Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society January 1911

As sportsmen well know the snipe is very intolerant of sun and in the hotter months during the heat of the day most birds seek the shelter of some heavy crop whilst those who stay in the fields of short rice or in similar places get under the shade of the banks which divide the fields or under some specially rank tuft high enough to afford them some protection. [...] In order to ensure the success of the experiment it is necessar(1) that the feathers be placed so that the narrow edge—the outer web—shall encounter the resistance of the air ; (2) that the feather be firmly bound to the pin so that it cannot turn on its support ; (3) that the string be tied to one end of the stick so that the long axis of the stick makes an angle with the direction of the st [...] To ascertain which part of the fetheris essential in the production of the sound 1 have cut off the narrow outer w6.1) without altering the bleat in any way ; but if the barbs of the inner web be so disarranged that there is a break in their continuity the web ceases to vibrate and no sound is prduced. [...] Having tied the cork securely I fixed the pins each carrying an outer tail feather one on each side of the cork at right angles to the shaft of the arrow taking care that the outer or narrow web of the feathers faced towards so as to cut the air when the arrow was shot. [...] The female now joined in the drumming and the two were drumming for some time and then they both alighted on the tops of posts and allowed me to walk quite near them nodding their heads at me all the while." The reader will note the curious fact of the snipe sitting on the posts but though here in India the idea of the snipe perching seems curiously improbable it is a well known fact that in