332 Mr. J. J. Quelch on the 



opportunity of seeing whether, along the Berbice river and 

 the Canje* creek, nests are to be found on the Bundoorie 

 pimpler at that time of the year. 



From the binding nature of the spiny twigs, the nests last 

 for a considerable time, and these are certainly made use of 

 again, possibly after more or less repair. The same nest has 

 been found in use after an interval of seven months. 



Two or three eggs are laid at a time, both numbers 

 being about equally common in my experience ; and in one 

 special case six eggs were taken from a nest on which one 

 bird had been sitting, but whether they had been laid by 

 one bird or two birds there was nothing to show. The eggs, 

 which vary considerably in size, being usually as large as a 

 small-sized hen's egg, though often a good deal larger or 

 smaller, are easily seen from beneath the nest, owing to its 

 loose structure, and the whitish eggs, with scattered dark 

 reddish-brown blotches, more closely placed at the obtuse 

 pole, form a marked contrast with the greyish-brown twigs 

 of the nest. Even while the birds are sitting on them 

 the eggs must be kept fairly cool from below ; and this 

 evidently gives the explanation why a number of freshly laid 

 eggs that were placed to be hatched out by a common fowl 

 exploded one after another, much to the alarm of the foster 

 parent, who, however, stuck to the nest with the remainder 

 after each occurrence. 



Soon after the hatching of the eggs, the nestlings begin 

 to crawl about by means of their wings and legs, the well- 

 developed claws on the pollex and index being constantly in 

 use for holding and hooking on to the surrounding objects. 

 If they are drawn from the nest by means of their legs, they 

 hold on firmly to the twigs both with their bill and wings ; 

 and if the nest be upset by means of a rod pushed up from 

 below, they hold on to all objects with which they come in 

 contact by means of bill, feet, and wings, making considerable 

 use of the bill, not only to reach objects above them, but 

 also, with the help of the clawed wings, to raise themselves 

 to a higher level. When the parent bird is driven from the 

 nest, owing to the close approach of a boat, generally through 



