Birds of Lucknow. 481 



together with from two to four of the Crow. On one 

 occasion I found a nest which contained two fresh KoeVs 

 eggs but no Crow's. It is very curious to notice the dislike 

 of the House-Crow for the Koel, which it pursues relent- 

 lessly ; the Jungle-Crow, on the other hand, is seemingly 

 quite unaffected by a sight of the speckled lady. Like the 

 majority of the Crow tribe, the eggs of C. splendens are 

 green, marked and blotched more or less profusely with 

 various shades of darker green and brown. In size they vary 

 remarkably, from l"-37-l''-80 in length, and from 0"-99-l"-ll 

 in breadth ; but the average of ten Lucknow eggs — I have 

 been too lazy to measure more — is 1'''58 x 1"*05, which is a 

 good deal less than in C. macrorhynchus. 



No. 16. Dendrocitta rufa. Indian Tree-Pie. 



Mootri [H. Lucknow]. Ogilvie ; Long-tail Jay [Anglo- 

 Indian boys] . 



The Indian Tree-Pie, with his handsome plumage of fawn 

 and sooty brown and his long tail, is a common and well- 

 known resident, frequenting topes, gardens, and avenues 

 indiscriminately. When not breeding this species often 

 goes about in small parties of five or six. Its flight is 

 undulating. When angry, excited, or alarmed it keeps up 

 a harsh disagreeble chattering, but its other note, something 

 like " cog-ee cog-ee," is mellow and pleasing. Though I 

 have never actually seen any proof myself, close observers, 

 including my friend Mr. Benjamin Aitken, declare that this 

 bird is a great destroyer of the eggs and young of other 

 species. Mr. George Reid writes : — " A specimen that I 

 shot had evidently robbed some nest, for its bill was smeared 

 with the yolk of eggs. On another occasion I actually 

 caught one in the act of robbing a Babbler's nest.'''' 



This bird nests from the end of March (first eg^ 

 April 1st. — W. J.) to the beginning of July (last egg, 

 July 7. — G. R.), but by far the greater number of eggs are 

 taken between April 15th and June 15th. 



The nest is a very poor sort of structure of sticks lined 

 with grass, and is usually at the extreme tip of a mango. 



