Notes from Japan. 141 



This bird is by no means rare in the forests rotind 

 Fujiyama, where it is more often heard than seen, owing to 

 its love of seclusion. It seems to have no real song, bnt 

 utters a few unmusical notes. Nidification was apparently 

 just cornm.encing when I left Subashiri on June 6th, for the 

 only nest found was taken two days before my departure, 

 and contained an incomplete clutch of three eggs. This 

 nest was slung under the fork of a small branch in the 

 centre of a wood and was tidily built of moss, roots, and a 

 few grass-stalks. The eggs are white with a salmon-pink 

 tinge, and are finely speckled round the larger end with 

 grey underlying and dark reddish-brown overlying spots. 

 Size 0-82 X 0-61 in. 



13. Hypsipetes a\5aurotis (Temni.). Brown-eared Bul- 

 bul. 



Hypsipetes amaurotis Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 64. 



Jap. : Hiyodori. 



This Bulbul was fairly common in most of the pai'ts of 

 Hondo that I visited. It is a restless noisy species, and two 

 or three individuals are usually encountered together, calling 

 to one another with a loud squealing cry. This is usually 

 uttered during flight, but the bird will sometimes continue 

 its vociferations from the top of a tree. 



14. ZosTEROPS JAPoxiCA Temm. & Schl. Japanese 

 White-eye. 



Zosterops japonica Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 68. 



Jap. : Mejiro. 



I found several nests of this species near Subashiri, 

 where it is common. It is everywhere a popular cage- bird, 

 and great numbers are kept by the Japanese for the sake 

 of its pleasing song. In captivity the chestnut colouring 

 on the flanks is said to become considerably darker owing 

 to artificial feeding, and my observations go to corro- 

 borate this fact. Such being the case, separatists should 

 be very cautious and not rely too much on this variable 

 character when dividing the geographical races in this 

 genus. Jouy^s assumption (afterwards copied by Seebohm) 



