Novelties. — Chcetura indica. 471 



of tok, tok, tok, during- the nig-lit^ but on a small island near 

 Stewart Sound, between north and middle Andaman, I saw a 

 pair of them : they rose off the ground, flew low for a few yards, 

 and then squatted, always placing a bush or stone between them, 

 and me. I followed them about for some time, but although I got a 

 couple snap shots, I failed to secure a specimen. At Port Mouat, 

 on the 12th April, one of my men shot a female as she flew off 

 her nest; the eggs, two in number, were laid at the base of a 

 stone in a slight natural depression among the dead leaves, some 

 distance in the jungle. I did not see, or even hear the note of 

 any Caprimulgus on any of the islands of the Nicobar Group.^' 



The eggs are some of the most beautiful goat sucker^s eggs 

 I have ever seen, and differ from those of any other Indian 

 species with which I am acquainted. In shape they are very 

 regular ovals. One of them only slightly cylindrical. 



The ground color is a delicate pale salmon pink, and they are 

 mottled and streaked, and ornamented with zig-zag and hierogly- 

 phic-like lines of a darker, and somewhat purplish pink. They 

 measure 1*07 and 1-13 in length, and 0*85 in width. 



Since the above was written, I have received another male of 

 this species shot near Port Blair, on the 19th May. It agrees 

 in every respect with the type specimen except, that on the 

 inner web of the 4th quill, there is a pale dot, a trace as it were 

 of awing spot, and that the bright rufous tippings of the 

 median and larger coverts are in this example very little 

 developed. 



Olisetiira indica, 8f. Nov.. 



Si'milar to gigan tea ; but with a white, or whitish chin, and with a large 

 conspicuous whitish patch under and in front of each eye. 



This is the species referred to by Jerdon as AcautlttfUs giga)ttea 

 of Tern., or as he should more properly have called it of v, 

 Kass. It is, however certainly, not this bird. Javan and Su- 

 matran specimens, (and the bird was described from Java) want 

 the whitey brown throat, and want the conspicuous white 

 patch on either side of the forehead. Moreover, the back and 

 breast in the Indian bird are paler ; the gloss on the head, wings, 

 sides of rump, and flanks, is blue rather than green, and I am 

 not sure that the Indian bird is not a little larger. Our birds 

 are very constant in their tone of color. I have ten specimens 

 before me now from the Andamaus and various parts of Southern 



