AND TYPES OF EGGS. 29 



rarely, the majority migrating north and west. The genus Neornis 

 build cup-shaped nests, and lay deep dull purple red eggs, with a tendency 

 to a zone at the large end. They are permanent residents in the eastern 

 Himalayas. Of the breeding of the Phylloscopi very little is known, 

 but some of them certainly breed in the Himalayas. The Reguloides, 

 Culicepeta, and Abrornis also breed in the Himalayas to a great extent ; 

 typically they make domed nests on the ground in mossy or grassy 

 banks ; but some build high up in trees (as R. proregulus) , and others 

 (as R. occipitalis) breed often in holes in decayed trees. The eggs of 

 Culicepeta, Abrornis, and at least one of the Reguloides (R. occipitalis) 

 are pure white, with some of the Reguloides^ they are spotted, but the 

 breeding of these birds is comparatively little known. Of Tickellia 

 the breeding is unknown, but it appears to be a permanent resident in 

 the Himalayas. 



Golden-Crested Wrens, (Regulus). Only one species is 

 known, and that is a permanent resident in the Himalayas at high 

 elevations. In habits it closely resembles the English golden-crested 

 wren, and its nest is similar, but the eggs have not as yet been taken. 



WhitethroatS, (Sylvia). Are migratory birds, appearing in 

 the plains of India in the cold weather. One species only (* affinis) is 

 known to breed in the north-west Himalayas, and this in its habits is 

 identical with the English whitethroat. 



Fork tails, (Henicurus) . Are an In do-Malayan family of birds. 

 They occur in India only in the Himalayas, and are not migratory. They 

 are always found near water, generally running water. The nest is a 

 shallow compact structure of mosses and roots and fibres placed on 

 banks or rocks, and the eggs are speckled in all the species of which the 

 breeding is known. 



Wagtails, (Budytes, Motacilla, Nemoricola). Are very migra- 

 tory birds. Only two appear to be permanent residents in the plains of 

 India: one the Indian pied wagtail (M. maderaspatana) , the other 

 a very anomalous form, the black-breasted wagtail (Nemoricola indica)^ 

 which is rare every where, and of which the nest has never been taken. 

 Of the remainder, three species (M. luzionensis, M. melanope, and 

 B. calcaratus) are known to breed in the Himalayas. The rest probably 

 migrate still further north ; breeding in Turkistan. In habits they 

 are all alike keeping to plains near water or moist fields, building a 

 shallow nest of roots and hair on the ground and laying speckled eggs. 



