84 BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCJ'ET Y. 



It probably breeds twice or often er during the year, as nests are 

 found at all seasons, but September is perhaps the best month to 

 search for them. 



A capital description of the nest is given by Mr. Vidal, C. S., in 

 his Ratnagiri Birds, published in the Bombay Gazetteer for 1880, 

 which I cannot do better than reproduce : — 



"Their nests are beautiful, hung from the slenderest twigs, and 

 rocked to and fro by every breath of wind. The nest is pear- 

 shaped, narrowing in the middle, with a side entrance shaded by a 

 tiny overhanging porch. The materials are the finest grass lined 

 with soft down, and the nests are on the outside prettily decorated 

 with-chips of wood, spider webs, dried flowers, cocoons, and anything 

 else that pleases the fancy of the diminutive architects. They lay 

 two, occasionally three, tiny greenish-white eggs, speckled with 

 minute brown spots. The Jujube tree (Zizyphus jujuba) is a 

 favourite place for the nest, but they are very fearless, often buildiDg 

 in verandahs and house porches." Mr. Davidson observes that they 

 very rarely lay three eggs ; I myself never found more than two. 



The eggs measure 0'65 inches in length, by about 0*47 in breadth. 



Dadur, Sj'c, Bombay, August and September. H. E. Barnes. 



South Konkan, Jan., March, April, September. G. Vidal, C.S. 



233.— THE TINY HONEYSUCKER. 



Cinnyris minima, Sykes. 



The Tiny Honeysucker occurs on the Sahyadri range, extending 

 as far north as Khandalla. It is not uncommon at Matheran. It is 

 a permanent resident, breeding during September and October. 

 The nest is pendant, of an oval shape, very similar to that of the 

 Purple Honeysucker, but smaller. The eggs, two in number, are 

 longish ovals in shape, and are of a greyish or greenish-white 

 colour, freckled and mottled with greyish and olive- brown ; the 

 markings are generally thicker at the large end, forming a cap 

 or zone. They measure 0-62 inches in length by about 0*42 in 

 breadth. 



I have never found a nest, and the eggs in my collection came 

 from the Nilgiris, but Mr. Davidson found a nest containing a 

 young one just hatched at Matheran in February, and remarks that 

 the nest was made of green moss, 



