426 Mr. J. D. D. La Touolie on the 



I'eaclied us. In 1898 we had better luck, and on the 3rd May 

 the collectors found a nest with eggs, which they brought me 

 with the parent bird. It was found in a hole in an earth- 

 bank by a path on the edge of a forest. This nest is a 

 roundish mass of moss, with a small side-entrance, and 

 resembles the nest of Cryptolopha sinensis. It is, however, 

 uot so deep inside. There is no lining. The outer measure- 

 ments are 5 inches high by 4-| broad, and 3 inches in depth 

 from front to back. The inner measurements are : diameter 

 If inch, depth of egg-cavity about 1 inch, height about 

 2 inches. The eggs, six in number, were somewhat incu- 

 bated ; they are pure white, with a slight gloss ; the shape 

 is ovate, with pointed apex. Two measure 0"63x0"47 inch, 

 and the four others 0-60x0-47 inch. 



101. Cryptolopha sinensis Rickett. 



The soft parts in this species are : — Iris dark brown ; upper 

 mandible dark or light brown ; lower mandible yellowish, 

 tipped with brown ; legs greenish yellow. Total length : 

 cJ, 4 inches ; ? , 3"8 and 3"95 inches. 



This pretty little bird is very common about Kuatun. It 

 had already paired when we arrived, at the end of March, 

 and its song, a loud and shrill " chichichi-chichi,^^ was one 

 of the most common bird-calls of the country-side. The 

 songster himself was not to be seen, as a rule, except by 

 the sharp-eyed native hunter. We generally met this little 

 bird in underwood on the outskirts of forests, in hedges, and 

 in patches of brushwood in open ground. The nests were 

 being built at the beginning of April. I took the first on 

 the 14th April. The eggs wei'C quite fresh, and during the 

 rest of our stay we took fresh eggs till the 16th May. A few 

 taken between these dates were incubated. 



The nest is placed under a hollow bank among the clods 

 ou the unearthed roots in the vault of the bank. It is always 

 built well inside, out of sight. Generally the bank chosen 

 is that by a stream ; but we have taken nests from hollow 

 banks some distance from running water. One taken in a 

 valley near Kuatun Avas by the side of the public road. The 



