374 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of [I])is, 



(Ibis, 1879, pp. 405-424; 1880, pp. 1-38, 153-169), and 

 those by Mr. Claude H. B. Grant (Ibis, 1911, pp. 80-137, 

 317-350, 459-478; 1912, pp. 273-280), who collected in 

 this neighbourhood on behalf of the British Museum and 

 myself. 



2. Tardus rufiventris Vieill. Red-bellied Thrush. 



Very abundant in the woods and garden, and even in the 

 smaller plantations and gardens of the numerous shepherds. 

 '\ lie song, sweet and clear, may be heard all the year round, 

 though, of course, is more in evidence in the spring, and then 

 generally in the early morning and the evening. Its par- 

 tiality for grapes and figs is much to be deplored, for, of the 

 various species of fruit-eaters which devastate the vines and 

 fig-trees, the mellow-toned Thrush is the one least readily 

 to be spared. 



It will nest familiarly in a jasmine of my verandah, or in 

 a shrub a few yards from the front-door. And I have found 

 a nest with young, inside a deserted old tumble-down rancho, 

 round which there grew only half-a-dozen stunted acacia- 

 trees, and the surroundings were swamp and plain. The 

 usual situation, however, is an elder-tree or bush, in the 

 woods by preference ; in any case it is concealed as much 

 as possible by thick foliage. The height from the ground 

 varies from three to ten feet, the general average being 

 al)out five or six. It is generally very well put together; 

 sometimes deeply cup-shaped and solid. The outer materials 

 are of grass, moss, wool, and dry plant-stems ; then follows 

 a course of mud, more or less thick (on one occasion I found 

 this substituted by a mixture of sand and dry grass); the 

 lining consists generally of fine roots, fibres, or grass. As 

 early as 26 August I have observed a completed nest, though 

 I do not recollect taking eggs until a month later. All the 

 month of October constitutes the laying season. Two nests 

 with full-fledged young, on 27 January and 2 February 

 respectively, are exceptional, and may represent a second 

 brood. 



The eggs not unfrequently number four, though three is 



