PHYLLOSCOPUS. 203 



male bird incessantly repeats it as he feeds from tree to tree near 

 where the female is sitting upon her nest." 



Nests of this species obtained in Cashmere towards the end of May 

 and during June near Goolmerg, and brought me by Mr. Brooks, 

 were certainly by no means worthy of this pretty little AVarblur. 

 They are very loosely made, more or less straggling cups of some- 

 what coarse grass, only slightly lined interiorly with fine moss-roots. 

 The egg-cavity is very small compared with the size of the nest, some 

 of which look like balls of grass ^ith a small hole in the centre. 

 They average from 4 to 5 inches in external diameter, and from 

 2 to 3 inches in height. The egg cavity does not exceed 2 inches 

 in diameter, and seems often to be less, and is from an inch to half 

 an inch in depth. 



Prom Cashmere, when in the thick of the nests of this species, 

 Mr. Brooks wrote to me as follows ; — 



" From Goolmerg, which is at the foot of a sno\^y range, I went 

 up to the foot of the snows through pine-forests. The pines ceased 

 near the snow and were replaced by birch wood on tremendously 

 rocky ground, \Ahich bothered me greatly to get over. I had missed 

 P. hamii after leaving the foot of the hill, where water was plentiful, 

 but here again the bird became abundant. I could not, however, 

 find a nest here, though I watched several pairs. I think in the 

 cooler country they breed later. Flowers which bad gone out of 

 bloom below I again met with up here in full flower. 



" Blyth says : 'i?. superciliosus has not any song, unless a sort 

 of double call, consisting of two notes, can be called a song,' This 

 the males vigorously uttered all day long, but I did not notice this 

 much ; but as soon as the female sharply and rapidly uttered the 

 well-known bell-like call, I knew she was disturbed from her nest, 

 or had left it of her own accord. Whichever of us heard this rushed 

 quickly to the spot, and the female once sighted \^as kept in view 

 as she flitted from tree to tree, apparently carelessly feeding all the" 

 while ; soon she came lower down to the bushes below, and now her 

 note quickened and betokened anxiety ; generally before half an 

 hour would elapse she would make a dash at a particular spot, and 

 wish to go in but checked herself. This would be repeated two or 

 three times, and now the nest was within the compass of 2 or 3 yards. 

 At last down she went and her note ceased. AVhen all had been 

 quiet for a minute or two, the male meanwhile continuing his double 

 note in the trees above, I cautiously approached the place. Some- 

 times the nest was very artfully concealed, but other times there 

 it was — the round green ball with the opening at one side. I often 

 saw the female put her head out and then partially draw it in again. 

 Her well-defined supercilium was very distinct. I thought I could 

 catch her on the nest once, and went round above her, but ont came 

 her head a little further, and she bolted as I brought down my 

 pocket handkerchief on the nest. I shot one or two from the nest, 

 but this I found unnecessary. In every case the female shouted 

 vigorously on leaving the nest or immediately after, and by her very 

 peculiar note fully authenticated the eggs." 



