JilRDS FROM tut: XOimi CHIX iinj.s. 76 



Tliure are almost always dark brown hair like streaks on the 

 eggs when found, but these wash off in blowing unless great 

 care is taken. The streaks are very irregular and generally 

 look like the track of an iuky Hy ; they are like the forked light- 

 ning of tradition in shape, and may be as much as an inch 

 in length ; they are up to l/oO of an inch broad. 



1 think the nornuil clutch is 4, but I have found o, and have 

 several times taken 3 hard set eggs. 



The nest is a shallow saucer, in a low tree, made of roots with 

 sometimes a very little moss outside. Externally, it measures 

 t)" X 2f", with the hollow 4^" x "2". It is placed at some 

 little distance from the ground (10 to 15 feet) in fairly open 

 jungle ; in spite of this, it is well concealed and not at all easy 

 to ' spot". 



The bird was first shot in the Kabaw Valley by Thomson of 

 the Forest Department and sent to Gates for identification. 

 Since then, it has been shot by the late Col. Harington and 

 by both of us in the Kabaw Valley, in the Upper Chindwin 

 district, and b}'- me on the hills lying on the East of the Kabaw 

 Valley at 2,o00', in all cases in the cold weather. It is by 

 no means rare in the area now under discussion in April-May- 

 June, but is said by the Chins to be much less common, or 

 absent altogether in winter. I believe the bird has never been 

 seen in the Kabaw Valley in the hot weather, and its nest has 

 never been found except in the Chin Hills, always at of 4,000' 

 to 6,000'. This seems to be a case of partial migration from 

 the low valleys to the hills for breeding purposes such as has 

 been noted in other jays, and might be expected in this bird. 



The average size of 28 eggs is 1-19" x "90", the length varying 

 from 1-05" to 1-32", and the breadth from -85" to •93". 



8. Indian Grey Tit — Parus atviceps. (31) 



Shot a bird on the Burma boundary at 2,000'. 



9. Green-backed Tit— Parus monticola. (34) 



Fairly common. 



10. Hume's Red-headed Tit — JEyithaliseus manipurensis. (36) 



Two nests, each containing 3 eggs, with parent birds brought 

 in on 2oth April 1914 (Fresh) and 12th May 1913 (Hard set). 

 Four nests in 1915, all of the same type. They were beautifully 

 made little structures, hanging from a twig, twice in dense, and 

 twice in open jungle. They were made of the finest stems of 

 grass {i.e. that part attaching the seed to the main stem 

 " grass-seed stems ") plastered all over with cobwebs, lichens, 

 moss, fragments of grass, and leaves, feathers, etc., with 

 a thick and wonderfully soft lining of feathers. The whole 

 thing, when crushed, springs back to its original shape like 

 a sponge. The bird appears to have a penchant for bright 

 feathers for the lining ( minivets, jungle fowl, Phasianus humice, 

 etc.) which may be due to a desire for a bright and cheerful 

 internal decoration scheme, but which I think is probably due 

 to their being easier to find. 



The average size of 8 eggs is -52" x '41", length from "ol" 

 to "So" and breadth from -40" to -42", The particulars of 5 

 clutches are:— 25th April 1915, c/4. Set; 22nd April 1915, 



