184 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



started ; and a queer sight it was. Five elephants advanced in line, 

 about a hundred yards apart, each carrying two guns ; while in the 

 intervals, but a little in the rear, came several Sikhs of the military 

 police of the district, fine tall fellows in scarlet turbans. These 

 followed us, nominally to pick up the spoil; but, unless it takes five 

 men to carry one Snipe, their labours were light. The Snipe were 

 very plentiful, and for half an hour there was a tremendous bang- 

 ing; but I need hardly say that the result was almost nil. Person- 

 ally I expended quite thirty or forty cartridges for two Snipe and 

 a green Pigeon ; all together I do not believe the ten of us averaged 

 a bird apiece. But it was not to be wondered at ; for as " scaipe ! 

 scnipe ! " resounded and up went one's gun, the elephant would make 

 a tremendous plunge, and one's shot went anywhere but towards 

 the object aimed at; often, I expect, much nearer the head of our 

 mahout, or some of our Sikh followers, than was at all pleasant for 

 them. I know it would have taken a good deal to induce me to 

 change places with the mahout, perched as he was on the neck of 

 the elephant, with my companion and myself slung in baskets on 

 either side of the great lumbering brute, and firing away as hard as 

 we could. As we sat sideways in a small cane basket, with our legs 

 dangling over the side, straight shooting was almost an impossibility : 

 for, to say nothing of the jolting of our animal, I, on the off-side, 

 could fire only at birds rising to my left front, and then in a very 

 cramped position ; and the man on the near side had similar diffi- 

 culties to contend with. Between these two firing-points squatted 

 the unfortunate mahout : he never made any remark, except to his 

 charge ; but I expect he offered up a prayer of thanksgiving to Ma- 

 homet when the whole performance was over and he found his head 

 still on his shoulders. 



Rhynch^ea benoalensis (Linn.). 



The Painted Snipe, as it is called, though not really belonging to 

 the true Snipe, is a bird frequently met with by the sportsman in 

 Malaya. 



The Painted Snipe may be a resident and breed in the Malay pen- 

 insula, as is the case in India, though my experience inclines me to 

 think it migratory. In any case, if not a true migrant, it certainly 

 moves about the countiy, only appearing in certain districts at par- 



