402 CTJCULID^. 



dense and inaccessible thickets. The eggs are two to five in 

 number, pure white and oval. Burgess says that the exterior of 

 the shell is very soft and of a chalky texture, easily getting 

 scratched or stained. This, as Mr. Blyth remarks, shows an 

 affinity to the eggs of Crotophaya, which are white, rough, and 

 chalky externally ; but if this layer be detached, the egg is shown 

 to be deep blue. It breeds from January to July, according to 

 the locality." 



Three is certainly the normal number of the eggs, though four 

 and even five are at times met with. 



Major C. T. Bingham says : " At Allahabad I found two nests 

 of this bird. One, on the 28th June, was a large domed nest, con- 

 structed of babool, neem, and mango-branches, lined with grass 

 and strips of aloe-leaves, and placed in an aloe-hedge not 6 inches 

 from the ground. 



"The second nest I found on the 16th August in a small mango- 

 tree ; this was a huge mass of twigs, with the dry and decayed 

 leaves still attached, and lined with leaA'es and decaying grass.'" 



Colonel G. E. L. Marshall remarks : " I found a nest of this 

 species in the Nawabgunj Gardens at Cawnpoor in the middle of 

 May, with eggs nearly hatching. I have found the nest in trees 

 and thorny bushes, but according to my experience the commonest 

 position is in a thick tuft of surkerry grass about 3 feet from the 

 ground." 



Colonel Butler makes the following remarks : " I found a 

 Crow- Pheasant's nest on the 20th July, 1876, at Deesa, containing 

 three fresh eggs. The nest, which consisted of a mass of dead 

 sticks lined with a thick pad of green leaves (strips of plantain- 

 leaves, mulberry-leaves, &c.), and open at the top, was built about 

 ] 8 feet from the ground, in a tree overgrown with a dense creeper. 

 This pair of birds built a nest in a tree adjoining at the beginning 

 of June, and after the hen-bird had sat for three or four days, 1 

 sent a boy up the tree, and to my astonishment found the nest 

 empty. The birds, seeing the nest was discovered, forsook it and 

 built another in the next tree. Again, the old hen sat closely for 

 several days, when, thinking that the eggs would be spoilt if left 

 longer, I sent a boy up to the nest, which, like the other, was 

 empty. The birds forsook this nest also and disappeared for 

 several days, during which I several times observed them in other 

 parts of the camp. At length they returned and built the nest 

 above described. The eggs have a very hard chalky shell, and are 

 of a dirty white, often much stained. In fact I have often failed 

 to clean them even with soap and water. As soon as the hen-bird 

 commences to sit, both birds keep as much as possible out of sight, 

 hiding themselves most of the day in dense trees when the hen is 

 not actually on the nest, and when she is on the nest the cock- 

 bird is usually to be found hiding himself somewhere close to the 

 nest. When thus engaged he will generally allow himself to be 

 approached to within a few yards without moving. 



