1042 JOURNAL, BOMBAT NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



We officials encouraged the payments of rewards though I doubt if 

 it did good except in giving a livelihood to people who might otherwise have 

 starved. The onjy castes that ate the rats were Mangs and Pardis and they 

 Icept fat and flourishing while the other poorer classes were in wretched 

 condition. The rats continued in enormous numbers till the first rains 

 which were heavy, and in the heavy black soil country thousands were 

 drowned. 



The rats seemed then to become diseased and died oS" very fast. I think 

 they wore trovibled by a pale reddish brown tick but it is now a matter of 40 

 years ago and one does not remember all details. 



I think the records in the Secretariat would give much information. 



Castle Douglas, Scotland, J. DAVIDSON (late i. c. s.). 



August 26tJi, 1919. 



No. VI.— NOTE ON THE EGGS OF FRINIA INORNATA, 

 THE INDIAN WREN- WARBLER. 



Hume in his Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, 2nd Edition (Oates), page 

 304, Vol. I, says regarding the colour of the eggs of Prinia inornata " still 

 more rarely it is a clear pinkish white. These latter eggs are so rare 

 that I have only seen six in almost as many hundreds." Now it is a very 

 curious fact that I have, here, in Gonda District U. P. found no less than 

 17 nests containing these pink or white variety of Prinias eggs. 



During the whole of my time in India, now nearly 40 years, I have 

 examined many hundreds of nests of this bird, but never came across this 

 variety of eggs till now. Only once before have I seen them and this 

 clutch was sent me in the nest by an Indigo Planter friend in Champaran, 

 The nest had been attached to the leaves of the growing indigo plant and cut 

 down when the indigo was being cut for manufacture. At the time I did not 

 know what bird the eggs belonged to,though from the general markings of the 

 eggs and construction of nest I presumed they were those of P.inornata. 

 Last year one of my men told me he had found a nest with 4 eggs but 

 did not know the bird, so I went to identify it, and to my surprise and delight, 

 they were the white variety of P. inornata. Since then during last season 

 (1918) I have taken the following clutches — all of the white variety. 

 3rd July — 4 eggs — fresh. In ' Akhora ' brush. 

 17th ,, 4 ,, ,, In coarse grass, ( ' Khar' ). 



25th ,, 3 ,, ,, In Sugar cane. 



26th ,, 5 ,, „ In ' man j ' grass. 



19th Aug.— 3 „ 

 This season (1919) I have taken the foUownig t — 



17 th July — 1 egg fresh,. Nest in 'Akhora' bush. The man should not 



have taken this single egg. But waited for 

 clutch. 

 2yth „ 5 ,, „ In ' Munj ' grass. 



2nd Aug. 4 ,, ,, Sugar cane. 



4th „ 5 „ Hard set. So left them to hatch out. In Sugar cane. 

 6th ,, 5 ,, Slighty set. In ' munj ' grass. 

 9th „ 5 ,, Fresh. Sugar cane. 

 12th „ 4 „ „ 'Munj.' 



16th „ 6 „ Slighty incubated. In jowari (Lahareah) growing 



16th ,, 4 ,, Fresh. Sugar cane 



crops. 



te"- 



19th „ 4 „ „ 



^Ist „ 5 „ „ 'Munj.' 



2l8t „ 5 ,, ,, Sugar cane. 



