530 Mr. J. 0. Beven ow the 



prefers rather denser cover than do Pin-tailed Snipe, being 

 especially fond of clumps of sedge and tall marsh-grass. 

 During the hottest hours of the day it seeks shelter in the 

 shady boundaries that skirt all paddy-fields. It is a very 

 silent bird — in this, too, presenting a contrast to the noisy 

 Jacanas, — and only once have I lieard an adult utter any 

 sound ; on that occasion a wounded bird was seized by a 

 dog, which caused it to give vent to a grating cry which 

 might have come from almost any bird in the same 

 circumstances. 



The young birds, which I have kept in captivity on more 

 than one occasion, keep up a rather plaintive " cheeping," 

 thougli eating greedily and to all appearances w^ell. At 

 night, if disturbed (for instance, by a light), they ruffle their 

 feathers, droop their wings, and make a loud hissing sound. 

 The bill is, at the same time, lowered till the tip rests 

 on the ground. This attitude is very suggestive of that 

 assumed by some birds in displaying themselves before their 

 mates. 



The females of 7?. australis and R, capensis have coiled 

 tracheae; the tube in the former case is said to form four 

 complete loops, but in the case of R. capensis there is only 

 a half loop. In all cases the males have a straight trachea. 

 It strikes one as rather strange that silent birds should be 

 provided with complicated organs of voice, and in the 

 present instance, at any rate, it may be that the bird is not 

 as silent in its habits as is supposed. 



The Painted Snipe is said to be a nocturnal feeder, 

 though the young birds I kept always fed by day, and it is 

 quite possible that it may also reserve its vocal efforts for 

 the hours of darkness. If this be the case, it is not sur- 

 prising that the cry has never been described, for, in the 

 chaos of sounds that make up the " loud silence '^ of a 

 tropical night, it is not easy to single out one and trace it 

 to its source. 



According to Legge the adult birds live principally on 

 small moUusca. I have also seen them eat worms, and the 

 young birds show no hesitation in swallowing earthworms. 



