MELOPHUS. 175 



hill the whole of the year, and breeds in June and July. A nest 

 which I found on the 22ik1 June was placed on the ground on the 

 side of a sloping bank by the road-side. It was composed externally 

 of coarse dry grass and stalks, and internally of horsehair and thin 

 fibres of cocoanut. 



"I found another nest last year, on the 20th July, with three 

 fresh eggs in it. It v. as situated in a small hollow, behind a tuft of 

 short grass, on a sloping bank by the side of a road. 1 have seen 

 several nests in similar situations since I have been at Mount 

 Aboo." 



Mr. H. Wenden \\rites from the Bombay District : — " This 

 species is breeding freely from about 400 to 1800 feet above the 

 sea. 



" I have observed at least a dozen pairs at different ])oints along 

 the Bhore Ghat incline, i. e. between Kurjut and Louauli, but have 

 only found five nests. 



" One on t3rd Julv, M'ith three young. 



" Others on 9th, i2tli, 2'Jth July, and 1st August, each with three 



eggs- 



" All of them in clefts or on ledges of rock a\ ithin 5 to 10 feet 

 from and from 2 to 15 feet above the rails. One nest was quite 

 exposed to view, but the others were concealed behind grass or 

 maidenhair ferns. 



" I have nothing to add to the descriptions of nests given 

 in ' Eougli Draft of Nests and Eggs,' unless I note that I have 

 observed none of the ' shallow-saucer ' type. 



" Two clutches of eggs have the ' ])ale greenish ' ground with 

 purple markings, and one clutch has the ' pale pinky brown ' 

 ground and reddish-brown markings. 



"The bird lays one egg daily. Both birds assist in building; 

 and while the hen is sitting the cock remains very near the nest 

 and sounds his pretty note frequently. 



" I \^as unfortunate in losing one lot of three eggs. Some 

 animal destroyed them. 



" When the ' Kough Draft of Nests and Eggs ' was issued, you 

 do not seem to have had record of this species breeding so far 

 south." 



From Murree Colonel C. H. T. Marshall tells us that this species 

 " breeds here in June in banks ; nest made of grass. Eggs w hite, 

 thickly mottled with brown." 



Captain Huttou remarks :— " On the 6th June 1 took a nest of 

 this bird from the Dhoon, where it builds on the ground, placing 

 the nest on banks and hedgerows, or beneath the ledge of some 

 bold rock at the side of a ravine. It is chiefly composed of moss 

 loosely put together, with a few fragments of dead leaves \Aithout 

 any interweaving, and is lined with very fine roots and black fibres 

 of ferns resembling horsehair. On the 14th of the same month I 

 procured another, similarly constructed. The one contained four 

 and the other three eggs, of a dull stone-grey colour, tinged and 

 spotted with dull purplish brown, and chiefly so at the larger 

 end." 



