Malayan Ornithology . 15 



tall fellows in scarlet turbans. These followed us, nominally 

 to pick up tlie spoil ; but, unless it takes five men to carry 

 one Snipe, their labours were light. The Snipe were very 

 plentiful, and for half an hour there was a tremendous bang- 

 ing ; but I need hardly say that the result was almost nil. 

 Personally I expended quite thirty or forty cartridges for two 

 Snipe and a green Pigeon ; all together I do not believe the 

 ten of us averaged a bird apiece. But it was not to be 

 wondered at ; for as " scaipe ! scaipe ! " resounded and up 

 went one^s gun, the elephant would make a tremendous 

 plunge, and one's shot went anywhere but towards the object 

 aimed at ; often, I expect, much nearer the head of our 

 mahout, or some of our Sikh followers, than was at all plea- 

 sant for them. I know it would have taken a good deal 

 to induce me to change places with the mahout, perched 

 as he was on the neck of the elephant, with my companion 

 and myself slung in baskets on either side of the great lum- 

 bering brute, and firing away as hard as we could. As we 

 sat sideways in a small cane basket, with our legs dangling 

 over the side, straight shooting was almost an impossibility ; 

 for, to say nothing of the jolting of our animal, I, on the off- 

 side, could fire only at birds rising to my left front, and then 

 in a very cramped position ; and the man on the near side 

 had similar difficulties to contend with. Between these two 

 firing-points squatted the unfortunate mahout : he never 

 made any remark, except to his charge ; but I expect he 

 offered up a prayer of thanksgiving to Mahomet when the 

 whole performance was over and he found his head still on 

 his shoulders. 



RhyncHjEa BENGALENSis (Linn.). 



The Painted Snipe, as it is called, though not really belong- 

 ing to the true Snipes, is a bird frequently met with by the 

 sportsman in Malayana. 



The Painted Snipe may be a resident and breed in the 

 Malay peninsula, as is the case in India, though my expe- 

 rience inclines me to think it migratory. In any case, if not 

 a true migrant, it certainly moves about the country, only 



