Contributions to the Ornithology of India, Sfc. 193 



each barrel, and went in for mud-larking" operations in earnest. 

 Three times I bea-t the clump backwards and forwards without 

 catching- a glimpse of the wretched little creature ; g-etting" my 

 hands and face scratched and cut, with the reeds and tamarisk 

 branches, besides getting- up to my waist in a hole at the root 

 of one of the bushes, yet as each time one of the party saw it, I 

 felt bound to persevere; the fourth time the bird suddenly ap- 

 peared at the muzzle of my gun, darted, I believe, between my 

 legs, where there couldn't have been much room, considering 

 the depth of water, and disappeared. I duly let the gun off, but 

 I had reason to suppose, in exactly the opposite direction to that 

 in which the bird at the moment was ; then I altered my tactics 

 and stood quite still in the middle of the clump, whilst I made 

 the men beat from the other side. This was obviously the right 

 plan, for the very first time I got a shot, at least seven feet off 

 the muzzle of the gun, and blew the bird entirely to pieces, 

 besides, unfortunately, peppering one of the boatmen so soundly, 

 that though it was only dust shot, they positively refused to 

 beat any more upon that system. This was by many degrees too 

 bad ; I had no special grudge against the species to begin with ; 

 but I then and there registered a vow that an ample series 

 should give me my revenge ; accordingly for many hours of two 

 days I. devoted myself entirely to Cetti's warbler. Every little 

 dark dense patch of rush, reed, and tamarisk, standing out 

 in the water contained one or two of these atrocious little 

 skulks, the thing was to hag them. I never but once succeed- 

 ed in flushing any one of them, and then I missed him, 

 at least so the boatmen said. I did not admit the fact at the 

 time, and I don't see why I should now, but anyhow the corpus 

 delicti was not produceable. I never got a shot more than 

 three yards distance from the muzzle of my gun, and I abso- 

 lutely blew to pieces more than half of the specimens T did suc- 

 ceed in shooting, and all I can say further is, that having esta- 

 blished the occurrence of the species in India, any one else may 

 go and shoot them who pleases, no one will ever catch me at 

 it again. 



The following are the dimensions taken from the fresh birds. 

 The females being', as a rule, somewhat, though scarcely appre- 

 ciably, smaller than the males. Length, 5*8 to 6-5 ; expanse, 

 7*5 to 8*4 ; tail, from vent, 2*4 to 3 ; wing, 2-5 to 2*8 ; wings, 

 when closed, reach to within from 1-2 to 2 of end of tail ; bill at 

 front, 0-4 to 0-5 ; tarsus, 0-8 to nearly 0-9 ; weight, 0*4 oz. 



The plumage is soft and lax ; the tail feathers broad, and the 

 tail much graduated ; the fourth and fifth quills are the longest, 

 the fifth being slightly the longest, the third is about O'OS ; 



