birds' nesting on the ''eastern narra." 377 



By remaining hid I could mark down the different thickets 

 into which the birds disappeared, and when I thought the birds 

 had all returned I began searching one thicket after another. In 

 this way, I got numerous nests, in each case taking the eggs 

 myself and flushing the birds off the nest. The nests are formed 

 of tamarisk twigs, with sometimes a few aquatic weeds on which 

 the eggs are laid ; they are generally placed about 5 feet over 

 the water either in a dense tamarisk bush or thick clump of reeds, 

 and are about 9 inches in diameter, and 3 inches in thickness, 

 and have a very slight depression in which the eggs, always four 

 in numberj are laid. The eggs are for the most part very broad 

 ovals, sharp at both ends and very nearly white in colour, but 

 with a faint suspicion of a delicate pale sea green colour. The 

 • eggs vary in length from 1*5 to 1'85, and in width from 1"15 to 

 1-30, the average length of 53 eggs being 1-66, and width 1'26. 



(8.) 943.— Falcinellus igneus. 



Captain Legge, R.A., has recorded his finding a colony of 

 these birds breeding in Ceylon, but was too late to obtain any 

 eggs ; having now found them breeding in the " Narra,"" and 

 taken their eggs, I proceed to give a brief account of their breed- 

 ing ground. 



In May 1878, I observed these birds in pairs, and sent men 

 after them to try and find out their breeding grounds, but in vain, 

 and so being unable to go myself, in consequence of work, I 

 was obliged to give up the search. This year, however, in June 

 I was able to search myself, and found them breeding in great 

 numbers on trees along the banks of the large lakes inside the 

 sand hills, along the banks of the " Narra." The nests were 

 placed on the tops of kundy trees, and were constructed of sticks, 

 about the size of those of Plotus melanogaster : on the same 

 trees, I found Inocotis papillosus and Ibis melanocephala breeding, 

 while close by were numbers of nests of Herons, Egrets and 

 Cormorants. The eggs are of a beautiful green colour, roughly 

 pitted over, with slight indentations giving the shell a rough 

 appearance ; they are in shape ovals pointed at both ends. The 

 normal number of eggs is three, and they vary from 1*8 to 2* 15 

 iu length, and from 1"3 to 1*55 in width, the average of 35 eggs 

 beino- 2*01 in length and 1*40 in width. 



(9) 1005.— Graculus carbo. 



I have already given an account of the nidification of this 

 bird, see S. F., Vol. VII., page 468, and so merely give here the 

 measurements of the eggs. They vary from 2*30 to 2*65 iu 

 length and from 1-50 to 1*65 in width, the average of 12 ego-s 

 being 2'47 in length and 1"57 in width. 



