PAINTED SNIPE. 147 



the south of India, in October and November, leading the observer 

 to conclude that they are as migratory as the true Snipe. I have 

 found them breeding in Malabar, the Deccan, and Bengal ; after 

 the young are fully grown, they disperse over the country. 



The Painted Snipe flies heavily and but a short distance, and is 

 difficult to flush a second time in thick grass. The flesh is very 

 inferior to that of the Snipe ; and, indeed, is pronounced ' nasty' 

 by some late writer. Blyth remarks that when surprised, it has the 

 habit of spreading out its wings and tail, and so forming a sort of 

 radiated disk which shows off its spotted markings, menacing the 

 while with a hissing sound and contracted neck, and then suddenly 

 darting off. The young and the eggs are figured in Jardine's 

 contributions to Ornithology. It is found throughout India, 

 Ceylon, Burmah, parts of Malayana, and Southern China, and also 

 throughout Africa. 



