TEPHBODOIiXIS. 331 



Burma, Assam, Cachar, and the sub-Himalayan Terais and Banges 

 to which the typical Jndo-Burmese fauna extends. Still we have 

 no information as to its nidification, and the only egg of the 

 species that I possess was extracted from the oviduct of a female 

 shot by Mr. Davison on the 26th of March, 1874, near Tavoy in 

 Teuasseriin. The egg is rather a handsome one very Shrike-like 

 in its character, but rather small for the size of the bird. In 

 shape it is a broad oval, very sb'ghtly compressed towards one end. 

 The shell is fine and compact, but has no gloss. The ground is 

 white, with the faintest possible greenish tinge only noticeable 

 when the egg is placed alongside a pure white one, such as a Bee- 

 eater'-s for instance. The markings are bold, but except at the 

 large end not very dense spots and blotches of a light clear 

 brown, and (chiefly at the large end) somewhat paie inky grey. 

 AVhere the two colours overlap each other, there the result of the 

 mixture is a dark dusky brown, so that the markings appear to be 

 of three colours. Fully half the markings are gathered into a 

 broad conspicuous but very broken and irregular zone about the 

 broad end. The egg measured only 0*86 by 0-69. 



Subsequently to writing the above Mr. Mandelli sent me a nest 

 of this species found at Ging near Darjeeling on the 27th April. 

 It contained four fresh eggs, and was placed on branches of a very 

 large tree about 22 feet from the ground. The tree was situated 

 at an elevation of about 3000 feet. The nest is a large ma>si\v 

 cup. 5 inches in exterior diameter and rather more than 3 

 in height. It is composed of tendrils of creepers and stems of 

 herbaceous plants, to many of which the bright yellow amaranth 

 Mowers remain attached ; and all over the sides and bottom masses 

 of flower-stems of grass with the white silky down attached are 

 thickly plastered, which, intermingled as this white down is with 

 the glistening yellow flowers, produces a very ornamental effect, 

 and looks as if the bird had really had an eye to decoration. 



Inside the nest is entirely lined with very fine grass-stems. The 

 nest i< everywhere about an inch thick, and the cavity about 

 3 inches in diameter by nearly 2 deep. 



Eggs said to belong to this species kindly sent me by Mr. Mandelli, 

 whose men obtained them on the 27th April, are very Shrike-like 

 in their appearance. In shape they vary from broad to ordinary 

 ovals, generally somewhat compressed towards the small end. The 

 shell is white but almost glossless. The ground-colour is a dead 

 white, and they are profusely speckled and spotted with yellowish 

 brown, paler in some eggs, darker in others. In all the eg^s the 

 markings are by far the most numerous towards the large end. 

 Two egi?s measure 0-95 and 0'91 in length by 0*74 and 0'72 in 

 breadth respectively. 



487. Tephrodornis sylvicola, Jerdon. The Malabar Wood-Shrike. 



Tephrodornis sylvicola, Jerd., Jerd B. Ind. i, p. 409; Hume, Cat. 

 no. 264. 



Major M. Forbes Coussmaker has furnished me with the following 



