HIEUNDO. 189 



up against the voussoir faces just below an overhanging cornice. 

 Internally it was carefully lined with a few tine roots of grass and 

 many soft feathers, chiefly those of doves and parrots, so as to 

 leave a neat hemispherical cavity for the eggs. The second was a 

 deep cup, plastered against the face of the bridge, a little way 

 below a square projection, and had absolutely no lining of feathers, 

 only a few grass-roots. 



A beautiful nest taken by Mr. Adam in the Etmadoodowla 

 Gardens at Agra in the third week in August was a broad shallow 

 half-saucer of pellets of clay, about 5| inches broad and about 

 3 inches from front to back, plastered against one of the walls of 

 the small cells facing the river and near the roof. Several other 

 birds of the same species were breeding in the same cell. The 

 bottom of the nest was about f inch and the sides about | inch 

 thick. The cavity was lined with fine grass-roots and a very few 

 feathers. It contained three fresh eggs. 



Mr. Adam remarks : "On the loth July, at Sambhur, I observed 

 this species building in an old rest-house. 



" The nest was half-finished, and was placed in a very exposed 

 place under the cornice, about 10 feet from the ground. Both 

 birds were bringing mud from an open well about 200 yards off ; 

 but the male seemed very inactive, and appeared to be shy of ap- 

 proaching the nest while I stood about 8 yards off with my bino- 

 culars, watching the building-operations. 



" The mud was taken from the water's edge, each bird taking 

 from eight to ten pecks at the mud to fill its bill, and sometimes 

 with the mud a piece of fine grass was taken. When the birds 

 reached the nest, the mud was discharged along the edge by 

 shaking the head and body, much like the shaking which takes 

 place when a pigeon is feeding its young. The grass or fibre was 

 carefully worked along the edge of the nest, and great care seemed 

 to be taken by both birds to make the portion attached to the wall 

 very secure. 



" On the 18th July I once took a nest with four eggs from an 

 old well. The eggs were pinkish white with rust-coloured spots 

 and blotches. On several occasions during August I have found 

 the nest of this bird about old buildings along the Jumna near 

 Agra. The nests generally contained three eggs." 



Three, I think, is the usual number of eggs ; but I have found only 

 two, hard-set \ and Mr. "W. Blewitt, who took several nests during 

 July and August, all built under canal- and drain-bridges in the 

 neighbourhood of Hansie, found four eggs in two of the nests. 



Where there is plenty of water, from three to seven nests will 

 often be found quite near to each other ; while, where there is 

 little water, they are usually quite solitary. 



Dr. Jerdon remarks that " it breeds in old buildings, on walls, 

 in stone bowries or wells, and very commonly under bridges and in 

 rocks overhanging water, making a small nest, open at the top, and 

 laying two or three eggs, which are white sparingly spotted with 



