348 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



outstretched necks, and they looked nearly as large as 

 swans. I thought they were some kind of gigantic 

 geese. I then made for a ridge of highland, on which 

 I had now and then seen red-legged partridges, which, 

 by the by, much resemble the " chickor " of India. 

 The birds lay well and got up in twos and threes, so 

 I soon <: grassed " five. They were so fat that one that 

 had towered, fell burst in two. Descending that ridge 

 I got another hare, and coming to a pond found it 

 full of teal, and on its shore some ruffs. Of teal I had 

 shot very many in my life, but had never seen any 

 of the others. I killed a male and a female in one 

 shot, but the former had not assumed the fringe from 

 which it derives its name. As the teal flew away I 

 gave them a raking shot and two fell. A little further- 

 on I got a big and a small bittern ; the former 

 resembles the bird now and then shot in England, 

 but the other was not much larger than a good -sized 

 kingfisher. I may here say that I saw even smaller 

 bitterns on the Congo near Vivi, but I never met 

 with the dwarfs in Europe, although bitterns were 

 plentiful enough in every marsh in Syria. Passing the 

 pond, and marsh attached, I saw eight geese feeding in 

 some open fields. It was hopeless to attempt to get 

 near them on foot, so I got on my horse, a very steady, 

 strong and quiet cream-coloured nag, who stood fire 

 admirably. In fact all horses in that part of the world 

 do so, as the Arabs gallop about, on feast days, blazing 

 away incessantly. The geese being unalarmed I got 

 within fifty yards. They then showed signs of fear, 

 putting up their heads and craning their necks, so I 

 galloped in and was amongst them before they were 

 well off the ground. I killed a bird, but another 



