228 



Hansie in July. I shot the parent bird at the time and sent 

 with the eggs. The nest was formed of fine grass, almost meeting 

 above and with a hole at the side for ingress and egress, and, though 

 much smaller, reminding one of a Mnnia's nest. It was placed on 

 the ground in a tuft of coarse grass at the root of the tuft, and 

 contained three fresh eggs. 



" This bird is very common in this preserve. I shot, if I re- 

 member right, more than a dozen specimens there in one morning ; 

 but it so carefully conceals its nest, that, though constantly 

 searching for it, I only succeeded in securing this single nest." 



Next year he was more successful, and again wrote, saying : 

 " This species breeds, I found, plentifully in the Dhana Beerh, 

 near Hansie, in March and the early part of April, laying its eggs 

 in a slight depression in the ground in amongst tall grass. It 

 usually lays four eggs, but on the 28th March I found a nest con- 

 taining seven fresh eggs ; whether these belonged to one or more 

 couples, or whether some herd-boy had collected the eggs of two 

 or three nests into one, I cannot say, but certainly one bird was 

 sitting on them all when we found the nest." 



I think all these Mirafras have two broods in the year, and I 

 suspect that it is for the second brood, when rain is to be appre- 

 hended, that the bird most often domes its nest. 



Colonel E. A. Butler writes from Deesa : " The Singing Bush- 

 Lark breeds in the neighbourhood of Deesa during the rains. The 

 nest as a rule is placed under a tuft of grass, and is almost sphe- 

 rical, with a hole near the top for ingress and egress ; it consists 

 of dry grass somewhat massively put together and neatly lined 

 with similar material of a finer quality. The following are some 

 of the dates upon which I have taken nests : 



" July 22nd, 1875. A nest containing 3 fresh eggs. 

 16th, 1876. , 3 



16th, , 3 



28th, 3 



Aug. 5th, 

 9th, 

 10th, 

 15th, 

 Sept. 2nd, 

 2nd, 

 2nd, 



" The hen bird generally sits very close ; in fact I have taken 

 them on the nest on more than one occasion, with a horsehair 

 noose fastened to the end of a thin rod." 



From Lahore Colonel Marshall writes : " In June I found a 

 nest of this species in the side of a little bank, about 6 inches 

 above the level of the plain. It was a poor, badly made thing : 

 there was a little hollow in the earth, and in this was placed a 

 small makeshift sort of nest of grass-fibre lined with a Uttle finer 

 material. Three fresh eggs." 



The eggs closely resemble, as a rule, those of the other species 



3 incubated eggs. 



4 fresh eggs. 

 2 



4 



4 incubated eggs. 



3 fresh eggs. 



3 



