424 

 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ON SOME INDIAN BIRDS 



RY 

 B. B. OSMASTON. 



Students of birds in India must occasionally have come across- 

 statements in the volumes of the Fauna of British India, relating 

 to birds, which do not fit in with their experience. 



This is only natural considering the fact that these volumes 

 were piiblished from 20 to 30 years ago and that our knowledge 

 of Indian Birds and their haliits is increasing every yeav. 



The following notes based on my own experience extending 

 over nearly 30 years, spent mostly in the forests of the United 

 Provinces, deal with some such cases which have from time to time 

 attracted my attention and the}- are recorded in the hope that thej- 

 may be of some general interest. 



80. The Itufoiis-chinned Laughing Thrush — lantliocinda rufigularis. 



The F. B. I. says regarding the distribution of this bird: " It 

 is found chiefly from 5,000 to 8,000 feet of elevation." 



This does not agree with my observations. I have found it 

 fairly common in the lower valleys of the Himalayas from 2,000 

 to 4,000 feet elevation ; frequenting dense miscellaneous jungle, 

 and have never seen it above .5,000 feet. 



90. The Eastern variegated Laughing Thrush — Trochalopterum varie- 

 galum. 



The F. B. I. says : "The eggs, four or five in number ..." 

 I have found very many nests of this bird but have never 



found more than 3 eggs in a nest. Two or three, generally 



two, constitute a full chitch. 



No species of Trochalopterum of which I have experience lays 



more than 3 eggs. 



142. Mandelli's Spotted Babbler — Pellorneum mandeUii. 



The F. B. L puts the distribution of this bird as "the lower 

 hills of Nepal and Sikhim " and further east. 



This bird is common in the Sub-Himalayan tract, including 

 the Dehra Dun chiefly at about 2,000 feet. 



It certainly occurs as far west as the Jumna, and probably 

 further west, but I have no experience of the lower Punjab hills. 



174. The Red-billed Mskhhlar—Slachyridopsis pyrrhops. 



The F. B. I. says this bird makes " a cup-shaped nest." 

 All nests I have ever seen have been domed and not cup- 

 shaped. 



199. Hodgsons Short Wing — Hodgsonius pLoenicuroides. 



The F. B. I. says : "This species is found at the foot of the^ 

 hills as well as at considerable altitudes." 



