MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 761- 



adult alike, except in the breeding season, when it is black in the adult. The 

 legs, feet and claws are flesh-colour, Mr, Oates' description iu his Avifauna, 

 page 251, is evidently from the dried skin. 



A young male I reared began to show the black on the head in the second 

 month, those at the base of the culmen first appearing, later a few odd black 

 feathers appeared under the eye and ear coverts ; it was quite three mocths 

 old before the circle round the head was completed, 



, These birds arrive in Bushire in March, occasionally they are to be seen 

 towards the end of the same month iu Fao, but usually in April, 



They breed in June and July, nests have been rarely taken towards the end 

 of May. The male assists the female in building the nest and sitting on the 

 eggs. 



The nest is completed in three to four days ; one egg is laid daily till the 

 full number is completed, i.e., four to five, and about fourteen days are taken 

 in incubating. 



The female has only tbe one call j the m.ile has a different call, but very 

 often imitates the female, especially when alarmed ; he has also the habit of 

 erecting the feathers on the bead, similar to Otocompsa leucotis, when excit- 

 ed. 



The call of these bij.-ds is a very pleasing liquid note, nothing like the 

 harsh cry of the Shrikes. They are more arboreal, at least in Fao, than the 

 last-named. They live chiefly on fruit, but also indulge in a little insect 

 diet, as several stomachs I have examined contained legs and wings of 

 beetles, &c. They appear to hunt for their food among the trees, not 

 descending to the ground, nor taking insects on the wing as is usual with 

 the Shrikes. 



They become very tame if reared from the nest, but are difficult to bring 

 up, requiring constant care and attention. Those that I haVe reared 

 were fed with fruits, bread — chowpatti — steeped in water slightly 

 sweetened with sugar or in milk' slightly sweetened, flies and cockroaches, 

 and now and again a little raw meat chopped finely. They were fond of 

 picking at wet clay, not sand, which they eat evidently as a digestive. 

 15th June, 1886. — Morning. — One nest with four fresh eggs marked down. 



Male seated on nest. 

 16th June, 1886. — ^Morning. — Two nests marked down to west of Telegraph 

 buildings, one contained three fresh eggs, the other two young just 

 hatched and one egg highly incubated. 

 Evening. — Visited nest marked down on 15th, the female was seated on nest, 

 while male was on watch close at hand. I tried to catch the female on 

 the nest, she flew off and got pinned through the carpal joint, by a date 

 thorn and was secured alive. Also visited nests marked down this 

 morning, male was seated on nest with the young ones, while the 

 female was seated on the other. 



