Anglo-Indian sports-
men) is a magnificent animal, almost the finest, if not actually
the grandest, of living bovines. Large bulls sometimes measure
over six feet in height at the withers, whilst their horns are
occasionally each three feet long and as much as eighteen to
twenty inches round the base. Cows are smaller. This noble
wild bovine is found in all the great hilly forest tracts of India,
Burma, and the Malay Peninsula; but owing to the extension
of cultivation and the more general use of guns its numbers in
India are rapidly diminishing, and in many places it must soon,
unless preserved, completely disappear. The Gayal or Mithan
is known only in a domesticated or semi-domesticated state.
It is thus kept by several tribes north and south of the Upper
Assam valley, but the original wild animal has never been
satisfactorily identified. Some writers regard the Gayal as a
domesticated race of the Gaur, which inhabits the same tract,
but the differences in the form of the skull and horns are
opposed to this view. The Tsine or Banteng is smaller, of
rather slighter build than the Gaur, and appears to be less of
a hill animal, being found chiefly in grassy plains. It is met
with locally throughout Burma and to the southward as far as
Java and Borneo, but the Burmese race is said to differ some-
what in coloration from the Malay. This animal is domesti-
cated in Java. Both the Yak and the Buffalo are domesticated.
Tame yaks are kept only at considerable altitudes in the
Himalayas and in Tibet; tame buffaloes are common through-
out the plains of India and Burma. They are chiefly kept in
India as milch cattle, though they are also used for draught
and for the plough, and in some cases as baggage animals. In
Burma, where milk is not used, a very fine race of buffaloes
exists, especially in Pegu. Another very fine breed is that
owned by the people of the Toda tribe on the top of the
Nilgiri Hills in Southern India.
The common humped cattle of India (B. indicus) belong to
a perfectly distinct species from European cattle (. taurus).
The two kinds differ in structure, coloration, markings, habits,
and voice. The prevailing colour of B. indicus is a pearly grey
with a few black markings, especially on the fetlocks. The
origin of the humped cattle is quite unknown ; no similar
animal exists now or is known to have existed in former times
in a wild state, although common cattle, in India as elsewhere,
have run wild occasionally. Humped cattle are found domesti-
cated throughout Southern Asia and in Tropical Africa. The
two species of cattle breed together, or with the yak and the
gayal, never with the buffalo.
and In hilly parts of the Punjab and Sind. The Great Tibetan
Sheep (Ovis hodgsoni\ an animal standing from 3^ to 4 feet
high at the shoulder, and with very massive horns in the male,
and the Great Pamir Sheep (O. poll), which, although slighter
and smaller than its Tibetan ally, carries huge spiral horns
sometimes measuring more than six feet apiece round the
curve, only just appear within the boundary of British India.
The Tibetan sheep has long been called Ovis ammon, but
that name properly belongs to an even larger kind inhabiting
the Altai Mountains in Siberia. The remaining two species,
the urial or sha (Ovis vignei) and the bharal (O. nahura\
have stronger claims to be included in the Indian list.
In
O. vignei two varieties are comprised : the typical upland form or
sha } which is larger, has slightly thicker horns, and is found in
the Upper Indus Valley and parts of Afghanistan ; aad the
urial of the Punjab Salt Range, and koch or gad of the
Sulaiman Range and Sind hills. By some the two are regarded
as distinct, but they differ very little and pass into each other,
although the Sind sheep is met with close to the sea-level and
the Ladakh sha at 12,000 to 14,000 feet above the sea. The
bharal is met with throughout the Higher Himalayas above
the forest limit, and is in both structure and habits a link
between sheep and goats. Like the latter it often takes refuge
in cliffs and rocky scarps, while the true sheep keep to plains
or moderate slopes.
The Indian wild goats are five in number, of which three
belong to the genus Capra and two to Hemitragus. Like the
sheep they are chiefly but not exclusively Himalayan, one
species of Ifcmitragus inhabiting Southern India. The members
of the genus Capra are the Asiatic Ibex (Capra sibirica)^ the
Markhor (C.falio?ieri\ and the Persian Wild Goat (C. acgagrus).
The Asiatic Ibex is widely distributed on the mountains of
Central Asia, and is found in the Higher Himalayas as far east
as Gathwal, but not, it is said, east of the Sutlej drainage area.
The Asiatic differs from the European ibex by the shape of the
horns and the presence of a distinct beard in the male; but there
is some variation in the horns and more in the coloration of
the fur in different Asiatic ranges. The colour varies also
with the time of year, age, and sex. The Persian Wild Goat
is found throughout South-western Asia, its eastern limit being,
in the Sind hills, where it is often called the 'Sind ibex. 1 It
has the horns compressed and sharply keeled in front. This
animal is the wild stock, from which tame goats are principally
derived. The Markhor, the finest of all wild goats, is found
in the hill ranges north and south of Kashmir, in parts of
Afghanistan, and in the Sulaiman and neighbouring ranges
west of the Punjab as far south as Quetta, where it meets the
Persian wild goat. It inhabits steep hill slopes at a moderate
elevation, below those on which ibex are found. MSrkhor
vary greatly, and the shape of the horns is very different in
Kashmir from what it is in the Sulaiman range. In the Plr
Panjal, south of Kashmir, the spiral is open, and even more
so in Astor; while in the range to the west of the Punjab,
the horns are straight with their anterior and posterior keels
wound spirally around them. Heads from the neighbourhood
of Kabul are intermediate in character. The two species of
Hemitragus, which possess much smaller horns than Capra^
are the Tahr (//. jemlaicits\ found throughout the Himalayas,
and the Nilgiri Wild Goat, or 4 ibex ' of European sportsmen
(H. hylocrius), found on the ranges of Southern India in the
neighbourhood of the west coast, froro the Nilgiris to Cape
Comorin. The only other species of the genus that is known
occurs in Southern Arabia. All these goats occur in small
herds, the males being frequently solitary, and they keep chiefly
to crags and precipitous cliffs.
The goat antelopes are nearly allied to the true goats, from
which they are distinguished by more rounded horns and by
the absence of the peculiar strong odour characteristic of male
goats. They have a very different distribution, for they are
wanting in Europe, Western Asia, and the Indian Peninsula,
but represented in the Himalayas, Burma, China, Japan, the
Malay countries, and in North America. The Himalayan
Serow (Nemorhaedus bubalinus] and the Gural (Cemas gorat)
are members of this group. The Serow inhabits the Hima-
layan forests from Kashmir to the Mishmi Hills at moderate
elevations; it is also found in the Assamese and Burmese hills.
It is, as a rule, a solitary animal. Several races have been
distinguished, varying in colour from rufous brown to black,
but it is doubtful whether there is any constant difference. The
Gural is a much smaller animal than the Serow, being about
the size of a roe-deer, and it inhabits rugged grassy slopes in
the forest area, usually in small parties not exceeding six or
eight in number. It is found throughout the Himalayas, has
been reported from the ranges south of Assam, and quite
recently has been discovered in Upper Burma.
The true antelopes form a very important portion of the
Indian Mammalia, because three genera out of the four
occurring in the Peninsula are peculiar to the area and no
antelopes are found elsewhere in the Indo-Malay region. These
three Indian antelopes are the Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus\
the Four-horned Antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), and the
Indian Antelope or * black buck 1 (Antelope cervicaprd). All these
inhabit a large part of India, and the Hindus themselves some-
times define their country (Hindustan) as corresponding with
the range of the Indian antelope. This antelope is found in suit-
able localities, chiefly open plains with grass of moderate height,
from the Indus to Assam, and from the base of the Himalayas to
the neighbourhood of Trichinopoly. Formerly it was far more
abundant, and in the first half of the nineteenth century it was
seen occasionally in vast herds 8,000 to 10,000 in number ; but
its numbers have been greatly reduced since rifles have become
common. The Nilgai is an inhabitant of open forest more often
than of grassy plains, though in places it haunts cultivated tracts,
and when numerous it is met with in herds ; while the Four-
horned Antelope is chiefly found in hilly countries covered with
brushwood or forest, and is usually solitary or in pairs. A variety
with only two horns, the anterior pair not being developed, is
said to be common locally in the Madras Presidency, and
certainly adult two-horned individuals are occasionally found, but
all young males possess only the posterior pair. In the Nilgai,
Four-horned, and Indian Antelopes the females are hornless.
The Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni), with fine sub-lyrate
horns, is found only on the higher Tibetan plateaus, and is said
never to descend much below about 15,000 feet. It occurs
in the higher portions of Ladakh. Three true gazelles are met
with within Indian limits, but two of these only just come
within the boundary. These are the Tibetan Gazelle (Gazella
picticaudata), peculiar to the Tibetan plateau ; and the Persian
Gazelle (G. suf>gutturosa\ which has a wide range in Persia and
Turkistan, but is known within Indian limits only about Pishm,
north of Quetta. It probably inhabits the higher parts of
Baluchistan. Both these species, like Pantholops and Antelope,
have hornless females, but in the Indian Gazelle (G.bennetti)
the females have small horns. The Indian Gazelle is found
in North-western, Western, and Central India, as far east as
PalSmau and as far south as western Mysore. It usually
occurs singly or in small parties, and is called chinkara in
Hindi, while the antelope is hiran^ a name often applied
loosely, like the English ' deer,' to various ruminants.
The deer family (Cervidae), though less numerous than the
hovines, are abundantly represented. The first to be men-
tioned is the Muntjac or Barking-deer (Cervulus muntjac\ a
small kind, deep-chestnut in colour, the males bearing short
horns on bony pedicels as long as the horns themselves or
longer. This is an animal of hill forest, found in suitable
places throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma, and on the slopes
of the Himalayas up to 5,000 or 6,000 feet. Its name of
bark of a dog. A second species (C.ftac) has been obtained
on Muleyit mountain, west of Moulmein. The genus Ccruus
is represented by six different species. One of these belongs,
like the European Red Deer and the American Wapiti, to the
Klaphine group, distinguished among other characters by
having two tines, the brow and bez tines, near the base of each
horn. This fine deer, the hcingal QI Kashmir Stag (C.cashmiria-
nus), inhabits the pine forests of Kashmir between 9,000 and
12,000 feet above the sea in summer, coming lower in winter.
The other Indian deer belong to the Rusine section, and have
a brow but no bez tine. The barasingha or Swamp Deer
(C. duvauccli) has, when full-grown, five or six tines on each
antler, all but one on the terminal bifurcated portion. It
inhabits open grass plains in Northern India, from Upper
Assam to Sind, and as far south as the Godavari, but is
very locally distributed. The Brow-antlered Deer or thamin^
which replaces the barasingha in Manipur and Burma, has a
peculiarly curved long brow tine : it is chiefly found on flat
alluvial ground in the Irrawaddy Valley and to the eastward in
Cambodia and Hainan. The finest of Indian deer, with ex-
ception of the Kashmir stag, is the sambar oijarau ( C. unicolor),
which is found almost throughout the Indo-Malay region
wherever there is hilly or undulating country covered with
forest. It occurs on all the hill groups of India, ascends the
Himalayas in places to 9,000 or 10,000 feet, and is met with
up to the summits of the ranges in Southern India and Ceylon.
The next species to be mentioned, the Spotted Deer (C. axis),
is certainly the most beautiful of Indian deer and perhaps of
the whole family. It is smaller than the four species already
noticed, and rufous-fawn in colour spotted with white. It
retains its white spots throughout the year, in this differing from
the Hog Deer. The Spotted Deer is met with at 'the base of
the Himalayas but does not ascend the hills like the satnbar,
and it ranges throughout the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon but
is not found east of the Bay of Bengal. Its usual haunts are
brushwood and thin forest, and especially bamboo jungles in the
neighbourhood of water. Spotted Deer are more gregarious
than other Indian species, and occasionally associate in large
numbers. The last deer on the list is also the smallest of the
genus, and it bears the smallest horns. This is the Hog Deer
(C. porcinus), which inhabits the alluvial flats of the Indo-
Gangetic plain from Sind to Assam, and is also found abun-
dantly in similar localities in Burma. It does not occur in the
Indian Peninsula generally ; and, though it is found in part of
south-western Ceylon, its presence there is due to its having
been introduced by man. It is a brown animal, spotted in
summer but not in winter, and is not gregarious.
The only other Indian representative of the Cervidae, if it
belongs to the family, is the hornless Musk Deer (Moschus
moschiferus), which is common in the Higher Himalayas and in
parts of Central Asia. It is a dark-brown animal, about the
size of a roe-deer, with coarse brittle hair, and is chiefly known
as the source of musk, which is the secretion formed in a
glandular sac on the abdomen of the male. In winter about
an ounce of musk is obtained from each male animal. The
flesh has no musky flavour.
The Chevrotains (Tragulidae) differ greatly from true deer
in structure, but resemble them in form, and like the Musk
Deer are hornless. All are small, some very small. One
species, the Indian Chevrotain or Mouse Deer (Tragulus
meminnd], inhabits Ceylon and the Indian Peninsula, but is not
known north of the Narbada ; while two species (T.javanicus
and T. napu} occur in Southern Tenasserim and range into
Malaysia. The Indian Chevrotain and T. napu are about a
foot high at the shoulder, T. napu being the larger ; the little
T.javanicus is considerably less. All inhabit dense thickets in
forest country.
Three different pigs belong to the Indian Fauna. The
Indian Wild Boar (Sus cristafus) stands higher on its legs than
the European animal, and is much less shaggy ; it has a more
developed crest or mane, and the molar teeth exhibit well-
marked differences. The common tame pig of India is doubt-
less descended from the wild animal and certainly breeds with
it. Wild swine occur everywhere in India and Burma, and are
often as common in cultivated land as in wild forest. No
animals do more damage to crops. Spearing wild hog from
horseback, or 'pig-sticking/ as it is called in India, is the favourite
sport of the country, and owes its attraction to the extraordinary
courage of the wild boar. The Andaman Pig (5. andamanensi^
is a much smaller kind, peculiar to the Andaman Islands ; and
a still smaller species, not more than a foot high, known as the
Pigmy Hog (5. saivanius\ is only known from the grass jungles of
Several kinds of whales and porpoises inhabit the seas around
India, and two species are found in some of the larger rivers.
Though no Right Whale (Balaena) has been seen in Indian
waters, four kinds of Fin Whale (Balaenopterd) have been
more or less clearly indicated, although none of them has been
thoroughly identified. One of these, which has received the
name of B. indica, is 80 or 90 feet in length, or as large as the
B.sibbaldi of Northern seas, which exceeds in size any other
known animal, extant or fossil. This great whale is not rare
off the Baluchistan coast. A kind of hump-backed whale
(Megaptcra) also appears to have been seen near the coast of
India on more than one occasion. The Sperm Whale (Physettr
macrtKephalus) has been hunted in the Bay of Bengal, and the
Small Sperm Whale (Cogia), the size of a porpoise, was obtained
by Elliot at Vizagapatam. Porpoises and dolphins abound, and
fifteen species have been recorded from Indian seas, varying in
size from the little Indian Porpoise about four feet in length to
the Indian Pilot W T hale, a representative of the Caing Whale of
European seas, measuring over fourteen feet.
The two forms
that particularly deserve notice are those inhabiting the rivers.
In the Irrawaddy from below Prome to above Bhamo there is
found a blunt-nosed porpoise (One/la fluminalis\ about seven
to eight feet long, closely allied to a species ( 0. brevirostris)
that inhabits the Bay of Bengal. This Cetacean is not known
to occur in any other river. A far more interesting kind is the
Gangetic Dolphin or susii (P/atanista gangetica >, living in the
Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra and their tributaries ; for the
family to which it belongs (Platanistidae), once probably widely
spread, has only three surviving representatives : one (Into) in
the River Amazon, a second (Pontoporia) in the Rio de la Plata
estuary, and the Indian type. This last is provided with a long
compressed beak-like rostrum, and is blind, having only minute
rudimentary eyes without a crystalline lens. It is quite confined
to the rivers, never, so far as is known, entering the sea.
The Dugong {Halicore dugong) inhabits the shores of the
Indian Ocean from East Africa to Australia, and has been
found on the coasts of Malabar, Ceylon, the Andaman Islands,
and the Mergui Archipelago. Formerly it was more common ;
but as it yields excellent meat and a valuable oil, and is also,
The last Order of Mammals is represented in the eastern Edentata.
tropics by the Pangolins (Manis), of which three species occur
within Indian limits. These are the Indian Pangolin (Af.penta-
dactyla\ in the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon ; the Chinese
Pangolin (M. aurita\ in the Himalayas; and the Malay
Pangolin (A/, javanica), in Burma and other countries to the
south-eastward. All are covered with large imbricate horny
scales, and resemble a reptile rather than a mammal. They
are toothless and live chiefly on ants. The Indian species is
popularly regarded as a fish, and one of its vernacular names,
ban-whit^ means * jungle carp.'
The birds of India have been more extensively collected
and better observed than any other group of animals, and the
number of kinds is so large that only the most conspicuous
and important can be noticed here. Of the 1,617 species
enumerated in the Fauna, 936, or considerably more than
half, belong to the Order of Passeres, and of about thirty
species added since the Bird-volumes of the Fauna were
published a large majority are Passerine. No two authors
agree as to the classification of the Passerine Order; the
system used in the Fauna is here followed.
The first family (Corvidae) has been divided into three Passeres.
sub-families ; one (Corvinae) comprising the crows, magpies,
jays, nutcrackers, and choughs ; the second (Parinae), the tit-
mice and their relations ; the third, Paradoxornithinac* By many
writers these three groups are regarded as distinct families.
The common crows, which are ubiquitous in India, are the
grey and black Indian House Crow (Corvus spltndens\ which
is the common scavenger of the country, abundant in every
town and village; and the black Jungle Crow (C. macro-
rhynchus\ which keeps chiefly to forests and wild tracts. The
former is represented by an allied form, rather darker in colour
(C. insolcns), in Burma. Of the Raven (C. corax), one very
large race inhabits the Higher Himalayas, and a smaller form,
by some regarded as distinct and named C. laivrcncii, is found
in the Punjab, Sind, and Western Rajputana. The Carrion
and Hooded Crows, the Rook and Jackdaw are met with in
the North-western Punjab and parts of Kashmir, but are for
the most part winter visitors. The Common Magpie (Pica
rustica) is found in Kashmir, in Baluchistan, and also in
Upper Burma, while a black-rumped species (P. bottancnsis)
has been obtained in Upper Sikkim and Bhutan. Long-tailed
Blue Magpies (Urocissd) and the Racket-tailed Magpies
(Crypsirhind) inhabit the Himalayas and Burma; Green
Magpies (Cissa) occur in the same countries and in Ceylon ;
while the Tree-pies (Dendroritta) are generally distributed.
Jays (Garrulus] of different species occur in the Himalayas
and Burma ; two kinds of Nutcrackers (Nucifraga) are
Himalayan; and in the higher ranges of that chain both the
Cornish Chough and the Alpine Chough are found.
Among the Titmice, members of the typical genus Parus
and of the much handsomer yellow and black Machlolophus
are found almost throughout the Empire ; while species of the
Long-tailed Titmouse (Atgithaliscus] occur in the Himalayas
and in the hill tracts of Burma ; and Crested Tits (Lophophanes)
are common in the Himalayas, chiefly above 6,000 feet
elevation. One genus (Silviparus) is restricted to the
Himalayas and Assam ranges.
The Paradoxornithinae are classed among the Corvidae in the
Fauna, but are by many ornithologists regarded as a section
of the next family (Crateropodidae). They are birds varying
from the size of a sparrow to that of a thrush, having copious
soft plumage, strong legs, and a stout bill resembling a finch's.
They are an interesting group on account of their peculiar
structure and their distribution, for they are confined to the
Himalayas with the hills of Northern Burma and Southern
China. The principal genera are Paradoxornis and Suthora.
The family Crateropodidae (or Timaliidae) is an exceedingly
large and varied group, to which eighty-six genera of Indian
birds, comprising 253 species, have been referred. Very few,
if any, are migratory. About the position and relationships of
some of the sub-families, six in number, there is much question,
but the typical forms belong to the first two sub-families. Of
these the first (Crateropodinat) contains the Laughing Thrushes
and Babblers or Babbling Thrushes, of which the larger
number, including the genera Garrulax, Trochalopterum^ and
PomatorhinuS) are hill birds chiefly occurring in the Himalayas
and Burma, but with representatives in the hills of Southern
India and Ceylon ; while a smaller section, consisting of the
true Babblers, belonging to the genera Argya and Crateropus^
inhabits the Peninsula of India and Ceylon, with a few repre-
sentatives in Burma, Assam, and the neighbouring countries.
All these birds are excessively noisy chatterers; they are
found in small flocks, and keep to bushes or the ground.
They are about the size of a thrush, with strong legs, small
wings, and rather long tails. One of the best known species is
Crateropits canorus^ the sat-bhai (' seven brothers ') of Bengal.
The Timeliinae are smaller and rather quieter, but their
structure and habits are similar. The majority are but little
known. By far the larger number are Himalayan, Assamese,
and Burmese ; and only one species, the Yellow-eyed Babbler
(Pyctorhis sinensis), is commonly found throughout the greater
part of India and Burma.
The Brachypteryginae are less characteristic forms, for some
of them resemble thrushes, whilst others are nearer in appear-
ance to wrens. The most important genus referred to the
group is Myiophoncus, containing the Whistling Thrushes, very
dark-coloured birds with the plumage strongly tinged with rich
blue. They have a peculiar whistling note, and inhabit the
Himalayas and the hill tracts of India and Burma.
The Sibiinat are forest birds, often with bright plumage and
of small size, and with one exception they are absent from
India proper and Ceylon. The exception is the genus
Zosterofs, comprising the White-eye or White-eyed Tits, yellow-
ish or olive green birds, which range almost throughout the
tropics of the Old World from Africa to Australia, and are very
doubtful members of the present sub-family. Sibiinac are
abundant in the Eastern Himalayas and Assam ranges.
The l.iotrichinac chiefly differ from the Sibiinae by having
the sexes differently coloured. The typical forms (Liothrix,
Cutia y FtcruthiuS) Jlfesia, and Alinla) are found within our
limits only in the Himalayas and the Burmese hills ; but the
common lora (Acgithina tiphia\ and various species of
ChloropsiS) commonly known as ' green bulbuls,' are common
birds throughout the Empire. The Fairy Blue-bird (Irena
puclla\ of which the male is clad in gorgeous ultramarine
plumage (the female is less brilliant), inhabits the evergreen
forests of Ceylon, Malabar, the Eastern Himalayas, the Assam
ranges, and Burma.
The last Crateropodidine sub-family,
are short-legged birds, in general about the size of a nightingale
or rather larger. Some of them are familiar types, frequenting
gardens. The majority of the seventeen genera found within
Indian limits are Himalayan or Burmese ; but members of the
genera Molpastes^ Ofocompsa, and Pycnotwtus y distinguished by
having the under tail coverts either crimson or bright yellow,
are the common bulbuls of India. Another genus deserving
notice is Hypsipetes y dark-coloured, hill-forest birds, with red
bills and forked tails, found in the Himalayas and the hills of
Burma and South India.
The Nuthatches (Sittidae), small bluish or slatey-blue birds,
which climb up the stems of trees or occasionally the surface
of rocks, are represented in India by eleven species, which are
non-migratory and for the most part of limited distribution ;
but one or more of them are to be found wherever there are
trees, and one species (Sitta ttphronota) even where there are
none, in Baluchistan.
The Drongos (l)icruridae), of which the more common
species are generally called * king-crows ' in India, form a well-
marked family, having with few exceptions glossy black plumage
and long forked tails. There are several genera, the common
and familiar ' king-crows/ found in almost every garden, being
members of the typical genus Dicrurus. Two species, the
Larger and Smaller Racket-tailed Drongos ( Disscmurus paradi-
seus and Bhringa remifer^ are handsome birds, with the outer
tail leathers greatly prolonged and their shafts bare for some
distance, though webbed near the ends. All Drongos hawk
insects in the air, and have musical voices ; all, moreover, are
given to imitating the notes of other birds.
Of the Tree-Creepers (Certhiidae), six species of the typical
genus (Certhia) occur in the Himalayas, Assam hills, and
Northern Burma, and a species of Salfornis is found in the
forests of the Indian Peninsula. The latter is remarkable,
because the only other known species of the genus, a vety
near ally, is African. The European Wall-Creeper (Tichodroma
muraria) is a winter visitor to the Himalayas, and occasionally
to the plains of Northern India.
Wrens, generally placed in a distinct family (Troglodytidae),
are represented by several species belonging to four or five
genera in the Himalayas and Burma, but not in the Indian
Peninsula. The European Goldcrest (Rcgulus cristatus\
which belongs to a separate family (Regulidae), is also Hima-
layan.
Warblers (Sylviidae) comprise a great number of very small
birds, usually with plain plumage; many of them are migratory.
Among those generally distributed are Grasshopper Warblers
(Locustella^ Reed Warblers (Acrocephalu$\ Tailor Birds (Or-
tJiotomus\ Fantail Warblers (Cisticola) % Wren Warblers (Frank-
linia and Prinia\ and Willow Warblers (Phylloscopus and
(Acanthopneuste). Members of the genera Ifyfolais and Sylvia,
allies of the European Whitethroat, Blackcap, and Icterine
Warbler, are common in the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon,
but wanting to the eastward. The Tailor-birds are well-known
from their habit of sewing two leaves together with a piece of
grass as a receptacle for their nest Shrikes (Laniidae) are common throughout the Empire.
Besides the true Shrikes (Lanius), the Pied Shrikes (Ilemipus),
Wood Shrikes (Tephrodornis\ Minivets (Pericrocotus), and
Cuckoo Shrikes (Campophaga and Graucalus) are distributed
throughout the better-wooded tracts. Some of the Minivets are
brilliantly coloured, the males being crimson and black, and the
females yellow and black. The Swallow Shrikes (Artamus\
dull-coloured birds with a peculiar flight slightly resembling a
swallow's, are found all over India and Burma.
There are no less than eight species of Golden or Yellow
Orioles (Oriolidae) found within Indian limits, many of them
local, but some widely diffused. A ninth species (Oriolus
traillii\ inhabiting the Himalayas and Burma, has black and
chestnut plumage instead of black and yellow.
The Crackles, Talking Mainas, or Hill Mainas (Eulabetidae),
glossy black in colour with rich yellow cheek lappets, are well-
known cage-birds with wonderful powers of imitating the human
voice. Though often classed with the starlings, they are ap-
parently distinct. Four representative species occur in the hill
forests of the Himalayas, India, Ceylon, and Burma.
The Starling family (Sturnidae) contains the true Starlings,
the Rosy Pastors, and the Mainas. Of true Starlings {Sturnus\
six closely allied species are found in Northern India, most of
them being migratory. The Rosy Pastor (Pastor roseus) is
also migratory, but it abounds throughout a great part of the
Indian Peninsula in winter, and is notoriously destructive to
grain crops, especially to millet. The Mainas are resident and
numerous. The Common or House Maina (Acriciothercs tristis)
is a familiar bird around human habitations almost throughout
the Empire. The Bank Maina (A. ginginianus)^ the Black-
headed Maina (Tcmcnuchus pagodarum\ the Jungle Maina
(Acthiopsar fuscus), and the Pied Maina (Sturnopastor contra)
are all common.
The next family, that of the Flycatchers (Muscicapidae),
comprises rather more than fifty Indian species of small size.
Though generally distributed, these birds are not of much
importance. Perhaps the best-known kind is the Paradise
Flycatcher (Tcrpsipkonc paradi$i\ of which the immature birds
and females are black and chestnut, while the mature male
has the chestnut replaced by white. The tail in the male is
very long, sometimes exceeding a foot in length.
Thrushes and their allies form the family Turdidae, divided
into several sub-families. Of these the first is that of the Saxi-
colinae^ comprising the Bush-chats or Whin-chats, Stone-chats,
and Wheatears, mostly migratory birds, of which several species
are winter visitors to Northern India, and a few are more gene-
rally distributed. The Redstarts and their allies (Rutirillinae)
are more numerous, but are chiefly hill birds. The Indian
Robins (Thamnobia) are, however, common throughout the
Indian Peninsula, whilst the Indian Magpie Robin or Dayal
(Copsychus sauhiris), and that well-known songster, the Shama
(Cittocincia macnini), range throughout the greater portion of
the Empire, and the Indian Redstart (Rtitirilla rufiventris) is
a winter visitor to almost the whole of India with Assam and
Manipur. Other forms are the Forktails (ffenicurus) and their
allies, black and \\hite birds haunting banks of streams in the
Himalayas and Burma ; the nvgratory Blue Throats (Cyanecula)^
Ruby Throats (Calliope), and several others.
The Turdinac comprise the Thrushes and Blackbirds, which
are in India almost confined to the hill ranges, the only forms
found in the plains being the Migratory Blue Rock Thrushes
(Petrophiln), and some equally migratory Ground Thrushes
(Geocichld). Of the other two sub-families belonging to the
Turdine family, the Dippers (Cinclinac) and the Accentors
(Acccntorinae), none of the members range south of the
Himalayas, and but few are found away from the higher
mountains.
The Ploceidae comprise two sub-families, the Ploccinae or
Weaver Birds, and the Viduinae or Munias, both found
throughout the Indian Empire. The Weaver Birds are finch-
like, and generally the males are more or less yellow in the
breeding season ; they make curious flask-shaped grass nests,
which may often be seen hanging from trees or bushes, some
of them having long tubular entrances. The Munias and
Avadavats are even smaller, and comprise several common
cage-birds.
The Finch family (Fringillidae) are divided into the Haw-
finches (Coccothrau$tinae\ True Finches (Fringillinae)^ and
Buntings (Emberizinae). The Hawfinches or Grossbeaks are
scarcely Indian; five species are known from the Himalayas,
chiefly from the higher forests ; but one of these ranges as far
as Manipur and the Burmese Shan States. Among the True
Finches the great majority are Himalayan. Bullfinches, a Cross-
In the Swallow family (Hirundinidae) are included, besides
the true Swallows, the Martins (Chelidoti), Sand Martins (Cotile\
and Crag Martins (1'tyonoprognt). The House Martins are
chiefly Himalayan, though stragglers have been found in
various parts of the Empire. Sand Martins of two closely
allied species are very \\idely distributed. Crag Martins are
met with about cliffs in the Peninsula of India and the Hima-
layas, but are not known with certainty from Burma. Ten
species of true Swallows occur within Indian limits, some of
them migratory but the greater number resident. Among
them are the common European Swallow (ff. rustica), a winter
visitor everywhere ; the Wire-tailed Swallow (H. smitkit), with
the shafts of the outer tail feathers produced beyond the webs;
the Indian Cliff Swallow, which breeds on the high banks of
rivers in large societies ; and several forms of Striated Swallow,
with the lower surface streaked.
Pipits and Wagtails combine to form the family Motacillidae,
and both comprise many species, and are found almost every-
where. The Larks (Alaudidae) are represented by no less than
ten genera, but several of these are very restricted in range.
Thus the Desert Lark (Alaemon desertorum\ an African species,
is met with 'in India only on the deserts of the Indus plain.
The Calendra Lark (Mtlanocoryphii) does not occur much
farther to the eastward, while the Crested Larks (Galeritd)
and the Finch Larks (Ammomanes and Pyrrhulauda\ com-
mon in India, are unknown east of the Bay of Bengal.
The Eared Larks (Otocorys) are Himalayan. Skylarks (Alau-
da} and Bush Larks (Ulirafrd) are met with throughout the
Empire.
The Sun-birds (Nectariniidae) are of small size and have
long narrow bills. The males of one sub-family (Nectariniinae)
almost rival the Humming-birds of America in the brilliancy of
their plumage, and they are occasionally, though wrongly, called
'humming-birds*. Some of the species are found throughout
India and Burma, but more kinds are peculiar to the hill
forests. The other sub-family, known as Spider-hunters (Araeh-
notJicrinac), are rather larger and of a dull olive colour ; their
bill is longer. They inhabit the Himalayas, Burma, and the
hills of Southern India.
The Flower-peckers (Dicaeidae) are small forest birds with
a short triangular bill and the edges of both mandibles minutely
serrated, as are also those of the Sun-birds. They are pretty
generally distributed throughout India, but are more common
in the Himalayas and Burma. Some of them have brilliantly
coloured males.
The last Passerine family is that of the Pittidae, handsome
birds about the size of a large thrush, living on the ground in
woods and forests. One species (Pitta brachyura) inhabits
Peninsular India and Ceylon ; three are met with in the Eastern
Himalayas ; and the number of species increases in Burma, and
especially to the southward in Tenasserim.
The Broadbills, although nearly allied to the Passeres, are
distinguished by anatomical characters. The geographical dis-
tribution of the Order is restricted, none being found outside
the Indo-Malayan or Oriental region, while within that
region species occur in the Himalayas, Burma, Siam and
Cambodia, the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago as far as
Borneo and the Philippines, but not in the Indian Peninsula
or Ceylon. The Broadbills are small forest birds, living in
little flocks among high trees and feeding as a rule on insects.
Some are very beautifully coloured. Among the most notice-
able are the Ix>ng-tailed Broadhill (Psarisomus dalhousiat\
which ranges from Mussoorie in the Western Himalayas to
Borneo ; two kinds of Eurylaemus^ found in Burma ; the Dusky
Broadbill (Corydon sumatranus), met with in Tenasserim and
the Malay countries ; and the grass-green frugivorous Calypto-
mena, with the bill almost concealed by the loral feathers, having
the same distribution.
Woodpeckers are very common and conspicuous throughout PicU
the Empire, no less than eighteen genera and fifty-five species
of true Woodpeckers being found, besides two ' Piculets '
(Picumnus and Sasia) and the common Wryneck (lynx tor-
quil/a\ which is a winter visitor. The Woodpeckers and
Piculets are not migratory. A large proportion of the genera are
found, within the area, only in the Eastern Himalayas, Assam,
and Burma; others are represented in the hills of Southern
India; but the kinds generally distributed throughout India
and Burma are not numerous. The two commonest in India
are the Golden-backed Woodpecker (Brachypternus aurantius)
and the Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker (Liopicus mahratten-
sis\ Several species of Green Woodpeckers (Gednu/us\ Pied
Woodpeckers (Dendrocopus\ and Pigmy Woodpeckers (fyngi-
picus] are found in the hill tracts. Among other interest-
ing forms are the Great Slaty Woodpecker (Hemilophi4s
pulverulentus] of the Himalayas and Burma; the Black Wood-
peckers (Thriponax\ represented within our limits only in
Burma and Malabar ; and the three-toed Tiga, which is
similarly distributed, but also represented in the Himalayas.
This Order, which resembles the Woodpeckers in having two Zygo-
toes, the first and fourth, directed backwards, but differs in acty l "
several structural characters as well as in appearance and
habits, comprises two families represented in India, the Honey
Guides (Indicatoridae) and the Barbets (Capitonidae). Only one
species belongs to the first, and that is a very rare Himalayan
bird (Indicator xanthonotus) ; but it and a Malayan species
are closely allied to the African birds so well known for the
assistance they afford in the discovery of bees* nests. Barbets
are fruit-eating birds ; and all Indian and Burmese species,
with one exception, are more or less grass-green in colour.
The exception is a Malayan bird (Calorhamphus hayi], found
in Tenasserim. Among the other Indian Barbets are birds
as large as a jay belonging to the genus Mega/aema, with one
Himalayan and one Burmese and Chinese species, and smaller
forms representing the genera Thcreiceryx^ Cyanops y and Xan-
tholacma^ some of which are found in all well-wooded parts of
the Empire. These Barbets have peculiar calls of one, two, or
three syllables repeated in a monotonous manner for some
minutes ; the best-known species being the little * Coppersmith '
(Xantholatma haematocephald), found in most Indian gardens,
and recognized by its monosyllabic metallic call
Next we have a somewhat heterogeneous group, comprising the Rollers (Coraciat\ Bee-eaters (M r f ropes), Kingfishers (Hafcyones), Hornbills (Bucerotes), and Hoopoes (Upupae).
All are well represented throughout India. The Indian Roller (Corarias indica), commonly called the
'blue jay' (it is not related to the true Jays), is resident
throughout India and Ceylon, being replaced by a nearly allied
species (C. affinis) in Burma. It is a familiar bird, conspicuous
by its blue plumage, and is often seen in gardens and orchards,
where it hawks insects, and sometimes feeds on lizards or mice.
It is associated with the worship of Siva. The European Roller
(C. gam<la) 3 a migratory species, visits North-western India
during migration and breeds in Kashmir and Central Asia.
The Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus oricntalis), a forest type,
is found in the Himalayas, Burma, the Malabar forests, and
Ceylon.
The Bee-eaters are slender-billed birds with, for the most
part, green plumage. One of the smallest species (Mcrops
viridis) is common almost throughout the Empire, except in
the Himalayas. Besides several other species of Merops, the
two kinds of Nyctiornis, rather larger forms, known as the
Blue-bearded and Red-bearded Bee-eaters, should be men-
tioned : the former occurring ;n the Himalayas, Burma, the
Malabar forests, and near Sambalpur in the Central Provinces;
the latter in Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula.
Hornbills, sometimes wrongly called Toucans, are rather
typical Indian birds, although the only kind found generally
in the Peninsula is the Common Grey Hornbill (Lophoccros
birostris), a small species. Two other forms of the same genus
are met with in Malabar and Ceylon and others in Africa, but
none occur in the Himalayas or in Burma, where, however,
there are numerous kinds of the great Black and White Hornbills, belonging to the gtnet&Dichoceros, Rhytidoctros, and Aceros,
birds 3 \ to 4 feet in length ; and other genera again are found in
Southern Burma. The largest of all (Dichoceros bicornis), the
garuda of many Hindus, with a broad concave casque, is also
met with in the forests of the Western Ghats ; and the smaller
Pied Hornbills of the genus Anthracococeros are represented in
the forests of South-western Bengal, as well as those of Malabar
and Ceylon, and in the Himalayas and Burma. All are mainly
frugivorous, and have a remarkable habit of the female remain-
ing built into a hollow tree during incubation, and being fed
through a small cleft by the male. The larger kinds attract
attention by the extraordinary noise they make when flying.
The next group includes the Swifts (Cypseli), Nightjars Macro-
(Caprimu/gi), and Frogmouths (Podargi). The relationship of chue *-
these forms is an open question.
The Swifts comprise several species of Cypselus, among
which is the Common Indian Swift (C. affinis), resident in
the larger towns and breeding upon old buildings. It is
replaced east of the Bay of Bengal by the Malay House Swift
(C. subfitrcatus). The European Swift (C. apus] and the
Alpine Swift (C. melba) are winter visitors to India. The
little Palm Swifts (Tac/iornis\ common about fan-palms, in
which they breed, are also represented by distinct species east
and west of the Bay of Bengal. To the genus Chaetura, com-
prising the Spinetail Swifts, belong two large species, one
Himalayan only, the other Indian and Burmese; they are
probably the swiftest of all birds and the most powerful flyers.
There are also two smaller species; one (C. sylvatica) occurring
in some of the larger Indian forests, and the other (C. Ituco-
pygialis) in Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula. The
genus Collocalia consists of the small species sometimes called
'swiftlets,' chiefly inhabiting the sea-coast, and famous as the
producers of the edible nests prized by the Chinese. One
species, however, is common in the Himalayas. Last come
the Crested Swifts (Macroptcryx}^ with the sexes differing in
colour. One species inhabits well-wooded tracts and forests
almost throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma; two others are
found in Southern Tenasserim.
Three species of Batrachostomus or Frogmouth, the Asiatic
representative of the Australian Fodargus, occur within Indian
limits : one in Ceylon and Travancore ; a second in the
Eastern Himalayas, Assam, and Burma ; and the third in
Tenasserim. They are shy nocturnal birds, and appear to be
rare, but they resemble nightjars in appearance and habit.
Distinguished by the structure of their feet, the
first and second toes being directed backwards (not the first
and fourth as in Woodpeckers, Barbets, Cuckoos, and Parrots),
and by their peculiarly soft and often beautifully coloured
plumage, are found in the tropical forests of America, Africa,
and the Indo-Malay region. Three species of Pyrotrogon or
HarpacteS) the Asiatic representative of the Order, occur in
Burma, one ranging to the Eastern Himalayas ; and a fourth
is found in the forests between the Ganges and the Godavari,
those near the western coasts of India, and in Ceylon.
Coccyges. Indian Cuckoos belong to one family (Cuculidae), and
comprise fifteen genera and thirty species, divided into two
sub-families not very easily distinguished. All members of
the first family (Cuculinae) are parasitic, laying their eggs in
the nests of other birds, while the majority of the second
sub-family (Phoenicophatnae) build their own nests. To the
first family belong four species of true Cuckoo, one of which,
the Common Cuckoo of Europe (Cuculus canorus), is widely
distributed throughout India, and breeds in the Himalayas,
and apparently also in Chota Nagpur and some other tracts,
where its well-known call is frequently heard in April and
May. There are also four Indian or Burmese species of
Hawk-cuckoo {Hierococcyx\ which resemble birds of prey
even more than the common Cuckoo does. One of these
(// varius\ found throughout India and Ceylon but not in
Burma, has received the name of * brain-fever bird ' from its
monotonous repetition of its call-note in the hot season.
The Crested Cuckoos (Coccystes) and several smaller genera
also belong to the sub-family ; one of these (Surnicu/us) is
remarkable as being an almost exact imitation in form and
plumage of the common 'king-crow 1 or Drongo, and thus
affording one of the best examples of what is known as
'mimicry' in the animal kingdom. Another small genus
(Chry>sococcyx) has glossy metallic plumage, bright-green in the
male in one species, violet in another.
Amongst the Phoenicophainae two well-known birds are
found throughout India, Ceylon, and Burma. One of these
is the Koel (Eudynamis honorata)> a frugivorous cuckoo, with
the male glossy-black and the female brown and spotted.
The loud note of this cuckoo may be heard from March to
July in almost every grove in India, especially about dawn.
Unlike most of the Phoenicophamac, the female Koel is parasitic
and lays its eggs in the nests of crows. The other familiar
member of this sub-family is the Coucal (Centropus sinensts),
often called 'crow-pheasant' in India. The genus Centropus^
of which there are several species, is distinguished by having
a long hind claw. The remaining members of the sub-family
are long-tailed ground cuckoos of feeble flight, living in scrub,
and belonging to several genera.
The majority of the Indian Parrots, including all the Psittaci.
common forms, are Paroquets belonging to the genus
PalaeorniS) distinguished by its long tail and prevailing green
colour. Of this no less than fifteen species occur within
Indian limits, but this number includes one species peculiar
to the Andamans and two to the Nicobar Islands. The
best-known kinds are the Large Paroquet, of which four
different races inhabit Ceylon, India, Burma, and the Andaman
Islands respectively ; the Blossom-headed Paroquets, of which
one race (P. cyanocephalus) is found west and the other
(P. rosa) east of the Bay of Bengal ; and, commonest of all,
the Rose-ring Paroquet (P. torquatus). The only Indian
parrots not included in Pa/acornis are two members of the
small, short-tailed Loriculus, birds not larger than a starling,
one inhabiting Ceylon, the other the Malabar forests, the
Eastern Himalayas, and Burma; and the little Malayan Parrot
(PsitttNus inccrtus), which is found in Southern Tenasserim.
Thirty-seven species of owls have been recorded within Striges.
Indian limits, belonging to eight genera. Foremost among
these is the Barn Owl {Strix flammea), of almost world-wide
distribution. Other Indian owls are : (i) two species of
PhotodiluS) small Screech Owls, one inhabiting the Himalayas
and Burma, the other Ceylon ; (2) the Long-eared Owl (Asia
otu$\ an occasional visitor to Northern India, and the Short-
eared Owl (A. accipitrinus\ found throughout the area;
(3) several Wood Owls belonging to the genus Syrnium, very
handsome birds, of moderate size, without aigrettes but with
feathered tarsi ; (4) three kinds of Fish Owl (Kctufa), larger
birds with naked tarsi, usually found near water and living
chiefly on fish and Crustacea ; (5) Eagle Owls, belonging to
the genera Bubo and Huhua, all of large size, with aigrettes
and feathered tarsi ; (6) several small owls belonging to the
genera Scops, Athene, and Glaucidium ; and (7) the Brown
Hawk Owls (Ninox), one of which is said to be the 'devil-bird 1
of Ceylon, so named from the extraordinary sounds it makes.
Of these the commonest and best-known forms are the Brown
Fish Owl (Ketupa zeyhnensis) \ the Rock Horned Owl (Bubo
tenga/ensis)y so often seen sitting on rocks or trees in hilly
country throughout the Peninsula of India ; the variable
Scops Owl (Scofs giu), one form or another of which may
be met with almost everywhere in India and Burma ; and
the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama), which is even more
widely spread, and, being less purely nocturnal, is much more
frequently seen.
Indian birds of prey belong to three families, one
containing the O^prey alone, the second the Vultures, the
third Eagles, Kites, Harriers, Buzzards, Hawks, and Falcons.
The number and variety of diurnal birds of prey in India
are very great, no less than eighty-two species having been
recognized, representing thirty-five genera.
The Osprey is a winter visitor throughout India and Burma,
and may be seen about large rivers and the sea-coast where
fish, on which it lives, are numerous.
Vultures abound throughout India and Northern Burma ;
they are less common in Tenasscrim, and wanting in Ceylon.
The Cinereous Vulture (Vultur monachus) and the Griffon
(Gyps fulvus) are met with only in Northern India ; but the
Black Vulture (Otogyps sa/vus) 9 the Indian Long-billed Vulture
(Gyps indicus), and the White-backed Vulture (Pseudogyps
bengalensis) are everywhere seen the first, however, being by
no means abundant, while the last is extremely common.
Two other species of Gyps also occur in the Himalayas.
The White Scavenger Vulture (Neophron ginginianus) is
ubiquitous in India, and haunts the neighbourhood of human
habitations ; but it is very rare in Ceylon, and unknown in
Burma or even in Lower Bengal.
First among the Falconidae comes the Bearded Vulture
or Lammergeyer (Gypaetus barbatus\ supposed in the Alps
to live upon lambs and occasionally upon children, but found
in the Himalayas, where it is common, to subsist upon carrion
and to have a particular preference for bones. Besides the
Himalayas, this great bird haunts the higher ranges in the
Punjab and Sind, Of the true eagles, the Golden Eagle
(Aquila chrysaetus) is found in the Himalayas, and the
Imperial Eagle (A. heliacd) is far from rare throughout
Northern India, chiefly, however, as a winter visitor. The
Steppe Eagle (A. bifasciata) is another North Indian migrant.
The small Tawny Eagle (A. vindhiana) is common throughout
the greater part of India and in Upper Burma, while the
Spotted Eagles (A. maculata and A. hastata\ the latter
peculiar to the Indian Peninsula, inhabit the neighbourhood
of marshes. Bonelli's Eagle (Hieraetus fascia/us) and the
Booted Eagle (//. pennatus) are also Indian, but the latter
only is Burmese. The various Hawk Eagles (Lophotriorchis >
Ictinaetus, and Spizaetus] are woodland birds, one or the
other of which is found in all Indian forests ; while the
European Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus ga/licus) is found through-
out India but not farther east, and the Crested Serpent Eagle
(Spitornis cfaelci) is to be met with almost throughout the
Empire, and is easily recognized when soaring by its strongly
banded wings and tail. It varies greatly in size and somewhat
in colour. Two other species of the same genus occur in the
Nicobars and Andamans. Next to the true eagles come the
small Buzzard Eagles (Butas1ur\ with three species ; five kinds
of Fishing Eagles or Sea Eagles (Haliaetus and Polioaetus), all
of large size ; and the Brahmani Kite (Haliastur indus),
associated with the Hindu deity, Vishnu. This handsome
bird, with a maroon back and the head and lower parts white,
lives chiefly on fish ; and is found commonly in the neighbour-
hood of water.
The Common Indian Kite (Afilvits govinda] swarms about
towns and villages throughout the Empire, and its peculiar
squealing call is almost as well known as the call of the Indian
crow. A larger kite also occurs, but is rare. Six or seven
different Harriers are winter visitors to the country ; among
these the commonest is the Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus],
of which the handsome adult, so rare in Europe, is frequently
seen in India. Two other species, the Pale Harrier (C. macrurus)
and Montagu's Harrier (C. cineraccus\ are commonly noticed
hawking over open, grassy plains ; and to the eastward the pied
Harrier (C. nitlanoleucus) is found, especially in flat marshy
tracts. Buzzards are represented by the Indian race of the
Common Buzzard (Butco dcsertoruni) y widely distributed but
rare; by the Long-legged Buzzard (B.ferox) in the Himalayas
and North-western India, where it is common in winter ; and
by two kinds, both rare, one of them a Rough-legged Buzzard,
in the Himalayas only. The Goshawk (Astur palumbariui) is
also Himalayan and is largely tamed for hawking, while the
Shikra (A. badius), a much smaller form, is common arid
resident all over India and Burma. It too is tamed and trained
to be flown at quails, partridges, and especially crows. The
Crested Goshawk (Lophospizias trivirgatus) is a rare forest
bird. The common Sparrow-hawk (Aca'fiter nisus) is a winter
visitor, and the resident Besra Sparrow-hawk (A. virgatos) is
rather locally distributed. The Honey Buzzard (Pernis crista-
tus), easily recognized by the closely feathered sides of the
head, is not uncommon.
Passing over the rare genera, Baza and Machaeramphns,
the next birds requiring notice are the true falcons. The
Peregrine (Fako pcrcgrinus) is a winter visitor, while the more
deeply coloured Shahin Falcon (F. peregrinator) is resident in
the Indian forests ; the Barbary Falcon (F. barbarus) and the
Saker or Cherrug (F. cherrug) inhabit North-western India ;
and the Laggar (F.jugger) occurs throughout the Peninsula in
open and cultivated country. All these birds are occasionally
reclaimed for hawking, but the sport has greatly declined in
India during the course of the last century. The Hobby and
Merlin are winter visitors, almost confined to Northern India.
The Indian Hobby (Falco severus) is found in the Himalayas
and scattered over India and Burma, while the turumti or
Red-headed Merlin (Aesalon chicqncra) is common and resident
in many parts of the Indian Peninsula. Kestrels (Tinnun-
culus alaudarius) are generally distributed ; the majority are
winter visitors, but a few breed in India. The Smaller Kestrel
(T. ctnchris) and the Eastern Red-legged Falcon (Erythropus
amurensis) are rare migratory forms, only occasionally seen.
The only other members of the Falcon tribe requiring notice
are the Pigmy Falcons or Falconets (Aficrohierax), small birds
scarcely larger than a lark, feeding on insects, inhabiting open
tracts in forests, and differing from all other Accipitrine birds
by laying their eggs in holes in trees, like owls and parrots.
One species (M. eutolmus), with much rufous beneath, is found
in the Himalayas and Burma ; a second (M. melanoleucus)^ pure
white beneath, in Assam; and a third ( M, fringillarius^ in
Tenasserim.
Pigeons and Doves are common birds in all parts of India
and Burma, and no less than six different groups, families, or
sub-families are represented. The first of these, the Green
Pigeons (Trcroninat)> are birds of yellowish-green plumage,
often with patches of chestnut or lilac on the upper surface.
All have feet adapted for perching ; they live in flocks among
the trees, and feed on fruit. The commonest forms are species
belonging to the genus Crocopus, which are often met with
near towns and villages, and which haunt the Banyan and
Pipal when those trees are in fruit. The other species are
forest birds, and are not found in the cleared and cultivated
parts of the country.
The second group is composed of the large Imperial Carpo-
Pigeons, most of which are dark-green or coppery-brown on p a inac *
the back and grey below. They keep to the forest tracts, such
as the Himalayas, Burma, Orissa, and the Malabar coastlands,
and feed on fruit. One black and white bird, the Pied Imperial
Pigeon, inhabits the Malay Archipelago and extends its range
to the Andamans and Nicobars. The same area is inhabited
by the only member of the third group, the beautiful Nicobar
Pigeon (Caloenas nicobaricd], which has long neck-hackles and
a prevailing coloration of metallic green with bronze reflections,
it breeds in enormous numbers on Batti Malv, an uninhabited
island of the Nicobars.
The fourth sub-family is also repre-
sented in India by a single species, the Bronze-winged Dove
(CJuilcofhaps indica], which haunts damp and thickly wooded
tracts and, like the Nicobar Pigeon, feeds on the ground. The
True Pigeons (Columlnnae) comprise the Indian Blue Rock
Pigeon, a very near ally of the Blue Rock of Europe, and
found, like that bird, breeding on rocks or buildings, and, very
commonly in India, in the sides of wells, and also eastern
races of the Stock Pigeon or Stock Dove and Wood Pigeon ;
but while the first-named species is widely spread, the two
latter are found only in North-western India. Several kinds,
allied to the Wood Pigeon but belonging to distinct genera
(Dendrotreron and Alsocornus\ are met with in the forests of
the Himalayas, Burma, Southern India, and Ceylon ; but they
are rare forms, whilst the Doves, of which eight species occur
in India, furnish some of the commonest birds in the country.
The only remaining group (Geopeliinae) is represented by
a single Malay species, iound within our limits only in Southern
Tenasserim.
The Sand-grouse are intermediate in structure between Pterocletes.
Pigeons and the true Game Birds. They are chiefly found
in open country, being most abundant in the dry semi-desert
tracts of Sind and the Punjab. They are as a rule about the
size of a pigeon a few being larger and of a yellowish-brown
colour ; they are swift of flight, they always rest and feed on
the ground, and they fly to water at particular hours in the
morning and evening. Seven species occur in India, but none
are known in the countries east of the Bay of Bengal, and only
two of the seven are met with elsewhere in India than in the
Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, and the United Provinces, while
one species, belonging to a different genus (Syrrliaptes
tibetanus), is peculiar to Tibet.
The Game Birds proper, Peafowl, Jungle-fowl, Pheasants,
Partridges, Quails, &c., include fifty-eight species enumerated
in the Fauna, a number raised to seventy-one in Mr. Oates's
Game Birds of India. The difference depends partly upon the
limits assigned to the area, and partly on the question whether
certain pheasants should be regarded as species or varieties ;
but some of Mr. Oates's additions are recent discoveries within
Indian limits.
Peafowl are met with throughout the greater part of India,
Ceylon, and Burma ; but the Burmese and Malay species
(Pavo muticus) is distinct from the Common Peacock of India
and Ceylon (P. cristotus), having the neck green instead of
blue, and a different crest. In some parts of India peafowl
are considered sacred by Hindus, and they live in a semi-
domesticated state around villages in Gujarat, Rajputana, and
Sind.
The great Argus Pheasant (Argusianus ar&us\ a Malay
species, is known within Indian limits only in Southern
Tenasserim. The Grey Peacock Pheasant (Polyplcctrum
ehinquis) inhabits the forests of the Lower Himalayas east of
Sikkim, and the hill ranges of Assam and Burma.
The Indian Jungle-fowls are three in number. The Red
Jungle-fowl (Callus ftrrugineus), from which all domestic fowls
are derived, inhabits a large part of South-eastern Asia,
including Burma, Assam, the Lower Himalayas throughout, and
the Peninsula as far south as the Godavari to the eastward, but
not west of about 80 E. long. The remainder of the Indian
Peninsula is inhabited by the Grey Jungle-fowl (G. sonnerati)^
easily recognized by yellow and white spots of peculiar struc
ture on the neck-hackles of the male ; while a third species
(G.lafayetth) is peculiar to Ceylon. Each has its own peculiar
call-note or crow. The Burmese race of Red Jungle-fowl
differs from the Indian by having a red instead of a white
ear-lappet, and it is said to be more easily tamed.
Jungle- fowls are very nearly allied to Pheasants, of which
however, using the name as generally understood, none inhabit
India proper or Ceylon, while four Himalayan genera are
unknown in any other part of the Empire. These are the
Chlr Pheasant (Catreus wallichi), the Koklas or Pucras
(Pucrasia macrolopha\ the Monals (Lophophorus refulgens and
L. imptyanus), and the Blood Pheasant (Ithagenes cruentus).
The Horned Pheasants or Tragopans, sometimes wrongly
called Argus Pheasants, are represented by two species in the
Himalayas, one (Tragopan melanocephalus) to the westward,
and the Crimson Horned Pheasant (T. satyra\ in Nepal, Sikkim,
and Bhutan, while a third species (T. blythi) is found in some
of the higher hill ranges south of Assam. All of these genera
are Central Asiatic and are represented in parts of China.
The true pheasants of the genus Phasianus, occurring through-
out temperate Asia, are represented by two species (P. humiae
and P. elegans] in Northern Burma and Manipur; while the
beautiful Amherst Pheasant (Callophasis amhcrstiae] has been
met with on the frontier between Burma and Yunnan, and one
species of the Malayan Fire-backed Pheasants (Lofhura rufa \
ranges into Southern Tenasserim.
The genus Gennaeus^ con-
taining the Silver Pheasants of China and the Hinicllayan Kalij,
comprises four species in the Lower Himalayas (one of them
also inhabiting the ranges south of Assam), and several Burmese
kinds, the precise number being rather uncertain, as they show
a tendency to pass into each other. To the eastward these
birds approach the Chinese Silver Pheasant in plumage and
size ; to the westward they resemble more nearly the Hima-
layan Kalij. They are known as Silver Pheasants in Burma.
The Spur-fowls (Gallopcrdix) are about the size of a
partridge. They keep to forests and are found only in India
and Ceylon, being unknown east of the Bay of Bengal and
west of the Indus river, though one species occurs at the base
of the Himalayas in Oudh. Their name is derived from the
presence of two or more spurs on each tarsus in the male, and
sometimes in the female. Two kinds inhabit the Indian
Peninsula, and one is peculiar to Ceylon. A bird known as
the Western Bamboo Partridge {Bambusicola fytchii\ found
in the hills of Northern Burma and Assam, and congeneric
with species inhabiting Southern China and Formosa, may
represent the Spur-fowls of India.
A considerable number of small Indian gallinaceous birds
not having any very definite relations to each other may for con-
venience be classed collectively as Quails. The most important
are the Common or Grey Quail (Coturnix com munis), a winter
visitor to India and Burma, and the Black-breasted or Rain
Quail (C. coromandclica), a resident species. To the eastward
a few individuals of the Japanese race of the Grey Quail are said to have been obtained. Next in impor-
tance are five species of Bush Quail : two of Perdicula^ peculiar
to the Indian Peninsula, except that one of them occurs in
Northern Ceylon; and three of Microperdix^ two of which
inhabit the Indian Peninsula, while the third has recently
been discovered in Manipur. Then there is the Blue-breasted
Quail (Excalfactoria ehinensis\ resident in swampy country
throughout the Empire ; and two species which only just come
within our limits the Mountain Quail (Ophrysia suptrcilio$a\
of which a very few specimens have been obtained at Mussoorie
and Nainl Tal; and the Green Wood Quail (Rollulus roulrout),
a Malay bird found in Southern Tenasserim.
Another group may be classed as Partridges. This includes
in the first place five species of Francotinus, beginning with the
Black Partridge or Common Francolin of the Mediterranean
countries (F. ru/garis), found throughout Northern India, but
replaced in the Bombay and Madras Presidencies generally
by the Painted Partridge (/". fief us) t and in Northern Burma
by the Chinese Francolin (F. chinensis). Two other Indian
partridges, by many arranged in a different genus (Ortygiornis\
are the common Grey Partridge, found throughout India and
Northern Ceylon, and also westward as far as the Persian
Gulf, but not east of the Bay of Bengal ; and the Kyah or
Swamp Partridge, which inhabits the high grass jungles of the
Ganges and Brahmaputra plains. The remaining partridges
are not found in the Indian Peninsula.
They are the Chikor
(Caccabis chucar] and the Sfsf (Ammoptrdix bonhami\
Western Asiatic types, both found in the hills of the Punjab
and Sind, and the Chukor also throughout the Western
Himalayas; a species of true Partridge (Perdix hodgsoniac\
allied to the European bird but inhabiting Tibet; and the
Hill Partridges (Arboricola, Tropicoperdix, and Caloperdix\
three of which, belonging to Arboricola, are Himalayan, and
five more Assamese or Burmese. All are about the same size
as the common partridge, and they are rather handsome birds,
inhabiting forest.
In the Higher Himalayas are found the Snow Partridge
(Lerwa nivicold), a bird much resembling Red Grouse in size
and appearance ; and two species of Snow Cocks (Tetraoga!lu$\
fine birds about the size of a Capercaillie.
Lastly, in the Nicobar Islands, a species occurs of the family
Megapodiidae, the other members of which family inhabit the
Philippines, Celebes, Papuasia, and Australia. Like their allies,
the Nicobar Mcgapodes lay their eggs in mounds of decaying
vegetable matter built by themselves and supplying the heat
necessary for incubation.
Although differing in several important anatomical characters, HcmipodiL
the five species of Hemipodes (Turnix) found in the Indian
Empire much resemble quails in size, appearance, and plumage,
but are distinguished by having no hind toe. Females are
larger than males, and while the latter sit on the eggs and
guard the young brood, the females challenge and fight each
other. These birds are generally found singly in grass.
The next Order consists of Rails, Finfeet, Cranes, and Bustards. Grallae.
The Rails (Rallidae) comprise nineteen species belonging to
ten genera. Several are Water-rails, belonging to the genera
Rallus, Hypotacnidia, and Porzana ; there are three kinds of
banded Crakes (Rallina)^ and other Crakes, Water-hens, and
Moor-hens, referred to Amaurornis and Gallinula.
These are
seldom seen, as they hide in grassy swamps ; the only birds
at all commonly observed are the White-breasted Water-hen
(Amaurornis photnicurus) and the common Moor-hen (Gallinula
cfdorofus), both of which are widely distributed throughout India
and Burma. The Kora or Water Cock (Gallicrex cinered)
inhabits warm swampy plains, especially in Bengal and Assam,
and is often kept tame by natives. The Purple Moor-hen
(Porphyrio poliocephalus) is common among high reeds
around large marshes, and climbs about the reeds like a
gigantic Grass-warbler; and the Common Coot (Fulica atra\
though very locally distributed, is found on many of the larger
pieces of inland water.
The Masked Finfoot (Hcliopais personatd)^ the toes of which
are lobed like a Coot's, is the only Asiatic representative of
the family Heliornithidae, the few other existing members of
which are African or American. It is found on the coast, or on
rivers, from Assam through Burma to Malacca and Sumatra.
Six kinds of Cranes (Gruidae) are met with in India or
Burma. Of these the Demoiselle (Anthropoidts virgo), the
Common Crane (Grus communis)^ and the Great White Crane
(G. leucogeranus) are winter visitors to Northern India, the
Demoiselle and Common Crane being found as far south as
the Deccan, often in large numbers. The Saras Crane (G.
antigonc} and its Burmese representative (G. sharpii) are
resident species, large and beautiful birds, generally protected
and seldom or never molested by the inhabitants of the country.
They are consequently very tame. Another Crane (G.
monachus], a species of North-eastern Asia, has recently been
obtained in Assam.
The Bustards are six in number. None of them occur in
Burma or in Ceylon. The Great Bustard and Little Bustard
of Europe have been occasionally obtained in the extreme
North-west of the Punjab only. The Great Indian Bustard
(Eupodotis edwardsi), males of which often weigh 25 to
30 lb., is resident ; it haunts open plains in North-western
India and the Deccan as far south as Mysore. The Houbara
(Houbara macquefni}^ a much smaller bird, is a winter visitor
to the Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, and Northern Gujarat. The
two Floricans (Sypheotis) are peculiar to India and breed in
the country ; the smaller of them (S. auritci) being found
throughout the Peninsula, while the larger species (S. bengakn-
sis) is met with only in the plain of the Ganges and Brahma-
putra. In both the male becomes black in the breeding
season.
The next Order contains, besides the Plovers and Snipes,
several families of wading-birds of small or moderate size.
The first of these families contains the Stone Curlews or
Stone Plovers (Oedicnemidae)^ represented by the Common
Stone Curlew, often called the Bastard Florican in India
(Oedicntmus scoiopiix), an inhabitant of stony plains, and also
two species of Esacus, the Great Stone Plo\er (7T. rccurvi-
rostris)) found on the banks of rivers, and the Australian Stone
Plover (E. magnirostris), which lives on the shores of the
Andaman Islands. The next family (I)romadidae) contains
a single species, the Crab Plover (Dramas ardeola)^ a white
bird the size of a pigeon, found locally on the shores of the
Indian Ocean. The third family (Glareolidae) comprises the
Coursers and Pratincoles. The Coursers or Courier Plovers
include two species of Cursorius (C. coromandtlicHS), peculiar
to India, and a European bird (C. gal/icus), found in the
Punjab, Sind, and Rajputana.
These birds inhabit open
plains ; but the third Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus}> a
member of a genus that is with this exception purely African,
is found in thin forests from the Godavari valley to the
neighbourhood of Madras. Of Pratincoles or Swallow Plovers
(Gtareota), three species are Indian, two being widely dis-
tributed and breeding, whilst the third is the European
Collared Pratincole, which has been found in Sind. A fourth
family (Parridae) consists of the Ja^anas, marsh birds with
enormously long toes and claws, by means of which they can
run over floating leaves of water-lilies and other plants. Two
species are Indian, the Bronze-winged Ja^ani (Metopidius
indicus) and the Pheasant-tailed Jar;ana (ffydrophasianus
chirurgu3\ both found throughout India and Burma in suitable
localities.
The Plover family (Charadriidae) includes, besides Plovers
and Snipes, a considerable number of waders, many of which
are migratory, and it may be divided into four sub-families.
The first of these (Charadriinae) contains, besides the Plovers
proper, the Turnstone, a rare winter visitor to the sea-coast.
Then come several birds more or less allied to the Lapwing
(Vanel/us vulgaris)^ itself a winter visitor to North-western
India. These are the Red-wattled (Sarcogrammus) and
Yellow-wattled lapwing (Sarciophoms), common Indian types,
known by their peculiar cries, that of the former being
anglicized as ' Uid-you-do-it ' (' Pity -to-do-it ' is nearer the
bird's cry). A species of Sarcogrammus occurs in Burma,
but no Sarciophorus ranges east of the Bay of Bengal. Another
allied form is the Indian Spur-winged Plover (Hoplopterus
ventra/is), found on the banks of rivers, usually singly, in
Central and North-eastern India and Burma. Here also
belong some migratory birds included in the genera Micro-
sarcops and C/iettusia y which visit parts of Northern India in
winter. The typical migratory plovers are the Eastern Golden
Plover (Charadriusfulvus), found in open country throughout
the Empire in winter; the European Golden Plover (C.
pluvialis), occasionally obtained in North-western India ; the
Grey Plover (Squatarola hc!vctica\ not common but widely
distributed ; and several species of Afgialitis or Sand and
Ring Plovers, one of which, the Little Ringed Plover (Ac.
duAia\ common throughout the Empire, breeds in large
numbers in India, although even in this case the majority of
the birds seen in winter are migratory. The Kentish Plover
(Ac. alexandrina) also breeds at times in the Indian Peninsula.
The next sub-family (Ilaematopodinae} contains the Sea-Pie
or Oyster-catcher (//aematofits ostra/egus\ a winter visitor to
the Indian coast; the Black-winged Stilt (Ilhnantofus cattdidus\
a common, and the Avocet (Rccurvirvstris aroccfta\ a rare
winter visitor, the former alone extending its range to Burma ;
and the Ibis-bill (Ibidorhynchus $truthcrsi\ formerly known as
the Red-billed Curlew, a Central Asiatic bird, found resident
on the Higher Himalayas and the Naga Hills in Assam.
The Totaninac contain the Curlews, Godwits, Sandpipers,
and Stints. Both the Curlew (Numcnius arquata} and the
Whimbrel (N. fhaeofus) are winter visitors, and so is the
Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa dclgica\ while the Bar-tailed
Godwit (L* /tifltomca) has hitherto been obtained within Indian
limits only in Sind. Sandpipers and Stints are found every-
where, the commonest forms in India being the Wood Sandpiper
(Totanus glareola) and the Green Sandpiper (7! ochropus),
both known as ' snippets ' by Indian sportsmen. Redshanks,
Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Ruffs and Reeves, Sander-
lings, Little Stints, and other kinds of Tringa % Dunlins, and
Red-necked Phalaropes are among the migratory waders that
visit India in winter, while some other forms, as the Grey
Phalarope, have been obtained occasionally. The Red-necked
Phalarope is common on the Baluchistan coast, where it spends
the day in flocks on the sea, often several miles from land.
The Woodcocks and Snipes, with long, soft sensitive bills,
form the last sub-family (Scolopadnae). The Woodcock breeds
on the Himalayas, and in winter visits the Nilgiris and other
hill ranges of Southern India in considerable numbers. The
Snipes found generally in India belong to two species : the
Common Snipe, or Fantail (Gallinago coclcstis), identical with
the European bird; and the Pintail Snipe (G. stenura\ an
eastern species, distinguished by having twenty-six tail-feathers
instead of fourteen or sixteen, the outer eight on each side
being narrow and stiff, and by some slight differences of
plumage, especially by the wing-lining and axillaries being
richly barred with blackish-brown.
The Common Snipe is the
more abundant to the westward in India, the Pintail is the
prevalent form in Burma. The Jack Snipe (G. galtinula)
is rare, except occasionally in Northern India. Two large
snipes, the Wood Snipe (G. nemoricold) and the Himalayan
Solitary Snipe (G. solitaria), inhabit the Himalayan and Assam
hills, and the former is also found in the hills of Southern
India. The Painted Snipe (Rostratula capensis),& non-migratory
bird of weak flight, with the sexes differing in plumage, is found
throughout India, Burma, and Southern Asia, and also in Africa
and Madagascar.
Gulls and Terns form an Order by themselves, nearly allied
to the Plovers, as might be inferred from the similarity between
the eggs.
Seven kinds of Gull are found on the coasts of Sind and
Baluchistan ; of these only four are known from the Bay of
Bengal, and only two in Ceylon, there being a considerable
diminution in the numbers to the eastward and southward.
The commonest kinds in India are the Laughing Gull (Larus
ridibundus), the Brown-headed Gull (Z. brunneictphalus\ and
the Yellow-legged Herring-gull (Z, cachinnans)^ with, to the
westward, the Sooty Gull (Z. hemfrichi\ the Slender-billed
Gull (Z. gcla$tes\ and the Dark-backed Herring Gull (Z. affinis).
The first three are often seen about rivers and large marshes
inland. None breed in the Indian Peninsula.
Terns are more numerous in India than gulls, there being
twenty-one species known, including two kinds of Noddy
(Anous\ only found on the open sea, and three other oceanic
terns. The common terns found inland about rivers and
marshes are the Whiskered Tern (Hydroc/ielidon hybrida\ the
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia), the Gull-billed Tern (Sterna
anglica\ the Indian River Tern (S. seenci), and the Black-billed
Tern (S. mdanogaster), the last being one of the commonest of
Indian water-birds. The Indian Skimmer, or Scissors-bill
(Rhynchops albicollis\ with both mandibles of the bill com-
pressed and the upper the shorter, is very tern-like in
appearance, but differs in many respects. It keeps to rivers
and large pieces of fresh water.
Richardson's Skua (Stcrcorarius crepidattts} occurs in winter
on the Maknin and Sind coasts, and individuals of two other
species of Skua have been recorded within Indian limits.
Pelicans, Frigate-birds, Cormorants, Gannets or Boobies, Stegano-
and Tropic-birds, all distinguished by having the four toes P ^-
united by a web, form the next Order. Only the Pelicans
and Cormorants are found inland ; members of the other three
families are oceanic; two kinds of Frigate birds, three Boobies,
and three Tropic-birds have been observed in the Indian seas.
Four kinds of Pelicans occur in India ; but of these the
Dalmatian Pelican (Pelicanus erispits) is only found in winter
in the north-western part of the country, and P. onocrotalus is
rare as an Indian bird. The other two species, the Eastern
White Pelican (P. roseus) and the Spotted-billed Pelican
(P. philippensis\ are more generally distributed, the latter being
the commonest, and breeding in the country.
Three Cormorants are among the resident Indian water-
birds : the I^arge Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), the Indian
Shag (P. fuscicollis), and the Little Cormorant (P.javanicus\
the latter being by far the commonest. The Indian Darter or
Snake-bird (P lotus melanogas(er) is also generally distributed.
Of the four Indian members of the Cormorant family, the
Large Cormorant alone is met with on the sea.
The Petrels are oceanic' birds. Five species have been Tubinares.
recorded in the seas around India, and others indicated.
Small Stormy Petrels are not rare, and probably two or three
species are represented, but very few specimens have been
obtained. A Shearwater (Pujfinus fenicus) is met with off
Bombay and Sind, and another species (P. chlororhynchus) has
been occasionally recorded from Ceylon and Makr^n.
llcrodioncs. The Ibises, Spoonbills, Storks, and Herons form a far
more important part of Indian bird life.
The Ibises are the
White Ibis (Ibis melanocephahi), a near relative of the Egyptian
Sacred Ibis; two kinds of Black Ibis (Inocotis papillosus of
Northern India, and /. davisoni of Southern Burma); and the
Glossy Ibis. All except the last are resident, and even the
Glossy Ibis breeds in Sind and in Ceylon. Spoonbills (Platalea
Uucorodia) are somewhat local, but they occur and breed in
several parts of India, though not in Burma.
Among Storks, the common White Stork (Ciconia alba]
and the Black Stork (C. nigra] are winter visitors to Northern
India, while the White-necked Stork (Disst4ra <piscopus\ a
common Indian bird, the great Black-necked Stork (Xenorhyn-
chus asiaticus\ two kinds of Adjutant (Leptoptilus dubius and
L. javanitus}, the Painted Stork (Pstudotantalus kucocephahts\
and the curious Open-bill (Anastomus osritans) are resident.
The Larger Adjutant (Z. dubius) was formerly common in
Calcutta from March to October, being attracted by the
heaps of refuse ; but improved sanitary regulations have
banished both offal and Adjutants from the city. All the
storks named are widely distributed, but Anastomus is par-
ticularly common in the great plain of Northern India.
The Heron family (ArdeiJae) is represented by eleven
genera and twenty-one species. The principal of these are
the Common Heron (Ardea dnerea\ the Eastern Purple Heron
(A. manillensis\ and the three White Egrets (Herodia alba,
large; //. intermedia, smaller; and //. garzctta, smaller still),
with the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus}, which is white
in winter, but becomes buff-coloured in the summer. All of
these are common and widely distributed. The Reef Herons
(Leptcrodius) keep to the coasts, and present the remarkable
peculiarity of some individuals being pure white, others slaty
grey. The small Pond Herons, or * paddy-birds ' as they are
commonly called in India, belong to the genus Ardcola. One
of them (A. grayi) occurs throughout the Empire and is very
common ; it is dull greyish-brown when sitting, but makes a
startling display of its white body and wings when it flies away.
A second species (A. bacchus) inhabits Burma. The Little
Green Heron (Butoridcs javanicd) and the Night Heron
(Nycticorax griseus) are crepuscular in their habits, as are the
Malay Bittern (Gorsachius), several species of Little Bitterns
(Ardttta\ the Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis), and the
European Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), the latter alone being
migratory. None of the Bitterns are common ; all hide in long
grass and reeds during the day.
Two Flamingoes are found in India and Ceylon, none being Phoeni-
known to the east of the Bay of Bengal. The Common c P tcri -
Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rosens) is locally common, especially
in the north-west of India. The Lesser Flamingo (P. miner)
is a rare bird.
Two kinds of swan, the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) and the Anseres.
Whooper (C. tnusicns), have been obtained as rare stragglers in
North-western India. Of geese, five species visit the country
in winter, but only two are anywhere common. These are the
Grey Lag (Anser ferus\ which is a visitor to Northern India
and Northern Burma, and especially to North-western India ;
and the Barred headed Goose (A. indicus), which is common
in winter in Northern India and Burma, and rarer, though
occasionally met with, as far south as Mysore.
Ducks are numerous, most of the common European kinds
visiting India, and there are several resident species as well.
Altogether twenty-one genera are represented, or, including
Smews and Mergansers, twenty three. The majority are winter
visitors ; and of these the Sheldrake, Mallard, Widgeon, and
Marbled Duck, as well as some occasional visitors, such as
Falcated Teal, Baikal Teal, Eastern (or Baer's) White-eyed
Duck, Scaup, and Golden-eye, appear only in the northern part
of the country ; others, like the Gadwall, Shoveller, Pochard,
Red-crested Pochard, White-eyed and Tufted Ducks, range
about as far south as Mysore in India and Ava in Burma, but
arc rare or wanting farther to the southward. A few, however,
of which the principal are the Ruddy Sheldrake or Brahmani
Duck, commonly seen in pairs on the banks of rivers, the
Pintail, Common Teal, and Blue winged Teal or Garganey, are
found almost throughout the Empire in winter. The Mallard
and White-eyed Duck breed in large numbers m Kashmir.
The resident Ducks, which breed in tropical India, are the
following : the Comb Duck or Nukta (Sarcidiornis\ widely
distributed ; the rare White-winged Wood Duck of Assam,
Burma, and the Malay countries ; the Pink-headed Duck
(Rhodonessa), almost peculiar to Upper Bengal ; the two
Whistling Teals (Dendro<ygna\ found generally throughout
the Empire, the smaller kind (D. javanicd) being very
common ; the little Cotton Teal (Nettopus coromandeliamis\
with similar distribution ; the Spotted-billed Duck (Anas
foccilorhyncha)) common in India and Northern Burma,
but replaced in parts of the Shan States by the allied Chinese
species (A. zonorhynchd) ; and the Andaman Teal, almost pecu-
liar to the Andaman Islands, though it has been obtained
in Pegu.
Smews visit Northern India in winter, and the Goosander
(Merganser castor) is common along the base of the Himalayas
at the same season. The Goosander has also been found in
parts of Bengal and in Northern Burma, and it breeds in the
interior of the Himalayas. The Red-breasted Merganser is a
rare visitor in winter to the coasts of Sind and Bombay,
Fygo- The Indian Little Grebe (Podicepes captnsis> v. albipcnnis) is a
podcs. permanent resident generally distributed in India and Burma.
The Great Crested Grebe (P. cristatus) visits Northern India
and Burma in winter ; and the Eared Grebe (P. nigru'ollis) is
of much rarer occurrence.
The Reptiles of India are far more numerous than the
Mammals, and more destructive to human life ; snake-bites alone
cause more deaths than all the wild beasts together. As
already stated, 146 genera and 534 species of Reptiles were
described in the Fauna in 1890; but a fresh enumeration
made ten years later, in 1900, shows an increase in the num-
bers to 153 genera, containing 558 species. These belong to
three Orders: (i) Emydosauria^ or Crocodiles; (2) Chelonia>
or Tortoises and Turtles ; and (3) Squamata^ or Lizards and
Snakes.
Three kinds of Crocodile inhabit India, two with broad
snouts belonging to the genus Crocodilus, and one with an
elongate snout belonging to the genus Gaviaiis or Ghariyll.
The former are often called ' alligators ' in India ; but no repre-
sentative of the American crocodries, to which the name
'alligator* properly applies, is Indian, although one is Chinese.
The common fresh-water Crocodile of India, Ceylon, and
Burma, found in almost every river and marsh and often
in ponds, is C. palustris, the magar of Northern India, a
species that seldom, if ever, exceeds 12 feet in length. The
large crocodiles found in Indian and Burmese estuaries and in
some of the larger rivers, and occasionally seen in the sea,
belong to another species (C. porosus\ which attains much
greater dimensions and has even been known to measure more
than thirty feet long.
This large crocodile is found in suitable
localities all round the Bay of Bengal, and also west of Cape
Comorin in Travancore and Cannanore, but it has not been
positively identified farther to the north-west. It is still un-
certain which species inhabits the delta of the Indus, but
C.palustris is found at Magar Plr, west of Karachi, and in
Baluchistan. C. porosus is distinguished from C. palustris by
having a snout more than \\ times as long as it is broad, and
generally by wanting the two pairs of small anterior nuchal
shields just behind the occiput and considerably in front of the
four large shields, with two or four smaller scutes at the side, at
the back of the neck, which are found in both species. In
C.palustris the snout is less than \\ times as long as it is
broad.
The Ghariyal has had its name converted into * Gavial/ pro-
bably through a blunder or a misprint. It is purely a fish-
eating river crocodile, never found in ponds or marshes, nor (so
far as is known) in tidal estuaries. It inhabits the rivers Indus,
Ganges, and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. It is also found
in the Mahanadi river in Orissa, and the Kaladan in Arakan ;
and as the Ghariyal never crosses the land as C. palustris does,
nor enters the sea as C. porosus is in the habit of doing, its
presence in the Mahanadi and Kaladan may indicate that
these rivers were at one time tributaries of the Ganges. The
Ghariyal is a species of considerable antiquity, and its remains
are found abundantly in the Pliocene beds of the Siwalik hills.
The few species of land tortoises properly so called that are Chelonia.
found in India and Burma are of no particular interest. The
commonest, Testudo e/egans in India and T. playtynota in
Burma, have prettily marked shells with radiating yellow streaks
on a black ground. The ordinary fresh-water tortoises inhabit*
ing rivers and marshes are numerous and belong to various
genera ; more are found in Burma than in India, but eight
species are recorded from the Gangetic area. Among these
are the comparatively large Batagur baska and one or two
allied species, of which the carapace is often i \ to 2 feet long.
These are herbivorous and edible.
The river turtles of the genus Trionyx and its allies are
generally depressed in form and have the carapace covered by
a soft skin. Some grow to a considerable size, exceeding the
measurements usually given in books ; thus Chitra indica is
said by Theobald to have a carapace three feet long. These
turtles are carnivorous and aggressive. The genus Emyda,
belonging to the same family, is smaller and more globose. All
are widely distributed.
In the seas around India are found the Green Turtle (Chclonc mydas\ the Hawk's-bill Turtle (C. imbricatd), both
with four pairs of lateral or costal shields above, the Logger-
head {Thalassochelys caretta} with five pairs, and the great
Leathery Turtle (Dermoc/ie/ys coriacea). The Green Turtle
alone is herbivorous and edible. The Hawk's-bill Turtle
yields the tortoise-shell of commerce.
Lizards and snakes are remarkably numerous, the former
being represented in India, Ceylon, and Burma by 55 genera
and 225 species, besides a Chameleon ; and the latter by no
less than 78 genera and 286 species. The distribution within
the Indian area of these two groups, of which only a few types
are fluviatile or marine, is different from that of the crocodiles,
which are entirely aquatic, and the tortoises, which are mainly
aquatic. Among the land Reptiles there is a greater distinction
between the genera inhabiting different parts of the area than
is the case with the Mammals and Birds.
Eight different families of Lizards are represented in the
Indian Empire, but three of them furnish the bulk of the
genera and species. These three are the Geckoes (Geckon-
idae), Agamoids (Agamidae\ and Scinques (Scincidae),
comprising between them thirty-five genera and 200 species.
Geckoes are the most familiar of all, because several speries,
belonging to the genus Ilemidactylus, are found in houses, and
are well-known by the facility with which they cling to walls and
ceilings by means of the peculiar plates with which the lower
surface of their digits is furnished. Besides the small House
Geckoes found commonly in India, a larger species, often
a foot long (Gecko Tertidllatus) y enters human habitations
in Eastern Bengal and Burma, where it goes by the name of
touk-tai, a name derived from its loud call. Other Geckoes
also have calls, though generally less loud. The great majority
of the Geckoes are nocturnal ; they are found on rocks, stems
of trees, or the ground.
Several of the agamoid lizards are forest-dwellers, among
these being the so-called Flying Lizards belonging to the
genus Draco, represented by several species in Assam and
Burma, and by one species isolated in Malabar. Most of the
agamoids are, however, ground lizards. Two kinds, Uromastix
of North-western India and Liolepis inhabiting Burma and
Travancore, live in holes in the ground made by themselves.
Both are herbivorous, whilst other agamoids are insectivorous.
By far the commonest agamoid lizard is Calotes vtrsicolor,
found all over the Empire, and known as the 'bloodsucker' in
Southern India.
Males of this lizard assume brilliant colours
in the breeding season, red and black predominating. Scinques
are ground lizards, usually of small size, with short limbs
(occasionally rudimentary or wanting), and a more or less
anguiform mode of progression. In their movements, and in
their being clad in small and generally polished scales, they
approach the snakes. The other families that require notice
are the Lacertidae or true lizards, of which fifteen species are
known in various parts of India, and the Varanidae or
Monitors, called goh-samp in Hindi. These last are much
larger than other lizards ; one species ( Varanus salvator)
grows to a length of over six feet, and is found about rivers,
estuaries, and marshes, often in the water. Other species of
smaller dimensions inhabit drier localities ; one ( V. griseus)
is found in the desert regions of North-western India. A
single species of Chameleon inhabits the wooded regions of
the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon ; but no representative of
this typically African group is found to the east of the Bay
of Bengal, nor even, so far as is known, in the Himalayas.
Snakes constitute more than half of the Indian Reptiles. Snakes.
In many, perhaps in most, parts of India it would nevertheless
be difficult to find more than about a dozen species, and these
would need some searching for ; the large total is made up by
a great number of local forms inhabiting particular localities.
Thus, one whole family of small snakes, the Rough Tails
(Uropeltidae), comprising seven genera and forty-two species,
is peculiar to Southern India and Ceylon, and almost confined
to the hill tracts. This is the only instance known of a family
of snakes having so small a range. In fact, India is the only
country in the world inhabited by all the known families of
living snakes.
The Typhlopidae, thirteen species, are still smaller than the
Uropeltidae, some of them almost resembling worms in
appearance. One species (Typhlops braminus\ 7 inches long
and \ to \ inch in diameter, is common, and is occasionally
met with in large numbers in decayed wood. Passing over
one or two other small groups, the next that deserves notice
contains the largest living snakes.
This is the Boidae, to
which Pythons and Boas belong. One species of Python
(P. molurus] is found in parts of India, another (P. reticulatus}
inhabits Burma and the Malay countries. The latter is the
larger, and is said to grow to 30 feet in length ; P. molurus
rarely exceeds 12 feet, though individuals up to 20 feet long
have been recorded. Allied to the Boas are the genera
Gongyhphis and Eryx % none of which much exceed 3 feet in
length. They have very blunt tails, and one species (Eryx
johnii) is commonly carried about by snake-charmers and
exhibited as a two-headed snake, the tail being occasionally
manipulated and furnished with glass eyes to assist in the
delusion.
The great majority of Indian snakes, however 57 genera
out of 78 and 200 species out of 286 belong to the family
Colubridae, divided into three sections, the first comprising
forms with solid teeth, the second including those with one
or more of the posterior maxillary teeth grooved, and the third
with the anterior maxillary teeth grooved or perforated.
Snakes of the first section are harmless ; those of the second
division are probably all slightly poisonous, but they are in
no case dangerous to human life ; the third section includes
some of the most poisonous snakes known. It should be
added here that k is extremely difficult to distinguish a
venomous snake from a harmless one except by the examina-
tion of its teeth. All dangerous venomous snakes, whether
belonging to the Colubrine family or not, have a perforated or
grooved fang in front of all the other teeth on each side of
the upper jaw, and this fang is almost always considerably
elongate.
To the first section of Colubrine snakes and the sub-family
Colubrinae belong a very large number of Indian species, of
which the best known and commonest are the following.
Lycodon aulicus, sometimes called the * carpet snake/ rarely
exceeds 2 feet in length ; it is dark brown or blackish with,
in general, whitish reticulation. This snake is often mistaken
for the venomous karait, which is similarly marked, but which
grows to a considerably larger size. The dhdman or Rat
Snake (Zamenis mucosus\ the largest of the common snakes,
often measures between 6 and 7 feet in length. This snake
lives on small mammals, lizards and frogs, and is found
throughout the Empire, while an allied species (Z. korros)
inhabits Burma and the Eastern Indo-Malay region. Another
and smaller Zamenis (Z. vtntrimaculatus] is perhaps the
commonest snake in the dry regions of North-western India.
Some of the species of Tropidonotus are also common, es-
pecially the pretty little T. stolatus, which is particularly
abundant in Bengal and Burma, and the larger T. piscator>
generally found in or near water.
The second section of the Colubrine snakes, having one or
more of the posterior maxillary teeth grooved, comprises three
sub-families all represented in India. One of these, however,
distinguished by the possession of gular teeth, contains a single
rare species (Elachistodon westermanni)> of which hitherto
only two specimens, both from Bengal, have been recorded.
Of the other two sub-families, one, the Homalopsinae^ consists
of water snakes, chiefly inhabiting estuaries, though some are
found in large rivers and others in the sea. They are easily
recognized by the position of their nostrils on the upper surface
of the snout. The commonest kind is Cerberus rkynchops,
which lives in the mud of estuaries and the coast, and feeds
on fish. The other sub-family (Dipsadinae) contains several
Indian snakes belonging to the genera Dipsadomorphus (Dipsas],
Psammophis, Dryophis, Chrysopelea, and others, some of which
are locally common. One of those most frequently seen
is the very slender Dryophis mycterizans, sometimes called
'whip snake,' which is found in grass or bushes, twined
among the stems.
The poisonous Colubrine snakes belong to two sub-families,
the Hydrophiinae and the E/apinae. The Hydrophiinae are
sea snakes, and are commonly seen swimming in the sea near
the coast ; they abound all round India, and some kinds enter
tidal streams. Some twenty-seven Indian species are known,
but most of them are rare. The Elapinae include the Cobra
(Naia tripudians), one of the commonest and most deadly of
Indian snakes ; the larger Cobra or Hamadryas (N. bungarus) ;
the karait (Bungarus candidus or caerulcus} ; and the raj-samp
(JS. fasciatus). Cobras are found almost throughout the
Empire, and are commonly three to four feet long, though
individuals have been measured between five and six feet in
length. The hood, formed by the expansion of the neck-skin,
is characteristic of the species. The markings on the hood
vary. In India generally the ' spectacle-mark/ two ocelli
connected by a curved line, is the commonest ornament ; but
in Bengal and Burma a single large ocellus, often imperfect,
is the prevalent marking. Many individuals have the hood
unmarked.
A black variety of the cobra is common in parts
of the Himalayas and in the Malay Peninsula, but the colour
is generally greyish-brown above, paler below. The Great
Cobra, Hamadryas or Ophiophagus (N. bu?tgarus\ is a compara-
tively rare snake, but more common in Burma than in India.
It is often found twelve feet in length, sometimes even thirteen.
The colour is olive-brown with darker or paler cross-bands ;
the young are black with yellow rings.
This cobra feeds
principally upon other snakes, and has the reputation of being
excessively fierce and aggressive. The karait grows to about
4^ feet in length ; it is dark-brown or bluish-black above,
reticulated with white streaks. The raj-samp or King-snake
is larger, being frequently six feet or more in length, and is
a very handsome snake banded alternately black and yellow.
It, like the Great Cobra, lives upon other snakes. The karait
is common in most parts of India but rare in Burma ;
the raj-samp is met with very rarely in Southern India,
more frequently in Bengal and Burma. Four other species
of Bungarus are found in parts of India or Burma, and a few
more venomous Colubrines are locally distributed.
These, however, are not the only poisonous Indian serpents,
for there are also the Viperine snakes to be mentioned. These
are the typical venomous forms with, as a rule, broad flat
heads, and large canaliculate erectile fangs in front of the upper
jaw. Representatives are found in India of the true Vipers
(Vipcrinae) and also the Pit Vipers (Crotalinac).
Among the
former, Russell's Viper (I'ipera russellii}, known also as Chain-
viper and Cobra monil in Southern India, and as tic-pplonga
in Ceylon, is the most important and dangerous ; it grows to
about 4 feet in length, but it is considerably thicker than
a cobra, and is handsomely marked with rows of large ocelli
down the back and sides. It is a snake of very ^luggi.sh habits.
The only other species of importance is Echis cannata, a small
snake, rarely exceeding 2 feet in length, but very fierce and
venomous. It is common in North-western India, where it is
known as the Kappa, and in the Konkan ; less common in
other parts of the Peninsula, and not found east of the Bay of
Bengal.
The Crotaline sub-family or Pit Vipers, to which the American
rattlesnakes belong, are distinguished by having a deep loreal
pit between the nostril and the eye. The Indian representatives
are two species of Ancistrodon (///>$), one found in the Hima-
layas, the other in the Western Ghats and Ceylon, and ten
species of Lachesis ( Trimcresurus), mostly confined to the hill
fotests. Several of the latter are of a green colour and are
arboreal in habit. Although they attain a length in some
cases of 3 to 4 feet, none of them appears to cause death in
man by their bite.
The Batrachians are divided into three Orders : (i) Ecaudata,
or Frogs and Toads; (2) Caudata, or Newts and Salamanders;
and (3) Apoda, or Caecilians. All are found in India, but the
first alone is represented by numerous species.
The majority of the species belonging to the various genera
are small and rare ; the number of kinds often met with
is not great. Among the commonest is a small species of
frog which is found all over the country about ponds and
marshes, and which attracts attention by its peculiar habit,
when alarmed, of jumping along the surface of the water. In
books of natural history this habit is wrongly attributed to
Rana tigrina^ a large frog with rather short webs to the toes ;
but the jumper is really a much smaller species (R. cyano-
phlyctis\ the body of which is from 2 to 2\ inches long and
the toes fully webbed.
Another common small species, with
half-webbed toes, and less aquatic than R. cyanophlyctis, is
R. limnocharis. R. tigrina is a fairly common frog, measuring
6 inches in length ; it is often found at some distance from
water, and is said occasionally to devour young ducks and
chickens. Another frog that is not uncommon in Peninsular
India and Ceylon is the 'Chunam frog ' of Madras (Rhacophorus
maculatus). This is one of the frogs distinguished by having
the tips of the fingers and toes expanded, an arrangement
which, by increasing the power of the animal to cling to
inclined or vertical surfaces, enables it to climb trees or rocks.
No less
than fourteen species out of about twenty-five recorded are
peculiar to Southern India and Ceylon, none are known to
occur in the Indian Peninsula north of North Kanara (about
15 N. lat.), in Northern India or the Himalayas; the other
species are Chinese, Burmese, or Malayan. Another extra-
ordinary instance of distribution is afforded by Calluella guttu-
lata, a small peculiarly marked species inhabiting Pegu and
Tenasserim, as the whole of the family Dyscophidae, of which
this species is a member, with this single exception, is peculiar
to Madagascar. The genus Rhacophorus is also represented in
Madagascar but not in Africa.
One species of true toad (Bufo mclanostictus) is common
throughout India and Burma, and ascends the Himalayas to
a considerable elevation. About fifteen other species of Bufo
have been described from various parts of the Empire.
Among the Batrachians somewhat resembling toads are the
curious burrowing forms belonging to the genera Callula^
Cacopus, and Glyphoglossus, with heavy bodies and short limbs.
They are but rarely seen, being nocturnal, and they are
imperfectly known. They are said to live on ants and termites.
Caudata Of the tailed Batrachia, to which belong salamanders and
newts, only a solitary representative is found within Indian
limits. This is Tylototriton verrucosus, originally discovered
in Yunnan, but afterwards found in the Eastern Himalayas of
Sikkim.
Caecilians, are rare, but their distribution in India is remark-
able. The whole Order is irregularly but widely dispersed
throughout the tropics, as is frequently the case with groups of
animals that were formerly more fully developed and more
generally distributed than they now are. Out of the sixteen
genera known to exist, three genera, comprising among them
five species, are found in British India. All of the species
occur in the hills of Malabar, but only two of them, both
belonging to one genus (Ichthyophis) y are found in other parts
of the Indo-Malay region, such as Ceylon, the Eastern
Himalayas, Burma, and Malaysia. In this case, as in some
others, the richness of the Fauna inhabiting the Southern Indian
hills is noteworthy.
In Day's two volumes, published in 1889, in the Fauna of
British India, 351 genera and 1,418 species of fishes were
enumerated. To those, 86 genera and 200 species were added
by Alcock from the collections made by the Marine Survey
steamer Investigator up to 1896, the additions consisting
chiefly of deep-sea forms. A few more species have been
recorded since. Of the whole, 79 genera and 361 species,
mostly carps or siluroids, are fresh-water fishes, living in rivers,
brooks, ponds, tanks, or marshes. Another large group of
fishes inhabit the brackish water of estuaries, creeks, and
lagoons; but it is a difficult task to distinguish estuarine types
from the truly marine forms on one side, and from fluviatile
species on the other. Some fishes are migratory, like the
salmon and the common eel in Europe, and pass part of their
existence in the sea, part in fresh water ; but the number of
migratory species in India is not large, though certain kinds
are of importance for food.
The fishes of India belong to two sub-classes, Chondro-
pterygii or cartilaginous fishes, and Teleostii or bony fishes.
Neither ganoids (Sturgeons, Dipnoans, &c.) nor Cyclostomata
(Lampreys and Hags) inhabit Indian waters.
The highest Order, comprising the cartilaginous fishes, Chondro-
consists chiefly of sharks, dog fishes, and rays or skates. P
These forms abound in the Indian seas, and at least one
shark (Carcharias gangcticus) and one or more rays belonging
to the genus Trygon ascend the larger rivers far beyond the
limits of the tide, rays occurring some hundreds of miles from
the sea. All the common tropical sharks and rays are found
on the Indian coasts, the most ferocious of the former
belonging to the genera Carcharias (which comprises the
Gangetic Shark) and Ga/eocerdo. The Hammer-headed
Sharks (Zygaena), with their extraordinary *T '-shaped heads,
are also greatly dreaded, and they are in places very common.
The Saw Fishes (Pristidae), with the snout produced into a
long flat lamina armed with strong teeth on each side, are said
to use their * saws ' as offensive weapons, and are regarded
as equally dangerous with the true sharks ; as some of them
attain a length of 16 feet or more, they are formidable animals.
They are classed with the rays and skates. Of this group the
commonest members in the Indian seas are the Sting-rays
(Trygonidae), generally having a long whip-like tail armed
above with one or sometimes two serrated spines. The great
Eagle-rays, or 'devil-fish/ said to attain a breadth of 18 feet
across, and other smaller forms, are occasionally captured on
the Indian coast. The dried fins of both sharks and rays are
exported to China, and the flesh of some species is eaten,
chiefly by the poorer classes, while oil for commercial purposes
is obtained from their livers.
Physostomi.
The great majority of living fishes, both fluviatile and marine,
are bony fishes, distinguished from the cartilaginous fishes by
the more perfect ossification of their skeleton, especially of the
vertebrae. The Teleosteans, as arranged by Day in the Fauna
of British India, comprise five Orders, Physostomi, Acantho-
pterygii, Anacanthini^ Lophobranchii, and Plectognathi.
In the first Order the fin rays are articulated and not spinose,
with the occasional exception of the first rays in the dorsal
and pectoral fins. The ventral fins are spineless and are
'abdominal,' being situated behind the pectoral fins. Several
important families are included, and among them the two 4 to
which most of the Indian fresh-water fishes belong.
Two of the families consist of eels, the Symbranchidae and
the Muraenidae. To the former belong three Indian species
inhabiting fresh and brackish water ; the latter, which are
distinguished from the former by anatomical characters, and
which include the Common Eel of Europe, the Conger, and
the Muraenas, are represented by one Indian fresh-water eel
belonging to the same genus (Anguil/a) as the European
species, and by many marine forms of several generic types.
Some of these grow to ro feet in length or even longer, while
several of the true Muraenas, which inhabit rocky shores, are
beautifully coloured, being spotted or banded. The fresh-water
fish most commonly known as an eel in India, the Alastacem-
belus or Spiny Eel, is an Acanthopterygian.
The Siluridae or Cat-fishes are represented in India by
thirty-two genera containing 117 species. Most of these
inhabit fresh water, and are chiefly found in muddy rivers ;
a few, however, occur in rapid mountain streams. Several are
found in estuaries, and species of Arius with a few other kinds
are marine. All are scaleless fishes, and the majority have
large heads furnished with feelers or barbels ; in very many
forms the dorsal and pectoral fins are each preceded by a
strong osseous spine, which is sometimes venomous. A few
species attain a large size. Wallago attu and the gunch
(JBagarius yarrellii) both grow to a length of 6 feet; the latter
is sometimes spoken of as the ' fresh-water shark/ A few kinds
are good eating, one of the best being the/a/?a or Butterfish
(Callichrous\ but the majority are poor and coarse.
The Carps (Cyprinidae) are even more numerous than the
Siluroids, for in Day's account of the Indian fishes no fewer
than 36 genera and 230 species are enumerated; of these
9 genera and 46 species belong to the Cobitidinae or Loaches.
It is very doubtful, howevfer, whether some of the forms which
have received names among both the carps and the cat-fishes
are entitled to specific distinction. The Cyprinoids are
exclusively inhabitants of fresh water. Nearly all are covered
with scales ; the mouth in all is toothless, but pharyngeal teeth
exist in the throat. All carps are edible, and many are well
flavoured, although a considerable proportion are bony.
The next
carp to be mentioned is Barbus tor, the famous mahseer
(?ma/hi~sir, or big head), found in all rapid streams, and grow-
ing certainly to 60 or 70 Ib. weight, and according to some
accounts to 90 Ib. Sonic other allied species of Barbus are
known from parts of India, and are equally distinguished by
the sport they afford to anglers. Other inhabitants of mountain
streams belong to the genus Barilius ; several of the species
are spotted and have many of the habits of trout. They are
common in Kashmir and along the Western Ghats, and are
often called 'trout' by sportsmen. Small carp inhabit all streams
and rivers in great numbers; some of the best known are called
chilwa (Chela, Aspidoparid).
No Salmonidae (salmon, trout, char, grayling, smelts) are
known in India or Burma ; the nearest locality where any
Salmonoid occurs is north of Afghanistan in the upper
tributaries of the Oxus.
The Herring family (Clupeidae) are well represented in
Indian seas, and to this family belongs the most important
species of migratory Indian fish. This is the hi/sa of Bengal,
'Sable fish' of Southern India, and Talla' of the Indus
(Clupta ilisha), a true shad, closely allied to the Alike Shad of
Europe, and bearing, curiously enough, the same name, for
there can be little question that the words Ilisha and Allice
Shad are identical in origin. The Indian fish, it may be
mentioned, is more finely flavoured than its European relative.
Another species of herring (C. longiceps) is the * oil-sardine' of
the Malabar Coast, largely used in the production of fish oil.
Several species of Anchovy (Engraulis) also occur on the
Indian coasts and in the estuaries, and are largely salted for
consumption.
The remaining families of Physostomi are less important.
The Notopteridae, very compressed fish, with the anal and
caudal fins confluent, and rudimentary ventrals, contain two
fresh-water species only. To the Scopelidae belongs Harpodon
neAtreus, known in the dried state as Bummaloh or * Bombay
duck/ which abounds in parts of the Indian coast, but, as
Giinther points out, has the appearance of a deep-sea form, like
many other members of the family Scopelidae.
A second
species (H. squamosus} has been described from a depth of
about 250 fathoms in the Bay of Bengal by Wood-Mason and
Alcock, and has quite recently been obtained in the Arabian
Sea. The Cyprinodontidae are small fishes inhabiting the sea,
brackish and fresh water ; five species are Indian. The Scom-
bresocidae comprise the Gar-pikes (Betone\ with six Indian
species, one of them fluviatile; the * Half-beaks' {Htmirhamphus\
which are Gar fish with the lower jaw elongated and the upper
short, and include thirteen species, some of them estuarine ;
and seven species of flying fishes (Exocotus\ which abound in
the open sea.
In the next Order, which comprises the large majority of
marine fishes, part of the rays in the dorsal, anal, and ventral
fins are spiny and not articulated. The families are numerous,
and only the more important need be noticed.
The Perch family (Percidae) is one of the largest, 30 genera
and 1 68 species being referred to it from Indian waters. The
fresh-water Perch of Europe is not represented, but a genus
of small, much compressed, semi-transparent fishes called
Ambassis is represented in Indian rivers by several species.
One of the most valuable food fishes of this family is the
estuarine kind called bcgti in Bengal (Lates calcarifer), which
grows to a weight of 200 Ib. Then there are many sea perches
of the genera Strranus, Lutjanus, and their allies, most of
which are eaten, though they vary greatly in flavour. Some
are beautifully coloured, but in this they are surpassed by
members of the next family (Squamipinnes), curiously shaped
compressed fishes as high as they are long. One of these
{Heniochus macrolepidotus) is crossed diagonally by broad
curved bands alternately rich-blue and orange. Of course
these brilliant colours disappear with the life of the fish.
To the Mullidae, of which the type is the Red Mullet of
Europe (Mullus barbatus)^ are referred fourteen fishes found
in the Indian seas; but they are held in no estimation by
Europeans, although, as they are all near allies of the far-
famed European fish, some of them are probably excellent
eating. It may, however, be noted that Anglo-Indians are
generally very imperfectly acquainted with Indian fishes and
especially with marine species.
The Sparidae, or Sea Breams,
and Cirrhitidae comprise several edible fishes, especially the
members of the genus Chrysophrys, one of which (C. berda) is
known in parts of the Madras Presidency as 'Black Rock Cod.'
The Scorpaenidae are very spiny fishes with large heads. The
Indian forms are but little eaten ; among them are Synanceia
and its allies, fishes of a repulsive aspect, and justly dreaded on
account of the venomous dorsal spines, each of which is grooved
and has a small poison-bag attached.
The Nandidae are a small family with one marine genus
(Plesiops] and three fresh-water genera (Badis, Nandus, and
Pristolepis), small perch-shaped fishes, peculiar to India and
South-eastern Asia. Passing over the less important Teu-
thididae, Berycidae, and Kurtidae, the Polynemidae are the next
family requiring notice. The Indian representatives consist
of eight species belonging to the genus Polynemus, distinguished
by having lengthened free rays below the pectoral fins. Several
of the species enter estuaries, especially P. paradiseus, the
Mango-fish or tapsi macfuhi of Bengal, one of the most
delicious fishes known, which ascends tidal rivers in Bengal
and Burma during the south-west monsoon. It is a small fish,
not exceeding about 9 inches in length ; but P. indicus attains
4 feet and P. tttradactylus 6 feet or more. Both enter the
mouths of rivers, and both are excellent eating. From the air-
bladder of the former isinglass is prepared.
The family Sciaenidae contains several species of the genera
Umbrind) Sciaena, Sciaenoides, and Otolithus. Many of these
haunt estuaries, and one or two ascend rivers above tidal
waters ; nearly all are good to eat, and all furnish isinglass,
which is prepared in large quantities from their air-bladders.
Of the Xiphiidae or Sword-fishes three species of Histiophorus
have been obtained on the Coromandel coast, where the large
H. g/adius is common in the cold season. The Scabbard-fishes
(Trichiuridae) and Lancet-fishes (Acanthuridae) are common,
hut of no great importance ; but the Carangidae, containing the
Horse-mackerels (Caranx) and their allies, are among the
most important food fishes of the Indian seas, on account of
their abundance and the excellence of their flesh. Besides
twenty-six Indian species of Caranx, the Pilot-fish (Naucrates
ductor\ well-known as an attendant on sharks, and the remark-
able genus Platax, the members of which are known as * Sea-
bats ' on account of their peculiar deep compressed form and
their enormously developed and pointed dorsal and anal fins,
belong to the Carangidae.
approach Platax in shape. The three Indian species are
highly esteemed as food. The commonest species (Stromatcus
'Gray Pomfret* when adult. The White Pomfret (S. sintnsis]
is regarded as even superior in flavour. The so-called Dolphins
coast. The Mackerel family (Scombridae) contains several
food either fresh or salted. The Tunny of the Indian seas is
identical with the famous Mediterranean fish.
Amongst the next families recorded in the Fishes of India
the only form worthy of notice is Sillago sihama, known as
' Whiting ' in Madras, which is a member of the Trachinidae.
In Calcutta the fish known as ' Whiting' is Sciaenoides pama^ a
species of the Sciaenidae. Neither has any affinity to the whiting
of Western Europe, which is a member of the cod family.
The 'Anglers' or 'Fishing Frogs' (Pediculati) are well
represented, and several additional species have lately been
described from the collections of the Marine Survey steamer
Investigator. Gobies (Gobiidae) abound on the shores of the
sea, several occurring in fresh and brackish water. All are
small. Among them the peculiar ' mud-skippers ' (Pcrioph-
thalmus and I)oleophthalmus\ small fishes 3 to 8 inches long,
with blunt heads and prominent eyes, are common in all
estuaries, living chiefly on the mud between tidemarks, and
moving by a series of jumps along the surface. 'Dragonets'
(Callionymidae) and Blennies (Blenniidae) are other shore
fishes, mostly of small size. The Rhynchobdellidae are the
Spiny Eels (Rhynchobdtlla and Mastactmbelus\ common in the
rivers and estuaries of India and Burma, and easily distin-
guished from true eels by their spiny fins. They are excellent
to eat. The Sphyraenidae are large voracious fishes, some-
times known as ' Barracudas/ and dreaded almost as greatly
as sharks are. The Atherinidae are small fishes resembling
smelts ; they are often captured for food in large numbers.
Grey Mullets /Mugilidae), of which numerous species occur in
all Indian seas and estuaries, and even in some cases in fresh
water, are also extensively caught and eaten.
Several species of Ophiocephatus (Ophiocephalidae), called
Murrel in Northern India, are found throughout India and
Burma, inhabiting rivers, ponds, and marshes. All have peculiar
flattish, snake-like heads. They take live bait, especially
a frog, freely, and are good to eat. They have a bronchial
cavity, by means of which the blood is oxygenated directly.
They gain access to the air by rising to the top of the water
if necessary, or by lying on the surface. They die if unable
to obtain air. On the other hand they can live for a long
time out of water ; and they form one of the kinds of fish which
exist in dried mud throughout the hot season, and recover
when the pond or marsh which had dried up is again flooded
in the monsoon.
Glyphidodontidae and Labridae are two families of marine
fishes found chiefly about corals and rocks. They are con-
sequently not common on the Indian coasts, which are for the
most part sandy or muddy ; but many species occur on the
shores of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The general
form is percoid, and many of the species are brilliantly
coloured.
The last Acanthopterygian family (Chromididae) consists of
African and South American fresh water fishes, of which repre-
sentatives are found in two Asiatic localities only, the Jordan
Valley in Palestine and Southern India with Ceylon. In India
three species are found, belonging to the genus Etroplus, one
of them ranging as far north as Orissa, and being found both in
fresh and in brackish water. A closely allied genus (farctroplus)
occurs in Madagascar.
The only important families in the next Order are the Gadidae Anacan-
and Pleuronectidae. The first contains cod, haddock, whiting, thini -
ling, hake, and other important food fishes of the North
Atlantic, but is represented in the Indian Ocean only by
a small pelagic type (Brcgmaceros macckllandi\ A nearly
allied family (Macruridae), not recorded from Indian seas when
Day's Fishes of India was published, is now represented by
twenty species obtained from depths between 100 and 1,400
iathoms. Sixteen species have also been obtained from deep
water of another family (Ophidiidae), of which previously only
five were known from the seas of India.
The Pleuronectidae, or Flat Fishes, are numerous ; for in
addition to the thirty-nine species enumerated by Day, no less
than thirty additional forms have been obtained by the Investi-
gator's researches. But although several are eaten, none of the
species have the high repute attaching to the sole and turbot of
the North Atlantic.
The Pipe-fishes and Sea-horses are so unlike ordinary fishes
brancbiL that it is not easy at first to recognize their affinities. They
are encased in a dermal skeleton, and their gills are not
laminated but composed of rounded tufts, while the gill open-
ings are very small. The members of the genus Hippocampus
have prehensile tails, and attach themselves to seaweed. All
are very poor swimmers. Several species are found in Indian
seas.
The ' File-fishes/ * Globe-fishes/ and their allies are also
we n represented in the seas of India, and one or two species of
Tetrodon are found in rivers. Most of the genera are more or
less globose in form ; and Tetrodon has the power of blowing
itself out into a ball when removed from the water, thus erect-
ing its dermal spines. The Sea Hedgehog (Diodori] bears far
larger and stronger spines, and adopts the same method of
raising them. The flesh of several species, both of file-fishes
like Batistes and of Tetrodon, is poisonous ; but certain kinds
are eaten by the Burmese and Andamanese.
In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the Lancelet
(Branchiostoma or Amphioxus\ the lowest of fishes, without
head or brain, and placed by many naturalists in a distinct
class, is not uncommon in the seas around India. It is in fact
almost cosmopolitan.