398 cucuLiD.*:, 



" On the 30th June 1 87'!, a female, with three eggs, was brought 

 to uie with the iiest, which was placed in the fork of a small tree 

 (about 15 feet high) where three branches met and some 6 feet off 

 the ground. A number of the small living twigs had been beat 

 down, and over these was placed a layer of twigs overlaid with a 

 layer, 1| inch thick, of leaves which had been plucked green. 

 There was hardly any egg-cavity perceptible ; the eggs were partly 

 incubated." 



Eroin Sikhim Mr. Grammie writes : — " On the 10th May a native 

 brought me a nest containing three pai'tially-ineubated eggs, and 

 a female of this species which he said he had caught on it. The 

 nest, he said, was placed in the middle of a large bamboo-bush, on 

 the branchlets, within eiglit fet^t off the ground. The man declared 

 that he had brought me the whole of the nest, but I do not feel 

 sure about this : of what he brought, the egg-cavity was little better 

 than a mere depression, about 4 inches in diameter, and gradually 

 deepening inwardly to about 1-25 inches in the centre. The body 

 of the nest was a collection of twigs about the thickness of a goose- 

 quill. On the top of the twigs came a quantity of green tree- 

 leaves and dry bamboo-leaves ; then a neat lining of quite green 

 leafy twigs for the eggs to rest on. It was taken at Mongpoo at 

 3000 feet elevation." ' 



The eggs obtained by Mr. Grammie in Sikhim, Mr. Cripps in 

 Hylhet, and Mr. Davison in Tavoy are quite of the Ccntrocoa'ij.v 

 and Taccocua type. Typically long cylindrical eggs, obtuse at both 

 ends, often not unlike in shape some of our Turtle's eggs, but often 

 again very regular and moderately broad ovals, and at times though 

 rarely quite broad ovals ; in coloia- dead glossless white, couunonly 

 with larger or smaller portions of their surfaces covered with dirty 

 yellowish-brown, more or less glazy, stains. 



Five eggs vary from 1-33 to 1-37 in length, and from 0-98 to 

 I'OS in width. 



Mr. Oates remarks from Pegu : — " Jane llth. Nest seven feet 

 from the ground in the fork of a leafy shrub. A mere platform 

 of dead twigs lined with leaves, very loosely laid. The whole 

 structure meagre and incoherent, measuring 10 inches by 6 and a 

 few inches thick. It contained one fresh egg, very chalky and 

 with little gloss ; colour pure white. The egg measured 1-27 

 by 1-0. 



" fSepteinhcr 1 0(h. Nest in a bamboo-bush about 20 feet f r-om 

 the ground, of xi'vy irregular shape and unmeasurable. Com- 

 ])osed of much the same materials as the nest described above. 

 Two eggs, nearly ready to hatch off. Colour originally white, but 

 now much stained wifh yellowish smears. A^^ry little gloss and 

 extremely fragile. The two eggs measured 1-4 by 1-05 and 1-33 

 by 1-05.' 



^^ Jane 20th. Nest with two incubated eggs. 



" Jane 21st. Nest with two fresh eggs. 



" The position of these was much the same as above described, 

 viz., in bamboo-trees." 



