778 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL SIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIU. 



11th October near Ledaunggan, when mostly pintail, but also a few fantail 

 were found plentiful on the banks of certain little creeks near the Poozoun- 

 danag Creek. 



Sundry "late" grounds, which invariably are good in December, are 

 still too wet, even at time of writing, but another fortnight's sun should 

 dry them up sufhciently, and probably a few small bags will be obtained 

 then. 



I saw, and obtained, several Swinhoe's Snipe {G. megala), though on the 

 whole they are rare ; I am inclined to believe that they show a decided 

 penchant for jungle grounds. The last I shot, 26th December, was obtained 

 near Palon, about 50 miles up the Prome Railway line, on the edge of a 

 large jheel (Hlahamahget-su), situated in the middle of thick jungle, and 1 

 obtained here also, on that day, a Wood-Snipe {G. nemoricola) ; this latter 

 species is also none too plentiful here, being only the second that I have shot 

 during the last ten years. I once saw another, but missed. Jack-snipe are 

 still rarer, I fancy, as I have only seen one, which I got near the Poozoun- 

 danag Creek on the 14th September 1910. 



In my mind I am quite certain that, given favourable conditions, snipe 

 breed in Lower Burma occasionally, though I have not yet succeeded in 

 finding a nest. I have however shot on several occasions early in the 

 season quite young birds with plumage not sufficiently developed to enable 

 them to travel any distance ; besides, these young birds were in excellent 

 condition, whereas the first arrivals in August are invariably on the "light" 

 side. I have not kept any skins, but shall make a point of keeping one or 

 two (provided I come across them) this j'^ear, and forward them to you in 

 proof of my argument, 



E. O. BLOECH. 



Eangoon", 20i7« January 1915. 



No. XIII.— THE COMPARATIVE WEIGHTS OF FANTAIL AND 

 PINTAIL SNIPE. 



The question of the comparative weights of Fantail, Gallinayo ccelestis and 

 Pintail Snipe, G. stenura was recently under discussion. My experience of 

 these in Southern India is that the Pintail appears to be the bigger bird. One 

 man said that the authorities ( he referred to the Fauna of British India ) 

 on the subject did not bear this out. I find that in Hume and Marshall's 

 '' Game Birds " the average weight of both sexes of Fantails is given as 

 4-2 oz. (Vol. Ill, p. 369 ) while that of Pintails is given as 4'06 oz. (Vol. Ill, 

 p. 356). 



Curiously enough on the former page there is a note from a Mr. J. 0. 

 Parker in which he gives weights which makes out the Pintail to be on the 

 average 1 oz. heavier than the Fantail. Mr. Hume, however, does not seem 

 to have been much impressed. 



Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. Ill, p. 675, gives the weight of Fantails as 

 ranging from 3f to 5 oz. but gives no weight for Pintails. The weights 

 given in Vol. IV, pages 287 and 290, of the Fauna of British India are said 

 to have been taken from Hume and they agree with those given. 



Finally on pages 549 and 579 of Volume XX of the Bombay Natural 

 History Society's Journal, the weights are given as from Hume. 



It would be interesting to find out if this difference in weight varies with 

 different localities. I have been weighing these birds recently, and the 

 average weight of 135 Fantails comes to 3-513 oz. while that of 472 Pintails 



