THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA, 711 



The two eggs sent me with the birds are extremely richly- 

 coloured compared with others in my collection laid in captivitj'. 

 The groimd colour is a pale yellow or buff, but the whole 

 surface is practically covered with a mottling of rich brick-red, 

 making them appear much the same in general colour as a rather 

 dull Perigrine's egg or a richly-coloured Neophrons. One egg, 

 the larger of the two, is considerably brighter than the other, and 

 looth are much marked with scratches from the bird's feet. They 

 measure 58'o x 44."5 mm. and 5o-0 x 40-8 mm. 



Other eggs laid in captivity and now in my collection measure 

 from 53-0 x 41-0 mm. to Go-0 x 4o-8 mm. These are all a dull- 

 pale stone coloiir, and are much mottled with dull lilac-brown, in 

 each case the markings being numerous everywhere, but more 

 especially so round the centre. 



My two wild-laid eggs and some of the others are very round 

 eggs, whilst others are longer and more compressed towards the 

 smaller end. The texture is fairly close, but rather coarse, there is 

 practically no gloss, and the shell is rather thin in proportion to 

 the size of the ess:- 



Beebe describes the eggs as varying from 61 to 67 mm. in length, 

 and from 40 to 42 mm. in breadth within average of 64 x 41 mm. ; 

 his eggs are therefore longer, yet not so broad as those which have 

 passed through my hands. 



Eggs in the Tring Museum agree better with mine than with 

 Beebe's, these, four in number, vary from 62-0 mm. to 65*9 mm. 

 in length and from 43'5 mm. to 45'9 mm. in breadth. The smallest 

 egg 1 have examined both in length and breadth is 53-0 x 40*8 mm. 

 and the biggest 65*9x45"9 mm. 



According to trustworthy accounts, the breeding season com- 

 mences about the first week in May and lasts through June, whilst 

 in the highest latitudes a few hard-set eggs may be found as late as 

 the first week in July. My eggs were taken on the 22ud May at 

 nearly 10,000 feet elevation, and an empty nest the next daj^ i-ather 

 lower down. Beebe says that in captivity birds have been known 

 to lay from mid- April to August, but captive birds are always 

 irregular in this respect, and are equally unreliable in sitting. 



The display of the male saiyra during the breeding season is very 

 fine, but often it is only partial. The bird commences by walking 

 up and down in an excited manner about and in front of the hen, 

 then suddenly it will jump up on to a perch, give its head a shake, 

 let down its lappet and erect its horns. For a few minutes it 

 remains on the perch, the head lowered and advanced with the 

 lappet fully extended to show its brilliant colouring and its deep 

 blue horns erect and gently quivering ; the wings may be closed, 

 but more often are slightly extended and shivering. After this it 

 again descends to the ground, and advances to the hen, and once 



