98 Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker on the 



82. Drymocataphus assamensis. 

 Blanford, F. B. Ind. i. p. 147. 



This little Babbler is fairly common along the foot of 

 the hills in the Lakhimpur district, not coming far into the 

 plains themselves but extending well into the mountains, 

 up to at least 4000 feet, if the Nagas are to be believed. 

 It is a great skulker and so is very little seen, and appears 

 to be more rare than it really is ; it is generally to be 

 observed either on or near the ground in dense scrub-jungle, 

 but does not seem to mind much where it is as long as the 

 cover is thick enough. It shews a distinct partiality to 

 places which are rather damp. 



We have numbers of the nests brought in to us every 

 year by Nagas, some of whom live several days' journey 

 from the British territory, and Dr. Coltart and I have also 

 seen a few in situ. 



The nests are rather massive well put together construc- 

 tions of leaves, bamboo-leaves, a little moss, a few fern fronds, 

 and sun-grass, all more or less intermingled and wound round 

 with fern-roots, soft fibres, and pliant weed-stems. The 

 Avhole forms a very deep cup, the depth exceeding the width 

 and the top being narrower than the base ; in some cases 

 it is domed or semi-domed, having an entrance to one 

 side. 



Roughly speaking, the nests vary between 6" and 8" in 

 height and between 4" and 5" at the base, the top part being 

 an inch or so narrower, while the materials are nearly always 

 dark, the few bamboo-leaves used shewing pale yellow among 

 the rest. They are placed either quite on the ground among 

 the roots of some bush, in a clump of bamboos or between 

 rocks, or else on some stump or dense tangle of creepers, 

 vines, or ferns. In the latter case they are always very well 

 concealed by the surrounding growth; in the former they 

 assimilate so well with the surroundings that artificial means 

 of concealment are but little required. The favourite resort 

 seems to be some deep nullah with steep sides covered with 

 thick vegetation, having a more or less rocky floor and some 

 hill-stream or streamlet flowins: along the bottom. 



