86 CEATEROPODIDJE.

times moderately broad, and very slightly compressed towards one
end. They are very fragile, and perfectly pure spotless white in
colour. Typically, "although smooth and satiny in texture, they
have but little gloss, but occasionally a fairly glossy egg is to be
met with.

In length they vary from 0'98 to 1-12, and in breadth from 0-75
to 0-79 ; but the average seems to be about 1-08 by 0-77.

122. Pomatorhinus ferruginosus, Blyth. The Coral-hilled
Scimitar Bahhler.

Pomatorliimis ferruginosus, Blyth, Jerd. B. Ind. \\, p. 29 ; Hume,
RoiHjh Draft N. Sf E. no. 40t.

The Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler, according to Mr. Hodgson's
notes, breeds in Sikhim, at an elevation of 5000 or COOO feet. Its
nest is placed about a foot or 2 feet above the ground, in a bamboo-
clump or some thick bush, and is firmly wedged in between the
twigs and shoots. It is composed internally of dried bamboo-
leaves, grass, and vegetable fibres, outside which bamboo-sheaths
are bound on with creepers and fibres of different kinds. Tlie
nest is more or less egg-shaped, with the longer diameter hori-
zontal, some 7 inches or so in length and 5 inches in height, and
with the entrance at one end, measuring some 3 inches in diameter.
Four or five eggs are laid, elongated ovals, somewhat pointed
towards the small end, pure white, and measuring about 1-08 by 0-7.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes : — " I took a nest of this bird
on the 19th May, at an elevation of about 5000 feet. It was
placed on the ground, among low scrub, near the outskirts of a
large forest, and was neatly made, for a Pomatorliimis, of bamboo-
leaves and long grass, with a thin lining of fibry strips torn from
old bamboo-stems. In shape it was a cone laid on its side. Ex-
ternally it measured 9 inches in length by the same in height at
front, while the egg-cavity measured 3-5 inches across, and 1-75
in depth. The entrance, which was at the end, measured 3 inches
in diameter.

" Next to the lining \^as a layer of broadish grass-blades, placed
lengthways, i. e. from base to apex of the cone, then came a cross
layer of broad bamboo-leaves succeeded by a second layer of bamboo-
leaves placed lengthways. By this arrangement the nest was kept
perfectly water-tight. So nicely Avere these simple materials put
together that they held each other in their pLaces without the assis-
tance of a single fibre.

" The nest contained four partially incubated eggs : three of them
pointed and exactly alike, but the fourth rounded, and appai-ently
of a different texture, so that it may have been introducc>d by a
Cuckoo.''

Two eggs sent by Mr. Gammie are moderately (>longatcd ovals,
somewhat obtuse even at tlic smaller end. The shell is very
fine, pure white, and has a fine gloss. They measure 1*1 by 0-83,
and 1-06 by 0-78.

POMATOEHINUS. 87

125. Pomatorhinus ruficollis, Hoclgs. The Evfous-necl-ed Scimitar

Babbler,

Pomatorhinus ruficollis, Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 29: Hume,
Rough Draft N. ^ E. no. 400.

The Eufous-uecked Scimitjir Babbler breeds in Nepal, the
Himalayas eastward of that State, and in the various ranges
riuming down from Assam to Burmah.

The breeding-season appears to be April and May. Thev lay
five, or sometimes only four, eggs.

From fSikhim Mr. Gammie writes : — " This species breeds, 1
think, from the middle of April to the middle of May ; but I have
only as yet taken a single nest, and this I found at Eishap on the
oth May, at an elevation of about 4500 feet. The nest was
placed on the ground in open country, but partially concealed by
overhanging grass and weeds, and immediately adjoining a deep
humid ravine filled with a dense undergrowth. The nest was
composed of dry grass, fern, bamboo, and other dry leaves put
loosely together and lined with a few fibres. In shape it was
domed or hooded, and exteriorly it measured 5-7 inches in height
and 5 in diameter. Interiorly the cavity was 2-6 in diameter, and
■ had a total depth of 3-8 measured from the roof, but of only 2
inches below the lower margin of the aperture. This nest con-
tained five eggs, much incubated ; indeed, they would have hatched
off in one or two days."

The Eufous-necked Scimitar Babbler breeds, according to Mr.
Hodgson, in the central portion of Nepal in April and May,
building a large, coarse, globular nest of dry grass and bamboo-
leaves on the ground in some thick bush or bamboo-clump. The
opening of the nest is at the side. They lay four or five white
eggs, measuring as figured 0*9 by 0*68.

The eggs sent me by Mr. Gammie are rather elongated ovals, a
good deal pointed towards one end, pure white, the shells very
tine and fragile, and with a fair amount of gloss.

Ten eggs varied from 0*85 to 1-02 in length, and from 0-62 to
0*74 in breadth, but the average was 0-95 by 0"68.

129, Pomatorhinus erytlirogenys, Vigors. The Rusty-clieeTced
Scimitar Babbler.

Pomatorhinus erythrogenys, Vig., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 31 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. l^- E. no. 405.

The Eusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler breeds from April to June
in the Himalayas, at any rate from Darjeeling to the Valley of the
Beas, at elevations of from 2000 to 6000 feet. It may be met
with at double this latter altitude, but I doubt if it nests higher.

As a rule, the nest is placed on the ground, in some thick clump
of dry fern or coarse grass, amongst dead leaves and moss, but at
times I have seen it placed in a thick bush 2 or 3 feet from the

<0'

FOR THE PEOPLE

FOR EDVCATION

FOR SCIENCE

LIBRARY

OF

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

WOODEURY COMfY

ALLAN OCTAVL\N HUME

THE

NESTS AND EGGS

OF

INDIAN BIRDS.

BY

ALLAN O. HUME, C.B.

SECOND EDITION.

EDITED BY
EUGENE WILLIAM GATES,

AUTHOR OP 'a handbook TO THE BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH,' AND OP
THE BIRDS IN 'THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA.'

VOL. L

WITH FOUE PORTRAITS.

LGNDGN:

R. H. PG RTE R,

18 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W.

1889.

I & ( O fei .7 H ■i U-r^^ 2- Z

PEIKTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

I HAVE long regretted my inability to issue a revised
edition of 'Nests and Eggs/ For many years after the first
Ro^^gll Draft appeared, I went on laboriously accumulating
materials for a re-issue, but subsequently circumstances pre-
A'ented my undertaking the work. Now, fortunately, my
friend ^Nlr. Eugene Oates has taken the matter up, and much
as I may personally regret having to hand over to another a
task, the performance of which I should so much have
enjoyed, it is some consolation to feel that the readers, at any
rate, of this work will have no cause for regret, but rather
of rejoicing that the work has passed into younger and
stronger hands.

One thing seems necessary to explain. The present
Edition does not include quite all the materials I had accu-
mulated for this work. Many years ago, during my absence
from Simla, a servant broke into my museam and stole thence
several cwts. of manuscript, which he sold as waste paper.
This manuscript included more or less complete life-histories
of some 700 species of birds, and also a certain number of
detailed accounts of nidification. All small notes on slips of
paper were left, but almost every article written on full-sized

iv AUTHOR S PREFACE.

foolscap sheets was abstracted. It was not for many months
that the theft was discovered^ and then very little of the
MSS. could be recovered.

It thus happens that in the cases of some of the most
interesting species^, of which I had worked up all the notes
into a connected whole, nothing, or, as in the ea.se oiArffya
suh-ufa, only a single isolated note, appears in the text. It
is to be greatly regretted, for my work was imperfect enough
as it was ; and this ' Selection from the Records,' that my
Philistine servant saw fit to permit himself, has rendered it
a great deal more imperfect still ; but neither Mr. Gates nor
myself can be justly blamed for this.

In conclusion, I have only to say that if this compilation
should find favour in any man's sight he must thank
Mr. Gates for it, since not only has he undergone the labour
of arranging my materials and seeing the whole work through
the press — not only has he, I believe, added himself consider-
ably to those materials — but it is solely owing to him that
the work appears at all, as I know no one else to whom I
could have entrusted the arduous and, I fear, thankless duty
that he has so generously undertaken.

ALLAN HUME.

Eothney Castle, Simla,
October 19th, 1889.

EDITOR'S NOTE.

Mr. Hume has sufficiently explained the circumstances
under which this edition of his popular work has been
brought about. I have merely to add that, as I was engaged
on a work on the Birds of India, I thought it would be
easier for me than for anyone else to assist Mr. Hume. I
was also in England, and knew that my labour would be very
much lightened by passing the work through the press in this
country. Another reason, perhaps the most important, was
the fear that, as Mr. Hume had given up entirely and abso-
lutely the study of birds, the valuable material he had taken
such pains to accumulate for this edition might be irretriev-
ably lost or further injured by lapse of time unless early
steps were taken to utilize it.

A few words of explanation appear necessary on the subject
of the arrangement of this edition. Mr. Hume is in no way
responsible for this arrangement nor for the nomenclature
employed. He may possibly disapprove of both. He, how-
ever, gave me his manuscript unreservedly, and left me free
to deal with it as I thought best, and I have to thank him
for reposing this confidence in me. Left thus to my own
devices, I have considered it expedient to conform in all

VI EDITOR S NOTE,

respects to the arrangement of my work on the Birds, which
I am writing, side by side, with this work. The classifica-
tion I have elaborated for my purpose is totally different to
that employed by Jerdon and familiar to Indian ornitho-
logists ; but a departure from Jerdon's arrangement was
merely a question of time, and no better opportunity than
the present for readjusting the classification of Indian birds
appeared likely to present itself. I have therefore adopted
a new system, which I have fully set forth in my other
work.

I take this opportunity to present the readers of
Mr. Hume's work with portraits of Mr. Hume himself, of
Mr. Brian Hodgson, the late Dr. Jerdon, and the late
Colonel Tickell.

EUGENE W. GATES.

SYSTEMATIC INDEX.

Order PASSERES.
Family CORVID.E.
Subfamily Corvinje.

Page

1. Comis corax, Limi 1

3. corone, Linn 4

4. macrorhynchiis,

Waghr 4

7. splendens, Vieill. . . 8

8. insolen.s, Hume . . 12

9. monedula, Linn. . . 12

10. Pica rustica (Scop.) .... 13

12. Urocissa occipitalis (Bl.) 14

13. flavirostris (5/.) .. 16

14. Cissa chinensis (Bodd.) . 17

15. ornata ( WagJer) . . 19

16. Dendrocitta rufa (Scop.) 19

17. leucogastra, Gould . 22

18. himalayensis, Bl. . . 23

21. Crypsirhina varians

(Lath.) 26

23. Platvsmurus leucopterus

( fonm.) 26

24. Garrulus lanceolatus,

Viffors 26

25. leucotis, Hume .... 28

26. bispecularis, Vigors 28

27. Nucifra^a hemispila,

Vigors 30

29. Graculus eremita (Linn.) 31

Subfamily Paring.

31. Parus atriceps, Horsf. . . 31

34. monticola, Vigors . 35

35. .Egithaliscus erythroce-

phalus ( Vig.) 36

41. Machlolophus spilonotus

(Bl.) .37

42. xanthogenvs (Vig.) 38

43. haplonotus' (Bl.) . . 39

44. Lophophanes melanolo-

^hus (Vig.) 40

47. rufinuchalis (Bl). . 42

Subfamily

PAEADOXOEXITHrXyE.

Page

50. Conostoma semodium,

Hodgs 42

60. Seaeorhynchus ruficeps

(BL): 43

61. gularis (E'orsf.) . . 44

Family CRATEROPODID^,

Subfamily Crateropodln.^.

62. Diyonastes ruficoUis

(J.SfS.) 45

65. fferulatus (Hodgs.) 46

69. GaiTidax leucolopbus

(Hardw.) 47

70. belangeri, Lesson . . 48

72. pectoralis (Gould) . 49

73. moniliger (Hodgs.) 50

76. albigufaris (Gould) 52

78. larithocincla ocellata

{ViU-) 54

80. rufigularis, Gould. . 54

82. Trochalopterum erythro-

cephalum ( Vig.) ". 5.5

85. nigTimentum,^o(A/s. 57

87. phceniceum (Gould) 58

88. subunicolor, Hodgs. 59

90. yariegatum ( Vig.) . 59

91. simile, Hume .... 60

92. squamatum ( Gould) 61

93. cachinnans (Jerd.) 62

96. fairbanki, Bla7if. . . 64

99. liueatum ( Vig.) . . 64

101. GrammatoptQa striata

( ^'ff-) 67

104. Argya earlii (Bl.) 68

105. caudata (Dui7ieril) 70

107. malcolmi (Sykes) . . 72

108. subrufa (Jerd.) 74

110. Crateropus canorus

(Linn.) 74

111- griseus (Gmel.). ... 78

Vlll

SYSTEMATIC INDEX.

Page

112. Crateropus striatus

(Sicams. ) 79

113. somervillii (Si/kes) 80

114. rufescens (Bl.)' 81

115. cinereifrons {Bl.) . . 81

116. Poiuatorliinus scbisticeps,

Hodf/s 81

118. olivaceus, Bl 82

119. melaniinis, Bl 83

120. horslieldii, Si/kes . . 8-1

122. femiginosiis, Bl. . . 86

125. ■ ruficollis, Hodffs. . . 87

129. erytlirog'enys, V^'t/. 87

133. Xiphorliamplius supev-

ciliaris (Bli/th) 89

Subfamily Timeliin^..

134. Timelia pileata, Jlorf^f . . 90

135. Dumetia hyperythra

(Frankl.) 92

136. albigularis {Bl.) . . 94

139. Pyctorbis sinensis (Gm.) 95

140. nasalis, Leyge .... 98

142. Pellorneuni mandellii,

Blanf. 99

144. ruliceps, Swains. . . 100

145. subocbraceum,

Srvinh 100

147, fuscicapilluni {Bl.) 102

149. Drymocatapbus nigricap-

itatu? {Eyton) 102

151. tickelli {Bl.) 103

160. abbotti {Bl.) 103

163. Alcippe nepalensis

{Hod(/s.) 104

164. pbosocepbala(Jer(7.) 100

165. pbayrii, Bl 108

166. Khopocicbla atriceps

(Jerd.) 109

167. nigrifrous (BL). ... 110

169. Stachyrbis nigriceps,

Jlodf/s 110

170. chryssea, Hodgs. . . 112

172. Stacbyrbidopsis ruficeps

(Bl.) 112

174. pyrrbops (Hodgs.) 114

175. Oyanoderma ervtbvo-

ptei'um (Bl.) . .^ 115

176. Mixornis rubricapillus

(Tick.) 115

177. gularis (Bajl..) 116

178. Scbcenipariis dubius

(Hume) 117

182. Sittiparus castaneiceps

(Hodgs.) 118

Page

183. Propanis vinipectus

(Hodgs.) 119

184. Lioparus cbrysseus

(Hodgs.) 120

Subfamily BRACHYPTERYGINiE.

187. Myi Dpboneus temmincki,

'Vig 120

188. eugenii, Hume .... 123

189. borsfieldi, Vig 124

191. Larvivora bi-imnea,

Hodgs 127

193. Bracbypteryx albiventris

{Fairbank) 128

194. rufiventris (Bl.)^ . . 129

197. Drymocbares cruralis

(Bl.) 129

198. nepalensis (Hodgs.) 130

200. Elapbrornispainseri(^/.) 131

201. Tesiacyani\'entris,^of7iys. 131

202. Oligura castaneicoronata

(Burt.) 132

Subfamily Sibiin-^.

203. Sibia picaoides, Hodgs.. . L32

204. Lioptila capistrata ( Vig. ) 133

205. gracilis (McC'/e//.) 135

206. melanoleuca {Bl.) . 135

211. Actinodura egertoui,

Gould 136

213. Ixops nepalensis (Hodgs.) 137

219. Siva strigula, Hodgs. . . 137

221. cyanuroptera,//o(7(5's. 1.38

223. Yubina gularis, Hodgs. . 139

225. ■ uigrimentum

(Hodgs.) 139

220. Zusterups palpebrosa

(Temm.) 140

229. ceylonensis, Holds-
worth 145

231. Ixulus occipitalis (£/.). . 145

232. flavicolbs (Hodgs.) 145

Subfamily Liotrichin^.

2.35. Liotbrix lutea (Scop.).. 147
237. Pterutbius erytbropteius

(Vig.) 150

239. melanotis, Hudgs. . 151

243. .Egitbina tipbia (Linn:) 151
246. Myzoruis pyrrbuia,

Hodgs 155

252. Chloropsis jerdoni (Bl.) 155

2.'J4. Irena puella (Lath.) .... 157

257. Mesia argentauris, J7oc/{/.<!. 160

2-58. INlinla igneitincta, 7/«r///.s'. 161

SYSTEMATIC INDEX.

IX

2(30. CephaLipynis flammiceps

i-Burt.) 161

261. Psaroglossa spiloptera

( ^%.) 161

Subfamily Brachypodin^,
263. Criuif^er i{iiyeolns(Gould) 163
2G9. Hyp.sipetes psaroides, 7^%, 164

271. ganeesa, Sykes .... 1G7

275. Hemixus macclellandi

(Ji^orsf.) 168

277. Alciiriisstmtus(^/.) ..169

278. Molpastes hEemorrlious

(G>}i.) 169

279. bui-manicus (Sharpe) 173

281. atricapillus ( Vieill.) 173

2S2. bengalensis (Bl.) , . 174

283. intermedins (A.

^^, ^«yj 175

z84. leiicogenys ( Gr.) . . 175

280. leucotis ( G'o«/fZ) . 177

288. Otocompsaemeria(Ze«?f.) 178

289. fuscicaudata, Gould 180

290. flaviventris {Tick.) 183

292. Spizixus canifrons, Bl. . . 184

295. lole icterica {Strickl.)^ . . 185

299. Pycnonotus iinlavsoni,

Strickl .' 187

300. davisoni (Hume) . . 188

301. melanicterus (Gm.) 188

305. luteolus (Less.) 189

306. blanfordi, Jerd 190

Family SITTID^.

315. Sitta himalayensis, /. c^- S. 192

316. ciunamomeiventris,

Bl 193

317. neglecta, Walden . . 193

321. castaneiventris,

Frankl 194

323. leucopsis, Gould . . 196

325. frontalis, Honsf 196

Family DICKURlDaE.

327. Dicrurus ater {Hermami) 198

328. longicaudatus, A.

Hay 203

329. nigrescens, Oates . , 208

330. cserulescens {Linn.) 209

331. leucopygialis, Bl. . 209

334. Chaptia feuea ( Vieill.) . . 210

335. CMbialiottentotta(Z2nw.) 213

338. Dissemnrulus lophorbinus

( Vieill.) 215

339. Bbringa remifer (Tewjwj.) 216

YOL. I.

340. Dissemurus paradiseus

{Linn.) . , 217

341.
342.
347.

352.

355.
356.

Family CERTHIID^.

Certhia himalayana, Viy. 220

hodgsoni, Brooks . . 220

Salpornis spilonota

{Frankl.) 220

Anortbura neglecta

{Brooks) 221

Urocicbla caudata {Bl.) . . 222
Pnoepyga squamata

{Gould) 223

Family REGULID^.
358. Regulus cristatus, Koch. 223

Family SYLVIIDJE.

303. Acrocepbalus stentoreus

(If.^L.) 224

366. dumetorum, Bl. , . •22<^

367. agricola (Jerd.) 229

371. Tribura thoracica (Bl.).. 229

372. luteiventris, Hodgs. 231

374. Ortbotomus sutorius

(Forst.) 231

375. atrigularis, Temm. . . 235

380. Oisticola volitans (Sivin-

hoe) 236

381. cursitans (Frankl.) 236

382. Frauklinia gracilis

(Frankl.) 240

383. rufescens (Bl.) 242

384. bucbanani (Bl.) 243

385. cinereicapilla

(Hodgs.) 246

386. Laticilla burnesi (Bl.) . . 247

388. Graminicola bengalensis,

Jerd 248

389. Megalurus palustris,

Horsf. 249

390. Schoenicola platyura

(Jerd.) 251

391. Acantboptila nepalensis

(Hodgs.) 252

392. Cbsetornis locustelloides

(Bl.) 2^2

394. Hypolais i-amh (Sykes) . . 254

402. Sylvia affinis (Bl.) 257

406. Phylloscopus tytleri,

Brooks 258

410. fuscatus (Bl.) 259

415. proregulus (Pall.) . . 260

416. subviridis (Brooks) 262

6

SYSTEMATIC INDEX.

Page

418. PliYllopcopus humii

(Brooks) 262

428. Acantliopneuste occipi-
talis (Jerd.) 207

430. clavisoni, Gates. . . . 269

4-34. Crvptolopha xanthoschista

\R»c7(/s.) 270

435. jerdoni (Brooks) . . 271

436. poliog-enys (Bl.) . . 272

437. castaneiceps (Hodffs.) 272

438. — cantator ( Tick.) . . 272

440. Aljrornis superciliaris,

Tick 273

441. schisticeps ( ffodr/s.) 274.

442. albigularis, Hodys. . 275

445. Scotocerca inquieta

(Cretzschm.) 276

446. Neornis flaYolivaceus

(Hod(/s.) 277

448. Ilorornis fortipes, JSodgs. 279

450. pallidus (Brooke) . . 280

451. pallidipes (Blanf.) . 281

452. major (Hod<js.). .'. . 281

454, Plivllergates coronatus

(Jerd. 8)- Bl.) 282

455. Iloreites bninneifrons,

Hodgs 282

458. Suva crinig-era, Hodgs. . . 282

459. atrigularis, Moore . . 285

460. khasiana, Godiv.-

Aust 286

462. Prinia lepida, Bl 287

463. flaviventris (Ddess.) 289

464. socialis, *S'7/A:cs . . ! 291

465. sylvatica/tTert? 299

466. iuornata, Sykes. . . . 301

467. -^jerdoni (Bl.) 304

468. blanf ordi (Walden) 305

Family LANIID^E.
Subfamily Laniin^e.

469. Lanius labtora (St/kes) . . 300
478. vittatus, Valenc. . . 311

475. nigriceps (Frankl.) . 315

476. erythronotus (Vig.) 318

477. tephronotiis (F?/7.) . 325

481 . cristatus, Limi 326

484. Plemipiis picatus (Sykes) 327

485. capitalis (McClell.) . 328

486. Tephrodoruis pelvicus

(Hodqs.) 3.''i0

487. sy hi cola, Jerd. 831

488. pondiccrianus(G^wi.) 332

490. Peiicrorotus speciosus

(Lath.) 835

Page

494. Pericrocotus flammeus

(First?) 336

495. brevirostris (F?^ors) 387

499. mse\\% (Vieill.) 338

500. peregrinns (Linn.) . 339

501. erytbropygius

(Jerd^) 344

505. Campophaga melano-

scbista (Hodgs.) 345

508. sykesi (Strickl.). ... 346

509. terat (Bodd.) 348

510. Graucalus macii, Lesson . 348

Subfamily Artamin-s:.

512. Artamus fiiscus, Vieill. . . 350
518. leucogaster ( Valenc.) 353

Family OEIOLID^.

518. Oriolus kundoo, >S)/^-es .. 354

521. melanocepbalus,

Linn 359

522. traillii (Vigors). . . . 362

Family EULABETID^.

523. Eulabes religiosa (Linn.) . 363

524. intermedia (^. ITay) 865

526. ptilogenys (BL). ... 366

527. Calornis cbalvbeius

(Horsf.) ...: 367

Family STUENID^.

628. Pastor roseus (Linn.) .... 868

529. Sturnus bumii, Brooks . . 809

531. minor, Hume 370

537. Stuniia blytbii (Jerd.) .. 371

538. malabarica (Gm.) . . 372

539. iiemoricola, Jerd. . . 378

543. Ampeliceps coronatus, Bl. 374

544. Temenuchus pagodarum

(Gm.) _ 374

546. Graculipica nigricoUis

(Pagk.) _. 377

519. Acridotberes tristis

(Linn.) 877

550. melanosternus,

Legge . ._ 380

551. ginginianus (Lath.) . 381

552. yEthiopsar fuscus ( Wagl.) 383
555. Sturnopastor contra

(Linn.) 386

556. superciliaris, Bl. . . 388

EEEATA.

Page 103. After Dr5anocataphus tickelli in.-<erf. (Blyth).

Page 216. For Bhriuga tenuiro.-tris read B. tectirostris.

Page 223. For Pnoepyga albiventris (Hodgs.), read Pnoepyga squa-

mata i Gould).
Page 311. After LaniliS vittatUS insert \a,\ex\o.

"H^ /^ '^

n,

WoODliUr.Y COMPY.

THOMAS CAVERHILL JERDON.

Woodbury Compy.

BRIAN HOUGHTON HODGSON.

WoODBUr.Y COMPY.

SAMU

EL RICHARD TICKELL.

T H E

NESTS AND EGGS

OF

INDIAN BIRDS.

Order PASSERES.
Family CORVIDiE.

Subfamily CORVINE.

1. Corvus corax, Linn. The Raven.

Corvus corax, Linn., Jertl. B. hid. \\, p. 293.

Corvus lawrencii, Hume j Hume, Rough Draft N, Sf E. uo. 657.

w-

I separated the Punjab Eaveu under the name of Corvus la
rencei (' Lahore to Tarkand,' p. 83), and I then stated, what I msh
now to repeat, that if we are prepared to consider C. coracv, C.
Uttoralis, 0. thibetamis, and C. japonensis all as one and the same
species, then C. laiurencei too must be suppressed ; but if any of
these are retained as distinct, then so must C. lawrencei be *.

The Punjab Eaven breeds throughout the Punjab (except perhaps
in the Dehra Ghazee Khan District), in Bhawulpoor, Bikaneer,
and the northern portions of Jeypoor and Jodhpoor, extending
rarely as far south as 8ambhur. To Sindh it is merely a seasonal

* I think it impossible to separate the Punjab Eaven from the Eavens of
Europe and other parts of the world, and I have therefore merged it into
C. corcuc. — Ed.

VOL. I. 1

Z - COKVIDjE.

visitant, aud I could not learn that they breed there, nor have I
ever known of one breeding anywhere east of the Jumna. Even
in the Delhi Division of the Punjab they breed sparingly, and one
must go further north and west to find many nests.

The breeding-season lasts from early in December to quite the
end of March ; but this varies a little according to season and
locality, though the majority of birds always, I think, lay in January.

The nest is generally placed in single trees of no great size,
standing in fields or open jungle. The thorny Acacias are often
selected, but 1 have seen them on Sisoo and other trees.

The nest, placed in a stout fork as a rule, is a large, strong,
compact, stick structure, very like a Eook's nest at home, and like
these is used year after year, whether by the same birds or others
of the same species I cannot say. Of course they never breed in
company : I never found two of their nests within 100 yards of each
other, and, as a rule, they ^vill not be found within a"quarter of a
mile of each other.

Pive is, I think, the regular complement of eggs ; very often I
have only found four fully incubated eggs, and on two ' or three
occasions six have, I know, been taken in one nest, though 1 never
myself met with so many.

I find the following old note of the first nest of this species that
I ever took : —

"At Hansie, in Skinner's Beerh, December 19, 1867, we found
our first Eaven's nest. It was in a solitary Keekur tree, which
originally of no great size had had all but two upright branches
lopped away. Between these two branches was a large compact
stick nest fully 10 inches deep and 1.8 inches in diameter, and not
more than 20 feet from the ground. It contained five slightly
incubated eggs, which the old birds e^•inced the greatest objection
to part with, not only flying at the head of the man who removed
them, but some little time after they had been removed similarly
attacldng the man who ascended the tree to look at the nest.
After the eggs were gone, they sat themselves on a small branch
abo\e the nest side by side, croaking most ominously, and shaking
their heads at each other in the most amusing manner, every now
and then alternately descending to the nest and scrutinizing evei-y
portion of the cavity with their heads on one side as if to make
sure that the eggs were really gone."

Mr. W. Theobald makes the following note of this bird's nidifi-
cation in the neighbourhood of Pind Dadan Khan aud Katas in
the Salt Eauge : —

" Lay in January aud February ; eggs, four only ; shape, ovato-
pyriform ; size, 1-7 by 1-3; colour, dirty sap green, blotched \\ith
blackish brown : also pale green spotted with greenish brown and
neutral ; nest of sticks difiicult to get at, placed in well-selected
trees or holes in cliffs."

I haAC not verified the fact of their breeding in holes in cliffs,
but it is Aery possible that they do. All 1 found near Pind Dadan
Khan and in the Salt Eange \Aere doubtless in trees, but I explored
a very limited portion of these hills.

CORVUS, O

Colonel C. H. T. Marshall, writing from Bhawulpoor on the
17th I'ebruary, says : " I succeeded yesterday in getting four eggs
of the Punjab Eaven. The eggs were hard-set and very difficult
to clean."

From Sambhur Mr. R. M. Adam tells us :— " This Eaven is
pretty common during the cold weather, but pairs are seen about
here throughout the year. They are very fond of attaching them-
selves to the camps of the numerous parties of Banjaras who visit
the lake.

" I obtained a nest at the end of January which contained three
eggs, and a fourth was found in the parent bird. The nest was
about 15 feet from the ground in a Kaggera tree (Acacia leuco-
2)hl<:ea) which stood on a bare sandy waste with no other tree
within half a mile in any direction."

The eggs of the Punjab bird are, as might be expected, much
the same as those of the European Eaven. In shape they are
moderately broad ovals, a good deal pointed towards the small end,
but, as in the Oriole, greatly elongated varieties are very common,
and short globular ones almost unknown. The texture of the egg
is close and hard, but they usually exhibit little or no gloss. In the
colour of the ground, as well as in the colour, extent, and character
of the markings, the eggs vary surprisingly. The ground-colour is
in some a clear pale greenish blue ; in others pale blue ; in others a
dingy olive ; and in others again a pale stone-colour. The markings
are blackish brown, sepia and olive-brown, and rather pale inky
purple. Home have the markings small, sharply defined, and
thinly sprinkled : others are extensively blotched and streakily
clouded ; others are freckled or smeared over the entire surface,
so as to leave but little, if any, of the ground-colour visible.
Often several styles of marldng and shades of colouring are com-
bined in the same egg. Almost each nest of eggs exhibits some
peculiarity, and varieties are endless. With sixty or seventy eggs
before one, it is easy to pick out in almost every case all the eggs
that belong to the same nest, and this is a peculiarity that I have
observed in the eggs of many members of this family. All the
eggs out of the same nest usually closely resemble each other,
while almost amj two eggs out of different nests are markedly
dissimilar.

They vary from 1*72 to 2-25 in length, and from 1*2 to 1-37 in
width ; but the average of seventy-two eggs measured is 1*94 by
1-31.

Mandelli's men found four eggs of the larger Sikhim bird in
Native Sikhim, high up towards the snows, where they were
shooting Blood-Pheasants.

These eggs are long ovals, considerably pointed towards one end ;
the shell is strong and firm, and has scarcely any gloss. The
ground-colour is pale bluish green, and the eggs are smudged and
clouded all over with pale sepia ; on the top of the eggs there are
a few small spots and streaks of deep brownish black. They were
found on the 5th March, and vary in length from 1-83 to 1*96,
in breadth from I'lS to 1"25.

1*

CORVID^.

3. Corvus corone, Linn. Tlce Carrion-Grow.

Corvus corone, Linn., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 295 ; Hume. Roiujh Draft
N.^-K no. G59*

The only Indian eggs of the Carrion-Crow which I have seen, and
one of which, ^vit}l the parent bird, I owe to Mr. Broolvs, were taken
by the latter gentleman on the 30th May at Sonamerg, Cashmere.

The eggs were broad ovals, somewhat compressed towards one
end, and of the regular Corvine type — a pretty pale green ground,
blotched, smeared, streaked, spotted, and clouded, nowhere very
profusely but most densely about the large end, with a greenish or
olive-brown and pale sepia. The brown is a brighter and greener,
or duller and more olive, lighter or darker, in different eggs, and
even in different parts of the same egg. The shell is fine and
close, but has onl}^ a faint gloss.

The eggs only varied from 1"67 to 1"68 in length, and from 1*14
to 1*18 in breadth.

AVhether this bird breeds regularly or only as a straggler in
Cashmere we do not know ; it is always overlooked and passed by
as a " Common Crow." Future visitors to Cashmere should try
and clear up both the identity of the bird and all particulars about
its nidification.

4. Corvus macrorhynchus, Wagler. 'The Jumjle-Crow.

Corvus culminatus, Sykes, Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 295.

Corvus levaillaatii, Less., Hume, Rough Draft N. ^- E. uo. 600.

The Jungle-Crow (under which head I include t C. culminatus,
Sykes, C. intermedius, Adams, G. aadamanensis, Tytler, and each
and all of the races that occur within our limits) breeds almost
everywhere in India, alike in the low country and in the hills both
of Southern and Northern India, to an elevation of fully 8000
feet.

March to May is, I consider, the normal breeding-season ; in
the ])lains the majority lay in April, rarely later, and in the hiUs
in May ; but in the plains a few birds lay also in February.

The nest is placed as a rule on good-sized trees and pretty near
their summits. In the plains mangos and tamarinds seem to be
preferred, but I have found the nests on many different kinds of
trees. The nest is large, circular, and composed of moderate-sized
twigs ; sometimes it is thick, massive, and compact ; sometimes
loose and straggling ; always with a considerable depression in the
centre, which is smoothly lined with large quantities of horsehair.

* Mr. Hume, at one time separated the Indian Carrion-Crow from Corvus
corone under the name C. pKCiido-corone. In his ' Catalogue ' he re-unites thcni.
I quite agree -with him that the two birds arc inseparable. — Eu.

t See ' Stray Feathers,' vol. ii. 1874, p. 243, and ' Lahore to Yarkaud,'
p. 85.

COEVUS. o

or other stiff hair, grass, grass-roots, cocoanut- fibre, &c. In the
hills they use any animal's hair or fur, if the latter is pretty stiff.
They do not, according to my experience, affect luxuries in the way
of soft down ; it is always something moderately stiff, of the coir
or horsehair type ; nothing soft and fluffy. Coarse human haii',
such as some of our native fellow-subjects can boast of, is often
taken, when it can be got, in lieu of horsehair.

They lay four or five eggs. I have quite as often found the
latter as the former num-ber. I have never myself seen six eggs in
one nest, but I have heard, on good authority, of six eggs being found.

Captain Unwin writes : " I found a nest of the Bow-billed
Corby in the Agrore Valley, containing four eggs, on the 30th
April. It was placed in a Cheer tree about 40 feet from the
ground, and was made of sticks and lined with dry grass and
hair."

Mr. W. Theobald makes the following remarks on the breeding
of this bird in the Valley of Cashmere : —

" Lays in the third week of April. Eggs four in number, ovato-
pyriform, measuring from 1'6 to 1*7 in length and from V2 to
1-25 in breadtli. Colour green spotted with brown; valley
generally. Xest placed in Chinar and difficult trees."

Captain Hutton tells us that the Corby " occurs at Mussoorie
throughout the year, and is very destructive to young fowls and
pigeons ; it breeds in May and June, and selects a tall tree, near a
house or village, on which to build its nest, which is composed
externally of dried sticks and twigs, and lined with grass and hair,
which latter material it will pick from the backs of horses and
cows, or from skins of animals laid out to dry. I have had skins
of the Surrow (NcemorJuedus tliar) nearly destroyed by their de-
predations. The eggs are three or four in number."

Erom the plains I have very few notes. I transcribe a few of
my own.

" On the 11th March, near Oreyah, I found a nest of a Corby —
a good large stick nest, built with tamarind twigs, and placed fully
40 feet from the ground in the fork of a mango-tree standing by
itself. The nest measured quite 18 inches in diameter and five in
thickness. It was a nearly flat platform with a central depression
8 inches in diameter, and not more than 2 deep, but there was a
solid pad of horsehair more than an inch thick below this. I took
the mass out ; it must have weighed half a pound. Tour eggs
much incubated.

" Etaivali, l-ith March. — Another nest at the top of one of the huge
tamarind-trees behind the Asthul : could not get up to it. A boy
brought the nest down ; it was not above a foot across, and perhaps
3 inches deep ; cavity about 6 inches in diameter, thickly lined
with grass-roots, inside which again was a coating of horsehair
perhaps a rupee in thickness ; nest swarming with vermin. Eggs
five, quite fresh ; four eggs normal ; one quite round, a pure pale
slightly greenish blue, with only a few very minute spots and
specks of brown ha^ ing a tendency to form a feeble zone round

6 CORVID^.

the large end. Measures only 1-25 by 1-2. Neither in shape,
size, nor colour is it like a Corby's egg ; but it is not a Koel's, or
that of any of our parasitic Cuckoos, and I have seen at home similar
pale eggs of the Eook, Hooded Crow, Carrion-Crow, and Eaven.

" Bareilly, May lOth. — Three fresh eggs in large nest on a
mango-tree. Nest as usual, but lined with an immense quantity
of horsehair. We brought this home and weighed it : it weighed
six ounces, and horsehair is very light."

Major C. T. Bingham wi'ites : —

" This Crow, so common at Allahabad, is very scarce here at
Delhi. In fact I have only seen one pair.

" At Allahabad it lays in February and March. I have, how-
ever, only found one nest, a rather loose structure of twigs and a
few thick branches with rather a deep depression in the centre. It
was placed on the very crown of a high toddy palm {Borassus
Jlahelliformis), and was unlined save for a wad of human hair, on
which the eggs, two in number, lay ; these I found hard-set (on
the 13th March); in colour they were a pale greenish blue, boldly
blotched, spotted, and speckled with brown,"

Colonel Butler has furnished me with the following note on the
breeding of the Jungle-Crow : —

"Belgaum, 12th March, 1880. — A nest containing four fresh
eggs. It consisted of a loose structure of sticks lined with hair
and leaves, and was placed at the top of and in the centre of a
green-foliaged tree in a well-concealed situation about 30 feet
from the ground. 18th March : Two nests, each containing three
slightly incubated eggs ; one of the nests was quite low down in
the centre of an 'arbor vita)' about 12 feet from the ground.
31st March : Another nest containing four slightly incubated eggs.
Some of the latter nests were very solidly built, and not so well
concealed. 11th April : Two more nests, containing five incubated
and three slightly incubated eggs respectively; and on the 14th
April a nest containing four slightly incubated eggs. These birds,
when the eggs are at all incubated, often sit very close, especially
if the nest is in an open situation, and in many instances I have
thrown several stones at the nest, and made as much row as I
could below without driving the old bird off, and I have seen my
nest-seeker within a few yards of the nest after climbing the tree
before the old bird flew off. On the 2nth of April I found two
more nests, one containing four young birds just hatched, the other
three fresh eggs. On the 27th another nest contaim'ng three fresh
eggs, and on the 28th a nest of three fresh eggs. On tlie 5t-h May
two more nests containing four fresh and four incubated eggs
respectively."

" In \\\Q Nilghiris," writes Mr. Davison, " the Corby buikls a
coarse nest of twigs, lined with cocoanut-fibrc or dry grass high
up in some densely-foliaged tree. The eggs are usually four, often
five, in number. The birds lay in April and May."

Miss Cockburn again says : — " They build like all Crows on large
trees merely by laying a few sticks together on some strong branch,

COETTS,

generally very liigli up iu the tree. I do not remember ever
seeing more than one nest on a tree at a time, so that they differ
very much from the Eook in that respect. They lay four eggs of
a bluish green, with dusky blotches and spots, and nothing can
exceed the care and attention they bestow on their young. Even
when the latter are able to leave their nests and take long flights,
the parent birds will accompany tliem as if to prevent their getting
into mischief. The nests are found in April and May."

Mr. J. Darling, jun., writes from the Nilghiris: — "1 have found
tlie nest of this Crow pretty nearly all over the Xilghiris. The
usual number of eggs laid is four, but on one occasion, near the
Quinine Laboratory in the Government Grardens at Ooty, I pro-
cured six from one nest. The breeding-season is from March to
Mav, but I have taken eggs as early as the 12th February."

From Ceylon, we hear" from Mr.'Layard that " about the villages
the Carrioii-Crow builds its nest in the cocoanut-trees. In the
jungles it selects a tall tree, amid the upper branches of which_ it
iSxes a framework of sticks, and on this constructs a nest of twigs
and grasses. The eggs, from three to five, are usually of a dull
greenish- brown colour, thickly mottled with brown, these markings
being most prevalent at the small end. They are usually laid in
January and February."

Mr. ' J. E. Cripps informs us that in Eastern Bengal it is
" common and a permanent resident. Occasionally found in the
clumps of jungle that are found about the country, which the next
species never affects. Breeds in the cold weather. I had noticed
a pair building on a Casuarina tree in my garden, about 50 feet
off the ground^ and on the ISth December, 1877, I took two per-
fectly fresh eggs from it ; and again on the 9th January, 1878, I
found two callow young in this same nest, the bu-ds never having
deserted it. The Hning used for this nest was principally jute-
filjre— any tree is selected to build on ; the nests are placed from
15 to 50 "feet off the ground. Some nests are very well concealed,
whereas otliers are quite exposed. On the 15th January I found
a nest about 15 feet up a small kuduui tree, standing in a large
plain, and which had a lining of hair from the tail-tufts of cows.
There was one fresh egg, and a week later I got another fresh egg
f i-om this very nest. From two to four eggs are in each nest."

Mr. Oates writes from Pegu :— " These birds all begin to build
about the same time, and I have taken numerous nests at the
end of January. At the end of February most nests contain
young birds."

Mr. W. Theobald gives the following notes on the nidification
of this bird in Tenasserim and near Deoghur : —

" Lays in the third week of February and fourth week of March :
eggs ovato-pyriform ; size 1-66 by 1-15, : colour, dull sap-green
much blotched with brown ; nest carefully placed in tall trees."

The eggs, though smaller, closely resemble, as might have been
expected, those of the Eaven, but they are, I think, typically some-
what broader and shorter. Almost every variety, as far as colora-

8 CORVIDiE.

tion goes, to be found amongst those of the Eaven, are found
amongst the eggs of the present species, and vice versa ; and for a
description of these it is only necessary to refer to the account of
the former species ; but I may notice that amongst the eggs of
C. macrorliynclius I have not yet noticed any so boldly blotched as is
occasionally the case with some of the eggs of the Raven, which
remind one not a little, so far as the character of the markings go, of
eggs of (Edicnemus crepitans and Esacus recurvirostris. Like those
of the Raven the eggs exhibit little gloss, though here and there a
fairly glossy egg is met with. Eggs from various parts of the
Himalayas, of the plains of Upper India, of the hills and plains of
Southern India, do not differ in any respect. Inter se the eggs
from each locality differ surprisingly in size, in tone of colour, and
in character of markings ; but when you compare a dozen or twenty
from each locality, you find that these differences are purely indi-
vidual and in no degree referable to locality.

There are just as big eggs and just as small ones from Simla and
Kotegurh, from Cashmere, from Etawah, Bareilly, Euttehgui'h,
from Kotagherry, and Conoor : all that one can possibly say is that
perhaps the Plains birds do on the average lay a shade larger eggs
than the Himalayan or Nilghiri ones.

Taking the eggs as a whole, I think that in size and shape they
are about intermediate between the eggs of the European Carrion-
Crow and Rook. But they vary, as I said, astonishingly in size,
from 1*5 to 1"95 in length, and in breadth from 1"12 to 1-22, and
I have one perfectly spherical egg, a deformity of course, which
measures 1*25 by 1*2.

The average of thirty Himalayan eggs is 1-73 by 1'18, of twenty
Plains eggs 1-74 by 1*2, and of fifteen Nilghiri eggs 1-7 by 1-18.
1 would venture to predict that with fifty of each, there would not
be a hundredth of an inch between their averages.

7. Corvus splendens, Vieill. The Indian ITouse-Croiv.

Corvus splendens, Vieill. Jcrd. B. Ind. ii, p. 298.

Corvus impudicus, Ilodys., Hume, Rowjh Draft N. S^- E. no. 6G3.

Throughout India and Upper Burma the Common Crow resides
and breeds, not ascending the hills either in Southern or Northern
India to any great ele-\'ation, but breeding up to 4000 feet in the
Himalayas.

The breeding-season par excellence is June and July, but occa-
sional nests will be found earlier even in Upper India, and in
Southern and Eastern India a great number lay in May. The
nests are commonly placed in trees without much regard to size or
kind, though densely foliaged ones are preferred, and I have just
as often found several in the same ti'ee as single ones. At times
they will build in nooks of ruins or large deserted buildiugs, where
these are in well inhabited localities, but out of many thousands I
have only seen three or four nests in sucli abnormal positions.

The nest is placed in some fork, and is usually a }'agged stick

CORVUS. 9

platform, with a central depression lined with grass-roots; but
they are not particular as to material ; I have found wool, rags,
grass, and all kinds of vegetable fibre, and Mr. Blyth mentions
that he has " seen several nests composed more or "less, and two
almost exclusively, of the wires taken from soda-water bottles,
which had been purloined from the heaps of these wires commonly
set aside by the native servants until they amount to a saleable
quantity." Tour is the normal number of eggs laid, but I often
have found five, and on t\\o occasions six. It is in this bird's nest
that the Koel chiefly lays.

Writing of Nepal, Dr. Scully remarks : — " In the valley it lays
in May and June ; some twenty nests were once examined on the
23rd June, and half the number then contained young birds."

Major Bingham says :— " Very common, of course, both at
Allahabad and at Delhi, and breeds in June, July, and beginning
of August. At Allahabad it is much persecuted by the Koel
(Euchjnam)js orientalis), every fourth or fifth nest that I found
in some topes of mango-trees having one or two of the Ivoel's
eggs."

Colonel Butler informs me that in Karachi it " begins to lay in
the mangrove bushes in the harbour as early as the end of May ; "
and that it " breeds in the neighbourhood of Deesa in June, July,
and August, commencing to build in the last week of May."

Later, he writes : — " Belgaum, 15th May, 1879. Found nume-
rous nests in the native infantry lines in low trees, containing
fresh and incubated eggs and young birds of all sizes. In the same
locality, on the 30th March, 1880, I found a nest containing four
young birds able to fly ; the eggs must therefore have been laid
quite as early as the middle of Eehruary, if not earlier."

Mr. Gr. W. Vidal writes : — " The Common Crow appears to
have two broods in the year in our district (Ratuagiri), the first in
April and May, and the second in November and December. In
these four months I have found nests, eggs, and young birds in
several different places in the district, and as yet at no other
times. It is extremely improbable that there should be one
breeding-season lasting from April to December, and I think I may
state with certainty that the Crows do not breed at Eatnagiri
during the months of heaviest rainfall, viz. July, August, and
September. As their breeding in November and December appears
to be exceptional, I sulijoin a record of the few nests I examined.

" Nov. 22, 1878. Eatnagiri :

" One nest with 3 young birds.
„ „ 1 fresh egg.

" Nov. 23, 1878. Eatnagiri :

" One nest with 1 fresh eg^.
1 fresh egg.

"Dec. 4, 1878. Saugmeshwar. — One nest with 3 eggs hard-set;
another nest probably containing young birds, but the Crows
pecked so viciously at the man who was climbing the tree, that he
got frightened and came do\\n again without reaching the nest.

10

COEVID^.

Crows with sticks aud feathers in their rnoutlis are flying about
all day.

"Dec. 5, 1878. Aroli.— Found a nest with a Crow sitting in it;
no one to climb the tree."

Mr. Benjamin Aitken has favoured me with the following in-
teresting note : — "I send you an account of a nest of the Common
Crow, fouud in October, 1874, in the to\\n of Madras. My
attention was first directed to the remarkable pair of Crows to
which the nest belonged, in the end of July, when they were
determinedly and industriously attempting to fix a nest on the top
ledge of a pillar in the verandah of the ' Madras Mail ' office. The
ledge was so narrow that one would have thought the Sparrow
alone of all known birds would have selected it for a site ; and
even the Sparrow only under the condition of a writing or toilet-
table being underneath to catch the lime, sticks, straws, rags,
feathers, and other innumerable materials that commonly strew
the ground below a Sparrow's nest. I was told that the Crows
had been at their task for two months before I saw them, and I
then watched them till nearly the end of October. The celebrated
spider that taught King Bruce a lesson in patience was eager and
fitful compared with this pair of Crows. I kept no account of the
mnnber of times their structure was blown down, only to be
immediately begun again; but as there was a good deal of rain and
wind at that season, in addition to the regular sea-breeze, it was a
common thing for the sticks to be cleared off day after day. But
perseverance will often achieve seeming impossibilities, and, more-
over, the Crows worked more indefatigably as the season went on,
and used to run up their nest with great rapidity (no doubt, also,
they improved by their practice) ; so that several times the struc-
ture was completed, or nearly completed, before being swept to the
ground, though how it remained in its place for a moment seems a
mystery; and twice I saw a broken egg among the scattered
debris. At length, about tlie middle of September, the Crows de-
termined to try the pillar at the other end of the verandah. By
this time, of course, all the Crows in Madras had long brought up
their broods and sent them adrift ; and what they thought to see
an eccentric pair of their own species forsaking society, and hiUdinr/
in September, may be imagined. The new site selected differed in
no respect from the old one, aud was no less exposed to the wind ;
but the birds had grown expert at building ' castles in the air,' and
now met w ith fewer mishaps. In the first -week of October the
hen bird was sitting regularly, so on the 8th of the month I sent
a man up by a ladder, and he held up four eggs for me to look at.
It fairly seemed after this that patience was to have its reward,
but on the night of the 20th there came a storm of \\'ind and rain,
and when I went to the office in the morning, the nest was lying
on the ground, with two young Crows in it, with the feathers just
beginning to appear. The other two, I suppose, had fallen over
into the street. And thus ended one of the most persevering
attempts on record to overcome a difficulty insurmountable from

COBTUS, 11

the first. The old birds thought it time now to stop operations,
and frequented the ofliee no more.

" I am told by a gentleman in the ' Mail ' ofhce that the Crows
have built in that verandah regularl}' for five or six years past, but
nobody seems to have watched the nests. I am, therefore, hopeful
that the attempt will be repeated this year, in \\hich case 1 will
keep a diary of all that takes place."'

He writes subsequently : — " I sent you a long story in my last
batch of notes about two eccentric Crows that succeeded in building
a nest upon the narrow ledge of a pillar in the verandah of my
office, several months after all well-conducted Crows had sent out
their progeny to battle with the \Aorld. I mentioned to you that
they were said to build in that unnatural place every year, and I
said that 1 \^'ould watch them this year.

'• Well, would you believe it ? on the 26th July, when every other
Crow's nest in Madras had hard-set eggs, or newly-hatched young
ones, these two indefatigable birds set methodically to work to
construct a nest on the south pillar — the one where all their earlier
efforts were made last year, but not the one on which they suc-
ceeded in fixing their nest. They worked all the 26th and 27th,
putting up sticks as fast as they fell down, and then desisted till
the 4th August, when they began operations on the opposite (north)
pillar with redoubled energy. Meeting with no better success they
left off operations after a couple of days' fruitless labour. Yester-
day (after a delay of five weeks) they set to work on the south
pillar again and succeeded in raising a great pile, which, however,
was ignominiously blown down in the afteruoon. Today they are
continuing theii" work indefatigably."

Mv. J. E. Cripps has the followiug note in his list of birds of
Purreedpore, Eastern Bengal; — " Very common, and a permanent
resident, affecting the haunts of man. They build and lay in May.
The Koel lays its eggs in this bird's nest. In April, 1876, I saw
two nests iu the compound of the house in which I lived at
Ho^^■rah, which were made entireh/ of galvanized wire, the thickest
piece of which was as thick as a slate pencil. How the birds
managed to bend these thick pieces of wire was a marvel to us ;
not a stick was incorporated with the wires, and the lining of the
nest (which was of the ordinary size) \Aas jute and a few feathers.
The railway goods-yard, which was alongside the house, supplied
the wire, of which there was ever so much lying about there."

Typically the eggs may, I think, be said to be rather broad ovals,
a good deal pointed towards the small end ; but really the eggs vary
so much in shape that, even with nearly two hundred before me,
it is difficult to decide flhat is really the most typical form.
Pyriform, elongated, and globular varieties are common ; long
Cormorant-shaped eggs and perfect ovals are not uncommon. As
regards the colour of the ground, and colour, character, and extent
of marking, all that I have abo\e said of the Eaven's eggs applies to
those of this species, but varieties occur amongst those of the latter
which I have not observed iu those of the former. In some the

12 conviD;r:.

ground is ti very palo puro bluish grocn, in others it is dingier and
greener. 7\11 are bhAclied, speckled, and streaked more or less
with somewhat pale sepia markings ; but in some the spots and
specks are a darker brown and, as a rule, M'ell defined, and there
is very liltle sireaking, wliile in others the brown is pale and
muddy, the markings ill-defined, and nearly the whoh; surface of
Ihe egg is freckled over with smudgy streaks. Som(itimes the
markings are most nunxirous at the larg(! end, sometimes at the
small ; no two eggs are exactly alike, and yet Ihey have; so strong
a i'amily I'csemblancetliai there is no possibility of mistaking llu^m,
(Generally tli(; markings as a whole are k.'ss bold, and the general
colour of a large body of lliem laid together is Inkier and brighter
ilian that of a similar drawer-full of Jtavens' eggs. Ah a whole,
loo, they are more glossy. 1 have one egg before me bright blue
and almost as glossy as a Mynah's, tliickly blolched and speckled
at the broad end, and tliinly spotted elsewhere with olive-green,
l)lackish-brown, and pale purple. Another egg, a pale pure blue,
is s|)otl(!SS, except at th(! lai-ge end, where Ihens is a conspicuous
cap of olive-brown and olive-green spots and S])eckles, and there
are numerous other abnormal varieti(;s which 1 have not observed
amongst the ]^avens.

On the wliole the eggs do no/, vary mu(;li in size; out of one
hundiHid and nin(!ty-S(fV(Oi, one hundred and ninety-five varied
between l-^'S and f -05 in hnigtli, aiul 0-98 and 1-I5 in breadth.
One (!gg measures only l/ii in length, and one is only 0-(K> in
breadth ; but the average of the whole is 1 -44 by I'OB.

8. Corvus insolens, Hume. The Burmese J/ousc-Crovj.
Corvus insolens, Hume ; Hume, Cat. no. G03 bis.

The Burmese llouse-Crow breeds pretty well over the whole of
Burma.

Ml'. Oat(!s, wi'iting from Pegu, says : — " Nesting operations are
commenced about the 20th March. The nest and (!ggs require no
separate dciscription, for both a|)|)(!ar to be similai- to th(js(! of
(J. sjj/cudens."

When large series of tlu! eggs of both these; speci(!s are coni-
par(,'(l, thosi! of tlu; Uurmese Ci'ow strike one .'is ((vertij/in;/ some-
what brighter coIouhmI, otli(!rvvis(! they ar(3 precisely alike and need
no S(4)arat(3 description.

y. Corvus monedula, Linn. The Jackdaw.

Colacus moiicdiila (Liini.), .Tenl. />'. hid, \'\, p. .302.

Corvus iiioiicdiihi,, Linn., JIvmc, ]i()i(</lt ])r(ifl N. cV TJ. no. (!(i/5.

J only know positively (jf Jackdaws breeding in one dislrict
within our limits, viz. (Jashmerc!; but 1 have; se(;n it in the hills in
summcir, as far east as tin; Valley of the J}eas, and it must br(;ed
everywhere i]i suitable localities bet ween the two.

PICA. 13

111 the cold season of course the Jackdaw descends into the
phiins of the Norlli-west Punjaub, is very numerous near the
foot of the liills, and has been found in cls-Indus as far east as
Uiiiballa, and south at Ferozpoor, Jhelam, and Kalabagh. In
Trans-Indus it extends unto the Dehra Ghazi Khan district.

1 have never taken its eggs myself.

]\Ir. AV. Theobald makes the following remarks on its nidifica-
tion in the Valley of Cashmere : —

" Lays in the iirst week of May ; eggs four, five, and six in
number, ovato-pyriform and long ovato-pyriform, measuring from
1-26, 1-45, to 1-60 in length, and from 0-9 to 1-00 in breadth ;
colour pale, clear bluish green, dotted and spotted with bro\\'nish
black ; valley generally ; in holes of rocks, beneath roofs, and in
tall trees."

Dr. Jerdon says : — " It builds in Cashmere in old ruined palaces,
holes in rocks, beneath roofs of houses, and also in tall trees, laying
four to six eggs, pale bluisli green, doited and spotted with
brownish black."

Mr. Brookes writes : — " The Jackdaw breeds in Cashmere in all
suitable places : holes in old Chinar (Plane) trees, and in house-
walls, under the eaves of houses, &c. I did not note the materials
of the nests, but these will be the same as in England."

T'he eggs of this species are typically rather elongated ovals,
somewhat compressed towards one end. The shell is line, but has
only a faint gloss. The ground-colour is a pale greenish white,
but in some eggs there is very little green, while in a very few the
ground is quite a briglit green. The mai-kings, sometimes very
line and close, sometimes rather bold and thiidy set, consist of
specks or spots of deep blackish brown, olive-brown, and ])ale inky
purple. In most eggs all these colours are represented, but in
some eggs the olive-, in others the blackish brown is almost
entirely wanting. In some eggs the markings are very dense
tow ards tlie largo end, in others they are pretty uniformly dis-
tributed o\'er the whole surface ; in some they are verv minute
and speckly, in others they average the tentli of an' inch in
diameter.

The eggs that I possess vary from l-.'34 to 1-52 in length, and
from 0-i);5 to 1-02 in breadth ; "but tlie a^■^'ra^•e of sixteen eoos was
1-4 by U-US.

1 0. Pica rustica (Scop.). The Magjiie.
Pica baclritina, Bp., Ilnnie, lioityh Draft N. ^- E. no. 668 bis.

The Magpie breeds, wa know, in Afghanistan, and also through-
out Jiadak from tlu; Zojee-la Pass right up to the Pangoug Ijake,
but it breeds so early tliat one is never in time* I'or the eggs. The
passes are not open until long after they are hatched.

Captain Ilutton s;iys this bird "is "found all the year round
from C^uettah to Girishk, and is very common. They breed in

14 COEVID^,

March, and the young are fledged by the end o£ April, The nest
is like that of the European bird, and all the manners of tlie
Afghan Magj^ie are precisely the same. They may be seen at all
seasons."

From Afghanistan, Lieut. H. E. Barnes writes : —

" The Magpie is not uncommon in the hills wherever there are
trees, but it seldom descends to the plains. They commence
breeding in March, in M'hich month and April I have examined
scores of nests, which in every case were built in the ' Wun,' a
species of Pistacia — the only tree found hereabouts. A stout fork
near the top is usually selected.

" The nest is shallov\' and cup-shaped, with a superstructure of
twigs, forming a canopy over the egg-ca^'ity. The eggs, generally
five in number, are of the usual corvine green, blotched, spotted,
and streaked, as a ride, most densely about the large end with
umber mingled with sepia-brown. The average of thirty eggs is
1-25 by -97."

Colonel Biddulph writes in ' The Ibis ' that in Gilgit be took a
nest with five eggs, hard set, in a mulberry-tree at Nonval (5600
feet) on the 9th May. Also another nest with three fresh eggs at
Dayour (5200 feet) on the 25th May.

The eggs are typically rather elongated ovals, rather pointed
towards the small end, but shorter and broader varieties, and occa-
sionally ones with a pyriform tendency, occur. The ground is
a greenish or brownish white. In some eggs it has none, in others
a slight gloss. Everywhere the eggs are finely and streakly
freckled with a brown that varies from olive almost to sepia ; about
the large end the markings are almost always most dense, forming
there a more or less noticeable, but quite irregular and undefined
cap or zone. In one or two eggs dull purplish-brown clouds or
blotches underlie and intermingle with this cap, and occasionally a
small spot of this same tint may be noticed elsevA'here when the
egg is closely examined.

12. Urocissa occipitalis (Bl.). The Red-billed Blue Magpie.

Urocissa sinensis (Linn.), Jenl. B. Ind. ii, p. 309.

Urocissa occipitaUs {Bl.), Iltmie, Rough Draft N. 4'- E. no. 671.

I have never myself found the nest of the Eed-billed Blue Mag-
pie ; although it does breed sparingly as far east as Simla and Kote-
gurh, it is not till you cross the Jumna that it is abundant. East
of the Jumna, about Mussoorie, Teeree, Gurhwal, Kumaon, and in
Nepal, it is common.

Erom Mussoorie Captain Huttou tells us that " this species
occurs at Mussoorie throughout the year. It breeds at an elevation
of 5000 feet in May and June, making a loose nest of twigs exter-
nally and lined with roots. The nest is built on trees, sometimes
high up, at others about 8 or 10 feet from the ground. The eggs
are from three to five, of a dull greenish ash-grey, blotched and

UEOCISSA. 15

speckled with brown clashes confluent at tlie larger end, the ends
nearly equal in size. It is very terrene in its habits, feeding almost
entirely on the ground."

Colonel G. F. L. Marshall remarks : —

" The Eed-billed Blue Magpie is, as far as I know, an earl^
breeder at Naiui Tal ; common as the bird is I have only found
one nest and that on the 24th April ; it was a shallow slenderly
built strncture of fine roots, chiefly of maiden-hair fern, in a rough
outer casiug of twigs, placed on a horizontal bough overhanging a
nullah about fifteen feet from the ground. The tree had mode-
rately dense foliage, and was about twenty-five feet high in a small
clump on a hillside co\ered with low scrub at 5000 feet elevation
above the sea. Ai'ound the nest several small boughs and twigs
grew out, and being very slight iu structure it M'as not easy to see.
The old bird sat very close. There were six eggs in the Jiesfc about
half-'incubated : iu two of them the markings were densest at the
small end. The egg-cavity was 6 inches in diameter by about 1|
deep. On the 5th June 1 saw old birds accompanied by young
ones able to fly, but without the long tails."

The eggs of this species much resemble those of the European
Magpie, but are considerably smaller. They are broad, rather
perfect ovals, somewhat elongated and pointed in many specimens.
They exhibit but little gloss. The ground-colour varies much, but
in all the examples that I possess, which I owe to Captain Hutton's
kindness, it is either of a yellowish-cream, pale cafe uu Jail or buff
colour, or pale dull greenish. The ground is profusely blotched,
spotted, and streaked (the general character of the markings being
striations parallel to the major axis), with various shades of reddish
and yellowish brown and pale inky purple. The markings vary
much in intensity as well as in frequency, some being so closely
set as to hide the greater part of the ground-colour ; but in the
majority of the eggs they are more or less confluent at the large
end, where they form a comparatively dark, irregular blotchy
zone.

The eggs vary from 1*25 to 1-4 in length, and from 0-89 to
0"96 iu breadth ; but the average of 11 eggs is 1'33 by 0"93.

Major Bingham, referring to the Burmese Magpie, which has
been separated under by the name of U. mac/nirostris, says : —

" This species I have only found common in the Thouugyeen
Valley. Elsewhere it seemed to me scarce. Below I give a note
about its breeding.

" I have found three nests of this handsome Magpie — two on
the bank of the Meplay choung on the 14th April, 1879, and 5th
March, 1880, respectively, and one near Meea^uddy on the
Thoungyeen river on the 19th March, 1880.

" The first contained three, the second four, and the third two
eggs.

" These are all of the same type, dead white, with pale claret-
coloured dashes and spots rather washed-out looking, and lying
chiefly at the large end. One egg has the spots thicker at the

16 CORTID^.

small end. They are moderately broad ovals, and vary from 1-19
to 1-35 iu length, and from 0-93 to I'OS in breadth.

" The nests were all alike, tbiek solid structures of twigs and
branches, lined with finer twigs about 8 or 9 inches iu diameter,
and placed invariably at the top of tall straight saplings of teak,
pynkado (Xylia dolahriformis), and other trees at a height of about
15 feet from the ground."

All the eggs of the Burmese bird that I have seen, nine taken by
Major Bingham, were or one and the same type. The eggs broad
ovals, in most cases pointed towards the small end. The shell
fine, but as a rule with scarcely any perceptible gloss. The ground-
colour a delicate creamy white. The markings moderate-sized
blotches, spots, streaks, and specks, as a rule comparatively dense
about one, generally the large, end, where only as a rule any at all
considerable sized blotches occur, elsewhere more or less sparsely
set, and generally of a specldy character. The markings are of
two colours : brown, varying in shade in different eggs, olive-yel-
lowish, chocolate, and a grey, equally varying in different eggs from
pale purple to pale sepia. None of my eggs of the Himalayan bird
(I have unfortunately but few of these) correspond at all closely
with these.

13. Urocissa flavirostris (Bl.). TJie Yellow-hilled Blue Magpie.

Urocissa flavirostris {Bl?), Jerd. B. Incl. ii, p. 310 ; Hume, Rough
Draft N. 8,- E. no. 672.

The Tellow-billed Blue Magpie breeds throughout the lower
ranges of the Himalayes in well-wooded localities from Hazara to
Bhootan, and very likely further east still, from April to August,
mostly however, I think, laying in May. The nest, which is
rather coarse and large, made of sticks and lined with fine grass or
grass-roots, is, so far as my experience goes, commonly placed in a
fork near the top of some moderate-sized but densely foliaged
tree.

I haA'e never found a nest at a lower elevation than about 5000
feet ; as a riile they are a good deal higher up.

They lay from four to six eggs, but the usual number is five.

Colonel C. H. T. Marshall writes :— " The Tellow-billed Blue
Magpie breeds commonly about Murree. I have never seen the
bird below 6000 feet in the breediug-season. They do not com-
mence laying till May, and I have taken eggs nearly ftesh as late
as the 15th August. I do not think the bird breeds twice, as the
earliest eggs taken were found on the 10th May.

" They build in hill oaks as a rule, the height of the nest from
the ground varying much, some being as low as 10 feet, others
nearer 30 feet. The hen bird sits close, and sometimes (when the
nest is high up) does not even leave the nest when the tree is
struck below. The nest is a rough structure built close to the
trunk, externally consisting of twigs and roots and lined with
fibres. The egg-cavity is circular and shallow, not at all neatly

CISSA. 17

lined. The outer part of the nest is large compared to what I
should call the true nest, and consists of a heap of twigs, &c., like
what is gathered together for the platform of a Crow's nest.

" The eggs, which are four in number, vary in length from 1-45
to 1-25, and in breadth from O-O to 0-75. The ordinary type is an
egg a good deal poiuted at the thinner end. The grouiid-colour
is greenish white, blotched and freckled with ruddy brown, with a
ring at the larger end of confluent spots. The young birds are of
a very dull colour until after the first month. The normal number
of eggs laid appears to be four."

Captain Cock wrote to me : — " U. flavirostris is common at
Dhurrasala, but the nest is rather difficult to find. I have only-
taken six in three years. It is usually placed amongst the branches
of the hill oak, where it has been polled, and the thickly growing
shoots afford a good cover ; but sometimes it is on tlie top of a
small slender sapling. The nest is a good-sized structure of sticks
with a rather deep cup lined with dried roots ; in fact, it is very
much like the nest of Garrulus lanceolatus, only larger and much
deeper. Thev generally lay four eggs, which differ much in colour
and marldngs.''

Dr. Jerdon says : — " I had the nest and eggs brought me once.
The nest was made of sticks and roots. "The eggs, three in
number, were of a gi-eenish-fawn colour very faintly blotched with
brown."

The eggs are of the ordinary Inchan Magpie type, scarcely, if at
all, smaller than those of U. occijntalis, and larger than the average
of eggs of either Bendrociifa riifa or D. liimcdayensis. Doubtless
all kinds of varieties occur, as the eggs of this family are very
variable ; but I have only seen two types — in the one the ground
is a pale dingy yellowish stone-colour, profusely streaked, blotched,
and mottled with a somewhat pale brown, more or less olivaceous
in some eggs, the markings even in this type being generally
densest towards the large end, where they form an irregular mottled
cap : in the other type the ground is a very pale greenish-drab
colour ; there is a dense confluent raw-sienna-coloured zone round
the large end, and only a few spots and species of the same colour
scattered about the rest of the egg. All kinds of intermediate
varieties occur. The texture of the shell is line and compact, and
the eggs are mostly more or less glossy.

Tlie eggs vary from 1-22 to 1-48 in 'length, and from 0-8 to 0-96
in breadth ; but the average of twenty-seven eggs is 1-3 by 0-92.

14. Cissa chinensis (Bodd.). Tlu Green Magpie.

Cissa sinensis (Erifs.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. .312.

Cissa speciosa (Shaic), Hume, liouc/h Draft iN". Sj E. no. G73.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes the Green Magpie bi'eeds in
Nepal in the lower valleys and in the Terai from April to July.
The nest is built in clumps of bamboos and is large and cup-shaped,
composed of sticks and leaves, coated externally with bamboo-leaves

VOL. I. 2

18 coEViD.i;.

aud vegetable fibres, and lined inside with fine roots. It lays
four eggs, one of which is figured as a broad oval, a good deal
pointed towards one end, with a pale stone-coloured ground
freckled and mottled all over with sepia-brown, and measuring 1'27
by 0-89.

Mr. Gates writes : — " In the Pegu Hills on the 19th April I
found the nest of tlie Green Magpie, and shot the female oft: it.

" The nest was placed in a small tree, about 20 feet from the
ground, in a nullah and well exposed to view. The nest was
neatly built, exteriorly of leaves and coarse roots, and finished off
interiorly vsith finer fibres aud roots ; depth about 2 inches ; inside
diameter G iuches. Contained three eggs nearly hatched ; all got
broken ; I have the fragments of one. The ground-colour is
greenish vvliite, much spotted and fi'eckled with pale yellowish-
brown spots and dashes, more so at the larger end than elsewhere."

Sundry fragments that reached me, kindly sent to me by Mr.
Gates, had a dull white ground, very thickly freckled and mottled
all over, as far as 1 could judge, with dull, pale, yellowish brown
and purplish grey, the former preponderating greatly. As to size
and shape, this deponent sayeth nought.

Major Bingham writes from Tenasserim : — " Gn the ISth April
I found a nest of this most lovely bird placed at a height of 5 feet
from the ground in the fork of a bamboo-bush. It was a broad,
massive, and rather shallow cup of twigs, roots, and bamboo-leaves
outside, and lined with finer roots. It contained three eggs of a
pale greenish stone-colour, thickly aud very minutely speckled with
brown, which tend to coalesce and form a cap at the larger end.
I shot the female as she flew off the nest."

Major Bingham subsequently found another nest in Tenasserim,
about which he says : —

" Crossing the Wananatchoung, a little tributary of the Thoun-
gyeen, by the highroad leading from Meeawuddy to the sources
ot" the Thoungyeen, 1 found in a small thorny tree on the 8th
April a nest of the above bird — a great, firmly-built but shallow
saucer of twigs, 6 feet or so above the ground, and lined w ith fine
black roots. It contained three fresh eggs of a dingy greyish
white, thickly speckled chiefly at the large end, where it forms a
cip, with light purplish brown. The eggs measure l"25xU-89,
1-18 X 0-92, and i-2U x 0-90."

Mr. James Inglis notes from Cachar : — "This Jay is rather'rare ;
it frequents low quiet jungle. In April last a Kuki brought me
three joung ones he had taken from a nest in a clump of tree-
jungle; he said the nest was some 20 feet from the ground and
made of bamboo-leaves and grass."

A nest of this species taken below Tendong in Native 8ikhiro,
on the 2Sth April, contained four fresh eggs. It was placed on
the branches of a medium-sized tree at a height of about 12 feet
from the ground ; it was a large oval saucer, 8 inches by G, and
about 2-5 in depth, composed mainly of dry bamboo-leaves, bound
firmly together with fine stems of creepers, and was lined with

CISSA. DENDROCITTA. 19

niodirately line roots ; the cavity was 5 iuches by 4, aucl about 1
iu depth.

Tlie eggs received from Major Bingham, as also others received
from Silvhim, where they were procured by Mr. Maiidelli ou the '21st
and '2Sbh of April, are rather broad ovals, souiewhafc poiuted towards
the small end. The shell is tine, but has only a little gloss. The
grouud-colour is white or slightly greyish white, and they are uni-
formly freckled all over with very pale yellowish and greyish brown.
The frecklings are always somewhat densest at the large end, where
in some eggs they form a dull brown cap or zone. In some eL-'gs
the markings are everywhere denser, iu some sparser, so that some
eggs look yellower or browner, and others paler.

The eggs are altogether of the Oarruline type, not of that of
the Demlrocitta or Urocissa type. I have eg^s of G. laiiceolatas,
that but for being smaller precisely match some of the Cissa eggs.
Jerdon is, I think, certainly wrong in placing Glssa between Uro-
cissa and Bendrocitta, the eggs of which two last are of the same
and quite a distinct type*.

The eggs vary from 1'15 to I'^G in length, and from 0-9 to 0-95
in breadth, but the average of eight is 1*21 by 0-92.

15. Cissa ornata (Wagler). The Oei/louese MiKjjiie.
Cissa ornata ( Wufjl.), Hume, Cat. no. C73 bis.

Colonel Legge writes in his ' Birds of Ceylon ' : — " This bird
breeds during the cool season. I found its nest in the Kaudapolla
jungles in January ; it was situated in a fork of the top branch of
a tall sapling, about 45 feet in height, and was a tolerably bulky
structure, externally made of small sticks, in the centre of which
was a deep cup 5 inches in diameter by 24 in depth, made entirely
of fine roots ; there was but one egg in the nest, which imfortu-
nately got broken in being lowered to the ground. It was ovate
and slightly pyriform, of a faded bluish-green ground thickly spotted
all over with very light umber-brown over larger spots of bluish-
grey. It measured 0-98 inch in diameter by ahout 1*3 in length."

10. Dendrocitta rufa (Scop.). The ludinn Tree-pie.

Dendrocitta rufa (Scop.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 314; Hume, Roujh
Notes N. ^' E. no. 674.

The Indian Tree-pie breeds throughout the continent of India,
alike in the plains and in the hills, up to an elevation of 6000 or
7000 feet.

* I ain responsible, and not Mr. Hume, for calling this bird a Magpie.
Jerdon calls it a Jay, but places it among the Magpies, vvhicli is, I cousidej-, ils
proper position, notwithstanding the colour of its eggs. — En.

20 CORVID^.

I personally have found tlie nest with eggs iu May, June, July,
and during tlie first week of August, iu various districts in the
North- AVest Provinces, and have had them sent me from Saugor
(taken in July) and from Hansi (taken in April, May, and June) ;
but perhaps because the bird is so common scarcely any one has
sent me notes about its nidification, and I hardly know w hether
in other parts of India and Burma its breeding-season is the same
as with us.

The nest is al\\ays placed in trees, generally in a fork, near the
top of good large ones ; babool and mango are very commonly chosen
iu the North- West Provinces, though 1 have also found it on necm
and sisso trees. It is usually built with dry twigs as a foundation,
very commonly thorny and prickly twigs being used, on which the
true nest, composed of fine twigs and lined with grass-roots, is
constructed. The nests vary much : some are large and loosely
put together, say, fully 9 inches in diameter and 6 inches in
height externally ; some are smaller and more densely built, and
perhaps not above 7 inches in diameter and 4 inches in depth.
The egg-cavity is usually about 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches
in depth, but they vary very much both in size and materials ; and
I see that I note of one nest taken at Agra on the 3rd August —
" A very shallow saucer some 6 inches in diameter, and with a
central depression not above 1^ inch in depth. It was composed
exclusively of roots ; externally somewhat coarse, internally of
somewhat finer ones. It ^vas very loosely put together."

Pive is the full complement of eggs, but it is very common to
find only four fully incubated ones.

Mr. W. Blewitt writes that he "found several nests in the
latter half of April, May, and the early part of June in the neigh-
bom-hood of Hansie.

" Pour was the greatest number of eggs I found in any nest.

"The nests were placed in neem, keekur, and shishum trees, at
heights of from 10 to 17 feet from the ground, and were densely
built of twigs mostly of the keekur and shishum, and more or less
thickly lined with fine straw and leaves. They varied from G to 8
inches in diameter and from 2 to 3 inches in depth."

Mr. A. Anderson writes : — " The Indian Magpie lays from April
to July, and I have once actually seen a pair building in Pebruary.
Their eggs are of two very distinct types, — the one v^hich, accord-
ing to my experience, is the ordinary one, is covered all over with
reddish-brown spots or rather blotches, chiefly towards the big end,
on a pale greenish-white ground, and is rather a handsome egg ;
the other is a pale green egg with faint hroiun markings, which are
confined almost entirely to the obtuse end. I have another clutch
of eggs taken at Budaon in 1865, which presents an intermediate
variety between the above two extremes ; these are profusely
blotched with russet-brown on a dirty-white ground.

" The second and third nests above referred to contained five
eggs ; but the usual complement is not more than four. On the
2nd August, 1872, 1 made the following note relative to the breeding

DENDBOCITTA. 21

of this bird : — The bird flew off immediately we approached the
tree, and never appeared again. The nest viewed from below
looked larger ; this is owing to dry hahool twigs or rather small
branches (some of them having thorns from an inch to 2 inches
long !) haAiiig been used as a foundation, and actually encirchng
the nest, no doubt by way of protection against vermin ; some of
these thorny twigs Mere a foot long, and they had to be removed
piecemeal before the nest proper could be got at. The egg-cavity
is deep, measuring 5 inches in depth by 4 in breadth inside mea-
surement ; it is well lined with khus grass.''

JMajm* Bingham says : —

" Common as is this bird I have only found one nest, and that
was at Allahabad on the 9th July, and contained one half-fledged
young one and an addled egg. The nest, which was placed at the
very top of a large mango-tree, was constructed of branches and
twigs of the same lined with fine grass-roots. The egg is a yellowish
white, thickly speckled, chiefly at the large end, with rusty. Length
1-10 by 0-82 in breadth."

Colonel Butler tells us that it " breeds in Sind, in the hot
weather. Mr. Doig took a nest containing three fresh eggs on the
1st May, 1878. The eggs, which seem to me to be remarkably
small for the size of the bird, are of the first type mentioned in
Eough Draft of ' Nests and Eggs,' p. 422,"

Lieut. II. E. Barnes says in his ' Birds of Bombay : ' — " In Sind
they breed during May and June, always choosing babool trees,
placing the nest in a stoutish fork near the top ; they are composed
at the bottom of thorny twigs, which form a sort of foundation
upon which the true nest is built ; the latter consists of fine twigs
lined with grass-roots ; the nest is frequently of large size."

Mr. G, W. Yidal, writing of the South Konkan, says : — " Com-
mon about all well-wooded villages from coast to Ghats. Breeds
in April."

AVith regard to Cachar Mr. Inglis writes : — " This Magpie is
very common in all the neighbouring villages, but I have not often
seen it in the jungles. It remains all the year and breeds during
April and May."

The eggs are typically somewhat elongated ovals, a good deal
pointed towards the small end. They vary extraordinarily in
colour and character, as well as extent of markings, but, as remarked
when speaking of the Eaven, all the eggs out of the same nest
closely resemble each other, while the eggs of different nests are
almost invariably markedly distinct. There are, however, two
leading types — the one in which the markings are bright red,
brownish red, or pale pinkish purple ; and the other in which they
are olive-brown and pale purplish brown. In the first type the
ground-colour is either pale salmon, or else very pale greenish
white, and the markings are either bold blotches, more or less con-
fluent at the large end, where they are far most numerous, and
only a few specks and spots towards the smaller end, or they are
spots and small blotches thickly distributed over the whole surface.

22 COKVTDiE.

or tliey are streaky smudges forming a mottled ill-defined cap at
the large end, and running down thence in streaks and spots longi-
tudinally ; in the other type the ground-colour is greenish white
or pale yellowish stone-colour, and ihe character of the markings
varies as in the preceding type. Besides these there are a few eggs
with a dingy greyish-white ground, witli very faint, cloudy, ill-
defined spots of pale yellowish hrown pretty uniformly distributed
over the whole surface. In nine eggs out of ten the markings are
most dense at the large end, v\here they form irregular, more or
less imperfect caps or zones. A few of the eggs are slightly glossy.

Of the salmon-pink type some specimens in their coloration
resemble eggs of Dicrurus lonr/icaudatus and some of our Goat-
suckers, while of those with the greenish-white ground-colour some
sf^rongly recall the eggs of Lanius lalitora.

In length the eggs vary from 1"0 to 1"3, and in lireadth from
0"78 to0"95; but the average of forty-four eggs is 1'17 by 0-87.

17. Dendrocitta leiicogastra, Gould. The Southern Tree-jne.

Dendrocitta laucogastra, Gould, Jerd. li. Ind. n, p. 317 ; Ihimo,
llot((/h Draft N. S,- E. no. 678.

From Travancore Mr. Bourdillon has kindly sent me an egg nnd
the following note on the nidification of the Southern Tree-pie : —

" Three eggs, very hard-set, of an ashy-white colour, marked with
ashy and greenish-brown blotches, 1"12 long and 0*87 broad, were
taken on 9th March, 1873, from a nest in a hush 8 or 10 feet from
the ground. The nest of twigs was built after the style of the
English Magpie's nest, minus the dome. It coiisisted of a large
platform G inches deep and 8 or 10 inches broad, supporting a nest
Ig inch deep and 3| inches broad. The bird is not at all uncom-
mon on the Assamboo Hills between the elevations of 1500 and
3000 feet above the sea, seeming to prefer the smaller jungle and
more open parts of the heavy forest,"

Later he writes : — " On the 8th April I found another nest con-
taining three half-fledged Magpies {1). Imcogastra). The nest was
entirely composed of twigs, roughly but securely put together;
interior diameter 3 inches and depth 2 inches, "though there vas a
good-sized base or platform, say, 5 inches in diameter. The nest
was situated on the toj) fork of a sapling about 12 feet from the
ground. I tried to rear the young birds, but Ihey all died within
a week."

The egg is very like that of our other Indian Tree-pi(>s. It is
in shape a broad and regular oval, only slightly compressed towards
one end. The shell is fine and compact and is niod(>rately glossy.
The ground is a creamy stone-colour. It is profusely blotched and
streaked with a somewhat pale yellowish bi-own, these markings
being most numerous and darkest in a broad, irregular, iiiijieriect
zone round the large end, and it exhibits further a nnmb(-r of pale
inky-purple clouds and blotclie.s, Mhich seem to underlie the brown
markings, and v\liich are chiefly conlimd to the broader half of the
egg. The latter measures 1*13 by 0-8().

DEIS^DROCITTA. 23

18. Dendrocitta himalayensis, Bl. The Himalayan Tree-pie.

Dendrocitta sinensis (Lath.), Jerd. B. Incl. ii, p. 31G.

Dendrocitta himalayensis, BL, Hume, Boiujh Draft N. i^- E. no. G70.

Conimou as is the Himalayan Tree-pie throughout the lower
ranges of those mountains from which it derives its name, I per-
sonally have never taken a nest.

It hreeds, I know, at elevations of from 2000 to 6000 feet,
during the latter half of May, June, July, and probably the first
half of August.

A nest in my museum taken by Mr. Gammie in Sikhim, at an
elevation of about 2500 feet, out of a small tree, on the 30th of
July, contained two fresh eggs. It was a very shallow cup, com-
posed entirely of fine stems, a])parently of some kind of cree])er,
strongly but not at all compactly interwoven ; in fact, though the
nest holds together firmly, you can see through it everywhere. It
is about G inches in external diameter, and has an egg-cavity of
about 4 inches wide and 1"5 deep. It has no pretence for lining
of any kind.

Of another nest which he took Mr. Gammie says : — " I found a
nest containing three fresh eggs in a bush, at a height of about 10
feet from the ground. The nest was a \ery loose, shallow, saucer-
like affair, some 6 or 7 inches in diameter and an inch or so in
thickness, composed entirely of the dry stems and tendrils of
creepers. This was at Labdah, in Sikhim, at an elevation of
about 3000 feet, and the date the 14th May, 1873." Later he
writes : —

" This Magpie breeds in the Darjeeliug District in May, June,
and July, most commonly at elevations between 2000 and 4000
feet. It affects clear cultivated tracts interspersed with a few
standing shrubs and bamboos, in which it builds. The nest is
generally placed from 6 to 12 feet from the ground in the inner
part of the shrubs, and is made of pieces of creeper stems inter-
mixed with a few small twigs loosely put together without any
lining. There is scarcely any cup, merely a depression towards the
centre for the eggs to rest in. Internally it measures about 4*8 in
breadth by 1-5 in depth. The eggs are three or four in number.

" This is a very common and abundant bird between 2000 and
4000 feet, but is rarely found far from cultivated fields. It seems
to be exceedingly fond of chestnitts, and, in autumn, when they
are ripe, lives almost entirely on them ; but at other times is a
great pest in the grain-fields, devouring lai'ge quantities of the
grain and being held in detestation by the natives in consequence.
Jerdon says ' it ttsually feeds on trees,' but I have seen it quite as
frequently feeding on the ground as on trees."

Mr. Hodgson has two notes on the nidification of this species in
Nepal : — " May IStJi. — Nest, two eggs and two young ; nest on the
fork of a small tree, saticer-shapcd, made of slender twigs twisted
circularly and without lining ; cavity 3'5 in diameter by 0-5 deep ;

24 CORVIDiE.

eggs yellowish white, blotched with pale olive chiefly at the larger
end ; young just born.

" Jalia Fowah, 6th June. — Female and nest in forest on a largish
tree placed on the fork of a branch ; a mere bunch of sticks like a
Crow's nest ; three eggs, short and thick, fawny white blotched
with fawn-brown chiefly at the thick end."

Dr. Jerdon says : — " I have had the nest and eggs brought me at
Darjeeling frequently. The nest is made of sticks and roots, and
the eggs, three or four iu nmnber, are of a pale dull greenish-fawn
colour, with a few pale reddish-brown spots and blotches, some-
times very indistinct."

Captain Hutton tells us that this species " occurs abundantly at
Mussoorie, at about 5000 feet elevation, during summer, and more
sparingly at greater elevations. In the winter it leaves the moun-
tains for the Dhoon.

" It breeds in May, on the 27th of which n)onth I took a nest with
three eggs and another with three young ones. The nest is like
that of Ufocissa occipitalis, being composed externally of twigs and
lined with finer materials, according to the situation ; one nest,
taken iu a deep glen by the side of a stream, was lined with the
long fibrous leaves of the Mare's tail {Equisetum) \Ahich grew abun-
dantly by the water's edge ; another, taken much higher on the
hillside and away from the water, was lined with tendrils and fine
roots. The nest is placed rather low, generally about 8 or 10 feet
from the ground, sometimes at the extremity of a horizontal branch,
sometimes in the forks of young bushy oaks. The eggs somewhat
resemble those of U. occipitalis, but are paler and less spotted, being
of a dull greenish ash with brown blotches and spots, somewhat
thickly clustered at the larger end."

Mr." J. li. Cripps says :— " On the 15th June, 1880, I found a
nest [in the Diln-ugarh District] with three fresh eggs. It was
fixed in the middle branches of a sapling, about ten feet off the
ground, in dense forest, and was built of twigs, ])resenting a fragile
appearance ; the egg-cavity was 4| inches [iu diameter] and 1 inch
deep, and lined \^■ith fine twigs and grass-roots."

Captain Wardlaw Eamsay writes : — "I obtained two eggs of this
species at an elevation of 4200 feet in the Karen hills east of
Toungngoo on the 16th April, 1875."

Takiiig the eggs as a body they are rather regular, some\Ahat
elongated ovals, but broader and again more pointed varieties
occur. The ground-colour varies a great deal : in a few it is nearly
pure white, generally it has a dull greenish or yellowish-brovAn
tinge, in some it is creamy, in some it has a decided pinky tinge.
The markings are large irregular bloiches and streaks, almost
always most dense at the large end, M'here they are often more or
less confluent, forming an iri'egular motlled cap, and not un-
frequently very thinly set over the rest of the surface of the egg.
In one egg, however, the zone is about the tliick end, and there
are scarcely any markings elsewhere. As a rule the mnikings are
of an o]i\e-bro\\]i of one shade or another; but when the irround

cuTPSiRniNA. 25

is at all pinkish tlien the markings are more or less of a reddish
brown. Besides these primary markings, all the eggs exhibit a
greater or smaller number oi" faint lilac or purple spots or blotches,
which chiefly occur where the other markings are most dense. In
length tliey vary from 1-06 to 1-22, and in breadth from 0-8 to
1"0, but the average of 34 eggs is 1*14 by 0"85.

21. Crypsirliina varians (Lath.). The Black liaclcet-tailed Magpie.
Crypsirhiiia varians {Lath.), Hiune, Cat, uo. 678 quat.

This Magpie is very common in Lower Pegu, where Mr. Gates
found many nests. He says : —

" Tliis bird appears to lay from the 1st of June to the IStli
of July: most of my nests were taken in the latter month. It
selects either one of the outer branches of a very leafy thorny
bush, or perhaps more commonly a branch of a bamboo, at heights
varying from 5 to 20 feet.

" The nest is composed of fine dead twigs firmly woven together.
The interior is lined with twisted tendrils of convolvulus and other
creepers. The uniformity with which this latter material is used
in all nests is remarkable. The inside diameter is 5 inches, and
the depth only 1, thus making the structure very flat. The ex-
terior dimensions are not so definite, for the twigs and creepers
stick out in all directions ; but making all allowances, the outside
diameter may be put down at 7 or 8 inches, and the total depth at
1| inches.

" The eggs are usually three in number, but occasionally only
two well incubated eggs may be found. In a uest from which
two fresh eggs had been taken, a third was found a few days
later.

" The eggs measure from 1-09 to "88 in length, and from '70 to
•68 in breadth. The average of 22 eggs is '98 by -72."

In shape the eggs are typically moderately broad, rather regular
ovals, but some are distinctly compressed towards the small end,
some are slightly pyriform, some even pointed, though in the great
majority of cases the egg is pretty obtuse at the small end; the
shell is compact and tolerably fine, and has a faint gloss. The
ground-colour seems to be invariably a pale yellowish stone-colour.
The markings vary a good deal : in some they are more speckly, in
others more streaky, but taking them as a whole they are inter-
mediate between those of Dendrocitta and those of Garndus,
neither so bold and streaky as the former, nor so speckly as the
latter. The markings are a yellowish olive-brown ; they consist of
spots, specks, small streaky blotches and frecklings ; they are
always pretty densely set over the whole surface of the egg, but
they are always most dense in a zone or sometimes a cap at the
large end, where they are often, to a great extent, confluent. In
some eggs small dingy brownish-purple spots and little blotches
are intermingled in the zone. The eggs differ in general appear-

26 CORVIDiE.

ance a good deal, because in some almost all the markings are fine
grained and freckly, and in such eggs but little of the ground-
colour is visible, while in other eggs the markings are bolder (in
comparison, for they are never really bold) and thinner set, and
leaxe a good deal of the ground-colour visible.

23. Platysmurus leucopterus (Temm.). The Wldte-ivwrjed Jay.
Platysnnu'us leucopterus {Temm.}, Hume, Cat. no. 078 quint.

Mr, AV. Davison writes : —

" I found a nest of this bird on the 8th of A])ril at the hot
springs at Ulu Laugat. The nest was built on the frond of a
Calamus, the end of which rested in the fork of a small sapling.
The nest was a great coarse structure like a Crow's, but even
more coarsely and iiTegularly built, and with the egg-cavity
shallower. It was composed externally of small branches and
twigs, and loosely lined with coarse fibres and strips of bark. It
contained two young birds about a couple of days old. The nest
was ])laced about 6 feet from the ground. The surrounding jungle
was moderately thick, with a good deal of undergrowth."

24. Garrulus lanceolatus. Vigors. The BlacTc-throated Jay.

Giirrulus lanceolatus, Vi(j., Jercl. B. hid. ii, p. 308 ; Hume, lionxjh
Draft N. ^- E. uo. G70.

The Black-throated Jay breeds throughout the Himalayas, at
eIe\ations of from 4000 to 8000 feet, from the Valley of ]S'ei)al to
Murree.

They lay from the middle of April until the middle of June.

They build on trees or thick bushes, never at any great height
from the ground, and often within reach of the hand. They
always, I think, choose a densely foliaged tree, and place the nest
sometimes in a main fork and sometimes on some horizontal bough
supported by one or more upright shoots.

All the nests I have seen were moderately shallow cups, built
with slender twigs and sticks, some 6 inches in external diameter,
and from less than 3 inches to nearly 4 inches in height, with a
nest-cavity some 4 inches across and 2 inches deep, lined with
grass and moss-roots. Once only I found a nest almost entirely
composed of grass, and with no lining but fine grass-stems.

The eggs vary from four to six, but this latter number is rarely
met with.

Colonel C. 11. T. Marshall writes: — "This is one of the com-
monest birds about Murree; we always found it well to the front
during our rambles, chattering about in the trees. They breed
from the middle of Api-il till the end of June. We have taken
their eggs between the 20th April and the 16th June. They keep
above 5000 feet. I never observed any in the lower ranges. The
nest is not a difficult one to find, being large and of loose con-

GARRULUS. 27

struction ; from 15 to 30 feet up a medium-sized tree close to tlie
trunk or sometimes in a large fork. They never seem to build in
tlie spruce firs which abound about Murree. Tlie\^ are by no
meaus shy birds, and hop about the trees close by while their" nest
as being examined. Five is the ordinary number of eggs, which
differ very much in appearance and size: the longest I have
measures 1-25 and the shortest 1-1. Some are paler, some darker;
some are of a uniform pale greenish-ash colour with a darker ring,
while others are thickly speckled and freckled with a darker shacfe
of the same colour. Some lack the odd ink- scratch M-hich is so
often to be seen on the larger end, and is the most peculiar feature
of the egg, while a few have it at the thinner end.

" I should describe the average type as a long egg for its breadth ;
ground-colour greenish ashy with" very thick sprinklings of spots
of a darker and more greenish shade of the same colour, a ring of
a darker dull olive round the large end, on which are one or two
lines that look like a haphazard scratch from a fine steel pen."

From Dhurmsala Captain Cock wrote to me that this was "a
most common bird at Dhurmsala; appears in large flocks during
the winter, and often mixes with Garndus hisjwcuiaris and Urodssa
flavirostris. _ Pairs ofi" about the end of April, \^hen nidification
begins. Builds a rather rough nest of sticks, generally placed on
a tall sapling oak near the top; sometimes among the thicker
branches of a pollard oak: outer nest small twigs roughly put
together; inner nest dry roots and fibres, rather deep cup-sliaped.
Eggs number from four to five and vary in shape. I ha\'e found
them sometimes nearly round, but more generally the usual shape.
They vary in their colour, too, some being nuich lighter than
others, but most of them have a few hair-like streaks on the
larger end."

From Mussoorie Captain Ilutton tells us that "the Black-
throated Jay breeds in May and June, placing the nest sometimes
on the branch of a tall oak tree {Quercm t/«canrt), at other times
in a thick bush. It is composed of a foundation of twigs, and
lined with fine roots of grass &c. mixed with the long black fibres
of ferns and mosses, which hang upon the forest trees, and have
much the appearance of black horse-hair. The nest is cup-shaped,
rather shallow, loosely put together, circular, and about 4^ inches
in duameter. The eggs are sometimes three, sometimes 'four in
number, of a greenish stone-grey, freckled, chiefly at the larger
end, with dusky and a few black hair-like streaks, which are not
always present ; they vary also in the amount of dusky freckling
at the larger end. the nestling bird is devoid of the lanceolate
markings on the throat."

From Nynee Tal Colonel G. F. L. Marshall writes:— "The
Black-throated Jay builds a very small cup-shaped nest of black
hair-like creepers and roots, intertwined and placed in a rough
irregular casing of twigs. A nest found on the 2nd June con-
taining three hard-set eggs was placed conspicuously on the top of
a young oak sapling about 7 feet high, standing alone in an open

28 CORTID^.

glade, in the forest on Aya Pata, which is about 7000 feet above
the sea. Another nest, found at an elevation of about 4500 feet
on the 9th June, contained two eggs ; it was placed about 10 feet
from the grouud in a small tree in a hedgerow amongst cultivated
fields."

Mr. Hodgson notes from Jaha Powah : — " Found five nests of
this species between 18th and 30th May. Builds near the tops of
moderate-si/ed trees in open districts, making a very shallow nest
of thin elastic grasses sparingly used and without lining. The
nest is placed on some horizontal branch against some upright
twig, or at some horizontal fork. It is nearly round and has a
diameter of about G inches. They lay three or four eggs of a
sordid \ernal green clouded with obscure brown."

The eggs are somewhat lengthened ovals, very much smaller
than, though so far as coloration goes very simdar to, those of
G. glandarius. The ground-colour in some is a brown stone colour,
in others pale greenish \\hite, and intermediate shades occur, and
they are very minutely and feebly freckled and mottled over the
whole surface with a somewhat pale sepia-brown. This mottling
differs much in intensity ; in some few eggs indeed it is absolutely
wanting, while in others, though feeble elsewhere, it forms a dis-
tinct, though undefined, brownish cap or zone at the large end.
The eggs generally have little or no gloss. It is not uncommon
to find a few hair-like dark brown lines, more or less zigzag, about
the larger end.

In length they vary from 1"03 to 1-23, and in breadth from 0-78
to 0'88 ; but the average of twenty-four eggs is 1*12 by 0-85.

25. Garrulus leucotis, Hume. The Burmese Jay.
Garrulus leucotis, Hume, llmnc, Cat. no. GG9 bis.

The nest of this Jay has not yet been found, but Capt. Bingham
v\ rites : —

" Like Mr. Da\ison I have found this very handsome Jay
affecting only the dry DiUenia and pine-forests so common in the
Thoungyeen valley. I have seen it feeding on the ground in such
places with Gecinus ni(jnr/eni/s, Ujnqxi Jomjirostrls, and other birds.
I shot one specimen, a female, in April, near the Meplay river,
that must have had a nest somewhere, which, however, I failed to
find, for she had a full-formed but shell-less egg inside her."

2G. Garrulus bispecularis. Vigors. The Himalayan Jay.

Garrulus bispecularis, V{g.,Jcrd. B, Ind. ii, p. 307; Hume, Itowjh
Draft N. ^- E. no. G69.

The Himalayan Jay breeds pretty well throughout the lower
ranges of the llimainyas. It is nowhere, that I have seen,
numerically very abundant, but it is to be met with everywhere.
It lays in March and April, and, though I have never taken the

gaerulus, 29

uest myself, I have now repeatedly had it sent ine. It builds at
moderate heights, rarely above 2o feet from the ground, in trees
or thick shrubs, at elevations of from 30U0 to 7000 feet. The
nest is a moderate -sized one, G to 8 inches in external diameter,
composed of fine tuigs and grass, and lined with finer grass and
roots.

The nest is usually placed in a fork.

The eggs are four to six in number,

Mr. Hodgsoniiotes tliat he " found a nest " of this species " on
the 20th April, in the forest of Shcwpoori, at an elevation of 7000
feet. The nest was placed in the midst of a large tree in a fork.
The nest was very shallow, but regularly formed aud compact. It
was composed oi' long seeding grasses wound round and round,
and lined with finer and more elastic grass-stems. The nest
measured about 6i inches in diameter, but the cavity was only
about half an inch deep."

_ Colonel C. H. T. Marshall remarks :— " I only tojk one authen-
ticated set of eggs of this species (I found several with young), as
It IS an early breeder— I say authenticated eggs, because 1 think
we may ha^ e attributed some to Garrulus lanceolatas, as the nests
and eggs are very similar, and having a large number of the eggs
of the latter, I took some from my shikaree without verifvino'
them. -^ ^

" The nest I took on the 6th May, 1873, at Murree, was at an
elevation, I should say, of between 6500 and 7000 feet (as it was
near the top of the hill), in the forest. The tree selected was a
horse-chestnut, about 25 feet high. The nest was near the top,
which is the case with nearly all the Crows' and Magpies' nests
that I have taken. It was of loose construction, made of twi^^s
and fibres, and contained five partially incubated eggs. ^

" The eggs are similar to those of G. lanceoUtus'. I have care-
fully compared the five of the species which I am now describing
with tuenty of the other, and find that the following differences
exist. _ The eg^ of G. hispemlaris is more obtuse and broader,
there is a brighter gloss on it, and the speckling is more marked;
but with a large series of each I think the only perceptible dif-
ference \vould be its greater breadth, which makes the egg look
larger than that of the Black-fhroated Jay. Mv four ecr^s measure
1-15 by 0-85 each. ""^

_ " This species only breeds once in a year, and from my observa-
tions lays in April, all the young being hatched by the Isth May.
Captain Cock and myself carefully hunted up all the forests round
Murree, where the birds were constantly to be seen, commencin'>-
our work after the 10th May, and we found nothing but youn?
ones." ' ^ J B

Colonel G. F. L. Marshall writes :— " I have found nests of this
species for the first time this year; the first on the 22nd of May,
by which time, as all recorded evidence shows it to be an early
breeder, I had given up all hopes of getting eggs. The first nest
contained two fresh eggs ; it was on a horizontal limb of a large

30 COUVID.E.

oak, at a bifurcation about eight feet from the trunk and about
the same from the ground. The nest was more substantial than
that of 6r. lanccolatas, much more moss having been used in the
outer casing, but the lining was similar ; it was a misshapen nest,
and appeared, in the distance, like an old deserted one ; the bird
was sitting at the time ; I took one egg, hoping more would be
laid, but the other was deserted and destroyed by vermin. Another
nest I found on the 2iid June ; it contained three eggs just so much
incubated that it is probable no more would be laid ; this nest was
nuich neater in construction and better concealed than the former
one; it was in a rliododendron tree, in a bend about ten feet from
the ground, between two branches upwards of a foot each in
diameter, and covered with moss and dead fern ; the tree grew out
of a precipitous bank just below a road, and though the nest was on
the level of the edge it was almost impossible to detect it ; it was
a very compact thick cup of roots covered with moss outside. The
eggs were larger, more elongated, and much more richly coloured
than in the first nest. Both nests wei'e at about 70U0 feet eleva-
tion, and in both instances the bird sat very close."

The eggs of this species are, as might be expected, very similar
to those of G. lanceolaiKs, but they are perhaps slightly larger, and
the markings somewhat coarser. The eggs are rather broad ovals,
a good deal pointed towards one end. The ground-colour is pale
greenish white, and they are pretty finely freckled and speckled
(most densely so towards the large end, where the markings are
almost confluent) with dull, rather pale, olive-brown, amongst
which a little speckling and clouding of pale greyish purple is
observable. The eggs are decidedly smaller than those of the
English Jay, and few of the specimens I have exhibit any of those
black hair-like lines often noticeable in both the English Jay and
6r. lanceolatus.

In length the eggs that I have measured varied from 1*1 to 1'21,
and in breadth they only varied from O-S-i to 0"87.

27. Nucifraga hemispila. Vigors. The IHmalayan Nato-acler.

Nucifraji'a hemispila, Vu/., Jcrd. B, Ind. ii, p. 304; Hume, Ruufjh
Draft N. ^ E. uo. OUG.

The Himalayan Nutcracker is very connnon in the fir-clad hills
north of Simla, where it particularly affects forests of the so-called
pencil cedar, which is, I think, the Pinus excelsa. I have never
been able to obtain the eggs, for they must lay in March or early
in April ; but I have found the nest near Fagoo early in May with
nearly full-fledged young ones, and my people have taken them
with young in April below the Jalouri Pass.

The tree where I found the nest is, or rather was (for the whole
hill-slope has been doinided for potatoe cultivation), situated on a
steeply sloping hill facing the south, at an elevation of about (>500
feet. The nest was about 50 feet from the ground, and placed on

GnACULIJS. — PAllUS. 31

two side brandies just where, about 6 inches apart, they shot out
ot" the trunk. The nest was just like a Crow's — a broad ])latforin
of sticks, but rather more neatly built, and with a number of green
juniper twigs with a little moss and a good deal of grey lichen
intermingled. The nest was about 11 inches across and nearly
4 inches in external height. There was a broad, shallow, central
depression 5 or 6 inches in diameter and perhaps 2 inches in
depth, of which an inch was filled in with a profuse lining of
grass and fir-needles (the long ones of Pinus lonr/ifoUa) and a little
moss. This was found on the 11th May, and the young, four in.
number, were sufficiently advanced to hop out to the ends of the
bough and half-fly half-tumble into tlie neighbouring ti'ees, when
my man with much difficulty got up to the nest.

29. Graculus eremita (Linn.). The Red-hilled Choiujh.
Fregilus himalayanus, Gould, Jerd. B. I. ii, p. 319.

Mr. Mandelli obtained three eggs of this species from Chumbi in
Thibet ; they were taken on the 8th of May from a nest under the
eaves of a high wooden house.

Though larger than those of the European Chough, they resemble
them so closely that there can be no doubt as to their authenticity.

In shape the eggs are moderately elongated ovals, very slightly
compressed towards the small end. The shell is tolerably fine
and has a slight gloss. The ground-colour is white with a faint
creamy tinge, and the whole egg is profusely spotted and striated
with a pale, somewhat yellowish brown and a \ery pale purplish
grey. The markings are most dense at the large end, and there,
too, the largest streaks of the grey occur.

One egg measures l'7-l by 1"2.

Subfamily PARING.

31. Parus atriceps, Horsf. Tlte Indian, Greij Tit.

Parus cinereus, Vieill., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 278.

Parus cassias, Tick., Hume, Bowjh Draft N. ^ E. no. G45.

The Indian Grey Tit breeds throughout the more wooded moun-
tains of the Indian Empire, wherever these attain an altitude of
5000 feet, at elevations of from 4000 or 5000 to even (where the
hills exceed this height) 9000 feet.

In the Himalayas the breeding-season extends from the end of
March to the end of June, or even a little later, according to the
season. They have two broods — the first clutch of eggs is generally
laid in the last week of March or early in April ; the second towards
the end of May or during the first half of June.

In the Nilghiris they lay from February to May, and prohcdjly a
second time in September or October.

32 conviDJE.

The nests are placed iu holes in banks, in walls of buildings or
of teri-aced fields, in outhouses of dwellings or deserted huts and
houses, and in holes in trees, and very frequently in those cut in
some previous year for their own nests by Barbets and Wood-
peckers.

Occasionally it builds on a branch of a tree, and my friend tSir
E. C. Buck, C.S., found a nest containing six half-set eggs thus
situated on the 19th June at Gowra. It was on a " Banj " tree
10 feet from the ground.

The only nest that I have myself seen in such a situation was a
pretty large pad of soft moss, slightly saucer-shaped, about 4 inches
in diameter, with a slight de])ression on the upper surface, which
was everywhere thinly coated with sheep's wool and the fine white
silky hair of some animal. The nest is usually a shapeless mass
of downy fur, cattle-hair, and even feathers and wool, but when
on a branch is strengthened exteriorly with moss. Even when in
holes, they sometimes round the nest into a more or less regular
though shallow cup, and use a good deal of moss or a little grass
or grass-roots ; but as a rule the hairs of soft and do\A'ny fur con-
stitute the chief material, and this is picked out by the birds, I
believe, from the dung of the various cats, polecats, and ferrets so
cojinnon in all our hills.

I have never found more than six gggs, and often smaller
numbers, more or less incubated.

Mr. Brooks tells us that the Indian Grey Tit is " common at
Almorah. In April and May I found the nest two or three times
iu holes in terrace-walls. It v^as composed of grass-roots and
feathers, and contained in each case nearly fully-grown young,
five in number."

Erom Dhurmsala Captain Cock wrote: — " Panis einercus built
in the walls of Dr. C.'s stables this year. When I found the nest
it contained young ones. I watched the parents flying in and out,
but to make sure put my ear to the ^^all and could" hear the young
ones chirruppiug. The nest was found in the early part of May
1869."

Colonel Butler writes : — " Eelgaum, 12th June, 1879. A nest
built in a hollow bamboo which supported the roof of a house iu
the native infantry lines. I did not see the nest myself, as un-
fortunately the old bird was captured on it, and the nest and eggs
destroyed ; however, the hen bird was brought to me alive by the
man v\ho caught her, and I saw at once, by the bare breast, that
she bad been sitting, and on making enquiries the above facts were
elicited. The broken egg-shells were white thickly spotted with
rusty red.

" Belgaum, 8th June, 1880. — A nest iu a hole of a tree about
7 feet from the ground, containing five fresh eggs. The nest con-
sisted of a dense pad of fur (goat-hair, cow-hair, human hair, and
hare's fur mixed) with a few feathers intermixed, laid on the top
of a small quantity of dry grass and moss, which formed the
foundation."

PARUS. 33

Lieut. H. E. Barnes notes from Chaman in Afghanistan : —
" This Tit is very common, and remains with us all the year
round. I found a nest on the 10th April, built in a hole in a tree ;
it was composed entirely of sheep's wool, and contained three incu-
bated eggs, white, with light red blotches, forming a zone at the
larger end. They measured '69 by -48."

Mr. Benjamin Aitkin says : —

" When I was in Poona, in the hot season of 1873, the Grey
Tits, which are very common there, became exceedingly busy about
the end of May, courting with all their spirit, and examining every
bole they could find. One was seen to disappear up the mouth of
a cannon at the arsenal. Finally, in July, two nests with young
birds were discovered, one by myself, and one by my brother. The
nests were in the roofs of houses, and were not easily accessible,
but the parent birds were watched assiduously carrying food to
the hungry brood, which kept up a screaming almost equal to that
of a nest of minahs. On the 27th July a young one was picked up
that had escaped too soon from a third nest. The Indian Grey
Tit does not occur in Bombay, and I never saw it in Berar."

Speaking of Southern India Mr. Davison remarks that " the
Grey Tit breeds in holes either of trees or banks ; when it builds in
trees it very often (whenever it can apparently) takes possession of
the deserted nest-hole of Megalamia viridis ; when in banks a rat-
hole is not uncommonly chosen. All the nests I have ever seen or
taken were composed in every single instance of fur obtained from
the dried droppings of wild cats."

From Kotagherry, Miss Cockburn sends the following interesting
note : —

" Their nests are found in deep holes in earth-banks, and some-
times in stone \\alls. Once a pair took possession of a bamboo in
one of our thatched out-houses — the safest place they could have
chosen, as no hand could get into the small hole by which they
entered. These Tits show great affection and care for their young.
While hatching their eggs, if a hand or stick is put into the nest
they rise with enlarged throats, and, hissing like a snake, peck at
it till it is withdrawn. On one occasion I told my horse-keeper to
put his hand into a hole into which I had seen one of these birds
enter. He did so, but soon drew it out with a scTeam, saying a
' snake bad bit him.' I told him to try again, but with no better
success ; he \\ ould not attempt it the third time, so the nest was
left with the bold little proprietor, who no doubt rejoiced to find
she had succeeded in frightening away the unwelcome intruder.
The materials used by these birds for their nests consist of soft
hair, downy feathers, and moss, all of which they collect in large
quantities. They build in the mouths of February and IMarch ;
but I once found a nest of young Indian Grey Tits so late as the
10th November. They lay six eggs, white with light red spots.
On one occasion I saw a nest in a bank by the side of the road ;
when the only young bird it contained was nearly fledged the road
had to be widened, and workmen were employed in cutting down

VOL. I, 3

34 coevidjE.

tlie bank. The poor parent birds appeared to be perfectly aware
that their nest would soon be readied, and after trying in vain to
persuade the young one to come out, they pushed it down into
the road but could get it no further, though they did their utmost
to take it out of the reach of danger. I placed it among the bushes
above the road, and theu the parents seemed to be immediately
conscious of its safety."

Mr. H. E. P. Carter notes that he " found a nest of the Grey Tit
at Coonoor, on the Nilgiris, on the 15th May. It was placed in a
hole in a bank by the roadside. It was a flat pad, composed of
the fur of the hill-hare, hairs of cattle, &c., and was fluffy and
without consistence. It contained three half-set eggs."

Mr. J. Darling, Juu., says : — " I have fouud the nests at Ooty,
Coonoor, Neddivattam, and Kartary, at all heights from 5000 to
nearly 8000 feet above the sea, on various dates between 17th
February and 10th May.

" It builds in banks, or holes in trees, at all heights from the
ground, from '3 to 30 feet. It is fond of taking possession of the
old nest-holes of the Green Woodpecker. The nest is built of fur
or fur and moss, and always lined with fine fur, gene rally that of
hares. Its shape depends upon that of the hole in which it is
placed, but the egg-cavity or depression is about 3 iuches in diameter
and an inch in depth.

" It lays four, five, and sometimes six eggs, but I think more
commonly only four."

Dr. Jerdon remarks : — " I once found its nest in a deserted
bungalow at Kallia, in the corner of the house. It was made
chiefly of the down of hares (Lejnis nigricoUis), mixed with feathers,
and contained six eggs, white spotted with rusty red."

The etygs resemble in their general character those of many of
our Engilsh Tits, and though, I think, typically slightly longer,
they appear to me to be very close to those of Parus palasiris. In
shape they are a broad oval, but somewhat elongated and pointed
towards the small end. The ground-colour is pinkish white, and
round the large end there is a conspicuous, though irregular and
imperfect, zone of red blotches, spots, and streaks. «pots and
specks of the same colour, or occasionally of a pale purple, are
scantily sprinkled over the rest of the surface of the egg, and are
most riumerous in the neighbourhood of the zone. The eggs have
a faint gloss. Some eggs do not exhibit the zone above referred to,
but even in these the markings are much more numerous and dense
towards the large end.

In length the eggs vary from 0-65 to 0-78, and in breadth from
0-5 to 0-58 ; but the average of thirty-eight is 0-71 by 0-54, so
that they are really, as indeed they look as a hody, a shade shorter
and decidedly broader than those of P. monticola.

PAEUS. 35

34. Parus monticola, Vig. The Green-hacked Tit.

Parus mnnticolus, Viy., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 277: Kuine, Rouoh Draft
N. ^ E. no. 644.

The Green-backed Tit breeds through the Himalayas, at eleva-
tions of from 4000 to 7000 or SOOO feet.

The breeding-season lasts from March to June, and some birds
at any rate must have two broods, since I found three fresh eggs
in the wall of the Pownda dak bungalow about the 20th Juue.
More eggs are, however, to be got in April than in any other
month.

They build in holes, in trees, bamboos, walls, and even banks,
but walls receive, I think, the preference.

The nests are loose dense masses of soft downy fur or feathers,
with more or less moss, according to the situation.

The eggs vary from six to eight, and I have repeatedly found
seven and eight young ones ; but Captain Beavan has found only
five of these latter, and although I consider from six to eight the
normal complement, I believe they very often fail to complete the
full number.

Captain Beavan says : — " At Simla, on May 4th, 1866, I found
a nest of this species in the wall of one of my servant's houses.
It contained five young ones, and was composed of fine grey pushm
or wool resting on an understructure of moss."

At Murree Colonel C. H. T. Marshall notes that this species
" breeds early in JNIay in holes in walls and trees, laying white
eggs covered with red spots."

Speaking of a nest he took at Dhurmsala, Captain Cock savs : —
" The nest was in a cavity of a rhododendron tree, and was a large
mass of down of some animal ; it looked like rabbit's fur, which of
course it was not, but it was some dark, soft, dense fur. The nest
contained seven eggs, and was found on the 28th April, 1869.
The eggs were all fresh."

Mr. Grammie says : — " I got one nest of this Tit here on the
14th May in the Chinchona reserves (Sikhim), at an elevation of
about 4500 feet. It was in partially cleared country, in a natural
hole of a stump, about 5 feet from the ground. The nest was
made of moss and lined with soft matted hair ; but I pulled it out
of the hole carelessly and cannot say whether it had originally
any defined shape. It contained four hard-set eggs."

The eggs are very like those of Parus atria'ps ; but they are
somewhat longer and more slender, and as a rule are rather more
thickly and richly marked.

They are moderately broad ovals, sometimes almost perfectly
symmetrical, at times slightly pointed towards one end, and ahnost
entu'ely devoid of gloss. The ground is white, or occasionally
a delicate pinkish white, in some richly and profusely spotted and
blotched, in others more or less thickly speckled and spotted with
darker or lighter shades of blood-, brick-, sliglitly purplish-, or

3*

36 CORVIDiE.

brownish-red, as tbe case may be. The mai'kings are much denser
towards the large end, where in some eggs they form an imperfect
and irregular cap. In size they vary from 0'68 to 0'7G in length,
and from 0-49 to 0-54 in breadth ; but the average of thirty-two
eggs is 0*72 by 0-52 nearly.

35. ^githaliscus erythroceplialus (Vig.). The Red-headed Tit.

^githaliscus erythrocephalus ( Fiff.), Jerd. B. Lid. n, p. 270 ; Hume,
Rough Draft' N. ^- E. no. 034.

The Red-headed Tit breeds throughout the Himalayas from
Mnrree to Bhootan, at elevations of from GOOO to 9000 or perhaps
10,000 feet.

They commence breeding very early. I have known nests to be
taken quite at the beginning of March, and they continue laying
till the end of May.

The nest is, I think, most commonly placed in low stunted hill-
oak bushes, either suspended between several twigs, to all of which
it is more or less attached, or wedged into a fork. / have found
the nest in a deodar tree, laid on a horizontal bough. I have seen
them in tufts of grass, in banks and other unusual situations ; but
the great bulk build in low bushes, and of these the hill-oak is, I
think, their favourite.

The nests closely resemble those of the Long-tailed Tit {Acredula
rosea). They are large ovoidal masses of moss, lichen, and moss-
roots, often tacked together a good deal outside with cotton-wool,
down of different descriptions, and cobwebs. They average about
4^ inches in height or length, and about 3| inches in diameter.
The aperture is on one side near the top. The egg-cavity, which
may average about 2^ inches in diameter and about the same in
depth below the lower edge of the aperture, is densely lined with
very soft down or feathers.

They lay from six to eight eggs, but I once found only four eggs
in a nest, and these fully incubated.

From Murree, Colonel C. H. T. Marshall notes that this species
" builds a globular nest of moss and hair and feathers in thorny
bushes. The eggs we found were pinkish white, with a ring of obso-
lete brown spots at the larger end. Size 0-55 by 0*43. Lays in
May."

Captain Hutton tells us that the Eed-cap Tit is " common at
Mussoorie and in the hills generally, throughout the year. It breeds
in April and May. The situation chosen is various, as one taken
in the former month at Mussoorie, at 7000 feet elevation, was
placed on the side of a bank among overhanging coarse grass, while
another taken in the latter month, at 5000 feet, was built among
some ivy twining round a tree, and at least 14 feet from the
ground. The nest is in shape a round ball with a small lateral
entrance, and is composed of green mosses warmly lined with
feathers. The eggs are five in number, white with a pinkish

MACHLOLOPHUS. 37

tinge, and sparingly sprinkled with lilac spots or specks, and
having a well-defiued lilac ring at the larger end."

From Nynee Tal, Colonel G.F. L. Marshall writes : — "This species
makes a beautifully neat nest of fine moss and lichens, globular,
with side entrance, and thickly lined with soft feathers. A nest
found on Cheena, above Xynee Tal, on the 24th May, 1873, at an
elevation of about 7000 feet, was wedged into a fork at the end of
a bough of a cypress tree, about 10 feet from the gi-ound, the
entrance turned inwards towards the trunk of the tree. It con-
tained one tiny egg, white, with a dark cloudy zone round the
larger end.

" About the 10th of May, at Naini Tal, I was watching one of
these little birds, which kept hanging about a small rhododendron
stump about 2 feet high, with very few leaves on it, but I could
see no nest. A few days later I saw the bird carry a big cater-
pillar to the same stump and come away shortly without it ; so 1
looked more closely and found the nest, containing nearly full-
fledged young, so beautifully wedged into the stump that it ap-
peared to be part of it, and nothing but the tiny circular entrance
revealed that the iiest was there. It was the best-concealed nest
for that style of position that I ha^e ever seen."

These tiny eggs, almost smaller than those of any European
bird that I know, are broad ovals, sometimes almost globular, but
generally somewhat compressed towards one end, so as to assume
something of a pyriform shape. They are almost entirely glossless,
have a pinkish or at times creamy- white ground, and exhibit a
conspicuous reddish or purple zone towards the large end, com-
posed of multitudes of minute spots almost confluent, and inter-
spaced with a purplish cloud. Faint traces of similar excessively
minute purple or red points extend more or less above and below
the zone. The eggs vary from 0-58 to 0*58 in length, and from
0-43 to 0-46 in bi'eadth ; but the average of twenty-five is 0*56
nearly by 0-45 nearly.

41. MacMoloplius spilonoinis (Bl.). The Black-spotted Yelloiv Tit.
Machlolophus spilonotus {BL), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 281.

Mr. Mandelli found a nest of this species at Lebong in Sikhim on
the 15th June in a hole in a dead tree, about 5 feet from the ground.
The nest was a mere pad of the soft fur of some animal, in which a
little of the brown silky down from fern-stems and a little moss
was intermingled. It contained three hard-set eggs.

One of these eggs is a very regular oval, scarcely, if at all,
pointed towards the lesser end ; the ground-colour is a pure dead
white, and the markings, spots, and specks of pale reddish brown,
and underlying spots of pale purple, are evenly scattered all over
the egg ; it measures 0-78 by 0-55.

38 COKVID^.

42. Machlolophus xanthogenys (Vig.)- The YeVow-cheeled Tit.

Machloloplius xanthogenys ( Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 270 ; Hume,
Roiujh Draft N. ^ K no. 647.

The Yellow-cheeked Tit is oue o£ the commonest birds in the
neighbourhood of Simla, yet curiously enough I have ne\ev found
a nest.

I have had eggs and nest sent me, and I know it breeds through-
out the "Western Himalayas, at elevations of from 4000 to 7000
feet ; and that it lays during April and May (and probably other
months), making a soft pad-like nest, composed of hair and fur, in
holes in trees and walls ; but I can give no further particulars.

Captain Hutton tells us that it is "common in the hills through-
out the year. It breeds in April, in which month a nest containing
four tledged young ones was found at 5(»00 feet elevation ; it was
constructed of moss, hair, and feathers, and placed at the bottom
of a deep hole in a stump at the foot of an oak tree."

Writing from Dhurmsala, Captain Cock says : — " Towards the
end of April this bird made its nest in a hole of a tree just below
the terrace of my house. Before the nest was quite finished a
pair of Passer cinnamomeus bullied the old birds out of the place,
which they deserted. After they had left it 1 cut the nest out and
found it nearly ready to lay in, lined with soft goat-hair and that
same dark fur noticed in the nest of Parus monticola."

Later he wrote to me that this species " breeds up at Dhurmsala
in April and May. It chooses an old cleft or natural ca\ity in a
tree, usually the hill-oak, and makes a nest of wool and fur at the
bottom of the cavity, upon w hich it lays five eggs much like the
eggs of Parus monticola. Perhaps the blotches are a little larger,
otherwise I can see no difference. I noticed on one occasion the
male bird carry wool to the nest, which, when I cut it out the same
day, T found contained hai'd-set eggs. I used to nail a sheepskin
up in a hill-oak, and watch it with glasses, during April and May,
and many a nest have I found by its help. Parus atriceps, P. monti-
cola, MacJdohpJnis a'antJwgniijs, Ahrornis alhisujurcili arts, and many
others used to visit it and pull off flocks of wool for their nests.
Following up a little bird with wool in its bill through jungle
requires sharp eyes and is no easy matter at first, but one soon
becomes practised at it."

The eggs are regular, somewhat elongated ovals, in some cases
slightly compressed towards one end. The ground is white or
reddish white, and they are thickly speckled, spotted, and even
blotched with brick-dust red ; they have little or no gloss.

They vary in length from 0*7 to 0-78, and in breadth from 0*52
to 0-.55 ; but I have only measured six eggs.

MACIILOLOPIIUS. 39

43. Machlolophus haplonotus (BL). The Southern Yelloio Tit.
Machlolophus jeidoni {lil), Jerd. B. Lid. ii, p. 280,

Col. E. A. Butler writes :— " Belgaum, 12th Sept., 1879.— Found
a nest of the Houtheru Yellow Tit iu a bole of a small tree about
10 feet from the ground. My attention was first attracted to it by
seeing the ben-bird with her wings spread and feathers erect angrily
mobbing a palm-squirrel that bad incautiously ascended the tree,
and tbiuking there must be a nest close by, I watched the sequel,
and in a few seconds the squirj-el descended the tree and the Tit
disa])peared in a small hole about halfway up. I then put
a net over the hole and tapped the bough to drive her out, but
this was no easy matter, for although the nest was only about |
foot from the entrance, and I made as much noise as a thick stick
could well make against a hollow bough, nothing would induce her
to leave the nest until I had cut a large wedge out of the branch, with
a saw and chisel, close to the nest, when she flew out into the net.

" The nest, which contained, to my great disappointment, five
young birds about a \a eek old, was very massively built, and com-
pletely choked up the hollow passage in which it was placed. The
foundation consisted of a quantity of dry green moss, of the kind that
natives bring in from the jungles in the rains, and sell for ornamenting
flower vases, &c. JN^ext came a thick layer of coir, mixed with a
few dry skeleton-leaves and some short ends of old rope and a
scrap or two of paper, and finally a substantial pad of blackish
hair, principally human, but with cow- and horse-hair intermixed,
forming a snug little bed for the young ones. The total depth of
the nest exteriorly was at least 7 inches.

" The bough, about 8 inches in diameter, was partly rotten and
hollow the whole way down, having a small hole at the side above
by which the birds entered, and another rather larger about a foot
below the nest all choked up with moss that had fallen from the
base of the nest. It is strange that it should have escaped my
eye previously, as the tree overhung my gateway, through which I
passed constantly during the day. Immediately below the nest a
large black board bearing my name was nailed to the tree.

" At Belgaum, on the 10th July, 1880, I observed a pair of
Yellow Tits building in a crevice of a large banian tree about
9 feet from the ground. The two birds were tiying to and from the
nest iu company, the hen candying building-materials in her beak.
I watched the nest constantly for several days, but never saw the
birds near it again until the 18th inst., when the hen flew out of
the hole as 1 passed the tree. I visited the spot on the 19th and
20th inst., tapping the tree loudly with a stick as I passed, but
without any result, as the bird did not fly off the nest.

" On the 21st, thinking the nest must either be forsaken or
contain eggs, I got up and looked into the hole, and to my surprise
found the hen bird comfortably seated on the nest, notwithstanding
the noise I had been making to try and put her off. As the crevice

40 CORVID.^.

was too small to admit my hand, I commenced to enlarge the
entrance with a chisel, the old bird sitting closer than ever the
whole time. Finding all attempts to drive her off the eggs fruitless,
I tried to poke her oif with a piece of stick, whereupon she stuck
her head into one of the far corners and sulked. I then inserted
my hand with some difficulty and drew her gently out of the hole,
but as soon as she caught sight of me, she commenced fighting in
the most pugnacious manner, digging her claws and beak into my
hand, and finally breaking loose, flying, not away as might have been
expected, but straight back into the hole again, to commence sulking
once more. Again I drew her out, keeping a firm hold of one leg
until I got her well away from the hole, when I released her. I
then extracted five fi'esh eggs from the hole by means of a small
round net attached to the loop end of a short piece of wire. The
nest was a simple pad of human and cows' hair, with a few horse-
hairs interwoven, and one or two bits of snake's skin in the lining,
having a thin layer of green moss and thin strips of inner bark
below as a foundation — in fact a regular Tit's nest. The eggs, of
the usual parine type, were considerably larger than the eggs of
P. alriceps, broad ovals, slightly smaller at one end than the other,
having a white ground spotted moderately thickly all over with
reddish chestnut ; no zone or cap, but in some eggs more freely
marked at one end (either small or large end) than the other, some
of the markings almost amounting to blotches and the spots as a
rule rather large."

Messrs, Davidson and Wenden remark of this bird in the
Deccan : — " Specimens of this Tit were procured at Lanoli in
August and at Egutpoora in March. They certainly breed at these
places, as in September, at the latter place, W. observed two parent
birds with four young ones capable of flying out very short
distances."

And Mr. Davidson further states that it is "common through-
out the district of AVestern Kandeish. I saw a pair building in
the hole of a large mango tree at Malpur in Pimpaluir in the end
of May."

44. Lophophanes melanolophus (Vig.). The Crested Blach Tit.

Lopliophanes melanolophus ( Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 273 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. ^ E. no. 638.

The Crested Black Tit breeds throughout the Lower Himalayas
uest of Nepal, at elevations of from 6000 to 8000 feet.

The breeding-season lasts from March to June, but the majority
have laid, I think, for the first hatch by the end of the first week
in April, unless the season has been a very backward one. They
usually rear two broods.

They build, so far as I know, always in holes, in trees, rocks,
and walls, preferentially in the latter. Their nests involve gener-
ally two different kinds of work — the working up of the true nests

LOPHOPHANES. 41

on which the eggs repose, and the preliminary closing in and
making comfortable the cavity in which the former is placed. For
this latter work they use almost exclusively moss. Sometimes
very little filling-in is required ; sometimes tlie mass of moss used
to level and close in an awkward-shaped recess is surprisingly
great. A pair breed every year in a terrace-wall of my garden at
Simla ; elevation about 7800 feet. One year they selected an
opening a foot high and 6 inches wide, and they closed up the
whole of this, leaving an entrance not 2 inches in diameter. Some
years ago I disturbed them there, and found nearly half a cubic
foot of dry green moss. Xow they build in a cavity behind one of
the stones, the entrance to which is barely an inch wide, and in
this, as far as I can see, they have no moss at all.

The nests are nothing but larger or smaller pads of closely felted
wool and fur ; sometimes a little moss, and sometimes a little
vegetable down, is mingled in the moss, but the great body of the
material is always wool and fur. They vary very much in size :
you may meet with them fidly 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches
thick, comparatively loosely and coarsely massed together ; and vou
may meet with them shallow saucers 3 inches in diameter and
barely half an inch in thickness anywhere, as closely felted as if
manufactured by human agency.

Six to eight is considered the full complement of eggs, but the
number is very variable, and I have taken three, four, and five
well-incubated eggs.

Captain Beavan, to judge from his description, seems to have
found a regular cup-shaped nest such as I have never seen. He
says : — " At Simla, April 20th, 1S66, 1 found a nest of this species
with young ones in it in an old wall in the garden. I secured the
old bird for identification, and then released her. The nest con-
tained seven young ones, and was large in proportion. The out-
side and bottom consists of the softest moss, the nest being carefully
built between two stones, about a foot inside the wall ; the rest
of it is composed of the finest grey wool or fur. Diameter inside
2'5 ; outside about 5 inches. Depth inside nearly 3 inches ;
outside 3'6."

Captain Cock told me that he " found several nests in May and
June in Cashmere. The first jiest I found was in a natural cavity
high up in a tree, containing three eggs, which I unfortunately-
broke while taking them out of the nest. The interior of the
cavity was thickly lined with fur from some small animal, such as
a hare or rat. I found my second nest close to my tent in a cleft
of a pine, quite low down, only 3 feet from the ground. I cut it
out and it contained five eggs of the usual type— broad, blunt little
eggs, white, with rusty blotches."

Colonel G. F. L. Marshall writes : — " I have only found two
nests of this species in Naini Tal, both had young (two in one
nest, in the other I could not count) on the 25th April ; they were
at about 7000 feet elevatioii, built in holes in walls, the entrance in
both cases being very small, having nothing to distinguish it from

42 COEVID^.

other tiny crevices, and nothing to lead any one to suppose that
there was a nest inside. ] t Avas only by seeing the paj-ent birds
go in that the nest was discovered."

The eggs of this species are moderately broad ovals, with a very
slight gloss. The ground-colonr is a slightly pinkish white, and
they are richly blotched and spotted, and more or less speckled
(chiefly towards the larger end), with briglit, somewhat brownish

red.

The. markings very commonly form a dense, almost confluent
zone or cap about the large end, 'and they are generally more thinly
scattered elsewhere, bat the amount of the markings varies much
in different eggs. In some, although they are thicker in thezone,
they are still pretty thickly set over the entire surface, while in
others they are almost confined to one end of the egg, generally the
broad end. .

These eggs vary much in size and in density of markmg. The
ordinary dimensions are about O'Gl by 0-47, but in a large scries
they vary in length fiom 0-57 to 0-72, and in breadth from 0-43
to 0-54. The very large eggs, however, indicated by these 7na;vinia
are rare and abnormal.

47. Lophophanes rufinuchalis (BL). The Simla Blacl- Tit.
Lophophanes rufonuchalis {BL), Jerd. B. Ltd. ii, p. 274.

Mr. Brooks informs us that this Tit is common at Derail and
other places of simikar elevation. " I found a nest under a large
stone in the middle of a hill foot-path, up and down which people
and cattle were constantly passing; the nest contained newly-
hatched young. This was "the middle of May."

Dr. Scully, writing of the Gilgit district, tells us that this Tit is
a denizen of the pine-forests, where it breeds.

Finally Captain "Wardlaw Eamsay, writing in the 'Ibis,' states
that this Tit Mas breeding in Afghanistan in May.

Subfamily PARADOXORNITHlNiE.

50. Conostoma semodium, Hodgs. The Iled-hilled Crow-Tit.

Conostomasemodium, Hudys., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 10; Hume, liuityh
Draft N. ^ E. no. 381.

A nest of the Eed-billed Crow-Tit \\'as sent me from Native
Sikhim, where it was found at an elevation of about 10,000 feet,
in a cluster of the small Eingal bamboo. It contained three eggs,
two of which were broken in blowing them.

The nest is a very regular and perfect hemisphere, both exter-
nally and internally. It is very compactly made, externally of
coarse grass and strips of bamboo-leaves, and internally very thickly
lined with stiff but very fine grass-stems, about the thickness of

SCEORHTNCHUS. 43

an ordinary pin, very carefully curved to the shape of the nest.
The coarser exterior grass appears to have been used when dry ;
but the fine grass, with which the interior is so densely lined, is
still o-reen. It is the most perfectly hemispherical nest J ever saw.
Exteriorly it is exactly 6 inches in diameter and 3 in height ;
internally the cavity measures 4-5 in diameter and 2-25 in depth.

The egg is a regular moderately elongated oval, slightly com-
pressed towards the smaller end. The shell is fine and thin, and
has only a faint gloss. The ground-colour is a duU white, and it
is sparselv blotched, streaked, and smudged with pale yellowish
brown, besides which, about the large end, there are a number of
small pale inky purple spots and clouds, looking as if they were
beneath the surface of the shell.

The single egg preserved measures 1-11 by 0-8.

A nest sent me by Mr. Mandelli was found, he says, in May, in
Nati^•e Sikhirn, in a cluster of Ringal (hill-bamboo) at an elevation
of nearly 10,000 feet. It is a large, rather broad and shallow cup,
the great bulk of the nest composed of extremely fine hair-like
grass-stems, obviously used when green, and coated thinly exteriorly
with coarse blades of grass, giving the outside a ragged and untidy
appearance. The greatest external diameter is 5-5, the height 3-2,
but the cavity is 4-5 in diameter and 2-2 in depth, so that, though
owincr to the fine material used throughout except in the outer
coating the nest is extremely firm and compact, it is not at all a
massive-looking one.

60. Scseorhynchus ruficeps (Bl.). The Lavijer Jled-headed Croiv-Tit.
Paradoxoniis ruficeps, BL, Jerd. B. Tnd. ii, p. 5.

Mr. Gammie writes from Sikhim :— " In May, at 2000 feet
elevation, I took a nest of this bird, which appears to have been
rarely, if ever, taken by any European, and is not described ni your
Eough Draft of ' Xests and Eggs.' It was seated among, and
fastened to, the spray of a bamboo near its top, and is a deep,
compactly built cup, measuring externally 3-5 inches wide and the
same in depth ; internally 2*7 wide by 1-9 deep. The material used
is particularly clean and new-looking, and has none of the second-
hand appearance of much of the building-stuffs of many birds.
The outer layer is of strips torn off large grass-stalks and a very
few cobwebs ; the lining, of fine fibrous strips, or rather threads,
of bamboo-stems. There were three eggs, which were ready for
hatching-off. They averaged 0-83 in. by 0-63 in. I send you
the nest and two of the eggs.

" Both Jerdon and Tickell say they found this bird feeding on
grain and other seeds, but those J examined had all confined their
diet to different sorts of insects, such as would be found about
the flowers of bamboo, buckwheat, &c. Probably they do eat a few-
seeds occasionally, but their principal food is certainly insects.
Very usually, in winter especially, they feed in company with

44 CORVID^.

GampsorliyncJius rufiilus. Eather curious that the two Eed-heads
should affect each other's society,"

The eggs are broad ovals, rather cylindrical, very blunt at both
ends. The shell fine, with a slight gloss. The ground is white,
and it is rather thinly and irregularly spotted, blotched, and
smeared in patches with a dingy yellowish brown, chiefly about
the larger end, to which also are nearly confined the secondary
markings, which are pale greyish lilac or purplish grey.

61. Scjeorliyiichus gularis (Horsf.). TJie Hoary-headcd Crotv-Tif.
Paradoxornis gularis, Horsf., Jerd, B, Inch ii, p. 5.

A nest sent me by Mr. Mandelli as belonging to this species was
found, he tells me, at an elevation of 8000 feet in Native Hikhim
on the 17th May. It was placed in a fork amongst the branches
of a medium-sized tree at a height of about 30 feet from the
ground. The nest is a very massive cup, composed of soft grass-
blades, none of them much exceeding -1 inch in width, wound round
and round together very closely and compactly, and then tied over
exteriorly everywhere, but not thickly, with just enough wool and
wild silk to keep the nest perfectly strong and firm. Inside, the
nest is lined with extremely fine grass-stems ; the nest is barely
4 inches in diameter exteriorly and 2*5 in height ; the egg-cavity is
2*4 in diameter and 1*2 in depth.

Mr. Mandelli sends me an egg which he considers to belong to
this species, found near Darjeeling on the 7th May. It is a broad
oval, very slightly compressed at one end ; the shell dull and
glossless ; the ground a dead white, profusely streaked and smudged
pretty thickly all over with pale yellowish brown ; the whole
bigger end of the egg clouded with dull inky purple and two or
three hair-lines of burnt sienna in different parts of the egg. The
egg measures 0'8 by 0*61.

Two eggs of this species, procured in 8ikhim on the 17th May,
are very regular ovals, scarcely at all pointed towards the lesser
end. The grouud-colour is creamy white, and the markings con-
sist of large indistinct blotches of pale yellow ; round the large
end is an almost confluent zone or cap of purplish grey, darker in
one egg ; they have no gloss, and both measure 0-82 by 0-61,

CRATEROPODID.E. 45

Family CRATEROPODID^.
Subfamily CRATEROPODIN^.

62. Dryonastes ruficoUis (J. & IS.). The Rafous-necked Laaghinr/-

Thrush.

Garrulax ruficoUis (J. Sf S.), Jenl. B. Lid. n, p. 38 ; Hume, Rough
Draft N. ^ E. no. 410.

Of the Rufous-necked Laughiug-Thrush, Mr. Blyth remarks: —
*' Mr. Hodgso:i figures the egg of a fine green colour."

The egg is not figured in my collection of Mr. Hodgson's
drawings.

Writing from near Darjeeling, in Sikhim, Mr. Gammie says : —
" I have seen two nests of this bird ; both were in bramble-bushes
about five feet from the ground, and exactly resembled those of
Dryonastes ccerulatus, only they were a little smaller. One nest
had three young ones, the other three ver}- pale blue unspotted
eggs, which I left in the nest intending to get them in another day
or two, as I wanted to see if more eggs would be laid, but when I
went back to the place the nest had beeu taken away by some
one. Both nests were found here in May, one at 3500 feet,
the other at 4500 feet.

" I have taken numerous nests of this species from April to
June, from the warmest elevations up to about 4000 feet. They
are cup-shaped ; composed of dry leaves and small climber-stems,
and lined with a few fibrous roots. They measure externally about
5 inches in width by 3*5 in depth ; internally 3*25 across by 2*25
deep. Usually they are found in scrubby jungle, fixed in bushes,
within five or six feet of the ground. The eggs are three or four
in number."

Many nests of this species sent me from Sikhim by my friends
Messrs. Maudelli and Gammie are all precisely of the same type —
deep and rather compact cups, varying from 5 to 6 inches in external
diameter, and 3*25 to 3*75 in height ; the cavities about 3-25 in
diameter and 2-25 in depth. The nest is composed almost entirely
of dry bamboo-leaves bound together loosely with stems of creepers
or roots, and the cavity is lined with black and brown rootlets,
generally not very fine. They seem never to be placed at any very
great elevation from the ground.

The eggs of this species, of which I have received a very large
number from Mr. Gammie, are distingnishable at once from those
of all the other species of this group with which I am acquainted.
Just as the egg of Gami'ax alhigularis is distinguished by its very
deep tone of coloration,the egg of the present species is distinguished
by its extreme paleness. In shape the eggs are moderately broad
ovals, often, however, somewhat pyriform, often a good deal pointed
towards the small end. The shell is extremely fine and smooth,

46 CRATEROPODID^.

and has a very fine gloss ; they may be said to be almost white with
a delicate bluish-green tinge. Jn length they vary from 0"05 to
1-1, in breadth from 0-6 to 0-8<3 ; but the average of forty-one
eggs is 1"02 by 0*75.

do. Dryonastes cserulatus (ITodgs.). The Grey-sided Laiujhiwj-

TJintsJi.

Garriilax cfenilatus {Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 36; Hume, Ruiujh
Draft N. ^- E. uo. 408.

A nest of the Grey-sided Laughing-Thrush found by Mr. Gam-
niie on the 17th June near Darjeeling, below llishap, at an elexatiou
of about 3500 feet, was placed in a shrub, at a height of about six
feet from the ground, and contained one fresh egg. It was a large,
deep, compact cup, measuring about 5"5 inches in external diameter
and about 4 in height, the egg-cavity being 4 inches in diameter
and 2| inches in depth. Externally it was entirely composed of
very broad flag-lilie grass-leaves firmly twisted together, and
internally of coarse black grass and moss-roots very neatly and
compactly put together. The nest had no other lining.

This year (1874) Mr. Gammie writes : — " This species breeds in
iSikhim in IMay and June. 1 have found the nests in our Chinchona
reserves, at various elevations from 3500 to 5000 feet, always in
forests with a more or less dense undergrowth. The nest is placed
in trees, at heights of from 6 to 12 feet from the ground, between
and firmly attached to several slender upright shoots. It is cup-
shaped, usually rather shallow, composed of dry bamboo-leaves
and twigs and lined with root-hbres. One I measured was 5 inches
in diameter by 2*5 in height exteriorly; the cavity wslh 4 inches
across and only 1*3 deep. Of course they vary slightly. As far
as my experience goes, they do not lay more than three eggs ;
indeed, at times only two."

Ur. Jerdon remarks that " a nest and eggs, said to be of this
bird, were brought to me at Darjeeling ; the nest loosely made with
roots and grass, and containing two pale blue eggs."

One nest of this species taken in Native ISikhim in July, was
placed in the fork of four leafy twigs, and was in shape a slightly
truncated inverted cone, nearly 7 inches in heightand 5*5 in diameter
at the base of the cone, which was uppermost. The leaves attached
to the twigs almost completely enveloped it. The nest itself was
composed almost entirely of stems of ci'eepers, several of which
were wound round the hving leaves of the twigs so as to hold them
in position on the outside of the nest ; a few bamboo-leaves were
intermingled with the creo])er's stems in the body of the nest. The
cavity, which is almost perfectly hemisi)herical, only rather deeper,
is 3-5 inches in diameter and 2-25 in depth, aiul is entirely and very
neatly lined with very fine black roots. Another nest, which was
taken at Eishap on the 21st May, with two fresh eggs, was placed
in some small bamboos at a height of about 10 feet from the

UARRULAX. 47

ground. It is composed externally entirely of dr)^ bamboo-leaves,
loosely tied together by a few creepers and a little vegetable fibre,
and it is lined pretty thi -kly with fine black fibrous roots. This
nest is about 6 inches in diinneterand 3-5 high exteriorly, while the
cavity measures 3-5 by 2.

The eggs sent me by Mr. Gammie are a beautiful clear, rather
pale, greenish blue, without any spots or markings. They have
a slight gloss. In shape they are typically much elongated and
somewhat pyriform ovals, very obtuse at both ends ; but moderately
broad examples are met with. In length they vary from 1-05 to
1-33, and in breadth from 076 to 0-86 ; but the average of thirty-
five eggs is 1-18 nearly by 0*82 nearly.

69. Garrulaxleucoloplms(Hardw.). The Himalayan White-crested
La lujhing-Thrush.

Garrulax leucolophus (IZardw.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 35; Himie
Rough Draft N. l^ E. no. 407.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes, the Himalayan White-crested
Laughing-Thrush breeds at various elevations in 8ikhim and Kepal,
from the Terai to an elevation of 5000 or 6000 feet, from April to
June. It lays from four to six eggs, which are described and hgured
as pure white, very broad ovals, measuring 1-2 by 0-9. It breeds, we
are told, in small trees, constructing a rude cup-shaped nest
amongst a clump of shoots, or between a number of slender tvvio-s,
of dry bamboo-leaves, creepers, scales of the turmeric plant, &c.,
and lined with fine roots.

Dr. Jerdon says : — " I have had the nest and eggs brought me
more than once when at Darjeehng, the former being a large mass
of roots, moss, and grass, with a few pure white eggs."

One nest taken in July at Darjeehng was placed on the outer
branches of a tree, at about the height of 8 feet from the ground.
It was a very broad shallow saucer, 8 inches in diameter, about an
inch in thickness, and with a depression of about an inch in depth.
It was composed of dead bamboo-leaves bound together with
creepers, and hned thinly with coarse roots. It contained four
fresh eggs. Other similar nests contained four or three eggs
each.

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes : — " I have found this Laugh-
ing-Thrush breeding in May and June, up to about 3500 feet ; I
have rarely seen it at higher elevations, and cannot but think that
Mr. Hodgson is mistaken in stating that it breeds up to 5000 or
6000 feet. The nests are generally placed in shrubs, w ithin reach
of the hand, among low, dense jungle, and are rather loosely built
cup-shaped structures, composed of twigs and grass, and lined with
fibrous roots. Externally tliey measure about 6 inches in diameter
by 3-5 in depth ; internally 4 by 2*25.

" The eggs are usually four or five in number, but on several
occasions I have found as few as two well-set eggs."

Numerous nests of this species ha^e now been sent me, taken

48 CBATEROPODIDa;.

in May, June, and July, at elevations of from 2000 to fully 4000 feet,
and in one case it is said 5000. They are all very similar, large,
very shallow cups, from 6 to nearly 8 inches in external diameter,
and from 2"5 to 3-5 m height ; exteriorly all are composed of coarse
grass, of bamboo-spathes, with occasionally a few dead leaves
intermingled, loosely wound round with creepers or pliant twigs,
while interiorly they are composed and lined with black, only
moderately fine roots or pliant flower-stems of some flowering-tree,
or both. Sometimes the exterior coating of grass is not very
coarse ; at other times bamboo-spathes exclusively are used, and
the nest seems to be completely packed up in these.

The eggs of this species are broad ovals, pure white and glossy.
They vary from 1-05 to 1-13 in length, and from 0-86 to 0-95 in
width, but the average of eighteen eggs is a little over 1"1 by 0-9.

70. Garrulax "belangeri. Less. The Burmese White-crested
Laughing -Thrush.

Garrulax belaugeri, Less., Hume, Cat. no. 407 bis.

Mr. Gates, who found the nest of this bird many years ago in
Burma, has the following note: — "Nest in a bush a few feet from the
ground, on the 8th June, near Pegu. In shape hemispherical, the
foundation being of small branches and leaves of the bamboo, and
the interior and sides of small branches of the coarser weeds and
fine twigs. The latter form the egg-chamber lining and are nicely
curved. Exterior and interior diameters respectively 7 and 3|
inches. Total depth 3| and interior depth 2 inches. Three eggs,
pure white and highly glossy, and they measure 1*14 by '87, 1*1
by -88, and 1-03 by -86."

The nests of this species are large, loosely constructed cups,
much resembling those of its Himalayan congeners. The base and
sides consist chiefly of dry bamboo-leaves with a few dead tree-leaves
scantily held together by a few creepers, \\ bile the interior portion
of the nest, which has no separate lining, is composed of fine twigs
and stems of herbaceous plants and the slender flower-stems of
trees which bear their flowers in clusters. The nests vary a good
deal in exterior dimensions as the materials straggle far and wide
in some cases, and the external diameter may be said to vary from
6 to 8 inches, and the height from 3"25 to 4-5 ; the cavities are more
uniform in size, and are about 3*5 in diameter by 2 in depth.

The eggs are moderately broad ovals, at times somewhat
pointed perhaps towards the small end, pure white and fairly
glossy.

Major 0. T. Bingham thus writes of this bird : — " It is very difli-
cult to either watch these birds, unseen yourself, at one of their
dancing parties, or to catch one of them actually sitting on the
nest. Twice had I in the end of March this year come across nests
with one or two of these birds in the vicinity, and yet have had to
leave the eggs in them as uncertain to what bird they belonged.

GAEEULAX. 49

At last, on the 2u(i April, I came in for a piece of luck. I was
roaming about in the vicinity of my camp on the Gawbechoung,
the main source of the Thoungyeen river, and moving very slowly
and silently amid the dense clumps of bamboo, when my ears were
saluted by the hearty laughter of a flock of these birds, evidently not
far off. Very quietly I crept up, and looking cautiously from behind
a thick bamboo-clump, saw ten or twelve of them going through a
most intricate dance, flirting their wings and tails, and every now
and then bursting into a chorus of shouts, joined in by a few others
who were seated looking on from neighbouring bushes. During
one of the pauses of the applause, and while the dancers wex'e busy
twining in and out, a single rather squeaky ' bravo ' came from a
bamboo-bush right opposite to me. Looking up I was astonished
to see a nest in a fork of the bamboo*, and on the nest a GarruJcuv
who, probably too busy with her maternal duties to watch the
performance going on below her attentively, came in with a solitary
shout of approbation at an unseemly time. I watched the per-
formance a few minutes longer, and then frightened the old hen on
the nest. The terrific scare I caused by my sudden appearance is
beyond description. The dancers scattered with screeches, and the
old hen dropped fainting over the side of her nest with a feeble
remonstrance, and disappeared in the most mysterious way. After
all the nest contained only one egg, very glossy, white, and fresh.
The nest was better and stronger built, though very like that of
Garridax moniliger, constructed of twigs, and finely lined with
black hair -like roots ; it measured some 6 inches in diameter, the
egg-cavity about 1^ inch deep. Subsequently I took three other
nests, on the 4th April and 23rd jMay. The first contained three,
the two latter three and four eggs respectively. A considerable
number of eggs measure from 1'22 to 1-06 in length, and from '92
to '81 in breadth, and average 1'13 by 0*88."

72. Garrulax pectoralis (Grould). The BlacJc-gorgeted
Laughing-ThrusJi.

Garrulax pectoralis {Gould), Jerd. B. Ind.u, p. 39; Hume, Rough
Draft N. 8f E. no. 412.

Mr. Gates tells us that he " found the nest of the Black-
gorgeted Laughing-Thrush in the Pegu Hills, on the 27th April,
containing three fresh eggs ; the bird was sitting. The nest was
placed in a bamboo-clump about 7 feet from the ground, made out-
wardly of dead bamboo-leaves and coarse roots, lined with finer
roots and a few feathers ; inside diameter G inches, depth 2 inches.
Two eggs measured 1-04 by 0-83 and 0-86. Colour, a beautiful clear
blue."

One of these eggs sent by Mr. Gates * seems rather small for

* I fear I may have made a mistake in identifying the nest referred to.
With this caution, however, I allow my note to stand. — Ed.

VOL. I. 4

50 CEATEEOPODID.i:.

the bird. It is a very broad, slightly pyriforin oval, of a uniform
pale greeuish-bhie tint, and very fairly glossy. It measures 1*05
by 0-87.

This egg appears to me to be an abnormally small one. A nest
sent me from tSikhim, where it was found in July, contained unich
larger eggs, and more in proportion to the size of the bird. The
uest I refer to was placed in a clump of bamboos about 5 feet from
the ground. It was a tolerably compact, moderately deep, saucer-
shaped nest, between 6 and 7 inches in diameter, composed of dead
bamboo-sheaths and leaves bound together with creepers and her-
baceous stems, and thinly lined with roots. It contained two
eggs. These are rather broad ovals, somewhat pointed towards
one end, of a uniform pale greenish blue, and are fairly glossy.

These eggs measured 1-33 and 1-30 in length, and 0'98 in
breadth.

Mr. Mandelli sent me two nests of this species, both taken in
Native Sikhim, the one on the 4th, the other on the 20th July.
Each contained two fresh eggs. One \A'as placed in a small tree
in heavy jungle, at a height of about G feet from the ground,
the other in a clump of bamboos a foot lower. Both are large,
coarse, saucer-shaped nests, 7 to 8 inches in diameter, and 3*5 to 4
in height externally ; the cavities are about 4*5 inches in diameter,
and less than 2 in depth ; the basal portion of the nests is com-
posed entirely of dry leaves, chiefly those of the bamboo, loosely
held together by a few stems of creepers ; the sides of the nest are
stems of creepers wound round and round and loosely intertwined,
and the cavity is lined M'ith rather coarse rootlets, and in one case
AA'ith fine twigs.

73. Garrulax moniliger (Hodgs.). The NecMaced Lawjliimj-

Thrush.

Garrulax moniliger {IIod(/s.), Jercl. B. Iiid. ii, p. 40 ; Ilnjnc; Iiuix/h
Draft N. ^- ^.'no. 413.

Of the Necklaced Laughing-Thrush Dr. Jerdou says: — "1 pro-
cured both this and the last (the Elack-gorgeted Laughing-Thrush)
at Darjeeling, and have also seen one or both in Sylhet, Cachar,
and Upper Burmah. They both associate in lai'ge flocks, and fre-
quent more open forest than most of the previous species. The
eggs are greenish blue."

I'rom Sikhim, Mr. Gammie Avrites : — " In the first week of June
I found a nest in low jungle, at 2000 feet, containing four greenish-
blue eggs, but, as I did not see the bird, left it until my return a
Meek later. I then saw the female, but in the internal the young
had been hatched. The nest closely resembled that of D. candatus
[p. 46], both in shape and composition, and was similarly situated
between several upright slender shoots to which it was firmly
attached. It was, however, within five feet of the ground, which
is lower by 5 feet or so than D. ca'rulatus generally builds.

" I have found this species breeding from April to June, up to

GABEULAX. 51

elevations not much exceeding 2500 feet. It affects the low, dense
scrub growing in moist situations, and usually fixes its nest between
several upright sprays, within 5 or 6 feet of the ground. The nest
is cup-shaped, made of dry bamboo-leaves, intermixed with a very
few pieces of climber-stems, and thickly lined with old leaf-stalks
of some pinnate-leaved tree. Externally it measures about 5*5
inches in diameter by 4 in height ; internally 3*5 by 2*75.

" The eggs are four or five in number."

Mr. Oates writes : — " On the 27th April I shot a female
in the Pegu Hills off her nest. This latter contained one young
one, and one deformed egg, which unfortunately got broken ; colour
a deep blue. The nest was placed in a small seedling bamboo
about 6 feet from the ground at a joint where a number of small
twigs shot out, inverted umbrella fashion. The nest in every
I'espect closely resembled that of G. pedoralis.^'

He subsequently reuiarked : — " Breeds in Lower Pegu chiefly in
July. Average of six eggs, 1'16 by '88; colour, very glossy deep
blue. Nest placed in forks of saplings within reach of the hand,
massive, cup-shaped, and made of dead leaves and small branches ;
lined with fine twigs. Outside diameter 7 inches and depth 4 ;
interior 4| by 2."

A nest found below Darjeeling in the first week of June on the
branch of a good-sized tree, at a height of 12 feet from the ground,
was similar to that described by Mr. Grammie, and contained a
single fresh egg. This is a moderately broad oval, somewhat pointed
towards the small end, and exhibits very little gloss. It is of pre-
cisely the same colour as those of the preceding species, but mea-
sures only 1*2 in length by 0'9 in breadth.

Writing from Tenasserim, Major C. T. Bingham says : — " Be-
tween the 25th March and 28th April I found at least twenty
nests of this bird. They were broad, shallow cups of roots and
twigs, lined with fine black grass-roots, and placed at heights varying
from 4 to 10 feet above the ground, invariably in the forks of low
bamboo. The number of eggs varied from 3 to 5 ; blue in colour,
and fairly glossy."

Numerous nests from Sikhim, Pegu, and Tenasserim are all of
precisely the same type as described by Mr. Gammie ; but some are
fully 7 inches in external diameter, and in several the cavity is at
least 4 inches in diameter.

The eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Gammie vary very much
in size and shape, and somewhat in colour. Some are considerably
elongated ovals, with a marked pyriform tendency. Others are
particularly broad ovals for this class of egg. The shell is fine and
compact, and as a rule they seem to have a fine gloss ; but one or
two specimens almost want this. In colour they are a pale, clear,
slightly greenish blue, unspotted and unmarked. In length they
vary from 1-01 to 1-13, and in breadth from 0"81 to 0-9, but the
average of thirteen is 1*07 by 0*85.

4*

52 CEATEHOPODID^.

76. Garrulax albigularis (G-ould). The White-throated
Laughing-Thrush.

Garrulax albog-ularis ( Gould), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 38 ; Hume, Roiuih
Draft N.fE.no.All. ,i ^ , J

The AVhite-throated Laughing-Thrush breeds throughout the
lower southern ranges of the Himalayas from Assam to Afghanistan
at elevations of from 4000 to nearly 8000 feet. They lay from the
commencement of April to the end of June, The nest varies in
shape from a moderately deep cup to a broad shallow saucer, and
from 5 to 7 or even 8 inches in external diameter, and from less
than 2 to nearly 4 inches in depth internally. Coarse grass, flags,
creepers, dead leaves, moss, moss- and grass-roots, all at times enter
more or less largely into the composition of the nest, which, though
sometimes wholly uulined, is often neatly cushioned with red and
black fern and moss-roots. The nests are placed in small bushes,
shrubs, or trees, at heights of from "6 to 10 feet, sometimes in forks,
but more often, I think, on low horizontal branches, between t\\o
or three upright shoots.

Three is, I think, the regular complement of eggs, and this is the
number I have always found when the eggs were much incubated.
1 have not myself observed that this species breeds in company, nor
can I ever remember to have taken two nests within 100 yards of
each other.

Captain Hutton remarks : — " This is very common in Mussoorie
at all seasons, and congregates into large and noisy flocks, turning
up the dead leaves, and screaming and chattering together in most
discordant concert. It breeds in Ajiril and May, placing the nest in
the forks of young oaks and other trees, about 7 or 8 feet from the
grouud, though sometimes higher, and fastening the sides of it
lirmly to the supporting twigs by tendrils of climbing-]:)lants. It is
sometimes composed externally almost entirely of such woody ten-
drils, intermixed with a few other twigs, and lined with black hair-
like fibres of mosses and lichens ; at other times it is externally
composed of coarse dry grasses and leaves of different kinds of
orchids, and lined with fibres, the materials varying with the locality.
The eggs are of a deep and beautiful green, shining as if recently
varnished, and three in number. In shape they taper somewhat
suddenly to the smaller end, which may almost be termed obtusely
pointed. The size 1*19 by 0-87 inch. The usual number of eggs
is three, though sometimes only one or two are found ; but only
on one occasion out of more than a dozen nests have I found four
eggs. The old bird will remain on the nest until within reach of
the hand."

From Murree, Colonel C. H. T. Marshall writes : — " This was
the most beautiful egg taken this season, being of a rich, deep,
glossy, greenish-blue colour. The nest is composed of fresh iyy-
twigs, with the leaves attached, tightly woven together. The birds
breed on small trees, not high up, at the end of a branch. While

GAERTJLA.X. 53

their nests were being examined, they came round in flocks to see
what was happening, chattering and making that peculiar laughing
note from which this genus takes its name. Tbey are even gre-
garious in the breeding-season, and all the nests were found pretty
near each other about 6000 feet up."

The nest sent me by Colonel Marshall is a broad, shallow cup,
or saucer as I should perhaps call it, some G inches in diameter,
with a central depression of at most 1'5 inch, below which the nest
Is an inch or 1'5 in thickness. It is very loosely put together, and
composed interiorly of moderately fine dry twigs and roots, but
exteriorly it is completely wound round with slender green ivy-
twigs to which the leaves are attached. It has no linmg or pre-
tence for such.

Captain Cock says : — " The White-throated Laughing-Thrush
lays one of the most lovely eggs with which I am acquainted. The
nest is usually low, never more than 10 feet or so from the ground;
and of some fifteen or more nests that I have taken, all were con-
structed of long stalks of the ground-ivy, twisted round and round
into a wi-eath. The nest is not a deep cup ; if anything it is rather
shallow, but it is very wide. I always found these nests in thick
forest, at high elevations from 6000 to 7000 feet. The birds used
to sit close, and when put off their nests would commence their
outcries, and from all parts they would assemble and flit about
almost within reach of one's hand, making an awful noise, and in
the dark shade of the forest their white gorgets had quite a ghostly
loolv. The eggs are always three in number, of a beautiful shining
blue-green, sometimes of a very long oval type. 1 have found
the nests at Murree from the 3rd May to quite the end of
June."

Colonel Gr. F. L. Marshall writing of this species says : — " A
nest found at Nynee Tal on Ayar Pata, about 7000 feet above the
sea, contained two fresh eggs on the 31st May. The eggs were of
a rich deep greenish blue, unspotted. The nest was a scanty and
loosely-built structure, composed of roots and stems of grass and
creepers, cup-shaped, rather shallow, and lined with a curious black
creeper, very like coarse hair. The birds were gregarious even
though breeding, and were moving about the underwood in parties
of three to five. The nest was near the top of an oak-sapling in
a dense coppice, placed close against the stem in a bunch of leaves
at the top. The only difficulty in finding it lay in the scantiness of
the structure rather than in the concealment by the foliage. The
bird was on the nest and only moved off about 3 feet, sitting close
by and chattering indignantly during my inspection. They are
noisy birds, constantly on the move, and their notes, though rather
harsh, are very varied and quite conversational."

The eggs are long, and pointed at the small end, to which they
sometimes taper much. They are very glossy, and vary from a
deep dull blue (the blue of a dark oil-paint, very much deeper tlian
that of any other of the Crateropodinse with which I am acquainted)
to a deep intense greenish blue. Possibly other as deeply coloured

54 CEATEEOPODID^.

eggs occur in this family, but I have seen noue like them. They
are of course entirely unspotted.

In length they vary from 1'16 to 1*25, and in breadtli from 0-8
to 0'86 ; but the average of some twenty eggs measured is 1'22
by 0-83.

78. lanthocincla ocellata (Vig.). The White-spotted
Laughing- Thrush,

Garrulax ocellatus ( Viq.), Jcrd. B. Ind. ii, p. 41 ; Hume, Roiu/h
Draft N. 8^- E. no. 414.

I \now nothiug personally of the nidification of the White-
spotted Laughing-Thrush, which breeds nowhere, so far as I know,
west of Nepal, but I had a nest with a couple of eggs and one of the
parent-birds sent me from Darjeeling. The nest was taken in May
in one of the low warm valleys leading to the Great Runjeet, and
is said to have been placed close to the ground in a thick clump of
fern and grass. The nest is chiefly composed of these, intermingled
with moss and roots, and is a large loose structure some 7 inches
in diameter.

Mr. Blyth remarked in ' The Ibis ' (1867) that this species was
" surely a Troclicdopteron rather than a Garrulax,^'' and the eggs
seem to confirm this view. These are long, cylindrical ovals, very
obtuse even at the smaller end. They are about the same size as
those of Garrula.v aJhigularis, with a very delicate pale blue ground
and little or no gloss. One egg is spotless ; the other has a few
chocolate-brown specks or spots towards the large end. They
measure 1-18 by 0-86 and 1-25 by 0-85.

80. lanthocincla rufigularis, Grould. The Rufous-chinned
Laughing-Thrush.

Trochalopteron rufogulare (Gould), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 47 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. 8f E. no. 421.

Common as this species is about Simla, I have never yet secured
the nest, and know nothing certain about the eggs.

Captain Hutton says : — " This species appears usually in pairs,
sometimes in a family of four or five. It breeds in May, in which
month I took a nest, at about 6500 feet elevation, in a retired
and Mooded glen ; it was composed of small twigs externally and
lined with the fine black fibres of lichens. The nest was placed on
a horizontal bough, about 7 feet from the ground, and contained
three pure white" eggs. Size 1-12 by 0-69; shape ordinary. The
stomach of the old bird contained sand, seed, and the remains of
wasps."

One egg that I possess of this species I owe to Captain Hutton,
and it is of the Pomatorhinus type — a long oval, slightly pointed
pure white egg, with but little gloss, measuring 1-08 by 0-75.

TKOCHALOPTBRTIM. 55

From Sikhim a nest, said to belong to this species, has been
recently sent me. Jt was found below Darjeeling in July, and
was placed in a double fork of the branchlets of a medium-sized
tree. It is a moderately deep cup, composed almost entirely of
dry, coarser and finer, tendrils of creepers, and is lined with a
some black moss-roots and a few scraps of dead leaves. It con-
tained three fresh eggs.

Numerous nests of this species subsequently sent me from Sikhim
are all of the same type, all moderately deep cups composed entirely
of creeper-tendrils, the cavity only being lined with fine black roots.
They appear from the specimens before me to be quite sui r/eneris
and unlike those of any of its congeners. No grass, no dead leaves,
no moss seems to be employed ; nothing but the tendrils of some
creeper. The nests appear to be always placed at the fork, where
three, four, or more shoots diverge, and to be generally more or
less like inverted cones, measuring say 4 to 5 inches in height, and
about the same in breadth at the top, while the cavities are about
3 inches in diameter and 1*5 to 2 in depth. The nests appear to have
been found at very varying heights from the ground from 5 to 15
feet, and at elevations of from 3000 to 5000 feet. They appear-
to have contained thi'ee fresh or more or less incubated eggs.

The eggs were found in Sikhim on different dates between 25th
May and 8th September.

Exceptional as the coloration of the eggs of this species may
seem, there is no doubt that they are pure white. The shell
is thin and fragile, but has generally a decided gloss, and the
eggs are typically elongated ovals, obtuse-ended, and more or
less pyriform or cylindrical. The eggs vary from 0-92 to 1"13
in length, and from 0*75 to 0-8 in breadth, but the average of
eleven eggs is 1 '06 by 0-77 nearly.

82. Trochalopterum erythrocephalum (Vig.). The Red-headed
Lau(jhin(j-Thrush.

Trochalopterou erythrocephalum ( Vi<j.), Jercl. B. hid, ii, p. 43 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. ^- E. no. 415.

From Kumaon westwards, at any rate as far as the valley of the
Beas, the Eed-headed Laughing-Thrush is, next to T. lineatum, the
most common species of the genus. It lays in May and June, at
elevations of from 4000 to 7000 feet, building on low branches of
trees, at a height of from 3 to 10 feet from the ground.

The nests are composed chiefly of dead leaves bound round into
a deep cup with delicate fronds of ferns and coarse and fine grass,
the cavities being scantily lined with fine grass and moss-roots.
It is difficult by any description to convey an adequate idea of the
beauty of some of these nests — the deep red-brown of the withered
ferns, the black of the grass- and moss-roots, the pale yellow of the
broad flaggy grass, and the straw-yellow of some of the finer grass-
stems, all blended together into an artistic wreath, in the centre of

56 ORATEEOPODID^.

which the beautiful sky-blue and maroon-spotted eggs repose.
Externally the nests may average about 6 inches in diameter, but
the egg-cavity is comparatively large and very regular, measuring
about 3| inches across and fully 2| inches in depth. Some nests
of course are less regular and artistic in their appearance, but, as a
rule, those of this species are particularly beautiful.

The eggs vary from two to four in number.

Sir E. C. Buck sent me the following note : —

" I found a nest of this species near Narkunda (about 30 miles
north of Simla) on the 26th June. It was placed on the branch
of a banj tree, some 8 feet from the ground, and contained two
eggs, half set. Nest and eggs forwarded."

Dr. Jerdon says that Shore, as quoted by Gould in his ' Century,'
says that " it is by no means uncommon in Kumaon, where it
frequents shady ravines, building in hollows and their precipitous
sides, and making its nest of small sticks and grasses, the eggs
being five in number, of a sky-blue colour." But Shore, as the
showman would say, is, so far as eggs and nests are concerned, " a
fabulous writer," and the eggs are always more or less spotted, and
no nest that I ever saw of this species was composed of " small
sticks."

Mr. Blyth says : — " Mr. Hodgson figures a green egg, spotted
much like that of Turdus mitsiciis, as that of the present species ; "
but in all Hodgson's drawings this green represents a r/t'eenish
hive, as I have tested in dozens of cases.

Colonel Cx. E. L. Marshall remarks : — " I found a nest of this
species on the 15th May at Nynee Tal on the top of Ayar Pata, at an
elevation of about 7500 feet above the sea. The nest was a rather
deep cup, neatly made and placed about 5 feet from the ground
amongst the outer twigs of a thick barberry bush, the leaves of
which entirely concealed it. It was composed of a thick layer of
dead oak- and rhododendron-leaves, bound round outside with just
enough of grass-stems and moss to keep the leaves in place; it had
no lining of any description. The egg-cavity was 3^ inches broad
by nearly 2| inches deep. The eggs, two in number, were blue,
with a few spots, streaks, and scrawls of brown tending to form a
zone at the larger end. They were large for the size of the bird.
The ground-colour was like that of the eggs of a Song-Thrush in
England.

" Several more nests found subsequently with eggs up to 4th
June were similar in structure, but placed in small oak trees from
5 to 15 or 18 feet from the ground.

" I found a nest of this species containing a single hard-set egg
on the 17th August ; both parent-birds were by the nest; this is
unusually late, the chief breeding-month being June."

The eggs are very long ovals, of a delicate pale greenish-blue
ground-colour, with a few spots, streaks, and streaky blotches of a
very rich though slightly brownish red at the large end. These
eggs, though somewhat longer in shape and less freely marked, are
exactly of the same type as those of T. cacMnnans and T. variegatum.

TROCHALOPTERTJM. 57

The texture of the shell is very fine and compact, and they have a
slight gloss. In some eggs the spottings are more numerous, and,
besides the primary markings already mentioned, a few purple spots
and blotches, mostly very pale, are iutermingled with the darker
markings. In almost all the eggs that I have seen the markings
were absolutely confined to the larger end.

In length the eggs vary from 1*15 to 1*22, and in breadth from
0-8 to 0-86 : but the average is about 1-2 by 0-82.

85. Trochalopterum nigrimentum, Hodgs. The Western

YcJlo v-'-w iiu/ed LaiKjhing- Thrush.

Trochalopterou chrysopterum (Gould), apud Jerd. B. Tnd. ii, p. 43;
Hmne, Rough Draft N. Sf E. no. 416.

The "Western Yellow-winged Laughing-Thrush breeds, so far as
is yet known, only in Nepal, Sikhim, and Bhootan, from all which
localities we have quite young birds, but no eggs.

Dr. Jerdon says : — " The eggs are greenish blue, in a nest neatly
made with I'oots and moss." This, of course, is wrong, as the eggs
are now well known to be spotted.

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes: — "The Yellow-winged
Laughing-Thrush breeds from April to June at elevations from
5500 feet upwards. It prefers scrubby jungle, and places its nest
in bushes about six feet or so from the ground. It is a broad, cup-
shaped structure, neatly and strongly made of fine twigs and dry
grass-leaves, lined with roots and with a few strings of green moss
wound round the outside. Externally, it measures about 6 inches
wide, and 4:h deep ; internally 3:j by 2|.

" The eggs are usually three in number.''

Six nests of this species found between the 4th May and 2nd
July in Native and British Silvhim were sent me by Mr. Mandelli.
They were placed in small trees or dense bushes at heights of from

3 to 8 feet, and contained in some cases two, and in others three
fresh or fully incubated eggs, so that sometimes the bird only lays
two eggs. Three nests were also sent me by Mr. Gammie, taken
in the neighbourhood of the Sikhim Cinchona-Plantations. All are
precisely of the same type, all constructed with the same materials,
but owing to the different proportions in which these are used
some of the nests at first sight seem to differ widely from others.
Some also are a good deal bigger than others, but all are massive, deep
cups, varying from 5*25 to 6*5 inches in diameter, and from 3 to fully

4 in height externally ; the cavities vary from 3 to 3"5 in diameter,
and from 2 to 2-5 in depth. The body of the nests is composed of
grass ; the cavity is lined first with dry leaves, and then thickly or
thinly with black fibrous roots. Externally the nest is more or less
bound together by creepers and stems of herbaceous plants. Some-
times only a few strings of moss and a few sprays of Selaginella are
to be seen on the outside of the nest ; while, on the other hand, in
some nests the entire outer surface is completely covered over with
green moss, not only on the sides, but on the upper margin, so as

58 CBATBKOPODID^.

to conceal completely the rest of the materials of the nest, and in all
the nine nests before me the extent to which the moss is used varies.
The eggs of this species are typically somewhat elongated ovals,
some are much pointed towards the small end, others are somewhat
pyriform, and others again are snbcylindrical. The shell is fine
and soft, but has only a moderate amount of gloss. The ground-
colour, which varies very little in shade, is a delicate pale, slightly
greenish blue, almost precisely the same colour as that of TroeJia-
lopterwn erythrocephahmK The eggs are sparingly (in fact, almost
exclusively about the large end) marked with deep chocolate.
These markings are in some spots and blotches, but in many assume
the form of thicker or thinner hieroglyphic lines. As a rule, three
fourths of the egg is spotless, occasionally a single speck or spot
occurs towards the small end of the egg. One or two eggs are
almost spotless. In length the eggs vary from 1"1 to 1'23, and in
breadth from 0"73 to 0-87, but the average of sixteen eggs is
1-17 nearly by 0-82.

87. Trochalopteriim phoeniceum (Gould). The Crhnson-ivinged

LaurjMng-TTirusIi.

Trochalopteron phoeniceum {Gould), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 48; Hume,
Roiu/h Draft N. ^' E. no. 422. .

Mr. Grammie says : — " I have found altogether seven nests of
the Crimson-winged Laughing-Thrush in and about Rishap, at
elevations between 4000 and 5000 feet, and on various dates be-
tsveeu the 4th and 23rd May. The locality chosen for the nest is
in some moist forest amongst dense undergrowth. It is placed in
shrubs, at heights of from 6 to 10 feet from the ground, and is
generally suspended between several upright stems, to which it is
firmly attached by fibres. It is chiefly composed of dry bamboo-
leaves and a few twigs, and lined \\ith black fibres and moss-roots.
A few strings of moss are twisted round it externally to aid in
concealing it. It is a moderately deep cup, measuring externally
about 5 inches in diameter and 4 inches in height, and internally
3| inches in width and 2 inches in depth.

" The eggs are almost always three in number, but occasionally
only two. Of the seven nests taken by me, five contained eggs and
two young birds.''

The Crimson-winged Laughing-Thrush, according to Mr. Hodg-
son's notes, breeds in Sikhim, at elevations of from 3000 to 5000
feet, during the months of April, May, and June. The nest is
placed in the fork of some thick bush or small tree, where three or
four sprays divide, at from 2 to 5 feet above the ground. The
nest is a very deep compact cup. One measured in situ Mas 4*5 inches
in diameter and the same in height externally, while the cavity was
3 inches in diameter and 2-25 deep. It was very compact and was
composed of dry leaves, creepers, grass-flowers, and vegetable fibres,
more or less lined with moss-roots and coated extei'ually with dry
bamboo-leaves. They lay, we are told, three or four eggs.

TEOCHALOPTEETJM. 59

Dr. Jerdon says : — " A nesfc and eggs said to be of this bird were
brought to me at Darjeeling ; the nest made o2 roots and grass, and
the eggs, three in number, pale blue, with a few narrow and wavy
dusky streaks,"

The eggs are singularly lovely. In shape they are elongated
ovals, generally very obtuse at both ends, and many of them exhi-
biting cylindrical or pyriform tendencies. The shell is very fine
and fairly glossy, and the grouiid-colour is a most beautiful clear
pale sea-green in some, greenish blue in others. The character of
the markings is more that of the Buntings than of this family.
There are a few strongly marked deep maroon, generally more or
less angular, spots or dashes, principally about the large end, and
there are a few spots and tiny clouds of pale soft purple, and then
there are an infinite variety of hair-line hieroglyphics, twisted and
scrawled in brownish or reddish purple, about the egg. The mark-
ings are nowhere as a rule crowded, and towards the small end are
usually sparse and occasionally wholly wanting. In some eggs a
bad pen seems to have been used to scribble the pattern, and every
here and there instead of a fine hair-line there is a coarse thick
one.

The eggs are pretty constant in size and colour, but here and
there an abnormally pale specimen, in which the green has almost
entirely disappeared, is met with. In length they vary from 0*98
to 1*15, and in breadth from 0-7 to 0*82, but the average of
thirty-one eggs is 1-04 by 0*74.

88. Troclialopterum subunicolor, Hodgs. The Plain-coloured
Laughing- Thrush.

Troclialopteron subunicolor, Hodgs., Jerd, B. Ind. ii, p. 44 ; Hume,
Eomjfi Draft N. S,- E. no. 417.

The Olivaceous or Plain-coloured Laughing-Thrush breeds,
according to Mr. Hodgson's notes, in the central region of Nepal
from April to June. It nests in open forests and groves, building
its nest on some low branch of a tree, 2 or 3 feet from the ground,
between a number of twigs. The nest is large and cup-shaped :
one measured externally 5*5 inches in diameter and 3*38 in height ;
internally 2-75 deep and 3-12 in diameter. The nest is composed
externally of gi'ass and mosses lined with soft bamboo-leaves.
Three or four eggs are laid, unspotted greenish blue. One is
figured as 1-07 by 0-7.

90. Trochalopterum variegatum (Vig.). The Eastern
Variegated Laughing-Thrush.

Trochalopteron variegatum (F/r/.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 45; Hume,
Bough Draft N. S,- E. no. 418 (part).

The Eastern Variegated Laughing-Thrush breeds only at eleva-

60 CEATBEOPODIDJE.

tions of from 4000 to 7000 or 8000 feet, from Simla to Nepal,
during the latter half of April, May, and June. The nest is a
pretty compact, rather shallow cup, composed exteriorly of coarse
grass, in which a few dead leaves are intermingled ; it has no lining,
but the interior is composed of rather finer and softer grass than
the exterior, and a good number of dry needle-like fir-leaAes are
used toN^ards the interior. It is from 5 to 8 inches in diameter
exteriorly, and the cavity from 3 inches to 3*5 in diameter and
about 2 inches deep. The nest is usually placed in some low,
densely-foliaged branch of a tree, at say from 3 to 8 feet from the
ground ; but I recently obtained one placed in a thick tuft of
grass, growing at the roots of a young Deodar, not above 6 inches
from the ground. They lay four or live eggs.

The first egg that I obtained of this species, sent me by 8ir E.
C. Buck, C.8., and taken by himself near Narkunda, late in June,
out of a nest containing two eggs and two young ones, was a nearly
perfect, rather long oval, and precisely the same type of egg as
those of T. erytlirocephalum. and T. cacJiinnans, but considerably
smaller than the former. The ground-colour is a pale, rather dingy
greenish blue, and it is blotched, spotted, and speckled, almost ex-
clusively at the larger end, and even there not very thickly, with
reddish brown. The egg appeared to have but little gloss. Other
eggs subsequently obtained by myself were very similar, but slightly
larger and rather more thickly and boldly blotched, the majority of
the markings being still at the large end.

The colour of the markings varies a good deal : a liver-red is
perhaps the most common, but yellowish brown, pale purple, pur-
plish red, and brownish red also occur. Here and there an egg is
met with almost entirely devoid of markings, with perhaps only
one modei'ately large spot and a dozen specks, and these so deep
a red as to be all but black.

The eggs vary from 1-07 to 1'15 in length, and from 0*76 to 0-82
in breadth.

91. Trochalopterum simile, Hume. The Western Variegated
Laughing- Thrush .

Trochalopterum simile, Hume; Hume, Cat. no. 418 bis.

Messrs. Cock and Marshall write from Murree : — " The nidifi-
cation of this Trochalopterum was apparently unknown before. A¥e
found one nest on the 15th June, about twenty feet up a spruce-
fir at the extremity of the bough. Nest deep, cup-shaped, solidly
built of grass, roots, and twigs ; the bird sits close. Eggs light
greenish blue, sparingly spotted with pale purple, the same size as
those of Merula castanea."

TEOCHi^LOPTBRUM. 61

92. Trochalopterum squamatum (G-ould). The Blm-whvjed
LaiKjhi iig-Tlinish.

Troclialopterou squamatLim (Gould), Jenl. B. hid. \\, p. 46 : Hume,
RowjU Draft N. ^- E. uo, 420.

rroin Sikhim my friend Mr. Garnmie writes : — " I have never as
yet found more than one nest of the Blue-winged Laughing-Thrush,
and this one was found on the ISth May at Mongphoo, at an ele-
vation of about 3500 feet. The nest was placed in a bush (one of
the Zingiber aceoi), growing in a marshy place, in the midst of dense
scrub, at a height of about 4 feet from the ground, and was
firmly attached to several upright stems. It was composed of dry
bamboo-leaves, held together by the stems of delicate creepers, and
was lined with a few black fibres. It was cup-shaped, and mea-
sured externally 5-7 in diameter by 3*6 in height, and internally 3"7
in width by 2-Q in depth. The nest contained three eggs, which
were unfortunately almost ready to hatch off, so that three is
probably the normal number of the eggs."

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes the Blue-wiiiged Laughing-
Thrush breeds in May and June in the central region of Nepal in
forests, at elevations of from 2000 to 6000 feet. The nest is
placed in a fork of a branch on some small tree, and is a large
mass of dry leaves and coarse dry grass, 7 or 8 inches in diameter
externally, mortar-shaped, the cavity about 2*5 deep, and lined with
hair-like fibres. The nest, though composed of loose materials,
is very firm and compact. They lay four or five eggs, unspotted,
verditer-blue, one of which is figured as a broad regular oval, only
slightly compressed towards one end, measuring 1"2 by 0*9.

One of the eggs taken by Mr. Gammie (the others were un-
fortunately broken) is a long, almost cylindrical, oval, very obtuse
at both ends and slightly compressed towards the smaller end, so
that the egg has a pyriform tendency. It measures 1'25 by 0*82.
The colour is an excessively pale greenish blue, precisely the same
as that of the eggs of Sturnia malaharica ; but then this present
egg was nearly ready to hatch, off when taken, and the fresh eggs
are somewhat deeper coloured.

Subsequent to his letter above quoted, Mr. Gammie on the 10th
June found a second nest of this species similar to the first, con-
taining three nearly fresh eggs. These are similar in shape to that
above described, but in colour are a beautiful clear verditer-blue,
altogether a much brighter and richer tint than that of the first.
They measure 1-2 and 1-25 by 0-88.

One nest was taken by Mr. Gammie above Mongphoo at an
elevation of about 4500 feet on the 30th of April. It was placed in
a bush at a height of about 6 feet from the ground, and contained
three fresh eggs. It was a loosely put together, massive cup, some
7 inches in diameter and 4 in height externally. It was com-
posed mainly of fine twigs, creeper-stems, and grass, with a few
bamboo-leaves intermingled, and the cavity was carefully lined

62 CRATEK0P0DIDJ3.

with bamboo-leaves, and then within that thinly with black fibrous
roots ; the cavity measured 3*7 inches in diameter and 2*3 in depth.
The eggs of this species, of which I have now received many,
appear to be typically somevrhat elongated ovals, and not unfre-
quently they are more or less pyriform or even cylindrical. As
a rule, they are fairly glossy, a bright pale, somewhat greenish
blue, quite spotless, and varying a little in tint. In length they
appear to vary from I'll to 1"25, and in breadth from 0'82
to 0*91 ; but the average of eleven eggs is 1*2 by 0'87.

93. Trochalopterum cacMunans (Jerd.). The Nilyhlri

LaugMng-Thrush .

Trochalopteron cachinnans {Jerd.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 48 : Hume,
Rough Draft N. S^ E. no. 423.

The Nilghiri Laughing-Thrush breeds, according to my many
informants, throughout the more elevated portions of the moun-
tains from wliich it derives its trivial name, from February to the
beginniog of June.

A nest of this species sent me by Mr. H. E. P. Carter, who
took it at Coonoor on April 22nd (when it contained two fresh
eggs), is externally a rather coarse clumsy structure, composed of
roots, dead leaves, small twigs, and a little lichen, about 5 inches
in diameter, and standing about 4| inches high. The egg-cavity
is, however, very regularly shaped, and neatly lined with very fine
grass-stems and a little fine tow-like vegetable fibre. It is a deep
cup, measuring 2|^ inches across and fully 3| inches in depth.

A nest taken by Miss Cocliburn was a much more compact
structure, placed between four or five twigs. It was composed of
coarse grass, dead and skeleton leaves, a very little lichen, and a
quantity of moss. The egg-cavity was lined with very fine grass.
The nest was externally about hh inches in diameter and nearly (>
inches in height, but the egg-cavity had a diameter of only about
2g inches and was only about 2| \nches deep.

It was Jerdon, I believe, who gave the name of Laughing-
Thrushes to this group, and this name is applicable enough to this
particular bix'd, the one with v\hich he was most familiar, for it
does laugli — albeit, a most maniacal laugh ; but the majority of
the group have not the shadow of a giggle even in them, and
should have been designated " Screaming Squabblers."

Mr. J. Darling, Jr., says : — " This bird breeds from February
to May. I have found the nests all over the Nilghiris, at eleva-
tions of from 4500 to 7500 feet above the sea. The nest is
placed indiscriminately in any bush or tree that happens to take
the bird's fancy, at heights of from 3 to 12 feet from the ground.

" In shape it is circular, a deep cup, externally some G inches in
diameter and 5 or G inches in height, and with a cavity 3 to 4 inches
wide and often fully 4 inches in depth. The nest is composed of
moss and small twigs, at times of grass mingled with some spiders'

TEOCHAIOPTEKUM. 63

webs : sometimes there is a foundatiou of dead leaves. The cavity
is liued with fur, cottou-vvool, feathers, &c.

" The eggs are two or three in number."

Mr. AVait, writing from Coouooi*, says : — " T. cachinnans breeds
about May, and Lays from three to five oval eggs. The ground is
bluish, with ash-coloured and brown spots and blotches, and occa-
sionally marks." None of my other correspondents, however,
admit that the bird ever lays more than three eggs.

Mr. Davison tells me that " this bird breeds commonly on the
Nilghiris, just before the rains set in, in May and the earlier part
of June, but it occasionally breeds earlier (in April) or later (in
the latter end of June). The nest is cup-shaped, composed of
dead leaves, moss, grass, &c., and lined with a few moss-roots or
fine grass. It is placed in the fork of a branch about 6 or 8 feet
from the ground. The eggs are a bluish green, mottled chiefly
towards the larger end, and sometimes also streaked with purplish
brown. The normal number of eggs is two ; sometimes, however,
three are laid."

From Kotagherry, Miss Cockburn remarks : — " The name
' Laughing-Thrush ' is most applicable to this bird, and its notes
are often mistaken for the sound of the human voice. Tiiis bird
is very shy, except when its nest contains eggs or young, when it
becomes extremely bold. I was quite surprised to see a pair
whose nest I was taking come so close as to induce me to put out
my hand to catch them. The Laughing-Thrush builds a pretty,
though large, nest, and generally selects the forked branches of a
thick Inish, and commences its nest with a large quantity of moss,
after which there is a lining of fine grass and roots, and the
withered fibrous covering of tlie Peruvian Cherry {Physalis peru-
viana), the nest being finished with a few feathers, in general
belonging to the bird. The inside of the nest is perfectly round,
and rarely contains more than two eggs, belonging to the owner.
The eggs are of a beautiful greenish-blue colour, with a few large
and small brown blotches and streaks, mostly at the large end. I
have found the nests of these birds in February, March, and April.
Occasionally the Black-and-white Crested Cuckoo, which appears
on these hills in the month of March, deposits its eggs (two in
number) in the nest of this Thrush. They are easily distinguished,
as their colour is quite different from the Thrush's eggs, being
entirely dark bluish green."

Mr. Ehodes AV. Morgan writing from South India, says, in ' The
Ibis ': — " It builds a very neat nest of moss, dried leaves, and the
outer husk of the fruit of the Brazil Cherry, lined with feathers,
bits of fur, and other soft substances. The nest is cup-shaped,
and generally contains three eggs, most pecidiarly marked with
blotches, streaks, and wavy lines of a dark claret-colour on a light
blue ground. The markings are almost always at the larger end."
The first specimens that I obtained of the eggs of this species
were kindly sent to me by the late Captain Mitchell and Mr. H.
Er. P. Carter of Madras ; they were taken on the N^ilghiris. They

64 OEATEROPODID^.

are moderately broad ovals, somewhat ])ointed towards one end,
larger than the average eggs of T. liaeatum, and about the same
size as large specimens of the eggs of Crateropus canorus and Aniya
malcolmi. The ground-colour is of a delicate pale blue, and
towards the large end, and sometimes over the whole surface, they
are speckled, spotted, and blotched, but only sparingly, with
brownish red and blackish brown, and amongst these markings a
few cloudy streaks and spots of dull faint reddish purple are
observable. The eggs have not much gloss.

Numerous other specimens subsequently received from Miss
Cockburn and others correspond well with the above description.
More or less pyriform varieties are common. In some eggs the
markings are almost entirely wanting, there being only a very
faint brownish-pink freckling at the large end ; and in many eggs,
even some that are profusely spotted all over, the markings con-
sist only of darker or lighter brownish-pink shades. Occasionally
a few, almost black, twisted lines are intermingled with the other
markings, and in these cases the lines are frequently surrounded
by a reddish-purple nimbus.

The eggs vary in length from 0*92 to 1-08, and in breadth from
0*74 to 0-8, but the average of twenty eggs measured was 1 "0 by 0*76.

96. Trochalopterum fairbanki, Elanf. The Palni Lawjliiwj-

ThrusJt.
Trochalopterum fairbaiiki, Blanf., Hume, Cat. no. 423 bis.

The Eev. S. B. Fairbank, the discoverer of this species, found
its nest at Kodai Kanal, in the Palni Hills, in May. The nest
was placed in the crotch of a tree, at about 10 feet from the
ground, and at an elevation of nearly 6500 feet above the level of
the sea. The eggs are moderately elongated ovals, with a fine,
fairly glossy shell. The ground is pale greenish blue or blidsh
green ; the markings are spots, small blotches, hair-lines, and hiero-
glyphic-like scrawls, rather thinly scattered about the surface,
and varying in colour through several shades of brownish and
reddish purple to bright claret-colour.

The only egg I have measures 1 inch in length by 0*8 inch in
breadth.

99. Trochalopterum lineatum (Vig.). The Himalai/an Streaked
Laughing- Thrush .

Troclialopteron lineatum ( Jlr/.), Jcrd. B. Ind. u, p. -50 ; Hmne,
Rovf/h Draft N. ^- K no. 425 *.

Next to the Common House-Sparrow, tlie Himalayan Streaked
Laughing-Thrush is perhaps the most familiar bird about our

* I omit the iiote on T. imbricatum in the 'Rough Draft,' because, as I have
shown in the ' Birds of India,' this bird was unknown to Hodgson, and his note
refers to T. lincahun. SufRcient is now known about the nidification of this
latter to render the insertion of Hodgson's note unnecessary. — Ed.

TKOClIALOrTEKUM. 65

houses at all the hill-stations of the Himalayas westward of Nepal
and throughout the lower ranges on which these stations are
situated ; this species breeds at elevations of from 5000 to 8000
feet.

It lays from the end of April to the beginning of September,
and Aery possibly occasionally even earlier and later. I took a
nest on the 29th April near Mussoorie ; Mr. Brooks obtained eggs
in May and June at iVlmorah ; Colonel G. F. L. Marshall at
Mussoorie in July and August ; and Colonel C. H. T. Marshall at
Murree from May to the end of July. I again took them in July
and August near Simla, and Captain Beavan found them as late
as the 6th of September near the same station.

So far as my own experience goes, the nests are always placed
in very thick bushes or in low thick branches of some tree, the
Deodar appearing to be a great favourite. Those I fouud averaged
about 4 feet from the ground, but I took a single one in a Deo d
tree fully 8 feet up. The bird, as a rule, conceals its nest so well
that, though a loose and, for the size of the architect, a large
structure, it is difficult to find, even when one closely examines
the bush in which it is. The nest is nearly circular, with a deep
cup-like cavity in the centre, reminding one much of that of
Crateropus canorus, and is constructed of dry grass and the fine
stems of herbaceous plants, often intermingled A\ith the bark of
some fibrous plant, with a considerable number of dead leaves
interwoAen in the fabric, especially towards the base. The cavity
is neatly lined with fine grass-roots, or occasionally very fine grass.
The cavity varies from 3 inches to 3*5 in diameter, and from 2*25
inches to 2*75 in depth ; the walls immediately surrounding the
cavity are very compact, but the compact portion rarely exceeds
from '75 to 1 inch in thickness, beyond which the loose ends of
the material straggle more or less, so that the external diauieter
varies from 5'5 inches to nearly 10.

The normal number of eggs appears to me to be three, although
Captain Beavan cites an instance of four being found.

Captain Hutton tells us (J. A. S, B. xvii.) that in the neigh-
bourhood of Mussoorie " this bird is met with in pairs, sometimes
in a family of four or five, and may be seen under every bush.
The nest is placed near the ground, in the midst of some thick low
bush, or on the side of a bank amidst overhanging coarse grass,
and not unfrequeutly in exposed and well-frequented places ; it is
loosely and rather slovenly constructed of coarse dry grasses and
stalks externally, lined sometimes \A'ith fine grass, sometimes with
fine roots. The eggs are three in number, and in shape and size
exceedingly variable, being sometimes of an ordinary oval, at others
nearly round."

From Almorah and Nynee Tal my friend Mr. Brooks writes to
me " that this bird is common everywhere. The nest is generally
placed iu a low tree or bush where the foliage is thick. It is com-
posed of grass, and lined with finer grass. The eggs are three iu
number, one inch and one line loug by nine lines broad. They are

VOL. I. 5

66 CEATEEOPODID^.

of a light greenish blue, the tint being much the same as that of
the eggs of Acridothcres tristis. They lay from the commencement
of May to the end of Juue."

Colonel Gr. E. L. Marshall tells me that " the Streaked Laughing-
Thrush is very common at Mussoorie, where it is called by the
public the Eobin of India. It breeds in July and August all about
Landour. The nest is cup-shaped, rather shallow, and loosely put
together, made of grass and fibre with some moss and a few dead
leaves twisted into it; it is placed in a low bush or else on tlie
ground concealed among the grass-roots on the hill-side. The
eggs, three or four in number, are oval, rather large for the bird,
and of a pure light-blue colour without spots. I took eggs on the
26th and 28th July and on the 16tb August."

Sir E. C. Buck writes : — " At Mutianee, three marches north
of Simla, I found on the 28th June a nest in a bush on the side of a
scantily ' jungled ' hill. It was 2 feet from the ground, constructed
of grass and stalks externally, and lined with fibrous roots. It con-
tained three fresh eggs. The nest measured — exterior diameter
6 inches, height exteriorly 4 inches ; the interior diameter was 3
inches, and the depth of the cavity 2 inches."

Tlie late Captain Beavan tells us that " on the 16th of August,
186G, I fouud a nest in the garden, in a rose-bush, with four pale
blue eggs in it, like those of Acridotheres tristis. The nest is a
large structure, firmly built of dry twigs, bark, sticks, ferns, and
roots. Another nest, M'ith three eggs only, was found in a thick
clump of everlasting peas close to the grouiid on the 6th of Sep-
tember. The female sat very close, and this may have been the
second nest of the same pair that built the nest mentioned above,
as it was built not far from the filrst."

Major C. T. Bingham writes : — " Being at Landour for a few
days in May I chanced on a nest of this bird, perhaps the com-
monest in the hills. It was placed under an overhanging bush on
the side of Lai Tiba hill, and on the (jroimd, being constructed
rather loosely of pieces of the withered stem of some creeper,
intertwined with a quantity of oak-leaves, and lined with grass-
roots."

The eggs, of which I must have seen some hundreds, as this is
the commonest Laughing-Thrush about both Mussoorie and Simla,
are typically regular and moderately broad ovals. Abnormally elon-
gated, spherical, and pyriform varieties occur ; some are nearly
round like a Kingfisher's, and I have seen one almost as slender
as a Swift's, btit, as a rule, the eggs vary but little either in shape
or colour. They are perfectly spotless, moderately glossy, and of
a delicate pale greenish blite, which of course varies a little in
shade and intensity of colour, but which is very much paler on the
average than those of any of the Cratcropi, and at the same time
less glossy. I am not at all sure whether T, lineatwn is rightly asso-
ciated with species like 2\ cachinnans, T. vanetjatum, and 2'. ery-
throce/dialum, \\hich all have spotted eggs.

In length the eggs vary from 0*8 to 1'13, and in breadth from

GKAMMATOPTILA. 67

0*68 to 0*8 ; but the average of fifty-eight eggs carefully measured
is 1-01 by 073.

101. Grammatoptila striata (Vig.). The Striated Lawjhing-

Thrusli.

Grammatoptila striata ( Vvj.), Jerd. B. hid. \\, p. 11; Hume, ItoiKjh
Draft N. 4- E. no. 382.

The Striated Laughing-Thrush, remarks Mr. Blyth, " builds a
compact Jay-lilce nest. The eggs are spotless blue, as shown by
one of Mr. Hodgson's drawings in the British Museum."

A uest of this species found near Darjeeling in July was placed
on the branches of a large tree, at a height of about 12 feet.

It was a huge shallow cup, composed mainly of moss, bound
together with stems of creepers and fronds of a Selaginella, and
lined with coarse roots and broken pieces of dry grass. A few
dead leaves were incorporated in the body of the nest. The nest
was about 8 or 9 inches in diameter and about 2 in thickness, the
broad, shallow, saucer-like cavity being about an inch in depth.

The nest contained two nearly fresh eggs. The eggs appear to
be rather peculiarly shaped. They are moderately elongated ovals,
a good deal pinched out and pointed towards the small end, in the
same manner (though in a less degree) as those of some Plovers,
8nipe, &c. I do not know whether this is the typical shape of
this egg, or whether it is an abnormal peculiarity of the eggs of
this particular nest. The shell is fine, but the eggs have very
little gloss. In colour they are a very pale spotless blue, not much
darker than those of Zosterops paJpebrosus.

The eggs measure TS and 1-32 in length, and 0*89 and 0-92 in
breadth.

Prom Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes : — " In the first week of May I
took a nest of the Striated Laughing-Thrush out of a small tree grow-
ing in the forest at 5500 feet above the sea. It was fixed among
spray about 10 feet up. In shape it is a shallow, broad cup, and
is built in three layers : the outer one of twining stems, which
besides holding the nest together fastened it to the spray; the
middle layer is an intermixture of green moss and fresh fern-
fronds, and the inner a thick lining of roots. Externally it mea-
sured 7"5 inches broad by 5'25 inches deep ', internally 4 inches
by 2'75 inches.

" It contamed two hard-set eggs."

Several nests of this species that I haA'e now seen have all been
of the same type, large nests 9 or 10 inches in diameter, and 4 to
5 in height, the body of the nest composed mainly of green moss
interwoven with and bound round about with the stems of creepers
and a few pliant twigs, many of which straggle away a good deal
outside the limits which I have assigned in stating the dimensions
above. The cavities are not quite hemispherical, a little shallower,
say 4-5 inches in diameter and 2 inches in depth, closely lined

5*

68 CRATEROPOUII).E.

with line black roots. They liave all been placed iu the branches
of trees at heights of from 8 to 20 feet.

Eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Gamniie in May, and Mr.
Mandelli in July, are of precisely the same type. They are rather
elongated ovals, a good deal pointed touards the small end, near
which they are not unfrequently a good deal compressed, so as to
render the egg slightly pyriform. The shell is fine and smooth, but
has little gloss. The ground-colour is a very pale greenish blue or
bluish green, in some almost white ; some of them are absolutely
spotless, none of them are at all well marked, but some bear from
half a dozen to a dozen tiny specks of a dark colour. On one only
there is a triangular spot about 0-05 each way, which proves on
examination with a microscope to be a deep brownish red. On
the other eggs the markings are mere specks.

The eggs vary from 1*25 to 1"35 in length, and from 0"S9 to
0-92 in breadth".

104. Argya earlii (Blyth). The Striated Babbler.

Chatarrlisea earhi (L'lyth), Jerd. B. Incl. n, p. 68 ; Hume, Roiujh
Draft N. 8f E. no. 439.

The Striated Babbler breeds in suitable localities throughout
Continental India, from Sindh to Tipperah and Assam, as also in
Burmah. Keedy-margined lakes, canals and perennial streams
are its favourite haunts, and wherever within the limits above
indicated these abound, and the locality is moist and warm, A.
earlii is pretty sure to be met with.

They lay twice during the year, between the latter end of March
and the early part of September, building a neat, compact, and
rather massive cup-shaped nest, either between the close-growing
reeds, to tliree or more of which it is firmly bound, or in some
little bush or shrub more or less surrounded by high reed-grass.
The broad leaves and stringy roots of the reed, common grass, and
grass-roots are the materials of which it generally constructs its
nest, which varies much in size, according to the situation and
fineness of the material used. I have seen them composed almost
wholly of reed-leaves, fully 7 inches in diameter and 5 in height,
and again built entirely of hue grass-stems not more than 4 inches
across and 3 inches in height. When semi-suspended bet\\'eeu
reeds, they are always smaller and more comjiact, while when
placed in a fork of a low bush they are larger and more straggling.
The cavity (always neatly finished off, but very rarely regularly
lined, and then only with very fine grass-stems or roots) is usually
about 3 inches in diameter by 2 inches in depth.

Colonel Gr. F. L. Marshall remarks : — " In the Saharunpoor
District A. earlii commences building about the middle of March,
and the young are hatched towards the middle of April. Tlie nest
is usually placed in the middle of a tuft of Sarkerry grass, and
sometimes in a bush or small tree, generally 3 or 4 feet from the
ground. It is a deep cup-shaped structure, rather neatly made of

ABGTA. 69

grass witliout lining, and woven in with the stems if in a clump
of grass, or firmly fixed in a fork if in a bush or low tree. The
interior diameter is about 3 inches, and the depth nearly 2 inches.
The eggs, four in number, are of a clear blue colour without spots
of any kind. In shape they are oval, rather thinner at one end ; the
shell_ is smooth and thin. The eggs are of the same colour, but
considerably larger than those of Argya caudata. Arrpja earlii
breeds commonly in the Sub-8i\valik District of the Doab ; it
seems fond of water, as most of the nests I have found were
close to the canal bank. It is gregarious even in the breeding-
season ; small flocks of seven or eight keeping together, fluttering
in and out of the low bushes, but seldom alighting on the ground,
and occasionally making a noisy chattering cry, especially when
disturbed."

From the Pegu District Mr. Gates writes : — " I found two nests
on the 24th May, one quite empty though finished, tlie other con-
taining three eggs.

" The nests were placed a few feet apart in an immensely thick
patch of elephant-grass, the undergrowth being fine, once tall, but
now dead, grass. It was upon tliis dead stuff, which in May is
much flattened down, that I found the nests. They were "not
attached to anything, but simply laid in a depressed platform about
a foot above the ground, in among the thickest of the stalks of
elephant-grass.

" The nest is a bulky structure, some G or 8 inches in external
diameter, and 4 inches in height, composed chiefly of coarse reeds,
becoming finer interiorly till the egg-cup is reached, where the
grasses employed are tolerably fine and neatly interwoven. The
cavity itself is more than a hemisphere, the diameter being 3
inches and the depth about 2 inches.

" The eggs are of a beautiful blue colour, rather pointed at one
end."

Colonel Tickell has the follo\\ing note on the nidification of this
species in the Asiatic Society Journal, 1848, p. 301 : —

'' Burra pheiKja. — Xest hemispherical, of grasses rather loosely
interwoven ; generally on bushes in jungle. Eggs two to four ;
rather lengthened shape ; clear, full, verditer blue. — June."

Mr. J. li. Cripps writes of this bird in Eastern Bengal : — " Very
common, and a permanent resident, keeping to grass-fields in small
parties of seven to ten. Very noisy. On the 2ud December,
1877, I found a nest with three slightly-incubated eggs in a small
babool bush which stood in a ' sone' grass-field. The nest was a
deep cup, whose foundation was a few leaves over which sone-grass
was woven rather loosely. Lining of fine grass-roots. The nest
M-as placed in amongst some coarse grass which grew up in the
centre of the bush, and was three feet from the ground. External
height 4, diameter 4j, internal diameter 2|, depth 2^ inches. Both
Messrs. IMarshall and Hume in their works on ' Birds' Nesting'
give March and September as the two periods for these birds to
lay, but the clutch I found were exceptionally late."

70 CRATEKOPODIDiE.

Mr. J. Inglis writes from Cachar : — " The Striated Eeed-Babbler
is exceedingly common during the whole year. It breeds from
March onwards, making its nest in longish grass."

The eggs closely resemble those of A. eaudata both in colour
and shape, but they are conspicuously larger. To judge from
Hewitson's figure, for I have never seen the egg, they in shape,
size, and colour closely resemble the eggs of Accentor alpinus, some

1 have being very slightly larger, and others exactly the same size
as the figure referred to.

In length the eggs vary from 0-78 to 1-01, and in breadth from
G5 to 0-75, but the average of a large series is 0-88 by 0*7.

105. Argya eaudata (Dumeril). The Common Bahhler.

Clintarrha?a eaudata (Bmn.), Jerd. B, Ind. ii, p. G7 ; Hume, Bowjh
Draft N. S^^ E. no. 438.

The Common Babbler breeds throughout India, not, ho\\ever,
ascending any of our many mountain-ranges to any great elevation.

They lay pretty well all the year round ; at any rate from early
in March "to early in September their eggs are common. Mr. W.
Blewitt took a nest atllansie on the 3rd January, and single nests
are recorded by others as found in October, December, and
February. Thev certainly have two broods a year, and perhaps
more, tlie first being hatched from March to May, the second from
June to August.

They build in low thorny bushes, and occasionally in clumps of
high grass, the nest being rarely more than 3 feet from the ground.
The nest itself is cup-shaped, and composed of grass and roots,
often unlined, at times lined with very fine grass-stems or horse-hair.
As a rule, it is neatly and compactly built, with a deep cavity some

2 to 3 inches in diameter, and 1-75 to 2-25 in depth, but I have
seen straggling, ragged, and comparatively shallow nests of this
species, having an external diameter of fully 7 inches. Three is
the normal number of the eggs, but four are occasionally met with.

Mr. Brooks says : — " This species builds in much the same sort
of places as A. malcolmi, but it chooses a low thick bush, the nest
not being more than 3 feet from the ground. Nest neatly built of
grass, roots, hair, &c., and the eggs bright bluish green, very glossy,
and much i-esembling those of Accentor modularis."

Mr. R. M. Adam remarks : — " I took a nest of this bird in Oudh
on the 22nd April. It contained a young bird and one unhatched
egg. The nest was n)ade of grass not well worked together, and
bad a lining of finer grass. The ground-work was composed of
twigs and stems of creepers interlaced. The exterior diameter of
the nest measured 5 inches, and the egg-cavity was 2 inches deep.
In one case this bird did not lay till the fifth day after the nest was
finished. About Agra this bird breeds during July and August,

" This Bush-Babbler is very common about the Sambhur lake. I
have noted it breeding from the beginning of March till the begin-
ning of July. Although this species generally prefers building in

ARGYA. 71

the hedges of pricldy-pear, I have taken the uests in orange-trees,
the karouiida, the babool, &c."

Messrs. Davidson and Weuden state that in the Deccan ib is
" very common and breeds."

Major 0. T. Bingham says : — "This bird, uncommon at Alla-
habad, is plentiful here at Delhi. I found several nests between
JMarch and June, all of the Babbler type, deep cups, rather more
firmly bnilt than those of the preceding bird, but constructed
like them of coarse roots of grass, with hner ones for the inside.
They are never placed at any great height from the ground,
and generally in some thorny bush. I have found mostly three,
rarely four eggs in any one nest."

Mr. Benjamin Aitkin writes : — " I never saw the Common
Babbler in Poona, and it certainly does not occur in Bombay.
But it is very abundant on the arid plains of Berar, breeding in
the low babool-bushes, where large numbers of its eggs are destroyed
by lizards. I have found four eggs in a nest oftener than three."

Colonel Butler writes : — " The Common Babl)ler breeds in the
neighbourhood of Deesa principally during the monsoon ; but I
have found nests occasionally at other seasons of the year, as the
following table of dates will show : —

"April 29, 1876. A nest containing 3 fresh eggs.

" May 16, 1876. „ „ 3 fresh eggs.

" May 21, 1876. „ „ 2 fresh eggs.

" Nov. 15, 1876. „ „ 4 young birds.

" 1 found numerous nests from the middle of July to the begin-
ning of September. On the 2r)th July, 1876, I saw upwards of a
dozen nests, some containing fresh eggs, and others incubated. In
many instances they contained eggs of Coec)/stes jacohinus. The
nest is usually placed 3 or 4 feet from the ground in low thorny
bushes {Zlziiplius jujuha preferred) or in a tussock of sarpat grass.
It is built of twigs, roots, grass, &e., loosely put together exteriorly
but closely woven interiorly, the lining being composed of iine roots
and grass-stems. The eggs vary in number from three to five."

Lieut. H. E. Barnes, writing of Rajputana, says : — " The Striated
Bush-Babbler breeds from March to July. The nest is usually
placed in a low thorny bush, and is composed of grass-roots and
stems ; it is deep cup-shaped, neatly and compactly built."

The eggs are typically of a moderately elongated oval shape,
slightly compressed towards one end, but more or less spherical
and pyriform varieties occur ; and I have one specimen, a very
long pointed egg, which, so far as size and shape go, might pass
for an egg of Ci/pselus ciffims ; and though this is a peculiarly
abnoi'mal shape, I have others which somewhat approach it in
form. The eggs are glossy, often brilliantly so, and of a delicate,
pure, spotless, somewhat pale blue. The shade of colour in this
egg varies very little, and I have never met with either the very
pale or very dark varieties common amongst the eggs of C,
canorus and occasionally found amongst those of A. malcolmi. In
colour, size, and shape they are not very unlike those of our English

72 CBATEROPODID.E.

Hedge-Sparrow, whose early eggs formed the prize of our first
boyish nesting-expeditions, but they are shghtly larger and typically
somewhat more elongated.

In length they vary from 075 to 0-92, and in breadth from 0-6
to 0-7 ; but the average of one hundred and fifteen eggs measured
was 0-82 by 0-G4.

107. Argya malcolmi (Sykes). The Lar(je Grey Bahhler.

Malacocercus lualcohiii {Si/Jces), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 04.
Arg'ya malcolmi (^Si/Ices), ILwae, Rough Draft N. ^- E. no. 430.

The Large Grey Babbler breeds throughout the central portions
of both the Peninsula and Continent of India from the Nilghii'is
to the Dhoon. It does not extend westwards to Siiidh or the
North- West Punjab, or eastwards far into Bengal Proper. In
the Central and North- West Provinces it lays from early in March
well into September, having at least two and, as I believe, often
three broods.

It builds ou low branches of small trees or in thick shrubs, at
no great elevation from the ground, say at heights of from 4 to 10
feet, a somewhat loosely woven, biit yet generally neat, cup-shaped
nest, composed, as a rule, chiefly of grass-roots, but often with an
admixture of thin sticks and grass. Generally tiiere is no Ihiing,
but I have found nests scantily lined with very fine grass and even
borse-hair. Even when, as is the rule, entirely unlined, the inside
is finished off very nicely and smoothly. I have often seen ragged
and untidy nests, but these are tbe exception. Externally the nest
is some 5 or inches in diameter and 3 or 4 inches in height ; the
cavity is from 3 to 4 inches across and from 2 to nearly 3 inches
iu depth.

Pour is the normal number of tbe eggs laid, but I have several
notes of finding five.

Mr. Brooks says : — " This species breeds in waste lands over-
grown with scanty jungle. The nest is made of sticks, roots, grass,
&c., is rather bulky, and is placed iu some modei*ate-sized bush
about 7 or 8 feet from the ground. The eggs are greenish blue,
bluer and not so brightly coloured as those of C. terrlcolor.''

Mr. E. M. Adam remarks : — " Near Muttra, ou the 31st Octo-
ber, I found a pair of birds busy lining the interior of a nest which
they had built in a plum-tree. At the Sambhur lake it is very
common, and commences to breed about the end of March."

Writing from Kotagherry (Nilghiris), Miss Cockburn remarks : — •
" Their nests are built of a few twigs and roots, very loosely put
together (on some low branch of a tree), and so few of even these
as hardly to keep the eggs from falling through. These Babblers
lay four oval eggs of a greenish-blue colour, but I once saw a nest
with eight, and as there were several of these birds close to it, I
have no doubt two or three shared it together, perhaps to avoid
the necessity of each pair building for itself. Their nests are
found in the months of March and April.

ARGTA. 73

" It is in the nests of this species and our Common Laughing-
Thrush {T. cnclihinans) that 1 have chiefly found the eggs of the
Pied Crested Cuckoo."

Of this species Colonel Gr. F. L. Marshall remarks :— " I liave
taken eggs on the 20th June in Cawnpoor, the 31st July in Bolund-
shuhur,_ and the 25th August in AUyghur. The nest is almost
always in a keekur tree in a fork about halfxA-ay up, and near the
end of a branch. It is composed of keekur-twigs and lined with
roots. It is thinner in structure than that of M. ierricolor, but
has an outer casing of thorns which the latter wants. They lay
four blue eggs, larger and paler than those of M. canorus."

Lieut. H. E. Barnes writes that in Eajputana the Large Gre^
Babbler is " very common. I have found nests in each month froiii
January to December. They have, I believe, several broods in the
year ; and even when nesting associate in small parties of seven or
eight."

Messrs. Davidson and Wendeu say :— " Common, and breeds in
the Deccan."

Major C. T. Bingham says :— " Breeds both at Allahabad and
at Delhi from March to quite the end of August, placing its loosely
constructed (rarely firmly built) nest of twigs and fine grass-roots
generally at no great height in babool-trees. Twice only I have
found them in dense mango-trees at about thirty feet from the
ground. The nests are not, I think, as a rule, so deep as those of
Crateropus terricolor ; once or twice 1 have found the soft down of
the Madar {Catatropes hamiltonii) incorporated into the lii.ino' of
grass-roots. The eggs are generally three or four in number."

Mr. Benjamin Aitken writes :—" All the nests which I have
seen of the Large Grey Babbler have been on babool-trees. At
Akola (Berar) in 1870, a great many had their nests during the
month of July. I have recorded two instances of nests placed at
a height above the ground of 15 feet and 20 feet. These were at
Poena, one on the 21st April, and the other on the 10th May. 1
could not go up to the nests, but the birds in both cases were sitting
closely. I have twice found nests with only three newly-hatched
young ones."

Colonel Butler informs us that " the Large Grey Babbler breeds
in the neighbourhood of Deesa during the rains. Both the nest
and eggs closely resemble those of O. terricolor, but the latter
differ slightly in being less elongated, not so pointed at the small
end, rounder at the large end, and someuhat paler iji colour. I
have taken nests on the following dates : —

"July 19, 1875. A nest containing 4 fresh eggs.

" June 30, 1876. „ „ 4 fresh eggs.

"July 15, 1876. „ „ 4 fresh eggs.

" July 20, 1876. „ „ 3 fresh eggs.

" The nest in every instance was similar to that described by
Jerdon, viz. : — a loose structure of dend roots, twigs, and grass, the
interior being neatly lined with closely-woven roots of ' khus-khus.'
The old birds generally select some thorny tree {Mimosa &c.) to

74 CBATBEOPODIDiE,

build on, and the nest is usually from 8 feet to 20 feet from the
ground.

" Even in the nesting-season these birds are gregarious, joining
a flock generally as soon as they leave the nest."

The eggs of this species do not appear to me to differ perceptibly
from those of CWiteropus canorus. When one first takes a nest or
two of each of them, one is apt to draw distinctions and fancy that
the eggs of the two species can be discriminated ; but after taking
forty or fifty nests of each species, it becomes obvious that there
is no variety of the one in either colour, shape, or size that cannot
be paralleled in the other. All I have said of the eggs of C. canorvs
is applicable to the eggs of tliis species, and the only differ-
ence that, with a huge series of each before me, I can discover is
that, as a body, there is less variation in the colour of the eggs of
Arf/ijn maJcohni than in those of C canorus.

in length they vary from 0-88 to 1-1, and in breadth from 0*73
to 0-85 ; but the average of fifty eggs measured is U-99 by 0*77.

108. Argya snbrufa (Jerd.) *. The Large liafous Babbler.
Layardia suhrufa (Jerd.), Ilinnc, Cat. no. 437.

The nest is a deep massive cup placed in the fork of twigs,
coarsely and roughly but still strongly built. The body of the
nest is chiefly composed of leaves, some of which mi;st have been
green when used. Outside, the leaves are held in position by
blades of grass, creepers, and stems of herbaceous plants, carelessly
and roughly wound about the e.vterior. The cavity is rather more
neatly lined \^ith tolerably flue grass-bents. Exteriorly the nest
is about 7 inches in height and 5 in diameter. The cavity is about
3| inches deep by 3 in diameter.

The eggs are precisely like those of the several species of Arr/ya,
moderately broad ovals rather obtuse at both ends, often Mith a
pyriform tendency. The colour is a uniform spotless clear blue
with a faint greenish tinge, and the eggs have usually a fine gloss.
The eggs measure 0*98 by 0'75.

110. Crateropus canorus (Linn.) f. The Juwjle BahUer.

Malacocercus terricolor (Hod'js.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 59 ; Hume, Jiovf/h

Draft N. c^' K no. 432.
Malacocercus nialabaricus, Jerd., Jerd. t. e. p. G2 ; Hume, t. c. no. 434.

C. terricolor.
The Bengal Babbler breeds throughout the plains of the Bengal

* The aecoinpanyiiig ineoniplete account of the nidifimtion of tliis bird is
all I can find among ]Vir. Hume's noteg. I cannot ascertain who was the dis-
coverer of tlie nest and eggs described. — Ed.

t Tn the ' Birds of India,' I have united C. malaharicns and C. terricolor.
Mr. Hume jn-obably still considers these two races distinct, and others may agree
with him. To a\oid confusion, therefore, I liavc kept the notes appertaining to
these two races di&tinct from each other. — Ed.

CKATEBOPUS. 75

Presidency (including Bengal, North- Western Provinces, Central
Provinces, Oiidh, and the Punjab), and I may add in the less desert
portions of 8iiidh, although the race found in that province is not
exactly identical with the iiengal bird, and in some respects closely
approaches the Malabar race. In Northern Eajpootana it is rare,
and further_ south in the quasi-desert tracts of Central and
Western Eajpootana it disappears according to my experience.

Eastward in Cachar and Assam it appears to occur as a mere
straggler, but I have no record of its having bred there. It lays
froin the latter half of March until the close of July, but the great
majority lay during the first week after the setting "in of the rains,
which varies according to locality and season, from the 1st of June
to the 15th of July.

They build very commonly in gardens, in thick orange-, citron-, or
lime-shrubs, but their nests may be found almost anywhere, in
thick shrubs or small trees of any kind, or in thick "hedges, at
heights of from -1 to 10 feet from the ground, always placed in
some fork towards the centre of the shrub or hedge. The nests
are rather loosely-put-together cups, comi)osed of grass-stems and
roots varying in fineness, and often lined with horse-hair. Some
are deep and neatly constructed, others loose, straggling, and
shallow, the cavity varying from 3 to more than 4 inches in dia-
meter and from less than 2 to nearly 3 inches in depth.

Three is the normal number of the eggs, but I have repeatedly
found four.

Captain Ilutton writes to me : — " A nest of this bird was taken
in the Dehra Dhoon on the 14th May, and was composed entirely
of fine roots, the thinnest being placed within as a lining. Sub-
sequently three others were procured, one of which was externally
composed of coarse dry grasses and leaves, with a scanty lining of
fine roots ; the other two were constructed of the fine woody tendrils
of climbing-plants and lined like the others with fine roots. These
latter had a strong resemblance to some of the nests of Garrulax
alhor/nlaris, while the difference exhibited in the nature of the
materials used arises from the various character of the localities in
which the bird may choose to build. Each nest contained four
beautiful eggs of a full bright turquoise-green, shining as if var-
nished. The eggs were nearly all hard-set. This species does not
ascend the hills, but appears to be confined to the Dhoon, where it
may be seen in small parties in gardens, hedgerows, and low brush-
wood, turning over the dead leaves in search of seeds and insects.
Its flight is low, short, and apparently laboured, from the shortness
and rounded form of the wing, but on the ground it hops along with
speed. The note is clamorous and chuckling and uttered in concert."
The late Mr. A. Anderson remarked :— " Although one of the
most common birds in the North-West Provinces, and in fact
verging on a nuisance, its nidification is interesting, inasmuch as its
nest (in common with that of A. malcolmi) is used as a nursery
for the young of Hierococcyx varias and Cocci/stes melanoJeucus,
" This Babbler builds, as a general rule, during the early part of

76 CRATEROPODID.^.

the rains (June to August), laying usually three or four eggs of a
bright greenish-blue colour. The nest itself recalls that of the
Blackbird, but it is frequently very clumsily made. On the 21st
June last a boy brought me a nest of this species containing evjlit
eggs. Two, if not three, of this clutch are easily separable from
the others, being more oval and somewhat smaller, and are unques-
tionably parasitical eggs ; but it is quite impossible to say whether
they belong to //. varivs or G. melanoleueus.

" Again, on the 9th July, I took a nest in person, which also
contained eight eggs. Seven of these are all alike and are well
incubated, while the eighth is quite fresh, and doubtless owes its
parentnge to one of the above-mentioned Cuckoos.

" Strange to say I have now another nest marked down, which
in like manner contains the same number of callow young. It is
just possible that the foster-parents may have to perform double
duty in this case.

" From the foregoing it may be inferred that M. canoms does
occasionally lay more than four eggs, or as the birds are gregarious
even during the breeding-season, it is possible enough that two
birds may occasionally deposit eggs in the same nest.

" I should not think that i/. varhis (the " Brain-fever and De-
lirium -tremens Bird " as it is frequently called) had much difficulty
in depositing her eggs in the nest of the Malacoccrci, for I have
frequently noticed that all the Babblers in the neighbourhood make
a clean bolt of it immediately this Cuckoo puts in an appearance,
no doubt owing to its great similarity to the Indian Sparrow-
Ilawk (3/. hadius).

" During the months of September and October I have observed
several Babblers in the act of feeding one young //. varius, follow-
ing the bird from tree to tree, and being most assiduous in their
attentions to the young interloper."

Mr. K. M. Adam remarks : — " I took a nest of this bird in Agra
on the 17th July. It contained five eggs, all of which were nearly
hatched. Again on the 21st I took another nest containing only
one hard-set egg."

Writing from Calcutta, Mr. J. C. Parker says: — "I found a
nest of this bird, near my house in Garden Reach, on the 23rd
June. It contained four fresh eggs."

Colonel Butler observes : — " The Bengal Babbler breeds in the
neighbourhood of Deesa as a rule, I think, during the rains and in
the cold weather, but I have found nests as late as March. 'The
nest is usually placed on the outside branch of some moderate-
sized tree (neem &c.). It is a somewhat solidly built structure
composed almost entirely of dead twigs, stems of dead leaves, and
stalks of coarse dry grass, being lined with a few tine librous roots
or stems of grass. 1 found nests on the following dates : —

" July 16, 1875. A nest containing 4 fresh eggs.

"March 20, 1876. „ „ 4 fresh eggs.

" May 29, 1876. „ „ 3 fresh eggs.

" June 17, 1870. „ „ 3 fresh eggs.

CEATEKOPUS. 77

" June 17, 1876. A nest containing 4 young birds.

" Oct. 15, 1876. „ „ 4 fresh eggs.

"Nov. 3,1876. „ „ 4 slightly incubated.

" In some nests I have noticed a breach upon one side of tlie
nest as if intended for the convenience of the bird's tail. It is
not unusual to find an egg of C.jacobinus iu the nest."

Major C. T. Bingham writes':— " Common both at Allahabad
and at Delhi ; I have found this bird breeding from April to the end
of July. All nests that I have found ha^e, with the exception of
one, been placed in low babool bushes ; once only I found a nest
near Delhi in the fork of a low bough of a mango-tree, this was
on the 31st July. The nests are more or less loosely constructed
cups of slender twigs and grass-roots and inclined."

Mr. J. E. Cripps writing from Eastern Bengal says : — " On the
15th April I found a nest on the very top of a mango-tree about
30 feet off the ground, shooting the male as it flew off the nest."
_ The eggs of this species are very Aariable in coloiu', shape, and
size. Typically they are rather broad ovals, somewhat compressed
towards one end, and much the shape of, though a good deal
smaller than, those of our English Song-Thrush. Some are, how-
ever, long and cylindrical; others more or less spherical. The
colour varies from a pale blue, like that of Troclialojjterum Uneatum,
to a deep dull blue, recalling, but yet not so dark as, that of
Garrulax alhiyularis. The eggs are typically glossy, but it is re-
markable that in a large series the deepest coloured are always far
the most glossy. Some deep blue eggs of this species are" most
intensely glossy, more so than almost any other of our Indian
eggs, except those of Metopidius indicu^. I need scarcely say that
the eggs are entirely spotless and devoid of all markings, but I may
note that each egg is invariably the same colour throughout, and
that I have never met with a specimen in which the shade of colour
varied in the same egg.

Li length the eggs vary from 0-88 to 1-15, and in breadth from
0-75 to 0-b2 ; but the average of fifty-one eggs measured is 1-01
by 0-78.

C malaharicus.

The Jungle Babbler, like the White-headed one, breeds pretty
well over the whole of Southern India, but while the latter is
chiefly confined to the more open plain country, the former is the
bird of the uplands, hills, and forests. Still 'the Jungle Babbler
is found at times in the same localities as the White-headed one,
and what is more, specimens occur, as in Cocl)in, which partake
of the distinctive characters of both. A great deal still remains to
be done in working out properly this group ; both in Sindh on the
west and the Tributary Meha'ls on the east, and again in some
parts of the Nilghiris, races occur quite intermediate between
typical C. terricoJor and typical C. maJahancus, while in the south,
as already mentioned, forms intermediate between this latter and
C. fjrisem seem common. Three distinguishable races again of

78 chatekopodidje.

G. griseiis are met with, but running the one iuto the other, while
intermediate forms between this species and G. somervillii (Sykes)
are also met with.

Mr. Davison remarks : — " This bird seems to be very irregular
in its time of breeding. I have taken the nest in May, June,
October, and December. The nest is rather a loose structure of
dry grass and leaves, lined with fine dry grass ; it is generally
placed in the middle of some thick thorny bush, and cannot gene-
rally be got at without paying the penalty of well scratched hands.
The eggs, generally five in number, are of a very deep blue v^ith a
tiiige of green, but of not so decided a tinge as in the eggs of
M. (jrisLUS. It breeds on the slopes of the Kilghiris, not ascending
to more than about 6000 feet."

Mr. Wait, writing from Coonoor, says : — " C. malaharicus builds
a cup-shaped nest in small trees and bushes, and lays from three
to five very round oval verditer-blue eggs."

Captain Horace Terry says of this species : — " Eathcr rare at
Pulungi, but very common lower down on the slopes and in the
Pittur valley. I got a nest on April 5th at Pulungi with three
incubated eggs, and on the 6th ojie with two incubated eggs, in
the Pittur valley. The last was built in a hollow in the top of a
stump of a tree that had been broken off some ten feet from the
ground."

Mr. I. Macpherson writes from Mysore : — "This bird is occasion-
ally found with G. yriseus in the bigger scrub forests, but its chief
habitat is the larger forests. Its breeding-season is much the same
as G. r/riseus, but unlike it, it docs not select thorny bushes for
building in, its nests being generally found in small trees or
bamboo-chmips. Pour is the usual number of eggs laid, but five are
often found, and the fifth I expect is frequently that of Jf. varius."

Three eggs sent me by Mr. C arter from Coonoor, in the Nilgbi-
ries, are absolutely undistiiiguishable from those of Argifa malcolmi.
Like these they are a uniform, rather deep greenish blue, devoid
of spots or markings, and very glossy. I do not think that, if the
eggs of A. malcolmi, G. malaharicus^ and G. terricolor were once
mixed, it would be possible to separate them with certainty. Other
eggs taken by Mr. Davison are similar but slightly smaller, and,
talving them as a whole, I think they average rather darlier than
those of the two species just mentioned.

The eggs vary in length from 0-93 to 1'02, and in breadth from
0'71 to 0-82 ; but the average of nine eggs is 0-97 by nearly 0*77.

111. Crateropus griseus (Gm.). The White-headed Babbler.

Malacocercus griseus (Gm.), Jerd. B. Bid. ii, p. GO; Hume, Bouyh
Draft N. c^ E. no. 433.

I should say thnt the White-headed Babbler breeds all over the
plain country of Southern India, not ascending the hills to any
great elevation. At the same time, many people would Aery likely

CEATEROPUS. 79

separate the Madras, Mangalore, and Anjango birds, and insist on
their being difEerent species ; but for my part, seeing how the
birds vary in each locality and what a perfect and unbroken chain
of intermediate forms connects the most different-looking examples,
and that all the several races are separable from the other species
of this group by their more or less conspicuously pale heads, I
prefer to keep them all as C. grlseus.

This species, thus considered, breeds apparently twice a year
from April to June, and again in October and even later.

About Madras the nest is commonly placed in thick thorny
hedges of a shrub locally known as " Kurka-puli," said by Balfour
to be Garcinia camhogia, but which does not look like a Garcinia
at all. The nest is a loosely-made cup, composed of grass-stems
and roots, and the eggs vary from three to Hxe in number.

Dr. Jerdon says : — " 1 have often found the nest of this bird,
which is composed of small twigs and roots, carelessly and loosely
put together, in general at no great height from the ground. It
lays three or four blue eggs."

Colonel Butler writes : — " A nest containing four fresh eggs
apparently of this species (it being the common Babbler in this
district) was brought to me by some wood-cutters on the 18th
March, 1880. It was taken in the jungles about six miles from
Belgaura, and measured about 2| inches in diameter and about
2 inches deep interiorly, and was of the usual Babbler type,
consisting of dry stems loosely but neatly constructed. The eggs
were highly glossed and deep iDluish green, some people might say
greenish blue.''

Mr. Iver Macpherson writes of this bird from Mysore : — " I
have found their nests in every month between March and August,
and they possibly breed both earlier and later. The nests are
generally fixed in thorny bushes and at no great height off the
gi'ound. Pour is the usual number of eggs laid, but very often
five are found, and I feel much inclined to think that the fifth egg
is often that of JI. varius."

The eggs of this species that I possess were taken by Mr. Davi-
son in May, in the immediate neighbourhood of Madras. They
are all pretty regular, somewhat cylindrical ovals, excessively
glossy, spotless, and of a deep greenish blue, much deeper than
the eggs of any of the other Crateroj^i are as a rule ; in fact,
they approach in colouring to the eggs of Gary'idax alhigularis.

They vary in length from 0-9 to I'O, and in bi*eadth from 0-G2
to 0'74 ; but 1 have seen too few eggs to be able to strike any
reliable average.

112. Crateropus striatus (Sw.). The Southern-Indian Babbler .
Malacocercus striatus {Stv.), Hume, Cat. no. 432 bis.

Colonel Legge, writing of this bird's uidification in Ceylon,
says : — " The breeding-season of the ' Seven Brothers ' lasts from

80 CUATEIIOPODID.'E.

March until July. The nest is phxcecl in a cinnanion-busli, shrub,
or bramble, at about four feet froui the ground, and is a compact,
cup-shaped structure, usually fixed in a fork and made of stout
grasses and plant-stalks and. lined with fine grass, which, in some
instances I have observed, was plucked green. The interior
measures 2^ inches in depth by about 3 in width. The eggs are
two or three in number, small for the size of the bird, glossy in.
texture, and of a uniform opaque greenish blue. They measure
from O-Ol to 1-0 in length, by 0-7 to 0-74 in breadth."

113. Crateropus somervillii (Sykes). TJie Rufous-taiUxl
Babbler.

Malacocercus somervillei (Sykes), Jerd. B. Ind. n, p. G3 ; Hume,
liotujli Draft N. 4- K no. 435.

Of the nidificatiou of the Eufous-tailed Babbler (which, so far
as I yet know, is confined to the narrow strip of country lying
beneath the Ghats for about 60 miles north and south of Bombay,
and to the hills or ghats overlooking this), all I yet know is con-
tained in the following brief note by Mr. E. Aitken ; he says : —

" I once found a nest of the Eufous-tailed Babbler at Khandalla.
I cannot tell the level precisely, but it cannot liave been far from
2000 feet above the sea. It was at the end of May or the very
beginning of June. The nest was in a small spreading tree in
level, open forest country. The situation was just such a one as
A. malcolmi generally chooses — the end of a horizontal branch
with no other branches underneath it ; but it was not so high as
those of A. malcolmi usually are, for I could reach it from the
groinid. The nest was rather flat and contained three eggs, almost
hatched, of an intense greenish-blue colour.

"In Bombay, where it is far more common, I once, on the
1st October, saw a pair followed by one young one and a young
Coccystes melanoleuctis. This was on a hill, and indeed these birds
seem to confine themselves px-etty much to hilly ground."

Mr. Benjamin Aitken writes : — " With reference to your remark
that, as far as you know, the Eufous-tailed Babbler is confined
to the strip of country beneath the Ghats, I can certainly say that
they are plentiful on the slopes of Poorundhur hill, eighteen
miles south of Poona. It would be interesting to learn on \\'hich
other of the Deccan hills it is found. This species is decidedly fond
of hilly country. It is common on the two ranges of low hills that
run along the east and west shores of the island of Bombay, but
never shows a feather in tlie gardens and groves on the level
ground, I spent the greater part of two days, when I could ill
spare the time, in searching for the nests, but the birds breed in
the date-trees, and it would be hopeless to think of finding a nest
without cutting away many of the branches or fronds. Moreover,
the bird is extremely wai'y, and it is by no means easy to guess
on which particular tree it has its nest."

POMATORHINUS. 81

114. Crateropus rufescens (Blyth). The Oeyhnese Babbler.
Layardia rufescens {Blyth), Hume, Cat, no. 437 bis.

Colonel Legge writes regarding the nidification of this bird in
Ceylon : — " This bird breeds in the "Western Province in March,
April, and May, and constructs a nest similar to the last [if. stri-
atus\ of grass and small twigs, mixed perhaps witli a few leaves,
and placed among creepers surrounding the trunl^s of trees or in
a low fork of a tree. It conceals its habitation, acccording to
Layard, with great care ; and I am aware myself that very few
nests have been found. It lays two or three eggs, very similar to
those of the last species, of a deep greenish blue, and pointed ovals
in shape — two which were taken by Mr. Mac Vicar at Bolgodde
measuring 0-95 by 0-75, and 0*92 by 0-74 inch."

115. Crateropus cinereifrons (Blyth). The Ashy-headed BahUer.
Garrulax cinereifrons {Blyth), Hume, Cat. no. 409 bis.

Colonel Legge, in his work on the birds of Ceylon, says : —
" The breeding-season of this bird is from April to July. Full-
fledged nestlings may be found abroad with the parent birds
in August ; and from this I base my supposition, for I have never
found the nest myself. Intelligent native woodmen, in the western
forests, who are well acquainted with the bird, have informed me
that it nests in April, building a large, cup-shaped nest in the
foi'k of a bush-branch, and laying three or four dark blue eggs.
Whether this account be correct or not, future investigation must
decide."

116. Pomatorliinus schisticeps, Hodgs. The Slaty-headed
Scimitar Babbler.

Pomatorliinus schisiiCQ^^, Hodys.,Jercl. B. I. ii, id, 29; Hume, Rough
Draft N. 8,- E. no. 402.

Speaking of the Slaty-headed Scimitar Babbler, Dr. Jerdon
says : — " A nest made of moss and some fibres, and with four
pure white eggs, was brought to me at Darjeeling as belonging to
this bird."

Two nests were senb me by Mr. Mandelli as belonging to this
species, the one found near Namtchu on the 3rd April containing four
fresh eggs, the other near Tendong on the 15th June, containing
three. Another nest which he found on the 22nd April, near the
same place as the first, contained four fresh eggs. All were placed
on or very near to the ground in brushwood and grass ; all appear
to have been large, rather saucer-like nests, from 5-5 to 6*5 inches in
diameter externally, and 2-5 to 3 in height. Outside and below
they are composed chiefly of coarse grass, dead leaves, especially feru-
leaves, while interiorly they are composed of and lined with finer — •

YOL. I. 6

82 GEATEEOPODIDJE.

in some cases very fine — grass. The cavities average, 1 should guess,
3'75 inches in diameter, and I'o, or a little more perhaps, in depth.

Mr. J. E. Cripps has the following note on the breeding of this
bird in Assam : — " A nest I got was situated at the roots of a
clump of bushes, overhanging a small river. A bridge spanning
this river was within ten yards, the intervening space being open ;
and for sucli a shy bird to have chosen such an exposed situation
to build in astonished me."

Erom Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes : — "A nest of this Babbler
taken on the 20th May much resembled that of P. ferruginosus,
both in size and structure. The egg-cavity had, however, a lining
of at least half an inch in thickness of soft, fibrous material ex-
tracted from the bark of some tree, and a little fine grass for the
eggs to lie on. It was on the ground, among low jungle, in the
Eyeng Valley, at 2000 feet of elevation, and contained four eggs,
two of them hatching off and two addled. According to my
experience, nests containing so large a proportion of addled eggs
are unusual."

Eggs sent by Mr. Mandelli as belonging to this species closely
resemble those of Pomatorldnus ferruginosus, but are somewhat
smaller ; they are oval eggs a good deal pointed towards one end,
pure white, and with a high gloss. They were obtained on the
5th and 22nd of April in the neighbourhood of Darjeeling, and
measure from 0-95 to 1-04 in length, and 0-72 to 0'73 in breadth.
Eggs sent by Mr. Gammie are precisely similar.

Two other eggs of this species subsequently obtained were slightly
shorter and broader, and measured 0*95 by 0-77, and 0-98 by 0-78.

118. Pomatorhinus olivaceus, Blyth. The Tenasserim Scimitar

Babbler.
Pomatorbinus olivaceus, Blyth, Hume, Cat. no. 403 bis.

Mr. Davison writes : — " I found a nest of this bird on the
morning of the21st January, 1875, at Pakchan, Tenasserim Province,
Burma. It was placed on the ground at the foot of a small screw
pine, growing in thick bamboo-jungle ; it was a large globular
structure, composed externally of dry bamboo-leaves, and well
secreted by the mass of dry bamboo-leaves that surrounded it ; it
was in fact buried in these, and if I had not seen the bird leave it, it
would most undoubtedly have remained undiscovered. Externally
it was about a foot in length by 9 inches in height, but it was
impossible to take any accurate measurement, as the nest really
had no marked external definition. Internally was a lining about
half an inch thick, composed of thin strips of dry bark, fibres, &c.
The entrance was to one side, circular, and measuring 2-5 inches
in diameter ; the egg-cavity measured 4 inches deep by about 3 in
height.

" In the nest were three pure white ovato-pyriform eggs, but so
far incubated that they would probably have hatched off before the
day was out.

POMATOEHINUS. 83

_ " The measurements of two were 1-1 and 1-09 in length by 0-75
m breadth.

IVLajor C. T. Bingham says :— " This is the Pomatorhhius of
the Ihoungyeen valley, being found from the sources to the mouth
ot that river. A note recorded two years ago of a nest that I
tound IS given below :—^th J/a;-c/i.— Having to go over the ground
along the southern boundary of the proposed Meplay reserve I had
to cut my way through dense bauiboo, to go through a long belt of
which IS hard work. To make it worse in this cas'e several clumps
had been burnt by fire and blown down. As I \^as slowly pro-
gressing along, bent almost double, out of a little hollow at my
feet a bird flew with a suddenness that nearly knocked me
down. _ I looked into the hollow, and there under the ledge of the
sheltering bank was a nest of dry bamboo-leaves lined with strips
of the same, shredded fine. It was cup-shaped, loosely made,
about 1| inches in diameter, and the same in depth, containing
three pure white eggs, perfectly fresh (measured afterwards two
proved respectively, 0-98 x 0-71, 0-99 x 0-73 inch) ; and gun in hand
i watched, hiding myself behind a clump of bamboos about thii-ty
yards off For an hour I watched, but the bird did not return, so
1 marked the spot and went on. Eeturning back the same way
just before dusk, I managed to start her again, and to get a hurried
shot ; she fell and I secured and recognized her as P. olivaceus:'

The eggs, which seem small for the size of the bird, are rather
broad ovals, some fairly regular, some a good deal compressed iust
towards the small end, which is, however, always obtuse, never
pointed ; the shell is fine, compact, and thin, smooth and satiny to
the touch, but ^nth scarcely any perceptible gloss. The colour is
pure spotless white.

119. Pomatorhinus melanurus, Blyth. The Ceylonese Scimitar

Babbler.
Pomatorhinus melanurus, Blyth, Hume, Cat. no. 404 bis.

Colonel Legge writes of the nidification of this bird in Ceylon •—
"This Babbler breeds from December until February I have
observed one collecting materials for a nest in the former month
and at the same period Mr. MacYicar had the eggs brought to
him ; they were taken from a nest made of leaves and grass, and
placed oil a bank in jungle. Mr. Bligh has found the nest in
crevices in trees, between a projecting piece of bark and the trunk
also m a jungle-path cutting and on a ledge of rock ; it is usually
composed of moss, grass-roots, fibre, and a few dead leaves, and the
structure is rather a slovenly one. The eggs vary from three to
five, and are pure white, the shell thin and transparent, and they
measure 0-96 to 0-98 in length, by 0-7 in breadth "

84 CEATEEOPODID^.

120. Pomatorhinus horsfieldii, Sykes. The Southern Scimitar

Babbler.

Pomatorhinus horsfieldii, Sykes, Jerd. B. Ind. \\, p. 31 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. 8f E. no. 404.

The Southern Scimitar Babbler breeds throughout the liilly
tracts of Southern India, up to an elevation of fully 7000 feet.
They are common in Ootacamund, and even on Dodabet as high
up as it is wooded. They seem to breed less plentifully about
Kotagherry than they do at Ootacamund itself, Coonoor, Neddi-
vattam, &c.

They lay from February to May, building a largish globular nest
of grass, moss, and roots, placed on or very near to the ground in
some bush or clump of fern or grass. They lay five eggs.

A nest of this species which I owe to Mr. Carter, and which was
found at Coonoor on the 7th April, 1869, is a huge globular mass
of moss and fine moss-roots some 7 inches in diameter, with, on
the upper side, an entrance to a small egg-cavity some 3| inches
in diameter, and 2 inches in depth. It is a most singular nest,
a great compact ball of soft feathery moss and very fine moss-
roots, which latter predominate in the interior of the cavity, and
so form a sort of lining to it. The great body of the nest is below
the cavity, the overhanging dome-like covering of the cavity being
comparatively thin.

Mr. Davison remarks : — " The nest of this bird is very peculiar
in structure, more like the nest of a field-mouse than of a bird,
being in fact merely a ball of grass rather loosely put together, the
grass on the exterior being intermingled with dry leaves and other
rubbish. The nest is generallj^ placed either in a clump of fern,
or at the roots of some grass-grown bush. The eggs are pure
white, very elongated, and with a remarkably thin and delicate
shell. The normal number appears to be five. The breeding-
season is, I think, the latter end of April and May."

Later, he writes : — " It must, I think, breed twice, as I found a
nest on the 10th March with fully-fledged young, and late in April
another nest with perfectly fresh eggs."

Writing of this species Dr. Jerdon says : — " I procured its nest
near Neddivattam on the Nilghiris, on a bank on the roadside,
made with moss and roots, and containing four white eggs of a
very elongated form."

Miss Cockburn, of Kotagherry, furnishes me with the foIloAving
note on the nidification of this species : — " These birds build rather
large nests, among the roots of bushes, and generally prefer those
which grow on the slopes of steep hills. Their nests are composed
of coarse grass, a few roots of the same, and the bark of a bush,
which cracks when dry and is very easily pulled off. These
materials are put together into a round nest, and also form a
covering above, which makes the inside look very snug indeed.
But if any attempts are made to remove the nest, it generally falls
to pieces, the materials having no tenacity. This bird commonly

POMATOEIIINUS. 85

uses no lining to its nest, but lays its eggs (three to five in number)
on the coarse grass of which the inside is composed. The eggs are
pure white, particularly thin-shelled, and consequently perfectly
translucent. They are found during the months of February and
March."

Messrs. Davidson and Weuden, writing from the Deccan,
remark : — " Very comjnon along tops of ghats. D. got a nest with
two eggs in March."

Mr. T. Fulton Bourdillon writes from Travancore : — " I have
been so fortunate as to obtain two nests of this bird lately, though
I have never found any before. The first contained three fresh
eggs on the 5th December last, and A\as situated in a bank on the
roadside at an elevation of about 3000 feet above sea-level. The
nest was very loosely made of grass, with finer kinds of grass for
the lining. I endeavoured to preserve it, but it fell to pieces on
being taken from its position, and I only succeeded in sa\ang the
eggs. As the bird, usually a very shy one, flew off on my approach
and remained close by while I was examining the nest, I have
no doubt of its identity. AVhether she would have laid more eggs
I cannot say, but I fancy not ; three seems to be the usual number
judging from the two clutches taken. The other nest I found on
the 8th of this mouth just completed. It was in much the same
position as the last, viz. a bank by the roadside, and as it was near
my bungalow I watched to see how the eggs were deposited. The
bird laid one egg each day on the 11th, 12th and 13th, and then
began to sit, so on the 15th I took the nest. When fresh the
eggs are beautifully pink from the thinness of the shell."

Mr. J. Darling, junior, remarks : —

" Mr. Davison makes a very good remark on the nest of this bird,
but 1 found one once under the roots of a tree at Xeddivattam,
and it was a most beautiful nest, built entirely of the fibrous bark
of the Nilghiri nettle, in the shape of an oven, with a hole to go in
at one side. It contained four pure white delicate eggs. Another
one found near the same place was of the same nature, only resting
on some fern-leaves and under a rock, and contained five eggs.

" I found a nest down at Vythery, Wyuaad, in a hole in the bank
of a road, in December 1874, made entirely of broad grass, very
untidy, and containing three eggs."

Mr. Rhodes W. Morgan writing from South India, says: —
" Breeds in April, constructing a neat domed nest of leaves on the
ground, at the foot of a bush. The nest is lined with fine grasses,
and almost always contains three eggs, which, when fresh, are of
a beautiful pink colour, owing to the yelk shining through the
shell, which is exceedingly fragile. The egg, when blown, is of a
very beautiful glossy white. If suddenly approached whilst on its
nest, this bird runs out like a rat, and flies when at a distance
from the nest. An egg in my collection measures 1*04 by '7
inch."

The eggs sent me from the Nilghiris by Miss Cockburn and Mr.
Carter are nearly perfect ovals, usually much elongated, but some-

86 CEATEROPODID^.

times moderately broad, and very slightly compressed towards one
end. They are very fragile, and perfectly pure spotless white in
colour. Typically, although smooth and satiny in texture, they
have but little gloss, but occasionally a fairly glossy egg is to be
met with.

In length they vary from 0-98 to 1-12, and in breadth from 0-75
to 0-79 ; but the average seems to be about 1-08 by 0-77.

122. Pomatorhinus ferruginosus, Blyth. The Coral-billed
Scimitar Babbler.

Pomatorhinus ferruginosus, BJyth, Jerd. B. Ind. \\, p. 20 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. 8f E. no. 401.

The Coral-billed Scimitar Babbler, according to Mr. Hodgson's
notes, breeds in Sikhim, at an elevation of 5000 or 6000 feet. Its
nest is placed about a foot or 2 feet above the ground, in a bamboo-
clump or some thick bush, and is firmly wedged in between the
twigs and shoots. It is composed internally of dried bamboo-
leaves, grass, and vegetable fibres, outside which bamboo-sheaths
are bound on with creepers and fibres of different kinds. The
nest is more or less egg-shaped, with the longer diameter hori-
zontal, some 7 inches or so in length and 5 inches in height, and
with the entrance at one end, measuring some 3 inches in diameter.
Four or five eggs are laid, elongated ovals, somewhat pointed
towards the small end, pure white, and measuring about 1*08 by 0-7.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie wi-ites : — " I took a nest of this bird
on the 19th May, at an elevation of about 5000 feet. It was
placed on the ground, among low scrub, near the outskirts of a
large forest, and was neatly made, for a Pomatorliimis, of bamboo-
leaves and long grass, with a thin lining of fibry strips torn from
old bamboo-stems. In shape it was a cone laid on its side. Ex-
ternally it measured 9 inches in length by the same in height at
front, while the egg-cavity measured 3-5 inches across, and 1-75
in depth. The entrance, which was at tlie end, measured 3 inches
in diameter.

" Next to the lining was a layer of broadish grass-blades, placed
lengthways, ?'. e. from base to apex of the cone, then came a cross
layer of broad bamboo-leaves succeeded by a second layer of bamboo-
leaves jilaced lengthways. By this arrangement the nest was kept
perfectly water-tight. So nicely were these simple materials put
together that they held each other in tlieir places ^^•ithout the assis-
tance of a single fibre.

" The nest contained four partially incubated eggs : three of them
pointed and exactly alike, but the fourth rounded, and apparently
of a different texture, so that it may have been introduced by a
Cuckoo."

Two eggs sent by Mr. Gammie are moderately elongated ovals,
somewhat obtuse even at the smaller end. The shell is very
fine, pure white, and has a fine gloss. They measure 1*1 by 0'83,
and 1-06 by 0-78.

POMATOEHINUS. 87

125. Pomatorhinus ruficollis, Hoclgs. The Rufous-necked. Scimitar

Babbler,

Pomatoi'liinus ruficollis, Hodgs., Jerd. B. Inch ii, p. 29; Hume,
Rouyh Draft N. 8f E. no. 400.

The Eufous-uecked Scimitar Babbler breeds in Nepal, the
Himalayas eastward of that State, and in the various ranges
running down from Assam to Burmah.

The breeding-season appears to be April and May. They lay
five, or sometimes only four, eggs.

From Sikhim Mr. Grammie writes : — " This species breeds, I
think, from the middle of April to the middle of May ; but I have
only as yet taken a single nest, and this I found at Eishap on the
5th May, at an elevation of about 4500 feet. The nest was
placed on the ground in open country, but partially concealed by
overhanging grass and weeds, and immediately adjoining a deep
humid ravine filled with a dense undergrowth. The nest was
composed of dry grass, fern, bamboo, and other dry leaves put
loosely together and liued with a few fibres. In shape it was
domed or hooded, and exteriorly it measured 5*7 inches in height
and 5 in diameter. Interiorly the cavity was 2-6 in diameter, and
■ had a total depth of 3'8 measured from the roof, but of only 2
inches below the lower margin of the aperture. This nest con-
tained five eggs, much incubated ; indeed, they would have hatched
ofE in one or two days."

The Eufous-uecked Scimitar Babbler breeds, according to Mr.
Hodgson, in the central portion of Nepal in April and May,
building a large, coarse, globular nest of dry grass and bamboo-
leaves on the ground in some thick bush or bamboo-clump. The
opening of the nest is at the side. They lay four or five white
eggs, measuring as figured 0-9 by 0*68.

The eggs sent me by Mr. Gammie are rather elongated ovals, a
good deal pointed towards one end, pure white, the shells very
tine and fragile, and with a fair amount of gloss.

Ten eggs varied from 0-85 to 1-02 in length, and from 0-62 to
0-74 in breadth, but the average was 0*95 by 0*68.

129. Pomatorhinus erjrthrogenys, Vigors. The Rustij-clieelced
Scimitar Babbler.

Pomatorhinus erytlirogenys, Vig., Jerd. B. Lid. ii, p. 31 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. i^ E. no. 405.

The Eusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler breeds from April to June
in the Himalayas, at any rate from Darjeeling to the Valley of the
Beas, at elevations of from 2000 to 6000 feet. It may be met
with at double this latter altitude, but I doubt if it nests higher.

As a rule, the nest is placed on the ground, in some thick clump
of dry fern or coarse grass, amongst dead leaves and moss, but at
times I have seen it placed in a thick bush 2 or 3 feet from the

OO CEATEEOPODID.1].

ground. It is very common near Kotegurli and below Narkimda,
where we found nearly a dozen nests, almost all, however, con-
taining young ones. Typically the nest is domed, and is loosely
constructed of the materials at hand — coarse grass, dry fern, dead
leaves, moss-roots, and the like, some 6 or 7 inches in diameter
and 5 or 6 inches high, with a broad entrance on one side, a good
deal above the middle. In some cases, however, where a dense
bunch of grass or fern completely curves over the spot selected for
the nest, the latter is a mere broad, shallow saucer. There is no
regular lining to the nests, but a good many fine roots are at times
incorporated in the interior of the cavity. All the nests that I
have seen were placed near the edges of clumps of brushwood or
scrubby jungle.

I ought here to mention that I am by no means certain that the
Nepalese and Sikliim, in fact the eastern race of this species
(P. fervKgilatiis, Hodgs.), will not ha'^e to be separated from the
more western P. erythrogenysoi Gould. Long ago Blyth remarked
(' Journal Asiatic Society,' 1845, p. 598) that " there seems to be
two marked varieties of P. crythrogenys, one having white under-
parts, with merely faint traces of darker spots, the other with the
throat and breast densely mottled with greenish olive," or, as I
should call it, dingy olive-grey. This is perfectly true, and, as far
as I can make out, the latter variety is not one of sex or age, but
is local and confined to Kumaon (where the other form also occurs)
and the hills eastward of this province. My own remarks above
given refer to the true P. fryilirogemjs, and so do Hutton's ; but
Hodgson's and Mr. Gammie's bircls both appear to have been, and
the latter's certainly were, grey-throated examples. The eggs are
undistinguishable, as, indeed, though they vary somewhat in shape
and size, are those of most of the PomatorJmii.

Captain Hutton says that this species is " common from 3500
feet up to 10,000 or 12,000 feet, always in pairs, turning up the
dead leaves on copse\^ood covered banks, uttering a loud whistle,
answering and calling each other. It breeds in April, constructing
its nest on the ground of coarse dry grasses and leaf-stalks of
walnut-trees, and is covered with a dome-shaped roof, so nicely
blended with the fallen leaves and withered grasses, among ^hich
it is placed, as to be almost undistinguishable from them. The
eggs are three in number, and pure white ; diameter 1'12 by 0*81
inches, of an ordinary oval shape. "When disturbed, the bird sprung
along the ground \Aith long bounding hops, so quickly that, from
its motions and the appearance of the nest, I was led to believe it
a species of rat. The nest is placed in a slight hollow, probably
formed by the bird itself."

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes, this species would appear to
breed at heights of from 2000 to 8000 feet. It lays in May and
June. On the 20th May, and again on the 6th June, Mr. Hodg-
son found nests of this species in thick bushes 3 or 4 feet above
the ground. They wei^e broad saucer-shaped nests of coarse
vegetable fibres, grass, and grass-roots, 7 inches or so in diameter,

XIPnORHAMPHUS. 89

and the cavity, which had no lining, was about 4 inches in dia-
meter by 2 inches in depth. They contained tliree and fourwliite
eggs respectively. One figured measures 0-98 by 0-73. On
June 8th he found two more nests at Jaha Powah, on the ground,
on edges of brushy slopes close to grassy open plains, the nest a
large mass of grass, oven-shaped, open at one and in one case at
both ends, protected by the root of a tree. There were two and
three white eggs in the nests respectively. The eggs of these nests
are figured as measuring 1-08 by 0-73.

Mr. Gammie remarks : — " I found a nest of this species below
Eungbee, at an elevation of about 2000 feet, on the 17th June. It
was placed on, and partially in a hole in a bank, and contained two
hard-set eggs. It was a large, loose pad of fine grass and dead
fern, with a few broad flag-like grass-leaves incorporated towards
the base, and overhung by a sort of canopy of similar materials.
The basal portion was some 6 inches long and 5 inches broad, and
about 2 inches thick in the thickest part, with a broad shallow
depression for the eggs of about half that depth."

Writing again this year (1874) he says :— " I have only found
two more nests this year, and both in the last week of April ; the
one contained three partially incubated eggs, the other three young
birds. These nests were at Gielle, at an elevation of about 2500
feet.^ As a rule, these birds nest in open country, immediately-
adjoining moist thickly wooded ravines, in which they feed, and
take refuge if disturbed from the nest. The nest is usually placed
on sloping ground, more or less concealed by overhanging herbage,
and is composed, according to my experience, of dry grass sparingly
lined with fibres. It is large ; one I measured in situ was 8 inches
in height and 7 inches in diameter ; the vertical diameter of the
cavity was 4 inches and the horizontal 3| inches. I have not yet
found more than three eggs or young ones in any nest."

Dr. Scully remarks of this bird in Nipal : — " It lays in May and
June ; two nests, taken on the 30th May and 6th June, were large
loosely-made pads, not domed, and with the egg-ca\ ity saucer-
shaped, each nest contained three pure white eggs."

The eggs of this species are long, and at times narrow, ovals,
pure white and fairly glossy, but occasionally almost glossless,
without any marks or spottings.

In length they vary from I'O to 1*2, and in breadth from 0-73
to 0-85, but the average of twenty eggs is about 1*11 by nearly
0*8.

133. Xipliorhamplms superciliaris (Blyth). The /Slender-billed
Scimitar Babbler.

Xiphorhamphus superciliaris (Blyth), Jercl. B. Incl. ii, p. 33 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. <§• K uo. 406.

The Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, according to Mr. Hodgson's
notes, breeds in Sikhim, at elevations of 3000 to 6000 feet, during

90 CEATEEOPODID.i:.

the months of May and June. The nest is a large globular one,
composed of dry bamboo-leaves and green grass, intermingled and
lined with fine roots and fibres. The entrance, which is about 2 to
2*5 inches in diameter, is at one end. A nest containing four eggs,
obtained on the 12th June, measured about 7 inches in diameter
externally, and it was placed in the crown of a stump from 2 to 3
feet from the ground. Sometimes the nests are placed in tufts of
high grass or in thick bushes, but ne^er at any great elevation
above the ground. They lay three or four eggs, which are pure
white, and one of which is figured as a broad oval, measuring 0-95
by 0-7.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes ; — " I took a nest of this
Scimitar Eabbler on the 29th May, in the middle of the large
forest on the top of the Mahalderam ridge, at about 7000 feet
elevation. It was built on the ground, on top of a dry bank by
the side of a path, and was overhung by a few grassy weeds. In
shape it was a blunt cone laid on its side, with the entrance at the
wide end. It was loosely made of the dead leaves of a deciduous
orchid {Pleione tvallichiana), small bamboo, chestnut, and grass,
intermixed with decaying stems of small climbing-plants. It
measured externally 6 inches long, with a diameter of o'o at front,
and of 1"75 at back. The cavity was quite devoid of lining and
measured 3'5 in length by 2"5 wide at entrance, slightly contracting
inwards. It contained three partially incubated eggs."

Two eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Gammie are elongated
ovals, pure white, and with onl}^ a faint gloss. They measure 0*99
and 1-05 in length, by 0*08 and 0-75 in breadth respectively.

Subfamily TIMELIINiE.

134. Timelia pileata, Horsf. TJie Red-capped Babblei-.

Timalia pileata, Horsf., Jerd. B. Inch ii, p. 24 ; Hume, Rough Draft
N. ^ Kno. 396.

Mr. Eugene Gates records that he " found the nest of this bird at
Thayetmyo on the 2nd June with young ones a few days old. The
nest was placed on the ground in the centre of a low but very thick
thorny bush."

Subsequently he wrote from Pegu, further south : — " The nest
is placed in the fork of a shrub, very near to, or quite on, the
ground, and is surrounded in every case by long grass. A nest
found on the 4th July, on which the female was sitting closely,
contained three eggs slightly incubated. The breeding-season
seems to be in June and July.

" The nest is made entirely of bamboo-leaves and is lined
sparingly with fine grass. No other material enters into its com-
position. It is oval, about 7 inches in height and 4 in diameter,

TIMELIA. 91

with a large entrance at the side, its lower edge being about the
middle of the nest.

" AVhen the bird frequents elephant-grass, where there are no
shrubs, it builds on the ground at the edge of a clump of grass,
and I have found two nests in such a situation, only a few feet
from each other.

" In looking for the nest a good deal of grass is necessarily
trodden down ; the consequance is that if you do not find eo-cs,
there is little chance of tlieir being laid later on. I have found
some ten nests, more or less completed, but only three eggs."

And again, later on : — " This bird would appear to have two
broods a year, for I procured two sittings of three eggs each this
year in April, former nests having been found in June and July.
With many eggs before me I find that the density of the markings
varies considerably. The size is very constant ; for the length of
numerous eggs varies only from -75 to -72, and the breadth from
■G to -54 inch."

I was, I believe, myself the first to obtain the eggs of this
species, but the first of my contributors who sent me eggs, nest,
and a note on the nidification of this species nas Mr. J. C. Parker.
Writing to me in September 1875, he said : —

" On the 14th August I took a nest of Timelia pileata on my
old ground in the Salt Lakes. I discovered this by a mere acci-
dent, for I happened to see a female Prinia jlaviventris (whose eo-o-s
I was in quest of for you) perched on the top of a bush inland
about 10 feet from the bank of the canal, and from her movements
I thought she must have a nest near at hand.

"Accordingly I landed, although not in trim for wading through
a bog. Sure enough I was not mistaken ; the Prinia had a nest,
but it contained only one egg. Close by, however, I saw a nest,
from out of which a bird fiew, and although I did not shoot it I
ani quite sure it A^as Timelia pileata. The jungle was particularly
thick just about where I stood, indeed impenetrable, and I could
not follow^ the bird, but I soon heard the male bird talking to his
mate in that exti-aordinary way which these birds have, and which
once heard cannot be mistaken.

" The nest was placed on the spikes growing from the joints of
a species of grass very thick and stiff, and forming a secure founda-
tion for the nest. This latter is 6 inches high and 4 inches broad.
Egg-cavity 2 inches, entrance-hole 1| by 2. The nest itself is
very loosely put together with the dead leaves of the tiger-grass
twisted round and round, and lined roughly with coarse grass.
The nest was quite open to view and about three feet from the
ground. 1 suppose the birds never expected that such a wild
swampy spot as they had selected would be invaded by any
oologist."

Mr. J. E. Cripps writing from Eastern Bengal says : — " Pretty
common. Permanent resident. Oftener found in the patches of
cane brushwood jungle found in and around villages than in un-
frequented jungle and thickets as Dr. Jerdon says. I have, how-

92 CEATEROPODID^.

ever, once seen it in a field of jute, which was alongside a village.
Its well-known note can be heard a long -way off. I have several
times found nests in course of construction, iDut only once secured
a clutch of eggs. AVlien the nests are being built, if the bush is at
all disturbed the nest is deserted. The earliest date on which I
found a nest was the 1st April, 1878 ; it was half finished, and as
I pulled the cane-leaves asunder to see if there were eggs, the birds
deserted it. After this I found four nests in cane-clumps on the
sides of roads, but they were empty, and as the birds abandoned
them in due course I despaired of getting any eggs ; but on the
15th June, while going along a road, the edges of which were
bounded by the small embankments natives throw up round their
holdings, and \Ahich are always overgrown with 'sone' grass, I
saw one of these birds with a straw in its bill disappear at the
root of a small date-tree. The nest could be discerned from the
road. On the 20th June I returned and found two fresh eggs ;
the nest was placed at the junction of the frond and the stem of
the date-tree about five inches from the ground, and was an oval
deep cup and measured externally 5 inches deep by 3| broad. Egg-
cavity 2 broad and If deep, composed exclusively of ' sone' grass
with no lining."

The eggs of this species are broad ovals with a tolerably fine
gloss. The ground-colour is pure white. The whole of the larger
end of the egg is pretty thickly speckled and spotted with brown,
varying from an olive to a burnt sienna intermingled with little
spots and clouds of pale inky purple, and similar spots and specks
chiefly of the former colour, but smaller in size, scattered thinly
over the rest of the egg. In size they vary from 0-69 to 0*75 in
length, and from 0*55 to 0*6 in breadth.

135. Dumetia hyperythra (Frankl.). The Eufous-hellied
Babbler.

Dumetia hyperythra (Frankl.), Jerd. B. hid. ii, p. 26; Hmne, Rouqh
Draft N. 6,'- E. no. 397.

The E/ufous-bellied Babbler breeds throughout the Central
Provinces, Chota JVagpoor, Upper Bengal, the eastern portions of
the North- West Provinces, parts of Oudh, and even in the low
valleys of Kumaon.

It lays from the middle of June to the middle of August,
building a globular nest of broad grass-blades or bamboo-leaves
some 4 or 5 inches in diameter, sparingly lined with fine grass-
roots or a little hair, or sometimes entirely unlined. The nest is
placed sometimes on the ground amongst dead leaves, some of
which are not unfrequently incorporated in the structure ; some-
times in coarse grass or some little shrub a foot or two from the
ground, but by preference, according to my experience, in amongst
the roots of a bamboo-clump.

Four is the usual number of eggs laid.

BUMETIA. 93

Mr. Brooks writes : — " On the 26th June, 1867, in the broken
ground above Chunar, I took two nests in the foot of a thick
bamboo-bush about 2 feet from the ground. The nests were made
of bamboo-leaves rolled into a ball with the entrance at the side,
and no lining except a few hairs. There were two eggs in one
nest and three in the other. They were all fresh. The eggs in
the two nests varied somewhat : the ground of the one was nearly-
pure white, and it was finely speckled with reddish brown, which
at the large end was partly confluent : the other nest had the eggs
with a pinkish-white ground, the spots larger and less neatly
defined, and with a rather large confluent spot at the large end."

Writing from Hoshungabad, Mr. E. C. Nunn remarks: — "I
found two nests of this species, each containing two eggs, on the
20th July and 6th August, 1868. Both nests were ball-shaped,
of coarse grass very firmly and compactly tuisted together, and
with numerous dead leaves incorporated in the body of the nest
and towards the base, forming the major portion of the material.
They were thinly lined inside with fine grass-roots. One was
placed at the root of a small thorny bush : the other on the ground
in a thick clump of rank grass," The nest Mr. Nunn sent to me
was peculiarly solidly made. The cavity was small, about 2-25
inches in depth and 1-5 in diameter. The bottom of the nest was
some 2 inches and the sides 1"25 inch thick.

From Eaipoor Mr. Y. E. Blewitt tells us that " in July and
August four nests of this Babbler were taken ; in two there were
four eggs each, in the third, three, and in the fourth, two — thirteen
in all. The nests were carefully made on the ground, at the base
of clumps of long grass growing very near to bamboo thickets.
Three are made exclusively of the dry leaves of the bamboo ; the
fourth of coarse grass. They were nearly globular, about 4 inches
in diameter, and without any regular lining, although in the
interior of the cavity a good deal of fine grass-stems had been
incorporated in the nest. They were well hidden in the grass."

Mr. Henry Wenden writes : — " On July 18th, about 15 miles
from Bombay, on the line of railway, I found a nest and eggs of
the following description : nest, a rough loose ball of soft flat
grasses, lined with hard but fine grass-stems, entrance at side near
top ; situated in a thorny bush in cactus-hedge, by a narrow lane,
not 4 feet wide, through which numerous people passed. The
nest, about 3 feet from the ground, was in no way concealed. On
the 18th there were two eggs, and on the 20th, when thei'e were
four eggs, the bird was snared and nest taken."

The eggs are short, broad ovals, very slightly compressed towards
one end. The ground-colour is white or pinkish white, and it is
streaked, spotted, and speckled most thickly at the large end (where
there is a tendency to form an irregular confluent cap or zone),
and thinly towards the small end, with shades of red, brownish
red, and reddish purple, varying much in different examples. In
some the markings are pretty bold and blotchy, in others they are
small and speckly ; in some they are smudgy and ill-defined, in

94 CRATEROPODID^.

others they are clear aud distinct. Some of the eggs are miniatures
of some types of Pyetorhis sinensis, but many recall the eggs of the
Titmouse. They are much about the size of those of Parus cceruleus
and P. palustris, but a trifle less broad than either of these. The
eggs have a faint gloss.

In length tliey vary from 0-63 to O'T, and in breadth from 0'5
to 0-5G ; but the average of twenty-four eggs now before me is
0-67 by 0-53.

136. Dumetia albigularis (Blyth). The i:>inaU White-iliroate'l

Buhhler.

Dumetia albogularis (IJly/Ji), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 2G ; Ilumc, Moiujh
Draft N. ^- E. uo. 398.

Miss M. B. Cockburn, \Ariti]ig from Kotagherry, tells me that
" the AVhite-throated Babbler builds its nest in the month of
June. One was found by my nest-seekers on the l7th of that
month in the year 1873, It was constructed on a cof£ee-tree, and
contained three eggs, which were white, profusely covered with
reddish spots of all sizes. The bird was very shy, and would not
return to the nest for some hours after it had been discovei'ed ;
when, however, she did so, she was shot. This year (1874) I
found another similar nest on the 9tli of June, also containing
three eggs."

The nest with whicli she fa\oured me was small and nearly
globular (say at most 4 inches in external diameter), composed
entirely of broad flaggy grass without any lining or any admixture
whatsoever of other material. The nest Mas loosely put together,
and had a comparatively narrow circular entrance near the top.

From Mysore Mr. Iver Macpherson writes : — " This is an ex-
ceedingly common bird in parts of this district, and their nests are
so plentiful that I never now take them.

" I send you all the eggs I have at present, but can procure you
any number more next season.

" The birds are to be found in all kinds of wooded country ex-
cept the heavy forests, and appear to breed from the middle of
April to the end of July, and possibly later.

" The nest is a largish globular structure loosely made of either
bamboo-leaves or blades of grass, aud all that I have ever seen
have been lined inside uith a few fine fibres.

" Four appears to be the usual number of eggs, but very often
there are only three.

" The nests are always built near the ground, sometimes almost
touching it, and are fixed in either small bushes, tul'ls of grass, or
young bamboo-clumps."

Mr. J. L. Darling, Jun., states that this bird is very common
in Culputty in the Wynaad, at an elevation of about 3000 feet,
and that he has found the nests from the end of May to the middle
of October. The nest is built in high grass nearly on the ground,

PTCTORHIS. 95

or in date-palms, or in arrowroot in the jungle up to heights of
3 feet. The nest is built entirely of grass, lined with finer grass ;
a nearly round ball 6 inches in diameter outside and 5 inside, with
a hole on the side. The eggs are laid at the rate of one a day, and
three are usually found in one nest, occasionally only two! On
oiie occasion after securing the female bird, he found the cock bird
sitting on the eggs and he continued to sit there for three days.

Mr. J. Davidson tells us that he found a nest of this bird on the
15th July at Kondabhari with four fresh eggs.

Colonel Legge writes in his ' Birds of Ceylon ' : — " The breeding-
season lasts from March until July, the nest being built in a low
bush sometimes only a few inches from the ground."

lu shape the eggs are moderately elongated ovals. The shell is
very fine and smooth, and has in "some a rather bright, in some
only _a very slight gloss. The ground is a China-white. The
markings consist of a profusion of specks and spots of a very bright
red, which, though spread over the whole surface, are gathered
most densely into an imperfect, more or less confluent, cap or zone
at the larger end, where also a few purplish-grey spots and specks
not usually found on any other part of the egg, are noticeable.

In length the eggs vary from 0-66 to 0-78, and in breadth from
0-5 to 0-55. The average of 28 eggs is 0-72 by 0-53.

139. Pyctorhis sinensis (Gm.). The Yellow-eijed Babbler.

Pyclorhis sinensis {Gm.), Jerd. B. Intl. ii, p. 15 ; Hume, Row/h
Draft N. ^- E. uo. 385. ' r > j J

The Tellow-eyed Babbler breeds throughout the plains of India, as
also in the Nilghiris, to an elevation of 5000 feet, and in the Hima-
layas to perhaps 4000 feet. It lays in the latter part of June, in
July, August, and September. Gardens are the favourite localities
aiid in these the little bird makes its compact and solid nest, some-
times in a fork of the fine twigs of a lime-bush, sometimes in amangoe-,
orange-, or apple-tree, occasionally suspended between three stout
grass-stems, or even attached to a single stem of the huge grass
from which the native pens are made. I have taken a nest, hung
between three reeds, exactly resembling in shape and position the
Eeed-Warbler's nest {Salicaria anmdinacea), figured in Mr. Tar-
rell's vignette at page 313, vol. i. 3rd edition.

The nest is typically cone-shaped (the apex downwards), from 5
to 6 inches in depth, and 3 or 4 in diameter at the base ; but it
varies of course according to situation, the cone being often broadlv
truncated. In the base of the cone (which is uppermost) is the eo-o^-
cavity, measm-ing from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and from 2 to 2*%
inches in depth. The nest is very compactly and solidly woven, of
rather broad blades of grass, and long strips of fine fibrous bark,
exteriorly more or less coated with cobwebs and gossamer-threads.'
Interiorly, fine grass-stems and roots are neatly and closely inter-
woven. I once found some horse-hair along with the grass-roots,
but this is unusual.

96 CBATEEOPODTD.^.

The full number of eggs is, I believe, five. I have repeatedly
taken nests containing this number, and have comparatively seldom
met with a smaller number of eggs at all incubated.

Colonel Gr. F. L. Marshall says : — " I found a nest of this species
at E,oorkee in the early part of July. It contained three eggs and
was beautifully made, a deep cup fixed on to an artichoke-stock,
and at a little distance much resembled an artichoke."

Mr. E. C. Nunn, writiug from near Agra on the 26th September
1867, says : — " I got a Pijctorhis' nest yesterday, suspended between
two stalks of jowar (ffolciis sorgJmm), the nest firmly bound with
strips of fibrous bark, at two opposite points of its circumference,
to tbe two stems. This is, I imagine, something out of the usual
order of things with these birds. The nests which I have hitherto
found have been situated in young mangoe-trees, rose-bushes, or
peach- and orange-trees."

Erom Euttehgurh the late Mr. A. A. Anderson sent me the
following note : —

" The nest and eggs of this bird are very beautiful. A pair once
built in a pumplenose-tree {Citrus decumana) in my garden, laying
five long eggs. The nest, still in my collection, was placed in the
fork oi four small upright twigs ; it was composed entirely of dry
grass-stems (no soft material inside), and laced outwardly, in and
out of the twigs, with dry fibre belonging to tlie plantain-tree.

" The eggs are small for the size of the bird, and scarcely so
large as those of the Hedge-Sparrow."

Captain Hutton remarks : — " This likewise is a Dhoon bird ; its
nest was found there on the 1st July, w^hen it contained four eggs
of a dull white colour, thickly speclded and blotched all over with
ferruginous spots, forming also an open darker coloured ring at
the large end, and intermixed \\'ith brown.

" The nest is a deep cup, placed in the trifurcation of the slender
upright branch of a low shrub, and is constructed externally of
coarse grass-blades held together by cobwebs and seed-down, the
lining being fine grass-seed stalks. Diameter of the top 2| inches ;
depth within 2 inches ; externally 3^ inches."

Mr. F. E. Blewitt tells us that "the Yellow-eyed Babbler
breeds from July to September, or, I should say, up to the middle
of September. Its selection of a tree for its nest is not confined
to any one species, but by preference the bird selects those of small
growth, and even frequently high-growing brushwood. The nests
are very neatly made, and what is singular is that, as regards build
and shape, they are always almost exactly alike. If I have seen
one, I must ha^•e seen at least fifty this year, all with the same
exterior material of closely interlaced vegetable fibre over grass,
and the inner lining of tine grass, deep cup-shaped, and in dia-
meter, outer and inner, varying but little. Where it could be
effected, the nest was suspended to, or rather fastened between,
two forks ; or where these were not available, between three twigs.
The outer diameters of the nests were from 2-7 to 2-9 inches, inner
from 2-3 to 2-5. Four is the regular number of eggs, though
occasionally five in one nest have been obtained."

PYCTOEHIS. y7

Mr. E. M. Adam remarks : — " This species builds about Agra
in May, June, and Jul^y. The nest is a beautiful deep cup-shaped
structure, almost always fastened to a branch of a low bush. The
normal number of eggs appears to be four."

From Kotagberry, near Ootacamund, Miss Cockburn records that
" this bird buUds a neat cup-shaped nest, generally choosing a
branch consisting of three upright sprigs, at the bottom of which
the building is placed. The nests (one of which is now before me)
are begun with broad grass-leaves, and- the inside compactly lined
with fine fibres of the same material : to render the whole firm,
a few cobwebs are added to the outside, thus fixing the nest securely
to the sprigs. These birds build in the months of June and July,
and, as far as I have observed, lay only three eggs."

Mr. Philipps, quoted by Dr. Jerdon, says that this bird " gene-
rally builds on banyan-trees." This is clearly a mistake. I have
known of the taking, or have myself taken, altogether upwards of
fifty nests in the Korth- Western Provinces, whence Mr. Philipps
was writing, and never yet heard of or saw a nest of this species on
a banyan.

Mr. H. Wenden writes : — " At Egatpoora, the top of the Thidl
Ghat incline, I noticed, on JJOth .September, a partly-built nest of
this species. Watching for some time, I ascertained that both birds
shared in the labour of construction. It was situated in the tri-
furcated stalk of that plant which bears a clover- like blossom (called
Kessara-Hind and Koordoo-Mhar), about 3 feet above the ground,
the stalks passing through the side-walls of the nest, which cannot
have a better description than that given by Mr. Hume (page 238,
' Eough Draft '). The first egg was laid on 2nd October, and
another each succeeding day until there were five. On the 10th
the hen-bird was shot and the nest taken.

" On 30th October, in a garden near the same place, another
nest was found, on the twigs of a pangra tree, containing three
young birds and one egg."

Messrs. Davidson and Wenden say: — "Tolerably common in
the Sholapoor District ; more so in the better-wooded parts, and
breeds."

Finally, Colonel Butler sends me the following note : —

" Belgaum, 14th September, 1880. — A nest in sugar-cane about
2 feet from the ground, containing five fresh eggs. 17th September :
another nest in a sugar-cane field, containing five eggs about to
hatch. In both instances the nest was built, not on the blades of
sugar-cane, but on a solitary green-leaved weedy -looking plant
growing amongst the sugar-cane.

"The Tellow-eyed Babbler breeds during the rains. I have
taken nests on the following dates : —

"July 26, 1875. A nest containing 4 fresh eggs.

" July 30, 1875. „ „ 3 fresh eggs.

" Aug. 14, 1875. „ „ 4 fresh eggs.

" Aug. 21, 1875. „ „ 4 fresh eggs.

" July 18, 1876. „ „ 4 fresh eggs.

TOL. 1. 7

98 CRATEEOPODID^.

" July 20, 1876. A nest containing 3 fresh eggs.

" July 28, 1876. „ „ 4 fresh eggs.

" From this date to the end of August I found any number of
nests containing eggs of both types. The nest is usually built in
the fork of some low thorny tree from 3 to 7 feet from the ground.
The outside of the nest is usually smeared over with cobwebs, re-
minding one of the nest of a EJdjndura.'''

Mr. Gates writes : — " Breeds abundantly throughout Pegu in
June, and probably in the other months of the rains up to Sep-
tember."

The eggs vary a good deal in size and shape, and very much in
colouring. They are mostly of a very broad oval shape, very ob-
tuse at the smaller end. Some are, however, slightly pyriform,
and some a little elongated. There are two very distinct types of
coloration : one has a pinkish-white ground, thickly and finely
mottled and streaked over the whole surface with more or less
bright and deep brick-dust red, so that the ground-colour only
faintly shows through, here and there, as a sort of pale mottling ;
in the other type the ground-colour is pinkish white, somewhat
sparimjly, but boldly, blotched with irregular patches and eccentric
hieroglyphic-like streaks, often Bunting-like in their character, of
bright blood- or brick-dust red. The eggs of this type, besides
these primary markings, generally exhibit towards the large end
a number of pale inky-purple blotches or clouds. There is a third
type somewhat intermediate between these, in which the ground-
colour, instead of being finely freckled all over as in the former, or
sparingly blotched as in the latter, is very coarsely mottled and
clouded, as if clumsily daubed over by a child, with a red inter-
mediate in intensity between that usually observable in the two
first-described types. Combinations of these diiferent types of
course occur, but fully two thirds can be separated distinctly under
the first and second varieties. Though much smaller, many of the
eggs recall those of the English Eobin. The eggs have often a fine
gloss. I have one or two specimens so uniformly coloured that,
though perhaps slightly shorter and broader in form, they might
almost pass for the eggs of Cetti's Warbler.

In length they vary from 0'65 to 0*8, and in breadth from 0*53
to 0*68 ; but the average of seventy-seven eggs measured is 0*73
by 0-59.

140. Pyctorhis nasalis, Legge. The Ceylon Yellow-eyed Babbler.
Pyctorhis nasalis, Leyge, Hmne, Cat. no. 385 bis.

Colonel Legge writes in his ' Birds of Ceylon ' : — " In the
Western Province this Babbler commences to breed in l^'ebruary ;
but in May I found several nests in the Uva district near Fort
Macdonald ; and that month would thus seem to be the nesting-
season in the Central Province. The nest is placed in the fork of
a shrub, or in a huge tuft of maana-grass, without any attempt at
concealment, about 3 or 4 feet from the ground. It is a neatly-

PELLOENEUM. 99

made compact cup, well finished off about the top and exterior,
aud constructed of dry gi-ass, adorned with cobwebs or lichens,
a]id lined with tine grass or roots. The exterior is about 2| inches
in diameter by about 2 in depth. The eggs are usually three in
number, fleshy white, boldly spotted, chiefly about the larger end,
with brownish sienna ; in some these markings are inclined to be-
come confluent, and are at times overlaid with dark spots of brick-
red. They are rather broad ovals, measuring, on the average,
from 0-76 to 0-79 inch in length, by 0-56 to 0-59 in breadth."

142. Pellorneum mandellii, Blaurf , MandeUi's Spotted Babbler.

Pellorueum uipalensis {Ilodgs.), Hume, Rough Draft N. ^- E.
uo. 399 bis.

This species, originally described by Hodgson as Ilanipteron
nipalensis, was confounded by Gray and others with P. rujice_ps,
tSwainsou, and subsequently rediscriminated and described by
Blanford as P. mandellii.

Mandelli's Spotted Babbler, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes,
begins to lay in April, the young being ready to fly in July.
Tliey build a large, more or less oval, globular nest, laid lengthwise
on the ground in some bush or clump of rush or reed, composed of
moss, dry leaves, and vegetable fibres, and lined with moss-roots.
The entrance, which is circular, is at one end. A nest measured
by Mr. Hodgson was 6*75 inches in length and 5 in height. The
aperture, at one end of the egg-shaped nest, was about 2 inches in
diameter, and the cavity was about 2*5 in diameter aud nearly 4
inches deep. The eggs are three or four in number, and are figured
as broad ovals pointed towards the small end, measuring about 0*86
by 0-65, and having a greyish-white ground, thickly speckled and
spotted with more or less bright red or brownish red, and most
thickly so at the large end, where the markings are nearly con-
fluent.

A nest said to belong to this species, and found near Darjeeliuo-
in July, at an elevation of about 4000 feet, was j^kiced on the
ground on the side of a bank — a very dirty untidy nest, more or
less cylindrical in shape, composed of dead leaves, including a o-ood
many of those of the bamboo, dead twigs, and old roots, and very
sparsely lined with black moss-roots. The nest is about 4 inches
in diameter externally, and the cavity about 2 5 in diameter.

It contained three fresh eggs, very regular, moderately broad,
ovals ; the shell fine and compact, with a slight gloss. The ground-
colour is white, and the egg everywhere very finely speckled with
chocolate- or purplish brown, the markings being by far most dense
at the large end, where they form a more or less irregular, and
more or less conspicuous, speckly cap.

Two eggs measure 0-80 and 0-9 in length, and 0-65 and 0-06 in
breadth.

Another nest, found on the 5th June in Native Sikhim, lon-

7*

100 ' OEATEROPODID^.

tained four fresh eggs. It was placed on the ground, and precisely
resembled that obtained near Darjeeliug in July.

In some eggs the markings are rather bolder and coarser, and in
these there are generally some few pale lilac or inky-purple spots
intermingled where the markings are densest. Closely looked into,
many of the spots in some eggs are rather a pale yellowish brown.

The eggs are clearly all of the same type, and vary very little.

Tour eggs varied from 0-84 to 0-9 in length, and from 0*65 to
0-68 in breadth.

144. Pellorneum ruficeps, Swains. The SjMted Babbler.

Pellorneum ruficeps, Swains., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 27 ; Hume, Euiajh
Draft N. ^ E. no, 399.

Writing from Kotagherry Miss Cockburn says : — " Spotted
Babblers are exceedingly shy. They associate in small flocks
except during the breeding-season, when they go about in pairs.
I have only known them, to frequent small woods and brushwood,
a little higher than the elevation of the coffee-plantations.

" Three nests of these birds were found in the months of March
and April 1871. The first was placed on the ground, close against
a bush. The nest, consisting of dry leaves and grass, appeared to
be merely a canopy for the eggs, which were almost on the bare
ground, having only a very few pieces of straw under them. The
eggs were three in number, and covered profusely with innumer-
able small dark spots, making it difficult to say \\\\a,t the ground-
colour really was. The nest was not easily found. The bird left
it so quietly as not to be heard, and dropped down the hill like a
ball. When the eggs were discovered the bird did not return to
them for fully three hours, after which she came very cautiously,
but only to meet her doom, poor thing, as she was then shot. The
second nest was built in the same way under a bush, and contained
three eggs, which were put into my egg-box lined with cotton, but
were hatched on the way home. The third nest was constructed
under a large stone and with the same materials, and contained
two young ones."

An egg of this species, received from Miss Cockburn, is a mode-
rately broad and very regular oval. The ground-colour is a slightly
greenish white, and the whole surface of the egg is excessively
finely freckled and speckled with lilac or pale purplish grey and a
more or less rufous brown. The Qgg has a slight gloss.

It measures 0-88 by 0'65.

145. Pellorneum subochraceum, Swinh. Tlie Burmese Spotted

Babbler.
Pellorneum subochraceum, Sioinh., Hume, Cat. no. 399 sex.

The Burmese Spotted Babbler breeds pretty well over the whole
of Pegu and Tenasserim. Mr. Gates writes : — " On the 3rd May

PELLORNEUM. 101

I found a nest on the ground near Pegu, A good many bamboo-
leaves had fallen and the nest was imbedded in these. It was
formed entirely of these leases loosely put together, the interior
only being sparingly lined with fine grass. The structure in situ
was tolerably firm, but it would not stand removal. In lieight it
was about 7 inches, and in breadth about 5, the longer axis being
vertical. fShape cylindrical with rounded top. Entrance "2i inches
by Ig, placed about the centre. The interior of the nesf was a
rough sphere of 4 inches diameter.

" There were three eggs, slightly incubated. The ground-colour
is pure white, and the u'hole surface is minutely and thickly
speckled with reddish-brown and greyish-purple spots, more closely
placed at the thick end, where they coalesce in places and form
bold patches.

" On the 29th June, I found another nest of similar construc-
tion, placed on the ground in thick forest, at the root of a shrub."

Mr. W. Davison in 1875 gave me the following note : — " On the
morning of the 25th March I took at Bankasoon a nest of this
species in thick forest ; it was placed on the ground and was com-
posed externally of dead leaves, with a scanty lining of fine roots
and fibi-es. It measured externally about 5 inches high by about
4 wide. The egg-cavity was hardly 3 inches in diameter. The
nest was only pai'tially domed, and was xevy loosely and carelessly
put together.

" The nest contained three eggs, but these were so far incubated
that it was impossible to b^ow two of them."

The single egg of this species obtained by Mr. Davison is in
shape a moderately broad oval, a little pointed towards the small
end ; the shell is fine, but has little gloss. The ground-colour, so
far as this is visible through the thickly-set markings, is white,
and it is very finely but densely stippled and freckled (most densely
at the large end, where the markings are not unfrequently con-
fluent or nearly so) \\ith dull to bright reddish brow n ; here and
there, especially about the large end, more or less faint grey or red
specks, spots, or tiny clouds may be traced underlying as it were
the brown or purplish markings.

The egg sent me from Pegu by Mr. Oates is of precisely the
same size and type, but the markings are much less dense and are
brighter coloured. The ground-colour is white, and the egg is
pretty thickly speckled \^ith a reddish-chocolate brown. Here and
there a moderately large irregularly-shaped spot is intermingled
with the finer specklings. The markings are rather most dense
at the large end, where there is a tendency to form a zone, and
here a number of pale purplish-grey streaks and specks are also
intermingled.

Major C. T. Bingham says : — " Early on the morning of the 7th
April, moving camp from the sources of the Thoungyeen, on the
side of a hill at the foot of a bamboo-bush not two feet from the
road, I flushed and shot a female of the above species off her nest ;
a little loosely-put-together round ball of dry bamboo-leaves, un-

102 CEATEROPODIDJE.

lined, tliongh domed over, with the entrance at the side, and con-
taining two fresh eggs, white, thickly speckled with brick-red and
obscin-e purple. On the 12th of the same month, I found a second
nest behind the zayat or rest-house at Meeawuddy. This was
similar to the nest above described, and contained three similar
eggs."

The eggs measure from -78 to -88 in length, and from '58 to -65
in breadth ; but the average of twelve eggs is -82 by -62.

147. Pellorneum fuscicapillum (Bl.). The Brown-capped Babbler.
Pellorneum fuscocapillum {Bl), Hume, Cat. no. 399 quiut.

Captain Legge writes, in his ' Birds of Ceylon ' :— " The nest of
this species is exceedingly difficult to find, and scarcely anything
is known of its nidification. Mr. Blyth succeeded in finding it in
Haputale at an elevation of 5500 feet. It was placed in a bramble
about 3 feet from the ground, and was cup-shaped, loosely con-
structed of moss and leaves ; it contained three young."

149. Drymocataphus nigricapitatus (Eyton). The Blacl--capped

Babbler.
Drymocataphus nigricapitatus {Eyton), Hume, Cat. no. 396 sex.

Mr. "W. Davison writes : — "I got one nest of this bird at Klang.
I was passing through some very dense jungle, where the ground
was very marshy, when one of these birds rose from the ground
about a couple of feet in front of me, and alighted on an old
stump some few feet away. On examining the place from which
the bird rose, I found the nest placed at the base of a small clump
of ferns, and concealed by a number of overhanging withered
fronds of the fern. The base of the nest, which rested on the
ground, was composed of a mass of dried twigs, leaves, &c. ; then
came the real body of the nest, composed of coarse fern-roots, the
egg-cavity being lined \\]ih finer roots and a number of hair-like
fibres. It looked compactly and strongly put together, but on
trying to remove it, it all came to pieces. "When the bird saw me
examining the nest it fluttered to within a couple of feet of me,
twittering in a most vehement manner, feigning a broken wing to
try and clraw me away. The nest contained only two eggs, which
were slightly set."

These eggs are extremely regular ovals, scarcely smaller, if at
all, at one end than at the other. The shell is very fine and fragile,
but has only a slight gloss. The ground-colour appears to have
been creamy white, but tlie markings are so thickly set that little
of this is anywhere visible. First, pale inky-purple spots and
clouds are thickly sprinkled over the surface, and over this the
whole egg is freclvled with a pale purplish brown. They measured
0-82 in length by 0-02 and 0-03 in breadth.

DEYMOCATAPHUS. — TUEDINUS. 103

151. Drymocataplius tickelli. TicMVs Babbler.
Trichastoma minus, JIume ; Hume, Cat. no. 387 bis.

Major C. T. Bingham found the nest of this bird in the valley
of the Meplay river, Tenasserim, and he says :— " On the 15th
March I found a little domed nest made of dried bamboo-leaves,
and lined with fine roots, placed in a cane-bush a foot or so above
the ground. It contained three tiny white eggs, with minute pink
dottings chiefly at the larger end ; one egg, however, is nearly pure
white."

One of these eggs taken by Major Bingham on the 15th March
is a very regular, somewhat elongated oval. The shell very fine and
delicate, and fairly glossy. The ground is china-w hite, and it is
everywhere speckled and spotted, nowhere very thickly, but most
so in a zone near one end, with pale ferruginous. It measured
0-G7byO-51.

160. Turdinus abbotti (Bl.). Abbott's Babbler.
Trichastoma abbotti (BL), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 17.

Abbott's Babbler breeds throughout Burma in suitable localities.
Writing from Kyeikpadeiu, in Southern Pegu, Mr. Oates says : —
" On the 22nd May I found a nest with two eggs nearly hatched,
and on 23rd of same month another with two eggs, one of which
was fresh and the other incubated. This bird builds in thick
undergrowth, and the nest is built at a height of about 2 feet from
the ground. I have found very many of their nests, but, with the
above exceptions, the young had flown. It is generally attached
to a stout weed or two, and consists of two portions. First, a
platform of dead leaves about G inches in diameter and 1 deep,
placed loosely, and on this the nest proper is built. This consists
of a small cup, the interior diameter of wdiich is 2 inches, and
depth \\. It is formed entirely of fine black fern-roots well woven
together. Stout weeds appear favourite sites, but I have found old
nests in dwarf palm-trees at the junction of the frond with the trunk,
and in one instance I found an old nest on the ground, undoubtedly
belonging to this bird. Three eggs measured '84 by -66, -82 by
•67, and -87 by •'o^. They are very glossy and smooth. The
ground-colour is a pale pinkish white." At the cap there are a few
spots and short lines of inky-purple sunk into the shell, and over
the whole egg, very sparingly distributed, there are spots and irre-
gular fine scrawls of reddish brown. A few of the marks are
neither spots nor scrawls, but something like knots. The cap is
suffused ^vith a darker tinge of pink than are the other parts of
the shell.

" A. third nest, found on the 10th June, contained three eggs,
and differed from those above described in being very massive. It
was composed of dead leaves and fern-roots, and measured abou
5 inches in exterior diameter, with the egg-cup about 2^ inches
broad and 2 inches deep. It was placed on some entangled small

104 CEATEROPODID^.

plants about 2 feet from the ground. Of these eggs I noted that
before being blown the shell was of a ruddy salmon colour. The
mai'ks are much as in the others described above."

The eggs are moderately broad ovals, somewhat pointed at times
towards the small end, and occasionally slightly pyriform. The
shell is fine and glossy ; the ground-colour is pinky white, with a
redder shade about the large end. A few streaks, spots, and hiero-
glyphics of a deep brownish red, each more or less surrounded by a
reddish nimbus, are scattered very thinly about the surface of the
egg, while, besides these, a few small greyish-purple subsurface-
looking spots may be observed about the larger end. The aA^erage
size of the seven eggs I possess is 0-82 by 0'64.

163. Alcippe nepalensis (Hodgs.). The Nejial Babbler.

Alcippe nipalensis {Ilodgs.), Jerd. B. hid. ii, p. 18 ; Hume, Eou(jh
Rough Draft N. Sf K no. 388.

The Nepal Babbler, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes, breeds
from March to May, building a deep, massive, cup-shaped nest,
firmly fastened between two or three upright shoots, and laying
three or four eggs, which are figured as measuring 0-7 by 0-55.
He has the following note : —

" Valley, April 1st. — A pair and nest. Nest is round, 4 inches
deep on the outside and 2 inches within, and the same wide, being
of the usual soup-basin shape and open at the top, made of dry
leaves bound together with hair-like grass-fibres and moss-roots,
which also form the lining, further compacted by spiders' webs,
which, being also twisted round three adjacent twigs, form the
suspenders of the nest, the bottom of which does not rest upon
anything ; attached to a low bush 1 1 foot from the ground. The
nest contained three eggs of a pinkish-white ground thickly spotted
with chestnut, the spots being almost entirely confluent at the
large end."

Dr. Jerdon says : — " I had the nest and eggs brought me by the
Lepchas. The nest was loosely made with grass and bamboo-
leaves, and the eggs were white with a few reddish-brown spots."

A nest of this species was found near Darjeeling in July, at an
elevation of between 3000 and 4000 feet. It was situated in a small
bush, in low brushwood, and placed only about 2 feet from theground.
The nest is a compactly made and moderately deep cup. The ex-
terior portion of the nest is composed of bamboo-leaves, more or
less held in their places by fine horsehair-like black roots, with
which also the cavity is very thickly and neatly lined. Exteriorly
the nest is about 3*75 inches in diameter, and nearly 3 in height.
Tlie cavity is 2-2.5 in diameter and 1*6 in depth.

The nest contained three nearly fresh eggs. The eggs are mode-
rately elongated ovals, very regular and slightly pointed towards
the small end. The shell is fine and exhibits a slight gloss. Tlie
ground-colour is white or pinkish white, and they are i'^-rv/ minutely
speckled all over with purplish red. The specklings exhibit a

ALCrPPE.

105

decided tendency to form a more or less perfect, and more or less
confluent, cap or zone at the large end

0-52Z lletm.^^" """""'"'' ^''^ '^"^ ^'' ' ^^ '^"Sth' '^'^ ^-5^ ^-^

Prom Sikhim, Mr Gammie writes:-"! have only found this

Babbler breeding m May at elevations about 5000 feet, but t

?o t feet Th''^^" f much lower elevations, probablV down
to -.000 feet. The nests are placed within 2 or 3 feet" of the
ground, between several slender upright shoots, to uhich thev are
hrmly attached. They are exceedingly neat and compaSidl?
cups, measunng exterually about 4 inches across by 275 deep
internally 2-15 wide by 1-6 deep. They are composed of cW
bamboo-leaves held together by a little g'rass and verv fine, ha r-
hke fern-roots. The egg-cavity is lined with fern-roots,
ihe eggs are three or four in number "
Numerous nests of this species kindiy sent me by Messrs
Gammie, Mandelli and others, taken during the month^s of Sly

to ooOO feet were all ot the same type and placed in the same situ-
ations namely amongst low scrub and brushwood, at heights of
from 18 inches to 3 feet from the ground. The interior and, in

composed of fine black hair-like roots, with which, in some cases

mingled. _ The cavities are generally much about the same size say
2 inches in diameter by 1-25 in depth ,: but the size of the nesls al
a who e varies very much. The nest is always coated exteriorly
mth dry leaves of trees and ferns, broad blades of grass, and the
like, fixed together sometimes by mere pressure, but generally here

so mucrtlf;/' '°^'*'r:^/ ^^^ ^^-^ -^^s, and this c-oating-var es
so much that one nest before me measures 5-5 in external diJmeter
and another barely 4, the external covering of fern-leaves fl a 's

tTe otL'tt'""' ^'""^ '""^ ^"'^ abundant^in the fori^, "S^^
the other the covering consists entirely of broad dry blades of erass
very neatly laid together. Two, three, and four fresh eZl ^Z

eggs found "'""' "'^'^' ^"' "^ "° '''' ^-^'^ "-- ^ban ^ "'
Two nests taken by Mr. Gammie contained three and two fresh
eggs respectively. The eggs had a delicate pink ground, and e e
richly bio ched in one egg exclusively, in the Others chiefl; about 'he
larger end, with chestnut, or almost maroon-red, here and the e
a most deepening m spots to black, and elsewhere paling off into a
rufous haze The markings are confluent about the lar|e end, and
there in places mtermingled with a purplish tinge. The ^ther
eggshada china-white ground, with more gloss than the specimens
previously described, with numerous small, blackish bro Jnish red
spots and specks, almost exclusivelv confined to the larffe end
where they are more or less enveloped in a pinkv-red nimbus.

to 6. in bStr" " '■'' '' '''' '" ^'""^'''^ '-^"^^ f^-^ ^''56

106 CEATEROPODID.i;.

Other eggs, again, with the same pinky-white gi'ound are thickly
but minutely freckled and speckled with rather pale brownish red,
most thickly towards and about the large end, where they become
confluent in patches, and where tiny purple clouds and spots are
dimly traceable.

164. Alcippe phaeocephala (Jerd.). The NilgMri Bahhler.

Alcippe poiocepbala {Jerd.), Jerd. B. hid. ii, p. 18 ; Hume, Rough
Draft N. ^- E. no. 369.

The Xilghiri Babbler breeds, apparently, throughout the hilly
regions of Southern India. It lays from January to June. A
nest taken near Neddi\attam by Mr. Davison on the 5th April
was placed between the fork of three twigs of a bush, at the height
of 5 or 6 feet from the ground. It was a deep cup, massive enough
out very loosely put together, and composed of green moss, dead
leaves, a little grass and moss-roots. It was entirely lined with
rather coarse black moss-roots. In shape it was nearly an inverted
cone, some 3.4 inches in diameter at top, and fully 5 inches iu
height. The' cavity was over 2 inches in diameter and nearly 2
inches in depth. A few cobwebs are here and there intermingled
m tlie external surface, but the grass-roots appear to have been
chiefly relied on for holding the nest together.

Another nest found by Miss Cockburn on the oth June on a
small bush, about 7 or 8 feet in height, standing on the banks of a
stream, w^as somewhat different. It was placed in the midst of a
clump of leaves, at the tips of three or four little twigs, between
which the nest was partly suspended and partly wedged in. It
was composed of fine grass-stems, with afew^ grass- and moss-roots
as a liuing interiorly, and with several dead leaves and a good deal
of wool incorporated in the outer surface, the greater portion of
which, howe\er, \Aas concealed by the leaves of the t^\■igs amongst
which it was built. It was only about 3| inches iu diameter, and
the egg-cavity was less than 2| inches across, and not above 1|
inch in depth.

Mr. Davison writes :— "This bird breeds on the slopes of the
Nilghiris in the latter end of March and April. The nest is un-
commonly like that of Trochcdoj)tenim cacJiinnuns, but is of course
smaller ; it is deep and cup-shaped, composed externally of moss
and dead leaves, and is lined with moss and fern-roots. It is
al\\ ays (as far as I have observed) fastened to a thin branch about
6 feet from the ground. All the nests I have ever observed were
on small trees in the shadiest parts of the jungle, far in, and never
near the edge of the juugle or in the open. The eggs are very
handsome, and are, I think, the prettiest of the eggs to be found
on the XiJghiris and their slopes. The grouud-colour is of a
beautiful reddish pink (especially when fresh), blotched and streaked
with purplish carmine."

Mr. J. Darling, junior, says :— " The Nilghiri Quaker-Thrush
breeds on the slopes of the iVilghiri bills, generally in the depths

ALCIPPE. 107

of the forest. I have, however, taken nests in scrub-iunt^le, I
have also found the nest at Xeddivattam in April. ^

" In October I found a nest of this bird at Culputtv, S. T^^'naad,
about 2800 feet above the sea, bmlt at the end of a branch'4 feet
rrom the ground.''

Mr. T. F. BourdUion ^vrites from Travancore:— ''This bird breeds
commonly with us, and its nest is more often met with than that
of any other. The nest is cup-shaped and made of lichen, leaves,
and grass. It is usuaUy placed 4 to 8 feet from the ground in the
middle of jungle, and is about 2 inches in diameter by l|-2 in
depth. The fuU number of eggs is two, and I have obtained on
"April, 1871. 2 fresh eggs.
"Mar. 21, 1873. 2 fresh eggs.
"Feb. 16, 1874. 2 fresh eggs.

" Aprd 11, 1874. 2 young birds, and manv nests just vacated."'
As m the case of Pyctorhis sinensis, the eggs "differ much in colour
and markings. The two eggs of this species sent me by I^Iiss
Lockburn from Ivotagherry are moderatelv broad ovals, very obtuse
at the larger end and somewhat compressed towards the'smaller.
Ihe shell IS fine and somewhat glossy. The ground-colour is white
or pinkish white, and they are thickly mottled and freckled, most
thickly at the larger end, where the markings form a more or less
confluent mottled cap, with two shades of pinkish-, and in some
spots slightly brownish, red, and towards the large end, where the
markings are dense, traces of pale purple clouds uuderlvino- the
primary markings are observable. In general appearaiice Ihese
eggs not a little resemble those of some of the Bulbuls, and it seems
difticult to believe that they are eggs of birds of the same genus as
Alcip2^e atriccps^, the eggs of which are so much smaller and of
such a totally different type. Two eggs of the same species taken
by Mr Davison are moderately broad ovals, somewhat compressed
towards one end; have a fine and slightly glossy shell The
ground-colour is a delicate pink. There are a few pi^ttv large and
conspicuous spots and hairlines of deep brownish red, almost^black
and there are a few large pinkish-brown smears and clouds, gene-
rally lying round or about the dark spots ; and then towards the
large end there are several small clouds and patches of faint inky
purple, which appear to underlie the other markincrs. The cha-
racter of the markings on some of these eggs reminds" one strongly
of those ot the Chattineh. Other eggs taken later by Mi^s Cock-
burn ar Kotagherry on the 21st Januarv are just intermediate be-
tween the two types above described.

All the eggs are very nearly the same size, and only varv in
length from 075 to 0-86, and in breadth from 0-58 to 0-65. "

* .f^'We a^/v>e/« and Aleippc p]i<socephaJa, as they have hitherto been styled
by all Indian ornithologists, are not in the least congeneric, as T hare pointed
oiit m my 'Birds of India.' I am glad to see my views corroborated by Mr
Hume s remarks on the eggs. There is no reason why these two birds should
be considered congeneric, except a general similarity in colour and habits.
Iheir structure differs much. — Ed.

108 CEATEKOPODID^.

1(35. Alcippe phayrii, Bl. The Burmese Babbler.
Alcippe phayrii, Bl., Hume, Cat. no. 388 bis.

Major C. T. Bingham writes from Tenasserim : — " In the
half-dry bed of one of the many streams that one has to cross be-
tween Kaukarit and Meeawuddy, I found on the 23rd February
a nest of the above species. A firm little cup, borne up some 2
feet above the ground on the fronds of a strong-growing fern, to
three of the leaf-stems of which it was attached. It was made of
vegetable fibres and roots, and lined interiorly with fine blaclv hair-
like roots, on which rested three fresh eggs, in colour pinky white,
blotched and streaked with dull reddish pink, and with faint clouds
and spots of purple. The eggs measure -79 x "SS, -78 x "58, and
•76 X -59."

Mr. J. Darling, junior, informs us that on the 9th April he
" took three fresh eggs of Aleipjje jihciyrii, in heavy jungle, at a very
low elevation, at the foot of Nwalabo in Tenasserim. The nest was
built in a small bush 4 feet from the ground (hanging between
two forked twigs), of bamboo and other leaves, moss, and a few
fine twigs, and lined with moss and fern-roots, 2 inches in diameter,
1| deep. It was exactly like very many nests of A. jilumcephala,
taken on the Nilghiri Hills, tliough some of the latter are much
more compact and pretty."

Mr. W. Davison, also writing of Tenasserim, says : — " On the 1st
March, in a little bush about 2 feet above the ground, I found the
above-mentioned bird seated on a little moss-made nest, and utterly
refusing to move off until I almost touched lier, when she hopped
on to a branch a few feet off, and disclosed three little naked fledg-
lings struggling or just struggled out of their shells. I retired a
little way off, and she immediately reseated herself. The eggs, to
judge by the fragments, were of a vinous claret tinge, spotted and
streaked with a darker shade of the same."

These eggs closely resemble those of A. nepalensis. They are
neither broad nor elongated ovals, often with a sVkjM pyriform
tendency, ah^ays apparently very blunt at both ends.

The ground-colour, of which but little is visible, in some eggs
A'aries from pinky white to pale reddish pink, and the egg is pro-
fusely smeared and clouded \^ith pinky or purplish red, var3"ing
uiuch in shade and tint. Here and there, in most eggs, are a few
spots, or occasionally short, crooked or curved lines, where the
colour has been laid on so thick that it is almost black, and such
spots are generally, though not always, more or less surrounded
with a haze of a rather deeper tint than the rest of the smear in
which they occur. The markings are often deepest coloured, or
most conspicuous, about the large end, where occasionally a recog-
nizable cap is formed and there a decided purplish tinge may be
noticed in jjatches. The general character of the eggs is Aery uni-
form ; but the eggs vary to such a degree inter se, that it is hopeless
to attempt to describe all the variations. They vary in length

EHOPOCICHLA. 109

from 0-68 to 0-78 and iu breadth from 0-53 to 0-59, but the average
of uine eggs is 0-75 by 0-58.

166. Rhopocichla atriceps (Jerd.) The Black-headed Babbler.

Alcippe atriceps (Jerd.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 19; Hume, Roiuih
Draft N. ^- E. no. 390,

Writing from Coouoor in the Nilghiris, Mr. Wait tells me
that tlie Black-headed Babbler breeds iu his neighbourhood iu
June and July : — " It builds in weeds and grass beside the banks
of old roads, at elevations of from 5000 to 5500 feet. The uest is
placed at a height of from a foot to 2 feet from the gi'ound, is
domed aud loosely built, composed almost entirely of dry blades of
the lemon-grass, and lined \\-ith the same or a few softer grass-
blades. In shape it is more or less ovate, the longer axis vertical,
and the external diameters 4 and 8 inches. They lay two or
three rather broad oval eggs, which have a white ground, speckled
and spotted, chiefly at the large end, with reddish brown."

Miss Cockburn sends me a nest of this species which she found
on the ] 7th June amongst reeds on the edge of a stream, about 2
or 3 feet above the water's edge. It appears to have been a glo-
bular mass very loosely put together, of broad reed-leaves, between
3 or 4 inches iu diameter, and with a central unlined cavity.

Mr. Iver Macpherson, writing from Mysore, says : — " I have
only met with this bird in heavy bamboo-forest, and have only
found two nests, viz., on the 25Lh May aud 2nd July, 1879. Both
nests were fixed low down (2 to 3 feet) in bamboo-clumps, and
each contained two eggs, which, for the size of the bird, I con-
sidered very large. Nest globular, and very loosely constructed of
bamboo-leaves and blades of grass."

An egg sent me from Coouoor by Mr. Wait is a moderately
broad, very regular oval, only slightly compressed towards the
smaller end. The shell is very fine and satiny, but has only a slight
gloss. The ground-colour is white or slightly greyish white, and
towards the large end it is profusely speclded with minute dots of
brownish and purplish red, a few specks of the same colour being
scattered about the rest of the surface of the eggs.

Another egg sent me from Kotagherry by Miss Cockburn exactly
corresponds with the above description.

Both are precisely the same in size, and measure 0*75 by 0-55.
Other eggs measure from 0-75 to 0-79 in length by 0'53 to 0'58 in
breadth*.

* Mr. T. Fulton Bourdillon (S. F. ix, p. 300) gives an interesting account of
the nest and eggs of a species of Ehopock-hla which he failed to identify satisfac-
torily. It may have been B. atriceps or B. bourdilloni. Most probably, judging
from the locality, it was the latter. As, however, there is a doubt about it, I do
not insert the note. — Ed.

110 CRATEEOPODID^.

167. Rhopocichla nigrifrons (BL). The Blaek-fronti'd Babbler.
Alcippe nigrifrons, BL, Hume, Cat. no. 390 ter.

Colonel Legge writes regarding the nidification of the Black-
fronted Babbler in Ceylon : — " After finding hnndreds of the curions
dry-leaf structures, mentioned in ' The Ibis,' 1874, p. 19, entirely
void of contents, and having come almost to the conclusion that
they were built as roosting-places, I at last came on a newly-con-
structed one containing two eggs, on the 5th of January last ; the
bird was in the nest at the time, so that my identification of the
eggs was certain. The nest of this Babbler is generally placed in
a bramble or straggling piece of undergrowth near a path in the
jungle or other open spot ; it is about 3 or 4 feet from the ground,
and is entirely made of dead leaves and a few twigs ; the leaves are
laid one over another horizontally, forming a smooth bottom or
interior. In external form it is a shapeless ball about 8 or 10
inches in diameter, and has an unfinished opening at the side.
The birds build with astonishing quickness, picking up the leaves
one after another from the ground just beneath the nest. When
fresh the eggs are fleshy white, becoming pure white when emptied ;
they are large for the size of the bird, rather stumpy ovals, of a
smooth texture, and spotted openly and sparingly with brownish
red, over bluish-grey specks ; in one specimen the darker markings
are redder than in the other, and run mostly in the direction of
the axis. Dimensions : 0*74 by 0-56 and 0-74 by 0-55."

169. Stacliyrhis nigriceps, Hodgs. The Black-throated Babbler.

Stachyris nigriceps, Hodc/s., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 21 ; Hume, Bongh
Draft N. | E. no. 391.

I have never taken a nest of this species, the Black-throated
Babbler, but Mr. Gammie, a careful observer, in whose neighbour-
hood (Bungbee, near Darjeeling) this bird is very abundant, has
taken many nests, two of which he has sent me, with many eggs.

One nest, found at Rishap, on the 14th May, at an elevation of
about 4000 feet, contained four nearly fresh eggs. It was a very
loose structure, a shallow cup of about 3i inches in diameter, com-
posed of fine grass-stems without any lining, and coated extei-nally
with broad coarse grass blades.

Another nest taken low down in the valley, at about an elevation
of 2000 feet, on the 17th June, contained three fresh eggs. It was
placed in a bank at the foot of a shrub. Like the previous one,
it was a loose but rather deeper cup, interiorly composed of mode-
rately fine grass, exteriorly of dead leaves. The egg-cavity mea-
sured about 2 inches in diameter, and 1| inch in depth. In situ,
both probably were more or less domed, the cups more or less over-
hung by a hood or canopy.

Mr. Gammie remarks : — " I have seen numerous nests of this

STACHYEHIS. HI

species in former years, and have found two this season, but have
never seen eggs with ' faint darker spots ' as mentioned by Jerdon.
Hodgson's description is quite correct. The eggs are a ' pale fawn-
colour ' before theij are blown, the shells being so translucent that
the yolk shows through partially. The shell is pure white in itself.
The cavity of the cup-shaped part of one nest beside nie is 2 inches
deep by 2 inches wide ; outer dimensions 5| inches deep (from top
of hood) by 4 inches wide across the face of entrance. It is loosely
though neatly made of bamboo-leaves and fern, lined with dry
grass. The bird breeds in May and June, and lays four or five
eggs."

Mr. Eiigene Gates tells us that he " procured only one specimen
of this bird, and that was in the evergreen forests of the Pegu Hills.
1 shot it off the nest on the 29th April. The nest was on a bank
of a nullah well concealed among dead leaves, about 2 feet above
the bottom of the bank. The nest is domed, about 7 inches in
height and 5 inches in diameter externally, with the entrance at
the side near the top. The outside is a 'mass of bamboo -leaves
very loose, being in no way bound together ; each leaf is curled to
the shape of the nest. The inside, a thin lining only of vegetable
fibres. There were three eggs, just on the point ' of hatching ;
colour, pure white."

The Black-throated Babbler breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson,
in April and May, and builds a large deep cup-shaped nest, either
upon the ground in the midst of grass, or at a short distance above
the ground between five or six thin twigs ; a nest which he measured
was externally 4-5 inches in diameter and 3-5 in height, while the
cavity was 2-5 in diameter and 2 in depth. The nest is composed of
dry bamboo- and other leaves wound together with grass and moss-
roots, and lined with these, and is a very firm compact structure,
consideriog the materials. They lay four or five eggs, which are
figured as very regular rather broad ovals, of a nearly uniform, very
pale cafe-au-lait colour (these were the unblown e^gs), measurinff
about 0-75 by 0-58. ^

Dr. Jerdon remarks :— " A nest and eggs were brought to me at
Darjeeling, and said to be of this species. The nest was rather
large, very loosely made of bamboo-leaves and fibres, and the eggs
were of a pale salmon-colour, with some faint darker spots."

There is no doubt that these must have been the eggs of some
other species.

Major C. T. Bingham tells us :— " This little bird, though not
at all common, breeds in the Sinzaway Eeserve, in Tenasserim. I
took five hard-set eggs, placed in a beautiful little domed nest, at
the foot of a clump of bamboos, on the bank of a dry chouno- or
nullah. This was on the 20th March. The nest was composed
exteriorly of dry bamboo-leaves, and interiorly of fine grass-roots,
the entrance being on one side. I shot the female as she crept off
the nest."

It does not seem that in the Himalayas this species domes its
nest. Numerous other nests that have "been sent me from Sikhim,

112 CRATEEOPODID^.

takeu in May, June, and July, were all of the same type — shallow
or deeper cups loosely put together, exteriorly composed of coarse
blades of grass, dead leaves, bamboo-spathes and the like, held
together with a little vegetable libra or fibrous roots, and interiorly
of fine grass generally more or less mingled with blackish roots,
which in some nests greatly predominate over the grass.

The eggs are broad ovals, somewhat compressed towards one
end, in some cases slightly pyriform. They are pure white, spot-
less, and fairly glossy.

They vary from 0*68 to 0-84 in length, and from 0-55 to 0-61
in breadth, but the average of thirty-four eggs is 0"76 by somewhat
over 0-58.

170. Stachyrhis chryssea, Hodgs. The Golden-headed Babbler.

Stacliyris chvysEea, Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 22 ; Hume, Rowjh
Draft N. S,- E. no. 394.

Mr. Blyth remarks : — " The egg, as figured by Mr. Hodgson, is
pinkish white, and the nest domed and placed on the summit of a
sedge. S. p'cecognita lays a blue egg.'' (Ibis, 1866, p. 309.)

There is no figure of either the nest or eggs of the Golden-
headed Babbler amongst the drawings of Mr. Hodgson that I
possess.

Erom Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes : — " I took a nest of this bird
out of a large forest, at 5000 feet elevation, on the 15th May. It
is of an oval shape, neatly made of small bamboo-leaves only,
devoid of lining, and was fixed vertically between a few upright
sprays, within two feet of the ground. It measures externally 5-25
inches in height by 4 in diameter; internally 1-5 in depth, from
lip of egg-cavity, by 1-75 ha diameter. The entrance is also 1*75
across.

"The eggs were four in number; three of them well set and the
fourth quite fresh. The set eggs were altogether pure white, but
the fresh egg, unblown, was of a pinky-white colour with a pure
white cap ; when blown it exactly resembled the others."

The eggs sent as pertaining to this species by Mr. Gammie are
very regular ovals, pure white, and somewhat glossy, but they are
so small that I can scarcely credit their really belonging to this
species. Their cubit contents are not half those of the average
eggs of S. nigriceps. They measure 0'63 by 0'48.

172. Stachyrhidopsis ruficeps, Bl. The lied-headed Babbler.

Stachyris ruficeps, BL, Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 22 ; Hume, Rough Draft
N. i^- E. uo. 393.

The Eed-headed Babbler breeds in Nepal, according to Mr. Hodg-
son, from April to June, building a large massive cup-shaped nest
amongst bamboos, as a rule, at heights of from 7 to 10 feet from
the ground. The nest is wedged in between half a dozen or more

STACHTRHIDOPSIS. 113

creepers and shoots, and is composed almost exclusively of dry
bamboo-leaves neatly, but rather looselj, interwoven, and lined
also w,t_htiiese leaves One which he measured was rather ovaHn
hMSl?; ^"^A: ^7'^^^ "^ ^^f ?^te^; o"« vvay, by 4 the other, and 3-6 in
he ght. The leaves used m the rim of the cup were projected a
h e mwards, so as to make the mouth of the cavity a little sn.aller

un the diameter ot this latter within. The diameter of the mouth
Nvas 2 inches, that of the cavity 2-5, and the latter is about 1-5
deep iour eggs are laid a sort of brownish white, speckled and
spotted with brown or recld.sh brown. The egg fig'urLl measures
U /by o2, and is a moderatelv broad, regular oval

Dr Jerdon says :-" A nest and eggs, said to be "of this species
were brought to me at Darjeeling. fhe nest was a loose stX ure

clurZ^^ ""'T^ '°'^'""^^^ ^"-^ 'SS^ -t" ^ g^-eenish-white

colour with some rusty spots.

Prom 8ikhim Mr. Gfammie writes .— I took two nests of this
Jiabbier in April ; one of them at an elevation of 3500 feet the
other at 5U00 f.et, but it no doubt breeds also both lo.?r'and
higher They are of a neat egg-shape, uiih entrance at side, and
vveie fixed vertically betweeu a few upright sprays, within three feet
o±_ the ground, in open situations near large trees. Mr. Hod-son
evidently did not take the one he describes with his own hands
for he plares it horizontally, which gives a height of 3-6 inches
only The external dimensions are about o'S inches in height and
4 m diameter Internally the diameter is 2 inches, and the depth,
from roof, 3-2o. The entrance is 2 across. They are composed of
dry bamboo-leaves only, put neatly and firmly together, and are
lined with a very few grassy fibres. They each contained four
well-set eggs.

Mr Mandelli, however, took a nest of this species at Lebong on
the -Mrd June, in the middle of a tea-bush which grew at the side
ot a small ravine, which was neither hooded nor domed. The nest
was about 1 8 inches from the ground and completely sheltered from
above by tea-leaves It was a deep cup composed externallv chieHy
ot bamboo-lea^■es, but with a good many dead leaves of trees in-
corporated m the base, and lined with ^ery fine srass-stems It
contained four fresh eggs. It is quite clear that this species, like
^. nKjria-ps, only domes its nest in certain situations

The eggs obtained by Mr. Gammie and Mr. Mandelh are very
regular, slightly elongated ovals. The shell is very fine and com-
pact but has only a faint gloss. The ground is white and round
he larger end is a zone or imperfect cap of specks and spots of
brownish red, generally intermingled \^ith tiny spots, usually very
famt of pa e purple. A few specks and spots brown, yello^^■ish,
or reddish brown, and sometimes also pale purple, are" scattered
about the rest of the egg.

A I'c^ ^'?^i^^ !^^f ''*^^ ^'^''''' ^'^-^ ^° ^'■"^' '^"d ^'^ breadth from
U-au to U-&J, but the average of eight eggs was 0-6« by Oo2

VOL. I. - o

114 CUATEROPODIDvE.

174. Stachyrhidopsis pyrrhops, Hodgs. Tlie lled-billed Bahhkr.

Stacliyris pyrrliops, Ilo'k/s., Jercl. B. Lid. ii, p. 21 ; Hume, llowjh
Draft N.'Si- E. no. 392.

Accounts differ somewhat as to the eggs of the Eed-billed
Babbler.

From Murree, Colonel C. H. T. Marshall writes : — " Nest found
in low ground, about 100 yards from the E-iver Jlieekim, situated
iu a low bush externally composed of broad dry reed-leaves, and
interiorly of fine grass, cup-shaped. Eggs, four in number, long
oval, white, with a few reddish specks at the larger end. Length
•7, breadth '5. Lays in the latter end of June, 4000 feet up."

The nest, M'hich he kindly sent me, is a deej) cup, coarsely made
interiorly of grass-stems, externally of broad blades of grass, in
which a few dead leaves are incorporated ; there is no lining.
Exteriorly the nest is about 3"o inches in diameter, and about 3 iu
depth ; the egg-cavity is a little more than 2 inches in diameter,
and fully 1'75 in depth.

Mr. Hodgson " found the nest " of this species in Nepal, " at an
elevation of about 6000 feet, in shrubby upland.'' It was " placed in
a small shrub about 2 feet from the ground." It was " a very deep
cup, about 4 inches in length, and 2-5 in diameter externally,
placed obliquely endwise upon cross-stems of the shrub, and
optming, as it were obliquely, upwards at one end," the cavity
being about 1-5 in diameter. The nest was made of " dry leaves
and grass pretty compactly woven." The nest " contained four
eggs," which are described as " whitish, with spare and faint
fawn-coloured spots," and are figured as measuring 0*65 by 0-47.

Captain Hutton says : — "This is a common species both in the
Dhoon and in the hills, and may be found at all seasons, making
known its presence among the brushwood by the utterance of a
clear and musical note like the ringing of a tiny bell. In the
winter time it is often mixed up with flocks composed of Siva
strirjida and Liolhrix luteins, ci"eeping among the bushes like the
Fdvi and Pliylloscopi. It constructs its nest at the base of buslies,
the eggs beiug three in number, of a faint greenish grey, thickly
irrorated with small reddish-brown specks. The nest is composed
of dry grass-blades externally, within A^hich is a layer of fine
woody stalks and fibres, and lined with black hair. It is cup-
siiaped, and placed upon a thick bed of dried leaves, which are
most probably accumulated beneath the bush by the wind. One
nest was taken at Dehra, in a garden, on the 30th July, and others
at Mussoorie about the same time."

But the eggs sent by Captain Hutton clearly do not, I think,
pertain to this species. Those taken by Colonel Marshall are
certainly genuine, and are considerably larger and very differently
coloured eggs.

In shape they are moderat(;ly broad o\als, sonie of them sliglitly
com])ressed towards the small eiid. Tiie shell is very fine and
smooth, but with scarcely any gloss ; the ground is pure white.

CYAXODERMA. — MIXOUXIS. 115

and they arc thinly speckled and spotted, the markings being
much more numerous about the large end, where they have a
tendency to form an ill-delined cap or zone with brownisli red or
pinky brown.

In length they vary from 0-02 to 0-00, and in breadth from O'o
to 0-52.

175. Cyanoderma erytliropterum (Blyth). 2''he lied-w'ufjid

Bahhler.
Cyanoderma erj tbropteiuin, Bl., Hume, Cat. no. 396 bis,

Mr. "W. Davisou found the nest of the Eed-winged Babbler at
Bankasoou on the 23rd April, just when he was leaving the place.
Unfortunately the birds had not yet laid. The nest was a ball
composed of dry raed-leaves, about G inches in diameter. Extern-
ally, with a circular aperture on one side, very like that of Mivornis
rubricapUlas and of Dumetia, and again not at all unlike that of
Ochromela n'ujrorufa, but placed in a bush about 4 feet high and
not on the e:round.

170. Mixornis rubricapillus (Tick.). The Yellow-hreastM Babbler.

Mixcirnis rubricapilla (Tick.), Jenl. B. Ind. ii, p. 2.3; Hume, Ruiiyh
Draft N. ^- E. no. 39.5.

This, though said to occur also in Central India, is a purely
Indo-Burmese form, found chiefly in the Eastern sub-Himalayan
jungles, Assam, Cachar, Burm.a, aud Tenasseriui.

It is only from this latter province that I have any information
as to the nidilication of the Tellow-breasted Babbler.

Mr. Davison writes to me: — "At a small village, called fShy-
mootee or Tsinmokehtee, about 7 miles from the town of Tavoy,
aud very slightly above the ?ea-level, say 50 feet, I found on the
6th of May, 1874, a nest of this species. The nest was placed in a
dense clump of a very thorny plant (somewhat like a pineapple
bush) about a foot from the ground ; it \\ as not particularly w ell
concealed. The nest was built of bamboo-leaves, aud in general
appearance was not at all unlike that of Oclu-omela niyrorufa : but
the egg-cavity was very shallow, so that by mo\ing aside an over-
hanging leaf the eggs were distinctly visible. There were three
partially incubated eggs in the nest, a somewhat dull white, spotted
with pinkish dots."

The nest is more or less egg-shaped, the longer axis vertical,
with a circular aperture on one side near the top.

The exterior diameters are 5 and nearly 4 inches. The aperture
about 1-5 in diameter. The cavity is barely 2 inches in diameter,
aud only 1-25 deep below the lower edge of the entrance.

Both nest and eggs strongly recall those of Dumetia lujperythra.
The former is composed of the broad, grass-like leaves of the

8*

] 16 CRATEROPODID.E.

btiinboo, and with only a few stems of grass here aiul tliere inter-
niiugled as if by accident. lu the sides of the cavity the leaf-
blades are so neatly laid together, side by side, that the interior
seems as if planked, and at the bottom of the cavity there is a
verv scanty lining of very fine grass-stems.

Mr, Gates says : — " I found a nest on the 2nd June near Pegu,
with three eggs. Failing to snare the bird at once, I left the nest
for a short time, and on my return found the eggs gone. I am
satisiied, however, that the nest belonged to the present species ;
for I caugbt a glimpse of the sitting bird. The nest was built ou
the top of a stump, well concealed by leafy twigs, except the
entrance, which was open to view. It was a ball of grass witb the
opening at the side.

" 2Sth June. — Nest in a shrub about 10 feet from the ground.
A domed structure with an opening at the side 3 inches high by
2 broad. Height of nest about 6 and outside width 4. Made
entirely of bamboo-leaves and lined sparingly with grass. Eggs 3.
" I have found numerous nests of this species, but always after
the young had flown. They appear almost always to be placed in
shrubs at heights of 2 to 10 feet from the ground. One nest,
however, on which I watched tbe birds at work, was in a pine-
apple plant between the stalk of the fruit and one of the leaves,
almost on tbe ground.''

The eggs are regular ovals, moderately elongated, only very
slightly compressed towards the smaller end, which is only just
appreciably smaller.

The shell is very fine and delicate, excessively smooth and
fragile, but with only a faint gloss. The ground is a dead white,
with perhaps the least possible pinkish tinge. The markings con-
sist of tiny specks of In-ownish or purplish red and pale yellowish
brown, thinly scattered over the rest of the surface, but compara-
tively densely clustered round the larger end, where they form a
rather conspicuous though irregular and imperfect zone, apparent
enough in all, but much more strongly marked in one egg than in
the (;thers.

In some eggs the markings are all rather bright red and dull
purplish grey ; some have a very fair amount of gloss, and a very
pure china-white ground.

The eggs vary in length from 0-65 to O'Tl, and in breadth from
0-5 to 0-53.

177. Mixornis gularis (Raffl.). The Sumatran YdJoiv-hreasted

Babbler.
Mixornis gularis {Horsf.), Hume, Cat. no. oOo bis.
The eggs* are very similar to those of M. ruhricapillus, but are,

* I eamiot find any note about tho nest of this sjjccics. Mr. Diivison was
probably tho finder of the eggs described. — Ed.

SCHCENIPAKUS. 117

perhapp, as a rule, bettor marked. They are A'ery regular ovals,
ty])ically rather slightly elongated, often slightly compressed to-
wards the small end ; the shell is very fine and fragile, and has
usuall}' a fair amount of gloss. The ground is usually pure white,
at times with a pinkish tinge, Round the large end is a more or
less conspicuous, more or less continuous zone of specks, spots, and
small irregular blotches of two colours, the one varying in ditferent
eggs from almost brick-red to brownish orange, the other from
reddish purple to purplish grey. In some cases a very few, in
others a good many, specks and tiny spots of the same colours are
scattered about the other portions of the egg. The eggs measure
0-7 by 0-51.

178. Schceniparus dubius (Hume). Humes Tit-Babbler.
Proparus dubius, Hume ; Hume, Cat. no. 622 bis.

Mr. W. Davison has furnished me with the following note: —
" On the 21st of February I took a nest of this species on Muleyit
mountain containing two eggs, and out of the female which I shot
oif the nest I took another egg ready for expulsion w hich was in
every particular precisely similar to those in the nest.

" The nest was a large globular structure, composed externally of
dried reed-leaves, very loosely put together, the egg-cavity deep
and lined with fibres. It was placed on the ground close to a
rock, and at the foot of a Zingiberaceous plant, and rather exposed
to view. The nest was not unlike that of Pomatorldnus, but of
course considerably smaller, not so much domed, and with the mouth
of the egg-cavity pointing upwards.

" A few days later, on the 2.5th, I took a second nest, quite similar
in shape and materials to the first one, but placed several feet above
the ground, in a dense mass of creepers growing over a rock. It
was quite exposed to view, and from a distance of 3 or 4 feet the
eggs were quite visible.

"There were three eggs in the nest, similar to those in the first
nest. Both parent birds were obtained. The first nest measured
5 inches long by 4-5 wide, the egg-cavity 3-8 deep by 2*75 wide at
the entrance. The other was about half an inch smaller each way.
"The measurements of the six eggs varied from 0'76 to 0*81 in
length by 0*56 to 0-6 in width, but the average was 0-78 by 0-59."
The eggs are rather narrow o\'als, as a rule, occasionally much
pointed towards one end. The shell is very fine and has a faint
gloss. The ground-colour is white. The markings, which are dif-
ficult to describe, consist first of spots, specks, and hair-line
scratches, dark brown, almost black occasionally, and a great
amount of irregular clouding, streaking, and smudging of a pale
dirty-brown, slightly reddish in some eggs. Besides this, about the
large end there is an indistinct irregular zone of faint inky
purple spots and small blotches, and a few spots of this same colour
may be observed on other parts of the egg.

118 CEATEROPODlD-5;.

182. Sittiparus castaneiceps (ITodgs.). The Chestnut-headed
Tit-Bahhler.

Minla castaneiceps, Hodys., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 255 ; Hume, lioucjh
Draft N. ^' E. uo. 019.

Mr. Hodgson's notes inform us that the Chestnut-headed Tit-
Babbler breeds in the neighbourhood of Darjeeling in May and
June, laying four eggs, which are figured as somewhat elongated
ovals, having a very ])ale greenish-yellow or dingy yellowish-wbite
ground finely speckled, cbieHy at the large end, where there is a
tendency to form a zone, with red or brownish red, and measuring
0-75 by 0-52. The nest is said to be placed in a thick bush, at a
height of about 3 feet from the grountl, in a double fork ; to be
very broad and shallow, composed of twigs, grass, and moss, and
lined with leaves. One, taken on the 18th May, 1846, measured G
inches in diameter and 2*5 in height externally ; the cavity was
only 2-1 in diameter and 1 in depth.

From Sikhim Mr. Grammie writes : — " A nest of this bird, with
one fresh egg and female, was brought to me in May. The man
said he found the nest in the Eungbee forest, at GOOD feet, among
the moss growing on the trunk of a large tree, a few feet from
the ground. It was a solid cup, made of green moss, with an inner
layer of fine dark-coloured roots, and lined with grassy fibres.
Externally it measured 4 inches in w"idth by the same in depth ;
internally 1-5 wide by 1"25 deep."

Three eggs sent by Mr. Gammie measure 0'7 to 0*75 in length
and 0-55 to 0-59 in breadth.

Mr. Davison says : — " On the 20th of February, when encamped
just under the summit of Muleyit, ou its N.W. slope, I fonnd a
nest of this bird containing three eggs, but so hard-set that it was
only with the greatest difticulty that I managed to preserve them.

"The nest, a deep cup, was placed about 5 feet from the ground,
in a mass of creepers growing up a sapling. It (the nest) was
composed externally of green moss and liiied with fibres and dry
bam bo 0-1 eaves.

" Ou the 29th of the same month I took auother nest, also con-
tainiiig three eggs, precisely similar to those in the first nest ; but
these were so far incubated and the shell was so fragile that they
were all lost. This nest was also composed externally of green
moss, beautifully worked into the moss growing on the trunk of
a large tree, and it was only with considerable difliculty, and after
looking for some time, that I found it. The egg-cavity of this
nest was also lined with fibres and dried bamboo-leaves.

" The first nest found w as open at the top, and measured
.5'5 inches in depth, 3 across the top externally, the egg-cavity
3*5 in depth by 1*8 in diameter at top.

" The second nest was completely domed at the top, and measured
externally 7 inches in depth by about 3'5 at lop. The egg-cavity
was 2'5 inches deep by 1'5 across the mouth.

"'^I'hree eggs measured 0'7 to (i"75 in length, and 0*55 to 0-59 in
breadth."

PROPARUS. 119

The eggs are broad ovals, a little pointed towards the small eud,
the shell white, almost devoid of gloss. A dense ring or zone of
excessively small black spots surrounds the large end, and similar
specks are rather sparsely distributed over the whole of the rest of
the surface of the egg, liaviug, however, a tendency to become ob-
solete towards the small end. Sometimes a little brown and some-
times a little lilac is intermingled in the zone.

183. Proparusviiiipectus(Hodgs.). The Plain-hrown Tit-Bahhler.

Propanis vinipectus {Ilochjs.), Jcnl. B. Ind. W, p. 257 ; Ilame, limuih
Draft N. ^- B. 110. 022.

The Plain-brown Tit-Babbler is not uncommon in the higher
wooded hills bet\\ een Simla and Kotegurh, and from somewhere near
Mutiana Captain Blair sent me a nest and egg, together with one
of the old birds which had been caugbt on the nest.

This latter was a rather compact massive cup, composed of
moderately fine blades of grass, measuring externally about 4^
inches in diameter and standing about 2| inches high." The egg-
cavity, about 2 inches in diameter ami rather more than half an
inch deep, w as lined with fine blackish-brown grass-roots. Neither
nest nor egg is exactly what I should have expected to pertain to
this species; but Captain Blair was certain that they belonged to
the parent bird which he sent w ith them,, and T therefore describe
both with entire confidence in their authenticity.

The egg is a moderately elongated oval, slightly compressed
towards one end ; it has a pale-green ground, and near the large
end has a strongly marked but very irregular sepia-brown zone,
and pale stains of the same colour here and there running down
the egg from the zone, as well as a few isolated dark spots of the
same tint. Although much smaller, and although the colour of
the markings is very different, the ground-colour and the character
of the markings much recall those of Liothrix liittus. The egg has
little or no gloss, and measures 0'73 by 0-55.

Mr. Mandelli obtained two nests of this species — one at Sinchal,
near Darjeeliug, at an elevation of 9000 feet, on the 2nd June ; the
other at Tongloo, at an elevation of 10,000 feet, on the 29th May.
The first contained one, the second three fresh eggs, all precisely
similar in size and colour to the egg formerly sent me by Capt. Blair,
though the nests themselves w ere rather different in appearance.
These nests were both placed amongst the branches of dense brush-
wood, at heights of 3 and 4 feet from the ground ; they are very
compact, massive little cups, about 3-25 inches in diameter and 2
in height exteriorly ; the cavities are about 2 inches in diameter and
1-25 in depth. The chief materials of the nests are dry blades of
grass and bamboo-leaves ; but these are only seen at the bottom of
the nests, the sides and upper margins being completely felted over
with green moss. Apparently there is a first hning of tine grass and
roots ; but very little of this is seen, as the cavity is then thickly
covered with black and white hairs.

fe

120 CRATEROPODIB.i;.

184, Lioparus chrysaeus (Hodgs.). The Golden-lreasted Tit-
Bahhler.

Proparus chrysajus, Hodqs., Jcrd. B. Ind. n, p. 25G ; Hume, Rou(jh
Draft N. <t E. no. 621.

The G-olclen-breasted Tit-Eabbler breeds, according to Mr. Hodg-
son's notes, near Darjeeling and in the central region of Nepal.
It lays from three to four eggs, which are figured as somewhat
broad ovals, measuring 0-7 by 0-5, with a piidvy-white ground,
speckled and spotted thinly, except towards the large end, where
there is a tendency to form a cap or zone, with brownish red. The
nest is oval or rather egg-shaped, and fixed with its longer dia-
meter perpendicular to the ground in a bamboo-clump between a
dozen or so of the small lateral shoots, at an elevation of only a few
feet from the ground. One, taken near Darjeeling on the 12th June,
measured externally 6 inches in height, 4'5 in breadth, and 3
inches in depth, and on one side it had an oval aperture 2*5 in
height and 1*75 in breadth. It appeared to have been entirely
com loosed of dry bamboo-leaves and broad blades of grass loosely
interwoven, and with a little grass and moss-roots as lining,

Hodgson originally named this bird Proparus cJiri/soHs, but as the
bird has silvery ears Hodgson himself rejected this name and adopted
the one given above. Mr. Gray, however, retains the specific name
chrijsotls. Now, I think a man has a perfect right to change his oii'ii
name ; what I object to is other people presuming to do it for him.

Subfamily BRACHYPTERYGINtE.

187. Myioplioneus temmincki, Vigors, The Ilimcdai/an Whisiliwj-

Thrush.

Mviophonus teraminckii, J^if/., Jerd. B. Ind. i, p. /jOO ; Hume, Rouqh
^ Draft N. *S- D. no. 343,

The Himalayan Whistling-Thrush breeds throughout the Hima-
layas fi"om Assam to Afghanistan, in shady ravines and wooded
glens, as a rule, from an elevation of 2000 to 5000 feet, but, at
times, especially far into the interior of the hills, up to even 10,000
feet.

It lays during the last week of April, May, and June. The
number of eggs varies from three to five.

The nest is almost invariably placed in the closest proximity to
some niountain-stream, on the rocks and boulders of wliich the
mule; so loves to warble ; sometimes on a mossy bank ; sometimes in
some rocky crevice hidden amongst drooping maiden-hair ; some-
times on some stream-encircled slab, exposed to view from all
sides, and not unfrequcntly curtained in by the babbling waters of
some little waterfall behind which it has been constructed. The

MYIOPnONEUS. 121

nest is always admirably adapted to surrounding conditions.
Safety is always sought either in inaccessibility or concealment.
Built on a rock in the midst ot" a roaring torrent, not the smallest
attempt at concealment is made ; the nest lies open to the gaze of
every living thing, and the materials are not even so chosen as to
harmonize with the colour of the site. But if an easily accessible
sloping mossy bank, ever bejewelled with the spray of some little
cascade, be the spot selected, the nest is so worked into and coated
with moss as to be absolutely in\ isible if looked at from below, and
the place is usually so chosen that it cannot well be looked at, at
all closely, from above.

Captain Unwin sent me an unusually beautiful specimen of the
nest of this species, taken earl^" in May in the Agrore Valley — a
massive and perfect cup, with a cavity of 5 inches in diameter and
3 inches deep ; the sides fullv 2 inches thick ; an almost solid mass
of fine roots (the finest towards the interior) externally inter-
mingled with moss, so as to form, to all appearance, an integral
portion of the mossy bank on which it was placed. In the bottom
of the nest were interwoven a number of dead leaves, and tlie
whole interior was thinly lined with very fine grass-roots and moss.
In this case the nest had been placed on a tiny natural platform
and was a complete cup ; but in another nest, also sent by Captain
Unwin, the cup, having been placed on the slope of a bank, wanted
(and this is the more common type) the inner one-third altogether,
the place of which was supplied by the bank-moss in situ. In this
case, although the ca\ity was only of the same size as that above
described, the outer face of the nest was fully G inches high, and
the wall of the nest between 3 and 3| inches thick. The former
contained three much incubated, the latter four nearly i'resh eggs.

A nest from Darjeeling which was taken on the 28th July, at an
elevation of about 3500 feet, from under a rock which partly over-
hung a stream, and contained two fresh eggs, \\as composed in
almost equal proportions of fine moss-roots and dead leaves with
scarcely a trace of moss. In this case the nest was entirely con-
cealed from view, and no necessity, therefoi-e, existed for coating
it extex'nally with green moss to prevent its attracting attention.

Dr. Jerdon remarks : — " I have had its nest and eggs brought
me (at Darjeeling) ; the nest is a solid mass of moss, mixed with
earth and roots, of large size, and placed (as I was informed) under
an overhanging rock near a mountain-stream. The eggs were
three in number, and dull green, thickly overlaid with reddish
specks."

" In Kumaon," writes Mr. E. Thompson, " they breed from May
to July, along all the smaller hill-streams, from 1500 up to about
4500 feet. In the cold season it descends quite to the plains — I
mean the Sub-Himalayan plains. The nest is generally more or
less circular, 5 or 6 inches in diameter, composed of moss and mud
clinging to the roots of small aquatic plants or of the moss, and
lined with fine roots and sometimes hair. A deep well-watered
glen is usually chosen, and the nest is placed in some cleft or

122 CIIATEEOPODID^.

between the ledges of some rock, often immediately OA'erhanging
some deep gloomy pool."

"On the 16th June," observes Captain Hutton, writing from
Mussoorie, " I took two nests of this bird, each containing three
eggs, and also another nest, containing three nearly-fledged young
ojies. The nest bears a strong resemblance to that of the GeociMa',
but is nuich more solid, being composed of a thick bed of green moss
externally, lined first with long black fibrous lichens and then with
fine roots. Externally the nest is 3| inches deep, but within only
2^ inches ; the diameter about 4| inches, and the thickness of the
outer or exposed side is 2 inches. The eggs are three in number,
of a greenish-ashy colour, freckled v\ith minute roseate specks,
whicli become confluent and form a patch at the larger end. The
elevation at w hich the nests were found was from 4000 to 4500
feet ; but the bird is common, except during the breeding-season,
at all elevations up to the snows, and in the winter it extends its
range doun into the Doon. In the breeding-season it is found
chiefly in the glens, in the retired depths of which it constructs its
nest ; it never, like the Thrushes and GcocicMo', builds in trees or
bushes, but selects some high, towering, and almost inacessible
rock, forming the side of a deep glen, on the projecting ledges of
which, or in the holes I'roni \\ hich small boulders have fallen, it
constructs its nest, and w hei-e, unless when assailed by man, it
rears its young in safety, secure alike from the howling blast and
the attack of wild animals. It is known to the natives by the
name of ' Kaljet,' and to the Europeans as the 'Hill Blackbird.'
The situation in which the nest is placed is quite unlike that of
any other of our Hill-Thrushes with which I am acquainted. The
bird itself is as often found in open roclyv spots on the skirts of
the forest as an)ong the woods, loving to jump upon some stone or
rocky pinnacle, from which it sends forth a sort of choking, chat-
tering song, if such it can be called, or, with an up-jerk of the tail,
hops away \\ith a loud musical whistle, very much after the manner
of the Blackbird (M. vahjaris)."

Sir E. C. Buck says : — " I found a nest at Huttoo, near Nar-
khunda, date 27th June, 1869, on an almost inaccessible crag over-
hanging a torrent. It contained three eggs, but two were broken
by stones falling in climbing down to the nest. Nest not brought
up ; one egg secured and forw arded. I saw the bird well, and
have no doubt as to its identity."

Writing from Uhurmsalla, Captain Cock informed me that lie
had obtained several nests in May in and about the neighbouring
streams, up to an elevation of some 5000 feet. From Murree,
Colonel C. H. T. Marshall remarks : — " Several nests found in
June, near running streams, about 4000 feet up."

Dr. Stoliczka tells us that " it breeds at Chini and Sungnum at
an elevation of between 9000 and 11,000 feet."

The eggs are typically of a very long oval shape, much pointed
at one end, but more or less truncated varieties (if I may use tlie
word) occur. They are the largest of our Indian Thrushes' eggs,

MTIOPHONEUS. 123

and are larger than those of any European Thrush \\ith wliich I
ani acquainted. Their coloration, too, is somewhat unique; a
French grey, greyish-white, or pale-greenish ground, speckled or
freckled with minute pink, pule purplish-pink, or pinkish-brown
specks, in most cases thiidy, in some instances pretty thickly, in
some only towards the large end, in some pretty well all over." In
the majority of the specimens there is, besides these minute specks,
a cloudy, ill-defined, purplish-pink zone or cap at the large end.
In some few there are also a few specks of bright yellowish brou n.
The eggs have scarcely any gloss.

In length they vary from 1-24 to l-5."j inch, and in breadth from
0-U5 to 1-1 inch, but the average of fifty eggs is 1-42 bv about
I'O iuch.

188. Myioplioneiis eugenii, Hume. The Burmese Whi&tlinrj-

Tlirusli.
Myiuplioneus eugeuii, Htime ; Htnne, Cat. no. .34.3 bis.

Major C. T. Bingham contributes the following note to the
^ Birds of British Burmah ' regarding the nidification of this species
in Tenasserim :— " On the 16tli April I was crossing the Mehk-
haneh stream, a feeder of the Meh-pa-leh, the largest "tributary of
the Thoungyeeu river, near its source, where it is a mere moun-
tain-torrent brawling over a bed of rocks strewed with great
boulders. A small tree, drifted down by the last rains, had caught
across two of these, and being jammed in by the force of the water,
bad half broken across, and now formed a sort of temporary V-
shajied dam, against which pieces of wood, bark, leaves, and rub-
bish had collected, rising some six inches or so above the water,
which_ found an exit below the broken tree. On this frail and
tottering foundation was placed a round solid nest about 9 inches
in diameter, made of greeu moss, and lined with fine black roots
and fibres, in which lay four fresh eggs of a pale stone-colour,
sparsely spotted, especially at the larger ends, with minute specks
of reddish brown. Determined to find out to w hat bird they be-
longed, I sent my followers on and hid myself behind the trunk of
a tree on the bank and watched, gun in hand. In about twenty
minutes or so a pair of Myioplwneus eugenii came flitting up the
stream and, alighting near the nest, sat for a time quietly. At
last one hopped on the edge of the nest, and after a short inspec-
tion sat down over the eggs with a low chuckle. I then showed
myself and, as the birds flew off, fired at the bird that had been
on the nest, but unfortunately missed. I was satisfied, however,
about the identity of the eggs and took them. In shape they are
somewhat like those of Pitta, and measure 1-45 x 1-02, 1-50 xl-O'-'
l-40xl-U], and l-5Uxl-01."

] 24 CEATEEOPODID^.

189. Myiophonens horsfieldi, Vigors. The Malahw Whistlhn/-

ThrusJi.

Myiophonus horsfieldii, Vi(/., Jerd. B. Ltd. ii, p. 499; Ihimc, Rouyh
^Draft N. ^- K no. 342.

Mr. W. Davison says :— " The IMalabar Whistling-Thrush
(rather a misnomer, by the way) breeds on the slopes of the Nil-
ghiris, never ascending higher than GOOO feet. The nest is always
placed on some rock in a mountain torrent ; it is a coarse and, for
the size of the bird, a very large structure, and though I have
never measured the nest, 1 should say that the total height was
about 18 inches or more, and the greatest diameter about 18 inches.
Exteriorly it is composed of roots, dead leaves, and decaying vege-
tation of all kinds ; the egg-cavity, which is saucer-shaped and
comparatively sliallow, is coarsely lined with roots. It breeds
during Mai'ch and A.pril."

Miss Cockburn says : — " A nest of this bird was found on the
22nd of Mai'ch in a hole in a tree situated in a wood at a height
of about 40 feet from the ground. Two bamboo ladders had to be
tied together to reach it, for the tree had no branches except at
the top. The nest consisted of a large quantity of sticks and dried
roots of young trees, laid down in the form of a Blackbird's nest.
The contents of it were three eggs. They were quite fresh, and
the bird might have laid another. The poor birds (particularly the
hen) showed great, boldness and returned frequently to the nest,
while a ladder was put up and a man ascended it."

Such a situation for the nest of this bird may seem incredible ;
but my friend Miss Cockburn is a most careful observer, and she
sent me one of the eggs taken from this very nest, and it undoubt-
edly belonged to this species ; moreover, there is no other bird on
the Nilghiris that she, who has figured most beautifully all the
NiJghiri birds, could possibly have mistaken for this species. At
the same time, the situation in which she found the nest was alto-
gether unusual and exceptional.

I now find that such a situation for the nest of this bird is not
even very unusual. On the 3rd of July Miss Cockburn took
another nest in a hole in a tree, about thirty feet from the ground,
containing three fresh eggs, which she kindly sent me ; and writing
from the Wynaad Mr. J. Darling, jun., remarks that there this
species commonly builds in holes in trees. He says: — ^^ July
22nd, Nest found near Kythery, S. Wynaad, in a cre\ ice of a log
of a felled tree in a new clearing 11 feet from the ground. Nest
built entirely of roots. The foundation was of roots from some
swampy ground and had a good deal of mud about it. Another
nest was in a hole of a dead tree 32 feet from the ground."

Mr. Frank Bourdillon writes from Travancore : — " Very common
from the base to near the summit of the hills, fre(iuenting alike jungle
and open clearings, though generally found in the neighbourhood of
some running stream ; I haveknov\n this species to build on ledges
of rock and in a hollow tree overhanging a stream, in either case
constructing a rather loosely put together nest of roots and coarse

MYIOPKONEUS. 125

fibre with a little green moss intermixed. The feiaale lays two to
four eggs, and both birds assist in the incubation."

Mr. T. Fulton Bourdillon records the finding of eggs on the fol-
lowing dates : —

" April 2D, 1873. Two hard-set eggs.

" May 15, 1873. Three „

" May 15, 1874. One fresh egg.

" May 30, 1874. Two slightly set eggs."

Col. Butler sent me a splendid nest of this species taken in the
cliffs at Purandhur, 15 miles south of Poona. It was placed in
the angle between two rocks ; it measures in front 7 inches wide,
and 1"5 in. high ; posteriorly it slopes away into an obtuse angle
fitting the crevice in which it was deposited ; the cavity is 4 in.
in diameter, perfectly circular, and 2-25 in depth. The compact-
ness of the nest is such that it might be thrown about without
being damaged. It is composed throughout of fine black roots,
only a stray piece or two of light coloured grass being intermixed,
and the whole basal portion is cemented together with mud.

He gives the following account of the mode in which he ac-
quired it : —

" I got this nest in rather a singular way which is perhaps worth
relating. At a dance last year in Karachi, in a short conversatiou
I had with Colonel Kenny, \\'ho was then commanding the Artillery
in kSind, he mentioned that he had three Eluc-winged Thrushes in
his house that he had procured at Purandhur the year before. The
following day I went over to his bungalow, and after inspecting
them and satisfying myself of their identity, ascertained from him
where the nest they were taken from was situated and the season
at which it was found. Possessed with this information I wrote
in May to the Staff Officer at Purandhur. and told him where and
when the bird built and asked him if he would kindly assist me in
procuring the eggs. In reply I received a very polite letter saying
' that be knew nothing about eggs or birds himself, but that he
would be most happy to offer me any assistance in his power in
procuring the eggs referred to, and that he would employ a shikarri
to keep the hill-side that I had mentioned watched when the
breeding-season arrived.' I wrote and thanked him, sending him
at the same time a drill and blowpipe by post, with full instructions
how to blow the eggs, in case he got any ; and to my delight, at
the end of July a bhanghy parcel arrived one morning with the nest
and eggs above described.

" Colonel Kenny told me that the birds built on this clift'-side
every monsoon."

Mr. E. Aitken lias furnished me with the following note : —

" Of this bird I have seen two nests — one containing two hard-set
eggs on April 29, 1872, situated in a hole in a tree overhanging a
stream about 20 feet from the ground ; the other containing three
hard-set eggs on May 22nd, 1 872, and situated on a ledge of rock
in the bed of a stream; both the nests were rather coarsely made
of roots. My brother says he has also found three other nests,
two placed in holes of trees and the other on a rocky ledge, but

126 CRATEEOPODID.E.

the nests were in every case near to running water. The bird
stays with iis all the year, and is one of our commonest species.
Its clear whistle is always to be heard the first thing in the morn-
ing before the other birds get up, and during the violent rains of
the S.W. monsoon it seems almost the only bird which does not
lose heart at the incessant downpour. April and May appear to
be the breeding mouths."

Messrs. Davidson and Wenden remark : — " Scattered all over
the Deccan in suitable localities. W. got two iiests, one on the
Bhore Ghat on 5th August, and one on the ThuU Ghat on 17th of
same month. That on the Ehore Ghat was built on a ledge of
rock some 15 feet in from the face of a railway tunuiil where 30 or
40 trains daily passed within a few feet of it. That on the Tliull
Ghat was in a cutting at the entrance of a tunnel, and about the
same height above and from the rails as the one on the Bhore Ghat.
In both cases the eggs were much discoloured by the smoke from
engines, but on being washed, W. observed that one of the three eggs
in each nest was of a decidedly (/reenish blue, liuely speckled and
splashed with pinky brown, while the others were of the ^^a^i;
sulmon-plnli, as described in Mr. Hume's Hough Draft of ' Nests
and Eggs.' The male bird was sitting on one of the nests and
was shot. W. saw numerous other nests, some high up on cliffs,
beyond the reach of a 15- foot ladder. Two nests in holes in trees
were reported to him, but he could not go to examine them. The
nests were about 4 inches diameter by 2| inches deep inside and
8 to 10 inches broad outside, and not more than 10 inches high.
The foundation portion contained a great deal of clay and earth,
which seemed to be necessary to secure the nests in positions so
exposed to the heavy gusts of wind which prevail on these
ghats during the monsoon."

Mr. Rhodes W . Morgan, writing from South India, says : — " I
found the nest of this Thrush on the Seeghoor Ghaut of the Neil-
gherries. Mr. Davison was with me at the time ; and the nest
being built on an open ledge of rock, we both sighted it at the
same moment ; and I having managed to make better use of my
legs than my friend, was fortunate enough to secure it, and one
egg, which was of a pale flesh-colour, with a few faint spots and
blotches of claret towards the larger end. The nest was made of
leaves and moss mixed with clay, and lined with fine roots. The
dimensions of the egg are 1'3 inch in length by '85 in breadth. It
was in May that I found this egg; but the nest had evidently
been deserted for some time ; for the egg has a hole in its side,
through which the contents had escaped or been sucked by a snake
or some animal."

Dr. Jerdon says : — " I once procured its nest, placed under a
shelf of a rock on the Burliar stream, on the slo|)e of the jVilghiris.
It was a large structure of roots, mixed witli earth, moss, &c., and
contained three eggs of a pale salmon or reddish-i'awii colour, with
many smallish brown spots;" and such is uiKiuestionably the usual
situation of the nest.

LARVIVORA. 127

The eggs of this species, wliich I have received from Kotagherry
and other parts of the Nilghiris, are broad, nearly regular ovals,
slightly compressed towards the lesser end ; considerably elon-
gated, and more or less spherical, and pyriform varieties occur.
The shell is fine, and has a slight gloss ; the ground-colour is pale
salmon-pink or pinkish-white, occasionally greyish white. The
whole egg is, as a rule, finely speckled, spotted, and splashed with
pinkish brown or brownish pink. The markings, in most eggs,
everywhere very fine, are often considerably more dense at the
large end, where they are not unusually more or less underlaid by
a pinkish cloud, with which they form an irregular ill-defined and
inconspicuous cap.

At times more boldly and richly marked eggs are met with ; one
now before me is everywhere thickly streaked with dull pink, in
places purplish, and over this is thinly but rather conspicuously
spotted and irregularly blotched (the blotches being small howeser)
with light burnt sieuna-brown.

In length thev vary from 1*18 to 1-48 inch, and in breadth from
0-92 to 1 inch. '

191. Larvivora brunnea, Hodgs. The Indian Blue Chut.

Larvivora cyana, Gould, Jerd. B. Ind. 'A, p. 145 5 Hume, Jloi«jh
Draft N. ^ E. no. 507.

I have never obtained the nest of the Indian Blue Chat. Mr.
Davison found it on the Xilghiris. He says : — " I really quite
forget the details of that one egg which I brought you along with
the skin of the parent, but it was taken in May on the Xilghiris.
I remember very well another nest of this species, which I took in
the latter end of March or the beginning of April in a shola or
detached piece of jungle about 9 miles from Ootacamund.

" The nest was in a hole in the trunk of a small tree, about 5
feet from the ground, and was composed chiefly of moss, but mixed
with dry leaves and twigs. It contained three young birds, appa-
rently about four or five days old."

The late Mr. Mandelli sent me a nest of this species which was
found at Lebong (elevation 5500 feet) on the 16th May. It con-
tained three eggs, and u'as placed on the ground amongst grass on a
bank made by the cutting of a hill-road. It is a broad shallow nest,
composed exteriorly of vegetable fibre, scraps of dead leaves and
tiny pieces of moss matted closely together, and is rather thickly
lined with black and red hairs, amongst which one or two soft
downy feathers are incorporated. The external diameter of the
nest is about 4 inches, the height about 1'5, the cavity is about
2"75 inches in diameter, and rather less than 1 in depth.

Two eggs taken by Mr. Darling* are very elongated, somewhat
cylindrical ovals, very obtuse at both ends. In both, the shell is
fine, and has an appreciable though not brilliant gloss. In one, the

* I cannot find any account of the finding of the nest of tliis bird by Mr.
Darling amongst Mr. Hume's notes. — Ed.

128 CRATEROPODIDiE.

ground is a pale delicate clay-brown, and the markings consist only
of a zone about 0-2 wide round the large end of densely set dull
brownish-red specks, and a few similar specks inside the zone only.
In the other, the ground has a light greenish tinge, the zone is less
marked and merges in a dull brownish-red mottled cap, and a
faint marbling, of a paler shade of the cap, is scattered here and
there over the whole surface of the egg. They measure 1 by 0*65
and 0-98 by 0-65,

The egg taken by Mr. Davison is an elongated, slightly pyri-
form oval. The shell is moderately fine, but with only a very slight
gloss. The ground-colour is a pale slightly greyish green, and the
whole egg is thickly (most thickly so about the large end, w here
the markings are almost perfectly confluent) mottled and streaked
with pale brownish red. It measures 0-98 by 0-67.

193. Brachypteryx albiventris (Fairbank). The WJiite- bellied
8hort-iving.

Callene albiventris, Fairb., Hume, Rmujh Draft N. ^' E. no. 339 bis.

The Eev. S. B. Fairbank, to whom I have owed much useful
information and many valuable specimens, kindly sent me the sub-
joined account of the nidiflcation of the White-bellied Short-\\ ing
iu the Pulney Hills at an elevation of about G500 feet: —

" In April, I found a nest in a hole in the side of the trunk of a
large tree some 2 feet from the ground. The hole was just large
enough for the nest, and was lined with fine roots. I surprised
the bird on her nest several times. There were two eggs in the
nest when I first found it that were ' hard-set.' A month after-
wards she laid two more in the same place, and I took them in
good condition. One egg measures 0-9 by 0-G8 inch, and another
U-94 by 0-68 inch. The ground-colour is grey, with a tinge of
green, "and it is thickly covered with small spots of bistre."

Mr. Blanford, who saw the eggs, which I never did, describes
them (and by analogy, I should infer more correctly) as " of an
olive-brown colour, darker at the larger end, measuring 0-93 by
0-63 inch."

An egg of this species sent me by Dr. Fairbank, measuring
0-93 by 0-G6, is a somewhat elongated oval, slightly pointed towards
the small end. The shell is fine and fairly glossy; the ground-
colour, so far as this is discernible, is greyish green, but it is so
thickly clouded and mottled all over with a warm brown, that but
little of the ground-colour is anywhere traceable, and the general
result when the egg is looked at from a short distance is that of a
nearly uniform olive-brown.

Captain Horace Terry also found the nest of this bird on the Pulney
Hills, He says : — " I met with it a few times in the big shola at
Kodikanal, and got two nests, each with two fresh eggs ; the first
on the 7th June in a hole in a tree between 4 and 5 feet from the
ground, a deep cup of green moss ; the other, in a hoh^ in the bank
of a path runiiing through the shola was of green moss and a few

BRACIIYPTERYX. DRTMOCIIARES. 129

ilne fern-roots. luside 1'75 incl> deep and 2-5 inches across ;
outside a slia])ele8s mass of moss tilling up tlie hole it was built iu.
The nest was a ery conspicuous to auy one passing by."

1U4. Brachypteryx rufiventris (Blyth). The llufous-hdlial
tSliort-iviny,

Callene rufiventris, Bh/th, Jercl. B. Ind. i, p. 49G ; Ilume^ Itouyh
Draft N. i^- E. no. 3;3<J.

I ha^e been favoured with nests of the Eufous-bellied Short-
wing by Mr. Carter, \\\\o took them from holes or depressions of
banks iu the IXilghiris iu April and May. They closely resemble
nests of Niltava macgrif/orUe from Darjeeling. They are soft
masses of green moss, some 4 or 5 inches in diameter externally,
with more or less of a depression towards one side, lined with very
fine dark moss-roots. This depression may average about 2|
inches across and | inch iu depth ; but they vary a good deal.
Mr. Carter says ; — " I have found the nests of this species about
Conoor in May, in holes of banks, on roads running through thick
sliolas (i. e. jungles not amounting to forests). The nests are of
moss, shallow, lined with fine root-fibres, the cavity about 3'5
inches in diameter. They lay two eggs, pale olive, shading into a
decided bro\\nish red at the larger end. The old birds are very
shy in returning to the nest when watched ; indeed, they are
always shy, hiding in the brushwood of jungles or amongst fallen
timber, along which they almost creep."

Mr. Davison informs me that " this species breeds on the Nil-
ghiris from about 5500 feet to about 7000 during April and May,
building in holes of trees, crevices of rocks, &c., seldom at any
great elevation above the ground. The nest is composed of moss,
lined with moss and fern-roots. Tv^o or three eggs ai'e laid."

The few eggs I possess, which I owe to Messrs. Carter and
Davison, and which were taken by them in the Nilghiris, have a
pale olive-brown ground with, at the large end, an ill-defined
mottled reddish-brown cap. In some specimens the motthng
extends more or less over the whole egg, though always most dense
about the larger end. Though much larger and of a more elongated
shape, they not a little resemble some specimens of the eggs of
Fratincola indica that I possess. In shape they are long ovals,
recalling in that respect those of Mijloj^nlioneus temminclcl ; they
have less gloss than the eggs of most of the Thrushes.

Iu length they vary from 0-97 to 1-02 inch, and in breadth fr^m
0-65 to 0-69 inch.

197. Drymochares cruralis (Blyth). I'he White-hrowed
Slioft-iuimj.

Brachypteryx cnu-alis (i>/.), Jercl. B. Ind. \, p. 495 ; Hume, llouyh
Draft N". Sj- E. uo. 338.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes and drawings, the White-

VOL. I. 9

130 CEATEEOrODID.i:.

browed Short-wing breeds in April and May. It; constructs its
nest a foot or so above the ground amongst grass and creeping-
plants at the base of trunks of trees ; it is composed of moss and
moss-roots, is somewhat globular in sliape, and is firmly attached
to the creepers ; dried bamboo-leaves and pieces of fern are here
and there fixed to the exterior, and the nest is lined with hair-like
fibres ; the entrance is at one side and circular. One nest measured
7 inches in height, 5-5 in width, and 3"33 from front to back.
The aperture wns 2 inches in diameter. The eggs (four in number,
or at times three) are pure white, broad ovals, pointed at one end,
measnring 0'9 by 0-65 inch. This species breeds in the central
regions of Xepal and in the neighbourhood of Darjeeling.

Three nests of this species found early in June in Sikhim and
Nepal, at elevations of 5000 to 8000 feet, contained respectively
2, 3, and 4 fresh eggs. They were all placed in brushwood at 2 to
3 feet above the ground, and they are all precisely similar, being
rather massive shallow cups, composed of very tine black roots
firmly felted together, and with a few dead leaves or scraps of moss
in most of them incorporated in one portion or other of the outer
surface. The nests are about 4 inches in diameter and 2 in
height ; the cavity is about 2 inches in diameter and 1 in depth ;
but, owing to the positions in which they are placed, they are often
more or less irregularly shaped.

Mr. Mandelli obtained three eggs w hich he considers to belong
to this species, on the 3rd June, near Darjeeling. I rather ques-
tion the authenticity of these eggs. They are pure white and
devoid of gloss, moderately elongated ovals, only slightly com-
pressed towards the smaller end. They vai'y from 0"S3 to 0'91 in
length and from 0*61 to 0-G4 in breadth.

108. Drymochares nepalensis (Hodgs.). TJie Nepal Short-ivhuj.
Bracliypteryx nipalends, Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind. \, p. 494.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes : — " A nest taken by me on the
15th of June at 5000 feet, close to a large forest, contained three
slightly-set eggs. It \Aas placed on the moss-covered trunk of a
fallen tree, and was hooded, with an entrance at the side ; rather
neatly made of dry leaves with an outer covering of green moss,
and an inner lining of skeletonized leaves and black fibrous roots.
Externally it measui-es 5 inches in height by about the same in
width ; internally 3 inches high by 2-4 across. The entrance was
2-3 in diameter. The front of the egg-cavity is biit slightly de-
pressed below the entrance, gradually sloping backwards to the
depth of nearly an inch,"

All the nests of this species that I have seen \vere of the sa.ne
type, more or less globular, moi'e or less hooded or domed, according
to the situation in which they were placed, composed of dry flngs
and dead and more or less skeleton leaves, bound together with a
little vegetable fibre and some moss, but chiefly with fine black
fibrous roots, \\ith which the entire cavity is densely lined, inside

ELAPHEOnNIS. — TESIA. 131

which again is a coating of more skeleton leaves ; they measure
exteriorly 4 or 5 inches in diameter, and the cavities are a little
above 2 by '2o inches in diameter.

Mr. Mandelli found two of these nests at Lebong (elevation
5500 feet), near D.irjeeling, on the 8th July. One contained three
fresh eggs, the olher three slightly incubated on?s. They were
about 12 yards apart, in a very shady damp glen, in very dense
underwood, to the stems of which they were attached in a standing
position about 3 feet from the ground. The entrance was on one
side in both cases.

The eggs of this species obtained by 'Sh\ Gammie belong to the
same type as those of Brachypteryx rvjicentris and B. albiventris.
In shape they are moderately elongated, rather regular ovals, some-
what obtuse at both ends. The shell is fine and compact, and very
smooth to the touch, but they have not much gloss. The ground
is a pale olive stone-colour, and they are very minutely freckled
and mottled, most densely at the large end, with pale, very slightly
reddish brown ; the freckling is excessively minute and fine.

Two eggs measured 0*8 and 0*82 in length by 0-6 in breadth.

200. Elaphrornis palliseri (Blyth). The Ceylon Short-win^/.
Brachypteryx palUseri, BL, Hume, Cat. no. 338 bis.

Colonel Legge, writing in his ' Birds of Ceylon,' says : — " ^Tr.
Bligh found a nest at Xuwara Eliya in April 1870 ; it was placed
in a thick cluster of branches on the top of a somewhat dens^ly-
foliaged small bush, which stood in a rather open space near the
foot of a large tree ; it was in shape a deep cup, composed of
greenish moss, lined with fibrous roots and the hair-like appendages
of the green moss which festoons the trees in such abundance at
that elevation. It contained three young ones, plumaged exactly
like their parents, who kept churring in the thick bushes close by,
but would not show themselves much."

201. Tesia cyaniventris, Hodgs. The Slaty-helUed Short-iriny.

Tesia cvani venter, //'x7^.s., Jerd. B. Incl. i, p. 487 ; Hume, Rough
Di-aft N. &; E. no. 328.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes, the Slaty-bellied Short-wing
breeds much like the next species. It constructs a huge globular
nest of green moss and black moss-roofs, which it fixes in any
dense dry shrub or clump of shoots, many of which it incorporates
in the walls of the nest. The nest measures externally about 7
inches in height and 5 inches in width : it has a circular aperture
on one side, a little above the middle, about 2 inches in diameter,
and it is placed at a height of one or two feet from the ground.
Three or four eggs are laid ; these are figured as rather broad
ovals, somewhat pointed towards one end, with a whitish ground,
profusely speckled and spotted, especially towards the large end.

132 CEATEROPODIDiE,

where the markings are nearly confluent, with bright red, and
measuring 0-72 by 0-54 inch.

202. Oligura castaneicoronata (Burt.). The Chestnut-headed
Short-iving.

Tesia castaneo-coronata (Burf.), Jcrd. B. Ind. i, p. 487 ; Hume,
Rough Draft N. l^- E. no. 327.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes and figures, the Chestnut-
headed Sliort-wing builds a large globular nest, more or less egg-
shaped, some 6 inches high and 4 in breadth, composed of moss-
roots and fibres, and lined with feathers, and with a circular aper-
ture in the middle of one side about 1-5 inch in diameter. The
nest is placed in some clump of shoots or thick bush (the twigs of
which arc more or less incorporated in the sides of the nest) at a
height of 1 or 2 feet from the ground. The birds lay in April and
May three or four eggs, which are figured as moderately broad ovals,
somewhat pointed at one end, reddish (apparently something like
a Prinia's, though this seems incredible), and measuring 0-G6 by
0-48 inch.

Dr. Jerdon says : — " A nest made chiefly of moss, with four small
white eggs, was brought me as the nest of this bird. It was of
the ordinary shape, rather loosely put together, and the walls of
great thickness. It M'as taken from the ground on a steep bank
near the stump of a tree."

The three eggs in my museum supposed to belong to this species
pertained to this nest, and are excessively tiny, somewhat oval eggs
of a pure, dull, glossless unspotted white, very unlike our English
Wren's egg and certainly not one half the size. Dr. Jerdon was
not quite certain to which species of Tesia these eggs belonged, and
I therefore only record this " quantum valeat." They measure 0-55
and 0'6 inch in length by 0'4, 0-42, and 0*45 inch in breadth. I
am inclined to believe that both nest and eggs belonged to Pnoe-
jri/ga jnisilla, Hodgs.

Subfamily SIBIIN^.
203. Sibia picaoides, Hodgs. The Lomj-tailed Sihia.

Sibia picaoides, Ilodcjs., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 55 : Hume, Rouah Draft
N. lV E. no. 430.

Mr. Garamie obtained a uest of the Long-tailed Sibia from the
top of a tall tree, situated at an elevation of about 4000 feet, in
the neighbourhood of llungbee, near Darjeeling. This was on the
17th June, and the nest contained five fresh eggs. The nest is as
perplexing as are the eggs ; for the nest is tliat of a Bulbul, the
eggs those of a Shrike or Minivet. The nest is a deep compact
cup, about 4| inches in diameter and 2f inches in depth. The
egg-cavity is 3 inches across and fully 1| inch in depth. Interiorly
the ut^st is composed of excessively tine grass-stems very firmly

LIOPTILA. 133

interwoven ; externally of the stems of some herbaceous plant, a
Chenopod, to which the dry blossoms are still attached, intermingled
with (,'oarse grass, a single dead leaf, and one or two broad grass-
blades more or less broken up into fibres.

The eggs, for the authenticity of which Mr. Gammie positively
vouches, are very unlike what might have been expected. They
are absolutely Shrike's eggs— broad ovals, pointecl towards one
end, with a slight gloss, the ground a slightly gi-eyish white, with
a good many small spots and specks of pale yellowish brown and
dingy purple, chiefly confined to a large irregular zone towards the
larger end. They vary in length from 0-S6 to 0-93, and iu breadth
from 0-7 to 0-73.

204. Lioptila capistrata (Vigors). The Blacl-Jieaded Sihia.

Sibia capistrata ( Vuj.), Jerd. B. Inch n, p. 54; Ilinne, Rou(jh Draft
N. L^- E. no. 429.

The Black-headed Sibia lays throughout the Himalayas from
Afghanistan to Bhootan, at elevations of from 5000 to 7000 feet.

It lays during May and June, and perhaps part of July, for I
find that on the 11th of July I found a nest of this species a little
below the lake at Nynee Tal, on the Jewli Eoad, containing two
young chicks apparently not a day old.

They build on the outskirts of forests, constructing their nests
towards the ends of branches, at heights of from 10 to 50 feet
from the ground. The nest is a neat cup, some 4 or 5 inches in
diameter and perhaps 3 inches in height, composed chiefly of moss
and lined with black moss-roots and fibres. In some of the nests
that I have pi*e?erved a good deal of grass-leaves and scraps of
lichen are incorporated in the moss. The cavity is deep, from 2|
to 3 inches in diameter and not much less than 2 inches in depth.

They lay two or three eggs ; not more, so far as I yet know.

From Murree, Colonel C. H. T. Marshall tells us that " the egg
of this bird was, we believe, previously unknown, and it was a
mere chance that we found the whereabouts of their nests, as they
breed high up in the spruce firs at the outer end of a bough.
The nest is neatly made of moss, lined with stalks of the maiden-
hair fern. The eggs are pale blue, spotted and blotched with pale
and reddish brown. They are "95 in length and "7 in breadth.
This species breeds in June, about 7000 feet up."

Nearly twenty years prior to this, however. Captain Huttou had
remarked : — " At Mussoorie this bird remains at an elevation of
7000 feet throughout the year, but I never saw it under G500
feet. Its loud ringing note of titteree-titteree tweeyo, quickly
repeated, may constantly be heard on wooded banks during sum-
mer. It breeds iu May, making a neat nest of coarse dry grasses
as a foundation, covered laterally ^^ ith green moss and wool and
lined with fine roots. The number of eggs I did not ascertain,
as the nest was destroyed when only one egg had been deposited, but

134 CRATEEOPODID.T.

the colour is pale bluish white, freckled with rufous. The nest
was placed ou a brauch of a plum-tree in the Botauical Garden,
Mussoorie."

Captain Cock says that he " found this species breeding at
Murree, at GOOO feet elevation.

" I took my first nest on the 5th June.

"It builds near the tops of the highest pines, and unless seen
building its nest with the glasses, it is impossible to fhid the nest
with the unaided eye.

" The nest is placed on the outer extremity of an upper bough
in a pine-tree ; is constructed of moss lined with stalks of the
maiden-hair fern. Three eggs is the largest number I ever found.
The eggs are light greenish white, with rusty spots and blotches
principally at the larger end."

Prom !N"ynee Tal Colonel G. E. L. Marshall writes :_— " This
species builds in trees and bushes. The only nest I examined per-
sonally was a very compact and thick cup-shaped structure of
moss, grass, and roots, lined with grass, and placed amongst the
outer t\Aigs of a blackberry bush overhanging a cliff. It was
ready for the eggs on the 23rd May. It was found at Nynee Tal
on Agar Pata, about 7000 feet above the sea."

Prom Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes: — "I have oi-ly myself taken
two nests of this common species. I found both of them the same
day (the 21 st May), in the Chinchoua reserves, at an elevation of
about 5000 feet. 'Both nests were in the forest, built on the outer
branches of trees, at heights the one of 15, the other of 40 feet
from the ground. Tlie nests were cup-shaped, and very neatly
made of moss, leaves and fibres, and lined with black fibres. One
measured externally 4-6 in diameter by 2*75 in height, and inter-
nally 2-4 in diameter and 1-7 in depth. One nest contained
two fresh, the other two hard-set eggs ; so perhaps two is the
normal number, though the natives say that they lay three. As
might be expected from the bird's habit of feeding on the insects
on moss-covered trees in moist forests, the nests were in forest by
the sides of streams."

The eggs are rather broad, slightly pyriform ovals, often a good
deal pulled out as it were at the small end. The shell is fine, but
almost entirely devoid of gloss. The ground-colour is a pale green-
ish white or Very pale bluish green. The markings are various
and com])licated: first there are usually a few large, irregular,
moderately dark brownish-red spots and splashes; then there are
a very few, xery dark, reddish-brown hair-lines, such as one finds
on Buntings' eggs ; then there is a good deal of clouding and
smudging here and there of pale, dingy purplish or brownish red
(all these markings are most numerous towards the large end) ;
and then besides these, and almost entirely confined to the large
end, are a few pale pui-ple specks and spots. Sometimes the
markings are almost wholly confined to the thicker end of the egg.
Of course the eggs vary somewhat, and in some specimens the
characteristic Bunting-like hair-lines arc almost wholly wanting.

LIOPTILA. 135

The eggs vary in length from 0"9.5 to l-O, and in breadth from
0-66 to 0-72.

205. Lioptila gracilis (McCIelh). The Grey Sihia.
Malacias gracilis {McClcll.), Hume, Cat. no. 429 bis.

Colonel Godwin-Ansten is, 1 believe, tlie only oruitliologist who
has as yet secured the nest and eggs of the Grey Sibia. He says : —
" In the ])ine forest that covers the slopes of the hills descending
into the Umian \alley in Assam, 0]ie of my men marlved a nest on
J une 25th ; I proceeded to the spot soon after I had heard of it, and
on coming up to the tree, a pine, saw the female fly off out of the
head of it. But the nest was so well hidden by the boughs of the
fir, that it was quite invisible from below. The bird after a short
time came back, and then 1 saw it was Sibia gracilis ; btit it was
very shy and seeing us went off again, and hung about the trees at
a distance of some 50 yards ; while thus waiting, some four or five
others were also seen. The female, however, would not venture
back, and I sent one of my Goorkhas up, to cut off the head of
the fir, nest and all, first taking out the eggs. It contained three,
of a pale sea-green, with ash-brown streakings and blotchings all
over.

" The nest was constructed of dry grass, moss, and rootlets, and
the green spinules of the fir were worked into it, fixing it most
firmly in its place in the crown of the pine where it was much
forked."

206. Lioptila melanoleuca (Bl.). Tid-dVs Sibia.
Malacias melanoleucus (BL), Hume, Cat. no. 429 quart.

IMr. W. Davison was fortunate enough to secttre a nest of this
Sibia on Muleyit mountain in Tenasserim. He says : — " I secured
a nest of tliis species on the 21st of February, containing two
spotless pale blue eggs slightly incubated. The nest, a deep com-
pactly woven cup, was placed about 40 feet from the ground,
in the fork of one of the smaller branches of a high tree growing
on the edge of a deep ravine.

" The egg-cavity of the nest is lined with fern-roots, fibres and
fine grass-stems ; outside this is a thick coating of dried bamboo-
leaves and coarse grass, and outside this again is a thick irregular
coating of green moss, dried leaves, and coarse fibres and fern-
roots.

" Externally the nest measures about 5 inches in height, and
nearly the same in external diameter at the top.

"The egg-cavity measures 1'7 deep by 2-7 across.

" The eggs, a pale spotless blue, measure 0-95 and 0*u8 in length
by 0-66 and 0-68 in breadth."

136 CRATEUOPODIDJE.

211. Actinodara egertoni, Gould. Tlie Btifom Bar-win^.

Actinodura egertoni, Gould^ Jcrd. B. Ind. \\, p. 52 ; Hume, Rough
Draft N. c^- E. no. 427.

There is no figure of the Rufous Bar-wing's nest or eggs amongst
the original drawings of Mr. Hodgson now in my custody, but in
the British Museum series there appears to be, since Mr. Blytli
remarks : — " Mr. Hodgson figures the nest of this bird like that of
an English Redbreast, with pinkish -white eggs."

From 8ikhim Mr. Gamraie writes : — " On the 27tli April I took
a nest of this Bar-wing in a large forest at an elevation of about
5000 feet. It was placed about 20 feet from the ground, in a
leafy tree, between several upright shoots, to which it was firmly
attached. It is cup-shaped, mainly composed of dry leaves held
together by slender climber-stems, and lined with dark-coloured
fibrous roots. A few strings of green moss were twined round the
outside to assist in concealment. Externally it measures 4*2 inches
wide by 4 deep ; internally 2-8 wide and 2*4 deep. It contained
but two slightlv-set eggs.

" I killed the female off the nest."

Several nests have been obtained and sent me by ]\Iessrs. Gammie
and Mandelli. One was taken on the 4th May by Mr. Mandelli,
at Lebong, at an elevation of 5500 feet, which contained three fresh
eggs ; this was placed on the branches of a small tree, in the midst
of dense brushwood, at a height of about 4 feet from the ground.

Another, taken in a similar situation at the same place on the
22nd May, contained two fresh eggs, and was at a height of about
12 feet from the ground.

These nests vary just in the same way as do those of Trocludo-
jyiet-um niyrhnentum ; some show only a sprig or two of moss about
them, while others have a complete coating of green moss. They
are cup-shaped, some deeper, some shallower ; the chief material
of the nest seems to be usually dry leaves. One before me is com-
posed entirely of some Poli/poiUum, on which the seed-spores are all
fully developed; in another, bamboo-leaves have been chiefly used;
these are all held together in their places by black fibrous roots ;
occasionally towards the upper margin a few creeper-tendrils are
intermingled. The whole cavity is lined more or less thickly, and
the lip of the cup all round is usually finished off with these same
black fibrous roots ; and then outside all moss and selaginella are
applied according to the taste of the bird and, probably, the situa-
tion — a few sprigs or a complete coating, as the case may be.

Two eggs of this species sent me by Mr. Gaminie are regular,
slightly elongated ovals, with very thin and fragile shells, and fairly
but not highly glossy. The ground is a delicate ])ale sea-grean,
and they are profusely blotched, spotted, and marked with curious
hieroglyphic-like figures of a sort of umbor-brown ; while about
the larger end numerous spots and streaks of pale lilac occur.

These eggs measure 0-98 in length by 0*(Jo and 0-03 in breadth.

rxops. — SIVA.

137

Other eggs obtained by Mr. Mandelli early in June are quite of
the same type, but somewhat shorter, measuring 0-85 and 0-93 in
length by 6-68 and 07 in breadth. But the markings are rather
more smudgy and rather paler, and there are fewer of the hair-
like streaks and hieroglyphics.

213. Ixops nepalensis (Hodgs.). The Hoary Bar-wing.
Actinodura nipalensis (Hod(/s.),Jerd. B.Ind.W, p. r>3; Hume, Row/h
Draft N. S,- E. no. 428.

The Hoary Bar-wing is said in Mr. Hodgson's notes to breed
from April to June in Sikhim and the central region of Nepal up
to an elevation of 4000 or OOOO feet. The nest is placed in holes,
in crevices between rocks and stones; is circular and saucer-
shaped. One measured externally 3-02 in diameter by 2 inches in
height ; the cavity measured 2-5 in diameter and 1-37 in depth.
The nest is composed of fine twigs, grass, and fibres, and externally
adorned with little pieces of lichen, and internally lined with fine
moss-roots. The birds are said to lay from three to four eggs,
which are not described, but they are figured as pinky white, about
0-85 in length and 0-55 in width. Mr. Blyth, however, remarks :_—
"One of Mr. Hodgson's drawings represents a white egg with
ferruginous spots, disposed much as in that of Merida vulgaris."

Clearly there is some mistake here. Most of the drawings I
have are' the originals, taken from the fresh specimens when they
were obtained, with Mr. Hodgson's own notes, on the reverse, of
the dates on and places at which he took or obtained the eggs,
nests, and birds figured, with often a description and dimensions
of the two former, and invariably full dimensions of the latter. On
the other hand, the drawings in the British Museum are mostly
more finished and artistic copies of these originals ; so how the
spots got on to the eggs of the British-Museum drawing I cannot
say ; there is no trace of such in mine.

219. Siva strigula, Hodgs. The Strixu-throated Siva.
Siva strioula, Hudi/s., Jerd. B. hid. ii, p. 252 ; Htime, Roucjh Draft
N. Sf E. no. 616.

The nest of the Stripe-throated Siva is placed, accordhig to
Mr. Hodgson, in the slender fork of a tree at no great elevation
from the ground. It is composed of moss and moss-roots, inter-
mino-led w'^ith dry bamboo-leaves, and woven into a broad compact
cup-'sbaped nest." One such nest, taken on the 27th May, with
three eggs in it, measured exteriorly 4-25 in diameter and 3 niches
in beic^fit, with a cavitv (thickly lined with cow's hair) about 2-5 in
diameter and 2-25 in* depth. The birds lay in May aud June.
The eggs are three or sometimes four in number ; they are pale
greenish blue or bluish green, aud vary in length from 0-8 to 0-9,
and in breadth from 06 to 0-G5, and are, some thickly, some thinly,

138 CEATEHOrODID.^i:.

speckled and freckled, usually most densely towards the large end,
with red or brownish red. His nests were taken both in Sikhini
and Nepal.

221. Siva cyanuroptera, Hodgs. The Blue-ivinged Siva.

Siva cyaDouioptt'i'a, Jlvch/s., Jcrcl. B. Inch ii, p. 263 ; Hume, Iluuyli
Draft K. cy K uo. 017."

The Blue-winged Siva breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes,
in the central regions of Is'epal, and in the neighbourhood of
Darjeeling, in May and June. The nest is placed in trees, at no
great elevation above the ground, and is wedged in where three or
four slender twigs make a convenient fork. A nest taken on tiie
2nd June was a large compact cup, measuring exteriorly 4*75 in
diameter and 3-75 in height, and having a cavity 2-6 in diameter and
1"87 in depth. It was composed of tine stems of grass, dry leaves,
moss, and moss-roots, bound together with pieces of creepers, roots,
and vegetable fibres, and closely lined with fine grass-roots. They
lay from three to four eggs, which are figured as moderately broad
ovals, considerably pointed towards the small end, (••85 in length
by 0*6 in w idth, having a pale greenish ground pretty thickly speckled
and spotted, esi)ecialiy on the broader half of the egg, w ith a kind
of brownish brick-red.

Mr. Mandelli found a nest of this species at Lebong (elevation
5500 feet) on the 28th April. It contained four fresh eggs ; it was
placed in a fork of a horizontal branch of a small tree at a height
of only 3 feet from the ground. The nest is, for the size of the
bird, a large cup, externally entirely composed of green moss firmly
felted together. This outer shell of moss is thickly lined with the
dead leaves of a Pohjpodium, and this again is thinly lined with
fine grass. The nest was about 4 inches in diameter, and 2-5 in
height externally ; the cavity was about 2*5 broad and 1*5 deep.

The nests of this species are A'ery beautiful cujds, A'ery compact
and firm, sometimes wedged into a fork, but more commonly sus-
pended between two or three twigs, or sometimes attached by one
side only to a single twig. They are placed at heights of from
4 to 10 feet from the ground in the branches of slender trees, and
are usually carefully concealed, places completely encircled by
creepers being very frequentlj^ chosen. The chief materials of the
nest are dead leaves, sometimes those of the bamboo, but more
generally those of trees ; but little of this is seen, as the exterior is
generally coated with moss, and the interior is lined first with
excessively fine grass, and then more or less thinly with black
buffalo- or horse-hairs. The cups are about 3 inches in diameti-r
and 2 in height externally, the cavities barely 2 in diameter and
perhaps 1*5 in depth : but they vary somewhat in size and shape
according to the situation in which they are placed and the uumner
in which they are attached, some being considerably broader and
shallower, and some rather deeper.

YunixA. 139

Eggs of this species sent me from Mr. Mandelli, which were
obtained by him in the neighbourhood of Darjeeliiig, are decidedly
elongated ovals, fairly glossy, and with a pale slightly greenish-blue
ground. A number of minute red or brownish-red or yellowisb-
brown specks and. spots occur about the large end, sometimes irre-
gularly scattered, sometimes more or less gathered into an imper-
fect zone. The rest of the egg is either spotless or exhibits only a
few tinv specks and spots. The eggs measure 0-75 and 0"76 by
0-51 and 0-52.

223. YuMna gularis, Hodgs. Tlie Stripe-throated Yuldna.

Yuliiiia gularis, Hodr/s., Jerd. B. Ltd. \\, p. 201 ; Hume, llowjh
Draft N. S,- E. no. (320.

The Stripe-throated Yuliina breeds, according to Mr. Hodg-
son's notes, from April to July, building a large massive nest of
moss, lined with moss-roots, and w edged into a fork of a branch
or between ledges of rocks, more or less globular in shape, and
with a circular aperture near the top towards one side. A nest
taken on the 19th June, near Darjeeliug, was quite egg-shaped,
the long diameter being perpendicular to the ground, and measured
G inches in height and 4 inches in breadth, the aperture, 2 inches
in diameter, being well above the middle of the nest ; the cavity
was lined with fine moss-roots. The eggs are figured as rather
elongated ovals, 0-8 by 0-56, with a pale buify or cafe au lait
ground-colour, thickly spotted with red or brownisli red, the
markings forming a confluent zone about the large end.

225, Yuhina mgrimentum (Hodgs.). The BIacl--cJiuined Yvhina.

Yuhinaiiig-rimentum (Hod(/s.'), Jerd. B. Ind. \\, p. 202 ; Hume, liouyh
Draft N. ^- E. no. 628.

A nest of the Black-chinned l^uhina, taken by Mr. Gammie on
the 17th June below Euugbee, at an elevation of about 35U0 feet,
was placed in a large tree, at a height of about 10 feet from the
ground, and contained four hard-set eggs. It is a mere pad, below
of moss, mingled with a little wool and moss-roots, and above, that
is to say the surface where the eggs repose, of excessively fine
grass-roots.

Dr. Jerdon says : — "A nest was once brought me which was
declared to belong to this species ; it was a very small neat fabric,
of ordinary shape, made with moss and grass, and contained three
small pure \\hite eggs. The rarity of the bird makes me doubt if
the nest really belonged to it."

The eggs are tiny little elongated ovals, pure white, and abso-
lutely glossless.

Two sent me bv Mr. Gammie measure 0-58 by 0-42 and 0-o7 by
0-43.

140 CRATEKOPODID^.

226. Zosterops palpeljrosa (Temm.). The Indian White-eye.

Zosteiops palpebrosiis {Temm.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 2G5 ; Hume,
lionyh Draft N. ^- E. no. 031.

The Iiitlian White-eye, or AVbite-eyed Tit as Jerdon terms it,
breeds almost throughout the Indian Empire, sparingly in the
hotter and more arid plains, abundantly in the Nilghiris and other
ranges of the Peninsula to their very summits, and in the Hima-
layas to an elevation of 5000 or 6000 feet.

The breeding-season extends in different localities from January
to September, but I thiidv that everywhere April is the mouth in
which most eggs are to be met with.

Sometimes they have two broods; whether this is always the
case 1 do not know.

The nest is placed almost indifferently at any elevation. I have
taken one from amongst the topmost twigs of a huge mohwa tree
(Bassia latifolia) fully GO feet high, and I have found them in a
tiny bush not a foot off the soil. StiJl I think that perhaps the
majority build at low elevations, say between 2 aiid G feet from
the ground.

The nest is always a soft, delicate little cup, sometimes very
shallow, sometimes very deep, as a rule suspended between two
twigs like a miniature Oriole's nest, but on rare occasions propped
in a fork. The nest varies much in size and in the materials with
which it is composed.

Pine grass and roots, tow, and a variety of vegetable fibres,
thread, floss silk, and cobwebs are all made use of to bind the little
nest together and attach it to the twigs whence it depends. Grass
again, moss, vegetable fibre, seed-down, silk, cotton, lichen, roots
and the lil<e are used in the body of the nest, which is lined with
silky down, hair, moss, and fern-roots, or even silk, while at times
tiny silvery cocoons or scraps of rich-coloured lichen are affixed as
ornaments to the exterior.

One nest before me is a very perfect and deep cup, hung
between two twigs of a mohvAa tree and almost entirely hidden by
the surrounding leaves. The exterior diameter of the nest is 2^
inches, and the depth 2 inches. The egg-cavity measures scarcely
more than Ig inch across and very nearly as much in depth. It is
composed of very fine grass-stems and is thinly coated exteriorly
with cobwebs, by which also it is firmly secured to the suspending
twigs, and externally numerous small cocoons and sundry pieces
of vegetable down are plastered on to the nest. Another nest,
hung between two slender twigs of a mango tree, is a shallow cup
some 2h inches in diameter, and not above an inch in depth
externally. The egg-cavity measures at most 1| inch across by
three-fourths of an inch in depth. The nest is composed of fine
tow-like vegetable fibres and thread, by which it is attaclied to the
twigs, a little grass-down being blended in the mass, and the cavity
being very sparsely lined with very fine grass-stems. In another

ZOSTEROPS. 141

nest, somewhat larger than the last described, the nest is made o£
moss slightly tacked together with cobwebs and lined with line
grass-fibres. Another nest, a very regular shallow cup, ■with an
egg-cavit\' 2 inches in diameter and an inch in depth, is composed
almost entirely of the soft silky down of the Calatroins (jiijantea,
rather thickly lined with very fine hair-like grass, and very thinly
coated exteriorly with a little of this same grass, moss, and thread.
Another, with a similar-sized cavity, but nearly three-fourths of an
inch thick everywhere, is externally a mass of moss, moss-roots,
and very fine lichen, and is lined entirely with very soft and bril-
liantly white satin-like vegetable down. Another, with about the
same-sized cavity, but the walls of which are scarcely one-fourth
of an inch in thickness, is composed entirely of this satiny down,
thinly coated exteriorly and interiorly with excessively line moss-
roots (roots so fine that most of tliem are much thinner than human
hair) ; a few black horsehairs, which look coarse and thick beside
the other materials of the nest, are twisted round and round in the
interior of the egg-cavity. Other nests might be made entirely of
tow, so far as their appearance goes ; and in fact with a very large
series before me, no two seem to be constructed of the same
materials.

I have nests before me now, taken in September, March, June,
and August, all of which when found contained eggs.

Two is certainly the normal number of the eggs ; about one
fifth of the nests I have seen contained three, and once only I
found four.

From Murree Colonel C. H. T. Marshall informs us that he took
the eggs in June at an elevation of about 6000 feet.

Colonel G. F. L. Marshall says: — "I have taken eggs of this
species at Cawnpore in the middle of June. I found six nests, five
of which were in neem-trees. I also found the nest in Naini Tal
at 7000 feet above the sea, with young in the middle of June ; one
only of all the nests I have seen was lined, and that was lined
with feathers ; they were, as a rule, about eight feet from the
ground, but one was nearly forty feet up."

Capt. Ilutton gives a very full account of the nidification of this
species. He says : — " These beautiful little birds are exceedingly
common at Mussoorie, at an elevation of about 5000 feet, during
summer, but I never saw them much higher. They arrive from
the plains about the middle of April, on the 17th of which month
I saw a pair commence building in a thick bush of Hibiscus, and
on the 27th of the same month the nest contained three small
eggs bard-set. I subsequently took a second from a similar bush,
and several from the drooping branches of oak-trees, to the twigs
of which they were fastened. It is not placed on a branch, but is
suspended between two thin twigs, to which it is fastened by floss
silk torn from the cocoons of Bomhijx huttoni, Westw., and by a
few slender fibres of the bark of trees or hair according to circum-
stances.

" So slight and so fragile is the little oval cup that it is aston-

142 CRATEROPbDTDiE.

isliing the mere weight of the parent bird does not bring it to the
ground, and yet within it three young ones will often safely out-
ride a gale that will bring the weightier nests of Jays and Thrushes
to the ground.

" Of seven nests now before me four are composed externally of
little bits of green moss, cotton, and seed-down, and the silk of the
wild mulberry-moth torn from the cocoons, with which last
material, however, the others appear to be bound together within.
The lining of two is of the long hairs of the yak's tail, two of which
died on the estate where these nests were found, and a third is
lined witb black human hair. The other three are formed of
somewhat different materials, two being externally composed of
fine grass-stalks, seed-down, and shreds of bark so fine as to
resemble tow ; one is lined witb seed-down and black fibrous
lichens resembling hair, a second is lined with fine grass, and a
third with a thick coating of pure white silky seed-down. In all
the seven, the materials of the two sides are wound round the twigs,
between which they are suspended like a cradle, and the shape is
an ovate cup, about the size of half a hen's egg split longitudinally.
The diameter and depth are respectively 2 inches and 1| inch by
three-fourths of an inch. The eggs are usually three in number."

Mr. Brooks, writing from Almorab, says : — " This morning, 28tb
April, I found a nest of Zosterops palpehrosa containing two fresh
eggs. Yesterday I found one of the same bird containing three
half-fledged young ones. Near the Tonse Eiver, in the Allahabad
District, I found these birds in July nesting high in a mango-trt e,
the nest suspended like an Oriole's to several leaves ; now I find it in
low bushes, at heights of from 3 to 5 feet from the ground. The
eggs, as before, skim-milk blue, without markings of any kind."

From Gurhwal Mr. 11. Thompson says : — " A small cup-shaped
elegant nest is built by this bird suspended by fastenings from the
fork of a low branch. The nest is about 2^ inches in diameter and
three-fourths of an inch in depth, composed of cobwebs, fine roots,
hairs, &c., neatly interwoven and lined internally witb vegetable
down. The eggs, two, three, or four in number, are of a pale
whitish-blue, oval, and somewhat larger than those o'i Arachneclitlira
asiatica. The birds select all kinds of trees, but the nest is always
suspended. The breeding-season is about March and Apx-il, and
the brood is quickly hatched and fledged.

"A nest found by me on the 22]id April, and containing four
eggs, was built most ingeniously in a cree])er that bung from a
small tree. The birds had arranged it so that the long down-
bearing tendril of the creeper blended with the nest, which in the
main was composed of the material surrounding it.

" Another nest found on the 26th contained three young ones.
It was built in a low branch of a large mango-tree, and n)ight
have been 12 feet from the ground. It was a neat compact
structure, deeply hollow, and made up of cobwebs, fine straw, and
liair, and lined w itli vegetable do\\n, closely and neatly interwoven.

" The parent birds were evidently feeding the young ou the ripe

ZOSTEROPS. ^ 143

fruifc of the Khoda or Chumroor (Ehretia l<cvis). I got one fruit
from the old birds, being anxious to know what the young ones
were getting for their dinner.

" The pairing-season commences about the end of March, when
the males may be heard uttering a feeble kind of rambling
song, which in reality is merely modified repetitions of a single
note."

Mr. A. Anderson remarked that " the White-eye breeds through-
out the North-AVestern ProA'inces and Oudh during the months
ot: June, July, and x\.ugust. The nest is a beautiful little model
of the Oriole's; and according to my experience it is invariably
suspended, and not fixed in the fork of small branches as stated
by Jerdon. I have on several occasions watched a pair in the
act of building their nest. They set to work \Aith cobwebs,
and having first tied together two or three leafy twigs to which
they intend to attach their nest, they then use fine fibre of the sun
(Crotalaria juncea), with which material they complete the outer
fabric of their very beautiful and compact nest. As the work
progi'esses more cobwebs and fibre of a silky kind are applied
externally, and at times the nest, when tossed about by the wind
(sometimes at a considerable elevation), would be mistaken by a
casual observer for an accidental collection of cobwebs. The inside
of the nest is well felted with the down of the madar plant, and then
it is finally lined with tine hair and grass-stems of the softest kind.
Sometimes the nest is suspended from only two t«igs, exactly after
the fashion of the Mango-birds (Onolus Jiun/loo); and in this case
it is attached by means of silk-like fibres and fine fibre of sun for
about Ig inch on each side ; at others it is suspended from several
twigs ; and occasionally I have seen the leaves fixed on to the sides
of the nest, thus making it extremely difficult of detection,

" In shape the nest is a perfect hollow hemisphere ; one now
before me measures (inside) 1*5 in diameter. The wall is about
0''3 in thickness.

" Almost all my nests have been built on the neem tree, the
long slender 'petioles of which are admirably adapted for its sus-
pension.

" As a rule the nest is built at a considerable height, and owing
to its situation thei*e is not a more difficult nest to take. Great
numbers get washed down in a half-fi.nished state in a heavy fall
of rain.

" The eggs are, exactly as Jerdon describes them, of a pale blue,
' almost like skimmed milk,' and the usual number is three, though
four are frequently laid."

" On the 7th September," writes Mr. E. M. Adam, " in my
garden in Lucknow, I discovered a nest of this bird in course of
construction, but when it was nearly finished the birds left it.
The nest was a beautiful little cup made of fine grass and cobwebs.
It was situated in a slender fork of a mango-tree about 15 feet
from the ground."

Major C. T. Bingham says : — " Common both at Allahabad and

144 CEATEBOPODID^.

at Delhi ; breeds in both places in May, June, and July. All nests
I have seen have been finely made little cups of tibres, bits of thread
and cobwebs, lined interiorly with horsehair, generally suspended
between two slender twigs at no great height from the ground."

Mr. E. Aitken writes : — " I have only actually taken one nest of
the White-eye. That was in Poona (liOOO feet above the sea)
on the 21st July. The bird, however, builds abundantly in Poona
about gardens, trees on the roadside, &c.

" This particular nest was fixed to a thin branch of a tamarind-
tree on the side of a lane among gardens. It was within reach of
my hand, and was attached both to the thin branch itself and to
two twigs. It was well sheltered among leaves.

" The nest was a cup rather narrower at the mouth than in the
middle. Its external diameter at the top was 2^ inches ; internal
diameter Ig inch ; depth 1| inch internally. It was composed of
a variety of fibres closely interwoven with some kind of vegetable
silk, and was lined principally with horsehair and very fine
fibres. It contained three eggs."

Mr. Davison tells us that " the White-eye breeds on the Nil-
ghiris in February, March, April, and the earlier part of May.

" The nest is a small neat cup-shaped structure suspended
between a fork in some small low bush, generally only 2 or 3 feet
from the ground, but sometimes high up, about 20 or 30 feet
from the ground. It is composed externally of moss and small
roots and the down from the thistle ; the egg-cavity is invariably
sparingly lined with hair. The eggs, two in number, are of a })al6
blue, like skimmed milk."

Prom Kotagherry Miss Cockburn remarks : — " Their nests are, 1
thiuli, more elegantly finished than those of any of the small birds I
have seen up here. They generally select a thick bush, where,
when they have chosen a horizontal forked branch, they construct
a neat round nest which is left quite open at the top. The
materials they commence with are green moss, lichen, and fine
grass intertwined. I have even found occasionally a coarse thread,
which they had picked up near some Badagar's village and used in
order to fasten the little building to the branches. The inside is
carefully lined m ith the down of seed-pods. White-eyes' nests
are very numerous here in the months of January, Pebruary,
and March. They are extremely partial to the \\ild gooseberry
bush as a site to build on. One year I found ten out of eleven
nests on these bushes, the fruit of which is largely used by the
aborigines of the hills. A pair once built on a thick orauge-tree
in our garden. We often stood quite close to one of them while
sitting on the eggs, and it never showed the slightest degree of
fear. They lay two eggs of a light blue colour."

Mr. Wait, writing from Conoor, says that " Z. palpehrosa breeds
in April and May, building in bushes and shrubs, and making a
deep round cup-shaped nest very neatly woven in the style of the
Challinch, composed of moss, grass, and silk cotton, and sparsely

ZOSTEROPS. — IXULUS. 145

lined with very fine grass aucl hair. The eggs are two in number,
of a roundish oval shape, and a pale greenish-blue colour."

Finally Colonel Legge informs us that this species breeds in
Ceylon in June, July, and August.

The eggs are somewhat lengthened ovals (occasionally rather
broader), and a good deal pointed towards the small end.
The shell is very fine but almost glossless ; here and there a some-
what more glossy egg is met with. They are normally of a uni-
form very pale blue or greenish blue, without any markings what-
soever, but once in a way an egg is seen characterized by a cap or
zone of a somewhat purer and deeper blue. Abnormall}^ large
and small specimens are common. They vary in length from O'o3
to 0'7, and in breadth from 0"42 to 0*58 ; but the average of thirty-
eight eggs is 0-62 by 0*47, and the great majority of the eggs are
really about this size.

229. Zosterops ceylonensis, Holds worth. The Ceylon White-eye.
Zosterops ceylonensis, Holdsw., Hume, Cat. no. 031 bis.

Colouel Legge, referring to the nidification of the Cej'lon AVhite-
eye, says : — " This species breeds from March until May, judging
from the young birds which are seen abroad about the latter month.
Mr. Bligh found the nest in March on Catton Estate. It «'as
built in a coffee-bush a few feet from the ground, and was a rather
frail structure, suspended from the arms of a small fork formed by
one bare twig crossing another. In shape it was a shalloAA' cup,
well made of small roots and bents, lined with hair-like tendrils of
moss, and \\as adorned about the exterior with a few cobwebs and
a little moss. The eggs were three in number, pointed ovals, and
of a pale bluish-green ground-colour. They measured, on the
average, '64 by '45 inch."

231. Ixulus occipitalis (BL). The Chestnut-headed Lvulus.

Ixulus occipitalis (Bl.), Jerd. B. hid. \\, p. 259 ; Hume, Rough Draft
N. 8,- E. no. 624.

A nest of this species, taken by Mr. Gammie out of a small tree
below Eungbee, at an elevation of about 3000 feet, was a small,
somewhat shallow cup, composed almost entirely of very fine moss-
roots, but with a little moss incorporated in the outer surface.
Externally the nest was about 3| inches in diameter and 2 inches
in height. The egg- cavity was about 2\ inches by barely Ij inch.
This nest was found on the 17th June and contained three hard-
set eggs, which were thrown away !

232. Ixulus flavicoUis (Hodgs.). The Yellow-naped Lvulus.

Ixuhxs flavicollis (Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 259 ; Hume, Rough
Draft N. ^- E. no. 623.
VOL. I. 10

146 ceateropodidjE.

I have never taken a nest of the Yello\v-naped Ixukis.

Mr. Grammie says : — " I have only as yet found a single nest of
this species, and this was one of the most artfully concealed that
I have ever seen. I found it in forest in the Chinchona reserves,
at an elevation of about 5000 feet, on the 14th May. It was a
rather deep cup, composed of moss and fine root-fibres and thickly
lined with the latter, and was suspended at a height of about six
feet amongst the natural moss, hanging from a horizontal branch
of a small tree, in which it was entirely enveloped. A more
beautiful or more completely invisible nest it is impossible to
conceive. It contained three fresh eggs. The cup itself was
exteriorly 3'7 inches in diameter and 1"9 in depth, while the cavity
was 2-5 in diameter and 1'5 in depth."

The Yellow-uaped Ixulus breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson's
notes, in the central region of Nepal and the neighbourhood of
Darjeeling, laying during the months of May and June. It builds
on the ground in tufts of grass, constructing its nest of moss
and moss-roots, sometimes open and cup-like and sometimes
globular, and lining it with sheep's wool. Mr. Hodgson figures
one nest suspended from a branch, and although neither the
English nor the vernacular notes confirm this, it is supported to
a certain extent by Mr Gammie's experience. At the same time,
though the situation and surroundings of both seem to have been
similar, Mr. Hodgson figures his nest, not cup-shaped, but egg-
shaped, and with the longer diameter horizontal. Seven nests
are recorded as having been taken, and all on the ground. One,
cup-shaped, taken on the 7th June, 1846, which is also figured,
in amongst grass and leaves on the ground, measured externally
3-5 inches in diameter, 2*5 in height, and internally 2 inches both in
diameter and depth.

The full complement of eggs is said to be four. Two types of
eggs are figured, both rather broad ovals, measuring about 0*75
by 0*6. The one has abufJy-white ground and is thinly speckled
and streaked, except quite at the broad end, where the markings
are nearly confluent, \\'ith pale dingy yelloA\"ish brown ; the other
has a pale earthy-brown ground, and is spotted similarly to the one
just described, but with red and purple. This latter egg appears
on the same plate with the suspended nest, and is, I think,
doubtful.

Several nests of this species, which I owe to Captain Masson of
Darjeeling, are very beautiful structures, moderately shallow and
rather massive cups, externally composed of moss, and lined thickly
with fine black moss-roots. The cavity of the nests may have
been about 1^ inch in diameter by less than 1^ inch in di'pth, but
the sides of the nests are from one inch to 2 inches in thickness,
constructed of firmly compacted moss.

Other nests of this species that have sinct? been sent me show
that the bird very commonly suspends its nest to one or two twigs,
not unfrequently making it a complete cylinder or ev!;Q; in shape,
with the entrance at one side, but always using moss, in some cases

LIOTHRIX. 147

fine, in some coarse, accordino; to the nature of tlu^ ino.ss o^ro\ving'
where the nest is placed, as the .sole material, and lining the cavity
thickly with fine hlack moss and fern-roots.

Dr. Jerdon tells us that at Uarjeeling he has repeatedly had the
nest brought to him. " It is large, made of leaves of bamboos
carelessly and loosely put together, and generally placed in a clump
of bamboos. The eggs are three to five in number, of a somewhat
fleshy-white, with a few rusty spots."

I cannot but think that in this case wrong nests had been brought
to Dr. Jerdou. The eggs that I possess are all of one type — rather
elongated ovals with scarcely any gloss, and strongly recalling in
shape, size, and appearance densely marked Aarieties of the eggs
of Hinindo riisttca, but with the markings rather browner and
slightly more smudgy.

The eggs are typically rather elongated ovals, often slightly
compressed towards the small end, sometimes rather broader and
slightly pyriform. The shell is extremely fine and compact, but has
scarcely any gloss ; the ground-colour is sometimes pure white,
sometimes has a faint brownish-reddish or creamy tinge. The
markings are invariably most dense about the large end, where they
form a zone or cap, regular, well defined and confluent in some speci-
mens, irregular, ill-defined and blotchy in others. As a rule these
markings, which consist of specks, spots, and tiny blotches, are com-
paratively thinly scattered over the rest of the i:'gg, but occasionally
they are pretty thickly scattered everywhere, though nowhere any-
thing like so densely as at the large end. The colour of the mark-
ings is rather variable. It is a brown of varying shades, varying
not only in different eggs, but there being often two shades on the
same egg. Normally it is I think an umber-brown, yellower in
some spots, but A-arying slightly in tinge, leaning to burnt umber,
sienna, and raw sienna.

Other eggs subsequently obtained by Mr. Gammie are of much
the same character as those already described, but one is a good
deal shorter and broader, and the mai'kings are more decided red
than are some of the yellowish-brown spots observable in the eggs
first obtained.

In length the eggs seem to vary from 0'7Q to 0*8, and in breadth
from 0-54 to 0-58.

Subfamily LTOTRICHIN^.

235. Liothrix lutea (Scop.). The Red-hilled Lioilirix.

Leiotlnix luteus (Scop.), Jerd. B. Tnd. ii, p. 250.

Leiotlirix callipyga {Hodys), Hume, Rough Draft N. 8f E. no. 614.

The Eed-billed Liothrix breeds from April to August, at elevations
of from 3000 to 6000 feet, throughout the Himalayas south, as
a rule, of the first snowy range and eastward of the Sutlej ; west

10*

148 CEATEEOPODID.i:,

of the Sutlej I have not heard of its occurrence. It also doubtless
breeds throughout the hill-rauges ruuning down from Assam to
Buriuah.

Mostly the birds lay in May, affecting well-watered and jungle-
clad valleys and ravines. They place their nests in thick bushes,
at heights of from 2 to S feet from the ground, and either wedge
them into some fork, tack them into three or four npright shoots
between which they hang, or else suspend them like an Oriole's or
White-eye's nest.

The nest varies from a rather shallow to a very deep cup, and is
composed of dry leaves, moss, and lichen in varying proportions,
bamboo-leaves being great favourites, bound together with slender
creepers, grass-roots, fibres, &c., and lined with black horse- or
buffalo-hair, or hair-like moss-roots. The nests differ much in
appearance : I have seen one composed almost entirely of n^oss,
and another of nothing but dry bamboo-sheaths, with a scrap or
two of moss. They are always pretty substantial, but sometimes
they are very massive for the size of the bird.

Three is certainly the usual complement of eggs.

According to JNlr. Hodgson's notes, this species breeds in the
central mountainous region of Nepal, and lays from April to August.
The nest, which is somewhat purse-shaped, is placed in some upright
fork between three or four slender branches, to all of which it is
more or less attached. It is composed of moss, dry leaves, often
of the bamboo, and the bark of trees, and is compactly bound
together with moss-roots and fibres of different kinds ; it is lined
with horse-hair and moss-roots, and contains generally three or
four eggs.

The following note I quote verbatbn : —

" Central Hills, Awjiist 12th. — Male, female, and nest. Nest in
a low leafy tree 5 cubits from the ground in the Shewpoori forest ;
partly suspended and partly rested on the fork of the branch ;
suspension effected by twisting part of the material round the
prongs of the fork ; made of moss and lichens and dry leaves, well
compacted into a deep saucer-shaped cavity; 3"62 high, 4-5 wide
outside, and inside 2-25 deep and 3 inches wide ; eggs pale verditer,
spotted brown, and ready for hatching. The bircl found in small
flocks of ten to twelve, except at breeding-season."

A nest sent to me last year by Mr. Gammie was found l)y him
on the 24th April, at an elevation of about 50U() feet, in the
neighbourhood of liungbee. It was built by the side of a stream
in a small bush, at a height of about 3 feet from the ground, and
contained three eggs. The nest is a deep and, for the size of the
bird, very massive cup, exteriorly composed entirely of broad flag-
lilie grass-leaves, with which, however, a few slender stems of
creepers are intermingled, internally of grass-roots; the egg-cavity
being thinly lined with coarse, black buifalo-hair. Externally the
nest is more than 5 inches in diameter and nearly 4 inches high ;
but the egg-cavity, which is very regularly shaped, is 2| inches
in diameter and 2 inches in depth.

LioTiinix. 149

Tills year Mr. Gaminic writes io nio : — " I have taken many nests
of the Ked-blUed Liotlirix here in our Cliinchona reserves, at all
elevations from 3.30) to 5000 feet. Tliey breed In May and
June, amongst dense scrub, placing their nests in shrubs, at heights
of from 3 to 5 feet from the ground, and either suspending them
from horizontal branches, or hanging them between several upright
stems, to which they firmly attach them. The nest itself is cup-
shaped and composed principally of dry bamboo-leaves held together
by a few fibres, and a few strings of green moss wound round the
outside. The lining consists of a few black hairs, and the usual
number of eggs is three. A nest I recently measured was extern-
ally 4 inches in diameter and 2-7 in height, while the cavity was
2*0 across by 1*9 in depth."

Mr. Gammie subsequently found a nest on the very late date of
17th October at Eishap, Darjeeling. It contained three eggs, two
of which were addled.

Dr. Jerdon says that at Darjeeling he " got the nest and eggs
repeatedly ; the nest made chiefly of grass, with roots and fibres,
and fragments of moss, and usually containing three or four eggs,
bluish white, with a few purple and red blotches. It is generally
placed in a leafy bush at no great height from the ground. Gould,
quoting from Mr. Shore's notes, says that the eggs are black spotted
with yellow : this is of course erroneous. 1 have taken the nest
myself on several occasions, and killed the bird, and in every case
the eggs were coloured as above."

I wish to add here, as I have abused him occasionally, that
Mr. Shore was, I understand, a most excellent man, and that I have
now come to the conclusion that the extraordinary fictions that he
recorded about the eggs of birds can only have been due to colour-
blindness of a peculiarly aggravated nature. It is not that he
mistook eggs, but that he describes impossihle eggs — Kingfishers'
eggs variegated black and white, and here in this case black eggs
spotted with yellow ! Why, there are no such eggs in the whole
world, I believe. On the other hand, his whole life proves that he
could not have deliberately set to worlc to invent falsehoods. To
return.

The eggs vary a good deal in shade and size, but are more or less
long ovals, slightly pointed towards the lesser end. The ground-
colour is a delicate very pale green or greenish blue, in one, not
very common type, almost pure white, and they are pretty boldly
blotched or spotted and speckled as the case may be, and clouded,
most thickly towards the large end, and very often aluiost ex-
clusively in a zone or cap round this latter, with various shades of
red or purple and brown. Some blotches in some eggs are almost
carmine-red, but the majority are brownish red or reddish brown,
varying much in depth and intensity of colour. There is some-
thing Shrike-like in the markings of many eggs ; and where the
markings are most numerous, namely at the large end, they are
commonly intermingled with streaks and clouds of pale lilac. The
smaller end of the egg is often entirely free from markings. I

150 CRATEROPODID^.

should mention that all the eggs have a faint gloss, and that some
are decidedl}^ glossy.

They vary in length from 0-76 to 0-95, and in breadth from 0-59
to 0-66 ; but the average of thirty-four eggs is 0*85 by 0*62.

237. Pteruthius erythropterus (Vig.)- The Red-uincjed
Shrile-Tit.

Pteruthius erythropterus (Viq.), Jcrd. B. Ind. ii, p. 245; Hume,
Rough Draft N. §• E. no. 609.

Writing from Murree, Colonel C. H, T. Marshall says : — " There
is no record about the nidificatioii of this species. Its nest is
exceedingly diflicult to find, and it \\as only by long and careful
watching through field-glasses that Captain Cock discovered that
there was a nest at the top of a very high chestnut-tree, to and
from Mhich the birds kept flying with building-materials in their
beaks. The nest is most skilfully concealed, being at the top of the
tree, with bunches of leaves both above and below. Tlie nest, like
that of the Oriole, is built pendent in a fork. It is somewhat
roughly made of moss and hair. The eggs are pinky white, blotched
with red, forming in some a ring round tho larger end. They
average "9 in length and -Go in breadth. We were fortunate enough
to secure two nests ; both were more than 60 feet from the ground.
Breeds in the end of May, at an elevation of 7000 feet."

Captain Cock says : — " I first found this bird building its nest on
the top of a high chestnut-tree at Murree in the month of May.
When the nest was ready I took my friend Captain C. H. T.
Marshall to be present at the taking of it, as it had never, I think,
been taken before. We took the nest on the 30th May.

" It was an open flattish cup, like the nest of 0. l-undoo in structure,
only shallower. It contained three eggs, pinky A\hite, covered with
a shower of claret spots that at the larger end formed a cap of dark
claret colour. Another nest, which I took in June from the top
of an oak, contained two eggs.''

To Colonel Marshall and Captain Cock I am indebted for a nest
and egg of this species.

The nest is a moderately deep cup, suspended between two prongs
of a horizontal fork. Externally it is about 4 inches in diameter
and about 3 inches in depth. The egg-cavity is nearly hemispherical,
3 inches in diameter and 1*5 in depth. It is a very loosely made
strncture, composed internally of not very fine roots and externally
coated A\ith green moss. Along the lines of suspension a good deal
of wool is incorporated in the structure, and it is chiefly by tliis
wool that the nest is suspended. The fork is a slender one, the
prongs being from 0*3 to 0*4 in diameter.

The egg is a broad oval, a good deal pointed towards the small
end. The shell is very fine and comjiact, and has a fine gloss.
The ground-colour is white or pinky white, and is pretty thickly
speckled and finely spotted all over with brownish reil and a little

PTERUTniUS. — JEGITHINA. 151

])al(' inky purple. Just toMards tlio large end the markings are
very dense, and form more or less of a confluent cap of mingled
brownish red and i)ale lilac, the latter everywhere appearing to
underlie the former.

The egg was taken on the 10th June, and measures 0-9 by U*08,

239. PterutMus melanotis, ITodgs. T7ie ChestmU-tliroated Shrike-
Tit.

AUotrius oenobarhus, Teinm. apud Jerd. B. Lid. ii, p. 24G.
Allotrius melanotis, Hodgs., Hume, Hough Draft N.SfE. no. 611.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes and figures, the Chestnut-
throated Shrike-Tit breeds in Sikhim and Nepal up to an elevation
of 6000 or 7000 feet. The nest is placed at a height of 6 to 10 feet
from the ground, between some slender, leafy, horizontal fork,
between Avhich it is suspended like that of an Oriole or White-eye.
It is composed of moss and moss-roots and vegetable fibres,
beautifully and compactly woven into a shallow cup some 4 inches
in diameter, and with a cavity some 2-5 in diameter and less
than 1 in depth. Interiorly the nest is lined with hair-like fibres
and moss-roots ; exteriorly it is adorned with pieces of lichen. The
eggs are tA\-o or three in number, very regular ovals, about 0*77 in
length by 0-49 in width. The ground-colour is a delicate pinky
lilac, and they are speckled and spotted mth violet or violet-purple,
the markings being most numerous towards the large end, where
they have a tendency to form a mottled zone.

243. .ffigithina tiphia (Linn.). The Common lora.

lora zeyloinca(&'«i.) et I. typhia (Linn.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, pp. 101, 103.
iEgithiua tiphia {Linn.), Hume, Rough Draft N. ^' E. nos. 467, 468.

I have already on several occasions (see especially ' Stray Feathers,'
1877, vol. V, p. 428) recorded my inability to distinguish as dis-
tinct species J^. tiphia and J^. zeylonica. I am quite open to convic-
tion ; but believing them, so far as my present investigations go, to
be inseparable, I px-opose to treat them as a single species in the
present notice.

The Common lora (the genus, though possibly nearly allied, is
too distinct from Chloropsis to allow me to adopt, as Jerdon does,
one common trivial name for both) breeds in different localities
from May to September. I have taken nests and eggs of typical
examples of both supposed species, and have had them sent
me with the parent birds by many correspondents ; and though
both vary a good deal, I am convinced that all the variations
which occur in the nests and eggs of one race occur also in
those of the other. If one gets only two or three clutches of
the eggs of each, great differences, naturally attributed to difference
of species (see Captain Cock's remarks, infra), may be detected ;

152 CRATEROPODIDJE.

but I have seen more thau fifty, and, so far as I am concerned, I
have no hesitation in asserting that, as in tlie case of the birds so
in that of tlieir nests and eggs, no constant differences can be
detected if only sufficiently large series are compared.

The birds build nsually on the upper surface of a horizontal
bough, at a height of from 1 to 25 feet from the ground. Some-
times, when the bough is more or less slanting, the nest assumes
somewhat more of a pocket-shape. Occasionally it is built between
three or four slender twigs, forming an upright fork ; but tliis is
quite exceptional.

As a rule nests of the lora very closely resemble those of Leu-
cocerca, so much so that when I sent a beautiful photograph of a
nest, which I had myself watched building, of the latter species to
Mr. Blyth, he unhesitatingly pronounced it to be a nest of the former.
There is, however, a certain amount of difference ; the lora's nests
are looser and somewhat less compact and firm. My experience does
not confirm Mr. Brooks's remarks (vide infra) that they are usually
shallower ; on the contrary all those now before me are, as indeed
all the many I can remember to have seen were, deep, thin-Avalled
cups, which had been placed on more or less horizontal branches,
not uncommonly ^vhere some upright-growing twig afforded the
nest additional security. The egg-cavity averages about 2 inches
in diameter, and varies from an inch to 1:| inch in depth ; the ^^■alls,
composed of vegetable fibres, and varying in different specimens
from only one eiglitb to three eighths of an inch in thickness, are
everywhere thickly coated externally M'ith cobwebs, by ^\■hich also
the nest is firmly attached to the branch on which it is seated, as
well as, where such adjoin the nest, to any little twig springing
from that branch. Interiorly they are more or less neatly lined
with very fine grass-stems. The bottom of the nest in its thinnest
part is rarely above one eighth of an inch in thickness, but running,
as it so often does, do\vn the curving sides of the branch, it
becomes a good deal thicker, and A\here placed on a small branch,
say not exceeding an inch in diameter, the lateral portions of the
bottom of the nest are sometimes more than half an inch in
thickness.

One nest which I obtained recently in the Botanical Gardens
at Calcutta was built in nn upright fork of four slender t\\ igs ; and
in this case the bottom of the nest was obtusely conical, and at its
deepest point may have been nearly an inch in depth. I have never
seen a similar nest.

The eggs are normally three in number, but I have at times
found only two, and these more or less incubated.

Mr. Brooks, AM-iting of a nest he took in the Mirzapoor District,
says : — " Did you ever get particulars of the nest of lora zeylonica on
the forked branch of a mango-tree 12 or 14 feet from the ground ?
Nest composed of the same materials as that of Leucocerca alhi-
frontata, but not quite so neat and nnich more shallow; eggs
salmon-coloured ancl spotted \\ith pale reddish brown, intermixed
with a few larger dashes of purple-grey. The bird lays in July ;

JEGITHINA. 153

three eggs. This is the ouly nest I have not taken since I came to
India tlie second time."

From Eaipoor, Mr. F. E. Blewitt remarks : — " The lora breeds
from Jnly to September, and certainly not, as Dr. Jerdon supposes,
twice a year. Both birds assist in the building of the nests, and
there evidently appears to be no choice of any particular kind of
tree on which to build. I have found them indiscriminately on
the mango, mowah, neem, and other trees. The nest is invariably
made eitiier just abo\e or between the fork of two outshootiug
slender horizontal branches. It is very neatly made, deeply cup-
shaped, of grass and fibres, with spider's web on the exterior.
The maximum number of eggs is three ; they are of a pale whitish
colour, marked generally, chiefly at the broad end, with brownish
spots. The brown spots vary in size on diiFereut eggs. I secured
the first eggs on the 12th July, and the last on the 2nd September.
A pair of birds were ou this" last date just completing their nest,
which unfortunately was destroyed by the heavy rains."

Captain Cock says : — '' loratiiMa is tolerably common at Seeta-
poor (Oudh), and 1 have several times taken their nests and eggs.
I may here uiention that I have taken eggs of lora zej/lonua at
Etaw-ah, and that knowing the birds Avell, I can say that it is quite
a distinct bird ; although in the marking of its eggs there is a
slight resemblance, yet the nests of the two species are quite dif-
ferent. On the 13th May I observed a nest of /. ti^Ma on a young
mango-tree, at the edge of a croquet-ground in our garden. I
shot both male and female and took the eggs ; the nest w as placed
on the upperside of a sloping bough, was covered outside with cob-
web, and lined with thin dry grass. It contained two fresh eggs
of a delicate pink colour, w ith broad irregularly-shaped dashes of
light brown down the sides of the shell, not tending to coalesce in
any way at either apex. Another pair also built their nest on the
edge of the same ground in another tree ; but unfortunately in a
weak moment I pointed out the nest to a lady friend, and as there-
after no one ever played croquet on the ground without staring at
the nest, the birds got disgusted and soon deserted it."

To this I need merely add that of course typical JS". ti^Jtia and
typical JE". zeyJonka are very distinct, but that as every intermediate
form occurs, they are not, according to my views of what consti-
tutes a species, entitled to specific separation, and that as regards
nest and eggs, according to my experience, every variety in the one
is to be found in the other.

Dr. Jerdon, speaking of Southern India, remarks : — " I have seen
the nest and eggs on several occasions. The nest is deep, cup-shaped,
very neatly made \\ith grass, various fibres, hairs, and spiders'
webs ; and the eggs, two or three in number, are reddish white,
with numerous darker red spots, chiefly at the thicker end. It
breeds in the south of India in August and September ; perhaps,
however, twice a year."

Writing from South Wynaad, Mr. J. Darling (Junior) says :— " I
found the nest, which with the eggs and both parents I have now

154 CBATEROPODIDiE.

sent you, iu the Teriat Hills on the 24th May, at an elevation of
about 2300 feet. It was placed on, and near the extremity of,
a bough, at a height of about 10 feet from the ground. It is round,
about 2 inches in height and the same in diameter, and the cavity
was about an inch or a trifle more in depth. It is built of grass
and reed-bamboo-fibres, and is coated Avith spider's web. It only
contained two eggs."

Both parents (sexes ascertained by dissection) are in the typical
tlpliia plumage, without one particle of black on either head, nape,
or back.

Mr. Davidson writes : — " In the Satara and Sholapur districts
the cock puts on his summer plumage in May and the whole back
of head, neck, and back (not rump) is glossy and black.

" This bird lays from the end of June to beginning of August.
It is very shy whew building and is easily caused to forsake its
nest ; if a siugle egg is taken from the nest it does not forsake it,
however, but lays on (three instances this year)."

Mr. W. E. Brooks has favoured me w^ith the following very
interesting note on the habits of this lora : —

" loras are very numerous and have such a variety of notes that
I thought at first there were several sorts ; but as far as I can see
there is but one species. lora spreads its tail in a wonderful
manner, and comes spinning round and round towards the ground
looking more like a round ball than a bird. All the time it de-
scends it utters a strange note, something like that of a frog or
cricket, a protracted sibilant sound. This bird is close to Liothriv
and Stachyrliis, although it belongs to the plains."

Colonel Butler writes : — "A nest on the 17th August, 1880, on
the outside branch of a silk-cotton tree in Belgaum about 12 feet
from the ground, containing three fresh eggs.

" I found many other nests building all through the hot weather
and rains; but in every single instance except the present one
they \\ere deserted before they were completed."

Major Bingham writes from Tenasserim : — " This species is
common throughout the country. As a rule its nest is well hid,
but one I saw in the compound of a house in Maulmaiu was placed
in the exposed leafless fork of a tree, not above six feet from the
ground. It contained no eggs when I examined it, and was
deserted a day or two after. This was in the beginning of May."

Mr. Gates remarks on the breeding of this bird in Pegu: —
" Nests are found chiefly in June and July, but the birds probably
lay also in May."

In shape the eggs are moderately broad ovals, slightly pointed
towards one end. They vary, however, a good deal, some being
much more elongated than others. They are almost entirely
de\oid of gloss. The ground-colour is generally greyish white,
but some have creamy and some a salmon tinge ; typically they
have numerous long streaky pale brown or reddish-brown blotches,
chiefly confined to the large end, where they often seem to spring
from an irregular imperfect zone of the same colour. The colour

MYZORNIS. CHLOEOPSIS. 155

of the blotches varies a good deal. In some it is a pale greyish or
purplish brown ; in others decidedly reddish, or even well-marked
and somewhat yellowish brown. Some pale, purplish streaks and
clouds generally underlie the brown blotches where they are
thickest, and there form a kind of nimbus. In some eggs the
markings are confined to a narrow imperfect zone of pale purplish
specks or very tiny blotches round the large end, and some of the
eggs remind one of those of Leucocerca alhifrontata. The peculiar
streaky longitudinal character of the markings, almost wholly
confined to the large end, best distinguishes the eggs of the loras
from those of any other Indian bird with ^\■hich they are likely to
be confounded.

In length they vary from 0-63 to 0'76, and in breadth from 0'51
to 0-57 : but the average of forty-seven eggs measured is 0-69,
nearly, by a trifle more than 0-54.

246. Myzornis pyrrhura, Hodgs. The Fire-tailed Myzornis.

Myzoruis pvrrhoura, Hodgs., Jenl. B. Lid. ii, p. 263; Hume, Rough
^Draft N^Si E. no. G29.

I have received a single egg said to belong to the Pire-tailed
Myzornis from Native 8ikhim, where it w-as found in May in a
small nest (unfortunately mislaid) which was placed on a branch
of a large tree at no great height from the ground. The place
where it was found had an elevation of about 10,000 feet. Although
the parent bird was sent with the egg, I cannot say that I have
any great confidence in its authenticity, and only record the
matter quantum valeut.

The egg is a very regular, rather elongated oval. The egg \vas
never properly blown and has been consequently somewhat dis-
coloured. It may have been pure white, and it may have been
fairly glossy when fresh, but it is now a dull ivory-white with
scarcely any gloss. It measured 0-68 in length by 0-5 in breadth.

252. Chloropsis jerdoni (BL). Jerdons Chloropsis.

Phyllornis jerdoni, Bl, Jerd. B. Lid. ii, p. 97 ; Hume, Rough Braft
N. 8f E. no. mi.

I have never myself found the nest of Jerdon's Chloropsis, but
my friend Mr. E. R. Blewitt has sent me numerous specimens of
both nests and eggs from Eaipoor and its neighbourhood.

In that part of the country July and August appear to be the
months in which it lays ; but elsewhere its eggs have been taken in
April, May, and June, so that its breeding-season is much the same
as that of many of the Bulbuls. The nest is a small, rather shallow
cup, at most 3^ inches in diameter and Ig in depth; is composed
externally entirely of soft tow-like vegetable fibre, which appears

156 ckateropodid.t:.

to be Avorkod over a liglit franiewoi'k of fine roots and slender
tamarisk-steiTis, amongst wliich some little pieces of lichen are inter-
mingled. There is no attempt at a lining, the eggs being laid on
the iine grass and slender twigs (about the thickness of an ordinary-
sized pin) which compose the framework of the uest.

The eggs as a rulc^ appear to be tA\o in number.

Mr. Ble\\-itt remarks : — " The Green Bulbul 1)reeds in July and
August. The bird does not preferentially select any one descrip-
tion of ti'ee for its nest, though the greater number secured were
taken from mowah trees (Bassla latifolki). The nest is generally
firmly affixed at the fork of the end twigs of an upper branch from
15 to 25 feet from the ground. Sometimes, however, esche\\-ing
twigs, the bird constructs its nest on the top of the main branch
itself, cunningly securing it with the material to the rough exterior
surface of the branch. Three is certainly the maximum innnber
of eggs. During the period of nidification the parent birds are
very watchful and noisy, and tlieir alarm and over-anxiety on the
near approach of a stranger often betray the nest."

The late Captain Eeavan recorded the following interesting note
in regard to this species : —

" This handsome bird is very abundant in Maubhooin, Avhere it
is called ' Hurrooa ' by the natives. Its note is so much like that
of Dlcrurus aUr that I have frequently been deceived by the
resemblance. It breeds in the district. A nest with two eggs
was brought to me at Beerachalee on April 4th, 18G5. It is built
at the fork of a bough and neatly suspended from it, like a ham-
mock, by silky fibres, which are firmly fixed to the two sprigs of
the fork, and also form part of the bottom and outside of the
nest. The inside is lined with dry bents and hairs. The eggs
(creamy ^\■hite A\-ith a few light pinky-bro\\'n spots) are rather elon-
gated, measuring 0-85 by 0*62. Interior diameter of nest 2-25,
depth 1*5. The cry of alarm of this species is like that of Pants
ma/o)'."

Dr. Jerdon remarked (' Illustrations of Indian Ornithology '),
writing at the time from Southern India : —

" I have seen a nest of this species in the possession of S. N.
Ward, Esq. It is a neat but slightly cup-shaped nest, composed
chiefly of fine grass, and was placed near the extremity of a
branch, some of the nearest leaves being, it was said, brought down
and loosely surrounding it. It contained tuo eggs, white, with a
few claret-coloured blotches. Its nest and eggs, I may remark,
show an analogy to that of the Orioles."

Mr. Layard tells us that this species is " extremely connnon in
the south of Ceylon, but rare to wards the north. It feeds in small
flocks on seeds and insects, and builds an open cup-shaped nest.
The eggs, four in number, are \\hite, thickly mottled at the obtuse
end wit^h purplish spots."

And Sir W. Jardine says : — " Por the interesting nest and eggs
of P/n/Uornis jenloni, Blyth, we are indebted to E. S. Layard, Esq.,
Magistrate of the district of Point Pedro (the northerinnost

lEEKA.

157

extremity of Ceylon), in which district we understand it to have
been procured. A large groove along the under.side of the nest
indicates it to have been placed upon a branch ; the general form
is somewhat flat, and it is composed of very soft materials, chiefly
dry grass and silky vegetable fibres, rather compactly interwoven
with some pieces of dead leaf and bark on the outside, over which
a good deal of spider's web has been ^^•orked. It contains four
eggs, white, abruptly speclded over with dark bistre mingled with
some ashy spots." Layard is not generally reliable \yhere eggs are
concerned, for he did not usually take them with his own hands
and natives ivill lie ; and I doubt i]ie four eggs here, but I think,
so far as the nest goes, that he was right in this case.

The eggs are rather elongated ovals ; some of them a good deal
pointed towards one end, others again slightly pyriform. The
shell is very delicate ; the ground-colour white to creamy white ;
as a rule almost glossless, in some specimens slightly glossy.
They are sparingly marked, usually chiefly at the large end, with
spots, specks, small blotches, hair-lines, or hieroglyphic-like figures,
which are typically almost black, but which in some eggs are
blackish, or 'even reddish, or purplish brown. In no specimens
that I have seen were the markings at all ruimerous, except just at
the large end ; and in some they consist solely of a few tiny specks,
scattered about the crown of the egg.

The eggs vary from 0-8 to 0*92 in length, and from 0-56 to 0-G3
in breadth ; but the average of a dozen was 0-8G by 0-6.

254. Irena puella (Lath.). The Fainj Blue-bird.

Irena puella {Lath.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. lOo ; Hume, Rough Draft N. ^•
E. no 469.

Mr. Prank Bourdillon favoured me ^^•ith an egg of the Fairy
Blue-bird, which with other rare eggs he obtained on the Assamboo
HiDs. So little is known of this range that I quote his remarks
upon this locality.

" I must premise that the specimens were obtained along the
Assamboo Eange of hills, between the elevations of 1500 and
3000 feet above sea-level. This range of hills, running in a
north-westerly and south-easterly direction from Cape Comorin to
8° 33' north latitude, forms the boundary line between Travancore
and the British Territory of Tinnevelly, the average height of
the range being about 4000 feet, while some of the peaks are as
high as 5500 feet. The general character of the hills is dense
forest, broken here and there by grass ridges and crowned by pre-
cipitous rocks, above which lies an almost unexplored table-land,
varying in width from a mile to 12 or 15 miles, at an elevation of
almost 4000 feet."

" The egg of the Pairy Blue-bird," he adds, " was taken slightly
set on the 28th February, 1873, from a loose sparsely-built nest
situated in a sapling about 12 feet from the ground. The nest was

158 CEATEROPODID^.

composed of dead twigs lined with leaves, and was about 4 inches
broad and very slightly indented."

As will be remembered, Dr. Jerdon states that "Mr. Ward
obtained, what he was informed were, the nest and eggs ; the nest
was large, made of roots and fibres and lined with moss ; and the
eggs, two in number, were pale greenish, much spotted A\ith dusky :"
and I have no doubt that Mr. Ward's eggs were genuine.

The egg is an elongated oval, compressed almost throughout its
entire length, very blunt at both ])oints ; a long cone, the apex
broadly truncated and rounded off obtusely, seated on half a very
oblate' spheroid. In no one single point — shape, texture of shell,
colour or character of markings — does this egg approach to those
of either the Oriole or the Chloropsis. This shell is very close-
grained and fine, but only moderately glossy. The ground is pale
green, and it is streaked and blotched with pale dull bro\\n. The
markings are almost entirely confluent over the large end (where
they appear to be underlaid by dingy, dimly discernible greyish
blotches), and from the cap thus formed they descend in streaky
mottlings towards the small end, growing fewer and further apart
as they approach this latter, which is almost devoid of markings.

It is impossible to generalize from a single specimen as to the
position this bird sJwuld hold, but this one egg renders it quite
certain to my mind that the nearest allies of Irena are neither
Oriolus nor Chloropsis, and that it is quite impossible to place it
with the Dicrvruhv, The eggs of Psaroglossa spiloptera are not very
dissimilar, and I expect that it is somewhere between the Para-
diseidce, Sturnidce, and Icteridce that Irena Mil] ultimately have to
be located.

The egg measures I'l by 0'73.

Mr. Fulton Bourdillon writes : — " The last note I have to send
you at present is that of a Blue-bird's nest (Irena puella). Of this
there can be no possible doubt, as my brother and I shot both the
male and female birds, and I took the nest with my own hands. It
was in a pollard tree beside a stream among some thick branches
about 20 feet from the ground. The nest was neatly but very
loosely constructed of fresh green moss, which formed the bulk of the
nest, and hned with the flower-stalks of a jungle shrub. It was
very well concealed, and was about 4 inches broad with a cavity
not more than 1| inch deep. It contained two eggs slightly set,
measuring respectively 1-11 x -84 and 1-16 x -81. These eggs
tally very fairly in colour, shape, and size with those sent last
year ; of the identity of which I was doubtful at the time, though
now I think there can be no mistake.

"Since writing last I have had another nest of Irena puella
brought me with two fresh eggs. The nest was very loosely put
together and similar in all respects to the one last sent. The eggs
measure -95 x -81 and -92 x -79, with the same well-defined ring
round the larger end. The nest was in a small tree about 10 feet
from the ground and was w^ell concealed. It was composed of
twigs, without any lining."

The nest sent me by Mr. Bourdillon is a very flimsy affair.

lEENA. 159

reminding one much of the nest of Graucalus niacii and not in the
smallest degree of that of an Oriole. A mere pad, some 4 inches
in diameter, composed of very thin twigs or dry flower-stalks with
a couple of dead leaves intermingled, and an external coating of
green moss.

Major C. T. Bingham has favoured me with the following notes
from Tenasserim : — " At the sources of the Winsaw stream, a
feeder of the Thoungyeen river, on the 30th April I found a nest
of this bird, a mere irregularly roundish pad of moss with very httle
depression in the centre, containing t\\o fresh eggs, and placed
12 feet or so above the ground in the fork of an evergreen sapling.
The eggs measure 1-18 x 0-86 and 1-19 x 0-86 respectively, and are
so thickly spotted and blotched with, brown as to show veiy little
of the ground-colour, which latter, however, appears to be of a
greenish white.

" On the 11th April I was slowly clambering along a very steep
hill-side overlooking the Queebaw choung, a small tributary of the
Meplay stream , when from a tree whose crown was below my feet
I startled a female Irena pueVa off her nest. I could see the nest
and that it contained two eggs, so I shot the female, who had
taken to a tree a little above me. On getting the nest down, I
found it a poor affair of little twigs, with a superstructure of moss,
shaped into a shallow saucer, on which reposed two eggs, large for
the size of the bird, of a dull grenish white, much dashed, speckled,
and spotted with brown. Tliey were so hard-set that I only
managed to save one, which measured 1*09 by 0'77 inch."

Mr. Davison writes : — " At Kussoom, in some moderately thin
tree-jungle I found the nest oi Irena imella. The nest was placed
in the fork of a sapling some 12 feet from the groimd. The nest
externally Avas composed of dry tvAigs, carelessly and irregularly
put together. The egg-ca\dty was shallow, not more than 1*5 inch
at its deepest pai-t, and it was lined with finer twigs, fern-roots,
and some yellowish fibre. The nest contained two fresh eggs."

Two eggs, taken by Mr. Davison at Kussoom in the north of
the Malay Peninsula, to which the Malayan form does not extend,
are rather elongated ovals, with a slightly pyriform tendency.
The shell is fine, smooth, and compact, and has a perceptible gloss.
The ground-colour is greenish white ; round the large end is a
huge, smudgy, irregular zone of reddish brown and inky grey, the
one colour predominating in the one egg, the other in the other.
Inside the zone are specks and spots of the same colours, and below
the zone streaks and spots of these same colours, thinly set, stretched
downwards towards the small end of the egg.

Other eggs subsequently received are very similar to that first
sent by Mr. Bourdillon, except that in shape they are more
regular ovals, and that the brown markings in some have a reddish
and in some a purplish tinge, and that in some eggs the mottings
and markings are pretty thick even at the small end.

In length they seem to vary from 1'08 to 1-2 inch and in breadth
from 0-73 to 0-88 inch.

In some eggs the ground appears to have no green tinge, but is

160 CRATEEOPODID.E.

simply a greyish white, lu one egg the markings are all of one
colour, a sort of chocolate-brown, a dense almost confluent mass of
mottlings in a broad irregular zone round the large end and else-
where pretty thickly set over the entire surface of the egg. They
have ah\'ays a certain amount of gloss, but are never veiy glossy.

257. Mesia argentaiiris, Hodgs. The Silver-eared Mesia.

Leiothrix argentauris {Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 251.

Mesia argentauris, Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. ^' E. no. 015.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes, the Hilver-eared Mesia
breeds in the low-lands of Nepal, laying in May and June. The
nest is placed in a bushy tree, between two or three thin twigs,
to which it is attached. It is composed of dry bamboo and other
leaves, thin grass-roots and moss, and is lined inside with fine
roots. Three or four eggs are laid : one of these is figured as a
broad oval, much pointed towards one end, measuring 0*8 by 0-6,
having a pale green ground with a few brownish-red specks, and
a close circle of spots of the same colour round the large end.

Dr. Jerdou brought me two eggs from Darjeeling, which he
believed to belong to this species. They much resemble those of
Lioihrix lutea. They are oval, scarcely pointed at all towards
the lesser end, and are faintly glossed. The ground-colour of one
is greenish, the other creamy, white, and both are spotted and
streaked, chiefly in an irregular zone near the large end, with
different shades of red and purple. The markings are smaller than
those of the preceding species. Further observations are neces-
sary to confirm the authenticity of the eggs.

They measure 0*8 ") and 0-87" by 0-65.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes : — " I have taken about half
a dozen nests of this bird. They closely resemble those of Liothrix
lutea in size and structure and are similarly situated, but instead
of having the egg-cavity lined with dark-coloured material, as that
species has, all I found had light-coloured linings ; such was even
the case with one nest I found within three or four yards of a nest
of the other species.

" Tlie eggs are usually four in number."

Other eggs obtained by Mr. Gammie correspond with those given
me by Dr. Jerdon. They are as like the eggs of L. lutea

as

they can possibly be, and if there is any difference, it consists in
the markings of the present species being as a body smaller and
more speckled than those of L. lutea.

The six eggs that I have vary in length from 0-82 to 0-9, and
in breadth from 0-6 to 0-65.*

* Tliere is in the Tweeddale collection a skin of a young nestling of this
species procured by Liniborg on Muleyit mountain in Tenasserim in the second
week of April. On the label attached to the specimen is a note to the effect
that the nest from which the ncstlinnr was taken was made of moss. — Ed.

iUNLA.— CEPnALOPYEIS. — PSABOGLOSSA. l61

258. Minla igneitincta, Hodgs. The Red-tailed Minla.

Minla iguutiiicta, Iluih/s., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 254 : Hume, Rowih
Draft N. ^- E. no. 618.

The Eed-tailed Minla, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes and
figures, breeds in the central region of ]N'epal and near Darjeeliug,
durnig Maj and June. It builds a beautiful rather deep cup-
shaped nest of mosses, moss-roots, and some cow's hair, lined with
these two latter. The nest is placed in the fork of three or four
slender branches of some bushy tree, at no great elevation from
the ground, and is attached to one or more of the stems in which
it is placed by bauds of moss and fibres. A nest taken on the 24th
May measured externally 3-28 inches in diameter and 2-25 in height ;
internally the cavity was 2 inches in diameter and 1-G2 in depth.
They lay from two to four eggs, of a pale verditer-blue ground,
speckled and spotted pretty boldly with brownish red. An egg is
figured as a regular rather broad oval, measuring 0-78 by 0-55.

On the other hand, Dr. Jerdon says :— " Its nest has been brought
to jue, of ordinary shape, made of moss and grass, and with four
white eggs, with a few rusty red spots."

260. Cephalopyrus flammiceps (Burton). The Fire-cap.

Cephalopynis flammiceps {Burt:), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 267 : Hume,
Bomjh Draft N. %■ E. no. 633. ' i ' >

Writingfrom Murree, Colonel C. H. T. Marshall tells us :— " On
the 2oth May we found the nest of this species (the Tire-cap) in a
hole in a rotten sycamore-tree about 15 feet from the ground. The
nest was a neatly made cup-shaped one, formed principally of fine
grass. We were unfortunately too late for the eggs, as we found
four nearly fledged young ones, showing that these birds lay about
the 15th April. Elevation, 7000 feet."

Captain Cock says :— " I found a nest in the stump of au old
chestnut-tree at Murree. The nest was about 13 feet from the
ground near the top of the stump, placed in a natural cavity : it
was constructed of fine grass and roots carefully woven and was
of a deep cup shape. It contained five fully fledged young ones.
The end of May was the time when I found this, and I have never
yet succeeded in finding another."

261. Psaroglossa spiloptera (Vigors). The Spotted-iving.

Saroglossa spiloptera (Vi<j.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 33(3; Hume, Romih
Draft N. 4' ^. no. 691. ' ^

Personally I know nothing of the nidification of the 8potted-
A\lng.

Captain Hutton tells us that "this species arrives in the hills
about the middle of April in small parties of five or six, but it does

VOL. I. ^^

162 CRATEROPODIDiE.

not appear to ascend above 5500 to 6000 feet, and is therefore
more properly an inhabitant of the warm valleys. I do not remem-
ber seeing it at Mussoorie, which is 6500 to 7000 feet, although
at 5200 feet on the same range it is abundant during summer.
Its notes and flight are very much those of the Starling (Stunws
vidfjaris), and it delights to take a short and rapid flight and return
twittering to perch on the very summit of the forest trees. I have
never seen it on the ground, aud its food appears to consist of berries.
" Like the two species of Acrldotheres, it nidificates by itself in
the holes of trees, lining the cavity with bits of leaves. The eggs
are usually three, or sometimes four or five, of a delicate pale sea-
green speckled with blood-like stains, which sometimes tend to
form a ring near the larger end ; shape oval, slightly tapering."

The eggs are so different in character fi-om those of all the
Starlings that doubts might reasonably arise as to whether this
species is placed exactly w-here it ought to be by Jerdon and others.
I possess at present only three eggs of this bird, which I owe to
Captain Hutton. They are decidedly long ovals, much pointed
towards the small end, and in shape and coloration not a little recall
those of Myiojihoneus temmincM. The eggs are glossless, of a
greenish or greyish-white ground, more or less profusely speckled
and spotted with I'ed, reddish brown, and dingy purple. In two of
the eggs the majority of the markings are gathered into a broad ir-
regular speckled zone round the large end. In the third egg there is
just a trace of such a zone and no markings at all elsewhere. In
length they vary from 1-03 to 1-08, and in breadth from 0'68 to 0-74.*

* Hypocolius ampelinus, Bonap. The Grey Hypocolms.
Hypocolius ampelinus, Bi)., Hume, Cat. no. 269 quat.
Although this bird has not yet been found breeding within Indian limits,
the following account of its nidification at Fao, in the Persian Gulf, by Mr. W.
D. Gumming (Ibis, 188G, p. 478) will prove interesting: —

" It is not till tlie middle of Juno tluit they breed.

" In 1883, first eggs were brought by an i^rab about the 13th of June, and on
the 15th of the same month I found a nest Containing two fi-esh eggs. In 1884,
on the 14th of June a nest was brought me containing four fresh eggs, and on
the 15th I found a nest containing also four fresh eggs.

"2nd July, I came across four young birds able to fly. On the 3rd, three
nests were brought, one containing two fresh eggs, another three young just
fledged, and the other four eggs slightly incubated. On the Pth, another nest,
containing four young just fledged was brouglit. On the 15th I saw a flock of
small birds well able to fly ; on the 18th I found a nest containing four young
about a couple of days old, and on the 2()th a nest containing three eggs well
incubated was brought from a place called 'Goosba' on the opposite bank
(Persian side) of the river.

" The nests are generally placed on the leaves of the date-palm, at no very
great height. The highest I have seen was built about ten feet from the ground,
but from three to five feet is the average height.

" They are substantial and cup-shaped, having a diameter of about 3^ inches
by 2^ inches in depth, lined inside with fine grass, the soft fluff* from the willow
when in seed, wool, and sometimes hair.

" The eggs are of a glossy leaden white, with leaden-coloured blotches and
spots towards the larger end, sometimes forming a ring i-ound the larger end,
and at times spreading over the entire egg.

CRINIGEB, 163

Subfamily BRACHYPODINiE.

263, Criniger flaveolus (Gould). The White-th-oated Bulbid,

Criuig-er flaveolus (Gould), Jerd. B. hid. ii, p. 83; Hume, Rouqh
Draft N.^E.noA^l.

A nest of this species sent me from Darjeeling was found in
July, at an elevation of about 3000 feet.

It -was placed on the branches of a medium-sized tree, at a height
of only about 5 feet from the ground.

The nest was a compact, rather shallow saucer, bo inches in
diameter and about 2 inches in height externally. The cavity was
about 3-5 in diameter and an inch in depth. The greater portion
of the nest was composed of dead leaves bound together tlrmly by
fine brown roots ; inside the leaves was just a lining of rather coarser
brown roots, and again an inner lining of black horsehair -like roots
and fine stems of the maiden-hair fern.

The nest contained three fresh eggs. These eggs vary from
broad to somewhat elongated ovals, are more or less pointed towards
the small end, and exhibit a fine gloss.

The ground is a beautiful salmon-pink, and it is thinly spotted,
blotched, and marked with irregular lines of deep maroon-red.
Most of the markings in one egg are gathered into a very irregular
straggling zone round the lai"ge end, and the other egg exhibits
a tendency to form a similar zone. Besides these primary markings
a few spots and clouds of dull purple, looking as if beneath the
surface of the shell, are thinly scattered about the eg,g, chiefly in
the neighbourhood of the zone.

These eggs vary from 0-9 to 1*() in length, and from 0*7 to 0*72
in breadth.

Several nests of this species sent me by the late Mr. Mandelli and
obtained by him in British and Native 8ikhim during July and the
early part of August are all precisely of the same type. They each
contained t\\'0 fresh eggs ; they Mere all placed in the branches of
small trees in the midst of dense brushAvood or heavy jungle, at
heights of from 4 to 10 feet from the ground. The nests are
broad and saucer-like, nearly 5 inches in diameter, but not much
above 2 in height externally ; the cavities average about 3-25 in dia-
meter and about 1 in depth. The body of the nest is composed of
dead leaves, the sides are more or less felted round with rich brown
fibrous, almost wool-like roots ; inside the leaves fine twigs and
stems of herbaceous plants, all of a uniform brown tint, are wound
round and round, apparently to keep the leaves in their places
interiorly, and then the cavity is lined with jet-black horsehair-

" Ou rare occasions I have noticed a greenish tinge in very fresh eggs. This,
I think, is due to the colour of the inner membrane, which is generally a A'ery
light green, in some very faint and in others more decided ; this tinge seems to
disappear after the egg is blown.

" Very rough measurements are as follows :— 0-9x0-63 ; O-83x0-63 ; O'SS X
0-6; 0-83 X 0-66; 0-86 xOGG."

11*

164 CRATEEOPODID.?;.

like vegetable fibres. What these are I do not know, but they
are precisely like horsehair to look at, only they are comparatively
brittle. The contrast of colour between the jet-black lining and
the rich brown of the lip of the saucer, which is constant in all
the nests, is very striking.

The eggs of this species sent me by Mr. Mandelli, obtained by
hiui in fSikhim at elevations of from 2000 to 4000 feet in July
and the early part of August, possess a very distinctive character.
They are broad ovals, much pointed towards the small end, and they
are more glossy tlian the eggs of any other of this family with
which I am acquainted. The ground-colour is pink. The mark-
ings consist of curious hair-line scratches, clouded blotches, and
irregular spots — in some eggs all very hazy and ill-defined, in others
more scratchy and sharp. The great majority of the markings
seem to be gathered together into an irregular and imperfect zone
round the large end. In colour the markings vary from a deep
brownish maroon to a dull brickdust-red, sometimes they are
slightly more purplish. In some eggs a few faint clouds or small
spots of subsurface-looking dusky purple may be noticed mingled
with the rest of the markings.

These eggs are totally unlike the eggs of Crinvjer ictericus. I ha\"e
never had an opportunity of verifying the eggs myself, but as three
different nests have now been taken, all containing precisely similar
eggs, I believe there can be no doubt of their authenticity.

2G0. Hypsipetes psaroides. Vigors. The Himalayan Black Balbul.

Hypsipetes psaroides (V/(/.), Jer(7. L'. Ind. ii, p. 77 ; Ilume, Rouijh
^Braft N. ^ E. no. 444.

The Himalayan Black Bulbul breeds throughout the outer and
loA^er ranges of the Himalayas, at any rate from Bhootan to
Afghanistan, at elevations varying from 2000 to 6000 feet.

They lay mostly in May and June, but eggs may occasionally
be met with dui'ing the latter half of April.

The nest of Hypsipetes psaroides is usually made of rather coarse-
bladed grass, with exteriorly a number of dry leaves, and more or
less moss incorporated, and lined with very fine grass-stems and
roots of moss. A good deal of spider's web is often used exteriorly
to bind the nest together, or attach it more firmly to the fork in
which it rests. Its general shape is a moderately deep cup, the
cavity measuring some 2| inches in diameter by 1| inch in depth.
The sides, into which leaves and moss are freely interwoven, vary
from an inch to a couple of inches in thickness. The bottom,
loosely put together, is rarely mor(^ than from a quarter to half an
inch in depth. It ap])ears to be generally placed on the fork of a
branch, at a moderate height from the ground.

Tour is the normal number of eggs, but I have more tlian once
found three ])artially incubated eggs in a nest.

I'rorn Darjeeling Mr. Gammie remarks : — " A nest of this bird,
which I took on the 17th June, at a height of nearly 50 feet from

HYPSIPETES. 165

the ground, on one of tlio topmost branches of a tree, contained
three hard-set eggs. This was below llungbee, at an elevation of
about 3000 feet. The nest was a compact, moderately deep cup,
composed of very fine twigs and stems, and \\ith a quantity o£
dead leaves incorporated in the structure, especially towards its
lower surface ; it had no lining, but the stem.s used towards the
interior of the nest were somewhat finer than the rest. Exteriorly
the nest hnd a diameter of about 4-5 inches, and a height of about
2*5 ; interiorly a diameter of about 2'5, and a depth of nearly 1*5."

Mr. Hodgson, writing from Nepal, says : —

'■'■ May 20t7i, Jaha Powah. — Two nests on the skirls of the forest
in medium-sized trees, placed on the fork of a branch. They are
made of moss and dry fern and dry elastic twig-tops, and lined
with long elastic needles of Pinus lomjifolia. They are compact
and rather deep, half pensile, that is to say, partly slung between
the branches of the fork to which they are attached by bands of
vegetable fibres. Each contained four eggs, pinkish-white, thickly
spotted with dark sanguine." Another year he wrote : —

" May 9t7i, in the Valley. —A mature female with nest and eggs.
Nest saucer-shaped, the cavity 3-5 wide by 2-5 deep, made of slender
twigs and grass-fibres, with no lining. Eggs three, pale pink,
blotched all over with sanguine brown."

Writing from Almorah, Mr. Brooks tells us that " the nest and
eggs were found by Mr, Home on the 27th May near Bheem Tal."

Colonel Gr. E. L. Marshall also found a nest in the same place.
He says : — " I have only myself found the nest once at Bheem Tal
(4000 feet) ; it was situated in a thicket. The nest of this species
is similar in shape but much more substantial than those of the
Common Bulbul. The eggs are much lai'ger and more elongated in
shape, but the colouring is similar to those of the Bulbul, and in
many cases the blotches have a tendency to form a zone near the
thick end. The nest I found was taken on the 10th June and
contained fresh eggs.

" On the 30th May, 1875, I found a nest of this species at
Naini Tal on Ayarpata, over 7000 feet above the sea. I record
the circumstance, as their breeding at so great an elevation is
exceptional. The nest contained three fresh eggs ; it was made
of leaves and moss, lined with bents of grass, between two branches
but partially resting on a third, in a bush at the outskirts of a
forest on a steep bank and about eight feet from the ground."

From Mussoorie, Captain Hutton recorded the following very
full and interesting note : —

" They breed during April, May, and June, making a rather
neat cup-shaped nest, which is usually placed in the bifurcation
of a horizontal branch of some tall tree ; the bottom of it is
composed of thin dead leaves and dried grasses, and the sides of
fine woody stalks of plants, such as those used by the White-cheeked
Bulbul, and they are well plastered over externally M-ith spiders'
webs ; the lining is sometimes of very fine tendrils, at other times
of dry grasses, fibrous lichen, and thin shavings of the bark of

166 CRATEEOPODID.I,

trees left by the wood-cutters. I have one nest, however, which
is externally formed of green moss with a few dry stalks, and the
spiders' webs, instead of being plastered all over the outside, are
merely used to bind the nest to the small branches among which
it is placed. The lining is of bark- shavings, dry grasses, black
fibrous lichens, and a few fine seed-stalks of grasses. The internal
diameter of the nest is 2| inches, and it is 1| inches deep. The
eggs are usually three in number, of a rosy or purplish white,
spruikled over rather numerously \\ith deep claret or rufescent
purple specks and spots. In colours and distribution of spots there
is great variation, sometimes the rufous and sometimes the purple
spots prevailing ; sometimes the spots are mere specks and freckles,
sometimes large and forming blotches: in some the spots are wide
apart, in others they are nearly, and sometimes in places quite,
confluent ; while from one nest the eggs ^^■ere white, with widely
dispersed dark purple spots and dull indistinct ones appearing
under the sheU. In all the spots were more crowded at the larger
end."

Colonel C. H. T. Marshall remarks : — " IS'umerous nests of this
species were found at Murree, agreeing well with Hutton's descrip-
tion. They breed in May and June, never above 6000 feet.''

The eggs are rather long ovals. Typically a good deal pointed
towards the small end, and more or less pyriform, but at times
nearly perfect OA'als. They have httle or no gloss. The ground-
colour varies from white, very faintly tinged with pink, to a
delicate pink, and they are profusely speckled, spotted, blotched,
or clouded with various shades of red, brownish red, and purple.
The markings vary much in character, extent, and intensity of
colour. There seem to be two leading types, w ith, however, almost
every possible intermediate variety of markings. The one is thickly
speclded over its M'hole surface with minute dots of reddish purple,
no dot much bigger than the point of a pin, and no portion of the
ground-colour exceeding 0*1 in diameter free from spots. In these
eggs the specklings are most dense, as a rule, throughout a broad
irregular zone surrounding the large end, and this zone is thickly
underlaid ^vith irregular ill-defined streaky clouds of dull inky
purple. In some eggs of this type, the smaller end is comparatively
free from specks. In the other type, the surface of the egg is
somewhat spanngly, but boldly, blotched and splashed, first with
deep umber, chocolate, or purple-brown, and, secondly, with spots
and clouds of faint inky purple, recalling not a little the style
of markings of the eggs of Bhynchops allncoUis. Then there are
eggs partly speckly and partly blotched, some in \^ Inch the markings
are all rich red and where no secondaiy pale purple clouds are
observable, and others again in which all the marldngs are dull
purplish brown. Generally it may be said that the markings have
a tendency to form a cap or zone at the large end.

A nest of three eggs recently obtained from Mussoorie were
more richly coloured than any I have yet seen, and were decidedly
glossy. Tlio ground-colour is a rich rosy pink, boldly, but sparingly,
blotched and spotted with deep maroon, underlaid by clouds and

IIYPSIPETES. 167

spots of pale purple, wliieli appear as if beueatli the surface of
the shell. lu all the eggs the markings are far more numerous at
the large end, where in one they form a huge confluent maroon-
coloured patch, mottled lighter and darker.

An egg recently obtained in Cashmere on the 20th June was
a somewhat elongated oval, moi'e or less compressed towards
one end ; a delicate glossy white ground with a faint pink tinge ;
a rich zone of reddish-purple spots and specks round the large end;
a few similar markings scattered sparingly over the rest of the
surface of the egg, and a multitude of ^■ery faint streaks and clouds
of \evy pale inky purple underlying the primary markings.

In length the eggs vary from U*9 to I'lo, and in breadth from 0*7
to 0*78; but the average of twenty-five eggs measured is 1*03 by 0-7o.

271. Hypsipetes ganeesa, Sykes. The Southern-Indian
Blade Bulhul.

Hypsipetes neilgherriensis, Jerd. ; Jerd. B. hid. ii, p. 78 ; Hume,

Rowjh Draft N. ^- E. no. 445.
Hj^sipetes ganeesa, Sykes, Jerd. t. c. p. 78.

Mr, Davison tells me that " this species breeds from April to
about the middle of June. The nest is generally placed from 12
to 20 feet from the ground, in some dense clump of leaves ; favourite
sites are the bunches of parasitic plants with which nearly every
acacia, and in fact nearly every other tree about Ootacamuud, is
covered. The nest is composed exteriorly of moss, dry leaves, and
roots, lined with roots and fibres : the normal number of eggs is
two ; they are white with claret-coloured and purplish spots."

A nest of this species taken at Coonoor on the 1 4th March, 1869,
by Mr. Carter, to whom I owe this and many other nests from the
JXilghiris, reminds one much of those of the Eed-cheeked Bulbuls.
A wisp of dry grass and dead leaves, with the dead lea\ es greatly
predominating exteriorly, twisted into a shallow cup, some 4j inches
in diameter externally, and with a shallow depression tolerably
neatly lined with finer grass-stems measuring some 3 inches across
and perhaps an inch in depth. The bottom of the nest is almost
exclusively composed of dead leaves ; while even in the sides,
externally, little but these are visible, only a few grass-stems
crossing in and out, here and there, sufficiently to keep the leaves
iu their places.

Mr. Wait remarks, writing from Coonoor : — " Our Black Bulbul
breeds from March to June. It builds a cup-shaped nest neatly
and firmly made. Outside, the nest is chiefly composed, as a rule,
of green moss, grass-stalks, and fibres, while inside it is lined with
fine stalks and hair. The cavity is from 2-5 to 3 inches in diameter
and about half that depth. Two is certainly the normal number
of eggs ; indeed, I have never found more."

Mr. Ehodes AV. Morgan, writing from South India, says in ' The
Ibis': — "It breeds in lofty trees in the ]Nilghiris, building a
shallow cup-shaped nest, from 20 to 60 feet from the gi'ound. The
nest is constructed of the dried stems of the wild forget-me-not,

168 CRATEROrODTDiE,

and Jinecl with a moss miicli resembliug black horsehair. The
eggs, which are two iii number, are pretty thickly s])ottetl with
pale lilac and claret on a light pink ground-colour. I found these
birds migrating in vast flights, numbering several thousands, in the
Bolumputty valley in July. They were flying westwards towards
Malabar."

Mr. Darling, Junior, writes:— "I haA-e taken the eggs of this
Black Bulbul every year from 1868 to 1870 during March, April,
May, and part of June, all over the Nilghiris. The nests were all
made of moss, dry leaves, and roots, lined with roots and fibres.
I have only once found three eggs (the normal number being two);
in this case the eggs are very much smaller than usual, and more
blotched with the reddish spots. I have found them at all heights
from the ground up to 130 feet, and mostly in rhododendron trees.
I found two nests in 8. Wynaad, at an elevation of about 4000 feet,
both with young, in June 187^1"

Mr. C. J. W. Taylor informs us that he procured the nest of this
bird with three fresh eggs at Manzeerabad in Mysore onthe7th April.
Colonel Legge tells us that this Bulbul breeds in Ceylon from
January till March.

That the Nilghiris bird should lay usually only ^co eggs, and this
seems a well ascertained fact, while our very closely allied Himalayan
form lays, as I can personally certify, regularly four, is certainly
very strange.

The eggs of this species, sent me from the Nilghiris by Messrs.
Carter and Davison, very closely resemble those of //. psaroides
from the Himalayas. The eggs are of course of the Bulbid type,
but in form are typically much more elongated and conical than
the true Bulbuls, The ground-colour varies from white to a delicate
pink. The markings consist of different shades of deep red and
pale washed-out purple. In some the markings are bold, large,
and blotchy, in others minute and speckly ; and in both forms
there is a tendency to confluence towards the large end, where
there is commonly a more or less perfect, but irregular, zone. The
eggs though smooth and satiny have commonly little or no gloss,
and, considering their size, are very delicat(i and fragile.

In length they vary from l-<Ho l-]7,andin l)rcadtli fromO-7toO-S.

27-''). Hemixus macclellandi (Ilorsf.). The Jhifovs-hellml Bullml.
Ilypsipetcs inclellaiidi, 7/or.s/"., Jcrd. B. Ind. ii, p. 70.
Ilypsipetes m'clellandii, Ilorsf., Iliime, Hough Draft N. 8f E. no. 447.

The Kufous-bellicd Bulbul, accoi-ding to Mr. Ilodgsoii's notes,
breeds in the; central region of N('])al, and low down nearly to the
Terai, from April to June. Its nc^st is a shallow saucer suspeiided
betw(;en a slender horizontal fork, to the twigs of which it is flrmly
bound like an Orioh^'s with vegetabh; fibres and I'oots. It is com-
posed of i^oots and dry leaves bound together with fibres, and
lined with fine grass or moss-roots. The; bird is said to lay four
eggs, but these are neither figured nor described.

Dr. Scully Avrites from Nc^pal : — "This Bulbul is common

ALCURUS. MOLPABTF.S. 1 60

tliroiigliout ili(! year on ilic hills i-ound tlic vall(>y of Nepal, liiit
never tenants tlie central woods. Jt is generally round in busiies
and bush trees, not in high tree-forest ; and is commonly set^n in
pairs. The breeding-season appears to b(! May and June. A nest
was taken on the 6tli June, which contained tuo fresh eggs. Tiie
nest was somewhat oval in shape, measuring 3-35 inches in length
and 2*5 across ; the egg-cavity was about 1 inch deep in the centre,
and th(! bottom of the nest 1'25 thick. It was attached to a
sh^nder fork oF a tree, and was composed externally of fi'rns, dry
leaves, roots, grass, and a little moss, bound tog(;ther with liiu;
black hair-like fibres, which were; wound round tlu^ prongs of the
fork so as regularly to suspend the ncsst like an Oriole's. Tlusre
was a regular lining, distinct from the; body of tin; nest, composed
of fine long yellowish grass-stems, and a little cobweb was spread
here and there over tlie braneh(^s of the fork and tin; outside of
the nest. The (;ggs are rather long ovals, smiilh^r at one end, and
fairly glossy ; they measure 1*0 by 0-7, and 0-97 by 0-7. Tlie
ground-colour is pure pinkish white, abundantly speckled and
ifinely spotted witii reddish purple; the spots closely crowded to-
g{;ther at the large end, but not confluent, forming in oni; egg a
broadish zone, and in tlie other a cap ; in the latter egg th(!re are
a few faint underlying stains of ])ur|)]ish inky at th(! large; end."

Two eggs sent nu; by Mr. Mandelli I'roui Darjoeling, said to belong
to this species, an; elongated ovals, much pointed towai'ds the small
end. Th(! shell is fin(! and fairly glossy; tlu; ground-colour a dull
sahnon-])ink, and they an; ])rofus(;ly and minutely freckled, speckled,
and streaked (so densely at the; large end that tli(; markings tliere
an; almost confluent) with dull reddish purple.

The eggs m<'asure 1-00 and 1-11 by 0-07.

277. Alcurus striatus(J^l.). The ^Striated (Jrccn IhUlnd.
Alcurus striutus ( III.), Jcrd. B. Ind. ii, p. 81.
Mr. Mandelli sent me a nest of this species which was found,
he said, on the; Sth May about 4 feet from the ground amongst tli(;
foliage; of a kind of prickly bamboo grow ing out of the crevices of a
patch of larg(; stones n(;ar Lebong (elevation 5000 feet), and con-
tained two eggs nearly ready to hatch. The nest is a shallow cup,
about 3-75 inclH;s in diameter and 1-5 in height externally, composefl
entirely of fine brown fibrous roots, a litth; bound tog(;ther outside
with wool and the silk of cocoons and with two or thi'e(; litth; bits
of moss stuck about it, and sparingly lined with hair-like grass.
It is altogether a light l)rown nest, no dark material being used in
it at all. The cavity is 2-75 inches in diameter and about 1 deep.

278. Molpastes haemorrhous ((im.). The Madras Jied-venlcd

Balhid.
rycnonotiis liaimonhoiis (6'?/i.), Jf-rc/. li. hid. ii, p. 94.
INIolpastespiisilliis (Bl), Hume, Ituiujh Draft N. ^ E. no. 402.

The Madras Eed-vented Jjulbul, which by the way (extends

L70 CEATEBOPOBID.^.

uorthwards throughout the Central Proviuces, Chota-Nagpoor,
Eajpootaua (the eastern portious), the plains of the North- Western
Provinces, Oadh, Behar, and Western Bengal, breeds in the
plains country chiefly in June and July, although a few eggs may
also be found in April, May, and August. In the Nilghiris the
breeding-season is from Pebruai-y to April, both months included.
Elsewhere I have recorded the following notes on the nidification
of this species in the neighbourhood of Bareilly : —

" Close to the tank is a thick clump of sal-trees {Uliorea robusta),
the great building-timber of Northern India, whose natural home
is in that vast sub-Himalayan belt of forest which passes only 'SO
miles to the north of Bareilly.

" In one of these a Common Madras Bulbul had made its home.
The nest was compact and rather massive, built in a fork, on and
round a small t\\ig. Externally it was composed of the stems
(\\ith the leaves and flowers still on them) of a tiny groundsel-
like {tSenecio) asteraceous plant, amongst which were mingled a
number of quite dead and skeleton leaves and a few blades of dry
grass : inside, rather coarse grass was tightly woven into a lining
for the cavity, which was deep, being about 2 inches in depth by
3 inches in diameter.

" This is the common type of nest ; but half an hour later, and
scarcely 100 yards further on, we took another nest of this same
species. This one was built in a mango-tree, towards the extre-
mity of one of the branches, where it divided into four upright
twigs, between which the Bulbul had firmly planted his dwelling.
Externally it was as usual chiefly composed of the withered stems
of the little asteraceous plant, interwoven with a iew jhow-shoots
(Tamariv dioica) and a little tow-like fibre of the putsan (llibiscus
cannabiniis), while a good deal of cob\\ eb was applied externally
here and there. The interior was lined with excessively flne stems
of some herbaceous exogenous plant, and there did not appear to
be a single dead leaf or a siugle particle of grass in the whole
nest.

" The eggs, however, in both nests, three in each, closely resem-
bled each other, being of a delicate pink ground, with reddish-brown
and purplish-grey spots and blotches nearly equally distributed
over the w hole surface of the egg, the reddish brown in places be-
coming aluiost a maroon-red. Two eggs, however, that we took
out of a nest, similar to the first in structure but situated like the
second in a mango-tree, were of a somewhat different character
and very different in tint. The ground was dingy reddish piuk,
and the whole of the egg was thickly mottled all o\er with very
deep blood-red, the mottlings beiug so thick at the large end as to
form an almost perfectly confluent cap. Altogether the colouring
of these two eggs remiuded one of richly coloured types of
Neophro)iS eggs. Some of the Bulbuls' eggs that we have taken
earlier in the season were much feebler coloured than any of
those obtained to-day, and presented a very different appearance,
with a pinkish-whito ground, and only moderately thickly but very

M0LPA8TES. 171

imiforuily speckled all over w ith siiial] spots oE light purplish grey,
light reddish hro\\n, and very dark hrowii. These eggs scarcely
seem to belong to the same bird as the boldly blotched and richly
mottled specimens that we have taken to-day."

Writing from the neighbourhood of Delhi, Mr. F. E. Blewitt says :
" This Bulbul breeds from the middle of May to about the middle
of August. Its selection of a tree for its nest is arbitrary, as I
have found the latter on almost e\ery variety of bush and tree.
The nest is neatly cup-shaped, generally fragile in structure, though
I have seen many a nest strong and compact. The outer diameter
of the nest varies from 3 to nearly 4 inches, and the inner diameter
from 2 to almost 3 inches.

" The chief material of the nest is, on the outside, coarse grass,
with fine A7<»* or fine grass for the lining. Very frequently horse-
hair is likewi