SI H. H. Godwin- Austen — List of the Birds collected [No. 2, 



grass close to the elephant's feet and not rising until actually kicked 

 up. 



825. Aebobicola btifigttlaeis, Blyth. 



" PolcM" Dana. ■ 



This was the only species obtained, and it was very common at 4000 feet 

 and upwards at our camp in the forest under Toruputu Peak, and the Dafla 

 guides snared several. The Dallas, like the other hill-tribes, are clever at this 

 art, and the mode of capturing pheasants and partridges is simple and worth 

 describing. As it is the habit of the birds to get down low at night into the 

 warmer ravines and feed upwards along the crests of the spurs, they stop the 

 progress of the covey by a zig-zag barrier about 2 to 3 feet high, made up of 

 twigs and short pieces of bamboo stuck into the ground, which is rapidly 

 formed and extended a short distance down the hill on either side. A nar- 

 row opening is left here and there, generally at the re-entering angles, and 

 in this the noose is set just above two cross sticks and in the same 

 plane, at exactly the height of the bird's breast. The noose-string is made 

 of a thin strip peeled off the outside of a bamboo, and tied to the end of a 

 pliant stick, drawn down like a spring, and hitched into a saw-nick in a 

 bamboo peg, into which the flat form of the string forming the noose fits 

 close and accurately. All the materials grow on the spot, and in a few 

 hours hundreds of barriers and snares can be made and set. The birds are 

 often caught alive by the legs, and I had one thus captured for several days, 

 but it refused food and died ; it was probably in some way injured, for they 

 are not difficult birds to keep in captivity, and large numbers are brought 

 to Calcutta for transfer to Europe. 



831. Escaleactobia Chinensis, Lin. 

 # 838. Stpheotides Bengalensis, G-melin. 



Numbers are to be seen on the Bishnath plain. In the early morning 

 they are constantly on the move, taking long flights from one feeding 

 ground to another, and are then very wary ; as the heat increases, they lie 

 very close and are often difficult to flush, and if the sportsman is on foot, 

 they will hide and often elude him altogether. I found the best plan was 

 to walk along about 50 yards in front of the elephants when the grass 

 would admit of it. 



870. GrALLESAGO STENUEA, Kuhl. 



905. Gallenttla chloeoptjs, Lin. 



917. Mtcteeia Asiatica, Lath. 



Often seen in the Darrang District, and I shot a fine specimen. I once 

 saw this bird breeding in the extensive marshes near Shushang, Mymen- 

 sing, in January. It had formed its nest on the toj3 of a thick bushy mass 

 of trees about 30 feet high, which stood in the midst of a dense thicket 

 of a species of rose, so thick that the elephants could not push into it, and it 



