GALLINAGO NEMORICOLA 51 



went up, and not one, but three rose — two of which fell to our shots, 

 and did not rise until the elephants were close on them. They were 

 particularly fine gamey birds, and proved most excellent for the table." 



Colonel Wilson has been good enough to send me copies of his 

 notes on this bird as found in Manipur, and these I quote in extcnso. 



" The only time I ever made what may be called anything like a 

 bag of Wood Snipe was in the year 189G close to Manipur. I was 

 sent out into cholera camp in May, and while there discovered a 

 valley about four miles from our final camp, which seemed absolutely 

 crawling with Black Partridges, and where also I saw many Wood 

 Snipes. The Gurkha, as is well known, is an extremely keen shikari, 

 and, unfortunately, one regardless of the breeding season. I accord- 

 ingly issued orders that no one was to fire a shot in this valley till 

 I could shoot it myself. In October of the same year I managed to 

 get away. The following is a copy of an entry in my shooting 

 diary : — 



"October 1st, 1896: Went over to the Choonbutti (there was an 

 old Manipuri lime kiln, near which we camped, in my reserved valley) 

 with H of my regiment ; we did not find nearly so many par- 

 tridges as I expected, and the grass was very heavy, still we killed 

 fifteen brace of black partridges, 5i couple of snipe, of which 

 2^ couple were Wood Snipe, and one quail. The grass was so stiff' 

 the dogs rubbed their noses sore. 



" October 2nd : 222 brace of Partridges, 8i couple of snipe, of 

 which four couple were Wood Snipe. 



" We could have killed a good many more Wood Snipe had we 

 troubled to go after them, but if a bird flew out of the line we were 

 beating, we never followed it up, as we wanted to make a really good 

 bag of partridges, 



" These birds were all lying in heavy gi'ass up to our knees. 



" I think the name of this bird is somewhat of a misnomer, 

 because out of those I have shot, a fair number, I have never once 

 flushed one in a wood — though once I flushed one in a jbeel in the 

 midst of tree jungle, and he pitched in the forest, and I killed him 

 there. 



" The Wood Snipe lies in cover which is too thick for the ordinary 

 snipe to run about in, and he also sometimes favours very high grass. 

 The places he seems to like best are valleys in the hills, which are 

 full of thick matted grass growing on the sites of old rice khets. 



" He lies very close, and is consequently rather difficult to flush 

 even with a dog, and when flushed flies heavily and seldom goes 

 more than a couple of hundred yards. 



" Occasionally when flushed he utters a croaking sound, which 

 sounds Hke ' Tok-Tok.' " 



