264 



become confluent and form a broad zone round the broad end, in 

 the other they form a similar zone round the smaller end. They 

 measure respectively : '7 by *5 ; '7 by '49. 



2. Nilghiri Hills, South India, March Hume Coll. 

 ( W. Damson). 



Hemipus capitalis (McClell.). 



(Plate XL fig. 19.) 



Hemipus capitalis, Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. M. iii. p. 306 (1877) ; Gates, 

 Fauna Brit. Ind., Birds, i. p. 472 (1889) ; id. ed. Hume, Nests $ 

 Eggs Ind. Birds, i. p. 328 (1889); Sharpe, Hand-l. iv. p. 265 

 (1903). 



Three eggs of the Brown-backed Pied Shrike in the Collection 

 are of a regular oval shape and slightly glossy. They are pale 

 greenish white, rather thickly mottled all over, but most densely 

 at the broad end, with pinkish brown and lavender. A fourth 

 specimen is spheroidal in shape and perfectly devoid of gloss. It 

 is greenish white, profusely speckled and mottled all over with two 

 shades of brown and slaty grey. They measure respectively : "65 

 by -5 ; -68 by -51 -66 by 5 ; -6 by -53. 



3. Mussoorie, Himalayas (T. Hutton). Hume Coll. 

 1. Sikhim, 4th May (J. Gammie). Hume Coll. 



Genus TEPHRODORNIS, Swains. 



Tephrodornis pondicerianus (Gmel.). 

 (Plate XII. figs. 1 & 4.) 



Tephrodornis pondicerianus, Beavan, Ibis, 1865, p. 418; Sharpe, Cat. 

 Birds B. M. iii. p. 275 (1877) ; Gates, Fauna Brit. Ind., Birds, i. p. 475 

 (1889) : id. ed. Hume, Nests fy Eggs Ind. B. i. p. 332 (1889) ; Nehrk. 

 Kat. Eiersamml. p. 21 (1899) ; Sharpe, Hand-l. iv. p. 265 (1903). 



The eggs of the Common Wood-Shrike vary in shape from broad 

 oval to elliptical and exhibit but little gloss. They are white or 

 cream-coloured, occasionally tinged with green, spotted and blotched 

 with umber-brown and deep lavender-grey. On some specimens 

 the markings are very dense at the broad end, where they form a 

 cap ; on the others they are smaller and paler, equally distributed 

 over the entire surface. In two examples in the Collection the 

 markings are almost wholly confined to a broad belt round the 

 middle of the egg. Specimens measure from '72 to *8 in length, 

 and from '58 to '62 in breadth. 



1. Hansi, Punjab, 16th April Hume Coll. 



. (W. Blewitt}. 

 1 . Hansi, 2nd June ( W, B.\ Hume Coll. 



