I 2 8 HUNTING TRIPS 



with a whirr, clucking and crowing; I held 

 the little i6-bore fully two feet ahead of him, 

 pulled the trigger, and down he came into 

 the bushes. The sharp-tails fly strongly and 

 steadily, springing into the air when they 

 rise, and then going off in a straight line, 

 alternately sailing and giving a succession of 

 rapid wing-beats. Sometimes they will sail 

 a long distance with set wings before alight- 

 ing, and when they are passing overhead 

 with their wings outstretched each of the 

 separate wing feathers can be seen, rigid and 

 distinct. 



Picking up and pocketing my bird I 

 walked on, and on turning round a shoulder 

 of the bluffs saw a pair of sharp-tails sitting 

 sunning themselves on the top of a bullberry 

 bush. As soon as they saw me they flew off 

 a short distance and lit in the bed of the 

 creek. Rightly judging that there were 

 more birds than those I had seen I began to 

 beat with great care the patches of brush 

 and long grass on both sides of the creek, 

 and soon was rewarded by some very pretty 



