MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 511 



197. DYymochares cruralis. — This bird is not uncommon in the dense mossy 

 forests from 6 to 8,000 feet. It has a pretty, short song of a few notes, which, 

 however, end up harshly. 



I found 7 nests of this species this year between the 15th June and 15th July. 

 They were all domed structures composed entirely of moss lined with fine 

 roots with a large opening, about 2'' to 2£" across, on one side. 



They were all built up against the vertical face of a moss-covered rock or 

 tree trunk, the nest being so neatly incorporated into the mossy covering of 

 the rock or tree that it was almost impossible to say where the nest began and 

 where it ended. The entrance to the nest is often parallel to the face of the rock 

 or tree and is so artfully concealed that the presence of a nest is rarely suspected 

 until betrayed by the exit of the parent bird. 



I much doubt whether this species ever builds a " shallow cup-shaped nest in 

 brushwood " as described in " Nests and Eggs," by Oates. 



The full complement of eggs is 3, though only 2 are sometimes laid. 



They are long ovals, pure white, with a slight gloss. 



The mean of the measurements of 15 eggs gave •90"x , 64". 



201. 1'esia cyaniventris. — This species is common up to 7,000 feet in 

 summer, where it breeds, retiring to the warm valleys in winter. It is a great 

 skulker, resembling the next species in its general habits. 



It has a very loud short song of about half-a-dozen notes which it utters at 

 intervals, chiefly in the spring. 



I found two nests at 6,500 feet and 7,000 feet on the 5th June and 5th July 

 respectively. They were placed in low brushwood in rather open high forttt 

 about 1 foot from the ground, and were entirely made of moss and moss roots, 

 being domed 7" high and 5" wide and lined with a compact pad of fine moss. 

 The entrance is a circular hole near the top, l£" in diameter. 



The eggs, 3 in one case and 4 in the other, are long ovals pale-pinkish, spotted 

 and freckled all over, but especially at the large end, with bright chestnut in one 

 clutch and dull brick-red in the other. 



The measurements of 7 eggs give a mean of '71" x "50". 



202. Oligura castanei coronata. — This pretty little bird has, like Tesia, the 

 habits of a wren, and frequents brushwood under high forest, rarely ascending 

 more than a few feet above the ground. It is common in the neighbourhood 

 of Darjeeling at all elevations up to 8,000 feet, according to season, and breeds 

 in the upper portion of its range. 



It has a loud shrill call of 4 notes resembling that of Culicicapa ceylonensis 

 which it utters at intervals as it moves restlessly about in thick cover. 



The accounts of the nidification of this species given by Hodgson and Jerdon 

 are conflicting, so that I was much gratified when I found a nest this year after 

 several seasons of fruitless search in the past. 



This nest I found on the 8th July in au oak forest r ea" the top of a ridge 

 elevation 7,500 feet. It was woven into, and Suspended from, a branchlet of 

 Viburnum rubencens at a height ol 3 feet from the ground. The surrounding 



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