168 NOTES ON TIIE NIDIFICATION 



and formed a strong platform. Composed merely of dry- 

 stalks and leaves of coarse grass and of indefinite shape ; four 

 eggs nearly hatched ; color pale green, with no gloss when 

 fresh, hut becoming shiney as incubation proceeds, when the 

 ground color is barely visible owing to the dirt on the egg. 

 On July 26th another nest on a mass of thorny bushes in a 

 paddy field : three eggs, quite fresh. Dimensions of five : 1*61, 

 1-56, 1-68, 1-66, 1-61, by 1-2, 1'22, 1-25, 1-24, 1*25, respect- 

 ively. (N.&E.,p. 621.) 



86.— Ardetta cinnamomea, Gm. (933.) 



Usually lays five eggs, but I have found six occasionally. Nest 

 on ground in swampy places, a mere pad of green grass ; Lower 

 Pegu. July 26th, six eggs slightly incubated. July 30th, five 

 eoffs fresh. August 10th, four eggs fresh. August 19th, five 

 eggs much incubated. 



Eggs measure in length from 1*36 to 1*21 and in breadth 

 fronT 1-1 to -98. The average of 20 eggs is 1-28 by -99. The 

 color is dull white without gloss and the shell is very smooth 

 to the touch. Fresh eggs, before being blown, are decidedly 

 pink, the contents shewing through the shell. (N. & E., p. 622.) 



87.— Nycticorax griseus, L. (937.) 



This bird breeds in immense quantities in the swamps al- 

 ready mentioned. I have not taken the eggs because it was 

 simply impossible, among the mass of birds, to authenticate 

 the eggs properly. This bird flew off before the nest could be 

 seen, whereas many of the other species allowed the canoe to 

 approach pretty near before going away. July and August 

 may however be considered the months in which they lay. 

 The nests do not differ from those of purpurea and alba ; for I 

 saw only one type of nest all the time, and many must have 

 belonged to the present species. (N. & E., p. 624.) 



88— Inocotis papillosus, Temm. (942.) 



I enter this bird with doubt, for the nest may have belonged 

 to I. Davisoni, Hume, which, in all probability, extends up to 

 Pegu. I visited the nest at dusk and missed the bird which 

 was sitting. The black Ibis, whichever species it may be, 

 is rare in the" Pegu plain, and I do not see more than a 

 pair in the course of a year and have never shot one. In 

 Vol. Ill , p. 347, I recorded papillosus from Lower Pegu, but 

 at that time Mr. Hume's new species had not been described.* 



* Judging from the size of the egg I should guess that this nest belonged to 

 fajnUosHS ; I should expect Davisoni to lay a considerably larger egg. — A, O. H. 



