272 THE FOOD OF BIRDS IN INDIA. 



1485. Gallinago stenura. Pin-tailed Snipe. Of the food of 

 the pintail and fantail snipe Hume says : ' In the pintail you 

 find all kinds of land organisms, grubs, caterpillars, small insects, 

 Crustacea, shells and grass, as well as and more frequently than 

 worms, water grubs, aquatic insects, and tiny water shells and 

 cmstacea which constitute the entire food, in this country at 

 any rate, of the fantail. H. M. G. B. I. Ill, 347. One that I shot 

 on the borders of a mustard field in the factory compourd had 

 about a dozen caterpillars from 0. 5" to 1. 25''' lorg in its gizzard 

 (T. R. Cripps.) H. M. G. B. I. Ill, 345. 



1486. Gallinago solitaria. Indian Solitary Snipe. They feed 

 chiefly on small insects and tiny grubs. ' I have found a mass 

 of minute black Coleoptera in the stomachs of two or three ; of one 

 I find noted minute shells. There is always a quantity of gravel 

 or coarse sand in the gizzard. H. M. G. B. I. Ill, 335. Insects 

 and grubs. F. I. IV, 291. 



1487. Gallinago gallinula.J&ck Snipe. Their food here 

 consists of grubs and worms, and tiny insects, shells ard Crus- 

 tacea, besides which a certain amount of green vegetable matter, 

 minute portions of weed, club moss, and grass, as far as I 

 could make out is occasionally found in their stomachs. I have 

 never chanced to find any seeds, but it seems certain they do 

 eat grass seeds at times in Europe and probably they do the 

 same here. H. M. G. B. I. Ill, 378. 



1488. Rostratula capensis. Painted Snipe. Exact record not 

 forthcoming. I remember that insects and tiny Crustacea and 

 shells land and water predominated, and there were also grubs 

 and caterpillars, and some admixture of vegetable matter, but 

 I have also an idea that I repeatedly noticed grain and seeds 

 of sedges, and grass in their crops. Of this latter I carrot row 

 be sure but I find that Hodgson notes finding both rice and 

 fragments of mustard seeds in their gizzards, so that my 

 remembrance is probably correct. H. M. G. B. I. Ill, 385. 

 Mainly on insects grubs and mollusca, but also eat grain, seeds 

 of grass, &c. F. L, 4, 295. 



