Chapter XVI: Part 16

[Footnote A: I omit the article on _Abrornis chloronotus_, Hodgs, which appeared in the 'Rough Draft' under number 574 bis. There is no manner of doubt that Hodgson got the wrong nest, a nest of a Sunbird, and figured it as that of this bird.--ED.]

415. Phylloscopus proregulus (Pall.). _Pallas's Willow-Warbler_.

Reguloides chloronotus (_Hodgs.), Jerd. B.I._ ii, p. 197. Reguloides proregulus (_Pall.), Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 566.

Captain Cock has the honour of being the first to take, and, I believe, up to date the _only_ oologist who has ever taken, the nest and eggs of Pallas's Willow-Warbler. Mr. Brooks tried hard for the prize, but he searched on the ground and so missed the nest. He wrote to me from Cashmere, just about the time (June 1871) that Captain Cock found the nest he obtained:--"I have been utterly unable to do anything with _P. proregulus_. I shot a female, with an egg nearly ready to lay, when I first went to Goolmerg, but though I often heard the males singing, I never could find any indication of the nesting female. The feeble song, like that of _P. sibilatrix_, alluded to by Blyth as being that of _P. superciliosus_, is not that of this latter bird, but of _P. proregulus_".

Later, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, he noted that "Captain Cock took the nest and eggs at Sonamerg. It builds, like the Golden-crested Regulus, up a fir-tree, at from 6 to 40 feet elevation, on the outer ends of the branches. The nest is of moss, wool and fibres, and profusely lined with feathers. Eggs, four or five, pure white, profusely spotted with red and a few spots of purple grey. Size, 0·53 by 0·43."

Later still he added in 'The Ibis:'--"Captain Cock writes from Sonamerg: 'The second day I found my first nest with eggs. It was the nest of _P. proregulus_. I shot the old bird. Three eggs. These nests are often placed on a bough high up in a pine-tree, and are domed or roofed, made of moss and lined with feathers. I took another one to day with five eggs, and shot the bird just as it was entering its nest. This was on a bough of a pine, but low down. I know of two more nests of _P. proregulus_, all on pine-trees, from which I hope to take eggs.'

"After describing the nest of _P. humii_, and saying that it was lined with the hair of the musk-deer, he adds: 'In this the nest differs from that of _P. proregulus_, which lines its nest with feathers and bits of thin birch-bark; and the nest of _P. proregulus_ is only partly domed.'

"I measured four eggs of _P. proregulus_ which Captain Cock kindly gave me, and the dimensions are as follows: ·55 by ·44, ·53 by ·43, ·53 by ·43, and ·54 by ·43. They are pure white, richly marked with dark brownish red, particularly at the larger end, forming there a fine zone on most of the eggs. Intermingled with these spots, and especially on the zone, are some spots and blotches of deep purple-grey. The egg is very handsome, and reminds one strongly of those of _Parus cristatus_ on a smaller scale. The dates when the eggs were taken are 30th May and 2nd June, and the place Sonamerg, which is four marches up the valley of the Sindh River."

Captain Cock himself tells me that he "took several nests of this bird at Sonamerg in Cashmere in pine-forests. It breeds in May and June, making a partially domed nest, which is sometimes placed low down on the bough of a pine-tree, sometimes on a small sapling pine where the junction of the bough with the stem takes place, and at other times high up on the outer end of a bough. It lays five eggs, like those of _P. humii_ only smaller. The nests I found were all lined with feathers and thin birch-bark strips. I never found a hair-lining in any of this bird's nests. The outer portions of the nest consisted of moss and lichen, arranged so as to harmonize with the bough on which it was placed. The nests are compact little structures."

Mr. Brooks, writing of the valley of the Bhagirati river, says:--"Common in the alpine parts of the valley. It breeds about Derali, Bairamghati, and Gangaotri, in the large moss-grown deodars."

The eggs of this species closely resemble those of _P. humii_, but are smaller, and, to judge from a few specimens taken by Captain Cock that I have seen, they are somewhat shorter and broader.

Texture smooth, without any perceptible gloss. Ground-colour pure white, spotted freely and principally towards the larger end with red: brick-dust red would perhaps scarcely be a correct term. The colour would be obtained by mixing a little brown and a good deal of purple with vermilion, or by mixing Indian red with a little Venetian red. At the larger end they have an irregular zone of small, more or less confluent, spots and specks of this red, mingled with reddish or brownish purple, and a few specks and spots of the red scattered over the rest of the surface of the egg.

This egg may also be well described, as regards colour and mode of marking, by saying that it resembles the illustration in Hewitson's work of the eggs of _Parus cristatus_, except that the egg of _P. proregulus_ has a distinct zone of nearly confluent spots, and their colour is more of a brownish red than those shown in the plate above referred to, which by-the-by do not correctly represent the colour of the spots upon the eggs of _P. cristatus_ which I have seen. These spots are coloured with too much of a tendency towards crimson instead of brownish red.

Three of the eggs taken by Captain Cock varied from 0·53 to 0·55 in length, and from 0·43 to 0·44 in breadth.

416. Phylloscopus subviridis (Brooks). _Brooks's Willow-Warbler_.

Reguloides subviridis, _Brooks, Hume, cat._ no. 566 bis.

Colonel Biddulph remarks that this species is common in Gilgit at 5000 feet in March, April, May, and beginning of June, and that it breeds in the Nulter valley in July at 10,000 feet. Young birds were shot in August fully fledged.

Major Wardlaw Ramsay observes on the label of a specimen procured by him at Bian Kheyl in Afghanistan in April, "evidently breeding"; and on that of another specimen shot in May at the same place, "contained eggs nearly ready to lay."

418. Phylloscopus humii (Brooks). _Hume's Willow-Warbler_.

Reguloides humii, _Brooks, Hume, cat._ no. 565 bis. Reguloides superciliosus (_Gm), Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 565.

Mr. Brooks and Captain Cock are the only persons I know of who have taken the eggs and nests of this species. The nest and eggs sent to and described by me in 'The Ibis' as belonging to this bird cannot really have pertained to it.

Mr. Brooks tells us that _P. humii_ "is very abundant in Cashmere, and I believe in all hills immediately below the snows. It would be vain to look for this bird at elevations below 8000 feet, or at any distance from the snows. It was common even in the birch woods above the upper line of pines. I found many nests. It builds a globular nest of coarse grass on a bank side, always on the ground, and never up a tree. The nest is lined with hair in greater or lesser quantities. The eggs, four or five in number, average ·56 by ·44, are pure white, profusely spotted with red, and sometimes have also a few spots of purplish grey. On the 15th June I found a nest with four young ones on the south side of the Pir-Pinjal Pass. This bird has no song, only a double chirp in addition to its callnote. The double chirp, which is very loud, is intended for a song, for the male bird incessantly repeats it as he feeds from tree to tree near where the female is sitting upon her nest."

Nests of this species obtained in Cashmere towards the end of May and during June near Goolmerg, and brought me by Mr. Brooks, were certainly by no means worthy of this pretty little Warbler. They are very loosely made, more or less straggling cups of somewhat coarse grass, only slightly lined interiorly with fine moss-roots. The egg-cavity is very small compared with the size of the nest, some of which, look like balls of grass with a small hole in the centre. They average from 4 to 5 inches in external diameter, and from 2 to 3 inches in height. The egg cavity does not exceed 2 inches in diameter, and seems often to be less, and is from an inch to half an inch in depth.

From Cashmere, when in the thick of the nests of this species, Mr. Brooks wrote to me as follows:--

"From Goolmerg, which is at the foot of a snowy range, I went up to the foot of the snows through pine-forests. The pines ceased near the snow and were replaced by birch wood on tremendously rocky ground, which bothered me greatly to get over. I had missed _P. humii_ after leaving the foot of the hill, where water was plentiful, but here again the bird became abundant. I could not, however, find a nest here, though I watched several pairs. I think in the cooler country they breed later. Flowers which had gone out of bloom below I again met with up here in full flower.

"Blyth says: '_R. superciliosus_ has not any song, unless a sort of double call, consisting of two notes, can be called a song,' This the males vigorously uttered all day long, but I did not notice this much; but as soon as the female sharply and rapidly uttered the well-known bell-like call, I knew she was disturbed from her nest, or had left it of her own accord. Whichever of us heard this rushed quickly to the spot, and the female once sighted was kept in view as she flitted from tree to tree, apparently carelessly feeding all the while; soon she came lower down to the bashes below, and now her note quickened and betokened anxiety; generally before half an hour would elapse she would make a dash at a particular spot, and wish to go in but checked herself. This would be repeated two or three times, and now the nest was within the compass of 2 or 3 yards. At last down she went and her note ceased. When all had been quiet for a minute or two, the male meanwhile continuing his double note in the trees above, I cautiously approached the place. Sometimes the nest was very artfully concealed, but other times there it was--the round green ball with the opening at one side. I often saw the female put her head out and then partially draw it in again. Her well-defined supercilium was very distinct. I thought I could catch her on the nest once, and went round above her, but out came her head a little further, and she bolted as I brought down my pocket handkerchief on the nest. I shot one or two from the nest, but this I found unnecessary. In every case the female shouted vigorously on leaving the nest or immediately after, and by her very peculiar note fully authenticated the eggs."

Elsewhere Mr. Brooks has remarked:--"Goolmerg is one of those mountain downs, or extensive pasture lands, which are numerous on the top of the range of hills immediately below the Pir-Pinjal Range, which is the first snowy range. It is a beautiful mountain common, about 3000 feet above the level of Sirinugger, which latter place has an elevation of 5235 feet. This common is about 3 miles long and about a couple of miles wide, but of very irregular shape. On all sides the undulating grass-land is surrounded by pine-clad hills, and on one side the pine-slopes are surmounted by snowy mountains. On the side near the snow the supply of water in the woods is ample. The whole hill-side is intersected by small ravines, and each ravine has its stream of pure cold water--water so different from the tepid fluid we drink in the plains. In such places where there were water and old pines _P. humii_ was very abundant: every few yards was the domain of a pair. The males were very noisy, and continually uttered their song. This song is not that described by Mr. Blyth as being similar to the notes of the English Wood-Wren (_P. sibilatrix_) but fainter--it is a loud double chirp or call, hardly worthy of being dignified with the name of song at all. While the female was sitting, the male continued vigorously to utter his double note as he fed from tree to tree. To this note I and my native assistants paid but little attention; but when the female, being off the nest, uttered her well-known '_tiss-yip_,' as Mr. Blyth expresses the call of a Willow-Wren, we repaired rapidly to the spot and kept her in view. In every instance, before an hour had passed, she went into her nest, first making a few impatient dashes at the place where it was, as much as to say--'There it is, but I don't want you to see me go in.'

"The nest of _P. humii_ is always, so far as my observation goes placed on the ground on some sloping bank or ravine-side. The situation preferred is the lower slope near the edge of the wood, and at the root of some very small bush or tree; often, however, on quite open ground, where the newly growing herbage was so short that it only partially concealed it. In form it is a true Willow-Wren's nest--a rather large globular structure with the entrance at one side. Regarding the first nest taken, I have noted that it was placed on a sloping bank on the ground, among some low ferns and other plants, and close to the root of a small broken fir tree which, being somewhat inclined over the nest, protected it from being trodden upon. It was composed of coarse dry grass and moss and lined with finer grass and a few black hairs. The cavity was about 2 inches, and the entrance about 1½ inch in diameter. About 20 yards from the nest was a large, old, hollow fir tree, and in this I sat till the female returned to her nest. My attendant then quietly approached the spot, when she flew out of the nest and sat on a low bank 2 or 3 yards from it: then she uttered her '_tiss-yip_,' which I know so well, and darted away among the pines. My man retired, upon which she soon returned, and having called for a few minutes in the vicinity of the nest, she ceased her note and quickly entered. Again she was quietly disturbed, and sat on a twig not far from the nest. I heard her call once more, and then shot her. There were five eggs, which were slightly incubated.

* * * * *

"My second nest was placed on the side of a steep bank on the ground. The third was similarly placed, and composed of coarse grass and moss, and lined with black horsehair. In each of these nests the number of eggs was five.

"Another nest, taken on the 1st June, with four eggs, was placed on the ground on a sloping bank, at the foot of a small thin bush. It was composed as usual of coarse dry grass and moss, and lined with finer grasses and a few hairs. The eggs were five or six days incubated.

"Another nest, with four eggs, was placed on the ground, under the inclined trunk of a small fir. The same materials were used.

"Another nest, containing four eggs, was placed on a sloping bank and quite exposed, there being little or no herbage to conceal it. It was composed as before, with the addition of a few feathers in the outer portion of the nest.

"Another nest was at the roots of a fern growing on a very steep bank. The new shoots of the fern grew up above the nest, and last year's dead leaves overhung it and entirely concealed it.

"Another was placed on a sloping bank, immediately under the trunk of a fallen and decayed pine. On account of the irregularities in the ground, the trunk did not touch the ground where the nest was by about 2 feet. This was again an instance of contrivance for the nest's protection. It was composed of the same materials as usual.

"Another was among the branches of a shrub, right in the centre of the bush and on the ground, which was sloping as usual.

"Another nest, with four eggs, taken on 3rd June, was placed in the steep bank of a small stream, only 3 feet 6 inches above the water.

"The above examples will give a very fair idea of the situation of the nest; and it now remains only to describe the eggs, which average ·56 long by ·44 broad. The largest egg which was measured was ·62 long and ·45 broad, and the smallest measured ·52 long and ·43 broad. The ground-colour is always pure white, more or less spotted with brownish red, the spots being much more numerous and frequently in the form of a rich zone or cap at the larger end. Intermixed with the red spots are sometimes a few purplish-grey ones. Other eggs are marked with deep purple-brown spots, like those of the Chiffchaff, and the spots are also intermingled with purplish grey. Some eggs are boldly and richly marked, while others are minutely spotted. The egg also varies in shape; but, as a general rule, they are rather short and round, resembling in shape those of _P. trochilus_. In returning from Cashmere, on the south face of the Pir-Pinjal Mountain and close to the footpath, I found on the 15th June a nest of this bird with four young ones. This nest was placed in an unusually steep bank. Half an hour after finding the nest, and perhaps 1000 feet lower down the hill, I stood upon a mass of snow which had accumulated in the bed of a mountain-stream."

Captain Charles R. Cock writes to me that he "took numbers of nests at Sonamerg, in the Sindh Valley in Cashmere, during a nesting trip that I took in 1871 with my valued and esteemed friend W.E. Brooks, Esq. Although at the time of our finding the nest of this Warbler we were about 80 miles apart, yet we both found our first nest on the same day--the 31st May. I believe he was by a couple of hours or so the winner, as I do not think the egg had ever been taken before.

"Breeds in May or June on the ground in banks; makes a globular nest of moss, well lined with fine grass, musk-deer hair, or horse-hair. It lays five eggs, white spotted with rusty red, inclining to a zone at the larger end."

Typically the eggs of this species are broad ovals, slightly compressed towards one end; the ground pure white and almost perfectly devoid of gloss, speckled and spotted with red or purplish red, the markings, most dense about the large end, often forming an irregular mottled cap or zone. These are the general characters, but the eggs vary very much in shape, size, colour, and density of markings. Some eggs are almost spherical; others are somewhat elongated; others slightly pyriform. As a body, alike in shape and coloration, they remind one of the eggs of many species of Indian Tit, especially those of _Lophophanes melanolophus_. In some eggs the markings are a slightly brownish brickdust-red, moderate sized spots and specks scattered pretty thickly over the whole surface, but gathered into a dense, more or less confluent, zone or cap towards the large end. Intermingled with these primary markings a few pale purple spots are scattered towards the large end of the eggs. In other eggs the markings are mostly mere specks, and in this type of egg the specks are mostly brownish purple, in some almost black. Occasionally an egg is almost entirely spotless, having only towards the large end a clouded dingy reddish-purple zone. In some eggs again the colour of the markings is pale and washed out. As a rule, the eggs in which the markings are of the brickdust-red type have these larger, bolder, and more numerous; while those in which the markings are purple have them of a more minute character.

The shape of the eggs, as already noticed, varies much, being sometimes longer than those of _P. trochilus_, and at other times very much of the same rounded shape. Frequently they are more pointed at the smaller end than those of _P. trochilus_ usually are. The texture of the egg is similar to that of _P. trochilus_, with scarcely any gloss. The ground-colour is always pure white, and the markings, which are always more or less plentiful, are either reddish brown or purple-brown, intermingled sparingly with lighter or darker purple-grey.

Some eggs contain hardly a speck of the purple-grey, while others have considerable blotches of that colour scattered amongst the red spots.

Some eggs are scantily marked, and have the spots very small; while others are densely spotted and blotched, the spots often being more or less confluent at the larger end. Frequently they accumulate round the larger end in the form of a confluent zone. The variety with deep purple-brown spots, which is the rarest, resembles those of _P. rufa_ in miniature; but, as a rule, the egg bears a much stronger resemblance to that of _P. trochilus_, though it is of course much smaller. _As far as the colour goes_, the representations in Hewitson's work of the eggs of _Parus cristatus, Parus coeruleus_, and _Phylloscopus trochilus_ will give a very correct idea of the different varieties of the egg of the present bird.

The greatest number of eggs found in any nest by Captain Cock and Mr. Brooks was five; frequently, however, four was the number upon which the bird was sitting; eggs partially incubated. On the Pir-Pinjal Mountain, just below the snows, a nest with four young ones was found on the 15th June, so that, though five seems to be the usual number, the bird frequently lays only four.

In length the eggs vary from 0·52 to 0·62, and in breadth from 0·43 to 0·47; but the average of fifty eggs carefully measured was 0·56 full by 0·44.

428. Acanthopneuste occipitalis, Jerd. _The Large Crowned Willow-Warbler_.

Reguloides occipitalis (_Jerd.), Jerd. B.I._ ii, p. 196; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 563.

The Large Crowned Willow-Warbler breeds in Cashmere and the North-west Himalayas generally, during the latter half of May, June, and the first half of July, apparently at any elevation from 4000 to 8000 feet.

Mr. Brooks says:--"This is perhaps the commonest bird in Cashmere, even more so than _Passer indicus_. It is found at almost all elevations above the valley where good woods occur.

"I only took three nests, as the little bird is very cunning, and, unlike the simple _P. humii_, is very careful indeed how it approaches its nest when an enemy is near.

"The nest is placed in a hole under the roots of a large tree on some steep bank-side. I found one in a decayed stump of a large fir-tree, inside the rotten wood. It was placed on a level with the ground, and could not be seen till I had broken away part of the outside of the stump. It was composed of green moss and small dead leaves, a scanty and loosely formed nest, and not domed. It was lined with fine grass and a little wool, and also a very few hairs. There were five eggs.

"Another nest was also placed in a rotten stump, but under the roots. A third nest was placed in a hole under the roots of a large living pine, and in front of the hole grew a small rose-bush quite against the tree-trunk. This nest was most carefully concealed, for the hole behind the roots of the rose-bush was most difficult to find.

"The eggs, four or five in number, are of a rather longer form than those of _P. humii_, and are pure white without any spots. They average ·65 by ·5."

He added _in epist._:--"This is a much shier bird than _P. humii_. I watched many a one without effect. The nest is a loose structure of moss lined with a little wool, and would not retain its shape after coming out of the hole. It is a most amusing bird, very noisy, with a short poor song, and utters a variety of notes when you are near the nest."

Certainly the nests he brought me are nothing but little pads of moss, 3 to 4 inches in diameter and perhaps an inch in thickness. There is no pretence for a lining, but a certain amount of wool and excessively fine moss-roots are incorporated in the body of the nest. _In situ_ they would appear to be sometimes more or less domed.

Captain Cock writes to me:--"I have taken numbers of nests of this bird in Cashmere and in and about the hill-station of Murree. They commence breeding in May and have finished by July. The nests are placed under roots of trees, in crevices of trees, between large stems, and a favourite locality is, where the road has a stone embankment to support it, between the stones. The nest is globular, made of moss, and the number of eggs is four. I have often caught the old bird on the nest. The nests are easy to find, as the birds are very noisy and demonstrative when any one is near their nests."

Colonel C.H.T. Marshall also very kindly gives me the following most interesting note on the nidification of this species in the vicinity of Murree. He says:--

"This little Willow-Warbler, so far as my own experience goes, always prefers a pretty high elevation for breeding. Out of the dozen nests found by Captain Cock and myself in the neighbourhood of Murree, none were at an elevation of less than 6500 feet above the sea; and my shikaree, who was always on the look out for me in the lower ranges, never came across the nest of this species.

"The nest is generally placed in holes at the foot of the large spruce firs. It is a difficult nest to find, as the bird selects holes into which the hand will not go, and outside there are no signs of there being any nest within.

"The cock bird spends most of his time at the tops of trees, coming down at intervals. The only chance of success in taking the eggs is to watch carefully any that may be flying low in the bushes, until they disappear cautiously into the holes where they are breeding. I should mention that we have also found some nests in the rough stone walls on the hill road-sides.

"The nest is as neatly and carefully built as if it had to be exposed on the branch of a tree. It is globular in shape, made of moss, and lined with feathers. The eggs are pure white. They apparently rear two broods in the year. In the first nest, which we found under the root of an old spruce-fir on the 17th May, the eggs were quite hard-set; and I may remark that immediately over this nest, about 8 feet up the tree in a crack in the wood, a little _Muscicapula superciliaris_ was sitting on five eggs. Later at the end of June we found _fresh_ eggs in several nests. The eggs in our collection were all taken between the 17th May and the 10th July."

They do not always, however, select such situations as those referred to in the above accounts. Sir E.C. Buck, C.S., says:--"I found a nest on 11th June in the roof of Major Batchelor's bungalow at Nachar, in the Sutlej Valley; it contained young birds. I was not allowed to disturb the nest, which was composed externally of moss. I noticed a second half-made nest near the other."

The eggs of this species are, as might be expected, somewhat larger than those of _P. humii_, and they are of a different character, being spotless, white, and slightly glossy. In shape the eggs vary from a nearly perfect, moderately elongated oval to a slightly pyriform shape, broad at the large end, and a good deal compressed and somewhat pointed towards the small end (_vide_ the representation of the eggs of _Ruticilla tithys_ in Hewitson's work).

In length they vary from 0·63 to 0·68, and in breadth from 0·48 to 0·53; but the average of fifteen eggs measured is 0·65 by 0·5.

430. Acanthopneuste davisoni, Oates. _The Tenasserim White-tailed Willow-Warbler_.

Reguloides viridipennis (_Blyth), apud Hume, cat._ no. 507[A].

[Footnote A: Mr. Hume is of opinion that this bird is the true _P. viridipennis_ of Blyth. I have elsewhere stated my reasons for disagreeing with him.--ED.]

It was on the 2nd of February, just at the foot of the final cone of Mooleyit, at an elevation of over 6000 feet, that Mr. Davison came upon the nest of this species. He says:--

"In a deep ravine close below the summit of Mooleyit I found a nest of this Willow-Warbler. It was placed in a mass of creepers growing over the face of a rock about 7 feet from the ground. It was only partially screened, and I easily detected it on the bird leaving it. I was very much astonished at finding a nest of a Willow-Warbler in Burmah, so I determined to make positively certain of the owner. I marked the place, and after a short time returned very quietly. I got within a couple of feet of the nest; the bird sat still, and I watched her for some time; the markings on the top of the head were very conspicuous. On my attempting to go closer the bird flew off, and settled on a small branch a few feet off. I moved back a short distance and shot her, using a very small charge.

"The nest was a globular structure, with the roof slightly projecting over the entrance. It was composed externally chiefly of moss, intermingled with dried leaves and fibres; the egg-cavity was warmly and thickly lined with a felt of pappus.

"The external diameter of the nest was about 4 inches; the egg-cavity 1 inch at the entrance, and 2 inches deep.

"The nest contained three small pure white eggs."

The three eggs here mentioned measured 0·59 and 0·6 in length, by 0·49 in breadth.

434. Cryptolopha xanthoschista (Hodgs.) _Holgson's Grey-headed Flycatcher-Warbler_.

Abrornis albosuperciliaris, _Blyth, Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 202; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 573.

Throughout the Himalayas south of the first snowy ranges, and in all wooded valleys in rear of these, from Darjeeling to Murree, this Warbler appears to be a permanent resident.

I have received its nests and eggs from several sources, and have taken them in the Sutlej and Beas Valleys myself. They lay in the last week of March, and throughout April and May, constructing a large globular nest of moss, more or less mingled exteriorly with dry grass and lined thinly with goat's hair, and then inside this thickly with the softest wool or, in one nest that I found, with the inner downy fur of hares. The entrance to the nest is sometimes on one side, sometimes almost at the top, and is rather large for the size of the bird. The nest is almost without exception placed on a grassy bank, at the foot of some small bush, and usually contains four eggs.

Talking of this species, and writing from Almorah on the 17th May, Mr. Brooks said:--"I have just taken a nest. It was placed on a sloping bank-side near the foot of a small bush. The bank was overgrown with grass. The nest, which was on the ground, was a large ball-shaped one, composed of very coarse grass, moss-roots, and wool, and lined with hair and wool. It contained four pure white glossy eggs, which were much pointed at the small end. I shot the bird off the nest. I had already frequently met with fully-grown young birds of this species."

Writing from Dhurmsala, Captain Cock remarked:--"On the 8th April I found a nest of this species containing four white eggs; it was placed on the ground, under a bush, on a steep bank. The nest was globular, with rather a large entrance-hole, and was made of moss, with dry grass outside, then black hair of goats, and thickly lined with the softest of wool: _no feathers_ in the nest. I caught the bird on the nest; it is common here."

Colonel G.F.L. Marshall tells us:--"A nest found on the 22nd May at Naini Tal, about 7000 feet above the sea, contained three hard-set eggs. The eggs were pure white. The nest was a most beautiful little structure of moss, lined with wool; it was globular, with the entrance at one side, and placed on a bank among some ground-ivy, the outer part of the nest having a few broad grass-blades interwoven so as to assimilate the appearance of the nest to that of the bank against which it lay. It was at the side of a narrow glen with a northern aspect, and about four feet above the pathway, close to the spring from which my _bhisti_ daily draws water, the bird sitting fearlessly while passed and repassed by people going down the glen within a foot or two of the nest."

The eggs are pure white, and generally fairly glossy. In texture the shells are very fine and compact. The eggs are moderately broad ovals, much pointed towards the small end, and vary from 0·6 to 0·65 in length, and from 0·48 to 0·52 in breadth; but the average of twenty eggs measured is 0·63 by 0·5 nearly.

435. Cryptolopha jerdoni (Brooks). _Brooks's Grey-headed Flycatcher-Warbler_.

Abrornis xanthoschistos (_Hodgs.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 202; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 572.

This Warbler breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes[A], both in Nepal and Sikhim up to an elevation of 6000 or 7000 feet. They lay in May three or four pure white eggs. They make their nest on the ground in thick bushes, or in holes in banks, or under roots of trees. The nest is a large mass of moss and dry leaves, somewhat egg-shaped, with the entrance at one end, some 6 inches in length, 4 inches in breadth, and 3·5 in height externally, and with an oval entrance about 1·5 high and 2·25 wide. Inside it is carefully lined with moss-roots. Both sexes assist in hatching and rearing the young, which are ready to fly in July.

[Footnote A: Mr. Hodgson's specimens in the British Museum are _C. xanthoschista_; but _C. jerdoni_ also occurs in Nepal, and Mr. Hodgson _may_ have found the nests of both. I leave the note as it appeared in the 'Rough Draft,' as the two species are not likely to differ in their habits, and it matters little to which species Mr. Hodgson's note refers, provided the above remarks are borne in mind.--ED.]

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie says:--"I found one nest of this species at Rishap, at an elevation of 5000 feet, on the 20th May. The nest was in thin forest, near its outer edge, and placed on the ground beside a small stem. It was domed, and composed entirely of moss, with the exception of a few fibres in the hood or dome portion, and was lined with thistle-down. The exterior diameter was 3·3, the height 3·2: the cavity was 1·6 in diameter, and only an inch in depth below the lower margin of the entrance, which was the rim of the true cup, over which the hood was drawn. The nest contained four fresh eggs."

Several nests of this species that have been sent me from Sikhim were all of the same type--beautiful little cups, some placed on the ground, some amongst the twigs of brushwood a little above the ground, composed entirely of fine moss and a little fern-root, and with the interior of the cavity not indeed regularly lined but dotted about with tufts of silky seed-down.

The eggs are very similar to but smaller than those of the preceding species--very broad ovals, a good deal pointed towards one end, pure white, and faintly glossy. In length they vary from 0·53 to 0·58, and in breadth from 0·45 to 0·49.

436. Cryptolopha poliogenys (Blyth). _The Grey-cheeked Flycatcher-Warbler_.

Abrornis poliogenys (_Blyth), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 203.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"A nest of the Grey-cheeked Flycatcher-Warbler, taken on the 8th May in large forest at 6000 feet, contained three hard-set eggs. It was suspended to a snag among the moss growing on the stem of a small tree at five feet up. The moss supported it more than did the snag. It is a solid cup-shaped structure, made of green moss and lined with very fine roots. Externally it measures 3½ inches across and 2¼ deep; internally 2 inches wide and 1¾ deep."

The eggs of this species, like those of _C. xanthoschista_ and _C. jerdoni_, are pure white. They are not, I think, separable from the eggs of these two species. Those sent me by Mr. Gammie measure 0·66 and 0·67 in length by 0·5 in breadth.

437. Cryptolopha castaneiceps (Hodgs.). _The Chestnut-headed Flycatcher-Warbler_.

Abrornis castaneiceps, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii. p. 205; _Hume. Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 578.

According to Mr. Hodgson's notes and figures, the Chestnut-headed Flycatcher-Warbler breeds in the central hill-region of Nepal from April to June, laying three or four eggs, which are neither figured nor described. The nest itself is a beautiful structure of mosses, lichens, moss- and fern-roots, and fine stems worked into the shape of a large egg, measuring 6 and 4 inches along the longer and shorter diameters; it is placed on the ground in the midst of a clump of ferns or thick grass, with the longer diameter perpendicular to the ground. The aperture, which is about halfway between the middle and the top of the nest, and on one side, is oval, about 2 inches in width and 1·75 in height. Both sexes are said to assist in hatching and rearing the young.

438. Cryptolopha cantator (Tick.). _Tickell's Flycatcher-Warbler_.

Culicipeta cantator (_Tick.), Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 200. Abrornis cantator (_Tick.), Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 570.

A nest containing a single egg has been sent me as that of Tickell's Flycatcher-Warbler. It was found in May in Native Sikhim, at an elevation, it is said, of 12,000 feet. It was suspended to the tip of a branch of a tree at a height of about 8 feet from the ground. The nest is a most lovely one; but I confess that I have doubts as to its really belonging to this species.

The nest is, for the size of the bird, a large watch-pocket, some 6 inches in total length and 3·5 in breadth, composed entirely of white, satiny seed-down, densely felted together to the thickness of half an inch. The lower part, sides, and back very thinly, and the upper portion and the margin of the mouth of the pocket thickly, coated with excessively fine green moss and very fine soft vegetable fibre.

My sole reason for doubting the authenticity of the nest is that another _precisely_ similar one was sent me by another collector, a European, as belonging to an _Aethopyga_, together with the female which he shot off the nest.

The present nest contained a pure white egg; the other spotted eggs. Both collectors I have no doubt were fully assured of the correctness of their identification, and it may be that both species of birds construct similar nests; but I entertain considerable doubts on this subject, and think it right to note the fact.

The egg is a very broad oval, pure white, and very glossy, and measures 0·6 by 0·49.

Mr. Mandelli sends me a lovely nest, which he says belongs to this species. It was found in May in Native Sikhim, at about 12,000 feet elevation. It was suspended from the tiny branch of a tree at a height of about 8 feet from the ground. The nest is a perfect watch-pocket, composed entirely of white silky down belonging to one of the bombaxes, thinly coated here and there with strings of moss to keep it together, and more thickly so with this and vegetable fibre at and about the point of suspension and round the rim of the mouth of the pocket. The nest is altogether about. 6 inches long and about 3 inches in diameter at its broadest; the lower edge of the aperture into the pocket is 2 inches from the bottom of the nest, and the aperture is about 2 inches wide. It is altogether one of the loveliest nests I have ever seen: but I cannot feel certain that the nest really belongs to this species; for I have had a precisely similar nest, also found in Sikhim, on the 20th May, similarly suspended at a height of about 5 feet from the ground, sent me as belonging to another species of _Abrornis_; and though Mr. Mandelli is usually right, I think the matter requires further confirmation.

440. Abrornis superciliaris, Tick. _The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher-Warbler_.

Abrornis flaviventris, _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 203.

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

"I have shot this bird on the Zammee choung, where I got a nest with eggs; and I have more than once seen it in the Thoungyeen forests.

"The following is an account of the nest I found, recorded in my note-book:--

"Khasat village--Khasat choung, Zammee river, 9th March, 1878.--My camp to-day was pitched in the midst of a dense bamboo-break, close to a path leading to the village.

"About ten feet from my tent on this path, passers-by had cut one of the bamboos in a clump and left it leaning up against the clump; between two knots of this a rough hack had broken an irregular hole into a joint.

"Sitting outside my tent and looking carelessly about, my attention was attracted by what I took to be a leaf flutter down close to the above-mentioned bamboo, and to my surprise disappear before it reached the ground. Wondering at this, I got up and approached the place, when from the aforementioned hole in the bamboo out darted a little bird; and looking in I saw a neat little nest of fibres placed on the lower knot with three eggs, white densely speckled, chiefly in a ring at the larger end, with pinkish claret spots.

"I went back to my tent, watched the bird return, and shot her as on being frightened off she flew out a second time. It proved to be the above species.

"I took the nest and eggs. The latter, I regret to say, were lost subsequently through the carelessness of a servant, but I had luckily measured and taken a description of them.

"Their dimensions were respectively 0·57 x 0·42, 0·59 x 0·42, and 0·59 x 0·44."

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"I took a nest of this Warbler on the 15th June at 1800 feet elevation. It was inside a bamboo-stem near the banks of the Ryeng stream. Just under a node some one had cut out a notch, which the birds made their entrance. The nest rested on the node below and fitted the hollow of the bamboo. It was made of dry bamboo-leaves, and lined with soft, fibrous material. It measured 5 inches deep and 3 inches wide, with an egg cavity of 2 inches in depth, by 1¾ inch in width. The eggs, which were hard-set, were but three in number."

The eggs are rather long ovals, the shell fine but with very little gloss; the ground-colour is a dull white or pinky white, and it is thickly freckled and mottled about the large end and thinly elsewhere with red, in some cases slightly browner, in others purple. The markings have a tendency to form a cap or zone about the large end, and here, where the markings are densest, some little lilac or purplish-grey spots and clouds are intermingled.

An egg measures 0·61 by 0·43.

441. Abrornis schisticeps (Hodgs.). _The Black-faced Flycatcher-Warbler_.

Abrornis schisticeps, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 201; _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 571.

Captain Hutton tells us that the Black-faced Flycatcher-Warbler is "a common species in the neighbourhood of Mussoorie, at 5000 feet, and commences building in March. A pair of these birds selected a thick China rose-bush trained against the side of the house, and had completed the nest and laid one egg when a rat destroyed it. I subsequently took two other nests in May, both placed on the ground in holes in the side of a bank by the roadside. In form the nest is a ball, with a round lateral entrance, and is composed externally of dried grasses and green moss, lined with bits of wool, cotton, feathers, thread, and hair. The eggs are three in number."

Two eggs of this species, sent to me by Captain Hutton, are very perfect ovals, pure white[A], and rather glossy.

[Footnote A: There can be little doubt that Capt. Hutton's eggs were wrongly identified.--ED.]

They both measure 0·62 by 0·48.

From Sikhim Mr. Gammie writes:--"The only nest I ever found of this Warbler was in a natural hole in a small tree in an open part of a large forest, at 5500 feet above the sea. In a cleft, five feet from ground, where a limb had been lopped off, there was a small hole, barely large enough, at entrance to admit the bird, but gradually widening out for the seven or eight inches of its depth. In the bottom of this cavity was a loose lining of dry bamboo-leaves, on which lay five eggs. They do not agree with those taken by Captain Hutton, which were 'pure white,' but I am absolutely certain of the authenticity of the eggs taken by me. They were well-set, so five is probably the full complement. They were taken on the 26th May."

The eggs sent by Mr. Gammie, for the authenticity of which he vouches, are moderately broad ovals, somewhat compressed and pyriform towards the small end. They have but little gloss, and are of the same type as _A. superciliaris_ and _A. albigularis_. The ground is a dull pinkish white, and they are profusely mottled and streaked with red, which in some eggs is brownish, in some purplish. The markings are densest at the large end, where they have a tendency to form an irregular zone, which in some specimens is very conspicuous.

These eggs vary from 0·56 to 0·57 in length, and from 0·41 to 0·42 in breadth.

442. Abrornis albigularis, Hodgs. _The White-throated Flycatcher-Warbler_.

Abrornis albigularis, _Hodgs._, _Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 204.

A nest of this species found in Native Sikhim, below Namtchu, on the 28th July, is a regular Tailor-bird's nest, absolutely undistinguishable from the one also sent me by Mr. Mandelli as belonging to _Orthotomus atrigularis_, so that for the moment I have some doubts as to the authenticity of this nest. Two leaves, precisely of the same species as those made use of by the Tailor-bird in question, have been sewn together with the same bright yellow silk, and the little deep cup-shaped nest within is composed exactly of the same excessively fine grass. Another nest, also said to belong to this species, but of a very different character, has been sent me by Mr. Mandelli. This was found at Yendong, in Native Sikhim, on the 6th July, and contained four fresh eggs precisely of the type of those of _A. schisticeps_. The nest was placed in the cavity of a truncated bamboo about 4 feet from the ground, and was a loose cup, the basal portion composed of dry bamboo-leaves, and the rest of the nest being made of excessively fine grass, flower-stems, similar to those used in the Tailor-bird-like nest above described, but with a quantity of feathers mingled with this in the lining of the nest.

The eggs of this species are of precisely the same type as those of _A. schisticeps_ and _A. superciliaris_, but they are the smallest of all. They are little regular oval eggs, with a white, greyish, or pinky white ground, with deep red freckled and mottled markings, which are densely set about the large end, where they generally form a cap or zone, and usually much less dense elsewhere.

The eggs sent me measured 0·55 and 0·57 by 0·43.

445. Scotocerca inquieta (Cretzschm.). _The Streaked Scrub-Warbler_.

Scotocerca inquieta (_Rüpp._), _Hume, Rough Draft N. & E._ no. 550 bis.

The Streaked Scrub-Warbler is a permanent resident of the bare stony hills which, under many names and broken into multitudinous ranges, run down from the Khyber Pass to the sea, dividing the Punjab and Sind from Afghanistan and Khelat.

An account of its nidification is contained in the following note furnished me by the late Captain Cock:--

"I first discovered this bird breeding in February in the Khuttuck Hills. It is common throughout the range of stony hills between Peshawur and Attock, and I have seen it on the hills between Jhelum and Pindi, but never took their nest in this latter locality. At Nowshera it is very common, and towards the end of February a collector could take four or five nests in a day. It builds in a low thorny shrub, about 1½ feet from the ground, makes a largish globular nest of thin dry grass-stems, with an opening in the side, thickly lined with seed-down, and containing four or five eggs. Their nesting-operations are over by the end of March."

Lieut. H.E. Barnes, who observed the bird at Chaman in Afghanistan, says:--"These birds are quite common about here on the plains, but I have not observed them on the hills. They commence breeding towards the end of March; the nest is globular in shape, not unlike that of _Franklinia buchanani_, but somewhat larger, built invariably in stunted bushes about two feet from the ground. It is well lined with feathers and fine grass, the outer portion being composed of fibres and coarse grass. The normal number of eggs is six. I have found less, but never more, and whenever a lesser number has been taken they have always proved to be fresh laid.

"The eggs are oval in shape, white, with a pinkish tinge when fresh, very minutely spotted and speckled with light red, most densely at the larger end. The average of twelve eggs is 0·62 by 0·43."

The eggs are moderately broad and regular ovals, usually somewhat compressed towards one end, but occasionally exhibiting no trace of this. The shell is very fine and delicate, but, as a rule, entirely devoid of gloss. The ground-colour varies from pure to pinky white. The markings are always minute, but in some they are comparatively much bolder and larger than in others, and they vary in colour from reddish pink to a comparatively bright red. In many eggs the markings are much more dense towards the large end, where they form, or exhibit a strong tendency to form, an irregular, more or less confluent zone; and wherever the markings are dense there a certain number of tiny pale purple or lilac spots or clouds will be found intermingled with and underlying the red markings. Some eggs show none of these spots and exhibit no tendency to form a zone, being pretty uniformly speckled and spotted all over. Some are not very unlike eggs of the Grasshopper and Dartford Warblers; others, again, are almost counterparts of the eggs of _Franklinia buchanani_.

In length the eggs vary from 0·6 to 0·68, and in breadth from 0·46 to 0·51.

446. Neomis flavolivaceus, Hodgs.[A] _The Aberrant Warbler_.

[Footnote A: I have transferred Hodgson's notes under this title in the 'Rough Draft' to _Horornis fortipes_, to which bird Hodgson's account of the nidification undoubtedly relates, his type-birds No. 900 being _Neornis assimilis_.--ED.]

Neornis flavolivacea, _Hodgs., Jerd. B. Ind._ ii, p. 188.

Mr. W. Theobald makes the following remarks on the breeding of this bird at Darjeeling:--"Lays in the second week in July. Eggs three in number, blunt, ovato-pyriform. Size 0·69 by 0·55. Colour deep dull claret-red, with a darker band at broad end. Nest, a deep cup, outside of bamboo-leaves, inside fine vegetable fibres, lined with feathers."