Birds of North-ioest Fohkien. 419 



The nests of Yuhina pallida that I have seen are all of the 

 same build and composed of the same materials. They are 

 cradles of moss and moss-roots, with an inner cup or lining 

 of coir or other fibre and fine rootlets. The nest with eggs 

 taken on the 2nd May, 1898, is a stout little cradle of moss, 

 with a lining of coir-fibre and fine roots. A tail of moss 

 and small roots hangs from its base. The entrance is at 

 either end of the cradle and is 1 inch in diameter. The 

 egg-cavity is about 1^ inch deep, with a diameter of about 



2 inches ; the outer diameter is 4 inches longitudinally and 



3 inches in width ; the outer depth of the nest, hanging moss 

 excluded, is about 2 inches. 



The eggs of this nest are of a very pale and rather dull 

 sea-green, speckled with pale brown over a few underlying 

 violet spots. In two of the eggs the spots form a cap, the 

 centre of the large end being lightly spotted, and the other 

 two have an irregular ring. Other spots and very pale 

 streaks are thinly distributed over the whole egg. The 

 ground-colour of one of the eggs is much brighter than that 

 of the others, and the spots are much better defined ; it is 

 the largest of the four. The shape of these eggs is ovate, 

 inclining to oval, the apex of one egg in particular being very 

 broad and round. They measure 0"68 x 0*50, 0"G6x0 50, 

 0"61 X 0'50, and 0*62 x 0"50 inch. The ground-colour of two 

 of the eggs taken on the 20th May, 1896, has much faded. 

 It was originally a light green, but it is now a dull light 

 yellowish or brownish green. The markings on one egg 

 consist of small lines and specks of light reddish brown 

 distributed all over the egg ; the specks on the other egg are 

 darker. There is no trace of a cap or ring. The eggs are 

 ovate in shape, and measure 0*64 x 0"48 and 0'62 x 0'48 inch. 

 The eggs of the third clutch in my collection, taken on the 

 22nd May, 1897, have the ground-colour light bluish green, 

 which appears very bright when the eggs are placed beside 

 the other eggs just described. They are speckled or 

 spotted, chiefly about the large end, with pale brown over 

 underlying reddish-grey spots. In shape one is ovate, 

 another rather broad ovate, and the third is very round 



