\W2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. XXVllI. 
Royal Highness went off after these with a cheetah and after a long and 
careful approach, the cart got close enough to allow the cheeta to be loosed 
and he lulled very quickly. 
SHOOTING AT BIKANER DURING H. R. H. THE PRINCE 
OF WALES’ VISIT. 
In the previous number of the Journal the writer included the bag of 
Imperial Sand Grouse and Small Game obtained at Bikaner. 
The following notes on the habits of [Imperial Sand Grouse in Bikaner, 
which Were not ready on the previous occasion and are now published, are 
of interest in connection with the illustrations and the detailed statement 
of the bag. 
The shooting season is, usually, from 1st November to 1st February and a 
shoot takes place early in the mornings from about 7-30 to about 10-30 during 
which hours the birds come to drink. Butts are placed in suitable lines and 
places, some 50 yards from each other, and the success of a shoot mostly 
depends on the manner in which the butts are placed. For instance, the 
placing of one butt in the wrong place might absohitoly ruin the shooting 
of say 15 other guns, as the birds are very cunning and as a rule do not 
come over the butts a second time after being fired at. When a pack of 
grouse is approaching a butt the gmr has to keep well down under 
cover of the butt. If the shooter is spotted by the birds they, more often 
than not, swerve away out of range. After the first shot is fired at a pack 
they go at a tremendous place jinking and swerving over and even between 
butts, rendering the shooting most difficult and exciting. In a good year 
something like 50,000 birds come to drink at one place. They travel from 
20 to 30 miles in the early morning for their drink and will always go to 
their favourite place, passing over other tanks where they could easily get 
a drink. They come in thousands and very hot shooting indeed is afforded 
for about an hour when guns — particularly those who are not used to 
such shooting — ^get bewildered, as the birds come from every direction 
and, unless accustomed to it, the guns find it very hard to pick out their 
birds, and the shooting must be good as they carry a great quantity of 
shot. Three guns — -all being used as quickly as the two loaders can reload 
and hand them to the shooter — are required to cope with these birds and 
to be able to make a really good bag. 
Gujner is not the only place where excellent shooting can be had. 
H. H. the Maharaja once shot 475 Imperial Sand-Grouse to his own 
gun in one morning's shoot at Pilap — a pretty spot some 11 miles from 
Gujner. 
All previous records were broken lately on a recent visit to Bikaner of, 
His Excellency I.ord Rawlinson. The total bag for the 2 mornings 
shoot was : — 
Imperial Sand-Grouse . . . . . . . . . . 5,963 
Other Sand-Grouse . . . . . . . . . . 43 
Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 
The statement of bag here given of the Royal Shoot includes all 
birds picked up and therefore slightly exceeds the totals given in 
Vol. XXVIII, No. 3, pages 692 and 693. 
