Observations on the Painted Snipe

Summary

Observations were made on the breeding—involving a total of eight nests—of the Painted Snipe (Rostratula benghalens is) during the summer of a flood year (1956) in north-western Victoria.

Field notes on plumage, breeding- biology, and behaviour are supplemented by published and unpublished information from other sources.

The present status of the species is difficult to define; it may be of regular seasonal occurrence in some districts, but quite sporadic and unpredictable in others. For example, the species was not recorded near Melbourne between 1897 and 1951, when some individuals of a small flock remained in the one locality (Altona) between May and September. In the present case, the breeding flock remained in the Keranp district for about 150 days.