On the breeding of Manns Melanopferris. 23 



mt/xa) which stood near to the khajur. He also informed me he 

 had seen the birds in coitu. 



" I inspected the nest on the 10th Aug"ust; and found one of 

 the birds sitting on it. The nest was so loosely constructed that 

 with my binoculars I could see that it contained no eggs, 



" I again inspected the nest on the 14th August, and found 

 that it contained two eggs. One of the birds sat close on the 

 nest and would not be frightened off by a man beating on the 

 trunk of the tree with a stick, and this same bird made a swoop 

 at my servant as he was climbing the tree. 



" The nest was situated on the very top of the Lasora tree, and 

 was from 25 to 30 feet from the ground. In shape it was circu- 

 lar and with the exception of two or three pieces of sarpat grass 

 [Sacchariim sara) there was no attempt at lining. It was about 

 ten inches in diameter, and the o^^^ cavity had a depression of 

 about two inches. The twigs of which the nest was composed 

 were of an uniform size throughout, and I could distinguish 

 twigs from the following plants which were growing close by, 

 tJ?"^., Jarberri, {Zlzyphus nimmmlaria) j^xxnxi-a., [Edwardsia 7nollis) ; 

 Khep, [Crotolaria burhia) ; Jhoghru, [Tephrosia purpurea.) All 

 these twigs were very loosely and openly laced together. 



" The eggs are without gloss, both have a light creamy white 

 ground of which, however, little is shewn. One had the broader 

 end all blotched over with confluent patches of deep rusty red, 

 while the smaller had numerous spots and freckles of a much 

 lighter brownish red. The other egg is of a darker and purer 

 blood-red, and the mass of confluent color is at the smaller end, 

 while the larger is very thickly blotched, streaked, and clouded 

 with darker and lighter shades of brownish red." 



The eggs which I owe to Mr. Blewitt are unlike those of any 

 other species of kite vnth which I am acquainted. In shape and 

 general appearance, they are more like minature Neophrons than 

 any other egg with which I am acquainted. In shape they are short 

 broad ovals. The texture of the shell is somewhat chalky. The 

 ground color, so far as anything can be seen of it, is dull white, 

 but the whole egg is mottled, smeared, and clouded with a dull 

 brownish red which in some eggs is most intense at one end 

 where no portions of the ground color are left visible, while in 

 other eggs the same is the ease with the otiier end ; while in a 

 third type both ends and in fact the whole surface is pretty uni- 

 i'ormly mottled all over, leaving scarcely any portion of the 

 ground color visible. When held up against the light the shell 

 is a pale sea-green : it has little or no gloss. These eggs do not 

 correspond at all with Mr. Breeds figures. They arc mucii smaller 

 and much more highly colored. There is no mistakcj however. 



