556 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XU. 



689. Geociciila andamanensis, Wald. Dates, II, p, 142 ; " Str. 

 Feath.," II pp. 221 and 495. 



This handsome ground thrush is fairly common near Port Blair.'^ It is 

 most often met with feeding among dead leaves on the ground in jungle. 

 When approached quietly it does not fly, but works away from the intruder 

 with long bounding hops and soon vanishes in the undergrowth. If startled 

 suddenly it dashes up with a loud flutter and pitches agaiu a short dis- 

 tance further on ; if flushed two or three times it probably takes refuge in a 

 thick tree. It does not, however, by any means confine itself (o forest 

 and is often seen on roads, manure-heaps, &.G., far from any jungle. It is 

 tlien tame and easy to shoot, often flying up into a tree by the roadside 

 and allowing one to approach it within a few feet. It often goes in small 

 parties ; I have counted as many as seven feeding together, and all looked 

 like old males, which I think collect together more or less when the hens 

 are engaged in the duties of incubation. 



They very often breed, if not in a colony, at least in very close proximity. 

 On May 16th I found the following nests, all within 100 yards of each other, 

 in a young clearing of padonk saplings : — 



(1) Nest 15 feet from ground on bamboo boughs, bending down hori- 

 zontally ; one fresh egg. 



(23 8 feet from ground in fork of padonk sapling ; two young, 



{?,) Ditto, 



(4) 10 feet from ground ; 3 eggs. 



(5) 5 feet from ground in a soft, fleshy-stemmed plant ; one broken fresh 



egg. 



(6 and 7) Apparently new nests in padonk sapling, but in which the birds 



never laid. 



(8) 8 feet from ground in a teak sapling ; 2 fresh eggs. This last nest 

 was about 200 yards away from the others. 



There seemed to be no other nests anywhere near the spot, though there 

 was a lot of similar cover. 



I have another note of three nests within about twenty yards of each 



other. 



Besides these I found many single nests, mostly with young, some of 

 them in small trees in the open at some distance from jungle. 



The nests are composed of a foundation of dead and skeleton leaves 

 mixed with a good deal of earth or mud and a lining of roots and black 

 hair-like fibres. They are as a rule fairly conspicuous at twenty yards ; 

 much easier to find than the bird is to shoot. The bird is very shy when 

 nesting ; slipping away off eggs or young before you are near the nest, and 

 not putting in an appearance again as long as you are in the neighbourhood. 

 When you catch a fledged young bird, however, their natural shyness ig 

 forgotton in their distress and both parents flutter round and round you 



