48 Mr. W. E. Brooks oii Birds observed 



243. Certhia himalayana. Shot at Nynee Tal and Binsur. 



248. SiTTA HiMALAYENSis. Common at Nynee Tal and 

 Binsur. 



254. Upupa epops. I frequently saw a Hoopoe at Almoi-ah 

 which must have been of this species. 



257. Lanius erythronotus. Common at Almorah, where, 

 from the middle to the end of May, I obtained several nests, 

 which, with the eggs, resemble those taken in the plains ; but 

 the bird appears to be lighter in hue, and the bay colour much 

 paler. 



260. Lanius hardwickii. Frequently met with in the 

 lower valleys, where it breeds about the middle of May. Both 

 bird and its eggs are slightly larger than those from the plains. 



273. Pericrocotus brevirostris. Seen several times in the 

 well-wooded districts, where it was evidently breeding. 



280. DiCRURUs LONGiCAUDATUs. This is the common 

 Drongo of the hills, and may be easily distinguished from D. 

 macrocercus by its much smaller size, and by having the reflec- 

 tions on the upper plumage much greener. The foot of the 

 former is about half the size of that of the latter, and the under 

 surface of the hill-bird is more of a dark smoke-grey than black. 

 The bird of the plains, when mature, is pure black beneath, and 

 the white spot at the gape is not always to be seen. 



The nest is usually fixed on the upper surface of a thin hori- 

 zontal branch, about fifteen to twenty feet from the ground, at 

 its junction with another horizontal branch, the nest being 

 partly imbedded in the fork of the two. It is composed of grass 

 fibres and roots, and lined with finer grasses and a ie.v^ hairs. It 

 is broader and much shallower than that of D. macrocercus. Out- 

 side it is covered with spiders' webs and small bits of lichen. 

 The eggs, which are laid from the middle to the end of May, 

 are four in number, sometimes only three, and measure 1 inch 

 by '75 in., but vary much in size, shape, and colour. Some 

 are bufi", blotched with light reddish-brown and pale purple- 

 grey ; others are lighter buff (almost white, in fact), spotted and 

 marked, more sparingly than the first-described, with the same 



