82 NOTES ON THE NIDIFICATION 



116ter. — Harpactes oreskios, Tern. (Vide ante, p ,20.) 



This handsome Trogon was very common in the Sinzaway 

 Forest. I found on the 11th March two nests — one containing 

 two young just hatched, and the other one broken egg and one 

 addled one. On the 14th March I found a third nest, and on the 

 15th three more, all containing young ones. Again on the 19th 

 I found a nest with two fresh eggs. In all cases the nests were 

 mere hollows scraped or worn away in decayed branches or 

 stumps of trees. The one addled egg differs in being a longer 

 oval than others I have found. 



[The eggs seem typically very broad, but slightly pyriform 

 ovals ; the addled egg is longer and larger in every way and 

 doubtless is abnormal. The shell is very fine and glossy, and 

 is in all the eggs of an uniform very pale cafe au lait colour, 

 just that of some of the Perdiculas and Microperdix : 



The addled egg measures 1'08 by 0*84; the normal eggs about 

 0-93 by 0-8. 



I may here introduce a note of Mr. Gammies about the nidi- 

 fication of the allied. 



Harpactes Hodgsoni, Gould. 



"On the 19th May I found a breeding hole of this Trogon in 

 the Ryeng valley, (Sikhim) at about 2,000 feet. It had been 

 excavated by the bird itself in a dead and much decayed tree 

 stump of only four feet in height and niue inches diameter. The 

 hole was 7" deep by 3'5" wide. The entrance was also 3'5" in 

 diameter and was within a foot of the top of the stump. A few 

 chips lay at the bottom of the hole, but there was no other nesting 

 material. The stump was in a thin mixed jungle of bamboos 

 and small trees, a much more open situation than I would have 

 expected so shade-loving a bird to choose, but probably it con- 

 cerned itself more about the softness of the nesting tree than its 

 situation. In this case the stump was as soft a one as could 

 have been found in the whole valley. 



The eggs were four in number and fresh. Four is, I believe, 

 the full complement." 



The eggs sent by Mr. Gammie, were very Alerops-like in ap- 

 pearance. Very broad, nearly spherical ovals, white and glossy, 

 but the white is not quite so pure as in Merops, and on the con- 

 trary has a pale creamy or ivory tinge very apparent when the 

 eggs are laid, beside really pure white ones. They measured 

 11 by 0-94. 



Other eggs of this species have been since sent me from Sikhim 

 where they were taken in July by Mr. Mandelli. They were 

 taken from a hole scooped on the top of truncated tree ; a bare 



