BIRDS' NESTING IN THE TONS VALLEY. (57 



the root of a small bush in the open, but close to a patch of rhododen- 

 dron bushes. It contained three hard-set eggs of a uniform pale blue 

 colour. This bird does not descend below 8 3 000 feet in these parts, 

 except in winter. 



6 (832). Motacilla melanope. — The Grey Wag-tail. 



The grey wag-tail is common about 9,000 feet in the Tons Valley. 

 1 found a nest of this bird on June 4th, containing four fresh eggs. It 

 was built in a faggot of sticks lying on the roof of a. house in the 

 middle of a village (Oshol). The nest was made of grass and lined 

 with goat's hair, and the eggs were pale yellowish-brown with a fine 

 black streak on each egg towards the large end. The nest of this 

 bird has hitherto in India only been found in Kashmir. 

 7 (567). Oornis leucomelanurus.— The Slaty-blue Flycatcher. 



The slaty-blue flycatcher is not nearly so common in the Tons 

 Valley as its congener, the white-browed blue flycatcher (C. superci- 

 liaris). The latter is one of the commonest birds in these hills, 

 between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, whereas the former is somewhat scarce, 

 and is chiefly found between 9,000 and 11,000 feet. I found a large 

 number of nests of C. superciliaris at various elevations between 6,000 

 and 9,000 feet, and three nests of C. leucomelanerus at about 9,000; 

 9,500 and 11,000 feet, respectively. I mention this as Hume says 

 that this flycatcher breeds throughout the Himalayas from Nepal to 

 Kashmir at elevations of from 5,000 to 7,000 feet, though my 

 observations would appear to show that, at any rate in portions of its- 

 range, it prefers a higher zone to nest in. 



The male birds were in all three cases indistinguishable from the 

 females. 



8 (199). Hodgsonius phcenicuroides. — Hodgson's Short-wing. 



This is another bird about whose habits very little is known, and 

 nothing at all appears to be on record about its manner of nesting. 



It is very common in the Tons Valley at elevations of from 10,000 

 to 11,000 feet, but is rarely seen owing to its being of shy and 

 retiring habits. I found 12 nests between June 5th and 11th, all of 

 which contained either 2 or 3 eggs, mostly fresh, and 3 seems to be 

 the normal full complement. The nests were all placed in low bushes 

 from 1 to 3 feet from the ground in open scrub forest. They were 

 deeply cup-shaped, composed of coarse grass without, and lined with 



