350 Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker oti the 



be so fond of fixing its nest at great heights as is its Neil- 

 gherry relation, but, Hke that bird, usually selects a pendent 

 twig, having leaves which fall over and quite screen the 

 white little ball from view, so that it is thus a very hard 

 nest to find. 



The eggs are, I think, generally two in number ; they are 

 of course white, and are broad, rather pointed ovals in shape, 

 very fragile, and with a chalky texture, showing no gloss. 

 My eggs average about 0"*57x0"*40, which is a good deal 

 smaller than the average of the eggs of D. concolor. 



58. PiPRisoMA MODESTUM. (Oates, op. cit. ii. p. 383.) 

 This is not the common form of Pijjrisoma in North Cachar, 

 P. squalidum being far more numerous. I have taken but two 

 nests of this Flower-pecker, and, as might be expected, they 

 do not differ from those of P. squalidum ; indeed, the nests 

 first described by Capt. Beavan on page 277, vol. ii. 2nd ed. of 

 Hume's ' Nests and Eggs,' would do equally well for both 

 of these species. I can add practically nothing in the way of 

 describing them. Both were a very bright tan-red in colour, 

 owing to the outside being entirely covered with minute 

 scraps from the inner bark of the nayessur-tree, and both 

 could be taken up, rolled in a ball, and danced on, and then 

 restored uninjured to their original shape ; one nest, which 1 

 kept for some five years, retained its elasticity and firmness 

 up to the very day it was eventually thrown away by a 

 stupid servant. 



The eggs of one clutch are just like the common type of 

 egg of P. squalidum. The ground-colour is pink, and it is 

 densely covered everywhere with brownish-pink blotches, 

 very tiny, numerous everywhere, but even more so at the 

 larger end, where, in one, they form an indistinct cap, and 

 in the other two equally indistinct rings ; they measure 

 0"-61 X 0"-44, 0"-59 x 0"-43, and 0"-57 x 0"-47. In shape they 

 are regular ovals. The shell, stouter than that of the eggs of 

 genus Dicceum, is otherwise much the same. 



Another egg, an addled one, is rather peculiar in coloration. 

 The ground-colour is of the usual creamy pink, but the 



