922 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



a half-Hedged young bird and got no further towards conciliating 

 it then I did with adults. Yet these will let one pick them up with 

 far less trouble than much tamer birds would give. In captivity 

 can be studied with advantage the curious display by which 

 the species seeks to terrorize an enenry. When slightly alarmed, 

 it raises the wing furthest from the intruder ; if pressed, this wing- 

 is fully expanded, while in desperation the bird faces its adversary 

 with both wings and tail spread so that their beautiful spotted 

 markings are fully shown. Meanwhile, a hissing or swearing note, 

 like hot iron plunged into water, is given off. The similarity of 

 this last attitude to that adopted by owls when on defence is, 

 however, very striking, and I believe the Painted Snipe is at 

 least as nocturnal as most owls, judging from the behaviour of 

 captive specimens. Like owls, also, this bird has a singularly 

 expressive countenance. When in its ordinary diurnal attitude 

 crouched against the wall of its prison, with tail up and head 

 down, so as to look as much as possible like a lump of mud, 

 the head-feathers all lie flat, giving their owner a singularly 

 stupid appearance. On the rare occasions, however, when one 

 sees the bird walking about at ease, the feathers over the 

 eyes are raised so as to be higher than the crown, which gives 

 quite a wide-awake expression. In moving about thus, the 

 head is carried high, and the bird looks tall and graceful, and 

 moves its hind quarters up and down like some Sandpipers, but 

 much more slowly. It will search for food in water something 

 like a Spoonbill, and can swim, but this latter is not an excep- 

 tional accomplishment, being common to waders generally. The 

 spreading of the wings undoubtedly has a terrifying effect in 

 some instances, as I have seen a Golden Plover frightened by it, 

 as also a Bantam hen ; but some birds — a Rail, Ruff, and Pitta, 

 did not seem alarmed at the Snipe's demonstrations. I was told, 

 however, of a Squirrel which was seen to be scared thereby, when 

 it came across one of these birds in one of the aviaries in the 

 Calcutta Zoo, and I know of a case in a private aviary where a 

 ' Painter ' escaped destruction when some other birds were killed 

 by a rat. It seems, therefore, that this gesture is a protective one. 

 At the same time I have no doubt that the natives who told Mr. 



