ACANTHOrNEUSTE. 267 



while others are densely spotted and blotched, the spots often 

 being more or less confluent at the larger end. Frequently they 

 accujuulate round (he larger end in the form of a confluent zone. 

 Tlie \ariety with deep purple-broA'u spots, which is the rarest, re- 

 sembles those of F. rufa in miniature ; but, as a rnle, the ego- 

 bears a much stronger resemblance to that of F, trocJiilus, though 

 it is of course much smaller. As far as the colour (joes, the reprci- 

 sentatious in Hewitson's work of the eggs of Farus cristatus, Funis 

 cceruJea^s, and FhyUoscopus trochllas will give a very correct idea of 

 the different varieties of the eg^ of the pi-esent bird. 



The greatest number of eggs found in any nest by Captain Cock 

 and Mr. Brooks was live; frequently, however, four was the num- 

 ber upon which the bird was sitting ; " eggs partially incubated. On 

 the Pir-Pinjal Mountain, just below the snows, a nest with four 

 young ones was found on the 15th June, so that, though five 

 seems to be the usual number, the bird frequenflv lays only four. 



In length the eggs vary from 0-52 to 0-02, and in breadth from 

 0-43 to 0-47 ; but the average of fifty eggs carefully measured was 

 0-56 full by 0-44. 



428. Acanthopneuste occipitalis, Jerd. The Large Crowned 



WUlow-Warhler. 



Reguloides occipitalis {Jerd.\ Jerd. B. I. ii, p. lOG : Hume, Rounh 

 Draft N. ^- E. uo. ms. ' i ^ ^ J 



^ The Large Crowned A\^illow-Warbler breeds in Cashmere and the 

 North-west Himalayas generally, during the latter half of May, 

 June, and the first half of Julv, apparently at any elevation froin 

 4U0U to «000 feet. 



Mr. Brooks says :— " This is perhaps the commonest bird in 

 Cashmere, even more so than Fasser indicus. It is found at almost 

 all elevations abo\e the valley where good woods occur. 



" I only took three nests, as the little bird is Aery cunning, and, 

 unlike the snnple P. humii, is very careful indeed how it approaches 

 its nest when an enemy is near. 



" The nest is placed in a hole under the roots of a large tree on 

 some steep bank-side. I found one in a decayed stump of a large 

 fir-tree, inside the rotten wood. It was placed on a level Avith the 

 ground, and could not be seen till I had broken a«ay part of the 

 outside of the stump. It was composed of green inoss and small 

 dead leaves, a scanty and loosely formed nest, and not domed. It 

 was lined with tine grass and a little wool, and also a very few hairs. 

 There were five esgs. 



"Another nest was also placed in a rotten stump, but under the 

 roots. A thn-d nest \vas placed in a hole under the roots of a laro-e 

 living pine, and in front of the hole grew a small rose-bush quile 

 against the tree-trunk. This nest was most caref ull y concealed, for 

 the hole behind the roots of the rose-bush was most difficult to find. 



" The eggs, four or five in number, are of a rather longer form 

 than those of F. Jiumli, and are pure white without any spots 

 I hey average 'do by -5." 



