Mr. 11. Swinhoe on Amoy Ornithology. 407 



pidity through the grass and bushes, their tails wagging with 

 increased liveliness as they approached the game. They yelped 

 only when entangled or in difficulties, and were silent when 

 in view of the game. The hunters followed close on the heels 

 of the dogs, their matchlocks raised, their fuses blown bright, 

 fixed in the trigger, and ready at the shortest notice to fire. 

 The Partridges were usually single, and lay close. They sprang 

 close to the dogs' noses, in fact were poked up. They rose with 

 a rapid flutter and made straight away, the hunters firing before 

 the birds had attained a dozen yards' distance. We did not 

 once see them hit, though they blazed on several diff"erent occa- 

 sions. The arms they used were rude weapons, and we did not 

 wonder at their missing so often. The coarse powder is shaken 

 into the long iron tube which forms the barrel of the gun, and the 

 shot (small irregular bits of iron) shaken on the top of it. The 

 ramrod, consisting of a long stifl" reed, appears only to be used 

 to clean out the narrow bore. The only wonder was that they 

 ever did hit the mark, which they do pretty faithfully when the 

 object is fixed. Partridges were by no means common, and we 

 had to walk a long way to put up the few that we saw. Phea- 

 sants did not occur. The Partridges ran great distances and 

 the dogs often got the scent on the top of a hill, which they 

 hunted for hundreds of yards, often down into the valley, before 

 they came upon the bird. Their flesh is dry and insipid. We saw 

 a party of Long-tailed Jays, Urocissa sinensis, but could not get 

 near them. The natives there call them " Teng-bay-pin." The 

 country was desolate and neglected in many places, not having 

 yet recovered from the visit of the Taipings in 1865. Spots 

 formerly carefully cultivated were now " howling wildernesses ; '' 

 the smaller animals abounded, and birds were consequently very 

 scarce. The natives shot a good deal, and the little feathered 

 creatures were therefore much scared by the approach of the 

 gunner and the report of his deadly weapon. The hills and 

 woods had nevertheless their wonted charm, and we should not 

 have been in such haste to return to our city life had the skies 

 been more pi-opitious and the gates of heaven withheld their 

 merciful showers. We bought from some Chinese a Garganey, 

 Querquedula circia, which would seem from its infrequency on 



