352 



fetters to tye Gbitor. 



Sir, 



I should be glad to know whether the Green Jay of 

 Jerdon, Cissa sinensis, known here as the Sirgoom, is supposed 

 to be in the habit of killing snakes. I did not kuow it myself 

 till the other day, when I witnessed an occurrence which may 

 be of interest to you. I was walking aloug a road with 

 jungle on both sides, and my attention was attracted by 

 the cries of a bird ahead of me. I looked and observed one 

 of these Green Jays screaming and pecking at a large snake in 

 the middle of the road, which was trying to make its escape, 

 but whichever way it turned the bird met it, striking with its 

 wings aud beak ; at last the snake lay quite still in the middle 

 of the road, when the bird perched on its neck and commenced 

 digging its beak into the snake's head. I then walked up 

 closer, and the bird flew into a bush just beside me, where it 

 remained screaming. As soon as I approached the snake it 

 raised itself in a threatening attitude, and seeing it was not 

 dead I withdrew again, and as soon as I was a few paces 

 distant, the Jay flew out and attacked the snake again. As 

 soon as the bird came, the snake seemed to reconcile itself to 

 its fate, and after a few feeble attempts to escape, again lay 

 still, on which the bird again perched on its neck, and con- 

 tinued pecking away at the top of the snake's head till it was 

 dead. In the end, the bird dragged the body of the snake 

 away into the jungle. I went and examined the snake and 

 found the top of the head completely broken. While I was 

 examining the body of the snake the bird remained in the 

 jungle at hand, but did not continue screaming as it did 

 the first time, I scared it away. I showed the snake to a man 

 who was passing, and he knew the name of the reptile and 

 said it was poisonous. The snake was about three feet long. 

 I may add that a lot of cattle coming along the road, the 

 opposite way to which I was going, had all stopped, and 

 when I got there were clustered together in the road looking 

 on. The villagers asserted that the Jay would eat the snake, 

 and from the bird dragging the suake off the road, this seems 

 likely enough. How the combat began I don't know, but it 

 would seem as if the Jay attacked the snake seeing it cross 

 the open. I was quite unaware of any such propensities in 

 this bird, and have narrated 'the incident to you in case it 

 should be of interest. 



Can you tell me if there are any grounds for supposing that 

 either Snipe or Woodcock breed in this country ? I have shot 



