HKXICUhUS. 57 



Subfamily RUTICILLIN^E. 



630. Henicurus maculatus, Vigors. The Western Spotted 

 Forktail. 



Enicurus maculatus, FiV/., Jerd. B. Ind. ii, p. 212 j Hume, Rough 

 Draft N. 8? E. no. 584. 



The Western Spotted Forktail breeds throughout the Himalayas 

 west of Nepal and south of the first snowy range, along the banks 

 of almost every mountain-streamlet, between the elevations of 

 2000 and 7000 feet .or even higher. The breeding-season extends, 

 according to locality and elevation, from the commencement of 

 April until the middle of June. 



The nest is almost always placed in close proximity to water, 

 sometimes completely hidden in a rocky niche, sometimes on a 

 bare ledge of rock more or less overhung by drooping ferns, and 

 sometimes on a sloping bank, at the roots of some old tree, in 

 a very forest of club-moss. The nest is cup-shaped, fully 4 inches 

 across and from 2| to nearly 4 inches in height, the cavity being 

 sometimes shallow, sometimes deep. It is composed of very 

 various materials moss, moss-roots, horsehair, silky fibre, and the 

 like ; but a quantity of dead, more or less skeleton, leaves are 

 always intermingled, and at times form the chief lining, which, 

 however, according to my experience, is more commonly fine 

 rootlets. 



Three or four eggs are usually laid; but I have a note of 

 five having once been brought in, all ready to hatch off, by one of 

 my hunters. 



Captain Hutton writes from the Dhoon : " The Spotted Fork- 

 tail frequents the sides of streams and rivulets, flitting from rock 

 to rock and stone to stone with a light and graceful movement, 

 which is half flight, half hop. Its habits have obtained for it, 

 among the European visitors to the hills, the name of the Dhobi- 

 bird, or ' Washerman,' from its loving to frequent the places 

 to which those worthies likewise resort to destroy our clothing. 

 It selects a retired spot along the margin of some quiet streamlet, 

 and there constructs its curious cup-shaped nest upon the ground 

 among the plants and mosses which there abound. The ne tis a 

 deep cup, composed exteriorly of fine roots neatly interwoven with 

 horsehair and green mosses, and thickly lined with the gauze-like 

 skeleton leaves of the willows that fringe the margins of the 

 stream ; many of these skeleton leaves are likewise interwoven 

 among the external roots. It has a neat and beautiful appearance, 

 in perfect keeping with the trim and dainty plumage of the bird 

 itself. 



" A nest taken on the 12th May, at the foot of the hills in the 

 Dhoon, contained three faintly greenish-u hite eggs, sprinkled 

 over with spots and blotches of rufous or rust-colour. They were 

 hard-set/' 



