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BIRDS NESTING IN TBE MURREE HILLS AND GULLIES. 



By Lt.- Colonel R. H. Rattray. 

 Part I. 

 (With Plates A and B.) 

 {Read before the Bombay Natural History Society on 6th July 1905.) 



The scope of this article is the hills round our Punjab hill station of 

 Murree with an altitude of 6,000 feet to about 7,300, and the neighbour- 

 ing hills at Changla and Dungagalis. The hills run up to about 9,000 

 feet near these stations, with a hill, Miranjani, near Dungagalis 

 about 1 0,000 feet. The hills are for the most part well wooded. 



I propose giving an account of two years' nesting in these hills. The 

 illustrations are photographs taken by me on the spot, with the imme- 

 diate surroundings of the nests as little interfered with as possible. 



Oates' and Blanford's numbers are used. 

 4. Corvus machrorhynchus.— The Jungle-Crow. 



Very common in all the hills up to 9,C00 feet. Breed freely. All the 

 nests I have seen were on high fir trees. 



13. Urocissa flavirostris. — The Yellow-billed Blue Magpie. 



These birds are not rare round Murree, but I did not find many nests. 

 The two nests found were slight rough structures, at no height up the 

 trees ; both were on oak trees. Around Dungagalis this was one of the 

 common birds. I took some 14 or 15 nests during May and June. 

 The colour of the eggs is very variable, but the shape very constant, a 

 long narrow egg much pointed at small end. 



24. Garrultjs lanoeolatus. — The Black-throated Jay. 



Very common both round Murree and the Galis. Breed as usual 

 during May and June. 



26. Garrultjs bispecularis. —The Himalayan Jay. 



A common bird, but nests difficult to find. At Murree I only took 

 one nest ; this was on 16th June 1903 ; it contained one young one just 

 hatched and 2 hard-set eggs. This year round Changla and Dungagalis 

 I obtained 4 or 5 nests. The nest and eggs are almost indistin- 

 guishable from those of last species, but are, as a rule larger. 



31. Parus atriceps. — The Indian Grey Tit. 



Common, and breed in holes in trees and houses at Murree, but I did 

 not see any on the higher hills round or at the Galis. I do not think 

 they breed above 6,500 feet in these hills. 



