384 PYCNONOTID #, 
3,000 feet and on the Nilgiri Hills up to about 8,000 feet above 
Ootacamund. They breed in Ceylon principally in March and 
April but eggs may be taken in almost any month; in India May 
and June are, perhaps, the favourite months but there also the 
breeding season is very extended, many second broods are hatched 
and there is practically no season in which an odd nest or two may 
not be seen. The nest is a cup made of dead leaves, grass, twigs, 
creeper stems and odd scraps of dried moss, lichen ete., fairly 
compactly put together but rather untidy. The lining is of fine roots 
and green stems. No nests are ever taken in forest or really 
heavy jungle and no nest is built very high up in big trees 
or, on the other hand, placed quite on the ground. Within these 
limits, however, they may be built in almest any situation. A 
shrub or small tree within a few teet of a frequented path, a trellis 
over a verandah, a bush in scrub surrounding a village, a thick 
patch of high grass in an orchard—all in turn may serve the pur- 
pose and, failing these, any other kind of bush, tree or stump will 
suffice. The number of eggs laid is two or three but in the north 
a clutch of four may occasionally be seen. In ground-colour the 
egos vary from pure white to a pale or deep salmon-pink, a few 
having rather a lilac tint. Normally the markings consist of 
numerous small blotches, spots and freckies of various shades of red, 
reddish brown or pinkish brown with others, less numerous, under- 
lying them of pale neutral tint and grey. Ina few eggs the marks 
may be mere freckles or stipplings, in others again somewhat 
bolder and more blotchy but the range of variation does not seem 
as great as it is in MW. h, bengalensis and M.h. burmanicus. In 
texture the eggs are smooth but not very fine grained, there is 
little or no gloss and they are rather fragile for their size. 
100 eggs average 21:1x 15°5 mm. and vary in length between 
24°3 x 16°5 and 19-0 x 15°1 mm. and in breadth between 20-2 x 
16°9 and 21-415 mm. 
Habits. The various races of Red-vented Bulbuls are amongst 
the most common birds of India, sharing with the Myna, the Crow 
and the Kite an attachment to the vicinity of civilization and the 
haunts of man. They are not gregarious in the true sense of the 
word but they are so plentiful that in any spot which offers any 
inducements in the way of food large numbers may be seen feeding 
together. They feed on almost any kind of fruit, seed or insect 
and are often most destructive, picking off oranges when about 
the size of a pill, destroying peas in the hill gardens and also 
pulling to pieces young shoots and buds. They are rather quarrel- 
some and extremely plucky and the natives in many parts of India 
keep them for fighting purposes and the males will sometimes 
fight to the death unless parted. Their voice cannot be called 
beautiful but many of the notes are pleasant and they are 
extremely cheerful birds, always in an optimistic frame of mind 
and any garden is the richer for their lively, restless presence 
and constant gay notes. Their flight is quick and strong. 
