678 BIRDS OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
Mr. F. A. Barratt says: “This Snipe is distributed through the 
greater part of the Transvaal; and they breed in considerable 
quantities in the swamp below Potchefstroom. In the winter 
months (May, June, and July) they appear in great numbers and 
are shot for forwarding to the Diamond-fields, where they command 
a fair price.” It was likewise noticed by Mr. Jameson’s expedition 
in Mashoona Land. Dr. Kirk met with it on the Shire marshes in 
the Zambesi. Mr. Andersson does not appear to have met with it 
in Damara Land, but Senor Anchieta procured two specimens at 
Huilla and Caconda in Benguela, which at first Professor Bocage 
was inclined to separate as a distinct species under the name of 
G. angolensis, but in his latest work he considers that these specimens 
are referable to G. nigripennis. 
Tail rounded, of sixteen feathers; bill twice the length of the 
head; two longitudinal black bands on the head, separated by a 
narrow medial, reddish-white band, and on each side a yellowish- 
white band; the upper parts variegated with black and light-red, 
with four longitudinal yellowish-white bands ; wing-coverts tipped 
with white ; three lateral tail-feathers on each side, white; sides 
transversely barred with dusky ; axillary feathers white, barred with 
greyish-black. Length, 12”; wing, 5” 6” ; tail, 2” 6”. 
650. GaLtuinaco major (Gm.). Great Snipe. 
This Snipe is a regular migrant to Natal, arriving in September 
and October, and leaving in January and February. From King- 
williamstown Captain Trevelyan writes: “ About 10 per cent. of 
the Snipe killed in British Kaffraria are of this species. On one 
occasion, when about twenty-three or twenty-four miles from King- 
williamstown, I came across a likely looking piece of ground, so 
determined to try it. I had gone but a little way, when my dog 
stood, and on going up to her a Snipe rose. The dog ran in and 
kept so close to the bird that I was unable to fire, and after a chase 
of about twenty or thirty yards the dog actually caught the Snipe 
on the wing. On looking over it I found-no trace of a wound of 
any description, but it was extremely fat, and to this I attributed its 
inability to get away. I killed on this piece of ground seven Snipe, 
of which five were S. major, and these weighed slightly over 2} lb., 
or rather more than 8 oz. each.” In Natal Mr. Ayres states that 
they are generally dispersed over the country, preferring the swamps 
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