142 GLIMPSES OF INDIAN BIRDS 



entirely by the bird's body and feet. When a bulbul 

 brings material to the nest, it drops this on to what 

 has already been collected, sits on it, and proceeds 

 to arrange it with its feet, which work so vigorously 

 as to shake the whole plant in which the nest is placed. 

 In the middle of the process the bird usually turns on 

 its axis, a right angle, and thus the interior of the 

 nest becomes rounded by the bird's breast. All new 

 material is added to the inside of the nest. 



At midday, then, the nest in question was a shallow 

 saucer composed chiefly of Duranta and other twigs, 

 dried grass, and bast. The leaves mentioned above 

 had fallen some way below the nest, and the worsted 

 and tissue paper had been crushed into a ball at one 

 side of the nest. 



By the evening more material, chiefly bast in bands 

 about a quarter of an inch broad, had been added, 

 and the nest looked almost as complete as some 

 bulbuls' nests in which I have seen eggs. But that 

 particular pair were evidently bent on building a 

 very substantial structure. 



By 8 a.m. on the following day the cup of the nest 

 had grown deeper, and its walls had been considerably 

 thickened. By the evening of the day the nest was 

 practically complete. On the 5th March the finishing 

 touches were put to it in the shape of a few grasses 

 and prickly stems. 



The diameter of the completed nest is between 

 2 1 and 3 inches. The nest is rarely quite circular. 

 It is about 2 J inches in depth. The length of its 

 diameter appears to be determined by that of the 



