418 Mr. C. E. Stuart Baker on Indian 



ridce), is placed by Oates in an isolated position between the 

 Siffkhe and Certhiidfe, with neither of which it has any 

 naliu'al connexion. It is probable that the most casual 

 observer, on watching the "■ King-Crow," as it is popularly 

 termed, would consider it a " Flycatcher," and did he hold 

 it in his hand hs would probably call it a Shrike. Many 

 naturalists would agree with the latter view, and in fact the 

 Drongos are generally placed with the Shrikes or close to them. 

 Here again the natural position of the bird is borne out by the 

 nidification and eggs. Certainly the nest of the ordinary 

 King-Crow may not be much like that of the Black-headed 

 or other common Shrike, but let us look a little further afield 

 and see whether we cannot find similar structures built by 

 other acknowledged forms of that group. How about the 

 Cuckoo-Shrikes ? Here at once we find nests very similar to 

 those of the King-Crows. How about the fabrics of those 

 lovely little Shrikes, the Minivets ? Discard from these a 

 little of the outermost lichen and we have neat and tiny 

 facsimiles of the nests of Dicrurus, Chaptia, and other forms 

 of the Dicrur'ida. 



This suffices for the nests, and we may turn to the eggs. 

 The Drongos lay eggs which are normally pink, either pale 

 or warm in tint, and are spotted, speckled^ and blotched to a 

 variable extent with shades of red and brown. Many of 

 them can be matched in all but size with those of Lanius 

 nigriceps, the Blnck-headed Shrike, and others of the family. 

 The little Bronzed Drongo lays eggs which are sometimes 

 quite undistinguishable from those of Shrikes, and at other 

 times are practically the same as the eggs of the Paradise Fly- 

 catcher and its nearest allies. Indeed, it would probably be 

 possible to place on a table three clutches of eggs of the 

 Paradise Fly-catcher [Terpsiphone paradisea), the Bronzed 

 T> vow^o {Chaptin (enea), and the Bay-backed Shrike {Lanius 

 vittutus) respectively, which no one but an expert could tell 

 apart, for, not only in coloration are they similar, but in 

 shape and texture as well. 



The family Certhiida, which, as I have already said, forms 

 the upper half of the Drougo " sandwich," contains the 



