802 
EHYNCHiEA CAPENSIS. 
another almost similar to it, I am indebted to my friend Mr. Seebobm ; they are in the Swinhoe collection, 
and measure : — wings 5 - 15 ; tarsus 1-6 ; bill to gape 1-8. 
A female (N. Formosa, British Museum) comes pretty close to Ceylonese birds ; the black on the lower part of the 
fore neck is somewhat sharply defined against the rufous. Wing 5' 11 inches, tarsus 1-9. 
Jerdon unites the African Painted Snipe with the Indian ; and in this he is followed by \on Heuglin, Mr. Blanford, 
and Lord Tweeddale. Mr. Gurney and Captain Shelley likewise recognize them as one. I have examined 
examples of II. capensis from Abyssinia, and do not find that there is any material difference. Swinhoe says that 
the African birds have the chin bare ; but this observation, I imagine, may have been the result of an examination 
of imperfect specimens. The Abyssinian birds in question, collected by Mr. Blanford, were merely singular in 
wanting the reddish lustre perceptible in some Asiatic specimens ; and this was probably an individual peculiarity, 
the markings were in all points similar to those of Ceylon birds, and the olivaceous tints the same. Dimensions 
of a male : — wing 5-2 inches ; tarsus 1-6 ; middle toe 1 '3 ; bill to gape l - 7. 
B. australis , Gould, the Australian representative, is very similar in appearance to the present bird ; but is entitled to 
specific rank on account of its short feet, and a singular difference in its anatomy, which I have myself observed in 
a Victorian specimen shot near Melbourne. The trachea passes down between the skin and the muscles for the 
whole length of the body, and makes four convolutions before entering the lungs. The wing is proportionately 
longer than in B. capensis , and there are slight differences in coloration about the face and back ; the inner web of 
the 1st primary is darker. An example before me measures : — wing 5-5 inches ; tarsus 1-5 ; middle toe 1-3. 
The South-American species (B. semicollaris, Vieill.) is quite distinct from either of the aforementioned. I he female 
has the entire neck olive-black ; the crown black, with the buff mesial stripe ; at the sides of the neck next the 
shoulder is a bar of white, and on the wing-coverts are large round spots of the same ; the scapulars have a broad 
lateral outer border of rich buff. In size also it is much inferior — wing 4-1 inches ; tarsus 1-4 ; bill to gape 1-5 ; 
the bill is much curved at the tip. 
Distribution. — The Painted Snipe is a permanent resident in the lowlands of Ceylon ; hut on the west 
and south coasts there is an increase of its numbers at the commencement of the cool season ; and in November, 
December, and January it is more plentiful in the country west of the Kandyan ranges and in the south of 
the island than during any other time of the year. Whether this increase is caused merely by an internal 
migration from the solitudes of the interior, wdiere it may breed, or whether it is the effect of a general increase 
to the species from the south of India, I am unable with certainty to state; but it is, I think, very probable 
that there is both a migration to Ceylon during the month of October, and also an internal movement, as is 
the case with other birds, towards the west coast. It is common in the paddy-fields from Negombo south- 
wards to Galle and Matara about Christmas-time, and I have likewise known it to be pretty numerous about 
Morotuwa in June. A favourite locality in the south for it is the large stretch of paddy-land lying between 
Wackwella and Baddegama ; and this being the chief resort of Galle sportsmen in the Snipe-season, many 
“ Painters ” fall to their guns. I have, however, never known more than three couple killed there at one time, 
and this was by Mr. Weir, of the P. & O. Service. It is numerous in the Matara district, and I have met 
with it and found it breeding in the Girawa Pattuwa, near Hatagalla. In suitable localities in the Eastern 
Province and throughout the northern forests near tanks it is frequently seen ; but it wanders about a good 
deal, and one is not certain of finding it in any particular places, save such large marshes as are to be found 
at Tamblegam, Minery, and other spots. In the Trincomalie district I observed it oftener in salt marshes 
than in the Snipe-grounds. It is common in the extreme north, and is a well-known bird in the Jaffna 
district. Mr. Frank Fisher, of the Ceylon Civil Service, writes me that it affects the paddy-fields and marshes 
about Chavagacheri in numbers, and that he has shot as many as 5|- couple at one time in that locality. I 
am not aware to what elevation it ascends ; but it most probably visits paddy-fields on the flanks of the Kandyan 
mountain up to about 1 000 feet. 
In India Jerdon writes that it “ wanders about a good deal according to season, and many will be found 
in paddy-fields in the south of India in October and November, leading the observer to conclude that they 
are as migratory as the true Snipe. I have/’ he remarks, “ found them breeding in Malabar, the Deccan, 
and Bengal.” In the Deccan, according to the Rev. Dr. Fairbank, it is a permanent resident; and 
Mr. Davidson likewise says that it is common there, probably breeding. In Chota Nagpur it is found in 
suitable localities ; and Mr. Ball considers that many remain throughout the year ; he records it from 
Maubhum, Loliardugga, Singbhum, Sirguja, Sambalpur, Jaipur, and the Godaveri valley. Air. Hume notes it 
