BIRDS NESTING IN THE MURREE HILLS. 423 



191, Larvivora brunnea. — Indian Blue Chat. 



Common at Murree, less so in the higher bills. 1 found one nest high 

 up on Miranjani hill. This bird invariably builds either at roots of 

 bushes or in the sheltered sides ot nullahs. It is a shy bird and keeps to 

 thick undergrowth. The male has a shrill loud alarm cry of several 

 notes when its nest is approached ; the female sits close. The nest of this 

 bird is very commonly selected by Cuculus mlcropterus to deposit its 

 eggs in. It breeds late. I have found- most nests in end of June and 

 beginning of July. Eggs clear deep blue, unspotted or marked. 



204. Lioptila capistrata. — The Black-headed tSibia. 



Fairly common, nests very hard to find; they are generally high up 

 in a dense fir tree. The nest is a very neat structure and generally 

 placed low down in a bough. Eggs pale blue, in some almost white, 

 spotted and boldly blotched with red marks like dried blood and a few 

 subsidiary markings greyish purple. The birds often give away the 

 nesting site by keeping up a shrill cry. They desert the nest if the tree 

 is climbed, even when the nest is not touched by hand. 1 have taken 

 nests both at Murree and Dungagali. 



226. Zosterops palpebrosa.— The Indian White-Eye. 



Common low down round Murree. All nests I have taken were sus- 

 pended between 2 small twigs in a bush about 3 to 5 feet from th? ground. 



1 took two nests in 1904 near Changlaouli • one contained five eggs, 



237. Pteruthius erytrropterus.— The Red-winged Shrike-Tit. 



The birds are fairly common round Murree and Dungagali from 7,000 

 feet upwards, but the nest is, I think, without exception the most diffi- 

 cult to find. It is a strong neat cradle suspended between 2 twigs always 

 high up near top of the tallest trees. During 1903 I found 3 nests — 



2 on fir trees and one on a tall oak tree ; one nest contained 3 eggs. 

 The eggs are peculiar : a broad oval in shape, of a pinkish white, with a 

 mass of claret-ooloured spots almost forming a cap round broad end. 

 More liken bulbul's than anything else. 



260. Cephalopyrus flammiceps. — The Fire-cap. 



This beautiful little bird is rare near Murree, but quite common on 

 the high hills near Galis. I obtained one nest only with young ones at 

 Murree and 5 or 6 nests at Dungagali. The nests are always at least 20 

 feet up in a small hole in a tree, and unless the bird is seen carrying 

 building materials, is impossible to find. Eggs very fragile, of a very 

 pah) blue, 3 or 4 in number. 

 4 



