FURREEDPORE, EASTERN BENGAL. 301 



Irides deep brown ; bill and legs black, also the mouth 

 inside. 



Pretty common and a permanent resident in this district ; 

 they frequent the sandy churs of the large rivers : in Sylbet 

 I have seen them on the u Soormah" river which has a muddy 

 bottom, and in the Western Dooars numbers are observed 

 on the pebbly bottoms of the numerous hill streams which 

 enter the district from the north, so that they are not so 

 particular as to the places they frequent, but they never leave 

 the proximity of running water. I tried hard to find the 

 eggs, but failed. 



858 — Esacus recurvirostris, Cuv. 



4th February 1878, Male. — Length, 20*; expanse, 35*0; 

 wing, 1025 ; tail from vent, 4'50 ; tarsus, 3*42 ; bill from 

 gape, 3*50 ; at front, 2'80 ; closed wings fall short of end 

 of tail, 1-25. 



Rather rare ; a pair or two seen at long intervals along the 

 sandy churs of the big rivers ; has a low soft whistle ; a very 

 wary bird. The bill in the above mentioned specimen had the 

 base of both mandibles greenish yellow for 0*75 ; the rest 

 black ; tarsus greenish, the front of the latter and upper surface 

 of toes being dusky ; irides greenish ; orbital skin yellow. This 

 and the last species call frequently during the night, especially 

 if it is moon light. 



870.— Gallinago sthenura, Kuhl. 



4th February 1878, Male.— Expanse j 17*08 ; wing, 5'08 : 

 tail, 2*33; tarsus, 1*25; bill from gape, 2'12; at front, 

 2'25; closed wings fall short of end of tail, 0'16. 



Females.— Expanse, 17-62 to 18'0; wing, 5-08; tail, 2*25 

 to 2*42; tarsus, 1 "33; bill from gape, 2*50 to 2'54; at front, 

 2"50 to 2*64; closed wings fall short of end of tail, 066 to 

 0*75 ; weight, 4*25 to 4*37 ozs. Legs greenish ; upper bill, 

 basal half horny ; distal half blackish brown ; lower bill, 

 basal half dusky green ; rest blackish brown. 



A cold w r eather visitant ; arriving later than the next species ; 

 common ; it is frequently found in dry places, such as dry 

 paddy fields, drains and the like, which gallinaria never is ; one 

 that I shot on the borders of a mustard field in the factory 

 compound had about a dozen caterpillars, from 0*5 to 1*25 inch 

 long, in its gizzard ; this bird was very dark colored on its 

 lower parts. I shot a female, the last of the season, on the 24th 

 April 1878 ; she was flushed from a perfectly dry ditch at 

 the back of my house. 



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