TCD MS 10516 folio 60 verso
[12th October 1916] deep relief we would see the scorching sun sinking lower in the brazen sky until, engulfed in the silt-laden river, it illuminated the waters in a fiery blaze. We would watch the shoals of fish splashing the surface into wide rings of ripples and the snakes or tortoises slipping from the steep banks into the dark muddy stream.
Bird life on the river was of special interest. In June the Terns used to congregate in large numbers and carry their captures away over the flooded desert where I suspect they were nesting and bringing food to their young.
Kingfishers here found food in endless profusion. Two of the most common of these birds, The Indian Kingfisher (Alcedo ispida) and The African Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) distinctly