PROPASSER. CARPODACITS. 153 



755. Propasser pulcherrimus, Moore, The Beautiful 

 liose-Flncli. 



Propasser pulcherrimus, Hodys., Jerd. B. Ind. \\, p. 402 ; Hume, 

 Hough Draft N. ^ E. no. 743. 



All that we know of the nidification of the Beautiful Eose-Finch 

 is that Mr. Hodgson figures a beautiful, deep, cup-shaped nest as 

 belonging to it, placed amongst a clump of close-growing twigs, 

 and composed of fern-leaves and grass. He gives the exterior 

 dimensions as diameter 3 inches, height 4*75; the interior as 

 diameter 2 inches, depth 2-12. He neither describes nor figures 

 the egg, nor is the date on w hich the nest was obtained noted. 



761. Carpodacus erythrinus (Pall.). The Common Rose-Finch. 



Carpodacus erythrinus (Fall.), Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 398 ; Hume, Cat. 



no, 738. 



Colonel John Biddulph writes regarding the breeding of this 

 Finch in Gllgit : — " Several nests were found, all situated within 

 a foot of the ground, either in low bushes or among the stems of 

 coarse grass about 2 feet high in scrub-jungle. The nest is a neat 

 cup-shaped structure of grass, lined with the finer roots and stems 

 only, except in one instance, in which a good deal of hair is mixed 

 with the lining ; the interior is from 2 to 2| inches wide and 1^ 

 deep. The eggs are blue, of a purer and slightly deeper shade 

 than those of Trochalopteron lineatum, with chocolate spots 

 sparingly scattered over them, chiefly towards the large end. In 

 one out of a dozen the spots are almost entirely wanting ; in some 

 they are paler, almost of a sienna tint, in others nearly black, 

 while on a few there are also one or two pale purplish spots and 

 fine reddish scrawls at the larger end ; and in these the spots are 

 almost confined to the larger end in an ill-defined zone or cap. 



"Nests were taken at 10,000 feet elevation on July IGth, 17th, 

 20th, 21st, 29th, and 30th, all with eggs mostly fresh." 



Major Wardlaw Eamsay says, writing of Afghanistan : — " A. 

 male shot at 8halofyau, in the Kurum valley, was apparently breed- 

 ing ; for the testes were much enlarged." 



The eggs of this species vary in shape from regular to broad 

 ovals, but all are a good deal pointed towards the small end ; the 

 shell is very thin and smooth, but there is very little gloss on 

 them. The ground-colour is a pale clear blue, the markings few 

 and almost wholly confined to the broad end : in three of my 

 specimens there are a few good-sized spots, a number of specks, 

 and a few hair-like lines of deep blackish brown and black ; on 

 another egg the markings are of a deep purplish brown, some of 

 the larger spots being surrounded by an indistinct halo, and there 

 are besides some underlying markings of pale inky purple, which, 

 together with the primary markings, form a ring round the large 

 end ; another egg, again, has only a few indistinct specks and spots 



