356 Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker on the [Ibis, 



those of any other bird with which I am acquainted ; they 

 were comparatively massive and well-lined with small twigs, 

 leaves, and scraps of dead moss, in addition to which some 

 of the twigs used were themselves well-covered with lichen 

 and moss. Presumably, therefore, the birds had merely 

 adopted the Pigeon's nests as a basis for their own, and had 

 then added to them further material until the whole was 

 massive enough to suit their tastes. 



The nest taken by Mr. Mackinnon at Murree was found 

 at over 6000 feet, and is the highest elevation of any 

 recorded nest of this Sparrow-Hawk. It has, however, 

 been found in the Naga Hills at greater heights than this, 

 and certainly breeds there up to 7000 feet, if not higher. 

 A pair were breeding in some forest above Henema when I 

 visited this place in April, 1887, though I was unable to 

 find the nest. Both birds were very excited, and continued 

 calling to each other whilst I was there, but there were no 

 roads, rivers, or open places in the vicinity in which we could 

 have made a special search, and the undergrowth elsewhere 

 was so densely matted that, once we left the so-called bridle- 

 path which ran from one village to another, it was almost 

 impossible to move. 



Other nests occupied by these birds, and from which I 

 have taken eggs, have been those of a Thrush of some kind, 

 probably Cochoa, built in a tangle of creepers on a big tree, 

 and of a Green Imperial Pigeon iCarpopliaga anea) in a 

 pepul-tree {Ficus religiosa). 



I also once found it breeding on the top of an old broken 

 tree-stump, about forty feet from the ground, in a nest of 

 twigs, roots, and grass, but whether this nest had been built 

 by the Hawks themselves or not it was impossible to say. 

 With this possible exception, there is nothing at present 

 to show that this Sparrow-Hawk ever builds its own nest, 

 but it is difficult to say to what kind of bird the nest could 

 have belonged if not built by the Hawks. It was very 

 roughly built and most flimsy, both in appearance and to 

 handle. 



