Trip to Kashmir. 21 



composed of dead leaves mixed with moss, and lined with a 

 few feathers and hair ; one, however, Avas composed exteriorly 

 of dead leaves, and interiorly o£ decayed pieces of wood and 

 one or two horse-hairs. The number of eggs was generally 

 five, and they were of a faint bluish green, much paler than 

 those of Bemichelidon or Alseonax ruficauclus ; they had a 

 series of distinct reddish spots forming a ring round the 

 larger end, and the small end was also of a paler tint than 

 the rest of the egg. In every case the male had a bright 

 red chest, throat, and upper abdomen, with a broad black 

 bar on each side of the throat. The females varied ; some 

 having no red on the breast, while others had a distinct 

 reddish tinge. 



42. Cyornis leucomelanurus (Hodgs,). 



This was a fairly common bird at from 6500 to 9000 feet 

 in the Sind Valley, and we got nest* at Gund, in the gorge 

 above Gangadgir, and at Sonamurg, during the last week 

 in May and first fortnight of June. In about half the cases 

 we found the males in the plumage of the female, and in that 

 case, except in size, they looked wonderfully like Alseonax 

 7'uficaudus, which was common in the neighbourhood. 



The position of the nests varied : most were in crevices 

 in trees, but not so deeply as in the case of Siphia, and we 

 generally could get out the eggs without requiring an axe. 

 The nests consisted of moss and hair and a few feathers ; they 

 were generally low down, in only one case exceeding 10 feet, 

 and that was only 18 feet. In two instances, however, we 

 found nests of this bird placed against the trunks of trees. In 

 these cases, though smaller, they exactly resembled those of 

 Alseonax ruficaadus. The eggs were a uniform cream-colour, 

 the thicker portion being a shade darker in some cases. 



43. Cyornis superciliaris (Jerd.). 



This bird was rare at Sonamurg, where we only saw one 

 pair; but at Gund they werj numerous over the wooded hills, 

 generally at an elevation of 7500 feet and upwards. We 

 obtained only three nests there : the first was in the disused 

 hole of a Woodpecker, 20 feet from the ground j the second 



