THE PAINTED SNIPE. 383 
subsided, and remained there for many weeks until the ground 
began to dry up. 
One week only a pair were left; the next, which was 
quite at the close of February, none were to be seen. The 
eround had become too dry, and thereafter, though the 
rush and grass still looked green and fresh, not a Painter 
was ever seen there up to the middle of April when I left. 
It follows that with such predelictions they must necessarily 
change their quarters a great deal. The places are few and 
far between in India, where ground and cover keep in exactly 
the condition they prefer throughout the entire year. Not 
only do they have to move about from place to place within 
the same district, but whole regions* (like many parts of Lower 
Bengal) become too water-logged for them during the rains, 
or (like many parts of the N.-W. Provinces, Oudh, Rajputana, 
&c.,) too dry for them, a month or so after the rains have 
ceased. People often think that this species does not occur or 
is rare in their neighbourhoods, simply because they have 
not looked for them in proper situations, or in situations such 
as they affect at those particular times when these are in the 
state essential to attract them.f 
When breeding,—and that, as I shall explain further on, they 
seem to be in one place or another during a great portion 
of the year—they are always found in pairs, the two birds 
sticking very close to each other, and to the nest. When not 
breeding, they are commonly found fairly close together, but 
hardly in what we should call flocks, in parties consisting of 
“one or more families, these latter comprising, as a rule, two old 
* “*T have seen and shot this bird almost all over Soutbern India south of the 
12° North Latitude. In the dry districts it comes in during the cold weather and 
remains till all the swamps and fields are dry, but in well-watered portions, 
like Tinnevelly, Tanjore, Malabar, and parts of Coimbatore, I have shot them through- 
out the year. 
**T have never found the nest, but heard of one being taken near Erode. 
“They are common in the inland districts, but rare towards Madras, where 
they are caught in large numbers for the sake of their skins, which are exported 
to China. ‘The bird fetches from two to four annas each in the Madras market, while 
the preserved skins are sold at from eight annas to one rupee. 
‘* They are snared with horse-hair nooses by the Madras fowlers.”—A. Theobald. 
+ Thus Mr. Reid at one time wrote to me, speaking of the Lucknow Division :— 
**The Painted Snipe is not by any means numerous. I have not Seen or killed 
ane for over two years, but before the drought of 1877, I used to shoot them pretty 
often. 
Later again he said: ‘* I write to supplement what I said about the Painted Snipe. 
**Vesterday, the 16th of June, I took what I may call my ‘usual’ trip down the 
Goomtee, and was very much surprised to find that Painted Snipe were very abun- 
dant amongst the rushes and weeds all along the sides of the river. They seemed 
tome to be quite tame and familiar, frequenting patches of cover often quite close 
to where Dhobies were at work They literally swarmed in quieter nooks. It struck 
me at the time that they were breeding, but after dissecting six females on the spot 
with the same result, I came to the conclusion that it was too early (by at least 15 
days) to expect to find eggs.” 
Of course the banks of a stream, like the Gomtee, could never remain long exactly 
as ey like their ground, and these birds soon passed on, doubtless to breed further 
north, 
