THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA AND CEYLON. 561 



was not on the ground until 3-30 I had to stop before 5 having 

 run out of cartridges. On this occasion the bag consisted of 26 

 couple of snipe and 3J couple of quail and the cartridges expend- 

 ed numbered 79. The ground was mud and water of only a few 

 inches in depth and the walking was ideal, but the paddy was very 

 long and we lost a few birds in it. 



I have often been asked whether it is better to shoot at snipe 

 directly they rise or to wait until the twistings ceased and the bird 

 gets straight on the wing. Probably the best way to shoot is that 

 which suits each individual best. I have seen equally good shots 

 amongst both types of performers and do not think the preference 

 can be given to either style. Mr. Cornish knocked his birds over 

 so quickly that to the looker-on it appeared as if he must have 

 spotted them before they rose. My father, on the contrary, was 

 a slow shot and let them get well away before firing, yet as regards 

 their second barrels, there was nothing to choose between them. 

 Mr. Dods, who is probably the finest snipe shot in Eastern India 

 at present, I believe lets his birds get well on the wing before 

 shooting. 



The ordinary call of the snipe is, as every one knows, a single 

 note which has been described in many ways but may be syllab- 

 lized as pech, pronounced sharply with a nasal twang. In the 

 breeding season, however, the snipe makes a sound, called either 

 drumming or bleating, which was for a long time a subject of keen 

 discussion. 



Dr. P. H. Bahr (in loc. cit.) has written a long and most interest- 

 ing article on the manner in which this sound is produced and has 

 conclusively proved that it is made by the tail feathers. 



The following is an extract which he has kindly given me 

 permission to take : — 



"In the summer of 1904, in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, 

 I began to observe the Snipes in the act of bleating through a 

 strong prism binocular. I had read none of the literature on the 

 subject, and so had no preconceived ideas. The observation 

 I made then I have had ample opportunities of confirming. 



" I find that ordinarily the bird flies up to a height of 60-100 feet 

 above ground, in windy weather going higher, with its tail held 



