1076 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
duck on October 1st as compared with September 27th and October 2nd, which 
were the earliest dates these birds had been shot by me previously. 
I have heard that snipe have been shot here on September 15th but have 
never been able to verify this. 
Another bird which is occasionally seen in large numbers is the ‘ demoi- 
selle crane,’ or ‘ kocnj.’ I have only twice seen any of these brought to bag 
in this district, once with a rifle at Yewat Tank on the Sholapur Eoad and once 
on the river Bhima below Koregaon. On three other occasions I have noticed 
a large flock of these birds circling round over Khadakwasla Lake, but only saw 
them settle there once, when, after a very short time, they all moved off again 
without giving a chance of a shot. 
As regards “ dry ” game I have already referred to Quail. Partridge, 
both grey and painted species, are fairly common. The Black Partridge, of 
course, is not found so far south. The Common Sand Grouse ( Pterocles exustus) 
are numerous in places and I have also shot the Painted Sand Grouse (Pterocles 
indicus) occasionally. The usual hare or two is generally to be found in the 
bag after a day’s shot. Florican are said to be occasionally seen and last season 
I heard of three Greater Bustard being shot, but did not see them personally. 
The common blue pigeon is plentiful in parts. In one place in particular, within 
fifteen miles of Poona, where there is a collection cf old disused wells, I have 
several times had a most enjoyable hour or so, four to six birds coming 
out of each well as soon as a stone was thrown in, and affording excellent 
practice. 
Green pigeon (Crocopus chlorogaster) a,ve fairly well distributed over the 
district and quite decent bags could be made by two or three guns when the 
Pipal trees are bearing fruit. There are several good spots for these birds on 
the Poona-Satara Road and also on the Poona-Paud Road. 
Peacock are fairly common, but, before killing any of these birds, it is 
always advisable to make enquiries first as to whether the mllagers object, or 
not. Do not believe your shikari in this respect (he will always tell you “ hu- 
kum hai ”), but find out from some of the actual inhabitants. 
As a general rule, one is usually fairly safe in shooting these birds so long as 
there is no temple or village close at hand, and they always form a welcome 
and substantial addition to the pot ! 
The Shikai'is in Poona are a poor lot. Very few of them have the remotest 
idea of shikar, or of making any bandobast. The only use I find for them, as a 
rule, is to act as interpreter if one does not happen to know the language of the 
district (Marathi), or to send them on overnight, or the day before, to fix up 
arrangements for coolies, etc., if an early start the next morning is intended. 
The pay shikaris demand in these parts, about Rs. 20 per mensem is far 
mC're than they are worth. I always make it a rule to give only Rs. 15 or 
Rs. 16 with a bonus on the number of head shot varying according to the 
species, which generally brings the amount up to over Rs. 20 per mensem, but 
has the effect of making them far more energetic as every bird shot means 
something to them as well. 
One can, of coimse, send a shikari out to a certain place to bring in “ khabar ” 
but even then they are not reliable and sometimes never go near the place if 
they think they can persuade the Sahib to the contrary. 
A new comer to the station is, of course, more or less dependent on them if 
he is only making a short stay in the district, unless he can get a friend who knows 
the ropes to take him out or direct him where to go. The shikaris will only 
take him out to a few stock places which they probably have not been near for 
weeks, their only “ khabar ” being either pure invention or hearsay from som3 
other shikari who has been out there with another Sahib. 
My advice to the man who is going to remain any length of time in the 
district, is to send off at once to the Survey of India Office, Calcutta, for the 
