322 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



I have enjoyed days of delightful shooting with this 

 little beauty when staying at Cape Town, after 

 driving some distance out into the country to the 

 shooting ground of the friends who kindly invited me. 



The sand-quail or reed-quail of the colonists 

 (Turnix hottentotus), belonging to the sub-family of 

 bush-quails, is much less abundant than the common 

 quail, and is only to be met with occasionally in the 

 maritime districts of the Colony, principally to the 

 south and south-west. This bird never quits the 

 Colony, and breeds near vleys and reedy places. 

 It never flies far, is a great runner, and is generally 

 to be found in thick covert ; in size, it is a trifle 

 smaller than the last-named. 



The two snipes to be found at the Cape must 

 conclude my list of sporting birds. Of these, the 

 commoner is Gallinago czquatorialis, which may be 

 called the Cape snipe, and is to be found in every 

 part of the Colony where water or swampy ground 

 exists. I believe this snipe has been and is still 

 mistaken for the common snipe, which, however, it 

 exceeds slightly in size ; it is also much blacker 

 on the back. 



The painted snipe (Rhynchcea capensis) is often 

 found in abundance in the same moist localities as 

 the last-named. Its colouring is very remarkable. 

 The brown head is lightly touched with white. Over 

 the centre of the head a yellow stripe runs from the 

 base of the bill to the back of the neck, and another 

 similar stripe runs from either eye to the back of 

 the head, while yet two other yellow stripes, edged 

 with black, trend from the shoulders, down the back, 

 to the base of the tail. The brown neck has a 

 white collar ; the under parts of the bird are white, 



