274 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HLSTORY SOCJJETY, Vol. XX. 



up and not one, but three rose — two of which fell to oiir shots. 

 We soon found several more and nine were killed altogether ; they 

 offered the easiest of shots, and did not rise until the elephants 

 were close on them. They were particularly fine gamey birds and 

 proved most excellent for the table." 



Major Wilson has been good enough to send me copies of his 

 notes on this bird as found in Manipur and these I quote in extenso. 



" The only time I ever made what may be called anything like 

 a bag of Wood Snipe was in the year 1896, close to Manipur. I 

 was sent out into cholera-camp in May and while there discovered 

 a valley about 4 miles from our final camp, which seemed absolu- 

 tely crawling with Black Partridges and where also I saw many 

 Wood Snipes. The Gurkha, as is well known, is an extremely 

 keen shikari, and unfortunately one regardless of the breeding 

 season. I accordingly issued orders that no one was to fire a shot 

 in this valley, till I could shoot it myself. In October of the same 

 year I managed to get away. The following is a copy of an entry 

 in my shooting diary : — 



" October 1, 1896. — Went over to the Choonbutti (there was an 

 old Manipuri lime kiln, near which we camped, in my reserved 

 valley) with H — of my Regiment, we did not find nearly so many 

 partridges as I expected, and the grass was very heavy, still we 

 killed fifteen brace of black partridges, five and-a-half couple of 

 Snipe, of which two and-a-half couple were Wood Snipe, and one 

 quail. The grass was so stiff the dogs rubbed their noses sore. 



" October 2. — Twenty-two and-a-half brace of partridges, eight 

 and-a-half couple of Snipe, of which four couple were Wood Snipe. 



" We could have killed a good many more Wood Snipe had we 

 troubled to go after them, but if a bird flew out of the line we 

 were beating, we never followed it up, as we wanted to make a 

 really good bag of partridges. 



" These birds were all lying in heavy grass up to our knees. 



" I think the name of this bird somewhat of a misnomer 

 because out of those I have shot, a fair number, I have never once 

 flushed one in a wood, though once I flushed one in a jheel in the 

 midst of tree jungles and he pitched in the forest and I killed him 

 there. 





