COCCYSTES. 389 



suspect to be those of this Cuckoo, found in nests of Argya 

 malcolmi, but I am certain of only one egg, and that a wounded 

 bird dropped. It is a bright greenish blue, highly glossed, and 

 measures 0-99 by 0-82." 



Colonel Butler remarks : " The Crested Pied Cuckoo lays 

 freely in the neighbourhood of Deesa in July, August, and 

 September, commencing about the middle of the former month. 

 The following are some of the dates upon which I found eggs : 

 " July 16th, 1875. 1 fresh egg in nest of Argya caudata. 

 19th, 



24th, 

 28th, 1876. 

 30th, 

 30th, 



Aug. 15th, 



Crater opus canorus. 

 A. caudata. 



C. canorus. 



A. caudata. 

 16th, 



16th, 1 young bird 

 17th, 1 fresh egg 

 23rd, 1 incubated egg 



Sept. 25th, 1 fresh egg 



" The egg as a rule is a very perfect oval, blunt at both ends ; 

 in colour a deep greenish olive, sometimes inconspicuously marked 

 with small dark greenish blotches or stains at one end. The 

 number of Babblers' eggs in the nests I have mentioned varied 

 from two to four. In some instances the Babblers' eggs were 

 about to hatch (chipped), and yet the Cuckoo's egg was quite 

 fresh ; and in one instance I found a fresh Cuckoo's egg in a nest 

 with three young birds, so that no rule can be laid down as to 

 when these Cuckoos lay their eggs. In fact they seem to deposit 

 them at any time, quite regardless of the condition of the eggs of 

 the nest in which they are laid. I have often noticed also that 

 when they discover a nest which does not suit them to lay in, they 

 almost invariably destroy the eggs of the Babbler by driving a hole 

 into them with their beaks, and sucking a portion or the whole of 

 their contents." 



Mr. E. Aitken records the following note : " About the end of 

 July 1875 two eggs were brought to me, in the nest of a Babbler, 

 presumably A. malcolmi. They were remarkably round, almost as 

 much so as those of Merops viridis. On puncturing them prepara- 

 tory to boring a hole, I discovered they were hard-set. One of 

 them broke during the operation and contained an almost perfectly 

 formed fcetus, in which I was easily able to detect the scansorial 

 foot of a Cuckoo, by its long and reversible outer toe. I send you 

 this egg; it measures 0-90 in length by 0'78 in breadth. The 

 other was not so far advanced, the chick was extracted piecemeal ; 

 but by placing the tarsus and foot in weak spirit and water and 

 examining it with a needle, I was enabled to trace the same 

 peculiarity. I carefully compared the feet of fcetal Babblers with 

 these, which I preserved in spirit, three days after, and found that 

 the Babblers had remarkably stout feet ; so I think there can be no 



