STACHYEHIS. HI 



species in former years, and have found two this season, but have 

 never seen eggs with ' faint darker spots ' as mentioned by Jerdon. 

 Hodgson's description is quite correct. The eggs are a ' pale fawn- 

 colour ' before theij are blown, the shells being so translucent that 

 the yolk shows through partially. The shell is pure white in itself. 

 The cavity of the cup-shaped part of one nest beside nie is 2 inches 

 deep by 2 inches wide ; outer dimensions 5| inches deep (from top 

 of hood) by 4 inches wide across the face of entrance. It is loosely 

 though neatly made of bamboo-leaves and fern, lined with dry 

 grass. The bird breeds in May and June, and lays four or five 

 eggs." 



Mr. Eiigene Gates tells us that he " procured only one specimen 

 of this bird, and that was in the evergreen forests of the Pegu Hills. 

 1 shot it off the nest on the 29th April. The nest was on a bank 

 of a nullah well concealed among dead leaves, about 2 feet above 

 the bottom of the bank. The nest is domed, about 7 inches in 

 height and 5 inches in diameter externally, with the entrance at 

 the side near the top. The outside is a 'mass of bamboo -leaves 

 very loose, being in no way bound together ; each leaf is curled to 

 the shape of the nest. The inside, a thin lining only of vegetable 

 fibres. There were three eggs, just on the point ' of hatching ; 

 colour, pure white." 



The Black-throated Babbler breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson, 

 in April and May, and builds a large deep cup-shaped nest, either 

 upon the ground in the midst of grass, or at a short distance above 

 the ground between five or six thin twigs ; a nest which he measured 

 was externally 4-5 inches in diameter and 3-5 in height, while the 

 cavity was 2-5 in diameter and 2 in depth. The nest is composed of 

 dry bamboo- and other leaves wound together with grass and moss- 

 roots, and lined with these, and is a very firm compact structure, 

 consideriog the materials. They lay four or five eggs, which are 

 figured as very regular rather broad ovals, of a nearly uniform, very 

 pale cafe-au-lait colour (these were the unblown e^gs), measurinff 

 about 0-75 by 0-58. ^ 



Dr. Jerdon remarks :— " A nest and eggs were brought to me at 

 Darjeeling, and said to be of this species. The nest was rather 

 large, very loosely made of bamboo-leaves and fibres, and the eggs 

 were of a pale salmon-colour, with some faint darker spots." 



There is no doubt that these must have been the eggs of some 

 other species. 



Major C. T. Bingham tells us :— " This little bird, though not 

 at all common, breeds in the Sinzaway Eeserve, in Tenasserim. I 

 took five hard-set eggs, placed in a beautiful little domed nest, at 

 the foot of a clump of bamboos, on the bank of a dry chouno- or 

 nullah. This was on the 20th March. The nest was composed 

 exteriorly of dry bamboo-leaves, and interiorly of fine grass-roots, 

 the entrance being on one side. I shot the female as she crept off 

 the nest." 



It does not seem that in the Himalayas this species domes its 

 nest. Numerous other nests that have "been sent me from Sikhim, 



