210 DICBUJJIDiE. 



are stumpy at llie small end, while now and tlieii very spherical 

 eggs are laid. The}' are either reddish white, ' fleshy,' or pure 

 white, in some cases marked with small and large blotches of faded 

 red, confluent at the obtuse end, and openly dispersed over the rest 

 of the surface, overlying blots of faint lilac-grey ; others have a 

 conspicuous zone round the large end, with a few scanty blotches 

 of light red and bluish grey on the remainder; in others, again, 

 the markings are confined to a few very large roundish blotches of 

 the above colours at one end, or, again, several still larger clouds of 

 brick-red at the obtuse end, with a few blotches of the same at the 

 other. Dimensions from 1"0 to 0-86 inch in length, by 0-72 to 0-6S 

 in breadth. I once observed a pair in the north of Ceylon very 

 cleverly forming their nest on a horizontal fork by first constructing 

 the side furthest from the angle, thus forming an arch, which was 

 then joined to the fork by the formation of the bottom of the 

 structure. 



'• The parent birds in this species display great courage, vigonr- 

 ously sweeping down on any intruder who may threaten to molest 

 their young." 



334. Chaptia aenea (VieilL). The Bronzed Drongo. 



Cliaptia aenea ( F.), Jenl. B. Lid. i, p. 433 ; Hume, Bough Draft N. 

 4- E. no. 282. 



The Bronzed Drongo breeds, according to Mr. Hodgson's notes, 

 in the central hills of Nepal, or rather in the plains near to these 

 hills, rarely quitting large woods. They begin to lay in March, 

 and build a broad somewhat saucer-shaped nest some 4 or 5 inches 

 in width and 2 to 3 in depth externally. The nest is placed in 

 some slender horizontal fork, to one at least of the twigs of which 

 it is firmly attached by vegetable fibres ; it is composed of fine 

 twigs and grass, and bound round with cobwebs in which pieces of 

 lichen and small cocoons are often intermingled. Mr. Hodgson 

 specially notes : — " June QtJt, valley. Female, nest and eggs ; nest 

 on fork of upper branch of large tree, 4-5 inches wide by 2-25 deep, 

 cup-shaped, made of fibres of grass bound with cobweb, lining 

 none ; three eggs, obtusely oval, the ground fawn tinged white, 

 blotched (especially at larger end) with fawn or reddish brown." 



It appears that four is the maximum nnmber of eggs laid ; both 

 sexes participate in the work of incubation and rearing the young, 

 but they are very jealous of the approach of any birds when they 

 have eggs or young, driving all such intruders away with the 

 utmost bravery. The eggs measure from 0*88 to 0-95 inch by 

 0-65. 



From 8ikhim Mr. Gammie writes : — " I have found the Bronzed 

 Drongo breeding from April to June in the low hot valleys at 

 about 2000 feet above the sea. It suspends its nest in a slender 

 horizontal fork at 10 feet or more from the ground, and appears, 

 like its frequent neighbour Dieruras longicaudaias, to prefer a 



