428 Mr. J. D. D. La Touclie oti the 



little aiiioug themselves in size. Those of the large clutoli 

 are all of the same size. 



102. Ckyptolopha fulvifacies (Swiiilioe). 



This little bird is abundant about Kuatuu. It was going 

 about in pairs during the whole of our stay, and its melan- 

 choly and shrill cry, " dree/^ was to be heard all over the 

 country in or close to bamboo-groves and plantations. It is 

 a confiding little creature, fond of the neighbourhood of 

 hamlets, and, as it makes its nest in holes of bamboos, readily 

 adopts the nest-holes which the wily Celestial cuts for it in 

 some old piece of bamboo planted in a convenient corner. 



I took the first nest of this bird on the 27th April. It 

 was in an old bamboo-stump, stuck upright in the ground, 

 which had originally supported a pole for bamboo-strips. 

 The hole in this bamboo was about 3 feet from the ground. 

 Both sides of the bamboo had been cut open, the division 

 below it broken through, and in the hollow of the joint, just 

 under the circular side-openings, the little bird had made its 

 nest. It was as much as I could do to dislodge the owner ; 

 she sat so close that, although I caught hold of her by the 

 tail and lifted her twice off her eggs, she dropped down again 

 at once. At the third attempt I caught hold of the wings 

 as well, drew her out carefully, and, after satisfying myself as 

 to her identity, released her, when she flew to a neighbouring 

 bamboo and chattered at us for some time. There were six 

 eggs, slightly incubated. 



The nest is composed of bamboo-leaves set upright round 

 the hollow, and has a lining of coir-fibre. The depth from 

 the bottom of the nest to the opening is 3 inches, the bamboo- 

 leaves reaching the broken-in section of the bamboo. The 

 diameter of the nest is about 2 inches. 



Another ''trap-nest,'' placed among the bamboos just 

 below the hunter's house by a Celestial of tender years, 

 surnamed by us the " Money-grabber," had its full clutch of 

 six eggs on the 4th May, and I obtained four other nests of 

 the same kind on the 17th and 19th May with five, five, 

 five, and four eggs respectively. 



