GALLINAGO STENUBA 103 



b}' the end of the day. There are few men, however, who are not 

 strong enough to use a 16-bore throughout the longest day ; 

 personally, though I rejoice in but one arm, I find a 16-bore per- 

 fectly manageable at the end of the hardest day's tramp ; and though 

 I used a 20-bore one season, I dropped it because I could not shoot 

 straight enough with it, and also found that when snipe were wild 

 it did not kill the birds hit, the range of the weapon being 

 insufdcieut. 



The probable answer to the question is, let each sportsman find 

 out what suits him best, and when he has found out stick to the 

 weapon as long as he can. If he starts with no bias for any special 

 bore, let him commence his shooting with a 16-bore, and he will 

 probabhj eventually find this light enough to carry, yet giving a 

 sufficiently good pattern and with enough penetration to satisfy all 

 his wants. I would not, however, ever advise a youngster to start 

 with a 20-, much less with a 24-bore. 



On the table the Pintail does perhaps often rank as inferior to 

 the Fantail. At their best the two birds are indistinguishable, but 

 after a drought and when shot in scrub, the Pintail is often com- 

 paratively dry eating, a result which might be expected from the 

 diet on which he has been living. 



The bill of the Pintail Snipe is not nearly so sensitive as that 

 of the Fantail, and accordingly, we find him feeding far more on 

 comparatively dry ground, boring less in the ground and indulging 

 more on whatever he can get above it. A very large proportion of 

 his diet consists of tiny snails and similar " shell-fish" which are to 

 be found in and about the roots of grass, &c., on dam]5 ground, or 

 else climbing up the blades to some height. But besides these and 

 the worms, caterpillars and other soft items of food, all of which 

 are also eaten by the Fantail as opportunity arises, the Pintail will 

 eat grasshoppers, small beetles, and other equally hard substances, 

 and I have shot birds in dry scrub with the stomachs full of a small 

 kind of flying ant. 



