266 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



examples, but nevertheless it is noteworthy that the larger birds 

 from Ceylon with the very white foreheads have whiter chests 

 than the smaller, or what I -consider to be true minuta. — W. V. 

 Legge. 



Sir, 



I SEND you three eggs of Le'wthvix callipyga out of 

 the same nest, taken at Rishap, Darjeeling, at the elevation 

 of 4,000 feet above the sea, on the 17th instant. The nest is 

 of the usual composition and size, is well made, and was 

 placed in a shrub, at three feet from the ground, in the ordi- 

 nary way. It is so unusual to find eggs of this bird at this 

 late season of the year, and those now sent differ so much from 

 each other in size, shape, and coloration, that I think they 

 may be of special interest. One which is of the usual type 

 was evidently quite fertile, but the other two, which are abnor- 

 mally small and deficient in colour, were addled. They appear 

 to me to be the produce of a pair that had been robbed of their 

 nest and eggs once or twice this year before, (I took several 

 nests from the same locality during the past breeding season,) and 

 had made a desperate effort to rear a brood in spite of such ad- 

 verse circumstances, but, like many other sanguine creatures, 

 had attempted too much and ended in partial failure. Had they 

 been contented with two eggs, both might have been good and 

 of the orthodox style, but no ! they must have the regular 

 number, and, owing to their repeated, and, consequently, en- 

 feebled efforts, the result is one fertile egg only, and two which 

 are neither of the right size and shape nor color, and addled to 

 boot, — a sad warning to birds and human beings against 

 attempting too much. 



I suspect that many of the eggs deficient in color are the 

 later produce of birds that have been robbed one or more times 

 dining the season, and have been compelled, by the force of 

 nature, to make repeated efforts to multiply their species, 

 though too enfeebled to produce eggs of the proper size or 

 color. — J. Gammie. 



Mongphoo, 22nd October 1874. 



Sir, 



I have lately found Rhyncluea bengalensis breeding in 

 this locality. I shot a male bird on 5th December, and on dissec- 

 tion found that it was breeding : on 10th December a brace rose 

 from some marshy grass, of which I shot one, which proved to be 

 a female. I found a fully formed egg in it which would have 

 been laid in a day or two, the shell being still soft. I had a long 



