Part 29 (1/2)

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 082 to 09, and in breadth from 06 to 065.[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 Tena.s.serim 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 328 inches in diameter and 225 in height; internally the cavity was 2 inches in diameter and 162 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 078 by 055.

On the other hand, Dr. Jerdon says:--”Its nest has been brought to me, of ordinary shape, made of moss and gra.s.s, 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 princ.i.p.ally of fine gra.s.s. 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 c.o.c.k 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 gra.s.s 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 103 to 108, and in breadth from 068 to 074.[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. c.u.mming (Ibis, 1886. p. 478) will prove interesting:--

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