46 Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker on the 



and the materials consisting sometimes of certain of the 

 articles mentioned above, sometimes of others of them, but 

 the lining of all I have seen has been the same. In nearly 

 all nests, also, the preponderating material used is dead 

 grass. 



The bush selected as a site may be a lofty one or a low 

 bushy one ; once I have taken the nest from a small sapling 

 about twenty feet from the ground. Three appears to be 

 the full complement of eggs laid, and whilst I have never 

 seen four in a clutch, I have several times seen two eggs 

 much incubated. They are, of course, blue in colour, but 

 they are of a beautiful satiny texture, not easy to describe. 

 The surface is very smooth, and feels to the touch the same 

 as do eggs of Batrachostomus and of the Capitonidae. Of 

 the Crateropodinse, the eggs which approach nearest are those 

 of Stactocichia merulina and Trochcdopterum virgatum, and, 

 to a less extent, T. lineatum, but as neither of the former 

 birds' eggs are at all known, I believe, except to myself, it is 

 not of much use to cite them for comparison. The shade of 

 blue or blue-green is much the same as in the egg of £>. cceru- 

 latus, but shows rather more gloss, though never to anything 

 like the extent to be seen in the eggs of D. ruficoUis. In 

 shape they are rather long, blunt ovals, somewhat compressed 

 and drawn out towards the smaller end. 



Twenty-four eggs average 1"-19 by 0"'79. The longest is 

 1"*26, and the broadest 0"'83, the shortest and narrowest 

 being 1"'12 and 0""70 respectively. 



5. Gaerulax gularis. {Oates, op. cit. i. p. 81.) 

 This handsome but rare Laughing Thrush is found in 

 some numbers to the east and north-east of the Cachar 

 district, breeding from the end of April up to the middle of 

 July, April and May being the months in which most nests 

 may be found. 



The nest is like that of Garrulax moniliger and G. pecto- 

 ralis, but a larger variety of material is used, and, I think, 

 taking a considerable series, it is also better built — both 

 more compact and better finished off at the edges, &c. In 



