340 LAKIIDJE. 



The nests that I have seen have been invariably placed at a 

 considerable height from the ground in the fork of a branch, most 

 commonly, I think, a mango-tree, though I have occasionally 

 noticed them in other trees. 



The nest is a small moderately deep cup, with an internal cavity 

 about 1-7 inch to 1/9 in diameter, and nearly an inch in depth. 

 The sides of the nest are about | inch thick, and the thickness of 

 the bottom of the nest varies according to the shape of the fork 

 chosen, whether obtuse or acute-angled. In the former case the 

 bottom of the nest is sometimes not above | inch in depth. In 

 the latter case, it is sometimes as much as an inch in thickness. 

 It is composed of very fine, needle-like twigs (with at times here 

 and there a few feathers) carefully bound together externally with 

 cobwebs, and coated with small pieces of bark or dead leaves, or 

 both, so that looked at from below with the naked eye it is im- 

 possible to distinguish it from one of the many little excrescences 

 so common, especially on mango-trees. There appears to be rarely 

 any regular lining, a very little down and cobwebs forming the only 

 bed for the eggs, and even this is often wanting. Sometimes a 

 few tiny dead leaves or a little lichen will be found incorporated 

 in the nest, and occasionally, but rarely, fine grass-stems take the 

 place of very slender twigs. 



Three is, I believe, the normal number of the eggs. I extract a 

 couple of old notes I made in regard to the nests of this species : 

 " August 5th. Took three eggs of this bird, shooting the two old 

 birds at the same time. The tree was a mango, the nest was in 

 the fork of a branch, some 40 feet from the ground, built interiorly 

 with very small twigs, with here and there a very few feathers 

 intermixed, and was exteriorly coated with fine flakes of bark held 

 in their place by gossamer threads. It was cup-shaped, with an 

 interior diameter of 1J by | inch. 



"The eggs had a slightly greenish-white ground, thickly spotted 

 and speckled, and towards the larger end blotched, with some- 

 what brownish red ; the markings showing a decided tendency to 

 form a zone round, or cap at the larger end." 



"Altyyurh, August 27th. Another beautiful little nest in a 

 mango-tree high up, a tiny cup about 1| inch internal diameter by 

 f- inch deep, woven with very fine twigs, and exteriorly coated 

 with tiny fragments of bark and dead leaves firmly secured in 

 their places with gossamer threads and cobwebs. It contained 

 two fresh eggs ; a pale slightly greenish-white ground, richly 

 speckled and spotted and sparsely blotched with a purplish and 

 a brownish red, the markings greatly predominating towards the 

 larger end/' 



Mr. P. E. Blewitt, detailing his experiences in Jhansie and 

 Saugor, says : " Breeds in June and July. The tamarind-tree is 

 by preference chosen by this bird for its nest ; at least the three 

 I saw were all on tamarind-trees. The nest, cup-shaped, is a 

 compactly made structure ; the exterior appeared to be composed 

 of the very fine petioles of leaves, with a thick coating all over of 



