SCHCEXIPAEUS. 117 



perhaps, as a rule, better marked. They are very regular ovals, 

 typically rather slightly elongated, often slightly compressed to- 

 wards the small end ; the shell is very fine and fragile, and has 

 usually a fair amount of gloss. The ground is usually pure white, 

 at times with a pinkish tinge. Bound the large end is a more or 

 less conspicuous, more or less continuous zone of specks, spots, and 

 small irregular blotches of two colours, the one varying in different 

 eggs from almost brick-red to brownish orange, the other from 

 reddish purple to purplish grey. In some cases a very few, in 

 others a good many, specks and tiny spots of the same colours are 

 scattered about the other portions of the egg. The eggs measure 

 07 by 0-51. 



178. Schceniparus dubius (Hume). Humes Tit-Babbler. 

 Proparus dubius, Hume ; Hume, Cat. no. 622 bis. 



Mr. W. Davison has furnished me with the following note : 

 " On the 21st of February I took a nest of this species on Muleyit 

 mountain containing two eggs, and out of the female which I shot 

 off the nest I took another egg ready for expulsion which was in 

 every particular precisely similar to those in the nest. 



" The nest was a large globular structure, composed externally of 

 dried reed-leaves, very loosely put together, the egg-cavity deep 

 and lined with fibres. It was placed on the ground close to a 

 rock, and at the foot of a Zingiberaceous plant, and rather exposed 

 to view. The nest was not unlike that of Pomatorhinus, but of 

 course considerably smaller, not so much domed, and with the mouth 

 of the egg-cavity pointing upwards. 



" A few days later, on the 25th, I took a second nest, quite similar 

 in shape and materials to the first one, but placed several feet above 

 the ground, in a dense mass of creepers growing over a rock. It 

 was quite exposed to view, and from a distance of 3 or 4 feet the 

 eggs were quite visible. 



" There were three eggs in the nest, similar to those in the first 

 nest. Both parent birds were obtained. The first nest measured 

 5 inches long by 4'5 wide, the egg-cavity 3'8 deep by 275 wide at 

 the entrance. The other was about half an inch smaller each way. 

 "The measurements of the six eggs varied from O76 to O81 in 

 length by 0-56 to 0-6 in width, but the average was 078 by 0'59." 

 The eggs are rather narrow ovals, as a rule, occasionally much 

 pointed towards one end. The shell is very fine and has a faint 

 gloss. The ground-colour is white. The markings, which are dif- 

 ficult to describe, consist first of spots, specks, and hair-line 

 scratches, dark brown, almost black occasionally, and a great 

 amount of irregular clouding, streaking, and smudging of a pale 

 dirty-brown, slightly reddish in some eggs. Besides this, about the 

 large end there is an indistinct irregular zone of faint inky 

 purple spots and small blotches, and a few spots of this same colour 

 may be observed on other parts of the egg. 



