20 HABITS AND HAUNTS OF BIRDS 



exceedingly difficult to find. The eggs are spotted. Of the spotted 

 grey creeper (Salpornis spilonota) nothing is known. It is found in many 

 localities, but nowhere common. 



Wall-Creepers, (Tichodroma). Only one species occurs in India. 

 It breeds in the Himalayas at 3,000 to 5,000 feet altitude, descending 

 to the foot of the hills in the cold weather. The nest is slight, placed in 

 a crevice in a rock. 



Nuthatches, (Sitta, Dendrophila.) These are all permanent 

 residents where they occur. They are found in forests or well-wooded 

 tracts. They make their nests in hollows in decayed trees, lining the hole 

 with feathers, wool, or moss, and closing up the entrance with a stiff 

 gummy substance, till only a tiny circular orifice is left. The holes are 

 often near the ground, but sometimes very high up in large trees. The 

 eggs are spotted rather boldly. 



Hoopoes, ( Upupa.) The common hoopoe ( U. epops) migrates 

 to the plains in the cold weather, but breeds only in the north-west 

 Himalayas. The Indian hoopoe (U. nigripennis) is a permanent 

 resident throughout the country. They nestle in holes in trees or buildings, 

 lining the hole with a few feathers and leaves. They are domestic in 

 their habits, often breeding about human dwellings. The eggs are 

 greenish or brownish grey. 



Shrikes, (Lanius). Butcher birds or shrikes are permanent 

 residents where they occur. They usually place their nest in the fork 

 of a thick bush, but sometimes they wedge it up against the trunk of 

 a tree, or even place it on a dead stump. The eggs are typically whitish, 

 with a thick ring of spots near the larger end ; but sometimes the 

 whole egg is more or less spotted. Shrikes generally frequent open 

 country and avoid forests. The brown shrikes are migratory and leave 

 upper India in the spring. 



Wood Shrikes, (Tephrodornis). The nests of the woodshrikes 

 are small and very neatly made, usually placed in forks high up in trees and 

 difficult to detect. The birds are not migratory, but the breeding of 

 only one species, the common woodshrike (T. ponticeriana), is known- 

 Its eggs are very much like miniatures of the true shrikes. 



Pied Shrikes, (Hemipus.) These birds are local and frequent 

 hilly country. Very little is known as to their habits. 



CrUCkoO Shrikes, ( Volvocivora, GVawca^s.J These, like the 

 woodshrikes, are permanent residents where they occur ; but the nests 



