SNIPE SHOOTING 



deepening on chest and sides of breast into olive-black ; 

 back and wing coverts deep olive-green variegated with 

 black cross rays and ashy bars ; breast and lower parts 

 white, passing over the dark sides of the upper breast in a 

 band round to the shoulders, continuing down the sides of 

 the back as a narrow buff line ; a tuft of pure white lanceo- 

 late feathers beneath the scapulars. 



Length of male bird, 9^ inches ; female, 9f to 10 inches ; 

 legs and feet greenish. This is a swamp bird, and may be 

 found round tanks or in paddy fields. When flushed 

 singly, as is usually the case, it flies straight, but slowly, 

 with leisurely flappings of the rather large wings, and is 

 apt to alight again almost as suddenly as a quail. This 

 bird is a good swimmer also, according to Legge, and I 

 myself once saw a wounded bird of my own swim across 

 a channel in a swamp in its endeavour to escape. A sports- 

 man need not go in search of this species, as he will meet 

 them, if at all, during his search after pin-tail. 



The pin-tailed snipe (Gallinago stenura) is the bird which 

 gives us such fine shooting, and is really the only snipe to 

 be taken into account. It is not easy to condense Captain 

 Legge's description, but here goes for a try : 



Length 9.5 to 10.5 inches; bill 2^ inches; weight 

 averages 4 oz. 3 drachms. Females are larger than males. 

 Bill, upper mandible blackish to dark olive at tip ; legs and 

 feet olive-green. Crown, back of head, top part of back 

 and lower part of back, velvet black; face, throat, head 

 stripe, lateral edges of upper back, buff; upper and lower 

 parts of back boldly barred and striped with rich rufous ; 

 hind neck, back and wing coverts blackish brown ; back 

 and coverts with bars and tips of yellowish grey and buff- 

 whitish ; long wing feathers' and shorter ones dark brown, 

 tipped white ; middle wing feathers barred rich brown and 



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