BUFFALO; RAT TRIBE; BIRDS.

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species. The gaur (Bos gaurus), the ‘ bison ’ of sportsmen, isfound in all the hill jungles of the country, in the Western Ghats , in Central India , in Assam , and in Lower Burma .

This animal sometimes attains the height of 20 hands (closeon 7 feet), measuring from the hump above the shoulder. Itsshort curved horns and skull are enormously massive. Itscolour is dark chestnut, or coffee-brown. From the difficultnature of its habitat, and from the ferocity with which itcharges an enemy, the pursuit of the bison is no less dangerousand no less exciting than that of the tiger or the elephant.

Akin to the gaur , though not identical, are the gaydl or mithim(Bos frontalis), confined to the hills of the North-East Frontier,where it is domesticated for sacrificial purposes by the ab-original tribes ; and the tsine or banting (Bos sondaicus), foundin Burma .

The wild buffalo (Bubalus ami) differs from the tame buffalo Theonly in being larger and more fierce. The finest specimens B uffa ' acome from Assam and Burma . The horns of the bull arethicker than those of the cow, but the horns of the cow arelarger. A head has been known to measure 13 feet 6 inchesin circumference, and 6 feet 6 inches between the tips. Thegreatest height is 6 feet. The colour is a slaty black ; the hideis immensely thick, with scanty hairs. Alone perhaps of allwild animals in India , the buffalo will charge unprovoked.

Even tame buffaloes seem to have an inveterate dislike toEuropeans.

The rat and mouse family is only too numerous. Con- Rat tribe,spicuous in it is the loathsome bandicoot (Mus bandicota),which sometimes measures 2 feet in length, including its tail,and weighs 3 lbs. It burrows under houses, and is verydestructive to plants, fruit, and even poultry. More interestingis the tree rat (Mus arboreus), a native of Bengal, about7 inches long, which makes its nest in cocoa-nut palms andbamboos. The voles or field mice (genus Arvicola) occasion-ally multiply so exceedingly as to seriously diminish the out-turn of the local harvest, and to require special measures fortheir destruction.

The ornithology of India , although it is not considered so Birds,rich in specimens of gorgeous and variegated plumage as thatof other tropical regions, contains many splendid and curiousvarieties. Some are clothed in nature’s gay attire, others dis-tinguished by strength, size, and fierceness. The parrot tribe isthe most remarkable for beauty. So various are the species