32 Messrs. La Touclie and Rickett on the 



very firm and compact. When composed of other materials, 

 they are often loose untidy structures. This species fre- 

 quently builds in gardens close to the houses. Rickett notes 

 that the female seems to do all the work of building, the male 

 singing near her and driving away any bird that approaches 

 the site. The nest is cup-shaped and measures externally 4 or 

 5 inches in diameter, and from 2^ to 4 inches in depth. The 

 internal diameter is about 3 inches and the depth 2 inches. 



There are two or three broods in a season. The eggs, 

 usually three or four in number, vary a good deal in 

 appearance. They are pale mauve or mauve-white, spotted 

 or blotched with lavender-grey and claret-colour or crimson- 

 lake over paler red. Some eggs are more lightly marked 

 with speckles. The markings are usually denser at the 

 larger end. The most usual shape is ovate. 



Thirty-one eggs averaged "88 x "64 in. : the largest of these 

 was '90 x "70, the smallest '84 x '60. 



It is not at all unusual to find a piece of a snake's 

 slough worked into a nest, and some are rendered very 

 conspicuous by the bits of white paper used in their con- 

 struction. 



Young birds assume the adult plumage at the first autumn 

 moult, previous to which the head is ashy, paler on the ear- 

 coverts and hind-neck ; the back and wing-coverts are ashy- 

 brown; the quills and tail-feathers are edged with olive-yellow 

 on the outer webs; the throat is white, as are the under parts, 

 which are tinged with yellow, while a pale ashy band crosses 

 the chest. 



Pycnonotus atricapillus (Vieill.). 



A common resident about Amoy, but a rare straggler in 

 winter as far north as Foochow. 



La Touche does not appear to have taken its eggs when at 

 Amoy. 



Buchanga leucogenys Walden. 



A common summer-visitor to the plains, arriving in April 

 and leaving in September or October. 



Nesting commences early in May. Possibly two broods 



