480 NOTES, CHIEFLY OOLOGICAL, 



clawed savagely at each other's breasts and abdomens. Occa- 

 sionally they scuffled, rolling over each other, but never ceasing 

 the fight. The spectacle of these 14 or 15 pairs, more like 

 little demons than birds, all pecking, scratching, screaming, 

 and tumbling about over each other almost at my pony's feet, 

 was a sight not to be forgotten. After several minutes of this 

 they l'eturned to the bush again, and I was obliged to continue 

 my journey, but the fight appeared to be far from over. I 

 imagine that the two hostile parties, when working their way 

 along the fence, met quite accidentally in the bush, as I was 

 riding up, and neither being inclined to give way, some un- 

 complimentary expressions were bandied about, resulting in this 

 collision. The birds are very excitable, and an ungovernable fit 

 of rage seems to have taken possession of them. 



543.— Drymceca insularis, Legge {? inornata, Sykes.) 



Out of 14 eggs in my collection 12 possess the hair-like 

 streaks, in some cases resembling a dilapidated spider's web at 

 the obtuse end. 



514 ten— Drymceca jerdoni, Bly. 



January, and probably the following months. — This bird breeds 

 in open jungle clearings, or on road sides, and the nest is 

 built in and attached to long grass and weeds, about a foot 

 from the ground. It is globular, with an entrance at one side, 

 and is formed externally of rough blades and stems of grass 

 tied together here and there with bits of spider's web and 

 small silky seed-plumes ; the lining is composed of very fine 

 grass worked round the inside — chiefly the seed-stems. It 

 is 3^ inches in diameter, some being a trifle deeper ; and the 

 width of the orifice, which is circular, is 1^ inches. 



Three eggs are laid — ovals, regular or narrowed, glossy, and 

 slightly pointed at the large end. The colour is white, over- 

 laid with fine stipples, or, in some, merely spots of pale pinkish 

 red, or salmon colour. These markings are confluent and 

 much deeper in tone at the obtuse end, where they form either 

 a well-defined cap or a zone. The mean dimensions of four are 

 066" X 0-48\ 



545 ten— Drymceca valida, Bly. 



January to April, and probably May. — Common in the Mannar 

 district. Very low thorns among a growth of long grass in open 

 spaces in the jungle, or on the roadside, are selected as sites, and 

 the well-concealed nests are from six inches to two feet from the 

 ground, and usually like those of D. jerdoni in shape, size, and 

 materials, with perhaps rather more of the spider's web on the 

 outside. An exception was formed outwardly of rough blades 



