800 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX. 



but ■vv'ill look later, as the spaniel instead of returning to me remain? 

 above, giving a harsh woof every few seconds, 



I know what that means well enough. One of the birds is sitting on 

 the lower branches of a tree probably wondering why this funny 

 looking new sort of jackal is behaving in such an unusual manner, 

 and thinking everything is not as it should be, makes up his mind to 

 join his compjinions below. I am warned by a flutter and the change 

 in the dog's voice, but before I can get myself into position to shoot, 

 the bird is past me and goes on its way rejoicing. Now, although it is 

 a long way back I do not like leaving the third bird I shot at without 

 having a look round, where he might have fallen, as I was pretty cer- 

 tain I was on him, when I yjulled the trigger ; so down we go again 

 but all we find are two or three feathers, so we conclude that probably 

 if he fell at all it was far down in the valley below, and J console 

 myself by thinking if he is badly wounded he will make a good 

 meal for some jackal to-night, and not be left long to linger in pain. 

 The sun must be up by this time, but we cannot tell for certain here, 

 as the nullah is on the north side of the ridge. We make our wav 

 over a ridge intending to enter the next small nullah, scarcely hoping 

 now to hear birds calling as the time for this is nearl}^ over. However, 

 we are pleasantly surprised, and are soon off after another " snide," 

 fortunately in a splendid place — a small plateau covered with bushes 

 overhung by an almost perpendicular piece of khud. 



On coming below the plateau, I rest for a minute for breath, and 

 then push on waving the little bitch forward. These birds have evident- 

 ly been running about all over the place, feeding, and the spainel 

 clearly shows by her flashing stem, aad eager movements that scent 

 is abundant, but she finds a difiiculty in hitting off" the line. The next 

 second she stops dead before a bush, looking over her shoulder at 

 me, and at my nod dashes in and out, bundles a young koklass 

 which rising ten yards from me makes off", but gets no further than 

 the edge of the plateau, probably as easy a shot as one ever gets 



at a koklass. 



The faithful spaniel retrieves the bird and then returns to the 

 bushes, and after some feathering around, strikes a Vnw for the steep 

 khud side. Up and up she bounds, never missing her footing and 

 never faltering. Now she is lost from view but a second or two later her 

 voice is heard, and almost at once out Inn-rv throe birds; the first shot 



J 



