258 PET BIRDS OF BENGAL 



wool, feathers, hair of either horse, cow 

 or man, string, coir, rags and all sorts 

 of vegetable fibres. 



Three or four eggs usually form a 

 clutch but five also have been found. In 

 size and shape, they are widely different, 

 but most of them generally resemble 

 Larks' eggs. They vary from a long to 

 a rather broad oval, but as a rule, all are 

 more or less pointed towards the small 

 end. Their ground-colour varies from 

 brownish to greenish white, and the marks 

 thereon are clouds, smudges, streaks, 

 spots and specks. The colour of these 

 markings is sometimes earthy brown, 

 sometimes dark olive-brown, and some- 

 times purplish-brown. In some eggs the 

 markings are uniform, while in others they 

 are more dense on the large end and 

 comparatively sparse elsewhere. 



Gay, bold, elegant, and engaging, the 

 Khan j an possesses the requisites of an 

 ideal aviary bird. Butler considers that 

 Wagtails are far more pleasing when kept 



