ANSER INDICCS 107 



over thi'ee with my second barrel. Of these three, one was snapped 

 up as soon as it touched the water by a crocodile, and the same fate 

 happened to the second before we got to it, whilst the third flew 

 away again without offering another chance. 



In the daytime, according to Hume, Tickeli, and nearly all other 

 observers, as well as my own observations, geese, of all kinds nearly, 

 rest during the day on land near the edge of the water ; they seem 

 to prefer bare sandy churs, especially when these are surrounded 

 by water, but failing such they rest on the banks. A few birds 

 always seem to be posted as sentries, and they keep a wonderfully 

 keen look-out, and are very hard to approach within reasonable 

 distance. Mr. Theobald says that in Coimbatore, during the day- 

 time, " they keep floating idly in the centre of some tank or river." 



In Bengal, at all events, where the rivers are deep and 

 " muggers " plentiful, I fancy that flighting at night offers the 

 best chances of a bag. "Where they are to be found in weedy 

 lagoons, they can often be approached by dug-outs, with a small 

 screen in the front of the boat composed of green branches or 

 reeds, but when the water is open, and there is no natural cover, 

 the birds are much too wily to be imposed on by the screen. On 

 the other hand, if one goes in for shooting them as they fly over- 

 head to and from their feeding-grounds, one cannot expect to 

 obtain large bags, except with unusual luck. Mr. Eeid, in ' Game- 

 Birds,' narrates how he has got as many as thirty birds between 

 sunset and 7.30 p.m., but, as a rule, less than half of this would be 

 considered a good bag. Of course, the charm of variety is added 

 to the enjoyment of the shoot, for in flighting almost any kind of 

 duck may turn up and join the game-bag. 



Hume's appeal to Indian sportsmen to try Prjevalski's plan of 

 lying on the ground, and waving his hat at the geese in order to 

 induce them to approach, seems to have met with no response ; at 

 all events, I can find no bags, heavy or otherwise, recorded as having 

 been made thus. 



They are, almost entirely vegetable feeders, and it is wonderful 

 to see what damage a flock can do to young crops even in a single 

 night ; and where they are numerous, as they are in Upper India, and 

 visit the same feeding-ground night after night, they take no small 



