350 Birds^ -nesting in and around Lucknow. 



ptera ; in fact, if M. cantillans occurs in the district, it can 

 only be very local. This year I flushed undoubted M. ery- 

 throptera off two nests, April 1st (2 fresh eggs), April 5th 

 (2 hard-set eggs), and various other nests were found by the 

 boys. All the nests were on the ground, well concealed by 

 grass, and domed ; except in one instance, they contained 

 two eggs only. 



Galerita ciiisTATA. Crcstcd Lark. 



On March 30th I took three fresh eggs from a nest care- 

 fully concealed under a tuft of patowal grass. We had great 

 difficulty in finding the nest, which was a deep cup of fine 

 dry grass, so loosely put together that it fell to pieces on 

 removal. I shot one of the birds as it rose from the nest. 

 The eggs before being emptied were of a faint pinkish, 

 speckled and stippled all over with light brown. 



Arachnecthra asiatica. Purple Sun-bird. 



It is probable that the normal complement of eggs of this 

 bird does not exceed two, but on March 31st a clutch of three 

 fresh eggs was brought me ; on April 5th 1 took another 

 containing the same number with my own hand; and on 

 April 15th two more similar clutches were brought. The 

 nest that I found had evidently not been tampered with, 

 and the schoolboys who brought me the others had had 

 no inducement to make them untruthful. 



METoriuius iNDicus. Bronze-winged Jacana. 



On July 24th I shot both birds from a nest containing 

 three fresh eggs. The nest, which was merely a slight pad 

 formed by tearing up the weeds, was in about 5 feet of 

 water and was so slight that the eggs themselves were half 

 under water. Though Davies and I hunted carefully, we 

 could not find any more nests. In fact, the majority of this 

 species leave this part of the country after the cold weather, 

 and breed, I fancy, in the moister districts of Bengal. 



Hydrophasianus chirurgus. Pheasant-tailed Jacana. 

 I have taken the eggs of this bii'd in previous years, but 

 among the many I have seen I have never met with 



