MlaCELLAyEOUS yOTES. iyr> 



On Juno IGth two nosts containtnl tlirte frosh fggs each and the- third 

 was empty and nearly ready for ofiigs. 



The eggs are very delicate, pinkish white with a faint cap of pnrplJRh 

 grey at the big end. 



The nests are usually placed on branches at least as thick as the 

 diameter of the nest and they are very diHicult to spot. 



(ir(in<lala avlicclor (Hodgson's (irandala). — These beautiful birds were 

 observed on June lOth feeding close to the melting snow in a small colony 

 at ab.mt 1^,000 feet. 



Thej' were in pairs, but 1 failed to discover a nest and fancy they had 

 not begun to breed. 



V/telidon nepahm^is (Hodgson's Martin). — ^Several small colonies of 

 Hodgson's Martin were found breeding under overhanging rocks on 

 vertical precipices at about I3,o00 feet. 



With the aid of a long pole carried up '2 or 3 miles from the forests 

 below we succeeded in reaching some 8 or 10 nests, but the birds were only 

 just conimencing to lay, so we only secured seven eggs. 



The nests were exactly like those of the English House Martin, only 

 smaller, and were lined with fine grass. 



The eggs were, of course, pure white and measured from 0""70 to 0"'77 in 

 length and from 0"48 to 0""51 in breadth, the average being 0"'75 by 0"oO. 

 The breeding of this species at such high elevations has not, 1 

 believe, been reported previously. 



B. B. OSMASTON, i.f.s. 



Dehea Dun, October 1917. 



No. v.— BIRD'S NESTING IN THE BHILLUNG VALLEY, 



TEHIil GARHVVAL. 



Scolovax rusticola (The Woodcock). — On my way back to camp from 

 shooting I flushed a bird at my feet and looking down found four eggs on 

 the ground. I was near the top of a ridge some 11,000 feet high over- 

 looking the Bhillung Valley. The nest was on the side of the hill under 

 a single root of rhododendron, and was just a mere hollow lined with a few- 

 leaves. The surrounding grtmnd was grass with patches of brush-wood like 

 heather. I waited for the return of the bird which turned out to be a 

 Woodcock. The eggs were large for the size of the bird and measured 

 1-81 X 1-4: 1-8 X 1-39: l-7oxl-4 and 1-76 X 1-4. They were in colour 

 a bullish brown, with spots and blotches especially at the larger end of 

 dark brown with underlying marks of purple. They were within about 

 three days of hatching. Birds that I took to be Woodcock used to ^y 

 round the camp like flying foxes every night making a most extraordinary 

 buzzing noise. I tried in vain to shoot them but they always appeared 

 when I was not ready Their long beaks showed out clearly in Silhonatte 

 in the evening sky. 



Merula albicincta (The White-collared Ouzel). — I found two nests of this 

 birds on the same day, June 6th, at an altitude of 10,-'500 feet. Both nests 

 were made of moss and roots and lined with grass and were situated in the 

 fork of a small tree about 4.'^ feet from the ground. The first nest contain- 

 ed four fresh eggs {l-lb /,o,l : li'.^xy: li^4x9: 1-24 X 1-89) and 

 were exactly like those of the English Blackbird, a bluish green background 

 with brow^li8h spots and blotches especially at the larger end. The second 

 nest contained one egg just hatching and one newly hatched young. The 

 birds were very shy in both cases and flew ofi" with a loud noise. 



This bird was very common about this part and must have been breeding 

 in fair numbers. 



