BULBULS' NESTS II 143 



bird's body (exclusive of head and tail) which is the 

 mould that shapes it. A bulbul sitting in the nest 

 looks very cramped and uncomfortable, with the 

 tail projecting vertically upwards, the neck stretched 

 out, and the chin resting on the rim of the nest. The 

 crest of the sitting bird is folded right back. 



On the early morning of the 8th March the first egg 

 was laid. On the gth a second egg was deposited. My 

 little boy, to whom I had shown the nest, then thought 

 that he would like a couple of bulbul's eggs poached 

 for his breakfast, so, regardless of the feelings of the 

 bulbuls, removed both eggs and took them to the 

 cook ! As that individual declined to cook them, 

 my little son replaced them, or rather one of them, 

 for he broke the other. On the morning of the loth 

 a third egg was laid and deposited in the nest beside 

 the other. The usual clutch of Otocompsa emeria 

 is three. On the morning of the nth I found the nest 

 half pulled down and empty and on the ground 

 beneath I saw a few bulbul's feathers. Some pre- 

 daceous creature, possibly a cat or a mongoose, had 

 seized the sitting bulbul in the night. 



The above notes show that a pair of bulbuls can 

 build a nest in a couple of days. This observation 

 was confirmed by another pair who constructed 

 a nest in my verandah on the 23rd and 24th March. 

 On the 22nd I noticed a pair of bulbuls prospecting 

 in a croton plant near my da/tar window ; nevertheless, 

 although I examined that plant carefully, I found 

 no traces of a nest. On the next day, however, I 

 saw that the nest had been commenced. During 



