300 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



390 Us.— Alcippe bourdilloni ? 



I took a third nest of this bird on 24th March. It was 

 a domed structure, very similar to the nest of Ochromela nigro- 

 rvfa, but slightly larger, and, though composed externally of 

 " eeruV leaves, was lined with fine hair-like roots. It was 

 found at an elevation of 4,300 feet above the sea, and was 

 placed in a low bush within eighteen inches of the ground. 

 The eggs are white, very sparingly spotted with purple, except 

 towards the larger end, where the spots coalesce and form an 

 imperfect zone. The size of the eggs is "75 x "52. In 1876, 

 my coolies brought me the nest, egg, and bird (which latter 

 they had caught on the nest) of this species, and which I set 

 down at once as A. atriceps ; but as it does not seem likely 

 that both varieties, atriceps and bourdilloni, occur together, I 

 fancy it must have been the latter. This is my doubt. I took 

 my second nest in 1877, on the road-side, two feet from the 

 ground, at an elevation of about 2,400 above sea level. I was 

 unable to get the parent bird of my last-taken nest, as, though 

 I waited 20 minutes gun in hand, the bird did not return, and 

 it was getting dark, and I was some miles from home. 



692.— Eulabes religiosa. 



This bird lays from one to two eggs in holes of large trees. 

 I never heard of more than two in a clutch. It breeds most 

 abundantly on our coffee estates from April to June ; but as 

 the trees selected are usually very large, they are inaccessible 

 to all but the hill men. Description exactly as in "Nests and 

 Eggs." Size of this year's eggs average 1*35 X '95. 



781 bis.— Carpophaga cuprea. 



One nest of this bird taken at an elevation of 4,000 feet in 

 tangled eerul jungle. Only one egg in the nest and that hard 

 set. Size, 1*37 * 1*06; colour pure white. Bird observed 

 flying off the nest, and again when it returned. My brother 

 and I were tracing a road, and had not brought a gun with 

 us. 



T. Fulton Bourdillon. 



Mynall Estate, S. Tbavancore. 



Sir, 



At page 168, S. F., Vol. V., I recorded the finding of a 

 nest of a Black Ibis, but was not sure of the species. I have 

 got the bird in this neighbourhood recently, and it is your Grap- 

 tocephalus davisoni. There is no doubt the egg and nest belonged 

 to this species. 



Eugene W. Oates. 



