NOTES ON ANDAMAN BIRDS. 161 



-nest and I have not seen them recently. This species has not been previously 

 recorded from the Andamans. 



776. Passer domesticus. — The House-Sparrow. 

 A small colony of these birds still exists at Aberdeen, Phoenix Bay, and 

 Haddo, but they do not fortunately seem to spread much. They were intro- 

 duced more than ten years ago. 



813. Hiruudo rustica. — The Swallow. 

 These birds arrive in numbers about the third week in September and 

 remain throughout the cold weather, retiring north in April to breed. 

 817. Hirundo javanica. — The Nilgiri House-Swallow. 

 Not common. Found 3 nests with hard set eggs in caves on the shore of 

 North Button Island on May 5. The nests were similar in construction to 

 those of H. mstica, the eggs being also similar, only smaller. 



832. Motacilla melange. — The Gray- Wagtail. 

 A cold-weather visitor ; not common. 



839. Limonidromus indicus. — The Forest-Wagtail. 

 Another cold-weather visitor, arriving early in October and leaving in April. 

 Frequents glades and paths in the forest. Has a curious habit of wagging 

 its tail laterally, i.e., from side to side and not up and down as in the case of 

 •other wagtails. 



899. Arachnechthra andamanica. — The Andaman Sun-bird. 

 Common everywhere and very tame and fearless. Breeds twice in the 

 year, first in February and again in May. The nests are oval in shape, the 

 •entrance hole being situated near the top and overhung by a portico of fine 

 grasses. The nest is composed of a variety of materials, chiefly fine grasses, 

 bits of dead leaves, and vegetable fibres. It is lined with down or fine grass 

 stems. It hangs suspended from some twig or grass stem, usually under an 

 overhanging bank often close to the ground, less frequently at some con- 

 siderable height up in a shrub or tree. 



Two eggs are laid which vary a good deal both in shape and colour. They 

 are usually elongated ovah with a tendency to be pyriform, with li ttle or no 

 gloss. The ground colour of the eggs is, where visible, a very pale greenish 

 or bluish white, the whole surface being usually more or less completely mot- 

 tled over with pale greenish or purplish brown, with occasional dark spots 

 or streaks of the same colour. One type not very common has no brown 

 mottlings, but a few greyish brown spots or blotches on a pale blue ground. 



In length they vary from 0-61" to 0*72" and in breadth from 043" to 0-47". 

 and the mean of 26 eggs is , 65"x0 , 45". 



918. Dicceum virescens. — The Audamanese Flower-pecker. 

 Not common. Frequeuts trees infested with Loranthus, the fruits of which 

 it feeds on. Note — a sharp "click." 



971. Dendrocopus andamanensis. — The Andaman Pied Woodpecker. 

 Common in and around Port Blair. Affects chiefly fairly open jungle. 

 Found many nest holes on the underside of branches of avenue trees (chiefly 



