802 EHYNCU2EA CAPENSIS. 



another almost similar to it, I am indebted to my friend Mr. Seebohm ; they are in the Swinhoe collection, 

 and measure: — wings 5-15 ; tarsus 1*6 5 bill to gape 1*8. 



A female (N. Formosa, British Museum) comes pretty close to Ceylonese birds ; the black on the lower part of the 

 fore neck is somewhat sharply defined against the rufous. "Wing 5-3 inches, tarsus 1-9. 



Jerdon unites the African Painted Snipe with the Indian ; and in this he is followed by Von Heuglin, Mr. Blanford, 

 and Lord Tweeddale. Mr. Ghirney and Captain Shelley likewise regognize them as one. I have examined 

 examples of B. eapensis from Abyssinia, and do not find that there is any material difference. Swinhoe says that 

 the African birds have the chin bare : but this observation, I imagine, may have been the result of an examination 

 of imperfect specimens. The Abyssinian birds in question, collected by Mr. Blanford, were merely singular in 

 wanting the reddish lustre perceptible in some Asiatic specimens ; and this was probably an individual peculiarity, 

 the markings were in all points similar to those of Ceylon birds, and the olivaceous tints the same. Dimensions 

 of a male : — wing 5-2 inches ; tarsus 1*6 ; middle toe 1*3 ; bill to gape 1*7. 



B. australis, Gould, the Australian representative, is very similar in appearance to the present bird ; but is entitled to 

 specific rank on account of its short feet, and a singular difference in its anatomy, which I have myself observed in 

 a Victorian specimen shot near Melbourne. The trachea passes down between the skin and the muscles for the 

 whole length of the body, and makes four convolutions before entering the lungs. The wing is proportionately 

 longer than in B. eapensis, and there are slight differences in coloration about the face and back" : the inner web of 

 the 1st primary is darker. An example before me measures : — wing 5 - 5 inches ; tarsus 1*5 ; middle toe 1'3. 



The South-American species (7?. semieollaris, Vieill.) is quite distinct from either of the aforementioned. The female 

 lias the entire neck olive-black ; the crown black, with the buff mesial stripe ; at the sides of the neck next the 

 shoulder is a bar of white, and on the wing-coverts are large round spots of the same ; the scapulars have a broad 

 lateral outer border of rich buff. In size also it is much inferior — wing 4-1 inches : tarsus 1*4 ; bill to gape 1*5 ; 

 the bill is much curved at the tip. 



Distribution. — The Painted Snipe is a permanent resident in the lowlands of Ceylon ; but on the west 

 and south coasts there is an increase of its numbers at the commencement of the cool season ; and in November, 

 December, and January it is more plentiful in the country west of the Kandyan ranges and in the south of 

 the island than during any other time of the year. Whether this increase is caused merely by an internal 

 migration from the solitudes of the interior, where it may breed, or whether it is the effect of a general increase 

 to the species from the south of India, I am unable with certainty to state; but it is, I think, very probable 

 that there is both a migration to Ceylon during the month of October, and also an internal movement, as is 

 the case with other birds, towards the west coast. It is common in the paddy-fields from Negornbo south- 

 wards to Galle and Matara about Christmas-time, and I have likewise known it to be pretty numerous about 

 Morotuwa in June. A favourite locality in the south for it is the large stretch of paddy-land lying between 

 Wackwella and Baddegama ; and this being the chief resort of Galle sportsmen in the Snipe-season, many 

 " Painters " fall to their guns. I have, however, never known more than three couple killed there at one time, 

 and this was by Mr. 'Weir, of the P. & O. Service. It is numerous in the Matara district, and I have met 

 with it and found it breeding in the Girawa Pattuwa, near Hatagalla. In suitable localities in the Eastern 

 Province and throughout the northern forests near tanks it is frequently seen ; but it wanders about a good 

 deal, and one is not certain of finding it in any particular places, save such large marshes as are to be found 

 at Tamblegam, Minery, and other spots. In the Trincomalie district I observed it oftener in salt marshes 

 than in the Snipe-grounds. It is common in the extreme north, and is a well-known bird in the Jaffna 

 district. Mr. Frank Fisher, of the Ceylon Civil Service, writes me that it affects the paddy-fields and marshes 

 about Chavagacheri in numbers, and that he has shot as many as 5^ couple at one time in that locality. I 

 am not aware to what elevation it ascends ; but it most probably visits paddy-fields on the flanks of the Kandyan 

 mountain up to about 1000 feet. 



In India Jerdon writes that it " wanders about a good deal according to season, and many will be found 

 in paddy-fields in the south of India in October and November, leading the observer to conclude that they 

 are as migratory as the true Snipe. I have," he remarks, " found them breeding in Malabar, the Deccan, 

 and Bengal." In the Deccan, according to the Rev. Dr. Fairbank, it is a permanent resident; and 

 Mr. Davidson likewise says that it is common there, probably breeding. In Chota Nagpur it is found in 

 suitable localities ; and Mr. Ball considers that many remain throughout the year ; he records it from 

 Maubhum, Lohardugga, Singblmm, Sirguja, Sambalpur, Jaipur, and the Godaveri valley. Mr. Hume notes it 



