100 BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
but birds running up to lo oz. have been shot at the 
end of summer in a good season. A peculiarity of 
the Snipe is his habit of perching, though rarely, in 
trees. He is a great bird to run when he has pitched, 
and very seldom gets up quite where expected. 
The Snipe's cry is something like " Kek-kek-kek," 
uttered as he begins his rocketing flight. About 
Geelong it is almost always in bush country that 
one sees him, such as by the small fresh swamps in 
the vicinity of Ocean Grove ; but the last one I 
happened to note flew from the banks of the Barwon 
just a little below Ceres Bridge ; it was on October 
22nd, 191 1. 
PAINTED SNIPE 
Uostratula australis 
This is a purely Australian species, which does not 
leave the country, but breeds in swampy parts of the 
interior, such for instance as Southern Riverina, and 
occasionally wanders as far south as the Connewarre 
Lakes — I have no information as to its occurrence in 
any other part of this district. There are two in 
the local museum which were shot near the Lakes 
in January, 1892, and I have seen other specimens 
from the same place in private collections. I never 
met with this bird in the field. On the south side 
of the Lakes as many as six were shot at one time 
some few years back, but they are now reported as 
much scarcer. 
