688 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII, 



is also much the same, i.e., a stout, obtuse oval, but in no way 

 elliptical. 



This egg was taken from the nest of Dicrurus longicmidatus (The 

 Indian Ashy Drongo) at Murree on the 28th May, 1899, and a Drongo 

 Shrike was shot a few days afterwards near the place. The nest 

 contained three Drongo eggs, totally different to the supposed Cuckoo's. 



Col. Rattray wrote to me concerning this egg : " Whilst out with 

 Major Wilson I sent my man up to a nest of D. longicaudaius. While 

 he was taking the eggs, I shot one bird and the male kept flying rou nd 

 when Major Wilson called my attention to a second, but rather smaller,, 

 bird, something like a Drongo, which kept coming up, but which I failed 

 to shoot. The supposed Cuckoo's egg was absolutely fresh, whereas the 

 others were more or less incubated. A few days after, near the same 

 place, I shot a Drongo-Cuckoo." 



This egg measures '91" by *69", and is, in proportion to the size of the 

 bird, if genuine., the largest Cuckoo's egg there is, as far as India is 

 concerned. 



Although not proved, it is more than likely that this egg and Mr. 

 Bell's are genuine Drongo-Cuckoo's. 



Nehrkorn describes a totally different egg in his Cat. der Eiersamm- 

 lung. He writes : " Cream-white with reddish-browm blotches and" 

 freckles which form a ring at the larger end ; the egg was taken in the 

 nest of Suya crinigera (The Brown Hill-Warbler), which had three 

 Suya's eggs to which it bore a close resemblance : 19*5 by 14 mm." 



Herr Kuschel, who also kindly gave an egg, writes : " You yourself 

 know the egg of Sumiculus which I have sent. I have received eggs of 

 this species, together with the eggs of foster-parents taken from the nests 

 of Pycnonotus aurigaster, Henicurus leschenaulti (Leschenault's Fork- 

 tail), Megalurus palnstris (the Striated Marsh- Warbler) and Lanius." 



The egg sent to me, and shewn in Plate III, fig. 8, is a very pale 

 yellow-cream colour, so pale that unless put against anything really 

 white, it appears white itself. It has fairly numerous, tiny blotches and 

 specks of reddish-brown, with secondary ones of pale lavender and purple, 

 scattered sparsely over the whole surface and forming an indefinite 

 wide ring round the larger end. The egg is very nearly an ellipse, but 

 not quite; for, though both ends are equally obtuse, one is slightly larger 

 than the other. The texture is that of the eggs of Cvcidus poliocephalus' 

 and saturalus to which it bears a strong; familv likeness. It is not' 



