68 CRATEEOPODIDJE. 



with line black roots. They have all been placed in the branches 

 of trees at heights of from 8 to 20 feet. 



Eggs of this species obtained by Mr. Grammie in May, and Mr. 

 MandelH in July, are of precisely the same type. They are rather 

 elongated ovals, a good deal pointed towards the small end, near 

 which they are not ^infrequently a good deal compressed, so as to 

 render the egg slightly pyriforrn. The shell is fine and smooth, but 

 has little gloss. The ground-colour is a very pale greenish blue or 

 bluish green, in some almost white ; some of them are absolutely 

 spotless, none of them are at all well marked, but some bear from 

 half a dozen to a dozen tiny specks of a dark colour. On one only 

 there is a triangular spot about 0-05 each way, which proves on 

 examination with a microscope to be a deep brownish red. On 

 the other eggs the markings are mere specks. 



The eggs vary from 1'25 to 1*35 in length, and from 0'89 to 

 0-92 in breadth. 



104. Argya earlii (Blyth). The Striated Babbler. 



Chatarrhsea earlii (Blytli), Jerd. B. Ind. ii ; p. 68 ; Hume, Rough 

 Draft N. $ E. no. 439. 



The Striated Babbler breeds in suitable localities throughout 

 Continental India, from Sindh to Tipperah and Assam, as also in 

 Burmah. Reedy-margined lakes, canals and perennial streams 

 are its favourite haunts, and wherever within the limits above 

 indicated these abound, and the locality is moist and warm, A. 

 earlii is pretty sure to be met with. 



They lay twice during the year, between the latter end of March 

 and the early part of September, building a neat, compact, and 

 rather massive cup-shaped nest, either between the close-growing 

 reeds, to three or more of which it is firmly bound, or in some 

 little bush or shrub more or less surrounded by high reed-grass. 

 The broad leaves and stringy roots of the reed, common grass, and 

 grass-roots are the materials of which it generally constructs its 

 nest, which varies much in size, according to the situation and 

 fineness of the material used. I have seen them composed almost 

 wholly of reed-leaves, fully 7 inches in diameter and 5 in height, 

 and again built entirely of fine grass-stems not more than 4 inches 

 across and 3 inches in height. When semi-suspended between 

 reeds, they are always smaller and more compact, while when 

 placed in a fork of a low bush they are larger and more straggling. 

 The cavity (always neatly finished off, but very rarely regularly 

 lined, and then only with very fine grass-stems or roots) is usually 

 about 3 inches in diameter by 2 inches in depth. 



Colonel Gr. F. L. Marshall remarks : " In the Saharunpoor 

 District A. earlii commences building about the middle of March, 

 and the young are hatched towards the middle of April. The nest 

 is usually placed in the middle of a tuft of Sarkerry grass, and 

 sometimes in a bush or small tree, generally 3 or 4 feet from the 

 ground. It is a deep cup-shaped structure, rather neatly made of 



