146 NOTES ON THE NIDIFICATION 



Composed entirely of the leaves of elephant grass, the living 

 heads of the supporting stalks being bent down and incor- 

 porated with the structure to form the roof. Entrance oval, 

 about 6 by 4, with its lower edge about 2 inches above the egg 

 chamber. Two eggs quite fresh, but the female incubating. 

 Color pure white, the shell very chalky and with very little 

 gloss. Eggs measured 14 by 1*18 and T3G by 1*15. 



July 15^/i. — Nest in small bush jungle in the centre of a 

 dense shrub, 10 feet from the ground. Contained two young 

 birds about a week old, covered with porcupine-like quills and 

 smelling most atrociously. Nest made of dead leaves and 

 grass, massive and cylindrical, about a foot long and 9 inches 

 outside diameter. 



August 26th. — Nest with three eggs, fresh, built near the 

 top of a tree about 20 feet from the ground. One of the eggs 

 had blood vessels in the inner lining, shewing that it had 

 been slightly incubated, whereas the other two were quite 

 fresh. Dimensions: 1 "4, 1*42, 1*4 in length by T15, 1'12, 

 1.13, respectively, in breadth. 



The above three nests were found near Pegu. 



18.— Centropus bengalensis, Gm. (218.) 



Breeds commonly in Lower Pegu throughout August. The 

 nest is placed about two feet from the ground in rank grass, 

 chiefly between paddy fields on the bunds. It is shaped like an 

 eo-o", about 10 inches high and 8 inches diameter. The entrance 

 5 by 4 is placed midway between the top and bottom. It is 

 composed of elephant grass, and the surrounding grasses are 

 bent down and incorporated with the structure. The egg 

 chamber and sides are neatly lined with thatch grass. The 

 walls are everywhere about 1 inch thick. In one nest there 

 was a distinct vertical slit at the back, but I failed to notice it in 

 others. 



The number of eggs is either two or three, and I have found 

 both numbers well incubated. Egg shell very chalky, but 

 smooth to the touch and fairly glossy ; colour white. Aver- 

 age of eioht eggs, 1*17 by 1*01 ; and the extreme dimensions 

 are 1*18 to 1*12 in length and 1-08 to '94 in breadth. 



[From Sikhim Mr. Grammie wrote in 1875 : — 



" I have only found the nest of this Coucal up to 3,500 feet, 

 but have occasionally seen it during the breeding season as 

 high as 5,000 feet, so that it probably breeds up to that elevation. 

 It affects dense grassy jungle, and fixes its nest, two or 

 three feet from the ground, in the middle of a large Saccharum 

 or other grass plant, by bending over a few of the stems to 

 make a resting place for it. It is composed of pieces of long 



