Notices of Books. 9345 
of small twigs and roots, carelessly and loosely put together, in general 
at no great height from the ground ; it lays three or four blue eggs. 
Ihave found them breeding at all times from January to July, and 
even later, but do not know if they ever have two broods in the year. — 
The black and white crested cuckoo (Coccystes melanoleucos) appears 
to select this bird to act as foster parent to her own progeny, and she 
lays a greenish blue egg. They are readily caught by a spring trap 
baited with grain, with one of their kind put in the centre as a lure. 
The shikra or chipka (Micronisus badius) is sometimes flown at them, 
and causes a general consternation. After the first burst of alarm and 
gabbling, they cease their chattering, separate, and disperse, and do 
not, like the bolder Mahratta babbler (M. Malcolmi), come to the 
rescue of their unfortunate companion.”—P. 60. 
“ The Striated Bush-Babbler (Chatarrheea caudata).—This babbler 
is the most extensively spread of all the Indian members of this group, 
being found throughout the whole country from Assam to Sindh, and 
from the N. W. Provinces and Afghanistan to Cape Comorin. The 
only district in which I have not seen it is Malabar. In the south of 
India it is usually found away from houses and villages, in the open 
plains that are clad with a few low and scattered bushes, and indeed 
it is to be met with in low jungle throughout India; but towards the 
North, in Central India, and in some of the Gangetic provinces, it 
frequents cultivated grounds, entering gardens and compounds, and 
sheltering itself in hedgerows. In the South it is a shy bird, flying 
before you from bush to bush with a-sibilant sort of whistle, or, as 
Mr. Philipps says, ‘a low, undertoned, warbling whistle,’ which it 
often repeats. It runs or rather hops along the ground at a great rate, 
and with its long tail held straight out and drooping on the ground, it 
looks more like a rat than a bird. This likeness is so striking that it 
has occurred to more than one observer. It flies low, from bush to 
bush, with a few rapid beats of the wing, alternating with a sailing 
motion and outstretched wings; and though, from the nature of the 
ground it frequents, it is obliged to take longer flights than the Mala- 
cocerci, yet its powers of wing are very feeble, and a person on horse- 
back can easily overtake the flock. In such case they take refuge in 
the nearest bush, and are with great difficulty dislodged. I have fre- 
quently seen the nest and eggs, the former almost always in a thorny 
bush at no height, made of roots and grasses loosely put together, and 
with three or four verditer-blue eggs. Mr. Philipps says that ‘ they 
bear confinement well, feeding on grain, and that all day long they are 
VOL. XXII, 3Q 
