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Title: The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, Volume 1

Author: Allan O. Hume

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THE NESTS AND EGGS OF INDIAN BIRDS, VOLUME 1

by

ALLAN O. HUME, C.B.

Second Edition.

Edited by Eugene William Gates
Author of "A Handbook to the Birds of British Burmah and of the Birds
in the Fauna of British India,"

With Four Portraits.

London

1889






[Illustration: ALLAN OCTAVIAN HUME]


[Illustration: ALERE FLAMMAM]



AUTHOR'S PREFACE.


I have long regretted my inability to issue a revised edition of
'Nests and Eggs.' For many years after the first Rough Draft appeared,
I went on laboriously accumulating materials for a re-issue, but
subsequently circumstances prevented my undertaking the work. Now,
fortunately, my friend Mr. Eugene Gates 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 accumulated for this work. Many
years ago, during my absence from Simla, a servant broke into my
museum 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
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 case of _Argya subrufa_, 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. Oates
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. Oates 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 considerably 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.

Rothney 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 absolutely the study of birds, the
valuable material he had taken such pains to accumulate for this
edition might be irretrievably 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, however, 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 respects to
the arrangement of my work on the Birds, which I am writing, side by
side, with this work. The classification I have elaborated for my
purpose is totally different to that employed by Jerdon and familiar
to Indian ornithologists; 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. OATES.




SYSTEMATIC INDEX.


Order PASSERES.

Family CORVIDAE.

Subfamily CORVINAE.

1. Corvus corax, _Linn._
3. ---- corone, _Linn._
4. ---- macrorhynchus, _Wagler_
7. ---- splendens, _Vieill_
8. ---- insulens, _Hume._
9. ---- monedula, _Linn._
10. Pica rustica (_Scop._)
12. Urocissa occipitalis (_Bl._)
13. ---- flaviostris (_Bl._)
14. Cissa chinensis (_Bodd._)
15. ---- ornata (_Wagler_)
16. Dendrocitta rufa (_Scop._)
17. ---- leucogastra, _Gould_
18. ---- himalayensis, _Bl._
21. Crypsirhina varians (_Lath._)
23. Platysmurus leucopterus (_Temm._)
24. Garrulous lanceolatus, _Vigors_
25. ---- leucotis, _Hume_
26. ---- bispecularis, _Vigors_
27. Nucifraga hemispila, _Vigors_
29. Graculus eremita (_Linn._)


Subfamily PARINAE.

31. Parus atriceps, _Horsf._
34. ---- monticola, _Vigors_
35. Aegithaliscus erythrocephalus _Vig._
41. Machlolophus spilonotus (_Bl._)
42. ---- xanthogenys _Vig._
43. ---- haplonotus (_Bl._)
44. Lophophanes melanolophus _Vig._
47. ---- rufinuchalis (_Bl._)


Subfamily PARADOXORNITHINAE.

50. Conostoma aemodium, _Hodgs._
60. Sea orhynchus ruticeps (_Bl._)
61. ---- gularis _Horsf._


Family CRATEROPODIDAE.

Subfamily CRATEROPODINAE.

62. Dryonastes ruticollis (J.S.S.)
65. ---- caerulatus (_Hodgs._)
69. Garrulax leucolophus (_Hardw._)
70. ---- belangeri, _Lesson_
72. ---- pectoralis (_Gould_)
73. ---- moniliger (_Hodgs._)
76. ---- albigularis _Gould_
78. Ianthocincla ocellata (_Vig._)
80. ---- rutigularis, _Gould_
82. Trochalopterum erythrocephalum (_Vig._)
83. ---- nigrimentum, _Hodgs._
87. ---- phaeniceum (_Gould_)
88. ---- subunicolor, _Hodgs._
90. ---- variegatum (_Vig._)
91. ---- simile, _Hume_
92. ---- squamatum (_Gould_)
93. ---- cachinnans (_Jerd._)
96. ---- fairbanki, _Blanf._
99. ---- lineatum (_Vig._)
101. Grammatoptila striata (_Vig._)
104. Argya earlii (_Bl._)
105. ---- caudata (_Duméril_)
107. ---- malcolmi (_Sykes_)
108. ---- subrufa (_Jerd._)
110. Crateropus canorus (_Linn._)
111. ---- griseus (_Gmel._)
112. Crateropus striatus (_Swains._)
113. ---- somervillii (_Sykes_)
114. ---- rufescens (_Bl._)
115. ---- cinereifrons (_Bl._)
116. Pomatorhinus schisticeps, _Hodgs._
118. ---- olivaceus, _Bl._
119. ---- melanurus, _Bl._
120. ---- horsfieldii, _Sykes_
122. ---- ferruginosus, _Bl._
125. ---- ruficollis, _Hodgs._
129. ---- erythrogenys, _Vig._
133. Xiphorhamphus superciliaris (_Blyth_)


Subfamily TIMELIINAE.

134. Timelia pileata, _Horsf_
135. Dumetia hyperythra (_Frankl._)
136. ---- albigularis (_Bl._)
139. Pyctorhis sinensis (_Gm._)
140. ---- nasalis, _Legge_
142. Pellorneum mandellii, _Blanf._
144. ---- ruficeps, _Swains_
145. ---- subochraceum, _Swinh_
147. ---- fuscicapillum (_Bl._)
149. Drymocataphus nigricapitatus (_Eyton_)
151. ---- tickelli (_Bl._)
160. ---- abbotti (_Bl._)
163. Alcippe nepalensis (_Hodgs._)
164. ---- phaeocephala (_Jerd._)
165. ---- phayrii, _Bl._
166. Rhopocichla atriceps (_Jerd._)
167. ---- nigrifrons (_Bl._)
169. Stachyrhis nigriceps, _Hodgs_
170.---- chrysaea, _Hodgs._
172. Stachyrhidopsis ruficeps(_Bl._)
174. ---- pyrrhops (_Hodgs._)
175. Cyanoderma erythropterum (_Bl._)
176. Mixornis rubricapillus (_Tick._)
177. ---- gularis (_Raffl._)
178. Schoeniparus dubius (_Hume_)
182. Sittiparus castaneiceps (_Hodgs._)
183. Proparus vinipectus (_Hodgs._)
184. Lioparus chrysaeus (_Hodgs._)


Subfamily BRACHYPTERYGINAE.

187. Myiophoneus temmincki, _Vig._
188. ---- eugenii, _Hume._
189. ---- horsfieldi, _Vig_
191. Larvivora brunnea, _Hodgs_
193. Brachypteryx albiventris (_Fairbank_)
194. ---- rufiventris (_Bl._)
197. Drymochares cruralis (_Bl._)
198. ---- nepalensis (_Hodgs._)
200. Elaphrornis palliseri (_Bl._)
201. Tesia cyaniventris, _Hodgs._
203. Oligura castaneicoronata (_Burt._)


Subfamily SIBIINAE.

203. Sibia picaoides, _Hodgs._
204. Lioptila capistrata (_Vig._)
205. ---- gracilis (_McClell._)
206. ---- melanoleuca (_Bl._)
211. Actinodura egertoni, _Gould_
213. Ixops nepalensis (_Hodgs._)
219. Siva strigula, _Hodgs._
221. ---- cyanuroptera, _Hodgs._
223. Yuhina gularis, _Hodgs._
225. ---- nigrimentum (_Hodgs._)
226. Zosterops palpebrosa (_Temm._)
229. ---- ceylonensis, _Holdsworth_
231. Ixulus occipitalis, (_Bl._)
232.---- flavicollis (_Hodgs._)

Subfamily LIOTRICHINAE.

235. Liothrix lutea (_Scop._)
237. Pteruthius erythropterus (_Vig._)
239. ---- melanotis, _Hodgs._
243. Aegithina tiphia (_Linn._)
246. Myzornis pyrrhura, _Hodgs._
252. Chloropsis jerdoni (_Bl._)
254. Irena puella (_Lath._)
257. Mesia argentauris, _Hodgs._
258. Minla igneitincta, _Hodgs._
260. Cephalopyrus flammiceps (_Burt._)
261. Psaroglossa spiloptera (_vig._)


Subfamily BRACHYPODINAE.

263. Criniger flaveolus (_Gould_)
269. Hypsipetes psaroides, _Vig._
271. ---- ganeesa, _Sykes_
275. Hemixus macclellandi (_Horsf._)
277. Alcurus striatus (_Bl._)
278. Molpastes haemorrhous (_Gm._)
279. ---- burmanicus (_Sharpe_)
281. ---- atricapillus (_Vieill._)
282. ---- bengalensis (_Bl._)
283. ---- intermedius (_A. Hay_)
284. ---- leucogenys (_Gr._)
285. ---- lencotis (_Gould_).
288. Otocompsa emeria (_Linn._)
289. ---- fuscicaudata, _Gould_
290. ---- flaviventris (_Tick._)
292. Spizixus canifrons, _Bl._
295. Iole icterica (_Strickl._)
299. Pycnonotus finlaysoni, _Strickl._
300. ---- davisoni (_Hume_)
301. ---- melanicterus (_Gm._)
305. ---- luteolus (_Less._)
306. ---- blanfordi, _Jerd._


Family SITTIDAE.

315. Sitta himalayensis, _J. & S._
316. ---- cinnamomeiventris, _Bl._
317. ---- neglecta, _Walden_
321. ---- castaneiventris, _Frankl._
323. ---- leucopsis, _Gould_
325. ---- frontalis, _Horsf._


Family DICRURIDAE.

327. Dicrurus ater (_Hermann_)
328. ---- longicaudatus, _A. Hay_
329. ---- nigrescens, _Oates_
330. ---- caerulescens (_Linn._)
331. ---- leucopygialis, _Bl._
334. Chaptia aenea (_Vieill._)
335. Chibia hottentotta (_Linn._)
338. Dissemurulus lophorhinus (_Vieill._)
339. Bhringa remifer (_Temm._)
340. Dissemurus paradiseus (_Linn._)


Family CERTHIIDAE.

341. Certhia himalayana, _Vig._
342. ---- hodgsoni, _Brooks_
347. Salpornis spilonota (_Frankl._)
352. Anorthura neglecta (_Brooks_)
355. Urocichla caudata (_Bl._)
350. Pnoepyga squamata (_Gould_)


Family REGULIDAE.

358. Regulus cristatus, _Koch._


Family SYLVIIDAE.

363. Acrocephalus stentoreus (_H. & E._)
366. ---- dumetorum, _Bl._
367. ---- agricola (_Jerd._)
371. Tribura thoracica (_Bl._)
372. ---- luteiventris, _Hodgs._
374. Orthotomus sutorius (_Forst._)
375. ---- atrigularis, _Temm._
380. Cisticola volitans (_Swinhoe_)
381. ---- cursitans (_Frankl._)
382. Franklinia gracilis (_Frankl._)
383. ---- rufescens (_Bl._)
384. ---- buchanani (_Bl._)
385. ---- cinereicapilla (_Hodgs._)
386. Laticilla burnesi (_Bl._)
388. Graminicola bengalensis, _Jerd._
389. Megalurus palustris, _Horsf._
390. Schoenicola platyura (_Jerd._)
391. Acanthoptila nepalensis (_Hodgs._)
392. Chaetornis locustelloides (_Bl._)
394. Hypolais rama (_Sykes_)
402. Sylvia affinis (_Bl._)
406. Phylloscopus tytleri, _Brooks_
410. ---- fuscatus (_Bl._)
415. ---- proregulus (_Pall._)
416. ---- subviridis (_Brooks_)
418. Phylloscopus humii (_Brooks_)
428. Acanthopneuste occipitalis (_Jerd._)
430. ---- davisoni, _Oates_
434. Cryptolopha xanthoschista (_Hodgs._)
435. ---- jerdoni (_Brooks_)
436. ---- poliogenys (_Bl._)
437. ---- castaneiceps (_Hodgs._)
438. ---- cantator (_Tick._)
440. Abrornis superciliaris, _Tick_
441. ---- schisticeps (_Hodgs._)
442. ---- albigularis _Hodgs._
445. Scotocerca inquieta (_Cretzschm._)
446. Neornis flavolivaceus (_Hodgs._)
448. Horornis fortipes _Hodgs._
450. ---- pallidus (_Brooks_)
451. ---- pallidipes (_Blanf._)
452. ---- major (_Hodgs._)
454. Phyllergates coronatus (_Jerd. $ Bl._)
455. Horeites brunneifrons, _Hodgs._
458. Suya crinigera, _Hodgs_
459. ---- atrigularis, _Moore_
460. ---- khasiana, _Godw.-Aust._
462. Prinia lepida, _Bl_
463. ---- flaviventris (_Deless_)
464. ----socialis, _Sykes_
465. ----sylvatica, _Jerd_
466. ----inornata, _Sykes_
467. ----jerdoni (_Bl._)
468. ----blanfordi (_Walden_)


Family LANIIDAE.

Subfamily LANIINAE.

469. Lanius lahtora (_Sykes_)
473. ---- vittatus, _Valenc_
475. ---- nigriceps (_Frankl._)
476. ---- erythronotus (_Vig._)
477. ---- tephronotus (_Vig_)
481. ---- cristatus, _Linn_
484. Hemipus picatus (_Sykes_)
485. ---- capitalis (_McClell._)
480. Tephrodornis pelvicus (_Hodgs_)
487. ---- sylvicola, _Jerd_
488. ---- pondicerianus (_Gm._)
490. Pericrocotus speciosus (_Lath._)
494. Pericrocotus flammeus (_Forst._)
495. ---- brevirostris (_Vigors_)
499. ---- roseus (_Vieill._)
500. ---- peregrinus (_Linn._)
501. ---- erythropygius (_Jerd._)
505. Campophaga melanoschista (_Hodgs._)
508. ---- sykesi (_Shield._)
509. ---- terat (_Bodd._)
510. Graucalus macii, _Lesson_


Subfamily ARTAMINAE.

512. Artamus fuscus, _Vieill_
513. ---- leucogaster (_Valenc._)


Family ORIOLIDAE.

518. Oriolus kundoo, _Sykes_
521. ---- melanocephalus, _Linn._
522. ---- traillii (_Vigors_)


Family EULABETIDAE.

523. Eulabes religiosa (_Linn._)
524. ---- intermedia (_A. Hay_)
526. ---- ptilogenys (_Bl._)
527. Calornis chalybeïus (_Horsf._)


Family STURNIDAE.

528. Pastor roseus (_Linn._)
529. Sturnus humii, _Brooks_
531. ---- minor, _Hume_
537. Sturnia blythii (_Jerd._)
538. ---- malabarica (_Gm._)
539. ---- nemoricola, _Jerd_
543. Ampeliceps coronatus, _Bl_
544. Temenuchus pagodarum (_Gm._)
546. Graculipica nigricollis (_Payk._)
549. Acridotheres tristis (_Linn._)
550. ---- melanosternus, _Legge_
551. ---- ginginianus (_Lath._)
552. Aethiopsar fuscus (_Wayl._)
555. Sturnopastor contra (_Linn._)
556. ---- superciliaris, _Bl_




ERRATA.


Page 103. _After_ Drymocataphus tickelli _insert_ (Blyth).

Page 126. _For_ Bhringa tenuirostris _read_ B. tectirostris.

Page 223. _For_ Pnoepyga albiventris (Hodgs.), _read_ Pnoepyga
squamata (Gould).

Page 311. _After_ Lanius vittatus _Insert_ Valene.


[Illustration: THOMAS CAVERHILL JERDON.]


[Illustration: BRIAN HOUGHTON HODGSON.]


[Illustration: SAMUEL RICHARD TICKELL.]






Order PASSERES. Family CORVIDAE. Subfamily CORVINAE.


1. Corvus corax, Linn. _The Raven_.

Corvus corax, _Linn., Jerd. B. Ind. ii_, p. 293.
Corvus lawrencii, _Hume_; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E_. no. 657.

I separated the Punjab Raven under the name of _Corvus lawrencei_
('Lahore to Yarkand,' p. 83), and I then stated, what I wish now to
repeat, that if we are prepared to consider _C. corax, C. littoralis,
C. thibetanus_, and _C. japonensis_ all as one and the same species,
then _C. lawrencei_ too must be suppressed; but if any of these are
retained as distinct, then so must _C. lawrencei_ be[A].

[Footnote A: I think it impossible to separate the Punjab Raven
from the Ravens of Europe and other parts of the world, and I have
therefore merged it into _C. corax_.--ED.]

The Punjab Raven 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
Sambhur. To Sindh it is merely a seasonal visitant, and 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 I 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 Rook'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 will not be found within a quarter of a mile of
each other.

Five 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 I 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
Raven'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 18 inches in diameter, and not more than 20 feet from the ground.
It contained five slightly incubated eggs, which the old birds evinced
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 attacking the man who ascended the tree to look at
the nest. After the eggs were gone, they sat themselves on a small
branch above 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 every
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 nidification
in the neighbourhood of Pind Dadan Khan and Katas in the Salt Range:--

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

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

Colonel C.H.T. Marshall, writing from Bhawulpoor on the 17th February,
says: "I succeeded yesterday in getting four eggs of the Punjab Raven.
The eggs were hard-set and very difficult to clean."

From Sambhur Mr. R.M. Adam tells us:--"This Raven is pretty common
during the cold weather, but pairs are seen about here throughout the
year. They are very fond of attaching themselves 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 leucophloea_) 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 Raven. 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.
Some 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
marking and shades of colouring are combined 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 _any_ 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
1·18 to 1·25.


3. Corvus corone, Linn. _The Carrion-Crow_.

Corvus corone, _Linn., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 295; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 659[A].

[Footnote A: Mr. Hume, at one time separated the Indian Carrion-Crow
from _Corvus corone_ under the name _C. pseudo-corone_. In his
'Catalogue' he re-unites them. I quite agree with him that the two
birds are inseparable.--ED.]

The only Indian eggs of the Carrion-Crow which I have seen, and one of
which, with the parent bird, I owe to Mr. Brooks, 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 only a
faint gloss.

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

Whether 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 Jungle-Crow_.

Corvus culminatus, _Sykes, Jerd. B, Ind._ ii, p. 295,
Corvus levaillantii; _Less., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 660.

The Jungle-Crow (under which head I include[A] _C. culminatus,_
Sykes, _C. intermedius_, Adams, _C. andamanensis_, 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.

[Footnote A: See 'Stray Feathers,' vol. ii. 1874, p. 243, and 'Lahore
to Yarkand,' p. 85.]

March to May is, I consider, the normal breeding-season; in the plains
the majority lay in April, rarely later, and in the hills 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, 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 hair, 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 number. 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 1·2 to 1·25 in breadth.
Colour green spotted with brown; valley generally. Nest 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
(_Noemorhaedus thar_) nearly destroyed by their depredations. The eggs
are three or four in number."

From 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--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. Four eggs much incubated.

"_Etawah, 14th 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 having a
tendency to form a feeble zone round 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 Rook, Hooded Crow,
Carrion-Crow, and Raven.

"_Bareilly, May 10th_.--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 writes:--

"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, however, 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 flabelliformis_) 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 vitae'
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 26th of April I found two
more nests, one containing four young birds just hatched, the other
three fresh eggs. On the 27th another nest containing three fresh
eggs, and on the 28th a nest of three fresh eggs. On the 5th May
two more nests containing four fresh and four incubated eggs
respectively."

"In the Nilghiris," writes Mr. Davison, "the Corby builds a coarse
nest of twigs, lined with cocoanut-fibre 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,
generally very high up in 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 Rook 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 them as if to prevent their getting into mischief. The nests
are found in April and May."

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

From Ceylon, we hear from Mr. Layard that "about the villages the
Carrion-Crow builds its nest in the cocoanut-trees. In the jungles
it selects a tall tree, amid the upper branches of which it fixes
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
18th December, 1877, I took two perfectly fresh eggs from it; and
again on the 9th January, 1878, I found two callow young in this same
nest, the birds never having deserted it. The lining used for this
nest was principally jute-fibre--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 others are quite exposed. On the 15th
January I found a nest about 15 feet up a small kudum 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 from 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 Raven, but they are, I think, typically
somewhat broader and shorter. Almost every variety, as far as
coloration goes, to be found amongst those of the Raven, are found
amongst the eggs of the present species, and _vice versâ_; 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.
macrorhynchus_ 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 _Oedicnemus 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 individual
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, Futtehgurh, 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. I 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 House-Crow_.

Corvus splendens, _Vieill. Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 298.
Corvus impudicus, _Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 663.

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

The breeding-season _par excellence_ is June and July, but occasional
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
tree as single ones. At times they will build in nooks of ruins
or large deserted buildings, where these are in well inhabited
localities, but out of many thousands I have only seen three or four
nests in such abnormal positions.

The nest is placed in some fork, and is usually a ragged stick
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." Four is the normal number
of eggs laid, but I often have found five, and on two 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 (_Eudynamys orientalis_), every
fourth or fifth nest that I found in some topes of mango-trees having
one or two of the Koel'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 numerous 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
February, if not earlier."

Mr. G.W. Vidal writes:--"The Common Crow appears to have two broods in
the year in our district (Ratnagiri), 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 Ratnagiri during the months of heaviest rainfall,
viz. July, August, and September. As their breeding in November and
December appears to be exceptional, I subjoin a record of the few
nests I examined.

  "Nov. 22, 1878. Ratnagiri:
   One nest with 3 young birds.
    "    "       1 fresh egg.

  "Nov. 23, 1878. Ratnagiri:
   One nest with 1 fresh egg.
    "    "       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 down again without reaching the nest. Crows with sticks and
feathers in their mouths 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 interesting
note:--"I send you an account of a nest of the Common Crow, found in
October, 1874, in the town 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 number 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, moreover, 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 structure 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
_débris_. At length, about the middle of September, the Crows
determined 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 _building_ in
September, may be imagined. The new site selected differed in no
respect from the old one, and was no less exposed to the wind; but the
birds had grown expert at building 'castles in the air,' and now met
with 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 wind 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 the first. The old birds thought it
time now to stop operations, and frequented the office no more.

"I am told by a gentleman in the 'Mail' office that the Crows have
built in that verandah regularly 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 which case I 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 world. I mentioned to you that they were said to build
in that unnatural place every year, and I said that I would 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 succeeded 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. Yesterday (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
afternoon. To-day they are continuing their work indefatigably."

Mr. J.E. Cripps has the following note in his list of birds of
Furreedpore, 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 in the
compound of the house in which I lived at Howrah, which were made
_entirely_ 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) was 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 what 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
above said of the Raven's eggs applies to those of this species, but
varieties occur amongst those of the latter which I have not observed
in those of the former. In some the ground is a very pale pure
bluish green, in others it is dingier and greener. All are blotched,
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,
well defined, and there is very little streaking, while in others the
brown is pale and muddy, the markings ill-defined, and nearly the
whole surface of the egg is freckled over with smudgy streaks.
Sometimes the markings are most numerous at the large end, sometimes
at the small; no two eggs are exactly alike, and yet they have so
strong a family resemblance that there is no possibility of mistaking
them. Generally the markings as a whole are less bold, and the general
colour of a large body of them laid together is bluer and brighter
than that of a similar drawer-full of Ravens' eggs. As a whole, too,
they are more glossy. I have one egg before me bright blue and almost
as glossy as a Mynah's, thickly blotched and speckled at the broad
end, and thinly spotted elsewhere with olive-green, blackish-brown,
and pale purple. Another egg, a pale pure blue, is spotless, except
at the large end, where there is a conspicuous cap of olive-brown and
olive-green spots and speckles, and there are numerous other abnormal
varieties which I have not observed amongst the Ravens.

On the whole the eggs do _not_ vary much in size; out of one hundred
and ninety-seven, one hundred and ninety-five varied between 1·28 and
1·65 in length, and 0·98 and 1·15 in breadth. One egg measures only
1·2 in length, and one is only 0·96 in breadth; but the average of the
whole is 1·44 by 1·06.


8. Corvus insolens, Hume. _The Burmese House-Crow_.

Corvus insolens; _Hume; Hume, Cat._ no. 663 bis.

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

Mr. Oates, writing from Pegu, says:--"Nesting operations are
commenced about the 20th March. The nest and eggs require no
separate description, for both appear to be similar to those of _C.
splendens_."

When large series of the eggs of both these species are compared,
those of the Burmese Crow strike one as _averaging_ somewhat brighter
coloured, otherwise they are precisely alike and need no separate
description.


9. Corvus monedula, Linn. _The Jackdaw_.

Colaeus monedula (_Linn._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 302.
Corvus monedula, _Linn., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 665.

I only know positively of Jackdaws breeding in one district within our
limits, viz. Cashmere; but I have seen it in the hills in summer, as
far east as the Valley of the Beas, and it must breed everywhere in
suitable localities between the two.

In the cold season of course the Jackdaw descends into the plains of
the North-west Punjaub, is very numerous near the foot of the hills,
and has been found in cis-Indus as far east as Umballa, and south at
Ferozpoor, Jhelum, and Kalabagh. In Trans-Indus it extends unto the
Dehra Ghazi Khan district.

I have never taken its eggs myself.

Mr. W. Theobald makes the following remarks on its nidification in the
Valley of Cashmere:--

"Lays in the first 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 brownish 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 bluish green, clotted 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."

The eggs of this species are typically rather elongated ovals,
somewhat compressed towards one end. The shell is fine, 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 bright green. The markings, sometimes very fine and close,
sometimes rather bold and thinly set, consist of specks or spots of
deep blackish brown, olive-brown, and pale 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 towards the large end, in others they are
pretty uniformly distributed over the whole surface; in some they are
very minute and speckly, in others they average the tenth of an inch
in diameter.

The eggs that I possess vary from 1·34 to 1·52 in length, and from
0·93 to 1·02 in breadth; but the average of sixteen eggs was 1·4 by
0·98.


10. Pica rustica (Scop.). _The Magpie_.

Pica bactriana, _Bp., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E_, no. 668 bis.

The Magpie breeds, we know, in Afghanistan, and also throughout Ladak
from the Zojee-la Pass right up to the Pangong Lake, but it breeds so
early that one is never in time for the eggs. The passes are not open
until long after they are hatched.

Captain Hutton says this bird "is found all the year round from
Quettah to Girishk, and is very common. They breed in March, and the
young are fledged by the end of April. The nest is like that of the
European bird, and all the manners of the Afghan Magpie 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
which 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 shallow and cup-shaped, with a superstructure of twigs,
forming a canopy over the egg-cavity. The eggs, generally five in
number, are of the usual corvine green, blotched, spotted, and
streaked, as a rule, 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 he 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 occasionally
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
elsewhere when the egg is closely examined.


12. Urocissa occipitalis (Bl.). _The Red-billed Blue Magpie_.

Urocissa sinensis (_Linn._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 309.
Urocissa occipitalis (_Bl_.), _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E_. no. 671.

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

From Mussoorie Captain Hutton 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 externally 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 speckled with brown dashes
confluent at the 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 Red-billed Blue Magpie is, as far as I know, an early breeder at
Naini Tal; common as the bird is I have only found one nest and that
on the 24th April; it was a shallow slenderly built structure of fine
roots, chiefly of maiden-hair fern, in a rough outer casing of twigs,
placed on a horizontal bough overhanging a nullah about fifteen feet
from the ground. The tree had moderately dense foliage, and was about
twenty-five feet high in a small clump on a hillside covered with low
scrub at 5000 feet elevation above the sea. Around the nest several
small boughs and twigs grew out, and being very slight in structure it
was not easy to see. The old bird sat very close. There were six eggs
in the nest about half-incubated: in two of them the markings were
densest at the small end. The egg-cavity was 6 inches in diameter by
about 1¼ deep. On the 5th June I 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 _café au lait_ 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 in
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. magnirostris_, says:--

"This species I have only found common in the Thoungyeen 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 Meeawuddy 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
clashes and spots rather washed-out looking, and lying chiefly at the
large end. One egg has the spots thicker at the small end. They are
moderately broad ovals, and vary from 1·19 to 1·35 in length, and from
0·93 to 1·08 in breadth.

"The nests were all alike, thick solid structures of twigs and
branches, lined with finer twigs about 8 or 9 inches in diameter,
and placed invariably at the top of tall straight saplings of teak,
pynkado (_Xylia dolabriformis_), 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 of 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 speckly character. The markings are of two colours: brown, varying
in shade in different eggs, olive-yellowish, 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.). _The Yellow-billed Blue Magpie_.

Urocissa flavirostris (_Bl.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 310; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 672.

The Yellow-billed Blue Magpie breeds throughout the lower ranges of
the Himalayas 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 have never found a nest at a lower elevation than about 5000 feet;
as a rule 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 Yellow-billed Blue Magpie breeds
commonly about Murree. I have never seen the bird below 6000 feet in
the breeding-season. They do not commence laying till May, and I have
taken eggs nearly fresh 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 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 0·9 to 0·75. The ordinary type is an egg a good
deal pointed at the thinner end. The ground-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 Dhurmsala,
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 the 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. They generally
lay four eggs, which differ much in colour and markings."

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
greenish-fawn colour very faintly blotched with brown."

The eggs are of the ordinary Indian Magpie type, scarcely, if at all,
smaller than those of _U. occipitalis_, and larger than the average of
eggs of either _Dendrocitta rufa_ or _D. himalayensis_. 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 specks of the same colour scattered about the rest of the
egg. All kinds of intermediate varieties occur. The texture of the
shell is fine and compact, and the eggs are mostly more or less
glossy.

The 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.). _The Green Magpie_.

Cissa sinensis (_Briss._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 312.
Cissa speciosa (_Shaw_), _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 673.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes the Green Magpie breeds 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 and 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. Oates writes:--"In the Pegu Hills on the 19th April I found the
nest of the Green Magpie, and shot the female off 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
with finer fibres and roots; depth about 2 inches; inside diameter 6
inches. Contained three eggs nearly hatched; all got broken; I have
the fragments of one. The ground-colour is greenish white, much
spotted and freckled 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. Oates, had
a dull white ground, very thickly freckled and mottled all over, as
far as I 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:--"On the 18th 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 and 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 Thoungyeen, by
the highroad leading from Meeawuddy to the sources of the Thoungyeen,
I 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 with fine black roots. It contained three
fresh eggs of a dingy greyish white, thickly speckled chiefly at the
large end, where it forms a cap, with light purplish brown. The eggs
measure 1·25 x 0·89, 1·18 x 0·92, and 1·20 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
young 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 Yendong in Native Sikhim, on the
28th 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 6, and about 2·5 in depth,
composed mainly of dry bamboo-leaves, bound firmly together with fine
stems of creepers, and was lined with moderately fine roots; the
cavity was 5 inches by 4, and about 1 in depth.

The eggs received from Major Bingham, as also others received from
Sikhim, where they were procured by Mr. Mandelli on the 21st and 28th
of April, are rather broad ovals, somewhat pointed towards the small
end. The shell is fine, but has only a little gloss. The ground-colour
is white or slightly greyish white, and they are uniformly 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 eggs the markings are
everywhere denser, in some sparser, so that some eggs look yellower or
browner, and others paler.

The eggs are altogether of the _Garruline_ type, not of that of the
_Dendrocitta_ or _Urocissa_ type. I have eggs of _G. lanceolatus_,
that but for being smaller precisely match some of the _Cissa_ eggs.
Jerdon is, I think, certainly wrong in placing _Cissa_ between
_Urocissa_ and _Dendrocitta_, the eggs of which two last are of the
same and quite a distinct type[A].

[Footnote A: I am responsible, and not Mr. Hume, for calling this bird
a Magpie. Jerdon calls it a Jay, but places it among the Magpies,
which is, I consider, its proper position, notwithstanding the colour
of its eggs.--ED.]

The eggs vary from 1·15 to 1·26 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 Ceylonese Magpie_.

Cissa ornata (_Wagl._), _Hume, Cat._ no. 673 bis.

Colonel Legge writes in his 'Birds of Ceylon':--"This bird breeds
during the cool season. I found its nest in the Kandapolla 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 2½ in depth, made entirely of fine roots;
there was but one egg in the nest, which unfortunately 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 _about_ 1·3 in length."


16. Dendrocitta rufa (Scop.). _The Indian Tree-pie_.

Dendrocitta rufa (_Scop._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 314; _Hume, Rough
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 personally have found the nest with eggs in May, June, July,
and during the first week of August, in various districts in the
North-West 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 whether in other parts of India
and Burma its breeding-season is the same as with us.

The nest is always placed in trees, generally in a fork, near the top
of good large ones; babool and mango are very commonly chosen in the
North-West Provinces, though I have also found it on neem 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 1½ inch in depth. It was composed
_exclusively_ of roots; externally somewhat coarse, internally of
somewhat finer ones. It was very loosely put together."

Five 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 neighbourhood of
Hansie.

"Four 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 6 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 February. Their
eggs are of two very distinct types,--the one which, according 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 brown_ 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,
I made the following note relative to the breeding 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
_babool_ twigs or rather small branches (some of them having thorns
from an inch to 2 inches long!) having been used as a foundation, and
actually encircling the nest, no doubt by way of protection against
vermin; some of these thorny twigs were 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
measurement; it is well lined with khus grass."

Major 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 Rough Draft of 'Nests and
Eggs,' p. 422."

Lieut. H.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. Vidal, writing of the South Konkan, says:--"Common about all
well-wooded villages from coast to Ghâts. Breeds in April."

With 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 Raven, 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 confluent 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, or they are streaky smudges
forming a mottled ill-defined cap at the large end, and running down
thence in streaks and spots longitudinally; in the other type the
ground-colour is greenish white or pale yellowish stone-colour, and
the character of the markings varies as in the preceding type. Besides
these there are a few eggs with a dingy greyish-white ground, with
very faint, cloudy, ill-defined spots of pale yellowish brown pretty
uniformly distributed over the whole surface. In nine eggs out of
ten, the markings are most dense at the large end, where 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 longicaudatus_ and some of our Goatsuckers, while of
those with the greenish-white ground-colour some strongly recall the
eggs of _Lanius lahtora_.

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


17. Dendrocitta leucogastra, Gould. _The Southern Tree-pie_.

Dendrocitta leucogastra, _Gould, Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 317; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 678.

From Travancore Mr. Bourdillon has kindly sent me an egg and 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 bush 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 consisted of a large platform 6 inches deep
and 8 or 10 inches broad, supporting a nest 1½ inch deep and 3½ inches
broad. The bird is not at all uncommon 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 containing
three half-fledged Magpies (_D. leucogastra_). The nest was entirely
composed of twigs, roughly but securely put together; interior
diameter 3 inches and depth 2 inches, though there was a good-sized
base or platform, say, 5 inches in diameter. The nest was situated on
the top fork of a sapling about 12 feet from the ground. I tried to
rear the young birds, but they all died within a week."

The egg is very like that of our other Indian Tree-pies. It is in
shape a broad and regular oval, only slightly compressed towards one
end. The shell is fine and compact and is moderately glossy. The
ground is a creamy stone-colour. It is profusely blotched and streaked
with a somewhat pale yellowish brown, these markings being most
numerous and darkest in a broad, irregular, imperfect zone round the
large end, and it exhibits further a number of pale inky-purple clouds
and blotches, which seem to underlie the brown markings, and which are
chiefly confined to the broader half of the egg. The latter measures
1·13 by 0·86.


18. Dendrocitta himalayensis, Bl. _The Himalayan Tree-pie_.

Dendrocitta sinensis (_Lath._) _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 316.
Dendrocitta himalayensis, _Bl., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 676.

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

It breeds, 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, composed entirely of fine
stems, apparently of some kind of creeper, strongly but not at all
compactly interwoven; in fact, though the nest holds together firmly,
you can see through it everywhere. It is about 6 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 very 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 Darjeeling 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 intermixed 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 chestnuts, 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 large quantities of the grain and being
held in detestation by the natives in consequence. Jerdon says 'it
usually 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 18th_.--Nest, two eggs and two young; nest on the
fork of a small tree, saucer-shaped, made of slender twigs twisted
circularly and without lining; cavity 3·5 in diameter by 0·5 deep;
eggs yellowish, white, blotched with pale olive chiefly at the larger
end; young just born.

"_Jaha Powah, 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 in number, are of a pale dull greenish-fawn
colour, with a few pale reddish-brown spots and blotches, sometimes
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 mountains
for the Dhoon.

"It breeds in May, on the 27th of which month I took a nest with three
eggs and another with three young ones. The nest is like that of
_Urocissa occipitalis_, being composed externally of twigs and lined
with finer materials, according to the situation; one nest, taken in
a deep glen by the side of a stream, was lined with the long fibrous
leaves of the Mare's tail (_Equisetum_) which grew abundantly 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.R. Cripps says:--"On the 15th June, 1880, I found a nest [in the
Dibrugarh 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, presenting a fragile appearance; the
egg-cavity was 4½ inches [in diameter] and 1 inch deep, and lined with
fine twigs and grass-roots."

Captain Wardlaw Ramsay 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."

Taking the eggs as a body they are rather regular, somewhat 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-brown tinge, in some
it is creamy, in some it has a decided pinky tinge. The markings are
large irregular blotches and streaks, almost always most dense at the
large end, where they are often more or less confluent, forming an
irregular mottled cap, and not unfrequently very thinly set over the
rest of the surface of the egg. In one egg, however, the zone is about
the thick end, and there are scarcely any markings elsewhere. As a
rule the markings are of an olive-brown of one shade or another; but
when the ground is at all pinkish then the markings are more or less
of a reddish brown. Besides these primary markings, all the eggs
exhibit a greater or smaller number of faint lilac or purple spots or
blotches, which chiefly occur where the other markings are most dense.
In length they 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. Crypsirhina varians (Lath.). _The Black Racket-tailed Magpie_.

Crypsirhina varians (_Lath._), _Hume, Cat._ no. 678 quat.

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

"This bird appears to lay from the 1st of June to the 15th 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 exterior
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 1½ inches.

"The eggs are usually three in number, but occasionally only two well
incubated eggs may be found. In a nest 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 ·76 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 intermediate between
those of _Dendrocitta_ and those of _Garrulus_, 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 appearance 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 leave a good deal of the ground-colour visible.


23. Platysmurus leucopterus (Temm.). _The White-winged Jay_.

Platysmurus leucopterus (_Temm._), _Hume, Cat._ no. 678 quint.

Mr. W. Davison writes:--

"I found a nest of this bird on the 8th of April 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 irregularly
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 placed about 6 feet from the ground. The surrounding
jungle was moderately thick, with a good deal of undergrowth."


24. Garrulus lanceolatus, Vigors. _The Black-throated Jay_.

Garrulus lanceolatus, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 308; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 670.

The Black-throated Jay breeds throughout the Himalayas, at elevations
of from 4000 to 8000 feet, from the Valley of Nepal 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.H.T. Marshall writes:--"This is one of the commonest 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 April
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 construction; from 15 to 30 feet up a medium-sized tree
close to the trunk or sometimes in a large fork. They never seem to
build in the spruce firs which abound about Murree. They are by no
means shy birds, and hop about the trees close by while their nest is
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 shade of the same colour. Some
lack the odd ink-scratch which 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 _Garrulus bispecularis_ and _Urocissa flavirostris_.
Pairs off about the end of April, when 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-shaped. Eggs number from four to five and vary
in shape. I have found them sometimes nearly round, but more generally
the usual shape. They vary in their colour, too, some being much
lighter than others, but most of them have a few hair-like streaks on
the larger end."

From Mussoorie Captain Hutton tells us that "the Black-throated Jay
breeds in May and June, placing the nest sometimes on the branch of a
tall oak tree (_Quercus incana_), 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 4½ inches in diameter. 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 containing three hard-set eggs was
placed conspicuously on the top of a young oak sapling about 7 feet
high, standing alone in an open 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 ground 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-sized
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 6 inches. They
lay three or four eggs of a sordid vernal green clouded with obscure
brown."

The eggs are somewhat lengthened ovals, very much smaller than, though
so far as coloration goes very similar to, those of _G. glandarius_.
The ground-colour in some is a brown stone colour, in others pale
greenish white, 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 distinct, 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, Hume, Cat._ no. 669 bis.

The nest of this Jay has not yet been found, but Capt. Bingham
writes:--

"Like Mr. Davison I have found this very handsome Jay affecting only
the dry _Dillenia_ and pine-forests so common in the Thoungyeen
valley. I have seen it feeding on the ground in such places with
_Gecinus nigrigenys, Upupa longirostris_, 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."


26. Garrulus bispecularis, Vigors. _The Himalayan Jay_.

Garrulus bispecularis, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 307; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 669.

The Himalayan Jay breeds pretty well throughout the lower ranges of
the Himalayas. 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 nest myself, I have now
repeatedly had it sent me. It builds at moderate heights, rarely above
25 feet from the ground, in trees or thick shrubs, at elevations of
from 3000 to 7000 feet. The nest is a moderate-sized one, 6 to 8
inches in external diameter, composed of fine twigs 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. Hodgson notes that he "found a nest" of this species "on the 20th
April, in the forest of Shewpoori, 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 and compact. It was composed of
long seeding grasses wound round and round, and lined with finer
and more elastic grass-stems. The nest measured about 6½ inches in
diameter, but the cavity was only about half an inch deep."

Colonel C.H.T. Marshall remarks:--"I only took one authenticated set
of eggs of this species (I found several with young), as it is an
early breeder--I say authenticated eggs, because I _think_ we may have
attributed some to _Garrulus lanceolatus_, 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 verifying 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 twigs and fibres, and contained five
partially incubated eggs.

"The eggs are similar to those of _G. lanceolatus_. I have carefully
compared the five of the species which I am now describing with twenty
of the other, and find that the following differences exist. The egg
of _G. bispecularis_ 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 difference would be its
greater breadth, which makes the egg look larger than that of the
Black-throated Jay. My four eggs measure 1·15 by 0·85 each.

"This species only breeds once in a year, and from my observations
lays in April, all the young being hatched by the 15th May. Captain
Cock and myself carefully hunted up all the forests round Murree,
where the birds were constantly to be seen, commencing our work after
the 10th May, and we found nothing but young ones."

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 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 _G. lanceolatus_, 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 2nd June; it contained three eggs
just so much incubated that it is probable no more would be laid; this
nest was much neater in construction and better concealed than the
former one; it was in a rhododendron 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 were at about 7000 feet elevation, 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. lanceolatus_, 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 _G. lanceolatus_.

In length the eggs that I have measured varied from 1·1 to 1·21, and
in breadth they only varied from 0·84 to 0·87.


27. Nucifraga hemispila, Vigors. _The Himalayan Nutcracker_.

Nucifraga hemispila, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 304; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 666.

The Himalayan Nutcracker is _very_ common 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 denuded for potatoe cultivation), situated on a
steeply sloping hill facing the south, at an elevation of about 6500
feet. The nest was about 50 feet from the ground, and placed on _two_
side branches just where, about 6 inches apart, they shot out of the
trunk. The nest was just like a Crow's--a broad platform 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 longifolia_) 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 the
neighbouring trees, when my man with much difficulty got up to the
nest.


29. Graculus eremita (Linn.). _The Red-billed Chough_.

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 very 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 1·74 by 1·2.




Subfamily PARINAE.


31. Parus atriceps, Horsf. _The Indian Grey Tit_.

Parus cinereus, _Vieill, Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 278.
Parus caesius, _Tick., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 645.

The Indian Grey Tit breeds throughout the more wooded mountains 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 _probably_ a
second time in September or October.

The nests are placed in holes in banks, in walls of buildings or
of terraced 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 Woodpeckers.

Occasionally it builds _on_ a branch of a tree, and my friend Sir 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 depression 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 downy fur constitute the chief material, and
this is picked out by the birds, I believe, from the dung of the
various cats, polecats, and ferrets so common in all our hills.

I have never found more than six eggs, 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 in holes in
terrace-walls. It was composed of grass-roots and feathers, and
contained in each case nearly fully-grown young, five in number."

From Dhurmsala Captain Cock wrote:--"_Parus cinereus_ 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 wall and could hear the young ones
chirrupping. The nest was found in the early part of May 1869."

Colonel Butler writes:--"Belgaum, 12th June, 1879. A nest built in
a hollow bamboo which supported the roof of a house in the native
infantry lines. I did not see the nest myself, as unfortunately 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 who caught her, and
I saw at once, by the bare breast, that she had 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 in a hole of a tree about 7 feet
from the ground, containing five fresh eggs. The nest consisted 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."

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 incubated eggs, white, with light
red blotches, forming a zone at the larger end. They measured ·69 by
·48."

Mr. Benjamin Aitken 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 hole 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 _Megaloema 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 sometimes in
stone walls. 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 scream, saying a 'snake had bit him.' I told him
to try again, but with no better success; he would 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 months of February and
March; 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 the bank. The poor
parent birds appeared to be perfectly aware that their nest would soon
be reached, 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 then the parents seemed
to be immediately conscious of its safety."

Mr. H.R.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, Jun., says:--"I have found 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, generally 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 inches 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 (_Lepus nigricollis_), mixed with feathers, and contained six
eggs, white spotted with rusty red."

The eggs resemble in their general character those of many of our
English Tits, and though, I think, typically slightly longer, they
appear to me to be very close to those of _Parus palustris_. 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. Spots 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 numerous 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 body_, a shade shorter and
decidedly broader than those of _P. monticola_.


34. Parus monticola, Vig. _The Green-backed Tit_.

Parus monticolus, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 277; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 644.

The Green-backed Tit breeds through the Himalayas, at elevations of
from 4000 to 7000 or 8000 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 June. 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 May in holes in walls and trees, laying white eggs covered
with red spots."

Speaking of a nest he took at Dhurmsala, Captain Cock says:--

"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. Gammie 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 atriceps_; 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 almost
entirely 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-, slightly purplish-, or
brownish-red, as the case may be. The markings 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 0·76 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. Aegithaliscus erythrocephalus (Vig.). _Red-headed Tit_.

Aegithaliscus erythrocephalus (_Vig._) _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 270;
_Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 634.

The Red-headed Tit breeds throughout the Himalayas from Murree to
Bhootan, at elevations of from 6000 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. _I 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 4½ inches in height or length, and about 3½ inches in diameter.
The aperture is on one side near the top. The egg-cavity, which may
average about 2¼ 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 obsolete brown spots at
the larger end. Size 0·55 by 0·43. Lays in May."

Captain Hutton tells us that the Red-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 tinge, and sparingly sprinkled with lilac spots or
specks, and having a well-defined 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 Nynee 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 ground, the entrance turned
inwards towards the trunk of the tree. It contained 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 caterpillar to the
same stump and come away shortly without it; so I looked more
closely and found the nest, containing nearly full-fledged young, so
beautifully wedged into the stump that it appeared to be part of it,
and nothing but the tiny circular entrance revealed that the nest was
there. It was the best-concealed nest for that style of position that
I have 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, composed of multitudes of minute
spots almost confluent, and interspaced 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 0·53 to 0·58
in length, and from 0·43 to 0·46 in breadth; but the average of
twenty-five is 0·56 nearly by 0·45 nearly.


41. Machlolophus spilonotus (Bl.). _The Blade-spotted Yellow 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.


42. Machlolophus xanthogenys (Vig.). _The Yellow-cheeked Tit_.

Machlolophus xanthogenys (_Vig._) _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 279; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 647.

The Yellow-cheeked Tit is one of the commonest birds in the
neighbourhood of Simla, yet curiously enough I have never found a
nest.

I have had eggs and nest sent me, and I know it breeds throughout 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 boles in trees and
walls; but I can give no further particulars.

Captain Hutton tells us that it is "common in the hills throughout
the year. It breeds in April, in which month a nest containing
four fledged young ones was found at 5000 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 I 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 cavity in a tree,
usually the hill-oak, and makes a nest of wool and fur at the bottom
of the cavity, upon which 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, I found
contained hard-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. monticola, Machlolophus
xanthogenys, Abrornis albisuperciliaris_, 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.


43. Machlolophus haplonotus (Bl.). _The Southern Yellow Tit_.

_Machlolophus jerdoni (Bl.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 280.

Col. E.A. Butler writes:--"Belgaum, 12th Sept., 1879.--Found a nest of
the Southern Yellow Tit in a hole of a small tree about 10 feet from
the ground. My attention was first attracted to it by seeing the
hen-bird with her wings spread and feathers erect angrily mobbing a
palm-squirrel that had incautiously ascended the tree, and thinking
there must be a nest close by, I watched the sequel, and in a few
seconds the squirrel descended the tree and the Tit disappeared 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 ¾ 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 week old, was very massively built, and completely
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. Next 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 flying to and from the nest in company,
the hen carrying 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 I 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 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 off:
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 fresh 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
horsehairs 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.
atriceps_, 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 throughout the
district of Western Kandeish. I saw a pair building in the hole of a
large mango tree at Malpur in Pimpalnir in the end of May."


44. Lophophanes melanolophus (Vig.). _The Crested Black Tit_.

Lophophanes melanolophus (_Vig._) _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 273: _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 638.

The Crested Black Tit breeds throughout the Lower Himalayas west 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 generally two
different kinds of work--the working up of the true nests 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 the 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. Now 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 fully 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick,
comparatively loosely and coarsely massed together; and you 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, 1866, I 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 contained seven young
ones, and was large in proportion. The outside 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 nest 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
elevation, built in holes in walls, the entrance in both cases being
very small, having nothing to distinguish it from other tiny crevices,
and nothing to lead any one to suppose that there was a nest inside.
It was only by seeing the parent birds go in that the nest was
discovered."

The eggs of this species are moderately broad ovals, with a very
slight gloss. The ground-colour is a slightly pinkish white, and they
are richly blotched and spotted, and more or less speckled (chiefly
towards the larger end), with bright, 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, but the amount of the markings varies much in different
eggs. In some, although they are thicker in the zone, 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 marking. The ordinary
dimensions are about 0·61 by 0·47, but in a large series they vary in
length from 0·57 to 0·72, and in breadth from 0·43 to 0·54. The
very large eggs, however, indicated by these _maxima_ are rare and
abnormal.


47. Lophophanes rufinuchalis (Bl.). _The Simla Black Tit_.

Lophophanes rufinuchalis (_Bl.). Jerd. B. Ind._ ii. p. 274.

Mr. Brooks informs us that this Tit is common at Derali and other
places of similar 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 Ramsay, writing in the 'Ibis,' states that
this Tit was breeding in Afghanistan in May.




Subfamily PARADOXORNITHINAE.


50. Conostoma aemodium, Hodgs. _The Red-billed Crow-Tit_.

Conostoma aemodium. _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 10; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 381.

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

The nest is a very regular and perfect hemisphere, both externally 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 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 green. It is the most
perfectly hemispherical nest I 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 compressed
towards the smaller end. The shell is fine and thin, and has only a
faint gloss. The ground-colour is a dull white, and it is sparsely
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 Native
Sikhim, 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 owing 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. Scaeorhynchus ruficeps (Bl.). _The Larger Red-headed Crow-Tit_.

Paradoxornis ruficeps, _Bl., Jerd. B. Ind._ 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 in your Rough Draft of
'Nests and Eggs.' It was seated among, and fastened to, the spray of
a bamboo near its top, and is a deep, compactly built cap, 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 secondhand 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 I 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
_Gampsorhynchus rufulus_. Rather curious that the two Red-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. Scaeorhynchus gularis (Horsf.). _The Hoary-headed Crow-Tit_.

Paradoxornis gularis, _Horsf., Jerd. B. Ind._ 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 Sikhim 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 Sikhim on the 17th May, are very
regular ovals, scarcely at all pointed towards the lesser end. The
ground-colour is creamy white, and the markings consist 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.




Family CRATEROPODIDAE.

Subfamily CRATEROPODINAE.


62. Dryonastes ruficollis (J. & S.) _The Rufous-necked
Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax ruticollis (_J. & S.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 38; _Hume, Rough
Draft N.& E._ no. 410.

Of the Rufous-necked Laughing-Thrush, Mr. Blyth remarks:--"Mr. Hodgson
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
caerulatus_, only they were a little smaller. One nest had three young
ones, the other three very 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 been 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.
Mandelli 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 distinguishable at once from those of all the
other species of this group with which I am acquainted. Just as the
egg of _Garrulax albigularis_ 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, and has a very
fine gloss; they may be said to be almost white with a delicate
bluish-green tinge. In length they vary from 0·95 to 1·1, in breadth
from 0·6 to 0·83; but the average of forty-one eggs is 1·02 by 0·75.


65. Dryonastes caerulatus (Hodgs.). _The Grey-sided
Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax caerulatus (_Hodgs._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 36; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 408.

A nest of the Grey-sided Laughing-Thrush found by Mr. Gammie on the
17th June near Darjeeling, below Rishap, at an elevation 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 2¾ inches in
depth. Externally it was entirely composed of very broad flag-like
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 Sikhim
in May and Jane. I 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-fibres. One I measured was 5 inches in diameter by 2·5 in height
exteriorly; the cavity was 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."

Dr. 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 Sikhim in July, was placed in
the fork of four leafy twigs, and was in shape a slightly truncated
inverted cone, nearly 7 inches in height and 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 creepers, several of which were wound
round the living 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 creeper's stems in the body of the nest. The cavity, which is
almost perfectly hemispherical, only rather deeper, is 3·5 inches in
diameter and 2·25 in depth, and is entirely and very neatly lined with
very fine black roots. Another nest, which was taken at Rishap on the
21st May, with two fresh eggs, was placed in some small bamboos at a
height of about 10 feet from the ground, it is composed externally
entirely of dry bamboo-leaves, loosely tied together by a few creepers
and a little vegetable fibre, and it is lined pretty thickly with fine
black fibrous roots. This nest is about 6 inches in diameter and 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 0·76 to 0·86; but the average of thirty-five eggs is 1·18
nearly by 0·82 nearly.


69. Garrulax leucolophus (Hardw.). _The Himalayan White-crested
Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax leucolophus (_Hardw.), Jerd. B, Ind._ ii, p. 35; _Hume. Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 407.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes, the Himalayan White-crested
Laughing-Thrush breeds at various elevations in Sikhim and Nepal, 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 figured 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 clamp of
shoots, or between a number of slender twigs, 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 Darjeeling, the former being a large mass of roots, moss,
and grass, with a few pure white eggs."

One nest taken in July at Darjeeling 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 lined
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 Laughing-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, within 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
they 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 have now been sent me, taken 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 in 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 belangeri, _Less., Hume, Cat._ no. 407 bis.

Mr. Oates, 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 3½ inches. Total depth 3½ 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, while 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 C.T. Bingham thus writes of this bird:--"It is very difficult
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. At last, on the 2nd
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 were 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 _Garrulax_ 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
performance 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 _Garrulax
moniliger_, constructed of twigs, and finely lined with black
hair-like roots; it measured some 6 inches in diameter, the egg-cavity
about 1½ inch deep. Subsequently I took three other nests, on the 4th
April and 23rd May. 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 (Gould). _The Black-gorgeted
Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax pectoralis (_Gould), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 39; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 412.

Mr. Oates 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 outwardly of dead
bamboo-leaves and coarse roots, lined with finer roots and a few
feathers; inside diameter 6 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. Oates[A] seems rather small for the
bird. It is a very broad, slightly pyriform oval, of a uniform pale
greenish-blue tint, and very fairly glossy. It measures 1·05 by 0·87.

[Footnote A: 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.]

This egg appears to me to be an abnormally small one. A nest sent me
from Sikhim, where it was found in July, contained much larger eggs,
and more in proportion to the size of the bird. The nest 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 herbaceous 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 was placed in a small tree in heavy jungle, at
a height of about 6 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 composed 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 with rather
coarse rootlets, and in one case with fine twigs.

73. Garrulax moniliger (Hodgs.). _The Necklaced Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax moniliger (_Hodgs.) Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 40; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 413.

Of the Necklaced Laughing-Thrush Dr. Jerdon says:--"I procured both
this and the last (the Black-gorgeted Laughing-Thrush) at Darjeeling,
and have also seen one or both in Sylhet, Cachar, and Upper Burmah.
They both associate in large flocks, and frequent more open forest
than most of the previous species. The eggs are greenish blue."

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes:--"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 week later.
I then saw the female, but in the interval the young had been hatched.
The nest closely resembled that of _D. caerulatus_ [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. caerulatus_ generally builds.

"I have found this species breeding from April to June, up to
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 respect closely resembled that of
_G. pectoralis_."

He subsequently remarked:--"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 4¼ 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. Gammie, 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 precisely the same
colour as those of the preceding species, but measures only 1·2 in
length by 0·9 in breadth.

Writing from Tenasserim, Major C.T. Bingham says:--"Between 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.


76. Garrulax albigularis (Gould). _The White-throated
Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax albogularis (_Gould), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p, 38; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 411.

The White-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 unlined, 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 3 to 10 feet, sometimes in forks, but more often,
I think, on low horizontal branches, between two 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. I 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 April and May, placing the nest in the forks of
young oaks and other trees, about 7 or 8 feet from the ground,
though sometimes higher, and fastening the sides of it firmly to the
supporting twigs by tendrils of climbing-plants. It is sometimes
composed externally almost entirely of such woody tendrils, 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 ivy-twigs, with
the leaves attached, tightly woven together. The birds breed on small
trees, not high up, at the end of a branch. While 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. They are even gregarious 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 6 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 lining or pretence 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 constructed of long
stalks of the ground-ivy, twisted round and round into a wreath. 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 look. The eggs are always three in
number, of a beautiful shining blue-green, sometimes of a very long
oval type. I have found the nests at Murree from the 3rd May to quite
the end of June."

Colonel G.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 than that of any
other of the Crateropodinae with which I am acquainted) to a deep
intense greenish blue. Possibly other as deeply coloured eggs occur
in this family, but I have seen none like them. They are of course
entirely unspotted.

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


78. Ianthocincla ocellata (Vig.). _The White-spotted
Laughing-Thrush_.

Garrulax ocellatus (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 41; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 414.

I know nothing 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 _Trochalopteron_ 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 _Garrulax
albigularis_, 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. Ianthocincla rufigularis, Gould. _The Rufous-chinned
Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron rufogulare (_Gould), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 47; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & 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
wooded 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.

From Sikhim a nest, said to belong to this species, has been recently
sent me. It 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 contained 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 generis_ 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 three 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
Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron erythrocephalum (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ 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 Red-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 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 3½ inches across
and fully 2¼ 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 musicus_, as that of the present species;" but in all
Hodgson's drawings this _green_ represents a _greenish blue_, as I
have tested in dozens of cases.

Colonel G.F.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 3½ inches broad by nearly 2½ 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. cachinnans_ and _T. variegatum_. 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 intermingled 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 Yellow-winged
Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron chrysopterum (_Gould), apud Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 43;
_Hume, Rough Draft N. & 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 roots 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 4½ deep; internally 3¼ by 2½.

"The eggs are usually three in number."

Six nests of this species found between the 4th May and 2nd July in
Native and British Sikhim 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. Sometimes 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 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 subcylindrical. 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 _Trochalopterum
erythrocephalum_. 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. Trochalopterum phoeniceum (Gould). _The Crimson-winged
Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron phoeniceum (_Gould), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 48; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 422.

Mr. Gammie 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 between 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 with
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 3½ 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. Hodgson'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_ was 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 externally with dry bamboo-leaves. They lay, we
are told, three or four eggs.

Dr. Jerdon says:--"A nest and eggs said to be of this bird were
brought to me at Darjeeling; the nest made of 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 exhibiting
cylindrical or pyriform tendencies. The shell is very fine and fairly
glossy, and the ground-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 markings 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. Trochalopterum subunicolor, Hodgs. _The Plain-coloured
Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron subunicolor, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 44; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & 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 grass 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 (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 45; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 418 (part).

The Eastern Variegated Laughing-Thrush breeds only at elevations 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-leaves are used towards 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 five
eggs.

The first egg that I obtained of this species, sent me by Sir E.C.
Buck, C.S., 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.
erythrocephalum_ and _T. cachinnans_, but considerably smaller than
the former. The ground-colour is a pale, rather dingy greenish blue,
and it is blotched, spotted, and speckled, almost exclusively 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, purplish red, and
brownish red also occur. Here and there an egg is met with almost
entirely devoid of markings, with perhaps only one moderately 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 nidification of
this _Trochalopterum_ was apparently unknown before. We 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_."


92. Trochalopterum squamatum (Gould). _The Blue-winged
Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron squamatum (_Gould), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 46; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 420.

From Sikhim my friend Mr. Gammie writes:--"I have never as yet found
more than one nest of the Blue-winged Laughing-Thrush, and this one
was found on the 18th May at Mongphoo, at an elevation of about 3500
feet. The nest was placed in a bush (one of the _Zingiberaceae_),
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 measured externally 5·7 in diameter by 3·6
in height, and internally 3·7 in width by 2·6 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-winged 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 unfortunately
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 malabarica_; 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, containing
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 composed mainly of
fine twigs, creeper-stems, and grass, with a few bamboo-leaves
intermingled, and the cavity was carefully lined 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 somewhat elongated ovals, and not unfrequently 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 1·11 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 cachinnans (Jerd.). _The Nilghiri
Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron cachinnans (_Jerd.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 48; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 423.

The Nilghiri Laughing-Thrush breeds, according to my many informants,
throughout the more elevated portions of the mountains from which it
derives its trivial name, from February to the beginning of June.

A nest of this species sent me by Mr. H.R.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 4½ 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 2½
inches across and fully 3¾ inches in depth.

A nest taken by Miss Cockburn 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 5½ inches in diameter and nearly 6 inches in height,
but the egg-cavity had a diameter of only about 2½ inches and was only
about 2¼ inches 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
bird, the one with which he was most familiar, for it does
_laugh_--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 elevations 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 6 inches in
diameter and 5 or 6 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' webs:
sometimes there is a foundation of dead leaves. The cavity is lined
with fur, cotton-wool, feathers, &c.

"The eggs are two or three in number."

Mr. Wait, writing from Coonoor, 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 occasionally 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. This 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 bush, 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 the Peruvian Cherry (_Physalis
peruviana_), 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. Rhodes W. 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 peculiarly 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.R.P. Carter
of Madras; they were taken on the Nilghiris. They are moderately broad
ovals, somewhat pointed towards one end, larger than the average eggs
of _T. lineatum_, and about the same size as large specimens of the
eggs of _Crateropus canorus_ and _Argya 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 consist 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, Blanf. _The Palni Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopterum fairbanki, _Blanf., Hume, Cat._ no. 423 bis.

The Rev. 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 bluish green; the markings are spots,
small blotches, hair-lines, and hieroglyphic-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 Himalayan Streaked
Laughing-Thrush_.

Trochalopteron lineatum (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 50; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 425[A].

[Footnote A: I omit the note 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. lineatum_. Sufficient
is now known about the nidification of this latter to render the
insertion of Hodgson's note unnecessary.--ED.]

Next to the Common House-Sparrow, the Himalayan Streaked
Laughing-Thrush is perhaps the most familiar bird about our 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 very
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
Almorah; 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 found averaged about 4 feet
from the ground, but I took a single one in a Deodar 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 with the bark of some fibrous plant, with a
considerable number of dead leaves interwoven 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 diameter 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 neighbourhood 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 unfrequently in
exposed and well-frequented places; it is loosely and rather slovenly
constructed of coarse dry grasses and stalks externally, lined
sometimes with 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 in a low
tree or bush where the foliage is thick. It is composed of grass, and
lined with finer grass. The eggs are three in number, one inch and one
line long by nine lines broad. They are of a light greenish blue,
the tint being much the same as that of the eggs of _Acridotheres
tristis_. They lay from the commencement of May to the end of June."

Colonel G.F.L. Marshall tells me that "the Streaked Laughing-Thrush is
very common at Mussoorie, where it is called by the public the Robin
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 the 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 16th
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 contained
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."

The late Captain Beavan tells us that "on the 16th of August, 1866, I
found 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, with three eggs only, was found in a thick clump of
everlasting peas close to the ground on the 6th of September. 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 first."

Major C.T. Bingham writes:--"Being at Landour for a few days in May I
chanced on a nest of this bird, perhaps the commonest in the hills. It
was placed under an overhanging bush on the side of Lal Tiba hill, and
_on the ground_, 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 elongated,
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, but,
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 blue, 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 _Crateropi_, and at the same time less glossy. I am not at
all sure whether _T. lineatum_ is rightly associated with species like
_T. cachinnans, T. variegatum_, and _T. erythrocephalum_, which all
have spotted eggs.

In length the eggs vary from 0·8 to 1·13, and in breadth from 0·63 to
0·8; but the average of fifty-eight eggs carefully measured is 1·01 by
0·73.


101. Grammatoptila striata (Vig.). _The Striated Laughing-Thrush_.

Grammatoptila striata (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii; p. 11; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 382.

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

A nest 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, Snipe, &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
palpebrosus_.

The eggs measure 1·3 and 1·32 in length, and 0·89 and 0·92 in breadth.

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes:--"In the first week of May I took a
nest of the Striated Laughing-Thrush out of a small tree growing 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 measured 7·5 inches broad by 5·25 inches deep;
internally 4 inches by 2·75 inches.

"It contained two hard-set eggs."

Several nests of this species that I have 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 with fine black roots.
They have all been placed in the branches of trees at heights of from
8 to 20 feet.

Eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Gammie in May, and Mr. Mandelli
in July, are of precisely the same type. They are rather elongated
ovals, a good deal pointed towards 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 0·89 to 0·92 in
breadth.


104. Argya earlii (Blyth). _The Striated Babbler_.

Chatarrhaea earlii (_Blyth), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 68; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 439.

The Striated Babbler breeds in suitable localities throughout
Continental India, from Sindh to Tipperah and Assam, as also in
Burmah. Reedy-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
three 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 fine
grass-stems not more than 4 inches across and 3 inches in height.
When semi-suspended between reeds, they are always smaller and more
compact, 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 G.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. The 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 grass without 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. Argya earlii_ breeds commonly in the Sub-Siwalik
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. Oates writes:--"I found two nests on the
24th May, one quite empty though finished, the other containing 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 this 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 6 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 following note on the nidification of this
species in the Asiatic Society Journal, 1848, p. 301:--

"_Burra phenga_.--Nest 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.R. 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 2nd 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 was 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 4¼, internal diameter 2½, depth
2½ inches. Both Messrs. Marshall 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."

Mr. J. Inglis writes from Cachar:--"The Striated Reed-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. caudata_ 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 I 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 0·65 to
0·75, but the average of a large series is 0·88 by 0·7.


105. Argya caudata (Duméril). _The Common Babbler_.

Chatarrhaea caudata (_Dum.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 67; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E_ no. 438.

The Common Babbler breeds throughout India, not, however, 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 at Hansie on the 3rd January, and single nests are
recorded by others as found in October, December, and February. They
certainly have two broods a year, and perhaps more, the 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
resembling 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 made of grass not well worked together, and had 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 beginning of July.
Although this species generally prefers building in the hedges of
prickly-pear, I have taken the nests in orange-trees, the karounda,
the babool, &c."

Messrs. Davidson and Wenden state that in the Deccan it is "very
common and breeds."

Major C.T. Bingham says:--"This bird, uncommon at Allahabad, is
plentiful here at Delhi. I found several nests between March and June,
all of the Babbler type, deep cups, rather more firmly built than
those of the preceding bird, but constructed like them of coarse roots
of grass, with finer 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 Aitken 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 Babbler 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.

"I found numerous nests from the middle of July to the beginning of
September. On the 26th July, 1876, I saw upwards of a dozen nests,
some containing fresh eggs, and others incubated. In many instances
they contained eggs of _Coccystes jacobinus_. The nest is usually
placed 3 or 4 feet from the ground in low thorny bashes (_Zizyphus
jujuba_ preferred) or in a tussock of sarpat grass. It is built of
twigs, roots, grass, &c., loosely put together exteriorly but closely
woven interiorly, the lining being composed of fine 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 _Cypselus
affinis_; and though this is a peculiarly abnormal 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 Hedge-Sparrow, whose early eggs formed the prize of our
first boyish nesting-expeditions, but they are slightly larger and
typically somewhat more elongated.

In length they vary from 0·75 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
0·64.


107. Argya malcolmi (Sykes). _The Large Grey Babbler_.

Malacocercus malcolmi (_Sykes_), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 64.
Argya malcolmi (_Sykes_), _Hume_, _Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 436.

The Large Grey Babbler breeds throughout the central portions of both
the Peninsula and Continent of India from the Nilghiris to the Dhoon.
It does not extend westwards to Sindh 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 on 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, but 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 there is no lining,
but I have found nests scantily lined with very fine grass and even
horse-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 the exception. Externally the nest is some
5 or 6 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 in depth.

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

Mr. Brooks says:--"This species breeds in waste lands overgrown with
scanty jungle. The nest is made of sticks, roots, grass, &c., is
rather bulky, and is placed in some moderate-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. terricolor_."

Mr. R.M. Adam remarks:--"Near Muttra, on the 31st October, 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.

"It is in the nests of this species and our Common Laughing-Thrush
(_T. cachinnans_) that I have chiefly found the eggs of the Pied
Crested Cuckoo."

Of this species Colonel G.F.L. Marshall remarks:--"I have taken eggs
on the 20th June in Cawnpoor, the 31st July in Bolundshuhur, and the
25th August in Allyghur. The nest is almost always in a keekur tree in
a fork about halfway 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. terricolor_, 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 Rajputana the Large Grey Babbler
is "very common. I have found nests in each month from 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 Wenden 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 I have found the soft down of the Madar (_Catatropes
hamiltonii_) incorporated into the lining 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 Poona, one on the 21st April, and
the other on the 10th May. I 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 _C. terricolor_, but the latter differ
slightly in being less elongated, not so pointed at the small end,
rounder at the large end, and somewhat paler in 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 dead 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 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 _Crateropus 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. canorus_
is applicable to the eggs of this species, and the only difference
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 _Argya
malcolmi_ 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 0·99 by 0·77.


108. Argya subrufa (Jerd.)[A]. _The Large Rufous Babbler_.

[Footnote A: The accompanying incomplete account of the nidification
of this bird is all I can find among Mr. Hume's notes. I cannot
ascertain who was the discoverer of the nest and eggs described.--ED.]

Layardia subrufa (_Jerd._), _Hume, 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 must 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
exterior. The cavity is rather more neatly lined with tolerably fine
grass-bents. Exteriorly the nest is about 7 inches in height and 5 in
diameter. The cavity is about 3½ inches deep by 3 in diameter.

The eggs are precisely like those of the several species of _Argya_,
moderately broad ovals rather obtuse at both ends, often with 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.)[A]. _The Jungle Babbler_.

[Footnote A: In the 'Birds of India,' I have united _C. malabaricus_
and _C. terricolor_. Mr. Hume probably still considers these two
races distinct, and others may agree with him. To avoid confusion,
therefore, I have kept the notes appertaining to these two races
distinct from each other.--ED.]

Malacocercus terricolor (_Hodgs._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p.
  59; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 432.
Malacocercus malabaricus, _Jerd., Jerd. t.c._ p. 62; _Hume,
  t.c._ no. 434.

_C. terricolor_.

The Bengal Babbler breeds throughout the plains of the Bengal
Presidency (including Bengal, North-Western Provinces, Central
Provinces, Oudh, and the Punjab), and I may add in the less desert
portions of Sindh, although the race found in that province is not
exactly identical with the Bengal bird, and in some respects closely
approaches the Malabar race. In Northern Rajpootana it is rare, and
further south in the quasi-desert tracts of Central and Western
Rajpootana 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 from 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 4 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, composed 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 diameter 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 Hutton 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. Subsequently 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 albogularis_, 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 varnished. 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 brushwood, 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 varius_ and _Coccystes melanoleucus_.

"This Babbler builds, as a general rule, during the early part of 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 _eight_ eggs. Two, if not
three, of this clutch are easily separable from the others, being more
oval and somewhat smaller, and are unquestionably parasitical eggs;
but it is quite impossible to say whether they belong to _H. varius_
or _C. melanoleucus_.

"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 parentage 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. canorus_ 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 _H. varius_ (the "Brain-fever and
Delirium-tremens Bird" as it is frequently called) had much difficulty
in depositing her eggs in the nest of the _Malacocerci_, 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-Hawk (_M.
badius_).

"During the months of September and October I have observed several
Babblers in the act of feeding one young _H. varius_, following the
bird from tree to tree, and being most assiduous in their attentions
to the young interloper."

Mr. H.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 fine fibrous roots or stems of grass. I
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, 1876.    "       "      3 fresh eggs.
  "June 17, 1876.    "      "       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 the nest as if
intended for the convenience of the bird's tail. It is not unusual to
find an egg of _C. jacobinus_ in 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 have, 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.R. 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 variable in colour, 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, however, long and cylindrical;
others more or less spherical. The colour varies from a pale blue,
like that of _Trochalopterum lineatum_, to a deep dull blue,
recalling, but yet not so dark as, that of _Garrulax albigularis_. The
eggs are typically glossy, but it is remarkable 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 indicus_. 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.

In length the eggs vary from 0·88 to 1·15, and in breadth from 0·75 to
0·82; but the average of fifty-one eggs measured is 1·01 by 0·78.


_C. malabaricus_.

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 Cochin, 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 Mehals on the
east, and again in some parts of the Nilghiris, races occur quite
intermediate between typical _C. terricolor_ and typical _C.
malabaricus_, while in the south, as already mentioned, forms
intermediate between this latter and _C. griseus_ seem common. Three
distinguishable races again of _C. griseus_ are met with, but running
the one into the other, while intermediate forms between this species
and _C. 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 generally be got at
without paying the penalty of well scratched hands. The eggs,
generally five in number, are of a very deep blue with a tinge of
green, but of not so decided a tinge as in the eggs of _M. griseus_.
It breeds on the slopes of the Nilghiris, not ascending to more than
about 6000 feet."

Mr. Wait, writing from Coonoor, says:--"_C. malabaricus_ 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:--"Rather 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 one 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 occasionally
found with _C. griseus_ in the bigger scrub forests, but its chief
habitat is the larger forests. Its breeding-season is much the same
as _C. griseus_ but unlike it, it does not select thorny bushes
for building in, its nests being generally found in small trees or
bamboo-clumps. Four is the usual number of eggs laid, but five
are often found, and the fifth I expect is frequently that of _H.
varius_."

Three eggs sent me by Mr. Carter from Coonoor, in the Nilghiries, are
absolutely undistinguishable from those of _Argya 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, C. malabaricus_, and _C. 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, taking them as
a whole, I think they average rather darker 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. Ind._ ii, p. 60; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 433.

I should say that 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 very likely separate
the Madras, Mangalore, and Anjango birds, and insist on their being
different 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.
griseus_.

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
cambogia_, 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 five in number.

Dr. Jerdon says:--"I 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 Belgaum, and measured about
2¾ 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 bluish 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 ground. Four 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 _H. varius_."

The eggs of this species that I possess were taken by Mr. Davison 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
_Crateropi_ are as a rule; in fact, they approach in colouring to the
eggs of _Garrulax albigularis_.

They vary in length from 0·9 to 1·0, and in breadth from 0·62 to
0·74; but I have seen too few eggs to be able to strike any reliable
average.


112. Crateropus striatus (Sw.). _The Southern-Indian Babbler_.

Malacocercus striatus (_Sw._), _Hume, Cat._ no. 432 bis.

Colonel Legge, writing of this bird's nidification in Ceylon,
says:--"The breeding-season of the 'Seven Brothers' lasts from
(page 80 in the book.) March until July. The nest is placed in a
cinnamon-bush, shrub or bramble, at about four feet from 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 2½ 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 0·91
to 1·0 in length, by 0·7 to 0·74 in breadth."


113. Crateropus somervillii (Sykes). _The Rufous-tailed Babbler_.

Malacocercus somervillei (_Sykes_), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 63; _Hume
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 435.

Of the nidification of the Rufous-tailed Babbler (which, so far as I
yet know, is confined to the narrow strip of country lying beneath the
Ghâts for about 60 miles north and south of Bombay and to the hills or
ghâts overlooking this), all I yet know is contained in the following
brief note by Mr. E. Aitken: he says:--

"I once found a nest of the Rufous-tailed Babbler at Khandalla, I
cannot tell the level precisely, but it cannot have 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 ground. 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
melanoleucus_. This was on a hill, and indeed these birds seem to
confine themselves pretty much to hilly ground."

Mr. Benjamin Aitken writes:--"With reference to your remark that, as
far as you know, the Rufous-tailed Babbler is confined to the strip of
country beneath the Ghâts, 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 which 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 the 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 wary, and it is by no means easy to guess on
which particular tree it has its nest."


114. Crateropus rufescens (Blyth). _The Ceylonese 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 [_M. striatus_],
of grass and small twigs, mixed perhaps with a few leaves, and placed
among creepers surrounding the trunks of trees or in a low fork of
a tree. It conceals its habitation, according 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. MacVicar at Bolgodde measuring 0·95 by 0·75, and 0·92 by 0·74
inch."


115. Crateropus cinereifrons (Blyth). _The Ashy-headed Babbler_.

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 fork of a bush-branch,
and laying three or four dark blue eggs. Whether this account be
correct or not, future investigation must decide."


116. Pomatorhinus schisticeps, Hodgs. _The Slaty-headed Scimitar
Babbler_.

Pomatorhinus schisticeps, _Hodgs., Jerd. B.I._ ii, p. 29; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & 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 sent 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 fern-leaves,
while interiorly they are composed of and lined with finer--in some
cases _very_ fine--grass. The cavities average, I should guess, 3·75
inches in diameter, and 1·5, or a little more perhaps, in depth.

Mr. J.R. 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 such a shy bird to
have chosen such an exposed situation to build in astonished me."

From 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 extracted 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 Ryeng 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 _Pomatorhinus 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_.

Pomatorhinus olivaceus, _Blyth, Hume, Cat._ no. 403 bis.

Mr. Davison writes:--"I found a nest of this bird on the morning of
the 21st 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.

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

Major C.T. Bingham says:--"This is the _Pomatorhinus_ of the
Thoungyeen valley, being found from the sources to the mouth of that
river. A note recorded two years ago of a nest that I found is given
below:--_4th March_.--Having to go over the ground along the southern
boundary of the proposed Meplay reserve I had to cut my way through
dense bamboo, to go through a long belt of which is hard work. To make
it worse in this case several clumps had been burnt by fire and blown
down. As I was slowly progressing 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 1½ 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 thirty yards
off. For an hour I watched, but the bird did not return, so I marked
the spot and went on. Returning 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 just 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 with 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. Mac Vicar had the eggs brought to him; they
were taken from a nest made of leaves and grass, and placed on a bank
in jungle. Mr. Bligh has found the nest in crevices in trees, between
a projecting piece of bark and the trunk, also in 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."


120. Pomatorhinus horsfieldii, Sykes. _The Southern Scimitar
Babbler_.

Pomatorhinus horsfieldii, _Sykes, Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 31; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 404.

The Southern Scimitar Babbler breeds throughout the hilly 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, Neddivattam, &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 3½ 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 generally 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 following 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 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 Wenden, writing from the Deccan, remark:--"Very
common along tops of ghâts. 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 was 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 saving 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.
Whether 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 month 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 I
found one once under the roots of a tree at Neddivattam, 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, Wynaad, 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 yolk 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 sometimes
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, _Blyth,, Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 29; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & 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 horizontal, 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 _Pomatorhinus_, 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. Externally 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 was 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 were these simple materials
put together that they held each other in their places without the
assistance 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.


125. Pomatorhinus ruficollis, Hodgs. _The Rufous-necked Scimitar
Babbler_.

Pomatorhinus ruficollis, _Hodgs., Jerd, B. Ind._ ii, p. 29; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 400.

The Rufous-necked 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. Gammie 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 Rishap 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 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 contained
five eggs, much incubated; indeed, they would have hatched off in one
or two days."

The Rufous-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 fine 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 erythrogenys, Vigors. _The Rusty-cheeked Scimitar
Babbler_.

Pomatorhinus erythrogenys, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 31; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 405.

The Rusty-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 ground. It is
very common near Kotegurh and below Narkunda, where we found nearly a
dozen nests, almost all, however, containing 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 Sikhim, in fact the eastern race of this species (_P.
ferrugilatus_ Hodgs.), will not have to be separated from the more
western _P. erythrogenys_ of Gould. Long ago Blyth remarked ('Journal
Asiatic Society,' 1845, p. 598) that "there seems to be two marked
varieties of _P. erythrogenys_, 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. erythrogenys_, and so do Hutton's; but Hodgson's and Mr.
Gammie's birds 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 _Pomatorhini_.

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 copsewood 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 which 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 with 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. Hodgson found nests of this
species in thick bushes 3 or 4 feet above the ground. They were
broad saucer-shaped nests of coarse vegetable fibres, grass, and
grass-roots, 7 inches or so in diameter, and the cavity, which had
no lining, was about 4 inches in diameter by 2 inches in depth. They
contained three and four white 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 Rungbee, 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 3½
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-cavity 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 1·0 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. Xiphorhamphus superciliaris (Blyth). _The Slender-billed
Scimitar Babbler_.

Xiphorhamphus superciliaris (_Blyth), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 33; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 406.

The Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes,
breeds in Sikhim, at elevations of 3000 to 6000 feet, during 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 never 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
Babbler 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 wallichiana_), small
bamboo, chestnut, and grass, intermixed with decaying stems of small
climbing-plants. It measured externally 6 inches long, with a diameter
of 5·5 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 only a faint gloss. They measure 0·99 and 1·05 in
length, by 0·68 and 0·75 in breadth respectively.




Subfamily TIMELIINAE.


134. Timelia pileata, Horsf. _The Red-capped Babbler_.

Timelia pileata, _Horsf., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 24; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 396.

Mr. Eugene Oates 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 composition. It
is oval, about 7 inches in height and 4 in diameter, with a large
entrance at the side, its lower edge being about the middle of the
nest.

"When 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 consequence is that if you do not find eggs, there is little
chance of their 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 ·6 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 was 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 accident, for I
happened to see a female _Prinia flaviventris_ (whose eggs 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 flew, and although I did not shoot it I am quite sure it
was _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
extraordinary 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 foundation
for the nest. This latter is 6 inches high and 4 inches broad.
Egg-cavity 2 inches, entrance-hole 1½ 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. I suppose the
birds never expected that such a wild swampy spot as they had selected
would be invaded by any oologist."

Mr. J.R. 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 unfrequented jungle and
thickets as Dr. Jerdon says. I have, however, 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, but only once secured a clutch of eggs. When 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 which 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 3¾ broad. Egg-cavity 2 broad and 1¾ 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 Rufous-bellied Babbler_.

Dumetia hyperythra (_Frankl.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 26; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 397.

The Rufous-bellied Babbler breeds throughout the Central Provinces,
Chota Nagpoor, 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; sometimes 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.

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 twisted 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 Raipoor Mr. F.R. 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 there 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 others they are clear and
distinct. Some of the eggs are miniatures of some types of _Pyctorhis
sinensis_, but many recall the eggs of the Titmouse. They are much
about the size of those of _Parus caeruleus_ and _P. palustris_, but a
trifle less broad than either of these. The eggs have a faint gloss.

In length they vary from 0·63 to 0·7, and in breadth from 0·5 to 0·56;
but the average of twenty-four eggs now before me is 0·67 by 0·53.


136. Dumetia albigularis (Blyth). _The Small White-throated
Babbler_.

Dumetia albogularis (_Blyth), Jerd. B. Ind_ ii, p. 26; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 398.

Miss M.B. Cockburn, writing from Kotagherry, tells me that "the
White-throated Babbler builds its nest in the month of June. One was
found by my nest-seekers on the 17th of that month in the year 1873.
It was constructed on a coffee-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 discovered; when, however, she did so, she was shot.
This year (1874) I found another similar nest on the 9th of June, also
containing three eggs."

The nest with which she favoured 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 was loosely put together, and had a comparatively
narrow circular entrance near the top.

From Mysore Mr. Iver Macpherson writes:--"This is an exceedingly
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 except 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, and all that I have ever seen have
been lined inside with 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, tufts 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, 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 one 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 nests being built in a low bush
sometimes only a few inches from the ground."

In 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-eyed Babbler_.

Pyctorhis sinensis (_Gm.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 15; _Hume, Rough
Draft N.& E._ no. 385.

The Yellow-eyed Babbler breeds throughout the plains of India, as also
in the Nilghiris, to an elevation of 5000 feet, and in the Himalayas
to perhaps 4000 feet. It lays in the latter part of June, in July,
August, and September. Gardens are the favourite localities and in
these the little bird makes its compact and solid nest, sometimes in
a fork of the fine twigs of a lime-bush, sometimes in a mangoe-,
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
Reed-Warbler's nest (_Salicaria arundinacea_), figured in Mr.
Yarrell'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 broadly truncated.
In the base of the cone (which is uppermost) is the egg-cavity,
measuring from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and from 2 to 2·5 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 interwoven. I once found
some horse-hair along with the grass-roots, but this is unusual.

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 G.F.L. Marshall says:--"I found a nest of this species at
Roorkee 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, writing from near Agra on the 26th September 1867,
says:--"I got a _Pyctorhis_' nest yesterday, suspended between two
stalks of jowar (_Holcus sorghum_), the nest firmly bound with strips
of fibrous bark, at two opposite points of its circumference, to the
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."

From Futtehgurh 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 of _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 the 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, when it contained four eggs of a dull
white colour, thickly speckled and blotched all over with ferruginous
spots, forming also an open darker coloured ring at the large end, and
intermixed with 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 2½ inches; depth within 2
inches; externally 3½ inches."

Mr. F.R. 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 have seen
at least fifty this year, all with the same exterior material of
closely interlaced vegetable fibre over grass, and the inner lining of
fine grass, deep cup-shaped, and in diameter, 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."

Mr. R.M. Adam remarks:--"This species builds about Agra in May, June,
and July. 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 Kotagherry, near Ootacamund, Miss Cockburn records that "this
bird builds 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 "_generally_
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 North-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 Thull Ghât
incline, I noticed, on 30th 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 trifurcated
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, 'Rough
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 Yellow-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.
  "July 20, 1876.  "         "      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, reminding one of the
nest of a _Rhipidura_"

Mr. Oates writes:--"Breeds abundantly throughout Pegu in June, and
probably in the other months of the rains up to September."

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 obtuse
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 _sparingly_, 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 intermediate in intensity between that usually observable
in the two first-described types. Combinations of these different
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 Robin. 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, _Legge, Hume, Cat._ no. 385 bis.

Colonel Legge writes in his 'Birds of Ceylon':--"In the Western
Province this Babbler commences to breed in February; 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-made compact cup, well finished off
about the top and exterior, and constructed of dry grass, adorned with
cobwebs or lichens, and lined with fine grass or roots. The exterior
is about 2½ 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 become confluent, and are at times overlaid with dark
spots oil 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, Blanf. _Mandelli's Spotted Babbler_.

Pellorneum nipalensis (__Hodgs._), Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 399
bis.

This species, originally described by Hodgson as _Hemipteron
nipalensis_, was confounded by Gray and others with _P. ruficeps_,
Swainson, 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. They 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 and 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 confluent.

A nest said to belong to this species, and found near Darjeeling in
July, at an elevation of about 4000 feet, was placed 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 good 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 0·86 and 0·9 in length, and 0·65 and 0·66 in breadth.

Another nest, found on the 5th June in Native Sikhim, contained four
fresh eggs. It was placed on the ground, and precisely resembled that
obtained near Darjeeling 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.

Four eggs varied from 0·84 to 0·9 in length, and from 0·65 to 0·68 in
breadth.


144. Pellorneum ruficeps, Swains., _The Spotted Babbler_.

Pellorneum ruficeps, _Swains., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 27; _Hume, Rough
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 innumerable small dark spots,
making it difficult to say what 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 moderately
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 egg has a slight gloss.

It measures 0·88 by 0·65.


145. Pellorneum subochraceum, Swinh. _The Burmese Spotted Babbler_.

Pellorneum subochraceum, _Swinh., Hume, Cat._ no. 399 sex.

The Burmese Spotted Babbler breeds pretty well over the whole of Pegu
and Tenasserim. Mr. Oates writes:--"On the 3rd May 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 leaves
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 height it was about 7 inches, and in breadth
about 5, the longer axis being vertical. Shape cylindrical with
rounded top. Entrance 2½ inches by 1½, placed about the centre. The
interior of the nest was a rough sphere of 4 inches diameter.

"There were three eggs, slightly incubated. The ground-colour is pure
white, and the whole 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 construction,
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 composed externally
of dead leaves, with a scanty lining of fine roots and fibres.
It measured externally about 5 inches high by about 4 wide. The
egg-cavity was hardly 3 inches in diameter. The nest was only
partially domed, and was very loosely and carelessly put together.

"The nest contained three eggs, but these were so far incubated that
it was impossible to blow 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 confluent or nearly so)
with dull to bright reddish brown; 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 with 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, unlined, though
domed over, with the entrance at the side, and containing two fresh
eggs, white, thickly speckled with brick-red and obscure 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 quint.

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 constructed
of moss and leaves; it contained three young."


149. Drymocataphus nigricapitatus (Eyton). _The Black-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 with 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 draw 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 the 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 freckled
with a pale purplish brown. They measured 0·82 in length by 0·62 and
0·63 in breadth.


151. Drymocataphus tickelli. _Tickell's Babbler_.

Trichastoma minus, _Hume_; _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-white, and it is everywhere
speckled and spotted, nowhere very thickly, but most so in a zone near
one end, with pale ferruginous. It measured 0·67 by 0·51.


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 Kyeikpadein, 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 6 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 which is
2 inches, and depth 1½. 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 ·65. 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 irregular
fine scrawls of reddish brown. A few of the marks are neither spots
nor scrawls, but something like knots. The cap is suffused with 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 about 5 inches in
exterior diameter, with the egg-cup about 2½ inches broad and 2 inches
deep. It was placed on some entangled small 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 marks 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 hieroglyphics 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 average size of the seven eggs I
possess is 0·82 by 0·64.


163. Alcippe nepalensis (Hodgs.). _The Nepal Babbler_.

Alcippe nipalensis (_Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 18; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ 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 1½ 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 the ground.
The nest is a compactly made and moderately deep cup. The exterior
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. The cavity is 2·25 in
diameter and 1·6 in depth.

The nest contained three nearly fresh eggs. The eggs are moderately
elongated ovals, very regular and slightly pointed towards the small
end. The shell is fine and exhibits a slight gloss. The ground-colour
is white or pinkish white, and they are _very_ minutely speckled all
over with purplish red. The specklings exhibit a decided tendency to
form a more or less perfect, and more or less confluent, cap or zone
at the large end.

Two of the eggs measure 0·72 and 0·71 in length, and 0·54 and 0·52 in
breadth.

From Sikhim, Mr. Gammie writes:--"I have only found this Babbler
breeding in May at elevations about 5000 feet, but it doubtless breeds
also at much lower elevations, probably down to 2000 feet. The nests
are placed within 2 or 3 feet of the ground, between several
slender upright shoots, to which they are firmly attached. They are
exceedingly neat and compact-built cups, measuring externally about 4
inches across by 2·75 deep, internally 2·15 wide by 1·6 deep. They are
composed of dry bamboo-leaves held together by a little grass and very
fine, hair-like fern-roots. The egg-cavity is lined with fern-roots.

"The eggs are three or four in number."

Numerous nests of this species kindly sent me by Messrs. Gammie,
Mandelli, and others, taken during the months of May and June in
British and Native Sikhim, at elevations of from 3000 to 5500 feet,
were all of the same type and placed in the same situations, namely
amongst low scrub and brushwood, at heights of from 18 inches to 3
feet from the ground. The interior and, in fact, the main body of
the nests appear to be in all cases chiefly composed of fine black
hair-like roots, with which, in some cases, especially about the
upper margin, a little fine grass is intermingled. The cavities are
generally much about the same size, say ~2 inches in diameter by 1·25
in depth: but the size of the nests as a whole varies very much. The
nest is always coated exteriorly with dry leaves of trees and ferns,
broad blades of grass, and the like, fixed together sometimes by mere
pressure, but generally here and there held together by fine fibrous
roots, and this coating varies so much that one nest before me
measures 5·5 in external diameter, and another barely 4, the external
covering of fern-leaves, flags, and dry and dead leaves being very
abundant in the former, while in the other the covering consists
entirely of broad dry blades of grass very neatly laid together. Two,
three, and four fresh eggs were found in these several nests, but in
no case were more than four eggs found.

Two nests taken by Mr. Gammie contained three and two fresh eggs
respectively. The eggs had a delicate pink ground, and were richly
blotched, in one egg exclusively, in the others chiefly about the
larger end, with chestnut, or almost maroon-red, here and there almost
deepening in spots to black, and elsewhere paling off into a rufous
haze. The markings are confluent about the large end, and there in
places intermingled with a purplish tinge. The other eggs had a
china-white ground, with more gloss than the specimens previously
described, with numerous small, blackish brownish-red spots and
specks, almost exclusively confined to the large end, where they are
more or less enveloped in a pinky-red nimbus.

These eggs varied from 0·75 to 0·79 in length, and from 0·56 to 0·6 in
breadth.

Other eggs, again, with the same pinky-white ground 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 Nilghiri Babbler_.

Alcippe poiocephala (_Jerd.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 18; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E.._ no. 389.

The Nilghiri Babbler breeds, apparently, throughout the hilly regions
of Southern India. It lays from January to June. A nest taken near
Neddivattam 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 but 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 3½ inches in diameter
at top, and fully 5 inches in height. The cavity was over 2 inches
in diameter and nearly 2 inches in depth. A few cobwebs are here and
there intermingled in the 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 5th June on a small bush,
about 7 or 8 feet in height, standing on the banks of a stream, was
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 a few grass-and moss-roots as a lining interiorly,
and with several dead leaves and a good deal of wool incorporated
in the outer surface, the greater portion of which, however, was
concealed by the leaves of the twigs amongst which it was built. It
was only about 3½ inches in diameter, and the egg-cavity was less than
2½ inches across, and not above 1½ 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 uncommonly like that
of _Trochalopterum cachinnans_, 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 always (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 jungle
or in the open. The eggs are very handsome, and are, I think, the
prettiest of the eggs to be found on the Nilghiris and their slopes.
The ground-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 Nilghiri hills, generally in the depths of the
forest. I have, however, taken nests in scrub-jungle. I have also
found the nest at Neddivattam in April.

"In October I found a nest of this bird at Culputty, S. Wynaad, about
2800 feet above the sea, built at the end of a branch 4 feet from the
ground."

Mr. T.F. Bourdillon writes 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 usually placed 4 to 8 feet from the ground in the middle of
jungle, and is about 2 inches in diameter by 1¾-2 in depth. The full
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.
  April 11, 1874. 2 young birds, and many nests just vacated."

As in the case of _Pyctorhis sinensis_, the eggs differ much in colour
and markings. The two eggs of this species sent me by Miss Cockburn
from Kotagherry are moderately broad ovals, very obtuse at the larger
end and somewhat compressed towards the smaller. The 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 underlying the primary markings are observable. In
general appearance these eggs not a little resemble those of some of
the Bulbuls, and it seems difficult to believe that they are eggs of
birds of the same genus as _Alcippe atriceps_[A], 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 pretty
large and conspicuous spots and hair-lines of deep brownish red,
almost black, and there are a few large pinkish-brown smears and
clouds, generally 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 markings. The
character of the markings on some of these eggs reminds one strongly
of those of the Chaffinch. Other eggs taken later by Miss Cockburn at
Kotagherry on the 21st January are just intermediate between the two
types above described.

[Footnote A: _Alcippe atriceps_ and _Alcippe phaeocephala_, as they
have hitherto been styled by all Indian ornithologists, are not in the
least congeneric, as I have pointed out in 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. Their
structure differs much.--ED.]

All the eggs are very nearly the same size, and only vary in length
from 0·75 to 0·86, and in breadth from 0·58 to 0·65.


165. 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 between 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 black 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 ·58, ·78 x ·58, and ·76 x ·59."

Mr. J. Darling, junior, informs us that on the 9th April he "took
three fresh eggs of _Alcippe phayrii_, 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, 1½ deep. It
was exactly like very many nests of _A. phaeocephala_, taken on the
Nilghiri Hills, though 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 her, when she hopped on to
a branch a few feet off, and disclosed three little naked fledglings
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 _slight_ pyriform tendency,
always apparently very blunt at both ends.

The ground-colour, of which but little is visible, in some eggs varies
from pinky white to pale reddish pink, and the egg is profusely
smeared and clouded with pinky or purplish red, varying much 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 recognizable cap is formed and there
a decided purplish tinge may be noticed in patches. The general
character of the eggs is very uniform; 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 from 0·68 to 0·78 and in breadth from
0·53 to 0·59, but the average of nine 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, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 390.

Writing from Coonoor in the Nilghiris, Mr. Wait tells me that
the Black-headed Babbler breeds in his neighbourhood in June and
July:--"It builds in weeds and grass beside the banks of old roads, at
elevations of from 5000 to 5500 feet. The nest is placed at a height
of from a foot to 2 feet from the ground, is domed and loosely built,
composed almost entirely of dry blades of the lemon-grass, and lined
with 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
17th 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 globular mass very
loosely put together, of broad reed-leaves, between 3 or 4 inches in
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 25th May and 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 considered very large. Nest globular, and very
loosely constructed of bamboo-leaves and blades of grass."

An egg sent me from Coonoor 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 speckled 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[A].

[Footnote A: Mr. T. Fulton Bourdillon (S.F. ix, p. 300) gives
an interesting account of the nest and eggs of a species of
_Rhopocichla_, which he failed to identify satisfactorily. It may have
been _R. atriceps_ or _R. 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.]


167. Rhopocichla nigrifrons (Bl.). _The Black-fronted Babbler_.

Alcippe nigrifrons, _Bl., Hume, cat._ no. 390 ter.

Colonel Legge writes regarding the nidification of the Black-fronted
Babbler in Ceylon:--"After finding hundreds of the curious 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-constructed 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 ran mostly in
the direction of the axis. Dimensions: 0·74 by 0·56 and 0·74 by 0·55."


169. Stachyrhis nigriceps, Hodgs. _The Black-throated Babbler_.

Stachyris nigriceps, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii. p, 21; _Hume. Rough
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 neighbourhood (Rungbee,
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 3½ inches in diameter, composed of
fine grass-stems without any lining, and coated externally 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 moderately fine
grass, exteriorly of dead leaves. The egg-cavity measured about 2
inches in diameter, and 1½ inch in depth. _In situ_, both probably
were more or less domed, the cups more or less overhung by a hood or
canopy.

Mr. Gammie remarks:--"I have seen numerous nests of this 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 they 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 me is 2 inches deep by 2
inches wide; outer dimensions 5¾ 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. Eugene Gates tells us that he "procured only one specimen of this
bird, and that was in the evergreen forests of the Pegu Hills. I 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, considering
the materials. They lay four or five eggs, which are figured as
very regular rather broad ovals, of a nearly uniform, very pale
_café-au-lait_ colour (these were the _unblown_ eggs), measuring 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 Reserve, 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 choung 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, taken 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 fibre 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, spotless, 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 chrysaea, Hodgs. _The Golden-headed Babbler_.

Stachyris chrysaea, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 22; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & 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.
praecognita_ 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.

From 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 in
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 Red-headed Babbler_.

Stachyris ruficeps, _Bl., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 22; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 393.

The Red-headed Babbler breeds in Nepal, according to Mr. Hodgson,
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 creepers and
shoots, and is composed almost exclusively of dry bamboo-leaves
neatly, but rather loosely, interwoven, and lined also with these
leaves. One which he measured was rather oval in shape, 5·25 inches in
diameter one way, by 4 the other, and 3·6 in height. The leaves used
in the rim of the cup were projected a little inwards, so as to make
the mouth of the cavity a little smaller than the diameter of this
latter within. The diameter of the mouth was 2 inches, that of the
cavity 2·5, and the latter is about 1·5 deep. Four eggs are laid, a
sort of brownish white, speckled and spotted with brown or reddish
brown. The egg figured measures 0·7 by 0·52, and is a moderately
broad, regular oval.

Dr. Jerdon says:--"A nest and eggs, said to be of this species, were
brought to me at Darjeeling. The nest was a loose structure of grass
and fibres, and contained two eggs of a greenish-white colour with
some rusty spots."

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I took two nests of this Babbler in
April; one of them at an elevation of 3500 feet, the other at 5000
feet, but it no doubt breeds also both lower and higher. They are of
a neat egg-shape, with entrance at side, and were fixed vertically
between a few upright sprays, within three feet of the ground, in open
situations near large trees. Mr. Hodgson evidently did not take the
one he describes with his own hands, for he places it horizontally,
which gives a height of 3·6 inches only. The external dimensions are
about 5·5 inches in height and 4 in diameter. Internally the diameter
is 2 inches, and the depth, from roof, 3·25. 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
23rd June, in the middle of a tea-bush which grew at the side of a
small ravine, which was neither hooded nor domed. The nest was about
18 inches from the ground and completely sheltered from above
by tea-leaves. It was a deep cup composed externally chiefly of
bamboo-leaves, but with a good many dead leaves of trees incorporated
in the base, and lined with very fine grass-stems. It contained four
fresh eggs. It is quite clear that this species, like _S. nigriceps_,
only domes its nest in certain situations.

The eggs obtained by Mr. Gammie and Mr. Mandelli are very regular,
slightly elongated ovals. The shell is very fine and compact, but has
only a faint gloss. The ground is white and round the larger end is a
zone or imperfect cap of specks and spots of brownish red, generally
intermingled with tiny spots, usually very faint, of pale purple. A
few specks and spots brown, yellowish, or reddish brown, and sometimes
also pale purple, are scattered about the rest of the egg.

In length the eggs vary from 0·64 to 0·72, and in breadth from 0·50 to
0·53, but the average of eight eggs was 0·68 by 0·52 nearly.


174. Stachyrhidopsis pyrrhops, Hodgs. _The Red-billed Babbler_.

Stachyris pyrrhops, _Hodgs. Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 21; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 392.

Accounts differ somewhat as to the eggs of the Red-billed Babbler.

From Murree, Colonel C.H.T. Marshall writes:--"Nest found in low
ground, about 100 yards from the River Jheelum, situated in 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, which he kindly sent me, is a deep 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 3·5 inches in diameter, and about 3 in
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 opening, 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 strigula_ and _Liothriae
luteus_, creeping among the bushes like the _Pari_ and _Phylloscopi_.
It constructs its nest at the base of bushes, the eggs being 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 which is a layer of fine woody stalks and fibres,
and lined with black hair. It is cup-shaped, 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 moderately broad ovals, some of them slightly
compressed towards the small end. The shell is very fine and smooth,
but with scarcely any gloss; the ground is pure white, and they are
thinly speckled and spotted, the markings being much more numerous
about the large end, where they have a tendency to form an ill-defined
cap or zone with brownish red or pinky brown.

In length they vary from 0·62 to 0·69, and in breadth from 0·5 to
0·52.


175. Cyanoderma erythropterum (Blyth). _The Red-winged Babbler_.

Cyanoderma erythropterum, _Bl., Hume, cat._ no. 396 bis.

Mr. W. Davison found the nest of the Red-winged Babbler at Bankasoon
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
reed-leaves, about 6 inches in diameter. Externally, with a circular
aperture on one side, very like that of _Mixornis rubricapillus_
and of _Dumetia_, and again not at all unlike that of _Ochromela
nigrorufa_, but placed in a bush about 4 feet high and not on the
ground.


176. Mixornis rubricapillus (Tick.). _The Yellow-breasted Babbler_.

Mixornis rubricapilla (_Tick.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 23; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 395.

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, Burma, and Tenasserim.

It is only from this latter province that I have any information as to
the nidification of the Yellow-breasted Babbler.

Mr. Davison writes to me:--"At a small village, called Shymootee or
Tsinmokehtee, about 7 miles from the town of Tavoy, and very slightly
above the sea-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 was not particularly well concealed. The nest was built of
bamboo-leaves, and in general appearance was not at all unlike that of
_Ochromela nigrorufa_; but the egg-cavity was very shallow, so that
by moving aside an overhanging 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, and only
1·25 deep below the lower edge of the entrance.

Both nest and eggs strongly recall those of _Dumetia hyperythra_. The
former is composed of the broad, grass-like leaves of the bamboo, and
with only a few stems of grass here and there intermingled as if by
accident. In 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 very scanty lining of very
fine grass-stems.

Mr. Oates 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 satisfied, however,
that the nest belonged to the present species; for I caught a glimpse
of the sitting bird. The nest was built on the top of a stump, well
concealed by leafy twigs, except the entrance, which was open to view.
It was a ball of grass with the opening at the side.

"_28th 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 the birds at work, was in a pineapple plant between the stalk
of the fruit and one of the leaves, almost on the 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 consist of _tiny_
specks of brownish or purplish red and pale yellowish brown, thinly
scattered over the rest of the surface, but comparatively 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 others.

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 0·71, and in breadth from 0·5 to
0·53.


177. Mixornis gularis (Raffl.). _The Sumatran Yellow-breasted
Babbler_.

Mixornis gularis (_Horsf._), _Hume, cat._ no. 395 bis.

The eggs[A] are very similar to those of _M. rubricapillus_, but
are, perhaps, as a rule, better marked. They are very regular ovals,
typically rather slightly elongated, often slightly compressed towards
the small end; the shell is very fine and fragile, and has usually 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 different 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.

[Footnote A: I cannot find any note about the nest of this species.
Mr. Davison was probably the finder of the eggs described.--ED.]


178. Schoeniparus dubius (Hume). _Hume's 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 off the nest
I took another egg ready for expulsion which 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 _Pomatorhinus_, 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 25th, 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 ovals, 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 difficult 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.


182. Sittiparus castaneiceps (Hodgs.). _The Chestnut-headed
Tit-Babbler_.

Minla castaneiceps, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 255; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 619.

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
pale greenish-yellow or dingy yellowish-white ground finely speckled,
chiefly 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
ground, 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 6 inches in diameter and 2·5 in height externally;
the cavity was only 2·1 in diameter and 1 in depth.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie 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 Rungbee forest, at 6000 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 width 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, on its N.W. slope, I found a nest of this bird
containing three eggs, but so hard-set that it was only with the
greatest difficulty 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 lined with fibres and dry bamboo-leaves.

"On the 29th of the same month I took another nest, also containing
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 difficulty, 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 was 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 top. The egg-cavity was
2·5 inches deep by 1·5 across the mouth.

"Three eggs measured 0·7 to 0·75 in length, and 0·55 to 0·59 in
breadth."

The eggs are broad ovals, a little pointed towards the small end,
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, having, however, a tendency to become obsolete
towards the small end. Sometimes a little brown and sometimes a little
lilac is intermingled in the zone.


183. Proparus vinipectus (Hodgs.). _The Plain-brown Tit-Babbler_.

Proparus vinipectus (_Hodgs._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 257; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 622.

The Plain-brown Tit-Babbler is not uncommon in the higher wooded hills
between 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 caught on the nest.

This latter was a rather compact massive cap, composed of moderately
fine blades of grass, measuring externally about 4¼ inches in diameter
and standing about 2¼ inches high. The egg-cavity, about 2 inches in
diameter and rather in more than half an inch deep, was 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 with
them, and I 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 luteus_. 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
Darjeeling, 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 were rather different in appearance. These nests were
both placed amongst the branches of dense brushwood, 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 lining of fine grass and roots; but very little of this
is seen, as the cavity is then thickly covered with black and white
hairs.


184. Lioparus chrysaeus (Hodgs.). _The Golden-breasted Tit-Babbler_.

Proparus chrysaeus, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 256; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 621.

The Golden-breasted Tit-Babbler breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson'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 from 0·7 by 0·5, with a pinky-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 diameter 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 composed 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 chrysotis_, 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
_chrysotis_. Now, I think a man has a perfect right to change his
_own_ name; what I object to is other people presuming to do it for
him.




Subfamily BRACHYPTERYGINAE.


187. Myiophoneus temmincki, Vigors. _The Himalayan Whistling
Thrush_.

Myiophonus temminckii, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ i. p. 500: _Hume. Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 343.

The Himalayan Whistling-Thrush breeds throughout the Himalayas from
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
mountain-stream, on the rocks and boulders of which the male so loves
to warble; sometimes on a mossy bank; sometimes in some rocky
crevice hidden amongst drooping maiden-hair; sometimes on some
stream-encircled slab, exposed to view from all sides, and not
unfrequently curtained in by the babbling waters of some little
waterfall behind which it has been constructed. The nest is always
admirably adapted to surrounding conditions. Safety is always sought
either in inaccessibility or concealment. Built on a rock in the midst
of 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 invisible 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 early 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 fully 2 inches thick; an almost solid mass of fine roots
(the finest towards the interior) externally intermingled 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 the 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 cavity was only of the same size
as that above described, the outer face of the nest was fully 6 inches
high, and the wall of the nest between 3 and 3½ inches thick. The
former contained three much incubated, the latter four nearly fresh
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 overhung
a stream, and contained two fresh eggs, was 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 concealed from view, and
no necessity, therefore, existed for coating it externally 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. R. 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 between the ledges of some
rock, often immediately overhanging 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 ones. The nest
bears a strong resemblance to that of the _Geocichlae_, but is much
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 3½ inches deep, but within only 2½ inches; the
diameter about 4¾ 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 with minute roseate specks, which become confluent
and form a patch at the larger end. The elevation at which 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 down 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 _Geocichlae_, 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 from which
small boulders have fallen, it constructs its nest, and where, 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 rocky spots on the skirts of the
forest as among the woods, loving to jump upon some stone or rocky
pinnacle, from which it sends forth a sort of choking, chattering
song, if such it can be called, or, with an up-jerk of the tail, hops
away with a loud musical whistle, very much after the manner of the
Blackbird (_M. vulgaris_)."

Sir E.C. Buck says:--"I found a nest at Huttoo, near Narkhunda, date
27th June, 1869, on an almost inaccessible crag overhanging 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
forwarded. I saw the bird well, and have no doubt as to its identity."

Writing from Dhurmsalla, Captain Cock informed me that he 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 the word)
occur. They are the largest of our Indian Thrushes' eggs, and are
larger than those of any European Thrush with which I am acquainted.
Their coloration, too, is somewhat unique; a French grey,
greyish-white, or pale-greenish ground, speckled or freckled with
minute pink, pale purplish-pink, or pinkish-brown specks, in most
cases thinly, 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 brown. The eggs have
scarcely any gloss.

In length, they vary from 1·24 to 1·55 inch, and in breadth from 0·95
to 1·1 inch, but the average of fifty eggs is 1·42 by about 1·0 inch.


188. Myiophoneus eugenii, Hume. _The Burmese Whistling-Thrush_.

Myiophoneus eugenii, _Hume; Hume, cat._ no. 343 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 16th April I was crossing the Mehkhaneh stream,
a feeder of the Meh-pa-leh, the largest tributary of the Thoungyeen
river, near its source, where it is a mere mountain-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, had half broken across, and now
formed a sort of temporary V-shaped dam, against which pieces of wood,
bark, leaves, and rubbish 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 green 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 what bird they belonged, 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
_Myiophoneus 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 inspection 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 x 1·02, 1·46 x 1·01, and 1·50 x 1·01."


189. Myiophoneus horsfieldi. Vigors. _The Malabar Whistling-Thrush_.

Myiophonus horsfieldii, _Vig., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 499;_Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 342.

Mr. W. Davison says:--"The Malabar Whistling-Thrush (rather a
misnomer, by the way) breeds on the slopes of the Nilghiris, never
ascending higher than 6000 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, I 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 vegetation of all kinds; the
egg-cavity, which is saucer-shaped and comparatively shallow, is
coarsely lined with roots. It breeds during March and April."

Miss Cockburn says:--"A nest of this bird was found on the 22nd of
March 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 undoubtedly belonged
to this species; moreover, there is no other bird on the Nilghiris
that she, who has figured most beautifully all the Nilghiri birds,
could possibly have mistaken for this species. At the same time, the
situation in which she found the nest was altogether 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 crevice 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, frequenting alike jungle and
open clearings, though generally found in the neighbourhood of some
running stream; I have known 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 fibre with a
little green moss intermixed. The female lays two to four eggs, and
both birds assist in the incubation."

Mr. T. Fulton Bourdillon records the finding of eggs on the following
dates:--

 "April 29, 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 compactness 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 acquired 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 conversation I
had with Colonel Renny, who was then commanding the Artillery in Sind,
he mentioned that he had three Blue-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 he 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 Renny told me that the birds built on this cliff-side every
monsoon."

Mr. E. Aitken has 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, 1872, 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 the nests were in every
case near to running water. The bird stays with us all the year, and
is one of our commonest species. Its clear whistle is always to be
heard the first thing in the morning before the other birds get up,
and daring 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 months."

Messrs. Davidson and Wenden remark:--"Scattered all over the Deccan in
suitable localities. W. got two nests, one on the Bhore Ghât on 5th
August, and one on the Thull Ghât on 17th of same month. That on the
Bhore Ghât was built on a ledge of rock some 15 feet _in_ from the
face of a railway tunnel where 30 or 40 trains daily passed within
a few feet of it. That on the Thull Ghât 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 Ghât. 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
_greenish blue_, finely speckled and splashed with pinky brown, while
the others were of the _pale salmon-pink_, as described in Mr. Hume's
Rough 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 2½ 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 ghâts 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 Neilgherries. 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 slope of the Nilghiris. It was a
large structure of roots, mixed with earth, moss, &c., and contained
three eggs of a pale salmon or reddish-fawn colour, with many smallish
brown spots;" and such is unquestionably the usual situation of the
nest.

The eggs of this species, which I have received from Kotagherry
and other parts of the Nilghiris, are broad, nearly regular ovals,
slightly compressed towards the lesser end; considerably elongated,
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 however) with light
burnt sienna-brown.

In length they vary from 1·18 to 1·48 inch, and in breadth from 0·92
to 1 inch.


191. Larvivora brunnea, Hodgs. _The Indian Blue Chat_.

Larvivora cyana, _Gould, Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 145; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 507.

I have never obtained the nest of the Indian Blue Chat. Mr. Davison
found it on the Nilghiris. 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 Nilghiris. 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, apparently 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 contained three
eggs, and was 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[A] 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
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.

[Footnote A: I cannot find any account of the finding of the nest of
this bird by Mr. Darling amongst Mr. Hume's notes.--Ed.]

The egg taken by Mr. Davison is an elongated, slightly pyriform 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, where 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 White-bellied_
_Short-wing_.

Callene albiventris, _Fairb., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 339 bis.

The Rev. S.B. Fairbank, to whom I have, owed much useful information
and many valuable specimens, kindly sent me the subjoined account of
the nidification of the White-bellied Short-wing in the Pulney Hills
at an elevation of about 6500 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 afterwards she laid two more in the same place, and I took
them in good condition. One egg measures 0·9 by 0·68 inch, and another
0·94 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
0·66, 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 any where 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 hole in the bank of a
path running through the _shola_ was of green moss and a few fine
fern-roots. Inside 1·75 inch deep and 2·5 inches across; outside a
shapeless mass of moss filling up the hole it was built in. The nest
was very conspicuous to any one passing by."


194. Brachypteryx rufiventris (Blyth). _The Rufous-bellied
Short-wing_.

Callene rufiventris, _Blyth. Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 496: _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 339.

I have been favoured with nests of the Rufous-bellied Short-wing by
Mr. Carter, who took them from holes or depressions of banks in the
Nilghiris in April and May. They closely resemble nests of _Niltava
macrigoriae_ 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 2½ inches across and ¾ inch in
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 _sholas_ (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 brownish 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 Nilghiris 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. Two or three eggs are 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 mottling 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 _Pratincola indica_ that I possess. In shape
they are long ovals, recalling in that respect those of _Myiophoneus
temmincki_; they have less gloss than the eggs of most of the
Thrushes.

In length they vary from 0·97 to 1·02 inch, and in breadth from 0·65
to 0·69 inch.


197. Drymochares cruralis (Blyth). _The White-browed Short-wing_

Brachypteryx cruralis (Bl.), _Jerd. B. Ind._ i, p. 495; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 338.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes and drawings, the White-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 shape, 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 3·38 from front to back. The aperture was 2 inches in
diameter. The eggs (four in number, or at times three) are pure white,
broad ovals, pointed at one end, measuring 0·9 by 0·65 inch.
This species breeds in the central regions of Nepal 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 fine 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 which he considers to belong to this
species, on the 3rd June, near Darjeeling. I rather question the
authenticity of these eggs. They are pure white and devoid of gloss,
moderately elongated ovals, only slightly compressed towards the
smaller end. They vary from 0·83 to 0·91 in length and from 0·61 to
0·64 in breadth.


198. Drymochares nepalensis (Hodgs.). _The Nepal Short-wing_.

Brachypteryx nipalensis, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ i, 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 was 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
measures 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 but slightly depressed below the entrance,
gradually sloping backwards to the depth of nearly an inch."

All the nests of this species that I have seen were of the same type,
more or less globular, more or less hooded or domed, according to the
situation in which they were placed, composed of dry flags 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, with which the entire cavity is densely lined, inside 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 2·5
inches in diameter.

Mr. Mandelli found two of these nests at Lebong (elevation 5500 feet),
near Darjeeling, on the 8th July. One contained three fresh eggs, the
other three slightly incubated ones. 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 Mr. Gammie belong to the same
type as those of _Brachypteryx rufiventris_ and _B. albiventris_. In
shape they are moderately elongated, rather regular ovals, somewhat
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-wing_.

Brachypteryx palliseri, _Bl., Hume, cat._ no. 338 bis.

Colonel Legge, writing in his 'Birds of Ceylon,' says:--"Mr. Bligh
found a nest at Nuwara Eliya in April 1870; it was placed in a thick
cluster of branches on the top of a somewhat densely-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-bellied Short-wing_.

Tesia cyaniventer, _Hodgs., Jerd, B. Ind._ i, p. 487; _Hume, Rough
Draft 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-roots, 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, 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-wing_.

Tesia castaneo-coronata (_Burt.), Jerd. E. Ind._ i, p. 487; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 327.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes and figures, the Chestnut-headed
Short-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 aperture 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 are 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 0·66 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 was 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 _Pnoepyga
pusilla_, Hodgs.




Subfamily SIBIINAE.


203. Sibia picaoides, Hodgs. _The Long-tailed Sibia_.

Sibia picaoides, _Hodgs. Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 55; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 430.

Mr. Gammie obtained a nest of the Long-tailed Sibia from the top of
a tall tree, situated at an elevation of about 4000 feet, in the
neighbourhood of Rungbee, 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 that of a Bulbul, the eggs those of a
Shrike or Minivet. The nest is a deep compact cup, about 4½ inches in
diameter and 2¾ inches in depth. The egg-cavity is 3 inches across and
fully 1¾ inch in depth. Interiorly the nest is composed of excessively
fine grass-stems very firmly interwoven; externally of the stems of
some herbaceous plant, a Chenopod, to which the dry blossoms are still
attached, intermingled with coarse 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, pointed towards one end, with a slight
gloss, the ground a slightly greyish 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 0·86 to 0·93, and in breadth from 0·7 to 0·73.


204. Lioptila capistrata (Vigors). _The Black-headed Sibia_.

Sibia capistrata (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 54; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & 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 Road, 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
preserved a good deal of grass-leaves and scraps of lichen are
incorporated in the moss. The cavity is deep, from 2½ 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 Hutton had
remarked:--"At Mussoorie this bird remains at an elevation of 7000
feet throughout the year, but I never saw it under 6500 feet. Its loud
ringing note of _titteree-titteree tweëyo_, quickly repeated, may
constantly be heard on wooded banks during summer. It breeds in May,
making a neat nest of coarse dry grasses as a foundation, covered
laterally with 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 the colour is pale bluish white,
freckled with rufous. The nest was placed on a branch of a plum-tree
in the Botanical Garden, Mussoorie."

Captain Cock says that he "found this species breeding at Murree, at
6000 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 find 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."

From Nynee Tal Colonel G.F.L. Marshall writes:--"This species builds
in trees and bushes. The only nest I examined personally was a very
compact and thick cup-shaped structure of moss, grass, and roots,
lined with grass, and placed amongst the outer twigs 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."

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I have only myself taken two nests of
this common species. I found both of them the same day (the 21st May),
in the Chinchona 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. The 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 internally 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 greenish white
or very pale bluish green. The markings are various and complicated:
first there are usually a few large, irregular, moderately dark
brownish-red spots and splashes; then there are a very few, very 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 purple 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 are almost wholly wanting.
The eggs vary in length from 0·95 to 1·0, and in breadth from 0·66 to
0·72.


205. Lioptila gracilis (McClell.). _The Grey Sibia_.

Malacias gracilis (_McClell.), Hume, cat._ no. 429 bis.

Colonel Godwin-Austen is, I believe, the only ornithologist who has
as yet secured the nest and eggs of the Grey Sibia. He says:--"In the
pine forest that covers the slopes of the hills descending into the
Umian valley in Assam, one of my men marked a nest on June 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 I saw it was _Sibia gracilis_; but 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.). _Tickell's Sibia_.

Malacias melanoleucus (_Bl.), Hume, cat._ no. 429 quart.

Mr. W. Davison was fortunate enough to secure a nest of this Sibia on
Muleyit mountain in Tenasserim. He says:--"I secured a nest of this
species on the 21st of February, containing two spotless pale blue
eggs slightly incubated. The nest, a deep compactly 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 0·98 in length by
0·66 and 0·68 in breadth."


211. Actinodura egertoni, Gould. _The Rufous Bar-wing_.

Actinodura egertoni, _Gould, Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 52; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & 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. Blyth remarks:--"Mr.
Hodgson figures the nest of this bird like that of an English
Redbreast, with pinkish-white eggs."

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"On the 27th 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 slightly-set
eggs.

"I killed the female off the nest."

Several nests have been obtained and sent me by Messrs. 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 _Trochalopterum
nigrimentum_; 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 composed entirely of some
_Polypodium_, 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 of 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 situation--a few sprigs or a complete
coating, as the case may be.

Two eggs of this species sent me by Mr. Gammie are regular, slightly
elongated ovals, with very thin and fragile shells, and fairly but not
highly glossy. The ground is a delicate pale sea-green, and they are
profusely blotched, spotted, and marked with curious hieroglyphic-like
figures of a sort of umber-brown; while about the larger end numerous
spots and streaks of pale lilac occur.

These eggs measure 0·98 in length, by 0·65 and 0·68 in breadth.

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
0·68 and 0·7 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 (_Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii. p. 53; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & 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 6000 feet. The nest is placed in holes, in crevices
between rocks and stones; is circular and saucer-shaped. One measured
externally 3·62 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 _Merula
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 Stripe-throated Siva_.

Siva strigula. _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii. p. 252; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 616.

The nest of the Stripe-throated Siva is placed, according 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, intermingled with dry
bamboo-leaves, and woven into a broad compact cup-shaped nest. One
such nest, taken on the 27th May, with three eggs in it, measured
exteriorly 4·25 in diameter and 3 inches in height, with a cavity
(thickly lined with cow's hair) about 2·5 in diameter and 2·25 in
depth. The birds lay in May and June. The eggs are three or sometimes
four in number; they are pale greenish blue or bluish green, and vary
in length from 0·8 to 0·9, and in breadth from 0·6 to 0·65, and are,
some thickly, some thinly, speckled and freckled, usually most densely
towards the large end, with red or brownish red. His nests were taken
both in Sikhim and Nepal.


221. Siva cyanuroptera, Hodgs. _The Blue-winged Siva_.

Siva cyanouroptera, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 253; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 617.

The Blue-winged Siva breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes, in the
central regions of Nepal, 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 the 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 fine
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, 0·85 in length by 0·6 in width, having a pale greenish
ground pretty thickly speckled and spotted, especially on the broader
half of the egg, with 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 _Polypodium_, 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 very beautiful cups, very compact and
firm, sometimes wedged into a fork, but more commonly suspended
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
frequently 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 diameter 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 manner in which they are attached, some being considerably
broader and shallower, and some rather deeper.

Eggs of this species sent me from Mr. Mandelli, which were obtained by
him in the neighbourhood of Darjeeling, are decidedly elongated ovals,
fairly glossy, and with a pale slightly greenish-blue ground. A number
of minute red or brownish-red or yellowish-brown specks and spots
occur about the large end, sometimes irregularly scattered, sometimes
more or less gathered into an imperfect zone. The rest of the egg is
either spotless or exhibits only a few tiny specks and spots. The eggs
measure 0·75 and 0·76 by 0·51 and 0·52.


223. Yuhina gularis, Hodgs. _The Stripe-throated Yuhina_.

Yuhina gularis, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 261; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 626.

The Stripe-throated Yuhina breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes,
from April to July, building a large massive nest of moss, lined with
moss-roots, and wedged 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 Darjeeling, was quite egg-shaped, the long diameter being
perpendicular to the ground, and measured 6 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 buffy or _café au lait_ ground-colour, thickly
spotted with red or brownish red, the markings forming a confluent
zone about the large end.


225. Yuhina nigrimentum (Hodgs.). _The Black-chinned Yuhina_.

Yuhina nigrimentum (_Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 262; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 628.

A nest of the Black-chinned Yuhina, taken by Mr. Gammie on the 17th
June below Rungbee, at an elevation of about 3500 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
white 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 absolutely
glossless.

Two sent me by Mr. Gammie measure 0·58 by 0·42 and 0·57 by 0·43.


226. Zosterops palpebrosa (Temm.). _The Indian White-eye_.

Zosterops palpebrosus (_Temm.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 265; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 631.

The Indian White-eye, or White-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 Himalayas to an elevation
of 5000 or 6000 feet.

The breeding-season extends in different localities from January to
September, but I think that everywhere April is the month in which
most eggs are to be met with.

Sometimes they have two broods; whether this is always the case I 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 60 feet high, and I have found them in a tiny bush
not a foot off the soil. Still I think that perhaps the majority build
at low elevations, say between 2 and 6 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
like 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 mohwa tree and almost entirely hidden by the surrounding
leaves. The exterior diameter of the nest is 2½ inches, and the depth
2 inches. The egg-cavity measures scarcely more than 1½ 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 2½ inches in diameter, and not
above an inch in depth externally. The egg-cavity measures at most 1½
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 attached
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 nest, somewhat larger than, the last described, the nest is
made of moss slightly tacked together with cobwebs and lined with
fine grass-fibres. Another nest, a very regular shallow cup, with an
egg-cavity 2 inches in diameter and an inch in depth, is composed
almost entirely of the soft silky down of the _Calatropis gigantea_,
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
brilliantly 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 fine
moss-roots (roots so fine that most of them 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. Hutton 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 hard-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 _Bombyx Huttoni_, Westw., and by a few slender fibres of
the bark of trees or hair according to circumstances.

"So slight and so fragile is the little oval cup that it is
astonishing the mere weight of the parent bird does not bring it to
the ground, and yet within it three young ones will often safely
outride 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 with
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
with 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 1½ inch by three-fourths of an inch. The eggs are usually three in
number."

Mr. Brooks, writing from Almorah, says:--"This morning, 28th April,
I found a nest of _Zosterops palpebrosa_ containing two fresh eggs.
Yesterday I found one of the same bird containing three half-fledged
young ones. Near the Tonse River, in the Allahabad District, I found
these birds in July nesting high in a mango-tree, 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. R. 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 2½ inches in diameter and three-fourths of
an inch in depth, composed of cobwebs, fine roots, hairs, &c., neatly
interwoven and lined internally with vegetable down. The eggs, two,
three, or four in number, are of a pale whitish-blue, oval, and
somewhat larger than those of _Arachnechthra asiatica_. The birds
select all kinds of trees, but the nest is always suspended. The
breeding-season is about March and April, and the brood is quickly
hatched and fledged.

"A nest found by me on the 22nd April, and containing four eggs, was
built most ingeniously in a creeper that hung 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 might have been 12
feet from the ground. It was a neat compact structure, deeply hollow,
and made up of cobwebs, fine straw, and hair, and lined with vegetable
down, closely and neatly interwoven.

"The parent birds were evidently feeding the young on the ripe fruit
of the _Khoda_ or _Chumroor_ (_Ehretia laevis_). 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 throughout the
North-Western Provinces and Oudh during the months of June, July, and
August. 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 with 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 progresses 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 fine hair and grass-stems of the softest
kind. Sometimes the nest is suspended from only two twigs, exactly
after the fashion of the Mango-birds (_Oriolus kundoo_); and in this
case it is attached by means of silk-like fibres and fine fibre of
_sun_ for about 1½ 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 suspension.

"As a rule the nest is built at a considerable height, and owing
to its situation there is not a more difficult nest to take. Great
numbers get washed down in a half-finished 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 at Delhi;
breeds in both places in May, June, and July. All nests I have seen
have been finely made little cups of fibres, 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 (2000 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 2½ inches; internal diameter 1½
inch; depth 1½ 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 Nilghiris 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 pale blue, like skimmed milk."

From Kotagherry Miss Cockburn remarks:--"Their nests are, I think,
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 with the down of
seed-pods. White-eyes' nests are very numerous here in the months of
January, February, and March. They are extremely partial to the wild
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 orange-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. palpebrosa_ 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 Chaffinch,
composed of moss, grass, and silk cotton, and sparsely lined with very
fine grass and 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 somewhat more glossy egg is met
with. They are normally of a uniform very pale blue or greenish blue,
without any markings whatsoever, but once in a way an egg is seen
characterized by a cap or zone of a somewhat purer and deeper blue.
Abnormally large and small specimens are common. They vary in length
from 0·53 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, Holdsworth. _The Ceylon White-eye_.

Zosterops ceylonensis, _Holdsw., Hume, cat._ no. 631 bis.

Colonel Legge, referring to the nidification of the Ceylon White-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 was 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 shallow cup, well made of
small roots and bents, lined with hair-like tendrils of moss, and was
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 Ixulus_.

Ixulus occipitalis (_Bl.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 250; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 624.

A nest of this species, taken by Mr. Gammie out of a small tree below
Rungbee, 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 3½ inches in diameter and 2 inches in height. The
egg-cavity was about 2¼ inches by barely 1¼ inch. This nest was found
on the 17th June and contained three hard-set eggs, _which_ were
thrown away!


232. Ixulus flavicollis (Hodgs.). _The Yellow-naped Ixulus_.

Ixulus flavicollis (_Hodgs._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii. p. 259; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 623.

I have never taken a nest of the Yellow-naped Ixulus.

Mr. Gammie 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-naped 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 a buffy-white ground and is thinly speckled and streaked, except
quite at the broad end, where the markings are nearly confluent, with
pale dingy yellowish 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 1¾ inch in diameter by less than 1½ inch in depth, 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 since 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 egg in shape, with the
entrance at one side, but always using moss, in some cases fine, in
some coarse, according to the nature of the moss growing where the
nest is placed, as the sole material, and lining the cavity thickly
with fine black moss and fern-roots.

Dr. Jerdon tells us that at Darjeeling 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. Jerdon. 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 varieties of the eggs of
_Hirundo rustica_, 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 specimens,
irregular, ill-defined and blotchy in others. As a rule these
markings, which consist of specks, spots, and tiny blotches, are
comparatively thinly scattered over the rest of the egg, but
occasionally they are pretty thickly scattered everywhere, though
nowhere anything like so densely as at the large end. The colour of
the markings 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 varying 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 markings 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 0·76 to 0·8, and in breadth from
0·54 to 0·58.




Subfamily LIOTRICHINAE.


235. Liothrix lutea (Scop.). _The Red-billed Liothrix_.

Leiothrix luteus (_Scop._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 250.
Leiothrix callipyga (_Hodgs._), _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._
no. 614.

The Red-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 of the Sutlej I
have not heard of its occurrence. It also doubtless breeds throughout
the hill-ranges running down from Assam to Burmah.

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 8 feet from the ground, and either wedge them
into some fork, tack them into three or four upright 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 moss, 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 Mr. 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 _verbatim_:--"_Central Hills, August
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 bird found
in small flocks of ten to twelve, except at breeding-season."

A nest sent to me last year by Mr. Gammie was found by him on the 24th
April, at an elevation of about 5000 feet, in the neighbourhood of
Rungbee. 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-like 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 buffalo-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 2½ inches in diameter and 2 inches in depth.

This year Mr. Gammie writes to me:--"I have taken many nests of the
Red-billed Liothrix here in our Chinchona reserves, at all elevations
from 3500 to 5000 feet. They 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 externally 4 inches in diameter and 2·7 in height, while
the cavity was 2·6 across by 1·9 in depth."

Mr. Gammie subsequently found a nest on the very late date of 17th
October at Rishap, 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. I 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 _impossible_ 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
work 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 almost exclusively 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 something 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 should mention that all the eggs have a faint gloss, and
that some are decidedly 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-winged Shrike-Tit_.

Pteruthius erythropterus (_Vig.) Jerd. 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 nidification of this species. Its nest is exceedingly
difficult to find, and it was 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 which 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. The 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 the larger end. They average 0·9 in length and 0·65 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 _O. kundoo_ in
structure, only shallower. It contained three eggs, pinky white,
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 structure,
composed internally of not very fine roots and externally coated with
green moss. Along the lines of suspension a good deal of wool is
incorporated in the structure, and it is chiefly by this 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 compact, 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 red and a little pale inky
purple. Just towards the large end the markings are very dense, and
form, more or less of a confluent cap of mingled brownish red and pale
lilac, the latter everywhere appearing to underlie the former.

The egg was taken on the 10th June, and measures 0·9 by 0·68.


239. Pteruthius melanotis, Hodgs. _The Chestnut-throated
Shrike-Tit_.

Allotrius oenobarbus, _Temm. apud Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 246.
Allotrius melanotis, _Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ 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 which 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 two 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 with violet or violet-purple, the markings being most numerous
towards the large end, where they have a tendency to form a mottled
zone.


243. Aegithine tiphia (Linn.). _The Common Iora_.

Iora zeylonica (Gm.) _et_ I. typhia (_Linn.), Jerd. B. Ind._
ii, pp. 101, 103.
Aegithine 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
distinct species _Ae. tiphia_ and _Ae. zeylonica_. I am quite open to
conviction; but believing them, so far as my present investigations
go, to be inseparable, I propose to treat them as a single species in
the present notice.

The Common Iora (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, _infrà_), may
be detected; but I have seen more than fifty, and, so far as I am
concerned, I have no hesitation in asserting that, as in the case of
the birds so in that of their nests and eggs, no constant differences
can be detected if only sufficiently large series are compared.

The birds build usually on the upper surface of a horizontal bough, at
a height of from 10 to 25 feet from the ground. Sometimes, 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 this is quite exceptional.

As a rule nests of the Iora very closely resemble those of
_Leucocerca_, 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 Iora's nests
are looser and somewhat less compact and firm. My experience does not
confirm Mr. Brooks's remarks (_vide infrà_) 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-walled cups,
which had been placed on more or less horizontal branches, not
uncommonly where some upright-growing twig afforded the nest
additional security. The egg-cavity averages about 2 inches in
diameter, and varies from an inch to 1¼ inch in depth; the walls,
composed of vegetable fibres, and varying in different specimens
from only one eighth to three eighths of an inch in thickness, are
everywhere thickly coated externally with cobwebs, by which 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, down the curving sides of the branch, it becomes a good deal
thicker, and where 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 an upright fork of four slender twigs; 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, writing of a nest he took in the Mirzapoor District,
says:--"Did you ever get particulars of the nest of _Iora 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
albifrontata_, but not quite so neat and much more shallow; eggs
salmon-coloured and spotted with pale reddish brown, intermixed with a
few larger dashes of purple-grey. The bird lays in July; three eggs.
This is the only nest I have not taken since I came to India the
second time."

From Raipoor, Mr. F.R. Blewitt remarks:--"The Iora breeds from July 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 either just above or
between the fork of two outshooting 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
different eggs. I secured the first eggs on the 12th July, and the
last on the 2nd September. A pair of birds were on this last date just
completing their nest, which unfortunately was destroyed by the heavy
rains."

Captain Cock says:--"_Iora tiphia_ is tolerably common at Seetapoor
(Oudh), and I have several times taken their nests and eggs. I may
here mention that I have taken eggs of _Iora zeylonica_ at Etawah, and
that knowing the birds well, 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 different. On
the 13th May I observed a nest of _I. tiphia_ 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 was placed on the upperside of a
sloping bough, was covered outside with cobweb, and lined with thin
dry grass. It contained two fresh eggs of a delicate pink colour, with
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 thereafter 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 _Ae. tiphia_
and typical _Ae. zeylonica_ are very distinct, but that as every
intermediate form occurs, they are not, according to my views of what
constitutes 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 with 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 sent you, in 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 with spider's web. It only contained two eggs."

Both parents (sexes ascertained by dissection) are in the typical
_tiphia_ 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 when building and is easily caused to forsake its nest; if a
single 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 with the following very interesting
note on the habits of this Iora:--

"Ioras 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. Iora 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 descends it utters a
strange note, something like that of a frog or cricket, a protracted
sibilant sound. This bird is close to _Liothrix_ and _Stachyrhis_,
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 were
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 Maulmain 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. Oates 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 devoid 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 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 albifrontata_. The peculiar streaky
longitudinal character of the markings, almost wholly confined to the
large end, best distinguishes the eggs of the Ioras from those of any
other Indian bird with which 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_.

Myzornis pyrrboura, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 263; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 629.

I have received a single egg said to belong to the Fire-tailed
Myzornis from Native Sikhim, where it was 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 valeat_.

The egg is a very regular, rather elongated oval. The egg was never
properly blown and has been consequently somewhat discoloured. 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.). _Jerdon's Chloropsis_.

Phyllornis jerdoni, _Bl., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 97; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no. 463.

I have never myself found the nest of Jerdon's Chloropsis, but my
friend Mr. F.R. Blewitt has sent me numerous specimens of both nests
and eggs from Raipoor 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 3½
inches in diameter and 1½ in depth; is composed externally entirely of
soft tow-like vegetable fibre, which appears to be worked over a light
framework of fine roots and slender tamarisk-stems, amongst which,
some little pieces of lichen are intermingled. There is no attempt
at a lining, the eggs being laid on the fine grass and slender twigs
(about the thickness of an ordinary-sized pin) which compose the
framework of the nest.

The eggs as a rule appear to be two in number.

Mr. Blewitt remarks:--"The Green Bulbul breeds in July and August. The
bird does not preferentially select any one description of tree for
its nest, though the greater number secured were taken from mowah
trees (_Bassia latifolia_). 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, eschewing 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 number of eggs. During the period of
nidification the parent birds are very watchful and noisy, and their
alarm and over-anxiety on the near approach of a stranger often betray
the nest."

The late Captain Beavan recorded the following interesting note in
regard to this species:--

"This handsome bird is very abundant in Manbhoom, where it is called
'Hurrooa' by the natives. Its note is so much like that of _Dicrurus
ater_ 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, 1865. It is built at the fork of a bough and
neatly suspended from it, like a hammock, 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 white with a few light pinky-brown spots) are
rather elongated, 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
_Parus major_"

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 two 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 common in the
south of Ceylon, but rare towards the north. It feeds in small flocks
on seeds and insects, and builds an open cup-shaped nest. The eggs,
four in number, are white, thickly mottled at the obtuse end with
purplish spots."

And Sir W. Jardine says:--"For the interesting nest and eggs of
_Phyllornis jerdoni_, Blyth, we are indebted to E.S. Layard, Esq.,
Magistrate of the district of Point Pedro (the northernmost extremity
of Ceylon), in which district we understand it to have been procured.
A large groove along the underside 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 worked. It contains four eggs, white, abruptly speckled
over with dark bistre mingled with some ashy spots." Layard is not
generally reliable where eggs are concerned, for he did not usually
take them with his own hands and natives _will_ lie; and I doubt the
_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 numerous, 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 0·63 in
breadth; but the average of a dozen was 0·86 by 0·6.


254. Irena puella (Lath.). _The Fairy Blue-bird_.

Irena puella (_Lath._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 105; _Hume, Rough Draft
N. & E._ no 469.

Mr. Frank Bourdillon favoured me with an egg of the Fairy Blue-bird,
which with other rare eggs he obtained on the Assamboo Hills. 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
Range 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 precipitous 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 Fairy 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 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 with 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 points; a long cone, the apex broadly
truncated and rounded off obtusely, sealed 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 brown. 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 _should_ 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 _Dicruridae_. The eggs of _Psaroglossa spiloptera_ are
not very dissimilar, and I expect that it is somewhere between
the _Paradiseidae, Sturnidae_, and _Icteridae_ that _Irena_ will
ultimately have to be located.

The egg measures 1·1 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 lined 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 1½ 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 well concealed. It was composed of twigs, without any lining."

The nest sent me by Mr. Bourdillon is a very flimsy affair, reminding
one much of the nest of _Graucalus macii_ 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 little depression in
the centre, containing two 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 very 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 puella_ 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 greenish white, much dashed, speckled, and spotted
with brown. They 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 of _Irena puella_. The nest was placed in the fork
of a sapling some 12 feet from the ground. The nest externally was
composed of dry twigs, carelessly and irregularly put together. The
egg-cavity was shallow, not more than 1·5 inch at its deepest part,
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 simply
a greyish white. In 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 elsewhere pretty thickly
set over the entire surface of the egg. They have always a certain
amount of gloss, but are never very glossy.


257. Mesia argentauris, Hodgs. _The Silver-eared Mesia_.

Leiothrix argentauris (_Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 251.
Mesia argentauris, _Hodgs., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 615.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes, the Silver-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. Jerdon brought me two eggs from Darjeeling, which he believed to
belong to this species. They much resemble those of _Liothrix 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 necessary to confirm the authenticity of the
eggs.

They measure 0·85 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.

"The 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.[A]

[Footnote A: There is in the Tweeddale collection a skin of a young
nestling of this species procured by Limborg 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 nestling
was taken was made of moss.--ED.]


258. Minla igneitincta, Hodgs. _The Red-tailed Minla_.

Minla ignotincta, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 254: _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 618.

The Red-tailed Minla, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes and figures,
breeds in the central region of Nepal and near Darjeeling, during May
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 bands 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
1·62 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 me,
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_.

Cephalopyrus flammiceps (_Burt.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 267; _Hume,
Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 633.

Writing from Murree, Colonel C.H.T. Marshall tells us:--"On the 25th
May we found the nest of this species (the Fire-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 an 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-wing_.

Saroglossa spiloptera (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 336; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 691.

Personally I know nothing of the nidification of the Spotted-wing.

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
not appear to ascend above 5500 to 6000 feet, and is therefore more
properly an inhabitant of the warm valleys. I do not remember 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 (_Sturnus vulgaris_), 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,
and its food appears to consist of berries.

"Like the two species of _Acridotheres_, 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 from those of all the Starlings
that doubts might reasonably arise as to whether this species is
placed exactly where 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 _Myiophoneus
temmincki_. The eggs are glossless, of a greenish or greyish-white
ground, more or less profusely speckled and spotted with red, reddish
brown, and dingy purple. In two of the eggs the majority of the
markings are gathered into a broad irregular 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.[A]

[Footnote A: HYPOCOLIUS AMPELINUS, Bonap. _The Grey Hypocolius_.
Hypocolius ampelinus, _Bp., 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. Cumming (Ibis, 1886. p. 478) will prove
interesting:--

"It is not till the middle of June that they breed.

"In 1883, first eggs were brought by an Arab about the 13th of June,
and on the 15th of the same month I found a nest containing two fresh
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
9th, another nest, containing four young just fledged was brought. 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 20th 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 3¼
inches by 2¼ 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 round
the larger end and at times spreading over the entire egg. On 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 very 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:--0·9 x 0·63; 0·83 x 0·63;
0·83 x 0·6; 0·83 x 0·66; 0·86 x 0·66."]




Subfamily BRACHYPODINAE.


263. Criniger flaveolus (Gould). _The White-throated Bulbul_.

Criniger flaveolus (_Gould), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 83; _Hume. Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 451.

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, 5·5 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 firmly 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 steins 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 large 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 egg, chiefly in the neighbourhood of
the zone.

These eggs vary from 0·9 to 1·0 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 Sikhim during July and the early
part of August are all precisely of the same type. They each contained
two fresh eggs; they were all placed in the branches of small trees in
the midst of dense brushwood 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 diameter 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-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 him in
Sikhim 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
than the eggs of any other of this family with which I am acquainted.
The ground-colour is pink. The markings 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 _Criniger ictericus_. I have
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.


269. Hypsipetes psaroides, Vigors. _The Himalayan Black Bulbul_.

Hypsipetes psaroides (_Vig.), Jerd. B. Ind_ ii, p. 77; _Hume, Rough
Draft N. & E._ no. 444.

The Himalayan Black Bulbul breeds throughout the outer and lower
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
during 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 2½ inches in diameter by 1½ 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 more than from a quarter to half an inch in depth. It appears
to be generally placed on the fork of a branch, at a moderate height
from the ground.

Four is the normal number of eggs, but I have more than once found
three partially incubated eggs in a nest.

From Darjeeling Mr. Gammie remarks:--"A nest of this bird, which I
took on the 17th June, at a height of nearly 50 feet from the ground,
on one of the topmost branches of a tree, contained three hard-set
eggs. This was below Rungbee, at an elevation of about 3000 feet. The
nest was a compact, moderately deep cup, composed of very fine twigs
and stems, and with a quantity of dead leaves incorporated in the
structure, especially towards its lower surface; it had no lining, but
the stems used towards the interior of the nest were somewhat finer
than the rest. Exteriorly the nest had 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 20th, Jaha Powah_.--Two nests on the skirts 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 longifolia_. 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 9th, 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. Horne on the 27th May near Bheem Tal."

Colonel G.F.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 larger 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 with 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 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 2¾
inches, and it is 1½ inches deep. The eggs are usually three in
number, of a rosy or purplish white, sprinkled over rather numerously
with 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 were white, with widely dispersed dark purple spots and dull
indistinct ones appearing under the shell. In all the spots were more
crowded at the larger end."

Colonel C.H.T. Marshall remarks:--"Numerous nests of this species were
found at Murree, agreeing well with Hutton's description. 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
ovals. They have little 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,
with, however, almost every possible intermediate variety of markings.
The one is thickly speckled over its whole 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 with 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 sparingly, 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 _Rhynchops albicollis_. Then there are eggs
partly speckly and partly blotched, some in which the markings are all
rich red and where no secondary pale purple clouds are observable,
and others again in which all the markings 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. The
ground-colour is a rich rosy pink, boldly, but sparingly, blotched
and spotted with deep maroon, underlaid by clouds and spots of pale
purple, which appear as if beneath the surface of the shell. In 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, more 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 very faint streaks and clouds of very _pale_ inky
purple underlying the primary markings.

In length the eggs vary from 0·9 to 1·15, and in breadth from 0·7 to
0·78; but the average of twenty-five eggs measured is 1·03 by 0·75.


271. Hypsipetes ganeesa, Sykes. _The Southern-Indian Black Bulbul_.

Hypsipetes neilgherriensis, _Jerd._; _Jerd. B. Ind._
ii, p. 78; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 445.
Hypsipetes 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 Ootacamund, 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 14th March, 1869,
by Mr. Carter, to whom I owe this and many other nests from the
Nilghiris, reminds one much of those of the Red-cheeked Bulbuls.
A wisp of dry grass and dead leaves, with the dead leaves greatly
predominating exteriorly, twisted into a shallow cup, some 4½ 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 in 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. Rhodes W. 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 ground. The nest is
constructed of the dried stems of the wild forget-me-not, and lined
with a moss much resembling black horsehair. The eggs, which are two
in number, are pretty thickly spotted 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 have taken the eggs of this Black
Bulbul every year from 1863 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 30 feet,
and mostly in rhododendron trees. I found two nests in S. Wynaad, at
an elevation of about 4000 feet, both with young, in June 1873."

Mr. C.J.W. Taylor informs us that he procured the nest of this bird
with three fresh eggs at Manzeerabad in Mysore on the 7th April.

Colonel Legge tells us that this Bulbul breeds in Ceylon from January
till March.

That the Nilghiris bird should lay usually only _two_ 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 _H. psaroides_ from the
Himalayas. The eggs are of course of the Bulbul 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 delicate and
fragile.

In length they vary from 1·0 to 1·17, and in breadth from 0·7 to 0·8.


275. Hemixus macclellandi (Horsf.). _The Rufous-bellied Bulbul_.

Hypsipetes mclellandi, _Horsf., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 79.
Hypsipetes m'clellandii, _Horsf., Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._
no. 447.

The Rufous-bellied Bulbul, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes, breeds in
the central region of Nepal, and low down nearly to the Terai, from
April to June. Its nest is a shallow saucer suspended between a
slender horizontal fork, to the twigs of which it is firmly bound like
an Oriole's with vegetable fibres and roots. It is composed of roots
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 writes from Nepal:--"This Bulbul is common throughout the
year on the hills round the valley of Nepal, but never tenants the
central woods. It is generally found in bushes and bush trees, not in
high tree-forest; and is commonly seen in pairs. The breeding-season
appears to be May and June. A nest was taken on the 6th June, which
contained two fresh eggs. The 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 the bottom of the nest 1·25
thick. It was attached to a slender fork of a tree, and was composed
externally of ferns, dry leaves, roots, grass, and a little moss,
bound together with fine black hair-like fibres, which were wound
round the prongs of the fork so as regularly to suspend the nest like
an Oriole's. There was a regular lining, distinct from the body of the
nest, composed of fine long yellowish grass-stems, and a little cobweb
was spread here and there over the branches of the fork and the
outside of the nest. The eggs are rather long ovals, smaller at one
end, and fairly glossy; they measure 1·0 by 0·7, and 0·97 by 0·7. The
ground-colour is pure pinkish white, abundantly speckled and finely
spotted with reddish purple; the spots closely crowded together at the
large end, but not confluent, forming in one egg a broadish zone, and
in the other a cap; in the latter egg there are a few faint underlying
stains of purplish inky at the large end."

Two eggs sent me by Mr. Mandelli from Darjeeling, said to belong to
this species, are elongated ovals, much pointed towards the small
end. The shell is fine and fairly glossy; the ground-colour a dull
salmon-pink, and they are profusely and minutely freckled, speckled,
and streaked (so densely at the large end that the markings there are
almost confluent) with dull reddish purple.

The eggs measure 1·06 and 1·11 by 0·67.


277. Alcurus striatus (Bl.). _The Striated Green Bulbul_.

Alcurus striatus (_Bl._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 81.

Mr. Mandelli sent me a nest of this species which was found, he said,
on the 8th May about 4 feet from the ground amongst the foliage of a
kind of prickly bamboo growing out of the crevices of a patch of large
stones near Lebong (elevation 5000 feet), and contained two eggs
nearly ready to hatch. The nest is a shallow cup, about 3·75 inches in
diameter and 1·5 in height externally, composed entirely of fine brown
fibrous roots, a little bound together outside with wool and the silk
of cocoons and with two or three little bits of moss stuck about it,
and sparingly lined with hair-like grass. It is altogether a light
brown 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 (Gm.). _The Madras Red-vented Bulbul_.

Pycnonotus haemorrhous (_Gm._), _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 94.
Molpastes pusillus (_Bl._), _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._
no. 462.

The Madras Red-vented Bulbul, which by the way extends northwards
throughout the Central Provinces, Chota-Nagpoor, Rajpootana (the
eastern portions), the plains of the North-Western Provinces, Oudh,
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 February 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 sâl-trees (_Shorea robusta_),
the great building-timber of Northern India, whose natural home is in
that vast sub-Himalayan belt of forest which passes only 30 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
twig. Externally it was composed of the stems (with the leaves
and flowers still on them) of a tiny groundsel-like (_Senecio_)
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 extremity 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 few jhow-shoots (_Tamarix dioica_) and a
little tow-like fibre of the putsan (_Hibiscus cannabinus_), while
a good deal of cobweb was applied externally here and there. The
interior was lined with excessively fine stems of some herbaceous
exogenous plant, and there did not appear to be a single dead leaf or
a single particle of grass in the whole nest.

"The eggs, however, in both nests, three in each, closely resembled
each other, being of a delicate pink ground, with reddish-brown and
purplish-grey spots and blotches nearly equally distributed over the
whole surface of the egg, the reddish brown in places becoming almost
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 pink, and the whole of the egg
was thickly mottled all over with very deep blood-red, the mottlings
being so thick at the large end as to form an almost perfectly
confluent cap. Altogether the colouring of these two eggs reminded one
of richly coloured types of _Neophron's_ 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-white ground, and only moderately
thickly but very uniformly speckled all over with small spots of light
purplish grey, light reddish brown, and very dark brown. 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.R. 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 every 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 _khus_ or fine grass for the lining. Very frequently horsehair is
likewise used for lining the interior of the cavity.

"I have seen some nests bound round on the outside with hemp, other
kinds of vegetable fibres, and even spider's web.

"The regular number of the eggs is four."

Mr. W. Theobald found the present species breeding in Monghyr in the
fourth week of June.

Mr. Nunn remarks:--"I took a nest of this species at Hoshungabad
on 26th June, 1868, which contained four eggs; it was placed in a
lime-tree, was composed of very small twigs, and lined inside with
fine grass-roots; it was cup-shaped, and measured internally 2·25
inches in breadth by 1·75 in depth."

The late Mr. A. Anderson wrote from Futtehgurh:--"On the 30th April
last (1874) I took a very beautifully and curiously constructed nest
of our Common Bulbul. In shape and size it resembled the ordinary
nest, but the curious part of it was that the upper portion of the
nest for an inch all round was composed entirely of _green twigs_ of
the neem tree on which it was built, and the under surface (below) was
felted with fresh blossoms belonging to the same tree. The green twigs
had evidently been broken off by the birds, but the flowers were
picked up from off the ground, where they were lying thick."

Colonel Butler says:--"The Madras Red-vented Bulbul breeds in the
neighbourhood of Deesa all through the hot weather and in the monsoon.
I found a nest at Mount Aboo in a garden on the 15th of April in the
middle of a pot of sweet peas, containing three fresh eggs. I
found other nests in Deesa, from the 11th May to 20th August, each
containing three eggs.

"The nest is usually built of dry grass-stems, lined with fine roots
and a few horsehairs neatly woven together. One nest I found was in a
very remarkable situation, viz. inside an uninhabited bungalow upon
the top of a door leading out of a sitting-room; the door was open and
the bolt at the top had been forced back, and it was between the top
of the door and the top of the bolt that the nest rested. The old bird
entered the building by passing first of all through the lattice-work
of the verandah, and then through a broken window-pane into the room
where the nest was built."

Mr. R.M. Adam informs us that this bird breeds at Sambhur during June
and July.

Lieut. H.E. Barnes, speaking of Rajputana in general, states that this
Bulbul breeds from April to September. Nests are occasionally found
even earlier than this, but they are exceptions to the general rule.

Major C.T. Bingham writes:--"The first nest I have a note of taking
was at Allahabad on the 2nd April. At Delhi it breeds from the end of
April to the end of July; I have, however, found most nests in May.
All have been firmly made little cups of slender twigs, sometimes dry
stems of some herbaceous plant, and lined with fine grass-roots. Five
is the usual number of eggs laid."

Mr. G.W. Vidal, writing of the South Konkan, says:--"Abundant
everywhere. Breeds in April, and again in September."

Dr. Jerdon, whose experience of this species had been gained mainly in
Madras, states that "it breeds from June to September, according to
the locality. The nest is rather neat, cup-shaped, made of roots and
grass, lined with hair, fibres, and spiders' webs[A], placed at no
great height in a shrub or hedge. The eggs are pale pinkish, with
spots of darker lake-red, most crowded at the thick end. Burgess
describes them as a rich madder colour, spotted and blotched with grey
and madder-brown: Layard as pale cream, with darker markings."

[Footnote A: This is some _lapsus pennae_. Spiders' webs are sometimes
used exteriorly never as a lining.]

Mr. Benjamin Aitken writes:--"The Common Bulbul lays at Khandalla in
May, but I never found a nest in the plains till after the rains had
set in. I have found one nest in Bombay, one in Poona, and two in
Berar, as late as October; and my brother found a nest in Berar in
September, with three eggs which were duly hatched."

Writing from the Nilghiris, Miss Cockburn says that "the nests, which
in shape closely resemble those of the Southern Red-whiskered Bulbul,
are composed chiefly of grass. The eggs are three in number, and may
occasionally be found in any month of the year, though most plentiful
during February, March, and April."

In shape the eggs are typically rather long ovals, slightly compressed
or pointed towards the small end. Some are a good deal pointed and
elongated; a few are tolerably perfect broad ovals, and abnormal
shapes are not very uncommon. The ground is universally pinkish or
reddish white (in old eggs which have been kept a long time a sort of
dull French white), of which more or less is seen according to the
extent of the markings. These markings take almost every conceivable
form, defined and undefined--specks, spots, blotches, streaks,
smudges, and clouds; their combinations are as varied as their
colours, which embrace every shade of red, brownish, and purplish red.
As a rule, besides the primary markings, feeble secondary markings of
pale inky purple are exhibited, often only perceptible when the egg is
closely examined, sometimes so numerous as to give the ground-colour
of the egg a universal purple tint. In about half the eggs there is
a tendency to exhibit, more or less, an irregular zone or cap at the
large end, but solitary eggs occur in which there is a cap at the
small end. Three pretty well marked types may be separately described.
First, an egg thickly mottled and streaked all over with deep
blood-red, which is entirely confluent over one third of the surface,
namely at the large end, and leaves less than a third of the
ground-colour visible as a paler mottling over the rest of the
surface. Then there is another type with a very delicate pure pink
ground, and with a few large, bold, deep red blotches, chiefly at
the large end, where they are intermingled with a few small pale
inky-purple clouds, and with only a few spots and specks of the former
colour scattered over the rest of the surface. Lastly, there is a pale
dingy pink ground, speckled almost uniformly, but only moderately
thickly, over the whole surface, with minute specks and spots of
blood-red and pale inky purple.

The dimensions are excessively variable. In length the eggs vary from
0·7 to 1·02, and in breadth from 0·6 to 0·75, but the average of sixty
eggs measured was 0·89 by 0·65.


279. Molpastes burmanicus (Sharpe). _The Burmese Red-vented Bulbul._

The Burmese Red-vented Bulbul occurs from Manipur down to Rangoon.
Writing from Upper Pegu, Mr. Oates says:--"On the 29th July I found a
nest in the extremity of a bamboo-frond forming one of a large clump
near my house at Boulay. It was circular, the internal diameter about
2·5 and the external 4 inches; the depth inside 1·5, and the total
height 2·5. Foundation of dead leaves, the bulk of the nest coarse
grass and small roots, and the interior of much finer grass carefully
curved to shape. Altogether the nest was a very pretty structure. Two
eggs measured 0·9 by 0·62 and 0·65. Another nest found at the same
time was placed in a small shrub about 4 feet from the ground. It was
very similar in construction and size to the above and contained three
eggs."

Subsequently writing from Lower Pegu, he says:--"Breeds abundantly
from May to September, and has no particular preference for any one
month."


281. Molpastes atricapillus (Vieill.). _The Chinese Red-vented
Bulbul_.

Molpastes atricapillus (_V.), Hume, cat._ no. 462 ter.

Mr. J. Darling, Jr., found a nest of the Chinese Red-vented Bulbul in
Tenasserim with three fresh eggs on the 16th March. It was built in a
bush little more than a foot above the ground on a hill-side.

Except that they seem to run smaller, these eggs are not
distinguishable from those of the other species of this genus, and
there is really nothing to add to the description already given of the
eggs of _M. Haemorrhous_. The three eggs measured 0·79 by 0·6.


282. Molpastes bengalensis (Blyth). _The Bengal Red-vented Bulbul_.

Pycnonotus pygaeus (_Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 93.
Molpastes pygmaeus (_Hodgs.), Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._
no. 461.

I have taken many nests of the Bengal Red-vented Bulbul in many
localities, and while the birds vary, getting less typical as you go
westwards, the nests are all pretty much the same, though the eastern
birds go in rather more for dead leaves than the western. Sikhim birds
are very typical, and I will therefore confine myself to quoting a
note I made there.

Several nests taken at Darjeeling in June, at elevations of from 2000
to 4000 feet, each contained three or four, more or less incubated,
eggs. The nests were mostly very compact and rather deep cups about 3½
inches in diameter and 2 inches in height, very firmly woven of moss
and grass-roots, but with a certain quantity of dry and dead leaves,
and here and there a little cobweb worked into the outer surface.
Sometimes a little fine grass was used as a lining; but generally
there was no lining, only the roots that were used in finishing off
the interior of the nests were rather finer than those employed
elsewhere. The egg-cavity is very large for the size of the nest, the
sides, though very firm and compact, being scarcely above half an inch
in thickness. The nests differ very much in appearance, owing to the
fact that in some all the roots used are black, in others pale brown.

Mr. Gammie says:--"I took two or three nests of this species in the
latter half of May at Mongpho, in Sikhim, at elevations of 3500 feet
or thereabouts. They contained three eggs each, hard-set. The nests
were in trees, at a moderate height, and rather flimsy structures;
shallow caps, composed externally of fine twigs and vegetable fibre,
and generally some dead leaves intermingled, especially towards their
basal portions, and lined with the fine hair-like stem portion of the
flowering tops of grass. One nest measured internally 2½ inches in
diameter by nearly 1½ inch in depth; externally it was nearly 4 inches
in diameter and 2 inches in height. The eggs were of the usual type."

Mr. J.R. Cripps, writing from Fureedpore, Eastern Bengal,
says:--"Excessively common and a permanent resident; commits great
havoc in gardens amongst tomatoes and chillies, the red colour of
which seems to attract them. Builds its nest in very exposed places
and at all heights from two to thirty feet off the ground, in bushes
and trees. One nest I saw containing two young ones, on the 28th June,
was built on a small date-tree which stood on the side of a road along
which people were passing all day, and within six feet of them. The
nest was only five feet from the ground, but the materials of which it
was made and the colour of the bird assimilated so perfectly with the
bark of the tree that detection was difficult. I have found the nests
with eggs from the 3rd of April to the end of June; dead leaves and
cobwebs were incorporated with the twigs and grasses in all nests
which I have seen in Dacca. The natives keep these birds for fighting
purposes; large sums are lost at times on these combats."

Writing from Nepal, Dr. Scully remarks:--"It breeds in May and June in
the Residency grounds, the nests being very commonly placed in small
pine-trees (_Pinus longifolia_). Three is the usual number of eggs
found, and a clutch taken on the 29th May measured in length from 0·85
to 0·93, and in breadth from 0·64 to 0·65."

I have fully described the leading types of the eggs of these Bulbuls
under _Molpastes haemorrhous_. I shall therefore only here say that
the eggs of this species in shape and colour exac