222 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. [December 



perishable in the Doctor's spirits, and to prepare the living for their 

 journey on the morrow. 



Mossy Bank, Egremont, Cheshire. 



NOTES ON A FEW INDIAN GAME BIRDS. 



By F. E. PRESCOTT-DECIE. 



THE COMMON SNIPE. 

 Gallinago Scolopacinus — Bonap. 



This, the Common Snipe of Great Britain, is exceedingly abundant 

 in India during the cold weather. There is also a second species of 

 Snipe— the Pin-tailed Snipe, Gallingo Stenura, Temminck, — which, 

 though not so abundant as Scolopacinus, is yet found in fair numbers 

 wherever the Common Snipe is found. The Pin-tailed Snipe is said 

 to be extremely like the Common Snipe both in appearance and 

 habits, and to be very seldom discriminated by sportsmen, and I am 

 afraid I must plead guilty to never having distinguished between the 

 two species. This must, I am afraid, have been my own stupidity, 

 for out of the number of Snipe I shot, a fifth or so must, if the books 

 are to be believed, have been Pin-tails. The great majority of those 

 brought to bag would, however, have been Common Snipe, and the 

 remarks made here must be taken to refer to that species. As I have 

 previously remarked, the rain-fall of 1888 was considerably below the 

 average in Gujerat, and hence Snipe were not nearly so numerous as 

 usual. The best bag I heard of to two guns was 38^- couple, and in 

 that case one of the two guns had been some little time at Ahmedabad 

 and knew the country thoroughly. The best bag I got myself was 

 16^ couple, and the best to two guns that I had a share in was 21 

 couple. This is very different to the 50 or 60, or even more, couple 

 which are not a very uncommon bag to a good shot in a good year. 



The Snipe frequent marshes, edges of jheels, tanks and rivers, and 

 also flooded paddy fields and fields of rice stubble. On the edge of 

 the Null I found them far out where the water was quite deep, and 

 where they must have been sitting on the leaves of the water plants, 

 which grew there very thickly. The Snipe, like so many of the birds 



