OREOCINCLA. ZOOTHERA. 109 



703. Oreocincla spiloptera, Blyth. The Spotted-wing Thrush. 

 Oreocincla spiloptera, Blyth, Hume, Cat. no. 872 ter. 



Colonel Legge, writing from Ceylon, remarks of the breeding of 

 this Thrush : " In January 1873 I discovered the Spotted-wing 

 Thrush in the low country forests of the Trincomalie District, at 

 an elevation of not more than 300 feet above the sea-level, the 

 bird never having been before recorded from any part of the island 

 but the Central and Southern Province hills. At the same time I 

 found its nest in the fork of a straight sapling about 4 feet from 

 the ground. The structure was very similar to that of the Euro- 

 pean Blackbird, but not so massive ; it was composed of small 

 twigs and lined with grass, and was a deep cup in shape. It con- 

 tained two eggs, which, though I frightened the bird off the tree, 

 were quite fresh, and I therefore am inclined to the belief that, 

 though they were warm, the clutch was as yet incomplete. The 

 eggs were of a bluish-green ground-colour, freckled all over with 

 light and reddish grey, with some lilac-grey specks, and measured 

 1-19 inches byO'79. The spottings are somewhat confluent at the 

 obtuse end." 



He subsequently remarked, in his ' History of the Birds of 

 Ceylon ' : " The breeding-season extends over the first half of the 

 year. The nest is placed in the fork of a sapling a few feet from 

 the ground, or among the roots of a tree on a bank or little emin- 

 ence, and is a loose-looking, though compactly put together struc- 

 ture of small twigs, roots, moss, and grass lined with finer materials 

 of the same, the egg-cavity being a deep cup, tolerably neatly 



finished off The eggs measure from 1'06 to 1'17 in length 



by 074 to 077 in breadth." 



705. Zoothera marginata, Blyth. The Lesser Brown Thrush. 

 Zoothera marginata, BL, Hume, Rough Draft N. $ E. no. 350 bis. 



Dr. Jerdon tells us that he obtained the egg of the Lesser Brown 

 Thrush, and that it was " like that of Pitta, white, with a few 

 rusty-brown spots." 



From Sikhim Mr. Grammie writes: "I took one nest of this 

 Thrush on the last day of May, in a large forest at about 5000 feet 

 elevation. It was placed about 10 feet from the ground on a moss- 

 covered leaning stem of a shrub which overhung a small stream in 

 a densely-shaded dell. The nest had only the stem (which was not 

 thicker than a child's wrist) and a slender dead twig to support it. 

 It was a compact, rather massive cup, made of living moss, thickly 

 lined with black fibrous roots, and without any mud. Externally 

 it measured 5 inches across by 3-5 in height ; internally the dia- 

 meter was 3-25 and the depth 1-9 inches. 



" The eggs were partially incubated, and three in number." 



A nest of this species sent me by Mr. Mandelli was found in 



