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GENERAL
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GAME BIRDS
Snipe of four kinds are found all over the district. They are the Pintailed Snipe (Gallinago sthenura), the Common Snipe (Gallinago Gallinaria), the Jack Snipe (Gallinago Gallinula) and the Painted Snipe (Rhynchaea bengalensis). Of these the first three are found in the cold weather only and the Painted Snipe throughout the year. The three cold-weather visitants generally come in October and leave in February, though they are sometimes found as late as April. With so large an area under rice, the district is well suited for snipe. They are found mostly in rice lands. Though they lie thickly only in favoured spots the creeks are never entirely without them. Ducks are neither common nor of many kinds. The commonest sorts are the Whistling Teal (Dandrocygna java-nica) and the common Teal. Of partridges, both the painted (Francolinus pictus) and the grey (Ortigornis pondicarianna) occur. The painted is rare, but in Alibag and Pen, the grey is common. A few grey quail (Corturnix communis) are occasionally found both in the interior and close to the sea. Their stay in the district seems to he very short. The Rain Quail (Corturnix coromandelica), is not uncommon in Mahad where a fair number may be found by beating through the fields along the creeks. The Button Quail (Turnix dussumieri) is by no means uncommon and the Bustard Quail (Turnix taigoor) is very often met and large coveys of a Bush Quail, believed to be perdicata asiatica are always flushed by any one walking among the uplands and bush lands. Of plovers, the Golden Plover (Charadrius fulvus) is often met in open sandy spots near the sea and the Stone Plover (Edicnemus scolopax) and the Red Wattled Lapwing (Lobivanel-lus Indicus) are common. The curlew (Numenius hineatus) is found on the sea-shore during the cold and rainy months. The Pea-fowl (Pavo cristatus), the Grey Jungle-fowl (Gallus sonnerati), the Red Spur-fowl (Gallopordix spadieus), the Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba intermedia) and the Green Pigeon (Crocopus chlorigas-ter) are also seen. Pigeon and doves are quite common.
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