Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/186

170 as their names indicate, by the colour of their legs. There are two of each, a greater and a lesser, and I do not think I can give any directions by which an amateur will be able to distinguish these four birds from each other. I cannot always do it myself. The greater Greenshanks may be known by its size and the greater Redshanks by the amount of white on its back and tail and wings, and these are the commonest. Jerdon says that the name of the greater Greenshanks in Hindustanee is Timtimna—from its call. In these parts all the species are known as Timla for the same reason. The wild, ringing, cheery note of the Timla is one of those sounds which lay hold of the memory and in after years call back the scenes in which you first heard them. It must be a familiar sound to those who go snipe-shooting across the harbour, for both the Greenshanks and the Redshanks are very common among the saltpans and rice-fields. The greater Greenshanks is really a fine bird for the table, being almost as good as a Snipe and much larger. There is not much left in Bombay to attract birds of this sort, but they may be found in what still remains of the ancient "Flats." They are cold season visitors, of course, coming in September and leaving about April.

The Curlew is common on the whole coast, and when the tide has run far out and bared the black rocks round Colaba and Breach Candy, its wild and plaintive scream often comes in on the breeze. It is not a "Snippet," being much too large, but it deserves a place not far from the Snipe by reason of its bill, which is five or six inches in length; not straight, however, but much curved. This also is a