Xutes from Japan. 133 



iu a district where it could have been by no means 

 rare. 



News that a nest of this species had been found by a 

 peasant was brought to nie on May 19th. 1 was taken by 

 the finder to an old ])art of the forest on the eastern slope 

 of Fuji, where the tiniljer was very large and the under- 

 gTowth, of saplings and shrubs, exceptionally thick. Here I 

 was shewn a half-fallen tree, and on its slanting trunk, about 

 7 ft. from the ground, I saw a large, moss-covered nest. 

 Through my glasses I could clearly discern the sitting 

 female — an unmistakable AVhite's Thrush. At almost the 

 first alarm she slipped noiselessly away and was instantly 

 lost to view among the thick foliage. In the case of all the 

 other nests taken by me the sitting birds behaved in exactly 

 the same manner ; once disturbed they apparently flew right 

 away, thereafter remaining absolutely silent and shewing no 

 further signs of anxiety. 



The first nest contained four eggs, almost fresh. The 

 second nest, with three slightly incubated eggs, discovered 

 on May 21st, was placed on the lateral branch of a spruce 

 some twenty feet from the ground, in much the same 

 situation. Another, found on jNIay 28th, was also placed 

 in a spruce, but at a greater height, being in the fork of the 

 tree at least thirty-five feet from the ground. This nest con- 

 tained four eggs, but incubation had so far advanced that it 

 proved impossible to blow them. Tw^o other clutches, of five 

 and four eggs respectively, were taken on May 24th and June 

 3rd, while two nestlings were brought to me on May 21st. 

 Judging from the information gathered, thirty-five feet is an 

 exceptional height for this species to build, and it apparently 

 prefers the fork of a tree, somewhere in the heart of the 

 forest, from twelve to twenty feet above the ground. The 

 nests themselves varied very little. Externally they were 

 composed almost, if not entirely, of moss, a very fcAv small 

 twigs, and sometimes a leaf or two, being introduced into the 

 body of the nest, while the cavity itself was strengthened with 

 mud and then lined w ith pine-needles. In Japan the latter 

 material is, I believe, peculiar to thii^ bird^ and my collectors 



