Nidification of Indian Birds. 95 



The nest is ex ictly like that of Austen's Scimitar-Babbler, 

 though less well put together, and it stands little handling. 

 It is placed either in scrub-jungle or in the small clump- 

 bamboo which grows at great elevations on the outer hills 

 of the Himalayas. 



All the eggs that I have seen struck me at once as being 

 very large in proportion to the size of the bird. The Rusty- 

 cheeked and Austeii's Babblers are of much the same size, 

 yet the eggs of the former must be one-quarter as big again 

 in bulk. 



The first nest I obtained, on May 17th, 1895, contained 

 three eggs, almost ready to be hatched, which measured 

 1-12" by 69", 1-10" by '69", and -99" by -68". 



In texture &c. they are like other Scimitar-Babblers' 

 eggs, and in shape they are long, but very obtuse, ovals. 



Other eggs agree with these and measure between - 96" and 

 ri3" in length and between '07" and m 72" in breadth. 



The birds appear to lay in March, April, and May. 



81. POMATORHINUS HYPOLEUCUS. 



Blanford, F. B. Ind. i. p. 125 j Stuart Baker, B. N. II. 

 S. J. xiii. p. 423. 



This speeies, the giant of the genus, is a bird breeding, as a 

 rule, at low levels, generally in the broken ground and low 

 hills at the foot of the higher ranges, but sometimes on the 

 plains themselves, and once I took its nest and captured 

 the heu bird in a ravine near Guilang, North Cachar, at an 

 altitude of nearly 4000 feet. 



The nest is like that of all the other members of the genus, 

 but more bulky, more untidy, and more loosely put together 

 than the majority. It is, I think, also more exclusively 

 made of bamboo-leaves, these being used for the central 

 portion of the nest as well as for the outer part. It is 

 either a very deep cup and semi-domed, or quite globular — ■ 

 generally the latter, and is placed on the ground either 

 at the foot of some clump of bamboos or amongst cane- 

 brakes. The latter are a very favourite haunt of the 



