1 70 THE SNIPES AND SNIPPETS. 



as their names indicate, by the colour of their legs. 

 There are two of each, a greater and a lesser, and I 

 do not think I can give any directions by which an 

 amateur will be able to distinguish these four birds 

 from each other. I cannot always do it myself. The 

 greater Greenshanks may be known by its size and 

 the greater Redshanks by the amount of white on its 

 back and tail and wings, and these are the commonest. 

 Jerdon says that the name of the greater Greenshanks 

 in Hindustanee is Timtimna from its call. In 

 these parts all the species are known as Timla for the 

 same reason. The wild, ringing, cheery note of the 

 Timla is one of those sounds which lay hold of the 

 memory and in after years call back the scenes in 

 which you first heard them. It must be a familiar 

 sound to those who go snipe-shooting across the 

 harbour, for both the Greenshanks and the Redshanks 

 are very common among the saltpans and rice-fields. 

 The greater Greenshanks is really a fine bird for the 

 table, being almost as good as a Snipe and much 

 larger. There is not much left in Bombay to attract 

 birds of this sort, but they may be found in what still 

 remains of the ancient " Flats." They are cold 

 season visitors, of course, coming in September and 

 leaving about April. 



The Curlew is common on the whole coast, and 

 when the tide has run far out and bared the black 

 rocks round Colaba and Breach Candy, its wild and 

 plaintive scream often comes in on the breeze. It is 

 not a " Snippet, " being much too large, but it 

 deserves a place not far from the Snipe by reason of 

 its bill, which is five or six inches in length ; not 

 straight, however, but much curved. This also is a 



