BALUCHISTAN NAT. HIST. SOC. PROCEEDINGS. 523 



as " Hume's Hawfinch" in the notes contributed by them to the Bombay 

 Natural History Society's Journal on the " Birds of Quetta." 



Capt. Marshall in his note, dated May 1902, under " Hume's Hawfinch," 

 wrote : " this I think must be the Hawfinch that frequents these parts. It is 

 more or less resident, but is commoner a good deal in summer than winter. I 

 believe it breeds here, as I have seen young birds that had been taken from 

 the nest. It has a very pleasant song." 



Major Betham also under the same name, in his note, dated 3rd August 1905 

 wrote as follows : — 



" I have found this bird very common since I have been here (Cjuetta), 

 but I cannot say where it winters. The first nest I found was on the 24th 

 April 1905 ; it was placed in the stoutish fork of a small tree against a small 

 stone which had somehow got wedged in and was about 10 feet from the 

 ground. The exterior of the nest consisted of bents, grass, small twigs and 

 sticks rather flimsy, the interior being lined with cotton, wool, hair, &c., 

 welded together almost to the consistency of felt, forming a compact deepish 

 cup. It contained 5 fresh eggs of a very light cambridge-blue, thinly speckled 

 or spotted with blackish and dark-brown spots. When fresh the yolk can be 

 seen distinctly through the shell, which gives the eggs an opalescent tinge. 

 When blown the blue is deeper. After this I found several more nests 

 similarly situated, usually in roadside trees, where they are easily seen, no 

 attempt being made at concealment. The nests are rarely placed beyond 

 hand reach. Five eggs seem to be the complement, though on one occasion I 

 obtained six eggs from one nest. The bird being so common here it seems 

 curious that it has never been found nesting before, or rather reported." 



Writing again on 6th October 1906 Major Betham stated that he had since 

 found several more nests of the bird in vineyards. 



Considering that Captain Marshall had felt a doubt in connecting " Hume's 

 Hawfinch " with the finch which he stated was so common about Quetta. it is 

 a pity he did not give some description of the Quetta bird. As however 

 neither the Revd. F. Lawrence nor I have come across " Hume's Hawfinch " in 

 Quetta, and as Capt. Marshall does not refer in his notes to Erythrospiza obaokta 

 which is the commonest finch about Quetta, we both have come to the conclu 

 sion that Erythrospiza obsoleta is the bird that Capt. Marshall mistook for 

 " Hume's Hawfinch," and I presume that Major Betham came to the same 

 conclusion. I now place before the meeting a specimen of this common finch 

 of Quetta kindly presented to the Museum by Miss MacBean, and which 

 doubtless most of the old residents of Quetta will recognise. I also place 

 before the meeting a chromo-litho plate of Erythrospiza obaolcta, published at 

 page 252a, of Eastern Persia, 1870-72, Volume II, Zoology, etc., by W. T. 

 Blanford, which corresponds with the bird before the meeting. I also place 

 before the meeting 4 eggs which were taken from a nest near my bungalow, 

 and quote the following note I made of it at the time : — 



" 24th April 1907. Nest with 4 fresh eggs (white with brown or chocolate 

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