BREEDING SEASONS OF CEYLON BIRDS. 25 



later Mr. John Still brought me two precisely similar eggs, 

 which he and Mr. J. G. Fraser had discovered while going 

 through the forest in the North-Central Province. The nest 

 lay at the foot of a tree ; it was cup-shaped, composed of grass 

 and dry leaves, and measured about 4 inches across. They 

 described the bird, which they saw fly off the nest, as stout, 

 of a dark brown colour, and somewhat resembling a Quail. 

 There are two more eggs of the same sort among the unidenti- 

 fied specimens in the Museum collection. I hope that they 

 may eventually be identified as the eggs of our Ceylon Quaker 

 Thrush. 



The examples I have just given are but three out of many 

 species, of whose nidification we require information, and any 

 collector may at any time come across a coveted find. But 

 apart from new finds, there are always fresh facts and little — 

 perhaps local — peculiarities to be noted about birds whose 

 nesting habits are already recorded. 



Osmotreron bicincta — ^the Orange-breasted Green Pigeon — 

 is one of our two common green pigeons, and may be found 

 in flocks in many parts of the Island. It is equally common 

 in many Indian districts. Legge records httle or nothing 

 about its nidification, and the notes on the subject in Hume's 

 " Nests and Eggs " are not very full. I have found its nest 

 half-a-dozen times in the North-Central Province. The usual 

 breeding season is in April and May, but this year I took a 

 nest in August with two fresh eggs. It is a mere apology of a 

 structure : haLf-a-dozen twigs just sufiiciently meshed together 

 to keep the two eggs from falling through. The eggs are of 

 the usual pigeon type, pure white, and almost perfectly oval, 

 with a moderate gloss. The average size is 1 '07 X '88 of an 

 inch. 



There are, however, several constant and noteworthy 

 features about all the nests which I have come across. The 

 birds, when in flocks, generally frequent the tops of trees, but 

 the nest has invariably been placed about 6 feet from the 

 ground in a thorny small-leaved bush or tree ; it has always 

 been by the side of a path or roads, but never near any habi- 

 tation, and I have always found the beautiful orange and 

 lilac -breasted male sitting on the eggs. I think the nest often 



E 6(2)13 



