MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 497 



The branch on which it was built was itself thickly covered with moss 

 and the nest was half suspended and closely biiilt into the branch. It was 

 made entirely of moss and profusely lined with feathers. The entrance 

 hole at the top on one side was only about an inch across. When examin- 

 ing the bough at about 1 foot, I was unable to find the nest except by 

 feeling with my lingers. The bird turned out to be Phylloscojnii prorcyulus 

 and the eggs half incubated were white with reddish brown spots chiefly 

 at the larger end. One unfortmuitely broke when being blown. The 

 • tther measured 0-o7xO-4o : 0()X0-48 : 0-o8x0-46. 



The nest was on the outside of the tree (moss covered oak) and about 

 7 feet from the ground. 



Another nest of this bird found on June 17th contained four fully 

 and fledged young. The nest was about 18 feet from the ground suspen- 

 ded from the outside branch of a fine tree and made entirely of moss. 



lanthia rif/ilata (The Ked-flanked Bush-Kobin). — A nest of this bird was 

 found on June 1 5th at about 10,000 ft. The nest was in a hole in a bank 

 about 4 ins. in and about 4 ft. from the ground. It was very well concealed 

 and made of fine grass and lined profusely with the hair of the musk deer. 

 It contained 3 fresh eggs of a whitish colour very faintly and sparingly 

 spotted at the larger end with pale reddish brown. They measured 

 0-72xO-o7 : 0-73 x 0-57 and 0*74 xOo3. The birds kept in the neighbour- 

 hood wheu the nest was being robbed and showed great agitation. 



Accipitev riryatiis (The Besra Sparrow-Hawk). — On May 9th near Bhim 

 Tal, I found the nest of this bird in a tree about 20 feet from the ground in 

 a fork, overlooking a khud. The nest, made of sticks of various dimen- 

 sions and about 18 inches across contained 2 fresh eggs, of a white ground 

 colour blotched and spotted with blood-red and brown, one at the larger 

 end, and one at the smaller. These I took. Three days later the nest 

 contained another egg, white with a sort of pale brown smear over one side. 

 The first 2 eggs measured I'Oo x 1-35: 1-57 x 1'32 and the third one 

 1-75 X 1-3. 



The birds showed the utmost concern when the nest was being robbed 

 and flew and swooped at me again and again compelling me to ward them 

 off with my hand. At intervals they would settle about 3 or 4 yards away 

 screaming the whole time and then would attack with renewed vigour. 



V, S. Club, Lucknow, W. H. MATTHEWS. 



July, 1917. 



Xo. VI.— THE OCCURRENCE OF THE INDIAN PITTA {PITTA 

 BRACRYURA) IN THE KANGRA DISTRICT, PUNJAB. 



In the Fauna of Br. India, Vol. II, page 394, the range of P. brachyura 

 is given as : — " The whole of India from Eastern Rajputana and Garhwal 

 to Sikkhim, and Calcutta, extending South to Cape Comorin and Ceylon" 

 so its occurrence in the only Province from which it is excluded, will be of 

 interest. I first saw a single bird flying across the road on June 15th, 

 and on the 2.5th of the same month, while motoring past, I noticed a bird 

 leave a tree. I stopped the motor and waited and in a few minutes, it, or 

 the pair, returned to the same tree. I got oft" and took my lunch to the 

 foot of the tree and waited further developments and soon discovered 

 the nest. It was some 30ft. from the ground, in the fork of a large 

 " Bird-cherry." A large nest made of long strands of coarse grass and 

 straw and lined with the leaves of the " pipul " tree, which must have been 

 green w^hen they were brought to the neat. Inside were 5 youngsters 

 which could not have been more than a day old, as they did not show a 

 single quill between the lot of them, except a faint trace of the wing quills. 



