466 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



I have also the following additional notes : — 



120.— Merops segyptius, Forsh 



Some male birds of this species, which were shot on the 22nd 

 May 1874, proved on dissection to be manifestly breeding. 

 The birds were then very plentiful about Sambhur, but we have 

 not yet found their eggs. 



197 : — Xantliolaema hsemacephala, Mull. 



During my last visit to Sambhur I took a nest of this bird 

 w r ith three eggs on the 28th May. Passing by an old .house 

 near the lake edge I observed a dried-up branch of a Saujna 

 tree (Moringa pterygosperma) about six feet in length and about 

 five inches in diameter lying on the ground. This branch had 

 an upright sloping bent portion about a foot and three quarters 

 from the ground, and on the lower side of this I saw a Barbet 

 clinging. 



This bird flew off and exposed the nest aperture, and imme- 

 diately after out flew another bird. The branch was so light 

 that 1 could easily lift it in my hand, and on tilting it round I 

 found that it contained three beautiful white fresh eggs with a 

 delicate rose blush. 



The girth of the branch which was, in section, a broad oval mea- 

 sured 15*5 inches ; the nest aperture in diameter was 1*25 ; from 

 the outer lower edge of the entrance to the beginning of the descent 

 was nearly straight, and measured 2 inches. Again from the 

 outer lower edge to the bottom of the excavation the distance 

 was 9 inches. The excavation was a long oval with a minor 

 axis of 2*5 inches and a major axis of 6'5 inches. The top 

 entrance into this oval had a diameter of l - 75_ inches, or half an 

 inch greater than the diameter of the entrance aperture. 



The egg cavity was 2 inches in diameter and contained in 

 depth about three quarters of an inch (in the centre) of fine 

 dust and chips as well as a lot of droppings of the birds. 



Considering that the branch was not a fixture, and that there 

 was a constant traffic morning and evening past where it lay, it 

 was an extraordinarily insecure position for the birds to select 

 for their nest. — R. M. Adam. 



Sambhur, May Mth, 1874. 



