546 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
No. XII—WOODPECKERS ‘“ ROOSTING”, 
Never having seen a woodpecker “ roosting ’’ for the night and finding no 
information in books, I was curious to know in what position and place these 
birds repose. 
After many evenings spent in fruitless search, last night at dusk I discovered 
a woodpecker, probably Tickells Golden-backed Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes 
gutticristatus) which had evidently retired for the night. It was too dark to see 
its colours but the outline was clearly silhouetted against the sky. It was “‘squat- 
ting ” on a branch of an almost leafless Albizzia stipulata which went up at an 
angle of about 45° from the trunk. The bird was in aline with the branch 
on its upper side; in factin the position it would have adopted were it 
searching for food. 
A. P. KINLOCH, F.z.s. 
NELLIAMPATHY HILts, 
5th October 1921. 
No. XIII.—PREDACEOUS HABIT OF THE COMMON KING CROW. 
The Common King Crow (D. macrocercus macrocercus) is not, I think, generally 
attributed with murderous instincts. He is, of course, a great devourer of winged 
insects, but rarely, I think, attacks birds, The following incident witnessed by 
me recently in the vicinity of Dehra Dun must I think have been exceptional. 
I noticed a King Crow perched on a low branch of a tree with something in its 
claws. There were also two fully fledged young King Crowson neighbouring twigs 
noisily asking to be fed. I approached the group and examined them from a 
distance of less than 10 yards with my field glasses and to my surprise found that 
the object held in the claws of the King Crow was a White-Eye (Zosterops pale 
pebrosa) with its eye apparently pecked out. The King Crow then became alarm- 
ed and flew away with the small] corpse in its claws. I did not see it either kill 
or eat the bird but presume it did both. 
B. B. OSMASTON. 
Pacumanri, C. P., 
18th August 1921. 
No. XIV.—NIDIFICATION OF THE CEYLON THRUSH 
(O. IMBRICATA, LAYARD). 
It may interest you to know that I have found Oreocincla imbricata (Ceylon 
Thrush) Layard (the Buff-breasted Thrush of Legge) breeding. The nest is 
placed about 10 feet from the ground in the fork of an Albizzia tree which trees 
are used as shade trees for the tea in this district and are lopped every six months 
yearly. There is a strip of scrub jungle, out of which the large tumbril has been 
taken, within about 60 yards. The materials used are green moss and a few 
fresh fern leaves ; the lining is composed entirely of moderately fine black roots, 
there is no mud, The whole structure is neat, round and compact, and _ the cup 
is fairly deep and very wide. The nest contained 2 eggs, one of which I have 
taken, but it has not yet been blown owing to having no drill or blower. The 
size of the egg is 1-25” x-95”. The shape is decidedly peg-topped and the colour 
