850 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



No. XVII.— LATE STAY OF PIN-TAIL SNIPE 

 [GALLINAOO 8TENURA) IN BURMA. 



While I was on tour the other day at a place called Natogyi, where there 

 is a large tank (natural) of foul stagnant water, I shot a Pin-tail Snipe 

 (Gallinago stenura) on the evening of the 6th May. When I first saw the bird 

 it was standing at the very edge of the water, much in the same way as a 

 pond-heron does, in an attitude of keen attention, apparently on the look- 

 out for some water-insect or worm. I got quite close before it flew. A little 

 farther along the tank I saw another in exactly the same attitude at the edge 

 of the tank. I got quite close to this one too before it flew oft", but I missed 



the bird. I saw no more birds This is the Dryzone of Burma, 



and from the middle of February till the rains break it is very hot. 

 May is probably the hottest month. Is it not very late to find Snipe P Is 

 there any record of Pin-tail Snipe breeding in the plains ? 1 hunted for a 

 nest without success. The bird was in very good condition. 



A. F. M. SLATER. 



MYINGrAN, LTpPER BuRMA, 



IbthMay 1919. 



No. XVII [.—MIGRATION OF SNIPE IN BURMA. 



My shikar books show the following on the subject of Snipe : — ( I arrived 

 in Burma on 13th September 1913.) 



The first snipe-ground was found 30 miles W. of Yaunghwe in S. Shan 

 States Birds were "fairly plentiful and appear to be travellers" — "Pin-tails." 



This is perhaps important. East of a line Yaunghwe-Lorkaw (100 miles S.) 

 the country is a mass of hills with hardly any ground in it to tempt a snipe 

 down. 



Birds were still " fairly plentiful " all the way down the river at Lorkaw. 



On 2nd October (1913) I have an entry : " The snipe must be coming in 

 .... I got my first fan-tail to-day." 



But you will note that I had only just arrived in the country, and had 

 nothing to " watch for," knowing nothing of the district. 



I shot a bag of AS couple at Lorkaw on 23rd February 1914. 



" The number of snipe about seems to be on the increase." Probably 

 they are moving back North. Fans and Pins mixed. 



I left the district temporarily about middle March. 



Winter, 1914-1/). 



" ?^ couple of Pin-tail to-day. There is a small number of birds about 

 . . . . 17th August 1914 . . . ." I had naturally not been shooting much — 

 or leaving the telegraph oftice much — as in those days we all hoped for 

 recall. 



My first fan-tail shows on 7th September 1914: " there are a few fan- 

 tails about now." 



There is a gap of some days towards the end of the month, but on 4th 

 October 1 have an entry : " A whole rush of birds seems to have come in 

 with the moon." Later, in the middle of December (1914) I have : "The 

 snipe seem to have fallen oft' and it seems to me that most of those travel- 

 lers have gone — probably South. The local mass is useless regarding 

 habits of snipe as they are too small and elusive to warrant the expen- 

 diture of powder and shot. But it seems to me that they travel largely 

 with the moon of Tha-din-gyut, i-e., say the first moon after 20th September. 



November and December were quiet months. There were always plenty 

 of snipe, but I never noticed a larger quantity than usual. During Febru- 

 ary 1 did — probably the Southern birds going back. 



